• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.

taho22

Private
29 Badges
Jun 5, 2008
16
12
  • Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome
  • Semper Fi
  • Rome Gold
  • Europa Universalis: Rome
  • Heir to the Throne
  • Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour
  • Hearts of Iron III
  • For the Motherland
  • Europa Universalis III: Chronicles
  • Europa Universalis III
  • Crusader Kings II: Sword of Islam
  • Crusader Kings II: Sunset Invasion
  • Crusader Kings II: The Republic
  • Crusader Kings II
  • Divine Wind
  • Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Revelations
  • Age of Wonders: Planetfall
  • Hearts of Iron IV: Expansion Pass
  • Shadowrun: Hong Kong
  • Hearts of Iron IV: Expansion Pass
  • Age of Wonders III
  • Hearts of Iron IV: Death or Dishonor
  • Hearts of Iron IV: Together for Victory
  • Hearts of Iron IV: Cadet
  • Hearts of Iron IV Sign-up
  • Stellaris
  • Pillars of Eternity
  • 500k Club
  • Rome: Vae Victis
I'm a new player too and could use some clarification on a few issues. I'm currently in Book2/3 and at war with the Saxons and the Welsh rebels after doing The Pact. I think I'm going to start over though - I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. Here are my questions:

1. Unit Morality in stacks. I've read that your morale is penalized if you have units of different morality in the same stack. So, if I understand correctly, the base units have no morality, so they can be used with any units. The units with morality are Seelie, Unseelie, Rightful, and Tyrant, right? What about Giants. I have some level 10 giants in a stack with Sentinals and Golden Gryphons (who are rightful) - will I be penalized for this? Also, how does culture affect this - does using Welsh culure units (Welsh bowman) count as a morality in terms of stack penalty?

2. I'm getting quests popping up in East and West Mercia (some of the DLC artifact challenge battles). I'm not allied or at war with them. It seems the only way to access these quests is to go to war with them. Does this mean that I should have taken them out earlier before getting into the Welsh/Saxon conflicts?

3. With 3 stacks (3 Knights each), it seems to be too much to deal with Welsh rebels (was given Norgales, but no way to defend it), Saxon war, and ghost/Samhain armies all at once. I'm really enjoying certain aspects of the game, but really wish there was less battle spam. Feels like I'm just spinning my wheels putting out fires without being able to actually make any progress.

4. Does anyone know of a good website with walkthrough and quest help? I can't seem to find one.

Thanks in advance for any tips/help/feedback!
 
1. If you click on the Giant and check their description, they should be Tyrants. They will clash with Rightful units, including Sentinel and Gryphons. I have no idea about culture, possibly Saxon will clash with Welsh and vice versa. However, I would like to highlight that victories will boost morale. So as long you stay on the winning course, keeping giants in a Rightful army is worth the morale drop due to their awesome damage output.

2. Yes. You definitely should lay back a bit and proceed at your pace. There's no rush. Prioritize accordingly to avoid getting frustrated.

3. I feel your frustration but would like to highlight that these ghost armies aren't aggressive at all. All they did is lower your province productivity. A quest will appear later on to deal with it permanently, however if you wish to cull their numbers the best counter would be a highly magic resistance force to resist their life drain.

4. There isn't any walkthrough. But I'd be glad to help you out if you need more help since I'm very enthusiastic about this game.
 
1) I can't check at the moment (at work), but I think the Orkney faction is different from the tyrant faction (but with the same icon), I don't think they will clash with Rightful troops (iirc, might be wrong). Anyway, it is easy to test : you can see the morale and the movement bar on top on the army management screen, so you'll see the morale drop when you put a "wrong" troop morality in the army.
Anyway, the penalty is not that much if you are confident about your ability to control Victory Points on the tactical map and to consistently win battles. Giants, Fomorians and Wargs are all awesome troops (viking heavies and archers if you play the expansions too) and well worth the effort.

2) The pacing of the game take a while to get adjusted to, and understanding when to advance the main questlines and when to pause and tie all loose ends before continuing is part of the game pretty steep learning curve (but it is ultimately worth it of course, the depth of the campaign is absolutely fantastic once you get used to it). But as rk47 say, taking your time, one objective at a time is definitely a good advice.
As far as the artifact DLC quests are concerned, my advice would be to deactivate or ignore them for your first games, until you get a better grasp of the flow of the campaign. They are tough, and spawn early and out of place for a beginning player, and they might "rush" you into declaring wars you are not necessarily able to handle before the time limit. They are more like extras for experienced people.
Back on topic : taking mercia - actually, all "minor" factions - before getting too deep into the wales vs saxons conflict is definitely a good idea to have a easier "midgame".

3) As rk47 said, plus I'd like to add that against Samhain armies, autoresolve can give you better results than actually playing the battle, at least until you develop appropriate counter tactics, which can help you a bit in the beginning (or if you are tired of playing whack-a-ghost :p )
 
Thanks for the tips. I started a 2nd playthrough and I do feel more in-control. I think I might take out West and East Mercia before I get my stronghold and start Book2. Are there any quests that send you to war with either of the Mercias that I might be breaking by doing this? I'd like to try to stick to the intended storyline more-or-less.
 
If I remember correctly, there is an event very early in the game where the king of Mercia goes into the deepwoods, then, some turns later, he is reported missing and his kingdom is split in two. Afterwards, I don't think there are anymore related events after, so starting a war after this will probably not break anything.