Hey everyone,
I've recently finished a blitz campaign with amazing results. With the Turks on VH/VH I've taken 106 regions by turn 14.
I've done a number of blitz campaigns with a variety of factions, so I've decided to write a guide for anyone attempting to blitz.
1. Crusade/Jihad. This is the most important element to a fast blitz. You'll want to start one right away so you can get your generals moving at double speed, and not pay upkeep for troops. Generals still get paid a wage though. The trick to getting the most out of a Crusade/Jihad is declaring one on a city you are unlikely to take early. You'll want this crusade/jihad to last at least 10 turns. Remember that it is ok if it goes over 10 turns. It only means that some of your troops might desert each turn. You can always replenish your armies with mercenaries.
2. Have a plan. This is vital for ensuring efficiency in your campaign. Set your generals some goals, and try not to have different generals going after the same target. Spread out in all directions and note that you don't always have to take the city closest to you. For example, with the Turks, it is not convenient to take Edessa or Baghdad early in the game. The army at Mosul should go after Aleppo. The reason for this is that Baghdad is a dead end, so you have to back track. And Edessa has a huge garrison and besieging it on turn 2 means wasted movement. Each city you take becomes a place from which you can generate another army later, but there is no way they are going to catch up to the general that conquered it. That's why its ok to leave some cities for later. This works best with leaving rebel cities only. They tend not to try attack you.
3. A smaller army can be more effective than a large one. This campaign is all about taking as many regions as you can as fast as possible. If you rock up to a city with a moderate garrison with a huge stack, you can expect a siege will take place. However, what if your army is mostly cavalry? In this campaign all cavalry armies move so much faster than infantry ones. But how can you take cities with cavalry? The answer is underwhelm the enemy. For example, on turn 1, the Turkish army at Yerevan can enlist alan light cavalry before joining the jihad. You could besiege Tbilisi on turn 1 with your stack of 8, or you could head for Sarkel and get there 1 turn earlier. But what about Tbilisi? Send the alan light cavalry alone to Tbilisi and the garrison will sally out. The odds will apparently be stacked against you, but if you are smart, you will know how to win. Cavalry can easily defeat AI infantry in this game. The only thing you need to be wary of is if the enemy have cavalry. Try to at least match it, or use missile cavalry against melee.
4. Don't ever stop. A number of times in this campaign I found myself staring down a huge stack of enemies with a tiny army. A memorable one was when I besieged Hamburg, which was owned by denmark. I only had a General and some mercenary spearmen and crossbowmen. They had a full stack of infantry, cavalry, and archers. And 2 or 3 generals as well. Not only did I win this battle, but I totally smashed them. You can win battles that seem overwhelming if you kill the general right away. Sometimes the more infantry they have is better for you. Get their weakest ones routing and the stronger ones will start to waver. Get it all going at the same time and you'll win.
5. Sack or exterminate. Every city you take has the potential to revolt at some point. You don't want to have to take the same city twice, but you'll also want to leave as soon as you take it. Sacking or exterminating the city ensures you have time to either turn the city into a castle, which has much better public order, or generate some garrison. Exterminating gives more fear, but sacking gives you twice as much money. You'll have to make a judgement call. Never occupy anything.
6. Man of the hour. Generals are one of the most effective units to have for this campaign. They never leave crusade/jihad, they replenish their troops at the start of each turn, and they are fantastic fighters. Any time you see a chance to fight the enemy in the field, don't bring a general. Get as many of these guys as you can.
7. Spending your money. Just because you sacked Constantinople and have tons of money doesn't mean you should spend it recklessly. Your primary source of spending should be hiring troops or mercenaries. Do that before you construct any buildings. And never build anything that isn't going to have a pay off. Things like inns, or siege works are just a waste of money. Destroy siege works in cities that have them, you will never need them.
8. The dead end regions. There are a couple of regions that once taken mean you have to turn back the way you came. These settlements should be taken on the last turn of your campaign, for maximum efficiency. The settlements are: Arguin, Bulgar, Baghdad, Dublin, Inverness, Dongola, Jedda, Lisbon. In regards to Arguin, have a general head that way on turn 1. often times, blitz games get to 105 regions then spend the next 5-10 getting to Arguin.
9. Logistics. Maximise your movement. This is something I didn't figure out until late in my campaign. You can force your generals to develop logistic expert traits. This is something you want to do on turn 1. Keep in mind it is frustrating to do, but will pay off in the long run. Also, try only do this for 1 general each turn. Have your general use all their movement and then make sure they are not sitting in a city. Before you press end turn, save your game to file a. Then press end turn. If there is a battle during the Ai's turn, save at file b, then auto resolve. Keep auto resolving until you get to the next turn, then check your general's traits. There is a 5% chance he'll get it. But if he didn't you need to load file a. Once the game is loaded, save it to file a again. This shuffles the variables. If you don't do this you'll always get the same result. Repeat until logistics expert appears. If you are lucky it will happen before your 20th attempt. If you're unlucky, like I was, it'll happen before your 40th. This will give your general an extra 10% movement. Over the course 10 turns, thats an extra turn of movement. If I hadn't done this on turn 12 I wouldn't have made it to Arguin on turn 14. I would have got there on turn 15.
Anyway, That should cover the basics. If you have questions feel free to ask. Also, check out my videoed campaign.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vObLGPSJQU&list=PLY8cZUL4pfEDOm-zQQM0dsLIRCOj8jvP_
Keep in mind it has course language, so wear headphones if you're in school or something.
I've recently finished a blitz campaign with amazing results. With the Turks on VH/VH I've taken 106 regions by turn 14.
I've done a number of blitz campaigns with a variety of factions, so I've decided to write a guide for anyone attempting to blitz.
1. Crusade/Jihad. This is the most important element to a fast blitz. You'll want to start one right away so you can get your generals moving at double speed, and not pay upkeep for troops. Generals still get paid a wage though. The trick to getting the most out of a Crusade/Jihad is declaring one on a city you are unlikely to take early. You'll want this crusade/jihad to last at least 10 turns. Remember that it is ok if it goes over 10 turns. It only means that some of your troops might desert each turn. You can always replenish your armies with mercenaries.
2. Have a plan. This is vital for ensuring efficiency in your campaign. Set your generals some goals, and try not to have different generals going after the same target. Spread out in all directions and note that you don't always have to take the city closest to you. For example, with the Turks, it is not convenient to take Edessa or Baghdad early in the game. The army at Mosul should go after Aleppo. The reason for this is that Baghdad is a dead end, so you have to back track. And Edessa has a huge garrison and besieging it on turn 2 means wasted movement. Each city you take becomes a place from which you can generate another army later, but there is no way they are going to catch up to the general that conquered it. That's why its ok to leave some cities for later. This works best with leaving rebel cities only. They tend not to try attack you.
3. A smaller army can be more effective than a large one. This campaign is all about taking as many regions as you can as fast as possible. If you rock up to a city with a moderate garrison with a huge stack, you can expect a siege will take place. However, what if your army is mostly cavalry? In this campaign all cavalry armies move so much faster than infantry ones. But how can you take cities with cavalry? The answer is underwhelm the enemy. For example, on turn 1, the Turkish army at Yerevan can enlist alan light cavalry before joining the jihad. You could besiege Tbilisi on turn 1 with your stack of 8, or you could head for Sarkel and get there 1 turn earlier. But what about Tbilisi? Send the alan light cavalry alone to Tbilisi and the garrison will sally out. The odds will apparently be stacked against you, but if you are smart, you will know how to win. Cavalry can easily defeat AI infantry in this game. The only thing you need to be wary of is if the enemy have cavalry. Try to at least match it, or use missile cavalry against melee.
4. Don't ever stop. A number of times in this campaign I found myself staring down a huge stack of enemies with a tiny army. A memorable one was when I besieged Hamburg, which was owned by denmark. I only had a General and some mercenary spearmen and crossbowmen. They had a full stack of infantry, cavalry, and archers. And 2 or 3 generals as well. Not only did I win this battle, but I totally smashed them. You can win battles that seem overwhelming if you kill the general right away. Sometimes the more infantry they have is better for you. Get their weakest ones routing and the stronger ones will start to waver. Get it all going at the same time and you'll win.
5. Sack or exterminate. Every city you take has the potential to revolt at some point. You don't want to have to take the same city twice, but you'll also want to leave as soon as you take it. Sacking or exterminating the city ensures you have time to either turn the city into a castle, which has much better public order, or generate some garrison. Exterminating gives more fear, but sacking gives you twice as much money. You'll have to make a judgement call. Never occupy anything.
6. Man of the hour. Generals are one of the most effective units to have for this campaign. They never leave crusade/jihad, they replenish their troops at the start of each turn, and they are fantastic fighters. Any time you see a chance to fight the enemy in the field, don't bring a general. Get as many of these guys as you can.
7. Spending your money. Just because you sacked Constantinople and have tons of money doesn't mean you should spend it recklessly. Your primary source of spending should be hiring troops or mercenaries. Do that before you construct any buildings. And never build anything that isn't going to have a pay off. Things like inns, or siege works are just a waste of money. Destroy siege works in cities that have them, you will never need them.
8. The dead end regions. There are a couple of regions that once taken mean you have to turn back the way you came. These settlements should be taken on the last turn of your campaign, for maximum efficiency. The settlements are: Arguin, Bulgar, Baghdad, Dublin, Inverness, Dongola, Jedda, Lisbon. In regards to Arguin, have a general head that way on turn 1. often times, blitz games get to 105 regions then spend the next 5-10 getting to Arguin.
9. Logistics. Maximise your movement. This is something I didn't figure out until late in my campaign. You can force your generals to develop logistic expert traits. This is something you want to do on turn 1. Keep in mind it is frustrating to do, but will pay off in the long run. Also, try only do this for 1 general each turn. Have your general use all their movement and then make sure they are not sitting in a city. Before you press end turn, save your game to file a. Then press end turn. If there is a battle during the Ai's turn, save at file b, then auto resolve. Keep auto resolving until you get to the next turn, then check your general's traits. There is a 5% chance he'll get it. But if he didn't you need to load file a. Once the game is loaded, save it to file a again. This shuffles the variables. If you don't do this you'll always get the same result. Repeat until logistics expert appears. If you are lucky it will happen before your 20th attempt. If you're unlucky, like I was, it'll happen before your 40th. This will give your general an extra 10% movement. Over the course 10 turns, thats an extra turn of movement. If I hadn't done this on turn 12 I wouldn't have made it to Arguin on turn 14. I would have got there on turn 15.
Anyway, That should cover the basics. If you have questions feel free to ask. Also, check out my videoed campaign.
Keep in mind it has course language, so wear headphones if you're in school or something.