Noob start questions

[Cfant]

Hello,

I am new to the game and have started two games with smaller nations. Both times I started as about 70 of the 78 nations in the ranking and therefore collected age tokens diligently. I guess this can't be avoided, or did I miss something? After all, you climb up quite slowly, and that only if you put your people into art and culture. Which delays everything else. Am I doing it wrong?

Another thing: The AI conquers quite diligently from the beginning. That makes you want to join in Do I see this correctly, as a rule of thumb: as long as I have more culture than decadence (i.e. a positive ratio), I can definitely take one or two regions, or should I wait at the beginning?

Thanks already!

[Gray Fox]

What I can recommend is to build an agriculture and then an infrastructure building. Repeat this and grow the population until you can switch all the citizens to culture and still have a surplus of food and infrastructure points.

Build up your military and conquer the other regions in the provinces you start with. Controlling provinces helps with decadence and overall growth.

Here's a guide I did:

viewtopic.php?f=563&t=98599

Good luck!

[Cfant]

Thanks. I read yout tutorial, it is really helpful

[Cfant]

Some more noob-questions

• Caught in a war agains a superior opponent (by my f***ing ally). No battles or encounters for about 10 turns. Will wars end without fighting? In the manual stands "1point of war weariness per turn" - without real fighting, will a superior power make a white peace in a reasonable time?

• I have a slave market (2 to say the truth). After about 10 oder 15 turns I never got a redestribute slaves decision. Is this bad luck or am I missing something?

• I see the red, roman blob advancing towards me. They refuse a cooperation pact. Is there any other way to become a friend of rome so not to be attacked? A gift is short living, is there any way of non-agression pact or something?

Thanks and sorry for so many questions. The manual mostly explaones the concepts, but not the details

[Gray Fox]

You have to weigh whether your alliance is more important than peace. If not, then end the alliance and see if that gets you peace.

The events are random, so eventually you will get that one.

You can offer to be Rome's Client State. IIRC, an achievement exists for eventually breaking CS status. I don't know your strategic situation, but as Macedonia I used diplomacy to gain all of southern Italy from Rome. Everything works, if you let it.

[Cfant]

Thanks Jepp, CS is a consideration. Thanks for the fast reply! I hope for defensive pacts in the future, would help smaller nations (especially AI nations, I guess)

[Cfant]

New day, new question Had a war, the enemy just crossed into my realm and went to the capital. My main army was one province behind - there was no chance to catch him. What can you do to prevent this? Which buildings can slow down an enemy?

He conquered my capital, then my army arrived. After he was beaten, his still strong army simply disappeared. How can this happen? There was a notion: "XY army dissolved" - but why?

[Gray Fox]

An army not in a city exerts a zone of control, preventing an enemy from passing through without giving battle in the region. An army in a city, defends the city, but does not stop enemy movement. So you must keep your forces between the enemy and your capital, or garrison your capital with an army. You can also drag your army stack over and drop it on the enemy stack. Your army will now pursue that enemy stack where it goes. This works well against raiders.

The enemy stack seems to have starved out after you recaptured your capital.

[Cfant]

ok, so against overhelming strength put them into garrison and accept they will bypass your fortress.

Thanks!

[Gray Fox]

If you choose to garrison, make sure that you have a large stock of food in case of a siege.

[Cfant]

Hi Everyone

Making progress and understanding the basics somehow. But a lot of questions remain, never to be answered by the big, but not informative at details manual.

CDR ratio - in the beginning (first 10-20 turns of the game) I put all people to culture, still did not climb the ranks. Then I tried to put some into culture, others into buildings - suddenly I came up top. I understand culture helps, decadence hinders. So (if playing a small nation with limited population at the start) - what bolsters the rising in the ranks? Or is it just luck/bad luck, depending on that the other nations do?

I've conquered some nations, e.g. picts. They hate me. That's ok, I don't mind. But they are unproductive, and that sucks How can I assimilate them? Do I have to wait to god knows when a decision pops up? Is there a way to integrate them?

diplomacy: the picts, being down to 2 regions (small islands). I offered peace, holding 4 or 5 of their regions. Chance to accept with losing only one region: 39%. They should have kissed my shoes Holding one region with 1 unit: Chance to become client state: 0%. Other example: I have a diplo-genius-mastermind, improving chances for 20%. Chance for cooperation with any nation: still 0%, even if I give gold and metall. And why a malus of 15 "we are not neighbours". Yes, I know! Working togehter to keep the blob in our middle in check is the reason I want to be your friend in the first place! Isn't AI diplomacy a little bit awkward? Or am I doing it wrong?

I got "expedition to far away land". extremly cool! I have to have 1 unit in this land. How do I do this? The land is in turkey, surrounded by other nations. How can I pass through? Declaring war on them??? Or paying 50.000.000 gold until all nations in the way cooperate with me?

one last thing, playing a small nation (britons in my case). How is it done without playing the battles in FoG2? Looked into some Lets Plays, whoever hat small nations had to play the bigger battles out himself. Has anyone achieved victory with a small nations without FoG2?

Hm, many questions. Hope some answers can be given A great game, first game in a long time I really enjoy.

[Gray Fox]

Hello to you!

The CDR list is a ranking, so it's what your faction is doing vs what everyone else is doing. You could do everything right in your situation and still be in the cellar. The important tactic is to know that you are making the right choices. In that guide I linked to, you want to build your economy first and then switch to culture.

Conquered factions will slowly assimilate. In a region menu, you can see their citizens switch to your culture and some buildings aid in this. However, some factions will always be a problem.

As you posted, "They hate me." so why should they deal with you? You're probably better off just wiping them out.

Some events are easier than others, depending on what you are willing to spend. I find that I have more important decisions to make than doing a road trip.

I don't own FOG2 and won as Rhodus and Burgundy. You just have to learn the tactics of this game to be successful. Good luck!

[Cfant]

Hi and thanks for your answer.

The CDR list is a ranking, so it's what your faction is doing vs what everyone else is doing. You could do everything right in your situation and still be in the cellar. The important tactic is to know that you are making the right choices. In that guide I linked to, you want to build your economy first and then switch to culture.

Yes, but I don't understand why it works. Putting everything into culture should help to climb the ranking better than building economy. I don't understand why it isn't.

You're probably better off just wiping them out.

How can you do that? By the way, I don't play to maximise my gameplay, but for the story that unfolds Like in Crusader Kings.

I don't own FOG2 and won as Rhodus and Burgundy. You just have to learn the tactics of this game to be successful. Good luck!

Thanks. Well, I have FOG2 so it should be fine. Its a lot harder otherwise.

[Gray Fox]

A few people sitting in mud huts writing poetry and making sculpture are not really going to compete with Carthage or Egypt. I spend the first dozen or so turns getting the economy running. I've pushed it to the point where I had four aging tokens at the bottom of the CDR list. However, then my faction exploded up the list while our economy boomed. You eventually want all citizens in culture, as long as you still have food, infrastructure and cash rolling in and enough manpower and metal to raise an army. Also, you don't need to be at the top of the CDR list, just the top tier. The top spot doesn't gain you anything.

The saying goes that wars are easy to start, but difficult to end. If you are at war with a faction that just will not negotiate, then take every one of their regions or at least the ones that border yours. When they have no more regions, you'll get a peace offer which you can deny and they are gone. If they no longer have a region that borders your regions, then you have "lost contact" and can get peace.

In my English campaign with Total War Medieval 2, I fought 170 battles and won them all. That was enough tactical battles for one life.

[Cfant]

Well, the good thing here is, most battles you can autoresolve and only have to play manually the important ones

Did I understand this correctly:

I have a tribal nation. Made it a glorious federation with even a golden age. But that's it, true? I cannot reform it to a kingdom or something?

Also I'd be interestes how to absorb a nation? The explanations with mouse over is "txt missing". And is there a way to integrate a client state somehow? Without ending the vasallisation and coquering it.

[Gray Fox]

Correct, once your faction reaches glorious third tier that's it. No need for stupendous, socialist paradise.

You can strip a CS of all of its regions diplomatically, however getting the last region is more expensive than it's worth. Logically, the point in a CS is to create a buffer so that your border regions aren't subject to raiding. Absorbing it would be counterproductive. I've won the game with a faction that only controlled less than 100 regions, so painting the map is unnecessary.

[Cfant]

Ok, thanks Can I demand the CS to combine his army with mine?

[Gray Fox]

No, the CS units are still controlled by the program.

[Cfant]

Oh no But thanks a lot for your patient help!

[Gray Fox]

I did have a CS army save the day once. Everything works if you let it.