Fairly surprised The Seleucids from RTW didn't make this list. They have one of the better, more diverse army rosters in the game and control a sizable empire in one of the wealthier regions of the map, but usually die early if not controlled by the player because everyone hates them.
@@23Zeljko If you do not start next t them or are expanding fast you will not see them. I still remember when I opened the historical battles and didn't know what that faction was, as I haven't seen it in my first two campaigns at all.
Egypt basically always conquered their central settlements fairly early on and their west and east ones just fall to the Greeks/Pontus and Parthia/Armenia respectively
I was reached a campaign where Pontus dominated everything in the east, from Anatolia to Parthia. Then I once played ERE in barbarian Invasion where the Celts dominated all in the west, and kept sending stacks to Constantinople.
those guys are the most versitille and strong faction, escept for the early game... I never played as egypt in any game because of how much they backstabed me in rome 1
One time I had a Medieval 2 campaign were Portugal not only wiped spain before I met them but also half of france and britain. I think its great that sometimes weird shit like that can happen in the older total wars...
the only time Portugal hasn't been wiped out in my campaigns was when I conquered all of Spain's territories, minus one, and gave them to Portugal. Then 20 turns later Spain somehow managed to reclaim all of their territory and have Portugal as a vassal. Also, every time I play as England Spain always wants to take Wales from me for some reason
During my first victory in Medieval II, I played as Scotland. The entire western world was either run by me or AI Portugal. We were great friends. I think they have potential.
Yeah me to, except they were my second biggest rival behind the HRE (I was england). I don’t know why put Portugal always beat the shit out of spain in my campaigns. Honestly for Medieval 2 Scotland or Novgorod would have been better picks.
Their army roster’s good and they’re on the edge of the map so if they survive the early game they can be really strong. They just get wiped really earlier sometimes due to their 2 starting settlements being so far apart
When I play medieval 2, Portugal is usually alive for me. They usually become highly diplomatic and forge a LOT of alliances. I was playing as that Byzantines, and I attacked Portugal, and next thing you know, Spain, England, France and the HRE all declared war on me
Tokugawa not only are very susceptible to being swatted... they're also weak as hell. They have no potential. This top 5 features factions that all have great potential but disappear within 5 turns because of OUTSTANDING MOVE total war ai.
@@SS-je3kr in Shogun 2 you can't really tell which AI gonna be strong if you not near them it's very randomly but most of the time in my legendary campaign the area surround Kyoto is the Hattori on the right of them is between ikko ikki or oda(60% time is oda 40% is ikko ikki) and next to those 2 is Takeda or Uesugi( 80% 20%)
Apparently not Napoleon, nor Hitler, etc etc… I love that Medieval II very much gave you the option to make that mistake though..! (...Well, I didn't love it the first time I tried, but hey)
For some reason Portugal was crazy strong the first time I played medieval 2, they had conquered most of Iberia pretty much on their own while I was busy fighting France, I'm gonna look for that save file because I didn't question it until now
For those asking about the Seluecids in Rome 1, I feel like he didn’t include them for the same reason he didn’t include the Western Roman Empire, the strength at the start is just non-existent, I mean 2 of their 6 starting regions don’t even have any walls yet, so it’s incredibly easy to stroll right in, hell Hatra is defended by 2 peasants and a militia hoplite and is too far away from Antioch to get reinforcements. There’s no infrastructure everything is underdeveloped stretched so thin they may as well be separate city states on a strained undeveloped economy with shit for an army. If they can halt the assaults on Antioch long enough to build it up though, they can become a force of nature
@@alex_zetsu his reason for not including them is because he’s separating fragile from weak. West Rome and the Seleucids aren’t fragile, they’re just weak. It’s not like the Seleucid’s are a powerhouse until they lose Antioch, because I’ve seen the seleucids get reduced to just Sardis and Seleucia and then hold on strong for the rest of the game. They just don’t have the resources at the start to deal with it, so they’re weak. But East Rome on the other hand, once I see them lose Constantinople, it’s over. They just evaporate into the dustbin of history like dry ice. That’s fragile
I Feel you so much! I was playing a campaign as scotland and suddenly the portugese king just D-days Wales out of nowhere. I beat them back and kill there king and prince and think im done with them but ten turns later another full stack lands in wales and by wiping that I actually defeated the portugese faction because I killed their last noble. So from a Spanish perspective all the portugese Kings went oversees and died , only leaving leaderless rebels behind....
You forgot the Tokugawa clan on Shogun 2. Like the Eastern Empire, they were the supposed victorious of the civil war, but in the campaign, they die pretty quickly
Vampire coast. Dread fleeth xd should be first, second seleucid empire rome 1, third chotzu fots, 4th should be ostrogoths attila and 5th Otomo in shogun 2
What I found interesting in Empire TW is, that the Austrian Line Infantry has 150 men per unit, compared to most of the other LI, where one unit only has 120 men. Also for some reason Austrian LI is also "a lot" cheaper. I mean some stats are a bit lower, but overall it is the most cost efficient in all of ETW.
I'm surprised that the Seleucids in Rome 1 didn't rate. They are super exposed to invasion and war with OP Egypt early. Great unit roster, never get to use it.
In my latest campaign as Empire (inspired by you Legend.) Templehof beat both Vampire Counts and Von Carsteins, and are now in a war of attrition with the Elector Counts around them. Interesting change of pace from the usual Vampire counts early to mid game expansion.
I wouldnt say its interesting, given these placeholder factions LL factions start at war with, should always just die imo. Currently there are a number of LL factions which you'll never see if you dont start next to them. These include Lizardmen /Mazdamundi (killed by either Skeggi or New World) Vampires/ Vlad and Mannfred actually, even if he lives longer, Lokhir, Khalida, all the Skaven most of the time, all VCoast (whenever Tyrion decides to slap the Maelstrom.. or Teclis, altho I've no idea how he confederates Tyrion nowadays when Tyrion is always larger, the other Vcoast lords usually die before that), Arkhan, Skarsnik, other Greenskins are usually also killed by Dwarves, Beastmen (ofc they're a bit special. But imo the main Beastmen faction should return EVERY TIME, not some crappy noname horde), Dark Elves also have a hard time because of the northern Chaos armies usually going for their coast first, not Ulthuan. So yeah, in current patch Order factions rule by a huge margin. If there is a top 5, I can tell you who they tend to be: High Elves, Empire, Dwarves, Bretonnia and Settra/Kroq-gar. If you're evil you'll have a hard time surviving. Esp. since most evil factions hate each other just as well and rarely confed (except dark elves). So by the time Archaon dies, the world is usually a happy place with the End Times averted and world peace achieved. And most Legendary Lords get to be actually legendary, as some item in rpg-s, since there is a really small chance you can get their traits. Some may like it, but I think non-Order factions need a buff somehow. And yeah, I remember the patch before this, where Vcoast and Vcounts ruled hard. That was the other end, but this isnt good either.
Same reason Russia is "Russia" and not The Kingdom of Novogord. Stainless Steel's mod fixes a lot of the minor factions to be more historically accurate.
They should have made Pamplona a rebel settlement with 2-3 Basque units buffed with experience. It would suffice for Portugal only to control the city of Lisbon. Milan and Denmark also start without castles.
I had a campaign in Attila in which the Sassanids were on the verge of overrunning the Eastern Roman Empire, when one of the Sassanid generals rose in rebellion. The resulting civil war split the Sassanid Empire in half, and allowed Eastern Rome to recover and actually start conquering the Persians. Then I conquered them all.
I've never had an issue with big baddy Valdy dying out, as you said each player is different but most of the time it's vamps uniting against empire when I play brets, skaven something else close but isn't a normal enemy like dwarfs that would normally attack them but under my control have other things on my mind like greenskins. I've had it where the empire was straight up divided north and south and bretonnia divided as well with the red duke and Kemlar making almost of world of death. I was the vamp coast at the time and loved seeing the world fall with all the undead working together to kill off everyone else. with the newest update I think there are a few more factions that you will add either huntsmarshal or the wondering lizard. I love your lists keep it up!
As for Vlad he usually grows the most powerful of the vampire factions in all my campaigns, expanding west while Mannfred is isolated by Tempelhof. His starting army is probably the strongest of all, and he is tough to crack in autoresolve.
Top 4 all seem reasonable. Surprised Portugal made 5th - most of my campaigns they either hang on with a handful of territories or blitz the Moors early game and conquer Southern Iberia. Seleucids from Rome 1 should probably be there instead - once they lose Antioch (and they almost always do) they get annihilated near every single campaign.
I would have put the Selucued Empire from Rome 1. If you’re not playing them, Pontus, Armenia, Parthia, Egypt and potentially Greece all want a piece of that pie. And they start with a boosted economy thanks to the Hanging Gardens of babylon
Yeah, same. It's a real shame because as a player it would be really cool to face off against all their high-tier units in the late game, but it just never happens. That said I'm currently playing Europa Barbarorum and the Seleucid Empire isn't such a pushover which is cool (currently playing as Macedon ravaging egypt).
@@couchpotatoe91 It is a shame, but it makes sense when CA decided to make one faction go at war with like 5 factions and have a terrible early game roster.
@@RTB3550 Well, the wars are hostorical. That said giving the seleucids only barracks that can recruit militia hoplites at best just doesn't make any sense. Also Greece has a unit of Spartans, Carthage a unit of elephants, but the seleucids have nothing despite there being enough reason to give them either silvershields, elephants, companion cavalry or something similar.
Before I watch the video: 5: West Rome - TW Attilla 4: West Rome - TW Atilla 3: West Rome - TW Atilla 2: West Rome - TW Atilla 1: West Rome - TW Atilla edit: wow...
@Abhinandan Banerjee and till you have played at least 30-40 custom or campaign battles, so you are a good strategist. When playing as the Western Roman empire, the odds in battle will often be against you, so you need to know how to win while outnumbered or at least inflict maximum amount of casualties
@@makeromaniagreatagain9697 you calculate what is better off by playing around with lowering taxes/constructing public baths and the issuing of certain edicts and the development of governors.
Most Shogun 2 clans tend to die rapidly, with exception to Chosokabe, Takeda & Ikko Ikki. Hattori, Otomo & Tokugawa often die within 10 turns, but they're all fragile, even seen Shimazu die in like 5 turns.
You are one of the few total war youtubers who mentions legendary Lords kill traits as a boo. In all my campaigns, I try to get my main legendary lord to get as many as possible. I've had the majority of them a few times now. Never all though.
What about the Seleucids in RTW? I have never ever met them playing as Rome, even the Brutii if I'm rushing East. Only ever meet them as the Parthians, Egyptians and maybe Greeks or Macedonians (even then rarely). Very weak faction.
I rarely meet them in Halicarnassus or Sardis when I'm playing as Brutii. Sonetimes a diplomat comes to rome oferring map info and trade rights but havent seen them dominate.
honestly i experienced scotland being more fragile than portugal in medieval. even as a player there are speedruns called lose% and this faction is mvp in this term
Funnily enough, Portugal got wiped on my most recent run at Medieval 2. They betrayed me by land-invading Caernarvon. I defeated their king, had a chuckle and waited for my turn to roll around again. Much to my surprise, the Prince attacked me to avenge his father and I naturally crushed him and his 26 bodyguards. Out of the corner of my eye I see the map change and lo and behold I have wiped Portugal off the map. I had no intention of crushing them, and was just interested in kicking them off my island. I love Medieval 2 AI sometimes.
One of the big X factors for the ERE is how well the White Huns do. If the White Huns rampage through the Sassanid Empire, you’ll have a much easier time. But if they get wiped early on, you’re in for a brutal slog as you’ll have the full might of their empire bearing down on you if you’re not prepared.
Them and Spain always go for Wales if I own it. In my England, Scotland and even my Denmark playthrough(once I took Britannia) Portugal and Spain dont leave Wales alone
That’s funny because in Total War: Warhammer III, Sylvania absolutely dominates every campaign as AI. I think because they start with more/better cities.
Better cities, easy starting enemy, quick consolidation of sylvania, better starting army, Isabella as a hero gives Vlad immense auto resolve bonus, use of RoR and hidden faction potential
Portugal never dies if the player is near to them because every faction around will ally with them to attack you with 2 unit armies at Dublin or smth like this
I tried playing as France on the hardest difficulty in Empire. There's a scripted event that forces Austria to go to war with you and with Italian factions attacking from the south it's too much territory to cover. Unlike Warhammer, buildings in Empire are located throughout the region not just in the city so protecting it is so tough. Also Portugal conquered my only ally, Spain, early on somehow which made my west flank vulnerable as well.
These top 10 and top 5 videos are great man!!! The inspire me to give some games a second chance (barbarian invasion) it's actually pretty good, but halfing the number of cities was boneheaded and unfun
In most games ive played in medieval 2, except when im Spain or the Moors, i always see Portugal invading Wales and Ireland, and unless im Scotland or England, those invasions are successful
The Dwarves whenever I dont play them are usually on the brink of collapsing by the time I make contact with them. So many Greenskin hordes invading them in the South, Undead Legions in the North, and they aren't very aggressive. I have seen AI Vlad conquer Stirland and Averland fairly quickly in my playthroughs.
How about top 5 hidden units. I was think like the giant elephant the rebels in Rome 1 can control or in shogun 2 the foreign ship that you can capture. Also the units you can get from mercenary or crusader army
Von Carsteins are my favourite faction, so I never really seen them defeated :) You mentioned there is no guarantee for any factions to survive. Well it's just one word: Dwarves. They always obliterate everything and turn out to be the absolute nr. 1 strongest beast in my campaigns.
First on the List is Portugal: the country that wound so quickly up the west coast of France that it contested me for Caen and then made France a Protectorate on my first Hard Scottish playthrough. They were for the longest time my greatest enemy, even though I was fighting Denmark, HRE, Poland, Russia, The Papal States, Sicily, Moors, Spain and Milan at the same time. The entire Iberian Peninsula was allied by the end of turn 10. My only friends were the Egyptians, and sort've France- but I sure as heck didn't return Paris to them after 'liberating' it from Portugal. I spent the whole game excommunicated and the Portuguese sent at least two crusader armies to Rennes to take it from me. The most legendary defense I ever pulled off was their second attempt- where I had about 14 men defending against a full stack at the start, and there were 3 men left when the Portuguese went running. Gud times.
By the time Legend's expeditionary force reached Schwartzhafen. naugth remained but a smoking ruin, a broken army of the dead scattered about and a cackling laughter carried on the wind promising retribution and a return as sure and terrifying as the bloody dawn rising on Sylvania.
The Seleucids from Rome total war should if not outright on the list at least an Honourable Mention. They have Pike Phalanxes in a game where they are utterly broken if you know what your doing. Perfect Roman Legionary copies which if your doing well you can get before the Romans even get their legionaries. Some excellent Heavy Cavalry, Elephants, Scythed Chariots and skirmishes about as good as every other factions. Yet everyone hates them so they get dog pilled by the factions around them who start off in roughly as strong a position as them. Poor settlements with limited development which means at the start they can't build any of their best units and their settlements are both scattered about and each has an enemy who would love to take it personally. They normally fall in fairly quick order even though in the right hands they have all the tools to be very powerful.
In my Clan Mors campaign, Vlad Von Carstein owned the entire old world by the time I took 8 peaks. Vampiric corruption gave 90% of all my characters the "blood-lust" trait. Which, was fkd-up playing as skaven. lol
I wonder if we'll see a total war faction where their tech tree is in reverse. You start with your better units and try to keep your tech and culture intact as your empire crumbles around you and enemies come from every side.
There is no protagonist in any of these games. They are strategy games. Even then it's quite easy to say that rome IS treated as the protagonist in rome 1.
top 5 large starting factions that are actually quite vulnerable, with a tough campaign ahead and vice versa - small starting factions with a surprisingly strong starting position and a smooth smailing campaign
Rome 2 should also have the selucids, Rome 2 is my most played total war game at 2k hours, I have not played a single game where the selucids have either done well in the wast or have had more than one settlement when I arrive
funny story about Vlad, in my Sylvannia campaign, Vlad kept losing territory after territory but kept managing to push his way south taking random minor settlements, well on turn 60 I decided to go and conquer him and his is all the way down into Border Princes territory holding some random minor settlement.
In my recent reikland campaign Vlad has entirely wiped out Ostermark, Kislev, and helped mannfred wipe out Stirland. He has a lot of regen with the Von carstein ring and is a pain to fight
In my game he almost always ally himself with Mannfred and they team up against Empire and dismantle it quickly. I remember my last game Vlad took Altdorf. I rarely see him dying.
The latest update was a big nerf to the Von Carstein's. Prior to nerfing the VC factions, Von Carstein would routinely conquer Reikland, Stirland and Averheim. Now they're held in check a lot more.
I have a secret to confess... I love Rome 2, I love its empire building mechanics, the battles, the politics, everything... but I never played as Rome. I actually have no idea what their roster even is.
Before I even continue the video, as someone who does AI only timelapses, Thrace from RTW 1 HAS to be on the list, those sum bishes never survive beyond 40-50 turns Edit: I gotta say the last timelapse I did on Attile proves what you said at #4, the ERE did indeed surprise me by falling faster than the WRE, yet it held out for eternity on those 3 islands
How about another video like this concerning only factions within Total War: Three Kingdoms? For instance, in my experience, Zheng Jiang rarely survives long enough for me to actually meet her faction unless I happen to be playing as either Dong Zhuo (as he starts off basically neighboring Zheng Jiang, and since the Han Empire is his vassal, he basically can engage with any other faction diplomatically), Zhang Yan, or Yuan Shao. Sure, Zheng Jiang sometimes does survive (hell, in one of my playthroughs, she captured Chang'an before I actually could even reach Chang'an!), and this can make her a formidable presence (if she survives, I usually try to ally and trade with her rather than attack her in the hopes of making her like me enough that if she gets wiped out by someone, Zheng Jiang herself will show up in my faction's recruitment pool). Zhang Yan actually seems to have an easier time surviving while under AI control than Zheng Jiang does, in my experience.
not watched yet but if carthage and seleucid empire from rome 1 dont make the list this is garbage, ok so i watched, france in empire are way more reliable than both carthage and seleucid in rome 1, i dont think iv ever seen carthage or seleucid last more than 20 turns when a.i controlled, even vlad is more reliable, iv seen vlad last about 50 turns on multiple occasions
“The AI in this game tends not to be particularly aggressive”
*Milan wants to know your location*
*Denmark also wants to know his location*
Fucking Milan
This is true.
@@twinzzlers Milan - Every freaking time.
Idk about yall but France always attacks me early on too.
"Before I get a chance to have my way with Isabella, which is very unfortunate."
Vlad will remember that.
Vlad Will Flay You !!!
Ive heard from a reliable source thay Isabella Von Carstein gives quite a mean *SUCC*
@@Mrkabrat fail and it's suck not succ.
that should be quoted. and besides he should play that with mods in order to keep vlad alive.
Fairly surprised The Seleucids from RTW didn't make this list. They have one of the better, more diverse army rosters in the game and control a sizable empire in one of the wealthier regions of the map, but usually die early if not controlled by the player because everyone hates them.
yup them and egypt always get wrecked
That is what happened to them in history though
@@christiandauz3742 not exacly...they were dominating until rome and parthia destroyed them but they dont do anything
@@BallsRollProjects
Exactly just like in history
@@christiandauz3742 but they never dominate and lose to antioch to egypt
What about the seleucids from Rome 1. They normally die before the player even meets them.
In so many years that I played Rome Total War they were almost always the first one to die. And most of times I did not even see the damned ones.
@@23Zeljko If you do not start next t them or are expanding fast you will not see them. I still remember when I opened the historical battles and didn't know what that faction was, as I haven't seen it in my first two campaigns at all.
Egypt basically always conquered their central settlements fairly early on and their west and east ones just fall to the Greeks/Pontus and Parthia/Armenia respectively
I was reached a campaign where Pontus dominated everything in the east, from Anatolia to Parthia.
Then I once played ERE in barbarian Invasion where the Celts dominated all in the west, and kept sending stacks to Constantinople.
those guys are the most versitille and strong faction, escept for the early game... I never played as egypt in any game because of how much they backstabed me in rome 1
Every faction is fragile when I'm playing them.
SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME
That's rough buddy
One time I had a Medieval 2 campaign were Portugal not only wiped spain before I met them but also half of france and britain. I think its great that sometimes weird shit like that can happen in the older total wars...
the only time Portugal hasn't been wiped out in my campaigns was when I conquered all of Spain's territories, minus one, and gave them to Portugal. Then 20 turns later Spain somehow managed to reclaim all of their territory and have Portugal as a vassal.
Also, every time I play as England Spain always wants to take Wales from me for some reason
During my first victory in Medieval II, I played as Scotland. The entire western world was either run by me or AI Portugal. We were great friends. I think they have potential.
Literally identical to my current playthrough 😂
Yeah me to, except they were my second biggest rival behind the HRE (I was england). I don’t know why put Portugal always beat the shit out of spain in my campaigns. Honestly for Medieval 2 Scotland or Novgorod would have been better picks.
Their army roster’s good and they’re on the edge of the map so if they survive the early game they can be really strong. They just get wiped really earlier sometimes due to their 2 starting settlements being so far apart
Im sorry you couldn't manage to have your way with Isabella, i know dat feel.
you mean that not dat.
What trait do you get from defeating her?
The Princess is in another castle!
Vincent Celeste haha why are you correcting everyone’s grammar
Man, fuck, why did you do this?
When I play medieval 2, Portugal is usually alive for me. They usually become highly diplomatic and forge a LOT of alliances. I was playing as that Byzantines, and I attacked Portugal, and next thing you know, Spain, England, France and the HRE all declared war on me
Portugal always take Ireland in my playthroughs
@@Smoking_Manthis ^
No Tokugawa? They always die on turn 1 when controlled by AI.
Same idea I thought they was number 1
Tokugawa not only are very susceptible to being swatted... they're also weak as hell. They have no potential. This top 5 features factions that all have great potential but disappear within 5 turns because of OUTSTANDING MOVE total war ai.
He included games he's played a lot of (and empire) and Shogun 2 isn't one of his favorites
@@schuttle89 yeh I think that is the real reason he seem doesn't interest in shogun 2 and three kingdoms
@@SS-je3kr in Shogun 2 you can't really tell which AI gonna be strong if you not near them it's very randomly but most of the time in my legendary campaign the area surround Kyoto is the Hattori on the right of them is between ikko ikki or oda(60% time is oda 40% is ikko ikki) and next to those 2 is Takeda or Uesugi( 80% 20%)
Germans want Alsace-Lorraine from France? Sounds about right
*Elsaß-Lothringen
@@oguzhangorgun6918 soon
@@paulenan9636 With Merkel?, i dont think so.
@@oguzhangorgun6918 I fear we all will have fond memories of Merkel, once AKK takes over...
@@paulenan9636 more like the History Matters "SOON" type.
12:14 "have my way with isabella" that phrasing though
Lol that sounded sus
1:35 Legend: Invading Russia is a pain.
Well, who could have guess?
Apparently not Napoleon, nor Hitler, etc etc… I love that Medieval II very much gave you the option to make that mistake though..!
(...Well, I didn't love it the first time I tried, but hey)
It's one of the classic blunders - like drinks getting switched while your back is turned. :P
@@HerrRoehrich :D
unless you are the mongols?
@@apokos8871 *YESSS!*
Tokugawa in Shogun 2, dead on turn 1 always xd
that what i thought when i see this video
Snesko Belic oda never cared much for history
Lol, how they are not in this list, number of times when they died on turn 1 is absurd
Maybe he doesn't consider them strong
not entirely give it a few turns.
For some reason Portugal was crazy strong the first time I played medieval 2, they had conquered most of Iberia pretty much on their own while I was busy fighting France, I'm gonna look for that save file because I didn't question it until now
It's because u probably played the 1.05 vanilla version. In the older ones they are much weaker. In the 1.05 they are very aggressive and expansionist
For those asking about the Seluecids in Rome 1, I feel like he didn’t include them for the same reason he didn’t include the Western Roman Empire, the strength at the start is just non-existent, I mean 2 of their 6 starting regions don’t even have any walls yet, so it’s incredibly easy to stroll right in, hell Hatra is defended by 2 peasants and a militia hoplite and is too far away from Antioch to get reinforcements. There’s no infrastructure everything is underdeveloped stretched so thin they may as well be separate city states on a strained undeveloped economy with shit for an army. If they can halt the assaults on Antioch long enough to build it up though, they can become a force of nature
But his reason for not including the Western Roman Empire is a bit silly, so if the Seleucids don't count by the same reason, it's also problematic.
@@alex_zetsu his reason for not including them is because he’s separating fragile from weak. West Rome and the Seleucids aren’t fragile, they’re just weak. It’s not like the Seleucid’s are a powerhouse until they lose Antioch, because I’ve seen the seleucids get reduced to just Sardis and Seleucia and then hold on strong for the rest of the game. They just don’t have the resources at the start to deal with it, so they’re weak. But East Rome on the other hand, once I see them lose Constantinople, it’s over. They just evaporate into the dustbin of history like dry ice. That’s fragile
Is there anyone else who has Portugal invade Wales in Med 2 every game for no goddamn reason?
yes, it is odd
Not Wales, but Ireland for me
Yeah i was doing a campaign with each faction and during both Scotland and England i had them showing up at my doors it was damn annoying
I Feel you so much! I was playing a campaign as scotland and suddenly the portugese king just D-days Wales out of nowhere. I beat them back and kill there king and prince and think im done with them but ten turns later another full stack lands in wales and by wiping that I actually defeated the portugese faction because I killed their last noble.
So from a Spanish perspective all the portugese Kings went oversees and died , only leaving leaderless rebels behind....
Yes
You forgot the Tokugawa clan on Shogun 2. Like the Eastern Empire, they were the supposed victorious of the civil war, but in the campaign, they die pretty quickly
How about top 5 factions with best armies in Total War? Based on unique units, cost effectiveness, a good balanced army or just an op army in general.
Naah he already did that. White huns, total war Attila win.
Vampire coast. Dread fleeth xd should be first, second seleucid empire rome 1, third chotzu fots, 4th should be ostrogoths attila and 5th Otomo in shogun 2
Greenskins in WH. Really freaking fun, but they can't manage public order for the life of them.
What I found interesting in Empire TW is, that the Austrian Line Infantry has 150 men per unit, compared to most of the other LI, where one unit only has 120 men.
Also for some reason Austrian LI is also "a lot" cheaper. I mean some stats are a bit lower, but overall it is the most cost efficient in all of ETW.
@@morganwithaneevee246 The Greenskins are one of the weakest WH2 factions
I'm surprised that the Seleucids in Rome 1 didn't rate. They are super exposed to invasion and war with OP Egypt early. Great unit roster, never get to use it.
They do not necessarily get crushed until the Egyptians reach them whilst having the Brutii knocking on their western border so
Carthage and the Seleucid Empire in Rome 1 deserve an honorable mention.
In my latest campaign as Empire (inspired by you Legend.) Templehof beat both Vampire Counts and Von Carsteins, and are now in a war of attrition with the Elector Counts around them. Interesting change of pace from the usual Vampire counts early to mid game expansion.
I wouldnt say its interesting, given these placeholder factions LL factions start at war with, should always just die imo.
Currently there are a number of LL factions which you'll never see if you dont start next to them.
These include Lizardmen /Mazdamundi (killed by either Skeggi or New World)
Vampires/ Vlad and Mannfred actually, even if he lives longer,
Lokhir,
Khalida,
all the Skaven most of the time,
all VCoast (whenever Tyrion decides to slap the Maelstrom.. or Teclis, altho I've no idea how he confederates Tyrion nowadays when Tyrion is always larger, the other Vcoast lords usually die before that),
Arkhan,
Skarsnik, other Greenskins are usually also killed by Dwarves,
Beastmen (ofc they're a bit special. But imo the main Beastmen faction should return EVERY TIME, not some crappy noname horde),
Dark Elves also have a hard time because of the northern Chaos armies usually going for their coast first, not Ulthuan.
So yeah, in current patch Order factions rule by a huge margin. If there is a top 5, I can tell you who they tend to be: High Elves, Empire, Dwarves, Bretonnia and Settra/Kroq-gar.
If you're evil you'll have a hard time surviving. Esp. since most evil factions hate each other just as well and rarely confed (except dark elves). So by the time Archaon dies, the world is usually a happy place with the End Times averted and world peace achieved.
And most Legendary Lords get to be actually legendary, as some item in rpg-s, since there is a really small chance you can get their traits. Some may like it, but I think non-Order factions need a buff somehow.
And yeah, I remember the patch before this, where Vcoast and Vcounts ruled hard. That was the other end, but this isnt good either.
Strangely enough, When I play England in MTW2, Portugal somehow sends invasion forces to the british islands...
"You either die as a knock-off of Spain, or live long enough to establish a colony in the British Isles."
Without fail. They want my sheep
The question is why is Pamplona Portuguese in the first place...
Bcs CA didn't give a shite about accuracy these days. Well they still don't but not so much as back then :D
Is to give then a way to expand, all factions have rebels settlements to then to conquer, Pamplona is next to Zaragosa
Same reason Russia is "Russia" and not The Kingdom of Novogord. Stainless Steel's mod fixes a lot of the minor factions to be more historically accurate.
@@ktvindicare +1
They should have made Pamplona a rebel settlement with 2-3 Basque units buffed with experience. It would suffice for Portugal only to control the city of Lisbon. Milan and Denmark also start without castles.
I had a campaign in Attila in which the Sassanids were on the verge of overrunning the Eastern Roman Empire, when one of the Sassanid generals rose in rebellion. The resulting civil war split the Sassanid Empire in half, and allowed Eastern Rome to recover and actually start conquering the Persians.
Then I conquered them all.
Seleucid Empire always gets taken to the trash can despite having one of the best military forces in Rome 1 and 2.
dang man, nearly every campaign i play portugal always becomes decently powerful
I've never had an issue with big baddy Valdy dying out, as you said each player is different but most of the time it's vamps uniting against empire when I play brets, skaven something else close but isn't a normal enemy like dwarfs that would normally attack them but under my control have other things on my mind like greenskins. I've had it where the empire was straight up divided north and south and bretonnia divided as well with the red duke and Kemlar making almost of world of death. I was the vamp coast at the time and loved seeing the world fall with all the undead working together to kill off everyone else. with the newest update I think there are a few more factions that you will add either huntsmarshal or the wondering lizard. I love your lists keep it up!
As for Vlad he usually grows the most powerful of the vampire factions in all my campaigns, expanding west while Mannfred is isolated by Tempelhof. His starting army is probably the strongest of all, and he is tough to crack in autoresolve.
Is it 1 or 2? When I play 1 what you say is the case. But 2 never see them unless start next or play as them.
Top 4 all seem reasonable. Surprised Portugal made 5th - most of my campaigns they either hang on with a handful of territories or blitz the Moors early game and conquer Southern Iberia. Seleucids from Rome 1 should probably be there instead - once they lose Antioch (and they almost always do) they get annihilated near every single campaign.
I would have put the Selucued Empire from Rome 1. If you’re not playing them, Pontus, Armenia, Parthia, Egypt and potentially Greece all want a piece of that pie. And they start with a boosted economy thanks to the Hanging Gardens of babylon
i will be very surprised if Seleucid from Rome 1 isnt on this list.
Edit - Spoiler:
It wasnt
Yeah, same. It's a real shame because as a player it would be really cool to face off against all their high-tier units in the late game, but it just never happens.
That said I'm currently playing Europa Barbarorum and the Seleucid Empire isn't such a pushover which is cool (currently playing as Macedon ravaging egypt).
@@couchpotatoe91 It is a shame, but it makes sense when CA decided to make one faction go at war with like 5 factions and have a terrible early game roster.
@@RTB3550 Well, the wars are hostorical. That said giving the seleucids only barracks that can recruit militia hoplites at best just doesn't make any sense. Also Greece has a unit of Spartans, Carthage a unit of elephants, but the seleucids have nothing despite there being enough reason to give them either silvershields, elephants, companion cavalry or something similar.
Who else thought the Seleucids from RTW would appear?
Before I watch the video:
5: West Rome - TW Attilla
4: West Rome - TW Atilla
3: West Rome - TW Atilla
2: West Rome - TW Atilla
1: West Rome - TW Atilla
edit: wow...
West Rome: Rome barbarian invasion
You dun goofed
rekt
I guess he was going by the ratio between how likely they are to get wiped out under AI control vs. their in-game/real-life/in-universe strength.
@sum body
you're so edgy ;)
Legend of Total War here and this is a "Saving private Vlad" Kroq'Gar campaign
As long as the Eastern Roman Empire is controlled by an experuenced Total War player, it can survive and prosper really well
@Abhinandan Banerjee yes, but if the empire is to have minimal territorial losses, I think a player that is just "experienced" is not enough
@Abhinandan Banerjee and till you have played at least 30-40 custom or campaign battles, so you are a good strategist. When playing as the Western Roman empire, the odds in battle will often be against you, so you need to know how to win while outnumbered or at least inflict maximum amount of casualties
Destroy the churches. Don't spend any money until your interest payments are high.. then expand out ;)
@@Nobumblegumforyou you can't just destroy churches. That will lower public order
@@makeromaniagreatagain9697 you calculate what is better off by playing around with lowering taxes/constructing public baths and the issuing of certain edicts and the development of governors.
Legends top 5 favorite factions?
Able Seaman Stainz
1 Rome
2 Rome
3 Rome
4 Rome
5 Rome
Any that bonuses for merchants
The Empire in warhammer had to be buffed by starting with 3 more cities when controlled by the AI, and I still rarely ever see them
Saxony dies in turn 2-3 in Empire Total War even if u help then ...
The same goes for Napoleon Total War!
Usually because they are an easy target for Prussia to conquer before invading Poland/Austria
Top 5 time period/crossovers you would like to see in future Total War games
Most Shogun 2 clans tend to die rapidly, with exception to Chosokabe, Takeda & Ikko Ikki. Hattori, Otomo & Tokugawa often die within 10 turns, but they're all fragile, even seen Shimazu die in like 5 turns.
Shim can easily die to their northern neighbour with the horses resource.
You are one of the few total war youtubers who mentions legendary Lords kill traits as a boo.
In all my campaigns, I try to get my main legendary lord to get as many as possible. I've had the majority of them a few times now. Never all though.
Portugal has the most interesting early start, and it's my favourite med 2 faction.
Your top 5 lists are definitely my favourite videos of yours
What about the Seleucids in RTW? I have never ever met them playing as Rome, even the Brutii if I'm rushing East. Only ever meet them as the Parthians, Egyptians and maybe Greeks or Macedonians (even then rarely). Very weak faction.
I rarely meet them in Halicarnassus or Sardis when I'm playing as Brutii. Sonetimes a diplomat comes to rome oferring map info and trade rights but havent seen them dominate.
I like these top 5 videos. Not too long and not too short. Long videos are nice too but there isn't always time to watch.
where tokugawa from shogun 2 always died on turn 2 .
and before it was nobunaga
You need to rebel against Imagawa and go to war against Takeda and Hojo whilst getting a negative penalty so that’s why it’s always dying.
Yees but there was never much potential with the bribe brigade with an AI leader.
12:12 "Before I get a chance to have my way with Isabella" You mad bastard ; )
Ι expected the Seleucid Empire from Rome 1 to top the list, I've never seen survive under AI control.
me too, glad many people pointed it out
honestly i experienced scotland being more fragile than portugal in medieval. even as a player there are speedruns called lose% and this faction is mvp in this term
on one occassion I actually saw Scotland destroy England and take control of the isles
What about the Choshu in Fall of the Samurai? They ALWAYS die on turn one. I have never seen them survive the start of the campain.
Funnily enough, Portugal got wiped on my most recent run at Medieval 2.
They betrayed me by land-invading Caernarvon. I defeated their king, had a chuckle and waited for my turn to roll around again.
Much to my surprise, the Prince attacked me to avenge his father and I naturally crushed him and his 26 bodyguards.
Out of the corner of my eye I see the map change and lo and behold I have wiped Portugal off the map. I had no intention of crushing them, and was just interested in kicking them off my island.
I love Medieval 2 AI sometimes.
"Have your way with Isabella"?
Now that´s a new way to put it XD
One of the big X factors for the ERE is how well the White Huns do. If the White Huns rampage through the Sassanid Empire, you’ll have a much easier time. But if they get wiped early on, you’re in for a brutal slog as you’ll have the full might of their empire bearing down on you if you’re not prepared.
Portugal just sits there quietly unless you're playing as England, then they're one of your main threats.
Yeah I've noticed that too. They normally take Bordeaux then constantly invade Wales and Ireland
Them and Spain always go for Wales if I own it. In my England, Scotland and even my Denmark playthrough(once I took Britannia) Portugal and Spain dont leave Wales alone
@@gearsankylosaurus9624 Never had Spain go for Wales, always just Portugal
That’s funny because in Total War: Warhammer III, Sylvania absolutely dominates every campaign as AI. I think because they start with more/better cities.
Better cities, easy starting enemy, quick consolidation of sylvania, better starting army, Isabella as a hero gives Vlad immense auto resolve bonus, use of RoR and hidden faction potential
Top 5 Artillery in Warhammer 2
Gotta have the Cygor in the top 5 since it's also a sweet melee unit
Portugal never dies if the player is near to them because every faction around will ally with them to attack you with 2 unit armies at Dublin or smth like this
1.rebels
make top 5 strongest rebels
I tried playing as France on the hardest difficulty in Empire. There's a scripted event that forces Austria to go to war with you and with Italian factions attacking from the south it's too much territory to cover. Unlike Warhammer, buildings in Empire are located throughout the region not just in the city so protecting it is so tough. Also Portugal conquered my only ally, Spain, early on somehow which made my west flank vulnerable as well.
You can use troops as garrison, also pro tipp in empire hold taxation down it makes the bigest economy grow
It's not just European nations losing all home territory in empire Total war, it's all nations for their respective original theaters.
These top 10 and top 5 videos are great man!!! The inspire me to give some games a second chance (barbarian invasion) it's actually pretty good, but halfing the number of cities was boneheaded and unfun
In most games ive played in medieval 2, except when im Spain or the Moors, i always see Portugal invading Wales and Ireland, and unless im Scotland or England, those invasions are successful
The Dwarves whenever I dont play them are usually on the brink of collapsing by the time I make contact with them. So many Greenskin hordes invading them in the South, Undead Legions in the North, and they aren't very aggressive. I have seen AI Vlad conquer Stirland and Averland fairly quickly in my playthroughs.
Really? Dwarfs usually steamroll in my campaigns when I'm not playing as them. They usually stomp the greenskins
huh I figured the Seleucid Empire from Rome 1 would take the 1st spot
That just makes it a whole lot sweeter taking the world as them
How about top 5 hidden units. I was think like the giant elephant the rebels in Rome 1 can control or in shogun 2 the foreign ship that you can capture. Also the units you can get from mercenary or crusader army
A new and a creative top 5 video. Liked (y)
I’ve never met the seleucids in Rome one unless I’m Middle Eastern!
Von Carsteins are my favourite faction, so I never really seen them defeated :) You mentioned there is no guarantee for any factions to survive. Well it's just one word: Dwarves. They always obliterate everything and turn out to be the absolute nr. 1 strongest beast in my campaigns.
I'm surprised the seleucids for rome 1 are not on here
me too, glad a lot of people are pointing it out
First on the List is Portugal: the country that wound so quickly up the west coast of France that it contested me for Caen and then made France a Protectorate on my first Hard Scottish playthrough. They were for the longest time my greatest enemy, even though I was fighting Denmark, HRE, Poland, Russia, The Papal States, Sicily, Moors, Spain and Milan at the same time. The entire Iberian Peninsula was allied by the end of turn 10. My only friends were the Egyptians, and sort've France- but I sure as heck didn't return Paris to them after 'liberating' it from Portugal. I spent the whole game excommunicated and the Portuguese sent at least two crusader armies to Rennes to take it from me. The most legendary defense I ever pulled off was their second attempt- where I had about 14 men defending against a full stack at the start, and there were 3 men left when the Portuguese went running. Gud times.
Portugal was actually the first faction I beat Medieval 2 with
They are so good. Aventuros make my day.
By the time Legend's expeditionary force reached Schwartzhafen. naugth remained but a smoking ruin, a broken army of the dead scattered about and a cackling laughter carried on the wind promising retribution and a return as sure and terrifying as the bloody dawn rising on Sylvania.
The Seleucids from Rome total war should if not outright on the list at least an Honourable Mention. They have Pike Phalanxes in a game where they are utterly broken if you know what your doing. Perfect Roman Legionary copies which if your doing well you can get before the Romans even get their legionaries. Some excellent Heavy Cavalry, Elephants, Scythed Chariots and skirmishes about as good as every other factions. Yet everyone hates them so they get dog pilled by the factions around them who start off in roughly as strong a position as them. Poor settlements with limited development which means at the start they can't build any of their best units and their settlements are both scattered about and each has an enemy who would love to take it personally. They normally fall in fairly quick order even though in the right hands they have all the tools to be very powerful.
In my Clan Mors campaign, Vlad Von Carstein owned the entire old world by the time I took 8 peaks.
Vampiric corruption gave 90% of all my characters the "blood-lust" trait. Which, was fkd-up playing as skaven. lol
The Eastern Roman Empire always survives and most of the time beats the Sassanids in my campaigns.
I wonder if we'll see a total war faction where their tech tree is in reverse. You start with your better units and try to keep your tech and culture intact as your empire crumbles around you and enemies come from every side.
I think the most frustrating are Rome and Byzantium/ERE. They should be the protagonists in their games and they are pathetic.
There is no protagonist in any of these games. They are strategy games.
Even then it's quite easy to say that rome IS treated as the protagonist in rome 1.
top 5 large starting factions that are actually quite vulnerable, with a tough campaign ahead and vice versa - small starting factions with a surprisingly strong starting position and a smooth smailing campaign
Rome 2 should also have the selucids, Rome 2 is my most played total war game at 2k hours, I have not played a single game where the selucids have either done well in the wast or have had more than one settlement when I arrive
only in my recent playthrough have the seleucids survived until i came along, and surprisingly enough egypt was destroyed rather early
@sum body well pontus starts near them, if you play as a faction in Europe they almost never survive
funny story about Vlad, in my Sylvannia campaign, Vlad kept losing territory after territory but kept managing to push his way south taking random minor settlements, well on turn 60 I decided to go and conquer him and his is all the way down into Border Princes territory holding some random minor settlement.
Top Fragile Total War Faction: Total War's ai.
In my recent reikland campaign Vlad has entirely wiped out Ostermark, Kislev, and helped mannfred wipe out Stirland. He has a lot of regen with the Von carstein ring and is a pain to fight
Top 5 Sexiest LegendofTotalWar moments
FUCK YOU ADVISER
"Agnus, you cow, come down here and have sex with the Pope."
South European General speech: "It is said that the French are good lovers, this is true..just ask any barnyard animal"
VERY interesting picks. Nice episode!
Vlad is on the list (pre watch guess lol)
He's in the thumbnail
In my game he almost always ally himself with Mannfred and they team up against Empire and dismantle it quickly. I remember my last game Vlad took Altdorf. I rarely see him dying.
i love this series.Keep it up man!:)
When legend talks about using Isabella’s abilities he makes it sound really sexual
congrats, you got the joke
@@Sarcasmses Or it could've been unintentional.
@@icloptomlpporn4776 it was intentional, it's a common meme on his stream
@@Sarcasmses I don't watch those.
@@icloptomlpporn4776 ok consider this your meme memo then
Man that thumbnail is hilarious. So on point.
Where is Tokugawa/ Uesugi? Tokugawa are argueably weak. But the Uesugi can be really strong.
The latest update was a big nerf to the Von Carstein's. Prior to nerfing the VC factions, Von Carstein would routinely conquer Reikland, Stirland and Averheim. Now they're held in check a lot more.
I have a secret to confess... I love Rome 2, I love its empire building mechanics, the battles, the politics, everything... but I never played as Rome. I actually have no idea what their roster even is.
"They usually get absolutely GANG BANGED"
this made me laugh out loud
Before I even continue the video, as someone who does AI only timelapses, Thrace from RTW 1 HAS to be on the list, those sum bishes never survive beyond 40-50 turns
Edit: I gotta say the last timelapse I did on Attile proves what you said at #4, the ERE did indeed surprise me by falling faster than the WRE, yet it held out for eternity on those 3 islands
@Niek Warnas
Not always, check out my last 3 timelapses, they did pretty good in em...Thrace literally never survived
How about another video like this concerning only factions within Total War: Three Kingdoms?
For instance, in my experience, Zheng Jiang rarely survives long enough for me to actually meet her faction unless I happen to be playing as either Dong Zhuo (as he starts off basically neighboring Zheng Jiang, and since the Han Empire is his vassal, he basically can engage with any other faction diplomatically), Zhang Yan, or Yuan Shao. Sure, Zheng Jiang sometimes does survive (hell, in one of my playthroughs, she captured Chang'an before I actually could even reach Chang'an!), and this can make her a formidable presence (if she survives, I usually try to ally and trade with her rather than attack her in the hopes of making her like me enough that if she gets wiped out by someone, Zheng Jiang herself will show up in my faction's recruitment pool). Zhang Yan actually seems to have an easier time surviving while under AI control than Zheng Jiang does, in my experience.
Tokugawa from Shogun 2 should be on the list
Nice choice! Top 5 medium cavalry is my suggestion.
not watched yet but if carthage and seleucid empire from rome 1 dont make the list this is garbage, ok so i watched, france in empire are way more reliable than both carthage and seleucid in rome 1, i dont think iv ever seen carthage or seleucid last more than 20 turns when a.i controlled, even vlad is more reliable, iv seen vlad last about 50 turns on multiple occasions
He normally has a rule where he limits his lists to one per each game
@@liamwalton4183 he didnt include any game from rome 1 so that doesnt make sense
@@stephenhartley2853 Ah that's right, my bad
The portugal AI whenever I play as England and have captured Dublin:
I am gonna ignore everyone around me and take this man's settlements first.