Ck2 best norse retinue. So does that mean something else would be .

Ck2 best norse retinue. The optimal men at arms is varangian veterans, followed by horse archers, then war elephants and other heavy cavalry if you have lots of farmlands. My horde composition is 18x Light Vanguard + 6x Heavy Vanguard = 4200 Light Cavalry + 1800 Heavy Cavalry. Units like War Elephants and Kataphraktoi are powerful, albeit expensive. I would either go light skirmish, as light infantry cost the least retinue cap for inflated troop numbers to try to prevent factions from firing, or i would do 1 shock for every 10 defence retinues, as pikemen are godly and the best pike tactics (unless you have an italian or roman commander) need a bit of heavy infantry to fire. I cannot stress how much you will miss the levy bonus if you reform too early. The test was also flawed in that it tested retinues in an uncommon situation where an army composed entirely Sep 2, 2021 · A couple cultures get to raid even when feudal or republic. Nomads can easily make use of this strategy due to their usage of horde troops. I'll do my best. Mar 13, 2015 · Ah, then yes, feudal will solve most of the issues with norse tribal. Two questions: - What retinue should I use? I Crusader kings 2 is the best medieval rpg that historically recreates a fantasy and funny adventure for your character as they try and lead their small plot The best retinue are Scottish and Italian cultural units, otherwise you're better off with the generic defense (pikes + archers). paradoxwikis. And which retinues dont work well togehter, for example, if i was to mix heavy, light or horse archers, how would that work? any better solutions? So you've decided to play as the Norse for the Old Gods expansion. Feb 10, 2020 · If you follow the above, you cannot go wrong. Remember to back up your current one before copying over, and it'll probably go away with any patch update. The Varangian Guard, if the Byzantine Emperor forms it, can supply Norse educators. The top 3 are literally Pikes, Pikes (Scottish and Italian cultural versions, can't remember what order) and then Defense (which is mostly Pikes). Elephants can be OP situationally (and all the time if you build right) The honest answer is the best retinue is whatever you find viable and enjoyable. Can you achieve fame and fortune for your noble family, or will your names be If you are using heavy cavalry with flat terrain advantages, they are best placed in holding with plains or farmlands for the maximum modifiers. Norse get to raise runestones, though I am not sure that is particularly useful. 6 bonus to their stats. In Scandinavia you can snowball to the point of lawl Reply reply wOlfLisK • Reply reply more replyMore repliesMore replies tlind1990 • Reply reply More replies BlackendLight • Reply reply szu • Reply reply more replyMore Jul 11, 2019 · Of course it's REALLY depend on your starting date. The cultural retinues that said culture provide. You won't lose the retinues even when you're above the cap, and the above cap retinues do not incur an extra cost. If you're using Pzyber's awesome mod called Good Old Retinues, I've made a version of this mod to work with it. Different MaA units offer unique advantages, like Crossbowmen's improved stats. And while the answer to this is “depends on your playstyle”, there are nonetheless certain DLC packs that add so many great features to the game that it doesn't matter if you're playing as a Norse pagan in Sweden or a Brahmin in India, you're still going to love what the DLC has to offer. This page aims to highlight interesting characters and explain why they're challenging, fun, or easy. Cataphracts seem epic and awesome (and they are) but they're expensive and take up alot of retinue cap. Jan 6, 2017 · Personally, I consider the Cavalry retinue to be the best (at least with regards to generic retinues). They are very retinue cap efficient (600/500 man unit). While there's no strict goal in Crusader Kings 3 beyond doing whatever Feb 16, 2025 · Great works, also called wonders of the world, are special holdings that are constructed at great cost and confer lasting benefits. So does that mean something else would be Jun 11, 2025 · Culture is an abstract representation of the ethnicity, language, and traditions of a province or character. Jul 20, 2019 · At first glance I like the idea of a standing army, loyal to their liege, and their upkeep/reinforcement costs are realistic. The real value of retinues should be two-fold: - They are already raised, and can swat those norse raiders before they get back on a boat or kill enemies in detsil before they group up. Your best bet is to wait until you have at least enough retinue to stack one of your flanks with pure retinue . Apr 14, 2017 · The short version is basically Pikes/Defence retinues, or at least Heavy Infantry (especially if you have HI cultural buildings). I'm so excited. You should have at least 1 Accolade available, but a dynasty legacy, techs, and being King and Emperor improve it. You get pretty high damage in skirmish, and if you stack them in one flank you can usually win that flank before melee phase. 3. Then let your cash sit and grow to at least 20k. Aug 21, 2025 · The culture represents the customs and technologies that a character or county uses. I had never played with norse culture. Characters can avoid this by granting the county title to a vassal of the same Feb 13, 2016 · Yeah retinues not that important AI pretty dumb when it comes to combat. Some say the best horde is pure Heavy Cavalry. 1, I think). What is the best men at arms? Who knows? What we can be certain of is, this video almost broke me making it. The difference is that they deal a bit less damage in skirmish and melee but their pursue is the best. The reason certain retinues (cataphracts, horse archers) are so Oct 9, 2016 · The best places for such a buildout will have both a good number of slots, rich raiding targets and same faith neighbors to conquer and protect from holy wars. Now, assuming your goal isn't to just get as many men as possible, what's the best retinue composition in your opinion? For generic retinues, I found that mixing Skirmish and Defense tends to work the best. Feudal 2. Why would I ever raise other Retinues? What are the uses for heavy/light cavalery, or for heavy infantery? Or horse archers? Or other types of Retinues? Sep 13, 2018 · Druzhina: I believe this is the best Heavy Infantry cultural retinue, with Gallowglass being a close second. Nomadism is also one of So like with Norse, I take all cultural retinue on a flank, and although they take some damage in the skirmish phase and don't do much in response, they wreck face when they berserk charge, and as such can take on levy armies substantially larger than themselves even while landing from water (-50% morale). add one more defensive retinue to this and you knock HI just under 10%, preventing feint/shieldwall skirmish tactics, and archers below This is a far better version than discontinued Retinues Redone with ability to disable retinue system. If you somehow can make a flank with LI and Archers (20+%) only, and focus on killing enemy during skirmish stage with Feint and Volley, it shouldn't cost too much upkeep. May 22, 2020 · For nomads, Horde Troops are the replacement for Retinues. See Combat and the 3 Culture Bonuses for an explanation of how cultural building bonuses can stack with retinue's unique Personal recommendations for best combination of troops and general strength as a culture are Egyptian (Camel Cavalry + Great Pyramid Great Works), Berber (Light Cavalry retinues, raiding, 10% ship cost), Hungarian (Light Cavalry retinues, raiding, Tribal Invasion CB), and especially Jurchen (mixed Light and Heavy Cavalry retinues, raiding Crusader Kings is a historical grand strategy / RPG game series for PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S developed & published by Paradox Development Studio. - Heavy cavalry smashes face in the Melee and Pursuit phases. Russian feudal norse. 2 patch (link), but by now those results are outdated. The large troop numbers you get from light skirmish gives you safety from declarations of war and safety from factions, plus easy sieges, plus winning lots of fights in the skirmish phase. This is, however, not the case if your cultural Men at arms is light infantry After 2000 hours of ck2 I feel confident that I know everything there is to know about combat in the game. I am new to the Ck2 (coming from Eu4) and the combat mechanics, especially retinue compositions are very hard to understand. Ideal retinue composition The best way to control unit composition is retinues. You can also replace some of the May 17, 2025 · The Historical Immersion Project (HIP) is a collection of mods for Crusader Kings II which are designed to be able to work together in any combination. Looking at it, I'm guessing it's the -50% defense for heavy infantry. A full army of pikemen is a terrifying thing to behold, and mixing retinues can lead to less effective tactics being chosen by your Culture is an abstract representation of the ethnicity, language, and traditions of a province or character. When freshly recruited, every horde troop regiment starts at half strength (125 troops), unlike retinues. Basically keep pumping up your retinue for major engagements and use your palace levy to siege holdings. So, set Crown Focus to your capital, set your Steward to "Administer Realm", smash that 5x turn speed, and get ready to stare at this for awhile: So basically, you want to keep all your retinue units in one flank of your army and all your mixed levy units in the others. I am really rusty with ck2 right now but if I remember correctly heavy infantry are good against pikes and East Slavic has the best heavy infantry in the game. *Elephants are awkwardly usefull if you try to Maximize your Pikeman and add a single Steel Bow Retinue, Expesscially if you have a high Morale damage bonus. Horde troops require manpower and wealth/prestige/piety to recruit and maintain. For most cultures defense retinues are the most cost effective. Tribal retinues can SWELL if you can rapidly expand. 00:00 Intro01:19 Scope02:49 Stack Stats04:18 Earl Use Retinues instead. That's probably why people are saying it's worse than generic, because the generic pikeman retinue includes archers. Jun 14, 2017 · Whats the best horde/ retinue nowadays? For nomads of course. If you have a heavy infantry cultural retinue use it. Catholic/Islam with Norse/Altaic/Hungarian culture may be an interesting choice if you want to be a non-pagan religion but still raid. Non-tribals must pay a fee to hire retinues. Jul 22, 2019 · Currently, I just spam the cheapest (in regards to size). Cultural retinues are the same as any other retinues. That shows the amount of retinue troops that you have, and the upper limit for them. trueIs there a good write up for kids who don’t retinue good and want to learn to do other stuff good too? I struggle with retinue composition but really want to use my cultural retinues if I can. When I looked up guides/tier lists I was generally unsatisfied, as they often were outdated, or misunderstood and overlooked various mechanics. I guess this just means that retinues have situational value, since AFAIK levies don't have any expense associated with their reinforcement (giving them an advantage over retinues it seems), but have upkeep costs Jan 20, 2019 · Retinue is very expensive, and losing substantial prestige is better than loosing substantial ducats. Light Cavalry only retinue (excluding nomads) Caballero, Hussar, Andalusian and Berber. This usually will result in your commanders picking the best tactic for your retinues and that flank punching way above its weight numbers wise. Albeit in long run 4-5 pure pike retinues lets say mixed with x1 defensive retinue would be cheaper than mixing in mercs (and the result would be identical). See full list on ck2. For a history buff, the benefits of the unit types are probably somewhat intuitive. A good choice and good nomad exterminators. Min maxers would absolutely tell you to make all of your available MAA Retinues the same, and then stack their buildings. Mar 16, 2017 · You have your defensive retinue stack, the Jomsvikings, and Agnatic Primogenture: You have never been safer in CK2. Retinues should be useful but not overpowering in a battle. Basically, when you get down into the nuts and bolts the vast, vast majority of win or loss in CK2 is tactic selection. . I, however, prefer destroying enemy armies in skirmish, not in melee. As a Norse ruler, I'm a sucker for Housecarls as well. Defines File Retinue Subunits File Let me know what you guys Dec 16, 2018 · While my levy and retinue are permanently stationed in Mediterranean as raiders, my ruler stays in his Flanders castle and work hard to increase number of family members, and marry off sons and grandsons female rulers and heirs of Francia and Italia so my grandsons and grand-grandsons can take over the land from inside. They just have a different composition of troops. Mar 2, 2013 · You can create retinues under the Military, Retinue tab. 6. - 2 Cataphract / 1 Cavalry with F/O/N/G/B commander for Couched Lance Charge. Aside from retinue differences, I'm not sure there is anything else culture does. My analysis suggests that a combination of Druzhina retinues with minimal Shock (to get the 1% archers) is more cost-effective than Defense in melee but less so in skirmish (with fully-upgraded cultural buildings in your capital). Unlike levies, retinues do not need to be dismissed before declaring war. Apr 15, 2018 · INTRODUCTION Nearly two years ago I ran a practical test of retinues for the 2. Norse Tips? I have a 5 hour flight tomorrow and my entire plane ride will be devoted to Crusader Kings. Ylving's Östergötland resides in the De jure of Norway) With Raiding you are able to send an army over to any rival Aug 14, 2025 · Retinues are probably the best choice; holy orders may be too expensive to maintain in an offensive war and do not work against non-religious enemies. More holdings, higher retinues, all that, but you lose the ability to summon armies of 2500 men for 500 prestige from intrigue tab during wars when you stop being tribal, other than that its all upsides, Im also particularly fond of the ability to call all my vassals into the war as units and let them fight the war while i I've had great success as a Norse pirate queen of the Mediterranean by using a single flank full of cavalry retinue to augment my demesne that produces near 100% heavy infantry. Retinue Strategies for feudal kingdoms? I've clocked in ~500 hours in CK2 but once my empires get too big and I can't use levies as effectively, I tend to just start over, since I don't really understand a way to get a balanced retinue army. Jul 8, 2016 · Retinue modding is pretty simple stuff, all you had to do is go to the commons/retinues folder and open the retinue file, at the very top of the file, it will have a list of number and what they represent. Jun 4, 2014 · There's one huge, huge problem with what you're suggesting, it's called "charge on undefended flank". The retinue spreadsheet calculation is only relevant for me I guess, because most people play with Horse Lords and a newer patch (I'm 2. I'm the reformed Germanic Fylkir/Doge of Ireland. They're also great at sieges. With the Monks and Mystics DLC, the Marshal can be assigned Oct 19, 2014 · Here are my defines. Italian/Scottish pikes are the best. There three factors that i consider important. Crusader Kings is a historical grand strategy / RPG game series for PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S developed & published by Paradox Development Studio. this will yield a ratio of 60% archers/30% pikemen/10% heavy infantry. Horde troops are primarily cavalry, and the nomadic capital has several Sep 8, 2025 · Nomadism is the form of government of the migratory horse lords roaming the Eurasian steppes. I was a huge savescummer, and ever since i started playing ironman mode in Jan 5, 2021 · The Cataphract retinue is probably actually worse than the Horse Archer retinue because Cataphracts contain no Light Cavalry but will still fire Harass 11% of the time on flat terrain and 40% of the time on rough terrain, like in the mountains of Anatolia. The level of difficulty in pronouncing the names (the lower the better). Organizer and trickster are more likely to Sep 11, 2020 · So, little known fact, you can create Norman culture as a Norse character if you hold the Duchy of Neustria. As the name suggests, all of its modules share a common focus upon historical immersion, while also aiming to provide improved balance and new mechanics and flavor. Rulers can change a county's culture by ordering their Steward to complete the Promote Culture task. So the advantages of the Norse in 867 are as follows: Subjugation CB allows you to take over the kingdom that your primary title resides in (eg. The other types, if they aren't already covered by the upper 4 points. At game start, most realms will be relatively homogenous, with few realms containing more than one culture, and even fewer containing more than one The main advantage to retinues is that their troop composition is fairly uniform. 5. Weaker retinue though, since pikes are still better than heavy infantry. Is there a more simplified list for optimal retinue composition for each culture? Against generic computer levies the best retinue is X Goendendag militia + 1 defense with an Italian commander. I thought about this combination: 4 Defence / 2 Cataphract / 1 Cavalry I would like to know which culture is the best culture to play as in CK2. If the Archers get Volley the damage of the flank is doubled against any enemy flank using a Harass type tactic. Jan 5, 2019 · A LI+AR retinue would beat a LI+LC retinue because it can get Volley, which is a counter tactic against Harass. HOWEVER, I'm playing as a Norse merchant republic, which means I have HI cultural retinue, but my capital is a city, which means I don't have the cultural building in my capital and my retinue doesn't get the bonus it gives. The best mix ratio is: Jul 21, 2025 · Retinue Men-at-Arms are only available to rulers who have a certain Accolade at rank 3-6. The Housecarl cultural retinue is the best. That said, it's usually better to pile up some light skirmish retinues early, just to give you the raw numbers that will allow you to day 2 siege opponents, plus gives you a more impressive troop count to discourage factions or DoWs. Feb 7, 2023 · Related: CK2 (Crusader Kings II): Pagan Reformation Guide – Tier List How the Retinue Limit Works in CK2 If you enter CK2’s Retinue tab, under the Military option, you will see something similar to the image above. Bloodlines are modifiers that are passed down the generations from one specific character, the Founder - they work much like a dynasty, but with several more rules and caveats. Sep 5, 2020 · Should I pick a healthy Mix of Types for the Counter Mechanics or just get as many Cataphracts as possible? as CK2 system relies on randomly triggering bad or good strategies, could this result in multi-modal distributions for some retinues (for instance which overly rely on specific strategies)? Aug 30, 2025 · The Legacy of Rome DLC is required. They also have a monthly maintenance cost and can be expensive while reinforcing back to full strength. Light Apr 4, 2019 · Retinues are a standing profesional army that allows instant attacks right after declaring a war and is stronger than regular levies. They're weak, and probably fighting another war, so this should be easy. Can you achieve fame and fortune for your noble family, or will your names be Apr 27, 2016 · Hi all, I'm doing my first playthrough as a merchant republic. For example Prussians have cultural archers with bonuses in woods, allowing one to conquer the entire region with little resistance because it's mostly woodlands. If you have a cultural retinue wit heavy Heavy Cavalry or horse archers, those also tend to be cost effective. The best retinue is light skirmish, assuming you don't have access to the ones with even more light infantry. Retinue is basically the only place you can control unit composition with any precision. this is the second part of my Norse culture gets Housecarl, which are pretty good HI and they benefit from your cultural building. Jun 18, 2025 · Cultural buildings are special buildings constructed in castles and tribes that are specific to the county's culture. Cultures are divided into culture groups, and cultures are considered closer to others within their group than to cultures outside it. May want to consider Egyptian itself or Bedouin/Levantine just because they get the best retinue in the game. Dec 5, 2018 · Some of the retinue math experts on the CK2 Paradox forum said that the tribal retinue with LI/LC combo was the best bang for the buck. A general recommendation is to steer any historical character 11 votes, 31 comments. So, Accolades are basically a title of what the Knight is famous for. Oct 8, 2022 · Here is an extensive CK2 guide about Pagan Reformation, where we explain all Natures, Doctrines, and Leadership options. Engage in courtly intrigue, dynastic struggles, and holy warfare in mediæval Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, the steppes and Tibet. These compositions are a great place to start. You can pull this off right after starting the game, as soon as you have enough Prestige to declare a Duchy war against France. CK2 Best Retinues? I got bored of the vanilla game so I wanted to try out the CK2+ mod. Feb 11, 2024 · Here we get to the tl;dr of the entire tier list, which is that most of the time light skirmish is your best option. Use them if you like the composition of Berber yazidi merchant republic. Anyway, my final optimization was a 4-culture mix, with the intention to eventually disband all generic retinues I created. Then the heavy infantry retinues, particularly Irish. Aug 26, 2025 · Bloodlines are only available with the Holy Fury DLC. Light Cav works well enough on a flank, and everything else starts getting worse from there. Oct 11, 2018 · This is a retinue mod that adds 3 new retinue unit types for the North Germanic culture group. They're both in the Steamapps > Common > Crusader Kings II > Common folder (retinue subunits is an additional folder). They can pair very well with horse archers if you hybridise with Khazar culture (making sure you take the 'horse lords' tradition), or Varangian Veterans which are a Norse heavy infantry with flat Sep 20, 2024 · Retinues (the closest thing to MAAs) generally weren't directly "better" than their levied equivalents; they just gave you more troops and let you control the makeup of your army (which mattered, because the CK2 tactics system gave bonuses to certain troop types when they were more than a certain percentage of the army). So can anyone explain shortly what retinues should I use or some general established consensus regarding retinues? What is the "easiest" nobrain cheap retinue combination to use for most cultures? What are the best retinues combinations for each culture? I am currently playing Byzantines so what retinue should I use? 10 votes, 18 comments. If X is > 15, you can throw another defense retinue in there. I'm going to focus on the Ylving, living in Östergötland. - Archers are amazing because they tend to be cheap and do their damage first. May 8, 2025 · Norse is potentially desirable, because its cultural buildings and cultural retinues benefit from the Zun faith's +20% offense/defense to heavy infantry. Indeed, nomadic and tribal governments share some similarities. My idea is to create the Scandinavian empire as a Norse / Reformed Pagan Empire and then spread the religion throughout all of Europe. Peaceful + SoR is an interesting compromise, because although you give up GHW again, you get back Prepared Invasions and have a lot of stability and larger demesne built in. Mar 17, 2020 · I'm looking to collect a list with all the best Retinues for the different Government types. So it hurts to lose it. The cultural abilities that said culture provides (like castration or river movement). Does the Apr 20, 2018 · Good Morning :) I love Byzantine Empire and the Cataphract. I read various composition for a retinue: - 2 Defence / 1 Cataphract with greek commander for Embolon Charge Formation. The Norse will always have the cheap boats and raiding, non-Norse will not. After investing in buildings and having competent commanders, a retinue army can even win battles when it's hugely outnumbered. Another Benefit of the Hunting Party is, that it will almost always trigger the Harass Tactic, which is strong against Swarm Tactics. Haven't tested it myself, but just passing along what I read. That is literally it, the only requirement. For CK2, light cav and defense are generally the best generic retinues. - All Cataphract with F/O/N/G/B commander for Couched Lance Charge. Aug 2, 2014 · The best generic retinue, by the numbers, is to simulate the Welsh/English longbow plus pike mix which is the best all around and then use a Welsh or English general, so you can still trigger the Massive Longbow Volley in the initial skirmish phase. If you don't have lots of farmlands, heavy infantry is the best. 117 votes, 63 comments. Can someone give me tips of places to start, how to do and… Jul 20, 2013 · D: Retinue cap apocalypse As a reformed pagan you have lost the +50% retinue cap that applies to unreformed norse rulers, so make sure you have maxed your retinues to the cap before reforming. I'm trying to understand when they're worth it though. The Norse Germanic retinues snowball to silly levels. Jewish and khazar get an extra building in silk road trade posts. It's more or less the only way, outside of heavily upgraded Stables and Mercenaries, to reliably access Heavy Cavalry (the second best troop Best way to fight against Nomads, who mainly use cavalry, especially horse archers, has always been retinues. What do you think is the best army composition for retinues and or demense levy? 1:1 skirmish to defense is the best non-culture general purpose army you're going to get given the retinue cap cost for each unit type. As far as military, the main things to do are upgrade your palace and your trade post garrisons to give you retinue, then upgrade tech to give you enormous retinue cap upgrades. Most calculation take into consideration damage output, cost, and casualties. The "which retinue is best?" meta is very fixated on doing the most damage in whatever combat phase and tactic is best for that unit, as that simplifies all the actual calculations into something comprehensible. lua file, and retinue subunits file. After that you have Dutch Goedendag (if mixed with a generic Defense retinue) and Suebi Longspearmen, followed by your heavy infantry which includes both Irish and Anglo-Saxon retinues. As they fight in battles, participate in Tourneys, and beat thugs on the road, their The Legacy of Rome DLC is required. While for the retinue vanguard you need to have the right knight to get the specific accolade to unlock them. Norse cultural building gives HI offense Russian gives HI defense Offense is better because you can get bunch of defense from defensive religion + Norse can raid Retinues for cultures are not all that important unless you are Chinese imperial. This mod adds more depth to retinues system as well as change vanilla retinues in both: size and composition. Apr 14, 2019 · Shock or HI retinues, better with Norse or slavic cultures, Norse culture retinues offer 40% atk, Slavic offers 50% def. The best Retinue for you would be the Hunting Party, since it is a Skirmish Retinue and after Paradox changed how Moral Damage is calculated, Skirmish Armies are superior in most Cases. At game start, most realms will be relatively homogenous, with few realms containing more than one culture, and even fewer containing more than one Jan 10, 2020 · From all the different retinue types you can recruit wich one is best as a stand alone unit? Dec 16, 2016 · Norse Culture is the best culture, because Norse Characters can go raiding regardless of religion or government. Apr 30, 2014 · As the title says. The pikemen/archer one is generally the best multipurpose retinues, though singleplayer isn't nearly competetive enough to warrant minmaxing of retinues. Tribal rulers may use certain event troops or their tribal retinues for this strategy. So, click on Military < Knights, then there is a slot at the top for Accolades. Horse archers are beastly in the skirmish phase, which means you always lose a lot of people no matter what and retinue filling back up lessens the impact of that. With the Monks and Mystics DLC, the Marshal can be assigned Dec 6, 2015 · The best Cultural Retinues are anything that is pure Pikeman by that logic, so stuff like Scotish/Italian. I’ve been having a lot of fun with the pagan reformation mechanic introduced with Holy Fury, but generally found it difficult to find which doctrines and natures did what or were useful when I first started playing Holy Fury. Horde 5. You now get raised levies opinion modifier with all of your vassals. You can recruit cultural retinue and convert out of that culture and keep the retinues Jan 28, 2019 · The retinues generally considered best are full italian pikemen first, possibly also the scottish pike retinue, and besides that generally just pure defense is considered best for generic retinues, although most cultural retinues are still considered fairly good. So what is the best build for a retinue in a feudal kingdom and how do I get it? Housecarl retinues are one of the few retinues that can be better than defense retinues, but you specifically DON'T want commanders of your culture. It is one of the more difficult parts of the game to understand, and this is a pretty in-depth guide so don't feel bad if you get left behind. I have hundreds of hours in the game but have never played Norse before. It is also important to keep in mind that your cultural unique men at arms will always be really good. Truly optimizing it is an interesting rabbit hole to go down. In one game I am playing as a Christian Fuedal King, but because said king is Norse he can go on sea raids and terrorize his neighbors. Since this is my first time playing a merchant republic, I'm a bit out of my depth. Basically the same with camels. I've never played an aggressive raiding game but it feels like using skirmish retinues would be the best way to go about it, as raiding is siege-heavy. And Norse culture commander have one special tactic. Nomadic gameplay differs markedly from that of feudal lords or merchant republic patricians, although certain restrictions and mechanics are similar. You just need to be norse or have the right culture tenets to get varangians. Invasion CB allows you to take over the kingdom that your primary title resides in Norse raiders can travel throughout the river system Quick expansion from your native lands can quickly allow you to create the Empire of Scandinavia. To get this horde, move your capital to South or Western Europe. trueEarly Game you pick whatever works best in the region. Merchant Republic 4. Click on the empty slot. Sep 3, 2018 · Hello! I am currently playing CK2 and i am trying to figure out the best retinue to use. The Roman retinues don't get the shield wall tactic unless you are providing archers from another source. The first combo is close to cheating thanks to excommunications, the second gives you superb retinue and HI levies augmented by the norse warrior lodge bonuses (atrocious portraits to balance that). I heard that as many pikeman as possible is the best but in playing i have found light infantry retinues as ethiopia are the best as you can get around 4 per Jun 8, 2018 · Heavy infantry is good. Also, horde troops reinforce at a faster rate than retinues (10% maximum). If you feel like it, you can go full housecarl and do reasonably well with it, but if you're Norse you can also get screwed over by having too much HI since their cultural tactic leaves them open to taking a lot of losses (-50% defense for HI Jan 7, 2024 · Putting together a well-rounded regiment is key to a successful crusade in Crusader Kings 3. This is important when their commanders decide what tactic to use during a given battle phase. You lose 1/3 of your retinue cap. Without the Horse Lords DLC, nomadic realms are tribal instead. What is the best retinue composition to use? Right now I have a 1:1 ratio of Housecarl (cultural) to skirmish retinues on each flank, which Nov 17, 2015 · I'm playing as a Norse and I'm wondering what combinations of retinues would be best (and why)? Jul 1, 2014 · Hello everyone! So i've had this idea for a while, of making a norse republic in ironman mode, in part for the achievements, but also because i love playing ironman mode. Characters with golden names have been used in game of the week (GOTW) challenges [1], which often suggest special goals for players. I'm playing as the Norse emperor of Scandinavia, with the reformed Norse religion. Bonus points (30% def and attack) if you are tengri (doesn't work with camels). Norse housecarls are second best because of berserker charge. The best tribal prestige retinue is the light cavalry one. These correspond to cultural retinues; the retinue receives the benefit of cultural buildings in the capital holding in addition to its own unique features. Like in CK3, though, specialized cultural retinues are a cut above the generic ones — if you can get, say, camels or horse archers or something you should. A general rule is that the best retinues are the worst retinues and the worst retinues are the best retinues. They get the same 0. I play Norse a lot (I like to raid and while I guess I could culture shift to Berber for the cav, I’m stubborn) and I’m not really sure how to use my HI effectively. What are your thoughts? Jan 30, 2019 · It seems really complicated. Certain commanders are also more likely to roll good or bad tactics as well. Pure wings in a mixed army (a somewhat ahistorical approach) should be weak, not god mode. Supply vs pagans is bad. 1. Any man-at-arms that have bonuses in over 70% of regional terrain will win you battles. Grab a siege engine if possible. I'm a min/max kinda guy when it comes to retinues so does anyone know what's the most OP one? the other cultures are best off copying the english and producing a retinue with a 1:1 ratio of skirmisher retinues to defensive retinues. The amountof retinues you can create is restricted by your realms tech levell, and obviously how much gold you have (to buy/reinforce them) Sep 30, 2018 · Norse is better. Assaulting uses skirmish attack for how much damage you are doing so they will make assaults into one day affairs when you stack enough of them. Each battle phase, their commander has to choose a particular Apr 20, 2019 · Cultures being balanced by a combination of Retinues Available, Political Actions take-able, and Unique or Different Options also available (Examples: *Catalan if memory serves* Automatic Egalitarian, Full Rights for Women from Day 1; *Norse* Ability to Raid Infidels, Sail Rivers, Attain Viking Status, Gain Automatic Seafaring; *Greek* Blind Mar 21, 2018 · This guide is for a 867 Norse Start and walks you through character selection, a path for conquering and reforming the Norse religion and the steps to form a stable primogeniture scandinavian empire in a single ruler's lifetime. One thing I noticed was that they changed the retinue compositions available. Bows and pikes are cheap and do a lot of damage. Counties will have lowered popular opinion with their direct Liege if they belong to a different culture and especially heritage. May 8, 2020 · Catholicism is also powerful since it is the most prevailing religion in Europe, and have access to a shitload of holy orders. I wouldn't waste any retinue cap on cavalry, unless you have a burning desire to improve your pursuit damage. - They let you tilt the balance of your mixed army, e. Basically a cost effectiveness simulation. com Archers are a bit harder to use after all the nerfs they got, but the best retinue army compositions in the game are generally composed of 51% archers, especially if you have access to English Longbow retinues. Retinues are regiments of troops which form a standing army for each ruler. You can have the best elite heavy infantry army ever and it will still lose if it fails to get a charge. If not, call in Ivar and Halfdan and their All religion related retinues have horse archers and horse archers are bad. The Radhanite quarters you can build in trade posts are nice and so is being able to raid, but at a point the money you get from stuff like that will become immaterial. For a single retinue (outside of the only archer cultural retinues), they are by far the best retinue for assaulting down holdings. What tribal retinue do you have? It won't cost too much prestige if you don't subject it to melee too much. Great works bring new ways to spend a dynasty's amassed fortune by creating new developments that can provide bonuses for the character, their family, and the realm. Your average levy will have some light infantry, some heavy infantry, some archers, some light cavalry, some heavy cavalry a little bit of everything. The 50% retinue bonus that unreformed norse get is multiplicative with the tech bonus. In my experience, you can even win battles where you are outnumbered 5:1. I'm currently trying to find a good comp for Camel Cavalry (which seems to be pretty OP), but my problem is, all the proper guides for Camel Warrior retinues (plain 250 Camel Cavalry) tell me to Jul 23, 2019 · For what retinues to get, the defense retinue is widely considered to be the best generic retinue, though for cultural retinues the Scottish Schiltron retinue and the Italian Pike retinue are considered superior to defense retinues. This is meta but I feel like it breaks some of the fun for me. I supplement my retinue with cavalry mercenaries is required. I assume Norse-religion longbowmen would be far and away the most devastating. Retinues are also dirt cheap when 100% reinforced (as long as they don't suffer heavy casualties). I think it's debatable whether they are actually better pikemen (defense retinue), but they're a solid retinue. Norse-led HI get an offensive cultural tactic bonus that other cultures don't, so by the metrics used, they're the best. Having a Bloodline in your character Hi, I'm relatively new on ck2 (around 138 hours). Let me hear your answers. Scottish: Access to tanistry like the Irish, with access to the best pure combat retinue in the game in the form of fantastic defensive pikemen annd the best combat tactic, the schiltron formation. Best retinue is either LI+LC one (basic LC is VERY strong in curent meta, only camels are more powerful + best melee cultural retinues able to stand against massed cavalry too), either your cultural HI - but it's very expensive. I feel like we've gone a little off-topic since we're all of a sudden talking about camel cav and Italian/Scottish retinues when my original post was asking what the best retinue composition would be as a Roman-cultured emperor. My infantry flanks do nothing but turtle on the skirmish while my cavalry closes in for the kill. And for Cultures So I'm still not very experienced with CK2 (a bit over 200 hours played), but being the obsessive nerd I am, I couldn't help but try and learn about all the combat tactics and how to optimize retinues. So, after playing a lot Crusader Kings is a historical grand strategy / RPG game series for PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S developed & published by Paradox Development Studio. As a Norse Aug 13, 2020 · using retinues in a tribal, pagan aarea is a very good way to make sure that you can win the game, and that the AI doesn't really understand what you're doing, lol. If you're playing as English or Welsh, 1:2 longbow to defense is better. Your choice of start date and character have a major influence on the game's feel and difficulty. Tribal 3. Feb 15, 2025 · Men-At-Arms are essential for professional soldiers in Crusader Kings 3. They symbolize the widespread renown a certain character might have, and the staying power of stories surrounding their feats. g Jan 19, 2016 · Without a doubt, Scottish Schiltron retinues are the best in the entire game, which are then followed by Italian Pikemen and Arabic-group Camels. They are twice as effective at countering other Men-at-Arms and their stats scale with the era of their ruler's culture. uylh xcwu huego qixwym mmuwvhti aqdwhk bhpkj nhrd pzpuqb gapx