is it me or have i broke the storyline im on book 2 and went to do one of the quest but as soon as i went into the next province i had to declare war, even though they were mutual / neutral?

Making the AI cheat is the easy way to improve difficulty. So they did. Also, i stopped playing this game because there is too much magic and script. Here's more info :

Normal Difficulty.
If you want to be strong enough, you need to own all the britain to get rid of the Old faith ( North West ). They have a lot of army, they have 3-4 WIZARDS in each army. SO expect to have a lot of casualties. You fight them as hard as you can. But if you are not so good on the battlefield, you will soon notice that even if you have more than 10 provinces, the AI will refresh his troops better and faster than you with 2-3 provinces.

They tried to balance the game with cheat and spell and, to me, KA is a KNIGHT tale. But neocore made it to be a spell casting game with no real financial thing to do.

Teleport, kill. Teleport, kill. Teleport, kill. Tactic on the battlefield is limited because of that magic.

So until you have those powerful spell, try to produce soldier with the highest magic resistance. Try to have the minimum losses in each battle.

I have seen so many gameplay videos on You Tube where people are rushing through the battle, not thinkling about victory points and not using magic tactically but just willy nilly.

So I wonder if this is about even PC gamers now getting used to the simpler made, more straightforward, 'dumbed down' as it were console conversions.

This game reminds me of gaming in the 90's, when gamers wanted and demanded hard games, wanted challenge and demanded sophistication - and got it. A time when gamers played flight sims that needed 400 page manuals, and wargames where victory points were were only half of it, as you had supply lines and politics and reinforcement schedules to take into account to.

So I think this is as much about gamers wanting to speed through games nowadays and not thinking like they used to back in the day when I was still old enough to be playing games like Red Storm Rising and Darklands and Gunship 2000 and Allies and Axis, etc etc...!

No individual insult intended, of course....!

Well, I completely understand where you are coming from and what you are explaining. Myself, I have played the TW series since the first MTW (not shogun), but I've played a lot of RPG too (console/japanese style, "western"/PC style, and pen and paper :p ), and the way I see King Arthur, the Roleplaying Wargame (every word is important), it looks like a total war game, but plays like a RPG. I was to a bit ... surprised by the way the strategical and tactical part of the game at first, but once I came to terms with the fact that it was a RPG more than a classical grand tactical game, and adjusted my expectations accordingly, it all became a lot more enjoyable.

Let me explain it more :
- On a strategic scale : the map is limited in size, because every location/area has a backstory, linked quests, and so forth. Because there are a lot of intersting stories to be told in the shape of unique quests during the first books (the war between dorset and king mark, the war between dorset and somerset, the lady of lake, the war of three brothers and two faiths in viraconium, the political situation between wessex and logres, the fate of King Aethelred of Mercia ...), you end up relatively quickly with a huge territory, brought by those early quests. So, when times come to choose the big orientation of your kingdom, the alliance with the saxon kingdom or wales, strings of quests that make up a full book out of the four, you already have a crapton of provinces, you get an ally, and your big enemy, one of the climax of the campaign, has only three provinces. Yet, it is supposed to be a significant part of the game. So if you were on an equal ground, your economy and technology, and thus your military power would overpower easily your opponent.

If the game had been designed to be a "fair" strategic game, perhaps Neocore wouldn't have given you all of those cool quests to get those early territories. Or they could have made a lot of "filler" provinces, with no backstory or significant quests, for wales or the saxon kingdom, to give an illusion of "equality". But they didn't build the campaign map this way.

So, because of the quest structure and the storyline, when comes the time for the big war : you have a lot of provinces, and your "arch nemesis" has only 3. So, like a good RPG, they "spawn" troops :p Is it cheating ? yes probably. But it is the way, used by countless roleplaying games (not strategy games), to give a proper challenge.

Hell, actualy, the full end game (book 4) have you owning *all* of the territories (except Bedegraine of course), and you'll only be fighting quest triggered spawns for a whole book, so it's pushing this to the extreme

- On a tactical scale : I don't feel that the AI is really that bad. They capture locations, they build mostly balanced armies, they use the right spells at the right moment, their archers are well protected. It is not perfect (they do not recapture location, you can "lock scare" archers with cavalry, and another myriad of little exploits if you are inclined to do so ...), but it is not as terrible as some people say, imho. What makes the difference is, there again, the "RPG" aspect of the game : cherishing and fine tuning your knights, creating the perfect group of knights/troops that covert all of your strong and weak points, spending a lot of time studying the skill trees, shuffling artifacts a lot between heroes, abusing special map locations, using elaborate tactics (be it a teleporting/ambush army with light infantry, spears and bad terrain, a darkness unseelie army, or a storm seelie one, a magic immune charge of sangreals led by cleaving warlords, or whatever you can think of). That's why you can slaughter a regular army with low casualties, not because the IA do not do its job on the tactical, but because you are encouraged to create a fine tuned heroic RPG party, and you face the grunts :p. So, like in a good RPG, enemy troops have stats inflated to compensate some of this "metagame" advantage. Is it cheating ? then again probably ... but you see what I mean

Well, I don't know if what I say makes much sense, but in a way, part of this games charm and originality is that the game is heavily story driven, at the expense of "grand strategy". You can love it or hate it for that, but at least it tries to be different - be it brillant or flawed. Now, I am not saying that there are no imbalances and room for improvements. Many criticisms and suggestions are very, very valid, and the game has a potential to be even better with some tuning and following to the great feedback on the forums. But I have fears that by "streamlining" the strategic elements of the game too much, the game could lose a bit of its soul. I may be wrong or irrational, but well, it is my take :p

Thanks for that. This is an interesting analysis and what you say definitely makes sense.

Taking this game in a RPG point of view can indeed justify the freedom of the IA to spawn as many enemies and as strong as the story line commands it. And somehow, the Welsh overpower as well as the Saxons can be compared to RPG "Bosses". Bosses are meant to give you hard time but usually, whatever way you took to develop your hero, you can find a solution to overcome, sometime after one or two re-load. Here the situation is a bit different since, because the game is also a strategic game (with an economy long to develop and troops long to acquire), reloading once or twice is just not enough to get rid of your Welsh or Saxon ennemies. As for me, I have the impression that I will need to start again from scrap in order to prevail... A good RPG never put the player in such a "deadlock" situation where he/she need to start again quests already achieved in order to progress in the storyline.

I'v been playing RPG and strategy games for about 20 years (no comments please on my age.... ) and I definitely value the risks taken by this game in innovating. However there have been a very few times only where I found myself that overwhelmed by a game difficulty (may be I should play "beginner" rather than "normal"...? but I'm too proud for that...! ).

But we have to acknowledge that this game is actually a compromise between an RPG and a strategy Wargame, and, as a result, we can't compare it neither with, say, Dragon Age, nor with, say, TW. Maybe this is because this compromise is so innovative and exiting that we are demanding and also why their is a lot of room for improvement and balancing.

Regarding the battle IA, like you, I find it OK. The only thing which I would like to see tuned up in the power of Magic which, in my view, should be a bit decreased (as they did with Archers). Fighting an army with 4 qualified wizards (such as the Welshes have) just decimate too quickly your most cherished troops without letting you much time to articulate a battle strategy.

Having said that, I start to doubt Neocore will be able to re-balance the strategic IA in a patch to make it fairer. They probably would need, for that to re-think the story line (which let you progress and conquest provinces too easily and too quickly until you face the Welsh and Saxons, and suddenly turn far too hard). Yet, I continue to think it should be possible but may be in a sequel.

Anyway, I would be interesting to learn how you have been able to eliminate Saxon or Welshs?

I can understand this feeling. I started my first playthrough in normal, did the quests at an accelerated pace, and was ... well, humbled by the enemy armies. So I did bite the bullet, put my pride in my pocket and got a fresh start

However, after a few botched starts, and then a few complete playthroughs (at normal difficulty level and higher), I think it is more a problem of a very very steep learning curve than of actual difficulty (though the game is definitely not easy).



Spell damage against single units is "fair" imho. What causes army decimation is generally linked to two cases : lightning bolt on several cluttered melee units, and curse of shadows on cluttered archer units.

Some tips to manage that :

- pay attention to your army formation, and have a look at your pathing, especially on terrain bottlenecks (be afraid of bridges, very afraid). Avoid any case of having several units on top of one another

- horde formation is your friend, especially for your archers. It gives a bonus against arrow fire, and "scatter" your units, making them, by sheer size, less susceptible to be one shot by clouds of shadows. Of course, don't forget to put them back on a closer formation just before melee.

- pay attention to the icons on the left side on the screen. When the curse of shadows icon appear, IMMEDIATLY pause, and have a look at your archers. In most of the cases. You can micromanage lesser damage if you order them a movement while paused that will get them out of the cloud.

- if you got the DLC, briton archers have a crappy range and damage, but they have enormous hit points. Deepwoods archers are sturdy and have magic resistance at level 5.

- Soul Mirror is godly. Dispel can also be used if you don't have a soul mirror hero - though it prevents your heroes from casting anything, it is probably a bargain against the magic heavy welsh armies. Assuming you are christian, at this point of the game, you have probably had the opportunity to get Sir Ywain, and possibly (randomly) Gal. They have Soul Mirror. Sir Tegyr, from the alliance with the Saxons, has dispel. Abuse those spells to counter Welsh warlocks.

- If you can't counter them, enemy spellcasters will get a spell or two off, but there is no excuse to let them cast repeatedly. Like in a RPG, focus the enemy casters, burning magic/enfeeble them, don't let them live long enough to use magic again.



- experienced heroes or troops are Kay errr ... key. Any battle up to the building of the stronghold is easy and you should be able to get valuable experience with minimal losses. Do not let a stack die. Remeber than 1 survivor will allow you to keep all of your experience when you replace the losses. For the most crucial/critical troops, units attached to knights are never wiped out, unless the attached knight is himself downed in battle. If you play christian/rightful (i guess you are christian, as you fight wales, old faith is easier for a beginner btw), you get quite a few freebie excellent units in your early quests (at least one golden gryphon, several sentinels, and a small christian army with good units like lionhearts - and possibly one unit of giants). Those units must survive and level at all costs, and will be the core of your main army until you can build those. If you pay attention, units are rarely "one shot killed". If you lose too many men on an unit, get them off the thick of the battle, and protect them in a corner of the map.

- Troop experience is important, but heroes are even more. An unit with a high fight knight attached will have skyrocketing hit points and damage. A champion specialized in cleave can mow down whole units in seconds.

- My personal choice, but other ppl might say otherwise, is, if you are struggling at this point of the game, to make a strong army with 4 best, balanced heroes and your best troops. That way, you will funnel your precious experience on 4 knights at a time and make them progress fast. And too many troops until you have your 2-3 stronghold up and running will tank your economy if you are not experience enough to win with minimal loss and must spend money on recruitment. Spreading your armies and heroes more is very, very valid, but imho, it requires a better grasp with the game mechanics to pull out. Just my opinion, though.
Suggestion : 1 warlord (yes, they are not that good in the end game, but at this point of the game, they are invaluable), 1 "antispell" unit, 1 champion with dragon strike if available and upgraded cleave, 1 sage (curse of shadows for enemy archer payback, lightning or dragon strike). When you feel ready for it, have a secondary army with roughly the same makup.

- if you are in a deadlocked stage and the enemy mass produces armies, take advantage to this, and milk those invading armies for experience, with a focus on keeping losses minimal, until you have a strong enough stack (or two) that can steamroll their sorry gang back to Caernarfon. This war is one of the main/longer part of the campaign, it is not meant to short and quickly won.
My experience is that when invading, IA tend to split its stacks at some point, with a small stack on the move, and another stack staying in a village and recruiting => attack at this time, before the full recruiting takes place.

- Abuse map locations : xp per season locations mainly, but many other are interesting

- *SPOILER* Word of warning : do the Elaine wedding quest and all side quests you can (recruiting Bedivere, Dagonet and Percivale is easy as christian, but try not to complete the quest that will allow you to absorb the saxon kingdom too soon (the quest that requires 10 christian rating and a full cathedral quarter in the stronghold) - don't complete your cathedral quarter too fast. You'll have a nasty rebellion to fight, no good if you have your hands full with invading welsh.

- That's all I can think of at the moment, but with more input, I can certainly give more pointers.

Thanks for these advises, you apparently have spent long hours on this game! On a tactical side I've practiced already most of the hint you put, but not all all of them. I have progressed slowly in the game emphasizing the gain in experience for my Knights and my troops, gaining as many fiefs and lords as possible to sustain and run my armies, avoiding useless fights with rebellions armies and investing on research. Probably I haven't orientated enough my traits (almost neutral in term of belief and rightfull). I managed to control only 1 stronghold when the welsh attacked. I succeeded in repealing several of their invading armies but saw no hope to replenished my troops as fast as theirs and finally no way to reverse the steam. I have even tried the harassment tactic with a small army which unique role was to hold some welsh location to deprive them from taxing income and refuse fighting... little effects...

Anyway, I probably need to start again the game but I will wait for that the patch to come-up. And the question there remain open: when does Neocore plan to release it?.... is it a matter of day, weeks or month?... no communication on that....

NocoreGames, looks like you have the beginnings of a strategy guide here!

Very interesting thread - I have learned a lot - thanks guys!

As an experienced player of both turn-based, real-time strategies AND RPG's, I'm not too fond of the current system. It's not THAT bad, but it can be jarring.

I've got 2 full armies currently and one smaller one defending Camelot, have most of brittain under my control and am fighting the Welsh, since I allied with the Saxons.

I don't have teleport and only 2 sages among my knights. I still beat fully stacked enemy armies with 3 enemy knights, who all have curse of shadows, and I beat them very handly. It takes a lot of micro and tactics, and I do end up loosing some archers, but my losses are generally around 50 men total.
And the enemy just keeps getting more and more knights and more and more armies.
I am wearing him down and am confident of victory, but it's tedious to see such obvious cheating. Where does he get all those generals from???

Attacking his armies when he starts to reinforce is a good tactic, and so is taking his provinces. But the AI is still a bit irritating with this schtik.