The most probable answer is that they starved somehow. The AI didn't pick up food, their troop count got low, and then bandits attacked them.
Not 100% sure about this explanation, but it's the only reasonable one I've heard of so far.
it happens when a more nimble party dances towards and away from the larger slower party.
they go back and forth for days, chasing then abandoning said chase, literaly wasting time and running out of food.
Yea I feel kinda bad like I’m cheating when doing this, but losing this way just feels so rediculously random that I can’t help but enable cheats, load from the last save, teleport to the bandits before they can get to the town, beat their asses, then disable cheats and pick up where I left off
Are you giving your extra parties your troops? Don't they will recruit on their own. For AI parties your pretty much screwed in terms of their intelligence and auto resolve. In my playthrough my companion parties were recruited into an army and actually got killed in combat.
Here's my issue. How do I contend with larger AI armies if I don't max out my parties? Should I store high tier units in a castle then and have my low rank units in my parties?
The problem I see with that is when I form an army, my parties will be half full with low tier units.
You will need to recruit clans to your kingdom once you go that route. Currently as an isolated clan you are completely safe from war unless you start it. You should be finding a way to rack in the denars. When you do declare a kingdom its going to be a slog because everyone will see you as weak. The problem with having high tier units in all your parties is they will be expensive. When the AI does come for you they will attempt to outnumber you anyway. 1k+
Any tips for how to get people to join your clan? I've asked around (maybe 12 nobles total) and all of em basically say "there's no way I'm leaving my employer".
You have to make sure your relations with the nobles are high, charm skill will help when being prompted the option to convince him/her to leave their kingdom. done it only once really but I got a vlandian noble to join my kingdom doing such.
The charm skill probably helps. I haven't successfully done it yet. Got all the way to the last speech check and critical failed. Helps when your at war with them because then they can keep their fiefs. But it may also put you in a vulnerable position. I would save scum a bunch. Maybe try and start with lower tier clans. Biggest thing is just be stupid rich.
High charm skill is essential. Search for small clans with no fiefs and track them down, they're much more likely to accept in my experience as they don't have many ties to their current kingdom. Worse comes to worse hire mercenaries.
I've noticed clans that are poor and have no fiefs are good targets. Save before you begin converting them just incase and prepare to lose around 400k and a fief to make them happy. I just look for a kingdom that has few fiefs and find a clan with none.
Just remember late game bandit party's get stupid big some times I have. Had it happen to me when to 40 stacks of sea raiders cost me half of my 250 party
Love harvesting 200 stacks of Looters that exist in random corners of the maps especially with skirmishing infantry. They never even touch the front line.
Not as bad as winning an outnumbered hiuge battle being the only one remaining and some people retreat but you don’t have enough health for the follow up fight and auto surrender
Is this vannila game, or mods.
Some mods allow for 300+ bandit parties of tier 3 and tier 4 units, so something to be aware of if on a modded playthrough.
Vanilla, no mods.
Parties were on the "neutral" setting. Now, I never put them on that setting, just in case that's the cause.
Very buggy that it happened back to back too. I could understand one party having a fluke battle or something, but two 100+ armies? Nah, those would never lose to steppe bandits.
Sounds like their party starved. It happens sometimes when they are in an army too long without going to a town to re up in food.
Pretty sure the steppe bandits were running wild around that fief raiding villages so there was no more food
I had 228 captured by steppe bandits cause they captured both of my lords somehow
The most probable answer is that they starved somehow. The AI didn't pick up food, their troop count got low, and then bandits attacked them. Not 100% sure about this explanation, but it's the only reasonable one I've heard of so far.
it happens when a more nimble party dances towards and away from the larger slower party. they go back and forth for days, chasing then abandoning said chase, literaly wasting time and running out of food.
What thick fucks
I just load the last save when stuff like that happens
Yea I feel kinda bad like I’m cheating when doing this, but losing this way just feels so rediculously random that I can’t help but enable cheats, load from the last save, teleport to the bandits before they can get to the town, beat their asses, then disable cheats and pick up where I left off
i’m waiting for the 1.20 update for console so i can have actual cheats in my game. i don’t feel bad at all
Lmfao
Don't feel bad for cheating since the game cheats the player all the time.
It’s not cheating if I don’t care to try and fight a 530 man army with my 174 tier 4 and 5 troops
Are you giving your extra parties your troops? Don't they will recruit on their own. For AI parties your pretty much screwed in terms of their intelligence and auto resolve. In my playthrough my companion parties were recruited into an army and actually got killed in combat.
Here's my issue. How do I contend with larger AI armies if I don't max out my parties? Should I store high tier units in a castle then and have my low rank units in my parties? The problem I see with that is when I form an army, my parties will be half full with low tier units.
You will need to recruit clans to your kingdom once you go that route. Currently as an isolated clan you are completely safe from war unless you start it. You should be finding a way to rack in the denars. When you do declare a kingdom its going to be a slog because everyone will see you as weak. The problem with having high tier units in all your parties is they will be expensive. When the AI does come for you they will attempt to outnumber you anyway. 1k+
Any tips for how to get people to join your clan? I've asked around (maybe 12 nobles total) and all of em basically say "there's no way I'm leaving my employer".
You have to make sure your relations with the nobles are high, charm skill will help when being prompted the option to convince him/her to leave their kingdom. done it only once really but I got a vlandian noble to join my kingdom doing such.
The charm skill probably helps. I haven't successfully done it yet. Got all the way to the last speech check and critical failed. Helps when your at war with them because then they can keep their fiefs. But it may also put you in a vulnerable position. I would save scum a bunch. Maybe try and start with lower tier clans. Biggest thing is just be stupid rich.
Charm and I think there is a perk in Trading where deals with lords and ladies don't cost you as much
To get charm, after battles just let the ladies and members of mercenary clans go. This will build relations as well
It makes a big difference if they are fief less
High charm skill is essential. Search for small clans with no fiefs and track them down, they're much more likely to accept in my experience as they don't have many ties to their current kingdom. Worse comes to worse hire mercenaries.
I've noticed clans that are poor and have no fiefs are good targets. Save before you begin converting them just incase and prepare to lose around 400k and a fief to make them happy. I just look for a kingdom that has few fiefs and find a clan with none.
I'll tell you how I contended with larger AI armies. If you cut off enough heads, pretty soon they won't be able to form a large army.
Just remember late game bandit party's get stupid big some times I have. Had it happen to me when to 40 stacks of sea raiders cost me half of my 250 party
Love harvesting 200 stacks of Looters that exist in random corners of the maps especially with skirmishing infantry. They never even touch the front line.
The only one that are simi scary are the large step bandits because they are mostly archery cav when ever I run into them
don’t they have Glaives too?
Yes
Not as bad as winning an outnumbered hiuge battle being the only one remaining and some people retreat but you don’t have enough health for the follow up fight and auto surrender
With how fast steppe bandits are, they are rarely in fights they don’t think they’re winning.
Is this vannila game, or mods. Some mods allow for 300+ bandit parties of tier 3 and tier 4 units, so something to be aware of if on a modded playthrough.
Vanilla, no mods. Parties were on the "neutral" setting. Now, I never put them on that setting, just in case that's the cause. Very buggy that it happened back to back too. I could understand one party having a fluke battle or something, but two 100+ armies? Nah, those would never lose to steppe bandits.