Always glad to see someone giving this game a shot! It got very bad press on release, but when I played it (after all the patches/updates), I found I enjoyed it more than Rome 2 or Attila. I've played TW games since the first Medieval, and Thrones of Britannia has that kind of feel, oddly enough. Minor settlements without garrisons make for meaningful battles and strategic considerations. Diplomacy is sensible. The first 30 or so turns can be extremely touch-and-go, and fortunes can shift dramatically. Traits and followers are fun, and politics is actually tricky and engaging. UI and sound and art design are atmospheric. I honestly don't get the hate for this game. I enjoy it so much I did a LP as Strathclyde but, despite having played several campaigns successfully by then, I had to cut the series short when I saw the writing on the wall: I had let the southern factions grow too strong and wasn't able to overcome them. Still nice to get beaten once in a while! Looking forward to this!
I love it, Thrones is my guilty pleasure game haha. As part of the Total Challenge I've completed all the prior Total Wars and I still stand by Empire being the worst of them, but I won't deny that Thrones certainly has it's issues. Sounds like you had a good campaign, I'll have to check it out. Totally agree about it being nice to get beaten every now and then, helps put you back in your place and that place is a determined gamer that just found a new challenge!
I use the minor towns have small garrison mod. I couldn’t stand that one rebel could move in and steal my farm. The garrison is small and just levy units, but I think it makes the game better. It allows you to fight more battles, too. I’ve had a garrison army give a larger army a bloody nose by using the buildings and terrain properly in defense. It also means you can’t send one unit in to steal a farm from your opponent, too.
Glad to see you doing this. I for one kind of like Thrones of Britannia. Only complaints I have on it are trivial (the cartoony-tapestry format in the graphics is a turn off for me, I like to see realistic characters that slowly age as the game goes on). The game as a Role-Play History lover is actually really good and fun once you get over the trivial stuff. Anyway, good stuff man, and thanks again for doing these videos.
Agreed, it's a good game, a broken game, but it's consistent and all the right pieces work when needed. For me the looks of it give it a massive boost in my eyes and then making it about one of my favourite times in history helped a bunch too. Glad you enjoyed it, hopefully it'll be a good one till the end.
@@BroughtToBearI would disagree that it is broken in the overall sense. But a minor thing here or there maybe. But nothing that stops it being enjoyable.
Thrones is the first Total War game since Medieval 2 where I get attached to my characters. I played Sudreyr. The King was facing a massive sea invasion. He went into a walled city to mount a defense against three full stack armies. They attacked. I used fire arrows to burn down most of their siege equipment, so the three armies only had one breach. I kept having to use my king’s special abilities to keep my troops from retreating from the bottleneck, I would pull tired troops out and send rested troops in. Rinse and repeat, but the force was overwhelming. Then, when it was only my king and a couple more units, the king lead a charge into the fray, cutting down many enemies. Finally…FINALLY, my king fell, dying a Viking’s death, but not before his army’s last stand decimated three armies! Then, I took a Viking army commanded by the late king’s son and sailed around northern Britain to avenge his father. The king’s son attacked, destroying what was left of the invading armies and retook the city, killing all survivors. The new king avenged his father and made sure his death was not in vain. I LOVED IT! I remember thinking that was the stuff of epic verses and Hollywood movies! I had a blast!
@@BroughtToBear yes. Shield wall is an overhaul mod on steam. Get the one with the population update. The one called Conquest #### forgot the numbers is a vanilla DLC type mod. Get the 866 graphic skin update. I believe that's the right year. Remakes all the clothes etc to accurate and varied. Get the better camera mod. Also they are making a mod for Rome to attack the Isles. Not made yet. It on steam also just a link right now.
Yeah I misread a few of them unfortunately. I'm not sure what it is about Thrones (and Rome/Troy/Attila for that matter) but I seem to get a lot of the text mixed up when I read them. I normally play a lot slower than I do when I'm on RUclips so it might just be me rushing things like that. Cheers for the shout though.
Agreed, early battles are the most important and usually the hardest. I’m not going to deny that as the campaign went on I shifted to more auto resolves, mostly as it was battles that wouldn’t have been much fun, especially when the victory was basically guaranteed. Still got some cracking ones in the campaign though. Hope you enjoy :)
8:25 not sure how shield wall is broken it was the era of the shieldwall. And it is partly how they defeated the vikings. Plus the devs added the ability for archers to get critical hits on the shield wall like in The eyes.
It's a great mechanic and the way they designed it makes sense, however it completely breaks the game balance. I use broken how you would in Yugioh if you ever got into card games. Basically the mechanic is too powerful leading to a singular method of use with limited counters. In multiplayer it becomes fairer with players being able to work around it and utilise it in equal measure, the AI however just doesn't seem to realise that rushing a shield wall, particularly if there are free units ready to flank them, is just giving away the victory. It's a great idea, and in theory is not only a great addition to the players arsenal, but a truly thematic piece to include. The execution however leads to a standardised method of play and since it can be accessed by all factions it removes much of the differences between factions, since specialist units become less important, as shield wall is just too useful to not make use of.
@@BroughtToBear From my play through timed I found it worked well and the AI countered with flanking on horses etc. Outside of the Gaels who can do the 4 sided smiled wall. I personally haven't found it to strong. And just yesterday I had the AI break my SW while in a wedge formation on horses charging. They didn't check up like a standard horse rush would. First time seen that.
Amazing maps, though I do wish the layers were properly enclosed. The lack of secondary gates is all it needs to go from good to great. Though the choke points and that most if not all points are set on hills is still a great advantage to the defender.
@@BroughtToBear I could be wrong but I think it is historically accurate the brief time spent looking at the real deal on documentaries etc. Leads me to believe this. Yet I am a big fan of the shield wall so for me not a big deal as it's another excuse to turtle up. Or lay siege the to SW. But I'm sure a couple maps with extra gates would be fun also.
Honestly i don't know the whole story but all i know is people HATED this game. From what iv seen the "province" system REALLY sucks, quote "match colors = profit". And i recall people talking about the whole "fiefdom" system where it just DOESN'T MATTER, like your king can own everything and the game won't care. Not sure how much of the "hate/dislikes" are still true but the does have a few positives. The siege battles are GRATE, and while it may just be Transport ships, it TECHNICLY has naval combat. The last game to Have Such Combat, ("island battles" feel so cheep. Its not even a unique map)
Can't speak on it's release as it took me a bit to finally fork up for this one, the province development is pretty annoying and very limited, similar to Napoleon/Empire, except you can literally claim the structures rather than just moving troops in to damage them. Fiefdoms is a little all over the place to be honest. You do need to use it to avoid rebellions when people request things, but that is the only time it's worth it really. Just keep everything otherwise. Sieges are great for their maps, even though I wish they had extra gates to match the extra walls. The problem is the pathfinding, if the attacker breaks the gate then their troops no longer use siege equipment and just bottleneck to their own doom. I don't deny the game has a lot of issues, but it's kind of my guilty pleasure. A nice and easy total war to kick back on with some cool little gimmicks to boot.
Actually estates work great giving them to nobles based upon what you need. Loyalty, food, or supplies. Aka priest, farms, or supplies. Especially at end game I found I was re organizing estates to balance my army and it's need and loyalty.
i sincerely recommend you retry this game with the Shieldwall overhaul mod, it totally elevates the experience from the perspective of campaign mechanics, realism and historical accuracy
I have heard a lot about it and I've been building a mod list to check out in the future. I'm just running through the total challenge for now (every total war game on highest difficulty) so I'm keeping it vanilla for that, but cheers for the shout. I did hear the campaign got a bit messy on it though, did they fix any of the balancing in the end?
ToB was more fun than people give it credit for. yes, the factions are interchangeable, but the battles and their maps was a lot of fun-diverse terrain, brutal charges..if only CA had any integrity left...
It's a lot more fun than the reviews I read on release. The maps are fantastic and though I do hate the lack of defense for the smaller regions, I do get the idea behind the mechanics at play. Definitely a disappointment that CA dropped it so quick.
Unit and role play wise, the Vikings are great, but I think the welsh was the most fun once I’ve tried thus far. I’ve not tried the conquest mod, might have to give it a butch. Cheers for the shout out
Rome 2 is a cracking game, doesn't quite hit first place for me, though with DLC included it does a darn good job pushing for it. Knee jerk reaction, Medieval 2. Though out of the newer total wars, I am tempted to say Three Kingdoms as every time I go back to it I have enjoyed it.
I got it on sale a few days ago and tbh j was a bit surprised at how decent it is. Its not the best but its not the worst, its a reliable total war game. I love the setting, the art direction and the history but was always hesitant because of how the community reacted to it
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I didn't play it on release, but heard the horror stories too. Thankfully the majority of issues seem to have been fixed...though pathfinding in sieges could use a proper overhaul to be frank. Good game though and honestly not the worst TW I've played either, I'd put it at a mid band. Flawed, but fun...maybe a little higher, but just because I love the time period.
Always glad to see someone giving this game a shot! It got very bad press on release, but when I played it (after all the patches/updates), I found I enjoyed it more than Rome 2 or Attila.
I've played TW games since the first Medieval, and Thrones of Britannia has that kind of feel, oddly enough. Minor settlements without garrisons make for meaningful battles and strategic considerations. Diplomacy is sensible. The first 30 or so turns can be extremely touch-and-go, and fortunes can shift dramatically. Traits and followers are fun, and politics is actually tricky and engaging. UI and sound and art design are atmospheric. I honestly don't get the hate for this game.
I enjoy it so much I did a LP as Strathclyde but, despite having played several campaigns successfully by then, I had to cut the series short when I saw the writing on the wall: I had let the southern factions grow too strong and wasn't able to overcome them. Still nice to get beaten once in a while!
Looking forward to this!
I love it, Thrones is my guilty pleasure game haha. As part of the Total Challenge I've completed all the prior Total Wars and I still stand by Empire being the worst of them, but I won't deny that Thrones certainly has it's issues.
Sounds like you had a good campaign, I'll have to check it out. Totally agree about it being nice to get beaten every now and then, helps put you back in your place and that place is a determined gamer that just found a new challenge!
I use the minor towns have small garrison mod. I couldn’t stand that one rebel could move in and steal my farm. The garrison is small and just levy units, but I think it makes the game better. It allows you to fight more battles, too. I’ve had a garrison army give a larger army a bloody nose by using the buildings and terrain properly in defense. It also means you can’t send one unit in to steal a farm from your opponent, too.
Glad to see you doing this. I for one kind of like Thrones of Britannia. Only complaints I have on it are trivial (the cartoony-tapestry format in the graphics is a turn off for me, I like to see realistic characters that slowly age as the game goes on). The game as a Role-Play History lover is actually really good and fun once you get over the trivial stuff. Anyway, good stuff man, and thanks again for doing these videos.
Agreed, it's a good game, a broken game, but it's consistent and all the right pieces work when needed. For me the looks of it give it a massive boost in my eyes and then making it about one of my favourite times in history helped a bunch too. Glad you enjoyed it, hopefully it'll be a good one till the end.
@@BroughtToBearI would disagree that it is broken in the overall sense. But a minor thing here or there maybe. But nothing that stops it being enjoyable.
This one is also one of my favorites. I wish they worked more on it and expanded the territories
Thrones is the first Total War game since Medieval 2 where I get attached to my characters. I played Sudreyr. The King was facing a massive sea invasion. He went into a walled city to mount a defense against three full stack armies. They attacked. I used fire arrows to burn down most of their siege equipment, so the three armies only had one breach. I kept having to use my king’s special abilities to keep my troops from retreating from the bottleneck, I would pull tired troops out and send rested troops in. Rinse and repeat, but the force was overwhelming. Then, when it was only my king and a couple more units, the king lead a charge into the fray, cutting down many enemies. Finally…FINALLY, my king fell, dying a Viking’s death, but not before his army’s last stand decimated three armies! Then, I took a Viking army commanded by the late king’s son and sailed around northern Britain to avenge his father. The king’s son attacked, destroying what was left of the invading armies and retook the city, killing all survivors. The new king avenged his father and made sure his death was not in vain.
I LOVED IT! I remember thinking that was the stuff of epic verses and Hollywood movies! I had a blast!
Nice! On a another note, your sound balance is on point as always
Cheers mate, still playing with things since moving but glad to hear its paying off =]
Great Game! Criminally underrated. Especially in 2023 and the mods!
ooh, not really dabbled too much in the mods for thrones. Any good ones you recommend?
@@BroughtToBear yes.
Shield wall is an overhaul mod on steam. Get the one with the population update.
The one called Conquest #### forgot the numbers is a vanilla DLC type mod.
Get the 866 graphic skin update. I believe that's the right year. Remakes all the clothes etc to accurate and varied.
Get the better camera mod.
Also they are making a mod for Rome to attack the Isles. Not made yet. It on steam also just a link right now.
The Priest follower only affect the ennemy province public order. It's actually the beat follower to use on governors after the scribe I believe
Yeah I misread a few of them unfortunately. I'm not sure what it is about Thrones (and Rome/Troy/Attila for that matter) but I seem to get a lot of the text mixed up when I read them. I normally play a lot slower than I do when I'm on RUclips so it might just be me rushing things like that. Cheers for the shout though.
@@BroughtToBear yeah you play great though, fun yo watch
Thanks for actually fighting the battles. I don't like it, when someone Auto resolves most of ( if not ) every fight!
Agreed, early battles are the most important and usually the hardest.
I’m not going to deny that as the campaign went on I shifted to more auto resolves, mostly as it was battles that wouldn’t have been much fun, especially when the victory was basically guaranteed. Still got some cracking ones in the campaign though. Hope you enjoy :)
8:25 not sure how shield wall is broken it was the era of the shieldwall. And it is partly how they defeated the vikings. Plus the devs added the ability for archers to get critical hits on the shield wall like in The eyes.
It's a great mechanic and the way they designed it makes sense, however it completely breaks the game balance. I use broken how you would in Yugioh if you ever got into card games. Basically the mechanic is too powerful leading to a singular method of use with limited counters. In multiplayer it becomes fairer with players being able to work around it and utilise it in equal measure, the AI however just doesn't seem to realise that rushing a shield wall, particularly if there are free units ready to flank them, is just giving away the victory.
It's a great idea, and in theory is not only a great addition to the players arsenal, but a truly thematic piece to include. The execution however leads to a standardised method of play and since it can be accessed by all factions it removes much of the differences between factions, since specialist units become less important, as shield wall is just too useful to not make use of.
@@BroughtToBear From my play through timed I found it worked well and the AI countered with flanking on horses etc. Outside of the Gaels who can do the 4 sided smiled wall. I personally haven't found it to strong. And just yesterday I had the AI break my SW while in a wedge formation on horses charging. They didn't check up like a standard horse rush would. First time seen that.
Best sieges since MW2. Multilayed on some maps. Plus being able to place barricades etc.
Amazing maps, though I do wish the layers were properly enclosed. The lack of secondary gates is all it needs to go from good to great. Though the choke points and that most if not all points are set on hills is still a great advantage to the defender.
@@BroughtToBear I could be wrong but I think it is historically accurate the brief time spent looking at the real deal on documentaries etc. Leads me to believe this. Yet I am a big fan of the shield wall so for me not a big deal as it's another excuse to turtle up. Or lay siege the to SW. But I'm sure a couple maps with extra gates would be fun also.
Honestly i don't know the whole story but all i know is people HATED this game. From what iv seen the "province" system REALLY sucks, quote "match colors = profit". And i recall people talking about the whole "fiefdom" system where it just DOESN'T MATTER, like your king can own everything and the game won't care.
Not sure how much of the "hate/dislikes" are still true but the does have a few positives. The siege battles are GRATE, and while it may just be Transport ships, it TECHNICLY has naval combat. The last game to Have Such Combat, ("island battles" feel so cheep. Its not even a unique map)
Can't speak on it's release as it took me a bit to finally fork up for this one, the province development is pretty annoying and very limited, similar to Napoleon/Empire, except you can literally claim the structures rather than just moving troops in to damage them.
Fiefdoms is a little all over the place to be honest. You do need to use it to avoid rebellions when people request things, but that is the only time it's worth it really. Just keep everything otherwise.
Sieges are great for their maps, even though I wish they had extra gates to match the extra walls. The problem is the pathfinding, if the attacker breaks the gate then their troops no longer use siege equipment and just bottleneck to their own doom.
I don't deny the game has a lot of issues, but it's kind of my guilty pleasure. A nice and easy total war to kick back on with some cool little gimmicks to boot.
Actually estates work great giving them to nobles based upon what you need. Loyalty, food, or supplies. Aka priest, farms, or supplies. Especially at end game I found I was re organizing estates to balance my army and it's need and loyalty.
i sincerely recommend you retry this game with the Shieldwall overhaul mod, it totally elevates the experience from the perspective of campaign mechanics, realism and historical accuracy
with this mod ive got no qualms saying it's almost as good as Attila
I have heard a lot about it and I've been building a mod list to check out in the future. I'm just running through the total challenge for now (every total war game on highest difficulty) so I'm keeping it vanilla for that, but cheers for the shout. I did hear the campaign got a bit messy on it though, did they fix any of the balancing in the end?
My name isn't Beefcake, the Barber. Now, apologize for calling me that. Do it now, Hank. Don't deny that it's you. Going around on a sock.
ToB was more fun than people give it credit for. yes, the factions are interchangeable, but the battles and their maps was a lot of fun-diverse terrain, brutal charges..if only CA had any integrity left...
It's a lot more fun than the reviews I read on release. The maps are fantastic and though I do hate the lack of defense for the smaller regions, I do get the idea behind the mechanics at play. Definitely a disappointment that CA dropped it so quick.
@@BroughtToBear shieldwall and conquest mods are really good too, i think i ll reinstall it and give the sudreyar a go
Unit and role play wise, the Vikings are great, but I think the welsh was the most fun once I’ve tried thus far. I’ve not tried the conquest mod, might have to give it a butch. Cheers for the shout out
For me thrones of britannia is the second best total war after Rome 2
Rome 2 is a cracking game, doesn't quite hit first place for me, though with DLC included it does a darn good job pushing for it.
Knee jerk reaction, Medieval 2. Though out of the newer total wars, I am tempted to say Three Kingdoms as every time I go back to it I have enjoyed it.
I got it on sale a few days ago and tbh j was a bit surprised at how decent it is. Its not the best but its not the worst, its a reliable total war game. I love the setting, the art direction and the history but was always hesitant because of how the community reacted to it
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I didn't play it on release, but heard the horror stories too. Thankfully the majority of issues seem to have been fixed...though pathfinding in sieges could use a proper overhaul to be frank. Good game though and honestly not the worst TW I've played either, I'd put it at a mid band. Flawed, but fun...maybe a little higher, but just because I love the time period.
"promo sm" 😠
Oh yea Praise Jesus! He is my Lord and has saved my soul. Please dont use his name as an adjective. 😊