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Difference between revisions of "France (M2TW Faction)"

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{{Faction|image=[[Image:Symbol_france.jpg|Faction Symbol for France]]|Name=Kingdom of France|Game=[[Medieval II: Total War]]|Religion=[[Catholic]]|Culture=[[Northern European]]}}
 
{{Faction|image=[[Image:Symbol_france.jpg|Faction Symbol for France]]|Name=Kingdom of France|Game=[[Medieval II: Total War]]|Religion=[[Catholic]]|Culture=[[Northern European]]}}
  
==Overview==
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France is one of the 5 factions in Medieval 2 Total War that is playable from the start.
  
Much like the Holy Roman Empire, France starts with weak units when compared to what other factions get at this time.  However by the late period they have arguably the best unit roster.
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=Description=
In the early period, France is average in terms of troops available but has a very good opportunity to expand in all directions thanks to the large amount of nearby rebel settlements.
 
  
==Military==
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France is a shining example of feudalism in its rawest, and arguably, most delicate form. The French lords eagerly embrace the system that splits the country up into smaller provinces, duchies and fiefdoms, actively building up their forces to ensure their own security and power. About the only thing the French lack at this point is a sense of unity...
  
'''Infantry'''
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The Ile de France may be where the monarchy resides, but the royal family rarely leave Paris. This is not because of a great love for the city, but rather because the surrounding lands are under the shadow of bastions owned by "Robber Barons" that serve their own interests. Frankly, the way things are now, the King isn't truly safe to wander a kingdom that is supposedly his.
  
French melee infantry are primarily defensive, with only dismounted knights being able to fill any real offensive role. During the early periods, France has the standard lineup of units, however, later into the game France gains even more effective defensive troops, such as voulgiers and pikemen trainable from cities and castles. These units are exceptionally effective in the defense of settlements because of the narrow streets and passageways and attacking army has to navigate.
+
The Normans are clearly serving their own best interests, having recently taken England for themselves, it's hard to believe that they will be content to stop there. Other provinces such as Aquitaine, Burgundy, Brittany and Flanders aren't quite so dangerously ambitious... exercising a little authority over these lands looks like an essential move for the French if they're to have any hope of creating a power base that can stave off the might of the Holy Roman Empire to the east. Even less pressing concerns like Spanish and Milanese expansions will soon become a royal headache for the monarchy if France does not establish solid fronts to the south.
  
If the French have a need for pike infantry early in the game, they can recruit mercenary Swiss and Flemish pikemen.
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===Strengths===
  
'''Missiles'''
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Fields the best heavy cavalry in the west, and good infantry in the late period.
  
Missiles are a glaring weakness in France's military, especially in the early game periods, having only access to peasant archers and crossbowmen.  France's missile capability comes out later in the game, gaining access to the longbow armed Scots Guard and crossbow wielding Aventurier, both of which being capable of serving as effective light nifantry.  Fortunately for France's foes, these elite units require a large amount of development to gain access to and have small recruitment pools.
+
===Weaknesses===
  
The Scots Guard themselves have another weakness - due to their use of a longbow they will be too tired to fight effectively in melee if they use all their ammo, so they require some micromanagement on higher difficulty levels.
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Relatively weak infantry in early period.
  
'''Cavalry'''
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=Starting Position=
  
France has the best and largest variety of heavy cavalry of the catholic factions, including the ability to recruit Lancers, described as the "ultimate knights".
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[[Image:Map_france.jpg‎|thumb|right|France's Starting Position.]]
  
In the later periods of the campaign, France will -- after a bit of development -- be able to train their own longbow armed missile cavalry.
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France start with most of the original French mainland, apart from Dijon, Bordeaux and Metz, which are Rebel occupied.
  
'''Artillery and Gunpowder'''
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Their cities are:
  
France's artillery and gunpowder are at best mediocre.  The best firearm unit France has access to are arquebusiers, which don't stand much of a chance against the gunpowder units of factions such as [[Milan]].
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*Paris: French Capital
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*Toulose: French Castle
 +
*Angers: French Castle
 +
*Marseille: Large Town
 +
*Rheims: Large Town
  
==Starting Position and Strategies==
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===Victory Conditions===
 +
*Long Campaign: Hold 45 provinces including Jerusalem.
 +
*Short Campaign: Hold 20 provinces and eliminate England.
  
France's starting position in the campaign map is both good and bad.  The good part is France is surrounded by rebel settlements to take advantage of.  The bad part is, it is unlikely France will be able to take all of these settlements quickly, due to France's mediocre infantry in the early period.  On top of that, France is neighbors with quite a few factions to the east, all of which being potential allies, or, more importantly, enemies.
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===Starting Finances===
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*Treasury: 8000
 +
*Kings Purse: 1500
  
'''Strategies'''
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=Units=
  
Early in the game France has the ability to expand in nearly any direction and being able to ruin the game for another faction simply through denying them extra rebel settlements, if you can put up with the pope an early destruction of the Holy Roman Empire and Milan would be the most beneficial and would knock out the most strong early threats to you. If you want to cut England off quickly, take Rennes and Bruges.  However if you wish to stay in the pope's good graces it might be best to simply eradicate Portugal and Spain while creating a alliance with the Holy Roman Empire which will almost entirely cover the potential eastern threats you can get.  After that you can march on the Moors and southward even reaching Timbuktu which is very merchant-effective. As France's knights and ranged power are very strong in the late game you should literally be able to destroy any other factions left, barring a strong England, Spain, or the Timurids and Mongols.
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[[Image:France_bodyguard_info.png‎|thumb|right|French Generals Bodyguard.]]
  
Another course of action you can take is to become allies with [[Scotland]]. Doing so will have [[England]] fighting on two fronts should you decide to move on its territory.
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France is a well rounded faction with many unit types that is very strong, particularly in the late game. Their early game units are mostly standard Western European units but later on they get many powerful unique units. Their cavalry starts with the standard Knights, and in the later game they have some strong choices like Chivalric and Noble Knights, as well as Gendarmes from cities. Their melee infantry is pretty standard, starting with normal Spearmen, but later getting access to some Halberds, Pikemen, and some Dismounted Knights. Those include Dismounted Feudal Knights, a great Sword and Shield unit available to many factions, and Dismounted French Knights, an elite foot Knight armed with a 2 handed Poleaxe. Their missile units in the early and mid-game are also basic, but later on they get a number of excellent units, such as Scots Guard and Aventuriers. Those two are very strong both at range and at melee; making them extremely powerful. They also get an incredibly useful Armour Piercing Horse Archer in the late game. France also gets Arquebusiers and some excellent artillery after gunpowder is discovered. With excellent missile troops and very strong cavalry, and some good infantry to hold the line; a late game French army is a dangerous proposition indeed.
  
==Conclusion==
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*Light Infantry
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**[[Peasants (M2TW Unit)|Peasants]]
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**[[Town Militia (M2TW Unit)|Town Militia]]
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**[[Spear Militia (M2TW Unit)|Spear Militia]]
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**[[Pike Militia (M2TW Unit)|Pike Militia]]
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**[[Pikemen (M2TW Unit)|Pikemen]]
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**[[Flemish Pikemen (M2TW_Unit)|Flemish Pikemen]]
  
If France can make it through the early periods of the game, it will become a very powerful force once it gets developed enough to train and use the more effective late game units it has access to.
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*Heavy Infantry
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**[[Armoured Sergeants (M2TW_Unit)|Armoured Sergeants]]
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**[[Dismounted Chivalric Knights (M2TW_Unit)|Dismounted Chivalric Knights]]
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**[[Dismounted Feudal Knights (M2TW Unit)|Dismounted Feudal Knights]]
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**[[Dismounted Noble Knights (M2TW_Unit)|Dismounted Noble Knights]]
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**[[Sergeant Spearmen (M2TW Unit)|Sergeant Spermen]]
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**[[Voulge Militia (M2TW_Unit)|Voulge Militia]]
 +
**[[Voulgier (M2TW_Unit)|Voulgier]]
 +
 
 +
*Missile
 +
**[[Arquebusiers (M2TW_Unit)|Arquebusiers]]
 +
**[[Aventurier (M2TW_Unit)|Aventurier]]
 +
**[[Crossbow Militia (M2TW_Unit)|Crossbow Militia]]
 +
**[[(M2TW_Unit)|Crossbowmen (M2TW_Unit)|Crossbowmen]]
 +
**[[Dismounted French Archers (M2TW_Unit)|Dismounted French Archers]]
 +
**[[Peasant Archers (M2TW_Unit)|Peasant Archers]]
 +
**[[Peasant Crossbowmen (M2TW_Unit)|Peasant Crossbowmen]]
 +
**[[Scots Guard (M2TW_Unit)|Scots Guard]]
 +
 
 +
*Cavalry
 +
**[[Chivalric Knights (M2TW_Unit)|Chivalric Knights]]
 +
**[[Feudal Knights (M2TW_Unit)|Feudal Knights]]
 +
**[[Gendarmes (M2TW_Unit)|Gendarmes]]
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**[[Early General's Bodyguard (M2TW_Unit)|Early General's Bodyguard]]
 +
**[[Late General's Bodyguard (M2TW_Unit)|Late General's Bodyguard]]
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**[[Knights Hospitaller (M2TW_Unit)|Knights Hospitaller]]
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**[[Knights Templar (M2TW_Unit)|Knights Templar]]
 +
**[[Lancers (M2TW_Unit)|Lancers]]
 +
**[[Mailed Knights (M2TW_Unit)|Mailed Knights]]
 +
**[[Mounted Sergeants (M2TW_Unit)|Mounted Sergeants]]
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**[[Merchant Cavalry Militia (M2TW_Unit)|Merchant Cavalry Militia]]
 +
**[[Noble Knights (M2TW_Unit)|Noble Knights]]
 +
**[[French Mounted Archers (M2TW_Unit)|French Mounted Archers ''(Missile Cavalry)'']]
 +
 
 +
*Artillery
 +
**[[Ballista (M2TW_Unit)|Ballista]]
 +
**[[Basilisk (M2TW_Unit)|Basilisk]]
 +
**[[Bombard (M2TW_Unit)|Bombard]]
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**[[Catapult (M2TW_Unit)|Catapult]]
 +
**[[Culverin (M2TW_Unit)|Culverin]]
 +
**[[Grand Bombard (M2TW_Unit)|Grand Bombard]]
 +
**[[Serpentine (M2TW_Unit)|Serpentine]]
 +
**[[Trebuchet (M2TW_Unit)|Trebuchet]]
 +
 
 +
==Faction Details==
 +
 
 +
If you have further detailed information on the faction, such as strategies, AARs, pictures, or history, please post it on the Faction Details page in a new sub-section so that this page can be kept clean of opinionated information.  
 +
 
 +
[[France Details (M2TW Faction)]]
  
 
{{M2 Factions}}
 
{{M2 Factions}}
 +
 +
[[Category:M2TW Factions]]

Latest revision as of 12:32, 22 August 2024

France (M2TW Faction)
Faction Symbol for France
Name: Kingdom of France
From Game: Medieval II: Total War
Religion:Catholic
Culture: Northern European
Playable:


France is one of the 5 factions in Medieval 2 Total War that is playable from the start.

Description

France is a shining example of feudalism in its rawest, and arguably, most delicate form. The French lords eagerly embrace the system that splits the country up into smaller provinces, duchies and fiefdoms, actively building up their forces to ensure their own security and power. About the only thing the French lack at this point is a sense of unity...

The Ile de France may be where the monarchy resides, but the royal family rarely leave Paris. This is not because of a great love for the city, but rather because the surrounding lands are under the shadow of bastions owned by "Robber Barons" that serve their own interests. Frankly, the way things are now, the King isn't truly safe to wander a kingdom that is supposedly his.

The Normans are clearly serving their own best interests, having recently taken England for themselves, it's hard to believe that they will be content to stop there. Other provinces such as Aquitaine, Burgundy, Brittany and Flanders aren't quite so dangerously ambitious... exercising a little authority over these lands looks like an essential move for the French if they're to have any hope of creating a power base that can stave off the might of the Holy Roman Empire to the east. Even less pressing concerns like Spanish and Milanese expansions will soon become a royal headache for the monarchy if France does not establish solid fronts to the south.

Strengths

Fields the best heavy cavalry in the west, and good infantry in the late period.

Weaknesses

Relatively weak infantry in early period.

Starting Position

France's Starting Position.

France start with most of the original French mainland, apart from Dijon, Bordeaux and Metz, which are Rebel occupied.

Their cities are:

  • Paris: French Capital
  • Toulose: French Castle
  • Angers: French Castle
  • Marseille: Large Town
  • Rheims: Large Town

Victory Conditions

  • Long Campaign: Hold 45 provinces including Jerusalem.
  • Short Campaign: Hold 20 provinces and eliminate England.

Starting Finances

  • Treasury: 8000
  • Kings Purse: 1500

Units

French Generals Bodyguard.

France is a well rounded faction with many unit types that is very strong, particularly in the late game. Their early game units are mostly standard Western European units but later on they get many powerful unique units. Their cavalry starts with the standard Knights, and in the later game they have some strong choices like Chivalric and Noble Knights, as well as Gendarmes from cities. Their melee infantry is pretty standard, starting with normal Spearmen, but later getting access to some Halberds, Pikemen, and some Dismounted Knights. Those include Dismounted Feudal Knights, a great Sword and Shield unit available to many factions, and Dismounted French Knights, an elite foot Knight armed with a 2 handed Poleaxe. Their missile units in the early and mid-game are also basic, but later on they get a number of excellent units, such as Scots Guard and Aventuriers. Those two are very strong both at range and at melee; making them extremely powerful. They also get an incredibly useful Armour Piercing Horse Archer in the late game. France also gets Arquebusiers and some excellent artillery after gunpowder is discovered. With excellent missile troops and very strong cavalry, and some good infantry to hold the line; a late game French army is a dangerous proposition indeed.

Faction Details

If you have further detailed information on the faction, such as strategies, AARs, pictures, or history, please post it on the Faction Details page in a new sub-section so that this page can be kept clean of opinionated information.

France Details (M2TW Faction)

Medieval 2: Total War | Factions:
Aztecs | Byzantine Empire | Denmark | Egypt | England | France | Holy Roman Empire | Hungary | Milan | Mongols | Moors | Papal States | Poland | Portugal | Russia | Scotland | Sicily | Spain | Timurids | Turks | Venice | Rebels