Saxons (M2TW Faction)

Saxons (M2TW Faction)
Name:	Anglo-Saxon England
From Game:	Medieval II: Total War
Religion:	Catholic
Culture:	Northern European
Playable:

The Saxons are a non-playable and do not appear in the Grand Campaign without modding. They appear in the Tutorial and in the historical Battle of Hastings.

Gameplay

Faction Details

The Saxons of Medieval II: Total War only appear in "The Norman Conquest" tutorial campaign, where they control London and Nottingham. The campaign, starting in 1066, pits the Normans against the Saxons for control of England. The Saxons are isolated in their strongholds, and can be easily picked off relatively quickly by completing the mandatory steps of the tutorial.

Starting Position

• London: English Capital; - South East England

• Nottingham: English Castle; - Central England

One bug with the Saxons is that they cannot build religious buildings; although they can use the Religious buildings of other Catholics and recruit Priests. They also cannot build non-Gunpowder ships and they cannot recruit siege equipment units even though they can build the proper buildings.

Campaign Objective

Hold regions Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem and take 45 regions

Units

The Saxons are not intended for use in campaign or custom battles and have an extremely limited roster. They have some good early game Infantry and Spearmen, and an interesting Bodyguard, which makes them decent in the beginning of the game. However, they do not get more advanced troops and fall further and further behind as the other factions improve their buildings and get access to more of their roster. Additionally, no unique Saxon unit is able to have its armour upgraded. With only basic archers, no cavalry at all, no militia, and no higher-level troops, the Saxon roster soon becomes completely outdated compared to all other factions in the game.

• Light Infantry
  • Peasants

• Spear/Pike Infantry
  • Peasant Spearman
  • Theigns

• Heavy Infantry
  • Huscarls
  • Earl's Huscarls
  • King Harold (General unit)

• Light Cavalry

N/a

• Heavy Cavalry

N/a

• Missle
  • Peasant Archer

• Artillery

N/a

Unique Units

These unique units are the entire Saxon roster, except for Peasants and Peasant Archers.

Peasant Spearmen = the basic Saxon Infantry unit. Peasant Spearmen are roughly equivalent to the Spear Milita of all the other Western European non-Italian factions, except for the fact that they cannot have their armour upgraded and are not Militia. They are also slightly cheaper. They are available in both cities and castles, and are more readily available then Spear Militia, but their lack of any armour upgrades really hurts them. A mediocre unit: they are useful to fill up early armies but should be replaced by Theigns as soon as possible or used only as fodder.

Theigns = A solid Spear unit; Theigns are much better then Peasants Spearmen, and roughly similar to Armoured Sergeants in power. They have superior stats and good morale, unlike the Sergeants, but also have fewer men, cannot form schiltron, and cannot upgrade their armour. They are available from minor city walls and all castles, which helps them as well. They will be the backbone of any Saxon army. While an effective Spear unit, they don't stand a chance against proper Sword wielding Infantry, which makes the Saxons a very challenging faction.

Huscarls = A two handed Axe unit; Huscarls are the other main unit unique unit of the Saxons. They have a high attack and are armour piercing, and a rather low defense as well. They are also cheap to recruit; which helps them out. They are the best Saxon Infantry to fight other Infantry and can be a decent hammer while the Theigns are the anvil; however, they will not beat strong Swordsmen in a fair fight. For a two-handed axe unit they are about average; they have the same stats and cost as Russian Berdiche Axemen, but cannot get their armour upgraded. They are available in Wooden Castles and their Upgrades.

Earls Huscarls = Earls Huscarls are exactly the same as normal Huscarls but have only half the men. They do not have 2 hitpoints. They will never spawn without further modding beyond merely unlocking the Saxons. They only appear in the Battle of Hastings, and as the bodyguards of the 2 Saxon characters in the tutorial campaign. The normal Saxon general bodyguard is the King Harold unit, a far superior unit.

King Harold = the true Saxon Bodyguard. They are the personal bodyguard of Harold Godwinson, but also spawn for any Saxon general. These men are far superior to their lesser cousins; having two hitpoints, a superior attack, and a far better defense. Their stats are roughly comparable to those of the Varangian Guard; this makes them one of the best Two Handed Axe units in the game and strong enough fight and beat dedicated melee Infantry. Properly used, they will give a very good account of themselves on the battlefield.

They are also not available in custom battles unless unlocked.

Faction Details

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Saxons Details (M2TW Faction)

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