Timurids (M2TW Faction)

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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

The Timurids are one of the two nomad factions (the other's the Mongols of course) that appear near the start of late period. They will appear just west of the Holy Land, so if you own any territory there it would be a good idea to reinforce it heavily, and preferably, long before they come.

Since the Timurids are supposed to be the succesors to the Mongols, they have pretty much the same agenda. They will ruthlessly assault any settlements in range, and afterwards most probably Exterminate the populace.

There are several things to know about the Timurids' units, specifically their unique elephants and their artillery. Firstly, the Timurids are equipped with Monster Ribaults, which are basically a rack fitted with 30 guns (5 high and 6 accross) and has a devestating effect on armies, you'll want to destroy these quickly of course. The next is the Monster Bombard (the cannon seen at the end of the intro), described firstly as "the gun to end all guns", this isn't too useful on a normal battlefield, it is more suited to blasting a hole straight through your walls (thus allowing them to send in deadly hordes of cavalry). The only thing that saves you is that it takes about 45 - 60 seconds, so try and destroy it as quickly as possible. They also have the Rocket Launcher, which is also a priority target in a siege.

The Elephant units are very interesting and even more deadly, they are all ranged, and have a very good hand to hand attack, that is bashing through enemy lines and stomping anything that comes too close. The normal elephants are archer units. The next most powerful are callled Elephant Artillery and are equipped with cannons. These are not incredibly strong, but there are about 15 of them to a unit, and they can easily decimate a line or smash down a sturdy stone wall. The last, and most fearsome is the Elephant Rocketeer. These are by far the most powerful non-artillery units in the game. The rockets they fire are moderately inaccurate, but this doesn't really matter. A few will most probably strike their target, and the rest will hit anything closeby. It takes a few strikes to bring down a wall (depending on the level), but unfortunately they also cause an unbelievable amount of collateral damage, and the on the battlefield, make these your top priority.

All of these unique weapons help to supplement an already fearsome horde of cavalry units. It might be a good idea to make peace with any enemies you still have, you will want to concentrate as much as possible on destroying this faction.

The Timurids appear with an incredibly powerful force around the 1360s-1400s. Unlike the Mongols who come in waves the Timuriuds come with all the stacks they will ever receive in the game making for a difficult opponent. However they are several tricks you can use to defeat the dreaded Timuriuds.

Defend chokpoints such as castles and rivers. Avoid shooting matches against their horsearchers or infantry. Try to concentrate fire upon elephants to make them run havok and break their own lines.