Greetings! Today we travel to the British Isles, home of the longbow and long familiar to war and invasion. Before my changes, Scotland had no chance when controlled by the AI; England would always wipe the floor with them. Now, in AI vs. AI conflict, Scotland can now do well for itself. But the changes were not just for the AI, they were also for the player. Scotland is now the first faction able to recruit pikes en masse from the beginning of the campaign, given their campaign a bit more flavor and interest. As for England, they have also received some love in Roar of Conquest. England is now the nation of the longbow, as it always should have been; longbow units are more lethal at range, and far easier to recruit for the player and the AI. Who will be the undisputed ruler of the Isles? That is for you, the player, to decide!
A quick note; this article is focused on the changes between Stainless Steel and the latest version of Roar of Conquest, not the changes made between previous versions of Roar of Conquest.
Scotland
When I first started modding Scotland, one thing become clear; they were awful as a faction, especially in the early campaign. The main issue was that their main strength, their pikes, were not available for about the first 100 turns of the campaign, making any fight with the more balanced English faction an absolute nightmare. Not only that, but most of their roster was limited by area of recruitment, or AOE, making expansion practically impossible for the Scots. That problem has now been corrected. Scotland now offers an interesting campaign and play style for any player to try out, and a more challenging opponent to all who seek to conquer them.
1) Border Horse are no longer restricted by area of recruitment, or AOE; any castle that can build the appropriate Stables building can recruit them across the map. This change give Scotland a useful, if somewhat fragile, light cavalry to chase down fleeing units and harass enemy archers.
2) Feudal Knights have had an increase in melee attack, now 6 up from 4.
3) Heavy Pike Militia are now available from the start of the campaign, rather than after the New Era event (year 1300). They have better melee stats, with 6 attack up from 1 and 3 charge up from 2. Finally, their defense is better, with a total of 16 up from 11. They are a strong unit that should be recruited as much as possible once you can get them from Large Cities.
4) Highland Archers are no longer restricted by area of recruitment, or AOE; any castle that can build the appropriate Range building can recruit them across the map. They also have a melee attack of 3 up from 1. While in truth a poor lightly armored archer, their axes can cause some good damage among enemy light infantry.
5) Highland Nobles are now available from the Barracks building in Fortresses onwards rather than just the Armory in Citadels. This change helped give Scotland better access to their heavy-hitting infantry options to bolster their roster. They also have better defense, with a total of 14 up from 12.
6) Highland Pikemen are no longer restricted by area of recruitment, or AOE; any castle that can build the appropriate Barracks building can recruit them across the map. They are also available at campaign start rather than after the New Era event, (year 1300). These two changes combined help Scotland enormously in putting out a good infantry unit to compete with their enemies' infantry and cavalry. In addition they have better stats, with 5 attack up from 3 and a total defense of 7 up from 2. These men serve as the backbone of Scot armies throughout the campaign.
7) Highlanders are no longer restricted by area of recruitment, or AOE; any castle that can build the appropriate Barracks building can recruit them across the map. This change give Scotland a useful light infantry no matter where they decide to conquer.
8) Noble Highland Archers have better melee attack, now 5 up from 3. This change makes them a decent all-round unit, good at both range and in melee.
9) Noble Pikemen have better melee stats, with 7 attack up from 4 and 5 charge up from 4. They also have better defense overall, with a total of 18 up from 11. These warriors of noble blood are one of the games toughest pike units, making them a welcome sight once you can recruit them after the New Era event, (year 1300).
10) Scots Pike Militia are now available from the start of the campaign, rather than after the New Era event (year 1300). They have better melee stats, with 5 attack up from 1 and 3 charge up from 2. They also have better defense, with a total of 5 up from 1. All in all, a good unit to help bolster Scottish armies, especially in the early campaign.
11) Galloglaich are now available to recruit for Scotland not just as a mercenary, but as a proper unit! They are available from the Barracks building in Fortresses onward, and give the Scots another good shock infantry to add to their roster.
England
Overall, England was a good faction in Stainless Steel, so I have not changed much for their roster. That is, except for their longbowmen. Historically, England was famed for its battalions of longbow archers, with may historians regarding the weapon as one of the most deadly of the Middle Ages. However, in Stainless Steel, their performance was average at best, even in later-game variations. Not so anymore! With their increase in range damage, the longbow is now a weapon to fear for all of England's enemies. In addition, all late-game longbow units are now more readily available in the campaign, and now play an important role in England's victory.
1) Heavy Swordsmen are now available for recruitment for the entire campaign once they unlock after the Partial Plate event, (year 1310- 1330). For more information on what this change means, refer to the latter half of this article here: Moddb.com
2) Dismounted King's Men are now available for recruitment for the entire campaign once they unlock after the Partial Plate event, (year 1310- 1330).
3) Hobilars are no longer restricted by area of recruitment, or AOE; any castle that can build the appropriate Stables building can recruit them across the map.
4) King's Men are now available for recruitment for the entire campaign once they unlock after the Partial Plate event, (year 1310- 1330).
5) Longbowmen have better melee stats, with 3 attack up from 1. As the earliest available longbow unit, they did not receive an increase to their missile attack. In fact, the later units had an upgrade to their missile damage to make them better than the early Longbowmen.
6) Yeoman Archers have better melee attack, now 4 up from 2. They also have better missile attack, now 6 up from 5. This may not seem like a huge difference, but believe me, the results are noticeable. Finally, they only take 3 turns to recruit rather than 6, making them far more readily available and common in English armies.
7) Retinue Longbowmen have better melee attack, now 5 up from 4. They also have better missile attack, now 7 up from 5. Finally, they now only take 3 turns instead of 7 to recruit, making them a far more common sight in English armies once they are available after the Full Plate event, (year 1380-1400).
8) Sherwood Archers now field a full battalion, (120 men up from 60 on ultra unit size) when you recruit them. A unique unit only available from the Master Woodsmen's Guild building.
9) Pikemen have better melee stats, with a 5 attack up from 2 and 4 charge up from 3. Their defense is also now 8 up from 3.
9) Late Pikemen have increased melee stats, 5 attack up from 2 and 4 charge up from 3. They also have better defense, with a total of 15 up from 10.
So there you have it, the changes to Scotland and England in Roar of Conquest from Stainless Steel! Scotland now feels more unique from the start with their pikes and additional strike infantry, while England now feels like the true Longbow nation it always should have been. If you like what you see and wish to conquer the British Isles and beyond for yourself, you can find the mod download here: Moddb.com
