Greetings! Today will will be traveling to the Baltics to cover the changes made in Roar of Conquest from Stainless Steel 6.4. The conflict between the crusading Teutonic Order and the pagan Lithuanians is well-known, and offers an challenging and entertaining campaign for the player no matter which one you choose. As with many other factions I have talked about, their main problem revolved around unit availability, with a few changes to certain units to ensure they filled their proper role in the roster. As the AI, it's a 50-50 split which faction will emerge victorious and live to challenge their Russian and Slavic neighbors. Will you crush the last bastion of the pagan ways under an armored boot, or will you survive and bring back the ancient gods to the world around you? The choice is yours; now, go forth and conquer!
Lithuania
As a faction, Lithuania plays a unique manner; many of their units hit hard and cause a lot of damage, but do not do well in prolonged combat, at least in the early campaign. Later on they get good, solid battalions to hold the line with, but the trick is to last long enough to recruit these troops. Most of their changes revolve around making their basic units available everywhere on the map so they can expand, while improving some of their roster to make them more survivable for balancing purposes. The biggest change was fixing the coding error from Stainless Steel which did not allow them to recruit their late-game units like Lithuanian Regular Swordsmen. Now, let the old gods return to the Baltics and beyond!
1) Dievas' Guard have had their melee stat improved, with 9 attack up from 8 and 8 charge up from 7. They also have better melee defense, with a total of 21 up from 20. A unique unit that can only be recruited from the Temples of Dievas in Large Cities, they are the best heavy cavalry Lithuania can field. They also have a larger recruitment pool, now 2 up from 1, making them a little more common.
2) Ducal Axemen have better defense, with a total of 11 up from 10. These shock infantry are good at carving through enemy armor, especially when dealing with the Teutonic Order.
3) Ducal Cavalry 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 Lithuania a useful light cavalry no matter where the go on the campaign map.
4) Giltine's Chosen have a larger recruitment pool, now 2 up from 1, making them a little more common. They require the Temple of Giltine from a Large City to recruit, and are well worth the trouble of getting.
5) Lithuanian Axemen 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 also have better melee attack, now 3 up from 2. A useful light infantry to bolster Lithuania in the early campaign.
6) Lithuanian Noble Cavalry have better overall defense, with a total of 16 up from 13. This change was done so they could be more competitive in comparison to the knights and boyars of their neighbors in terms of balance.
7) Lithuanian Noble Infantry have better defense, with a total of 18 up from 17.
8) Lithuanian Noble Sons have better defense overall, with a total of 16 up from 14. These men make a useful hybrid unit, able to devastate the enemy with volleys of javelins and then serve as a decent medium infantry.
9) Lithuanian Skirmishers 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. A cheap unit good for weakening the enemy before the lines meet.
10) Noble Sons Cavalry have a better melee attack, now 7 up from 6. They also have better defense, with a total of 14 up from 10. These javelin-throwing cavalry are useful, especially in weakening enemy heavy cavalry before they charge into the fray.
11) Lithuanian Regular Calvary have better defense, with a total of 19 up from 17. This change was done to help them be more comparable to other heavy cavalry of other factions that come after the New Era event, (year 1300).
12) Ruthenian 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 have better melee attack, now 3 up from 1, and better defense, now 12 up from 7. These men now serve as a solid archer that can serve as a useful light infantry once they have fired all their arrows.
12) Cavalry Militia have a better defense, now 6 up from 3. This change helps these cheap but potentially effective units get all their javelins thrown before dying.
13) Followers of Perkunas have better melee defense, now 6 up from 3. These lightly armored yet hard-hitting troops are recruited from the Sanctuary of Perkunas in Cities.
The Teutonic Order
Ah, the Teutonic Order; one the most well-known and easily recognizable military orders in Medieval history, these men carved a bloody swathe through the Baltic, and were feared by men of all faiths, not just pagans. Here, most of the changes were to unit availability, with some stat changes to the odd unit here and there so that their price matched there performance. Now, onto conquest for God and glory!
1) Burgher Pikemen are now available from campaign start rather than the Portable Pipe Organ event, (year 1400). Like all pikes, they received a stat upgrade: they have 4 attack up from 1, 3 charge up from 2, and 9 defense up from 2. These men are very useful, especially in defending Cities in the early campaign.
2) Knechten 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 helps give the Teutonic Order a useful tool to engage the fast skirmishing cavalry of it's neighbors.
3) Order Sergeants have better melee stats, with 4 attack up from 3 and 4 charge up from 3. They also have better defense, with a total of 18 up from 16. These changes is more in line with their expensive cost, and they now serve as a strong front line against the many enemies of the Teutonic Order.
4) 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.
5) Prussian Axemen 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 also have better stats, with 4 attack up from 2, 3 charge up from 1, and 15 defense up from 13. They serve as a useful medium infantry to fill out the armies of the Order.
So there you have it, the changes to Lithuania and the Teutonic Order in Roar of Conquest from Stainless Steel 6.4! As you can see, most of the changes were to help bring Lithuania up to par to compete with it's neighbors, while the Order got a few boosts here and there to polish them off. If you like what you see and want to decide the fate of the Balkans for yourself, you can download the mod here: Moddb.com
Excuse me, but do you confuse Balkans with Baltics?
Yes. Yes I did. Clearly, I had a brain fart.
But thanks to your comment, it is now fixed. :)