Mercenary boats will have to do when you’re stuck at the top of the map, but this is fine, since when they’re crusading boats you don’t have to pay the large mercenary fee- always a good thing.īear in mind that crusades aren’t just headed for the east- as your influence with the Pope grows, you will be able to order your own, more useful ones that are nearer to home. If it’s a long way away you should have at least a 3 unit strong fleet to take your all-conquering army to the city. There’s a trick to getting to the target first- using boats and their amazing movement points. Papal favour, enabling you to call more crusades and to escape punishment from attacking catholic neighbours as His Holiness turns a blind eye.Many faction objectives have a settlement such as Jerusalem in the east that they need to capture, and this is the way to do it. A massive movement bonus, so you can take a few cities on the way with ease.Nobody Expects The Spanish Inquisition!Ĭrusades and Jihads are likely to be set off during the middle game, and are a very good thing for you, as they have a few advantages:.This guide will mainly focus from a Catholic faction point of view, but with minimal effort it could be adapted for Orthodox and Islamic factions- you can still train your priests and Imams using the same methods, for example. A distraction it may be, but it’s one that can be very useful in the right hands. While it won’t actually make you control 45-odd territories and a certain city, it will certainly help- priests keep religious unrest in line, Cathedrals grant a growth bonus, crusades enable your armies to rampage through the old world at top speed, while the Pope stops any Catholics from attacking. Religion- a pleasing distraction from the intense battles of M2TW, with enough depth and intricacy to have you wanting to explore it.

Rome total war heaven