Crusades and Teutonic are both generally considered to be the best two campaigns. Americas is cool for a playthrough as Spain and maybe one as the other factions but it is very repetitive. Britannia is ok too, I found it to also be slightly repetitive as most countries have somewhat similar units. As for what to start with, depends on what you Turks as the hardest faction? In vanilla? Err, are you serious? ^ Access to the de facto Godmode units of MTW2 (horse archers), superb late units (JHI, JA, JM), the same broken Jihad that the other muslim factions get, great financial settlements etc. Really, in vanilla you need ~5 turns or so to crush the Byzantines and shore up everything north of Antioch thanks to the broken Jihad. Many don't like playing it because unfortunately the Faction colour is grey/white, which is uninspiring. My Sicillian faction has Knights of St John's and they really make an excellent supplement to the army. The next phase is most likely to secure Italy if you have a war there, or to press on and eliminate Portugal before ending alliance with If you're playing Vanilla Medieval 2, then the Axemen presents a conundrum. It is a 2-handed unit, and in Vanilla - incase you are unaware - there is a bug dubbed "The Two-Handed Glitch/Bug" that renders 2-handed units less-effective. Long story short, units who can swing faster consistently interrupt the slower swing animations of 2-handed units. Through clever diplomacy, Pietro Orseolo, "Doge" of the Venetian Republic was able to isolate the marauding pirate Slavs into small, manageable groups that he then forced to surrender. this opened the door for Venice to evolve from an isolated trading city into a European power in its own right. With their ability to dominate trade and traverse Sicily (quite paradoxically) has one of the best starting positions on the map, if not even the best. By turn 2 you have an alliance with the Papacy, a successful Crusade on Tunis by turn 5, Bologna bought from HRE soon after, can be Trustworthy (as reputation level) before turn 15 and Immaculate before turn 20, you’re on a roll. Advice on Starter Factions in Stainless Steel 6.4. I have been playing Medieval 2 for over 10 years, and 2 of my friends that have played other total war games recently got into the game. We have played a couple of skirmish battles and they understand the game mechanics (archers vs crossbows, Hammer and Anvil, light cav vs heavy cav, etc.) Medieval 2: Total War. Medieval 2: Total War. M2:TW Multiplayer. Academy - A Guide to M2:TW Multiplayer; The Herald; Code of Honour; M2:TW Guides; M2:TW Modification. Mod Chat; Mods in Development. Hosted mods for M2:TW; Learn to Mod. Modding Research Wiki; Modding Tutorials & Tools; Modding Questions; M2:TW Hosted Mods. The Italian Wars; The Best Factions in Medieval II: Total War (All Ranked) 1. England. England was the first faction that I ever picked in this game when I first set myself on a quest to finish 2. Holy Roman Empire. I mean, if you’re really looking for the most well-rounded faction in terms of economy, 3. Spain. Condoning the invasion of Sicily was only the beginning for the Papacy's support of the Normans. The sheer presence of Rome midway along the Apennine peninsula now serves as a sturdy political shield from the continental powers to the north. It's a barrier that looks likely to hold so long as the Catholic lords all remain faithful to the Papacy l0Kn.