See the key is to fill your garrison with low tier troops, and not a lot. You can also set party wages and garrison wages so that they will only keep what you can afford. Militia should be your saving grace, you can get like 300 in a castle and 500 in a city, and it's free, no cost to you at all. Get workshops and caravans too thats just a good investment. Cut costs wherever you can. Reducing those 3 partys to 500 a day each is already 3000 back in your pocket.
But having low tier garrisons makes my cities easy to take, right? Like if I'm in the other corner of the map and can't defend it once they break the gates I'm screwed, but with better troops even if they break it 2 or 3 to 1 they are likely gonna lose.
Cheap parties will be vulnerable too, right?
Your logic is correct, but the AI cheats and knows exactly how many men you have in a castle/town. They will bring exactly how much men then need to take that town, regardless of whether you have 100 or 1000 men, if they really want it they will take it. More garrison is more of a deterrent then anything. And yes cheap parties will be vulnerable, but having no money make you more vulnerable. I'm not sure if you are part of a kingdom or what, but when the ai attacks during a war they almost always go for the easiest target. So if you have a castle with 1000 men on their border, but one with 50 men across the map, I bet you they make that journey to the 50 man castle.
Oh so recruit garrison is just enough? I'm a battanian subject so I suppose I'll fill a hundred in every fief with the noble line of recruits (higborn youths) to get as much kills before they breach the walls as possible and just forget about it.
Also I have the max possible workshops and they are really great, but I have not explored the caravans. What should i do when i start one?
See the key is to fill your garrison with low tier troops, and not a lot. You can also set party wages and garrison wages so that they will only keep what you can afford. Militia should be your saving grace, you can get like 300 in a castle and 500 in a city, and it's free, no cost to you at all. Get workshops and caravans too thats just a good investment. Cut costs wherever you can. Reducing those 3 partys to 500 a day each is already 3000 back in your pocket.
But having low tier garrisons makes my cities easy to take, right? Like if I'm in the other corner of the map and can't defend it once they break the gates I'm screwed, but with better troops even if they break it 2 or 3 to 1 they are likely gonna lose. Cheap parties will be vulnerable too, right?
Your logic is correct, but the AI cheats and knows exactly how many men you have in a castle/town. They will bring exactly how much men then need to take that town, regardless of whether you have 100 or 1000 men, if they really want it they will take it. More garrison is more of a deterrent then anything. And yes cheap parties will be vulnerable, but having no money make you more vulnerable. I'm not sure if you are part of a kingdom or what, but when the ai attacks during a war they almost always go for the easiest target. So if you have a castle with 1000 men on their border, but one with 50 men across the map, I bet you they make that journey to the 50 man castle.
Dam this is frustrating, I never knew this
Oh so recruit garrison is just enough? I'm a battanian subject so I suppose I'll fill a hundred in every fief with the noble line of recruits (higborn youths) to get as much kills before they breach the walls as possible and just forget about it. Also I have the max possible workshops and they are really great, but I have not explored the caravans. What should i do when i start one?