Halfway to England, my faction leader and all my bright, shiny new troops were sunk to the bottom of the sea. Especially when you face them in dinky little Boats.

Now, this is important: Rebel boats are thick as flies in the north sea/English Channel, and these pirates are *Very* dangerous. The question is, do you conquer down the coast toward Brittany, or immediately set sail for England? In my campaign I opted for the latter (I was impatient to see if the Romano-British would appear), and I built the first boat I could make, trained up some Chosen Axemen and Hearth Troops (taking 7 turns), and sent my 23-year-old faction leader out to sea from Vicus Saxones. This is where much of your lands will come from. Obviously, the Western Romans are your big adversary. I have yet to be backstabbed by any of my barbarian allies so far. These alliances seem to work much better in BI than in RTW, where the Britons could NEVER stay allied with the Gauls or Germans, and vice versa. I try to make friends with my neighbouring barbarians. Once you have Campus Chatti under your belt, you need to decide where to head next. Though they may look like Riders of Rohan, don't use 'em that way. Remember: the Saxons are an infantry-heavy faction. They can get into trouble though, so don't depend on them for too much. Sea Raiders are a lance-armed light cav unit useful for flanking and rear charges.

Hunters are your archer units, and they come in handy for obvious reasons. In melee, both the Levy Spearmen and Keels are, well, spearmen, but I haven't had any problems with them: spears seem to stand up to all kinds of units better in BI. Levy Spearmen are a little weaker than Keels but have a larger unit size and another neat attribute: they can throw a javelin before melee. For the first stage of the game you'll depend on Saxon Keels, Levy Spearmen, Hunters, and Saxon Sea Raiders. It will take awhile to tech up to your killers: Chosen Axemen and Saxon Hearth Troops. You have to get there first.ДЇortunately, in BI in general you start off with rather advanced facilities. Moving on this rebel town within the first couple turns is a good idea, as the Burgundii will likely move on it as well. Nearby is the thinly-stretched Western Roman Empire, Franks, Burgundii, and a very close Rebel town to the SE (Campus Chatti, I believe). The Saxons begin with one lone city, Vicus Saxones, near modern-day Denmark. Led by their uncompromising king, Widukind, there will be no surrendering of Saxon beliefs - or of Saxon lands.I'm still playing my first BI campaign as the Saxons, M/M to get the feel of the game. Now Charlemagne has been crowned king of the Franks, his attention has turned to rebellious Saxon attitudes, and their unacceptable adherence to paganism. The Saxons also raid their neighbours relentlessly, further drawing the ire of their western overlords. Two priests - both named Ewald - recently sent to convert them to Christianity, were instead been brutally murdered, dismembered and cast into the Rhine. The Saxons still fiercely defend their pagan beliefs, upholding them despite determined advances from the Christian Franks. This included Saxon tribes who, although subjugated, were able to remain largely independent, separated from their Frankish overlords and foes by the Harz and Hesse mountain ranges. United under Clovis, the Franks brought much of Gaul under their control. Those who remained on the continental mainland came into contact with the Franks, who went on to shape their destiny significantly. After the Romans pulled out of Britannia at the beginning of the 5th century AD, many Saxons settled there in their stead, laying the foundations of what would eventually become England. Originally from along the northern European coast, their name is derived from their characteristic weapon, the 'seax' dagger.Дuring the early stages of the Roman Empire, the Saxons were fragmented and tenacious, gradually spreading across Europe with no singular leader. The Saxons were first mentioned by name in Ptolemy's 'Geographica' in AD130, with reference to the 'Saxones' tribe north of the Elbe River.

Total war attila saxon guide