The Best Factions of Total War: Medieval 2 for New Players

Total War: Medieval II, previously known as Medieval II: Total War, is a turn-based strategy video game in which players take control of a faction and wage war in multiple fronts in order to conquer the most land. In Total War: Medieval II, strategy is of the upmost importance, and for this reason, especially depending on the chosen difficulty of the game, it is important to choose a faction.

In Total War: Medieval 2, it is possible to play and win the game with any faction. However, new players and beginners may want to know what are the easiest factions to play, especially for unexperienced players in the Total War franchise. In this article, these beginner-friendly factions will be listed.

It is important to mention that in Total War: Medieval 2, not all playable factions are available from the start. At the start of the game, only 5 factions are available: England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Spain and Venice. The other factions will be unlocked once the grand campaign is succesfully finished for the first time. In this article, I will include some beginner-friendly factions that are either playable right from the start, and some that require the player to finish the grand campaign at least once, which can be done in any difficulty. New players and beginners of Total War: Medieval 2 may wonder which are best factions to start in the game.

The best factions of Total War: Medieval 2 for new players and beginners are Spain, the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, France and England.

5 - Spain

Spain is a good choice for new players and beginners in Total War: Medieval 2. While Spain begins the campaign surrounded by France, Moors and Portugal, this faction is also able to quickly conquer territory, especially rebel settlements. Besides, in Total War: Medieval 2, Christian factions cannot always declare war on each other without penalties from the pope, including the possibility of excommunication. Spain, while surrounded by France and Portugal, which are fellow Christian factions, which could mean penalties depending on the context of the declaration of war, is also near the Moors faction, which are not a Christian faction. For this reason, while Spain is surrounded by three factions, it has a starting bonus of being able to declare war to one neighbour faction without severe penalties.

4 - The Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire, while being the only faction in this list that is not playable right from the start of the game, is a great choice for beginners and new players of Total War: Medieval II. If you are a new player, considering succesfully completing the grand campaign of Total War: Medieval II in a "Short" campaign in one of the lower difficulties, and then consider the Byzantine Empire for your next campaign, especially if it is a "Long" campaign and in higher difficulties.

The Byzantine Empire has a larger starting territory than many factions, including Spain, for example, and has the advantage of not being in the same religious group as the Catholic factions of the game. While this may seem like a subtle detail, this factor can make an important difference when declaring war against Catholic factions, as in Total War: Medieval II, if a Catholic faction declares war on a fellow Catholic faction, the beligerant faction could receive severe penalties from the pope, including excommunication. Considering that in Total War: Medieval II, the Byzantine Empire faction does not belong to the same religious group as the Catholic factions, the Byzantine Empire is able to declare war to these factions without severe penalties.

3 - The Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire is an excellent choice for new players and beginners of Total War: Medieval 2 that like to play their strategy video games agressively. Unlike most other factions in Total War: Medieval 2, the Holy Roman Empire begins the game with many factions surrounding it, not requiring to travel far distances in order to reach neighbouring factions. For this reason, the Holy Roman Empire is at a strategic point for players who want to expand in all directions. At the same time, waging war against multiple factions in Total War: Medieval II can be a challenge, especially depending on the difficulty chosen for the game.

If the player decides to play the game agressively, it is important to consider that the Holy Roman Empire belongs to the Catholic religious group in Total War: Medieval II, which means that this faction could be penalized and eventually excommunicated by the pope if the Holy Roman Empire declares numerous wars against fellow Catholic factions.

2 - France

France is an interesting starting faction due to its starting position in Total War: Medieval 2. While there are England to the north, Spain to the south, and the Holy Roman Empire to the east, France also has enough space to comfortably expand during the early stages of the campaign. In this sense, new players and beginners can practice playing by conquering rebel settlemens, which will also expand the territory of France, before moving on to waging war against factions such as England, the Holy Roman Empire or Spain. France also has powerful late game units, and due to its proximity to the Iberian peninsula, it is also in a strategic position to expand its territory to the south. For these reasons, I consider France one of the best choices for beginners and new players of Total War: Medieval 2.

1 - England

Like France, England is in a very beginner-friendly position at the beginning of the game in Total War: Medieval 2. While there are Scotland to the north and France to the south, England has enough space to expand moderately at the beginning of the game without being required to wage war against other factions, which is useful for new players who are still learning the game. In this sense, some rebel settlements can be conquered without waging war against factions such as Scotland or France, while players get used to the game. England players are also able to conquer the rebel settlement Dublin, to the west, eventually surrounding Scotland, which could be useful if players decide to wage war against this faction later on in the game.

England has a good starting position in Total War: Medieval 2 due to the presence of some rebel settlements and also because it is surrounded only by two other factions, rather than three factions such as is the case with many factions in the game. Besides its initial starting position, England also has powerful late game units. For these reasons, England is one of the best choices for beginners and new players starting in Total War: Medieval 2, looking for a good choice of faction to start playing the game.

How to Decide the Best Factions of Total War: Medieval 2 for Beginners?

In order to select the best factions of Total War: Medieval 2 for beginners, I considered the following factors: easiness of playing with the faction, the amount of starting territory and the amount of surrounding factions. While more advanced factors, such as faction-specific special units and bonuses, should be considered for more advanced players playing in harder difficulties, since these factors make much of a difference for a new players playing in the lower difficulties.

Another important factor that new players and beginners may mistakenly not consider is the religious group to which the faction belongs. In Total War: Medieval 2, Catholic factions belong to the Catholic group, which means that if a Catholic faction declares war on a fellow Catholic faction, the beligerant faction will receive severe penalties from the pope, including sometimes excommunication. While this may seem a subtle factor, it can make a lot of difference because an excommunicated faction can be attacked by any faction in the game, including factions of the same religious group. When selecting a faction to start the game, it is important to consider how the player will be able to expand, more precisely, which factions will the player be able to declare war on and attack without severe penalties or being excommunicated.