Overview
This is a concise and thorough guide on how to beat Medieval 2’s trickiest faction.
How to beat them
The mongols are a pain in the ar5e
they are tough fast and slightly less returded than the other AI factions in the game but still a little “special”
The have the best cavalry, the best generals and they get 11 free amries
they can also survive without settlements
Beating them is the sign of promise in a total war player, wiping them out is the sign of skill and doing it without any defeats or losses of settlements shows true military genius
So why do so many people struggle with them? I think the cause of the problem is the fact that most total war players dont manage to conquer the whole map before they show up around 1220ish. you need to pick a faction that starts in the east or be able to take all the settlements in the game to be in with a chance of fighting them on your own terms.
Most of your battles should be defensive sieges, preferably in fortresses or citadels. balista towers help.
Spearmen, pikemen, polearms, crossbows, good archers and heavy cavalry should form the bulk of your army
watch the video to see how to set your army up.
How the Mongols work
The mongols have the best cavalry in the game, not because it has the highest stats but because it always has really high experience and their generals are OP. A full frontal charge from 5 mongol heavy lancers along with a general like Subutai or Jebe can rout your entire army if you dont have a decent general. Their cavalry also has better stamina i find, even without the xp.
On top of that they also have the best horse archers in the game. Well armoured, good stamina, good missile damage, fast and huge experience. To top it all off their Mongol infantry unit is a cross between archers and light infantry so they are decent in melee as well as being very capable archers.
The best way to beat the mongols is in a defensive siege. this way your own troops will have far better moral. The mongols cavalry based armies also do not fare so well in these kind of engagements because of medieval 2’s pathfinding in settlements. In defensive sieges you can also set up loads of traps for the enemy and do huge damage to them before the hand to han combat even starts. Defensive stakes, towers, boiling oil(kingdoms only), artillery and crossbow nests are just some of the many ways you can kill huge numbers of the enemy before they get close. After playing enoug sieges you will be able to predict where they enemy are going to place they ladders and siege towers so you will then be able to place your missile units in places where they cannot be touched. If you are using towers however it is worth your while not activating them until their is a ram at your gates. this sounds crazy but if the towers are working then they are just going to destroy all the enemy’s rams and they will never be able to get their cavalry into combat. towers can do lots of damage to the enemy units but this is nothing compared to what a combination of stakes, spears, pikes and crossbows can do. Its is worth your while placing some missile units on the ground about 50 meters behind the walls, this way they will be able to shoot at anything that scales the walls or comes through the gate.
A lot of people make armies of only spearmen and archers to fight the mongols. this is somewhat counter productive because without quality heavy infantry you will struggle to kill the mongol infantry or keep the walls in your control. A couple of units of heavy cavalry also help to run down fleeing enemies after their general dies.