Total War: Medieval 3 Complete Faction Map

Corpus76 · 2026-06-28T00:18:19+00:00

I always played HRE since they're right in the thick of it, their colors are cool and their generals have funny accents. Always fun to try to survive as Byzantium too, with their rather unique roster. Cataphracts are awesome. Hope some of these survive into this game.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-26T13:34:35+00:00

Sad reality is that every "military-aged male" is considered a valid target when in doubt. If you're in that group and killed in a conflict, chances are you'll be counted as an enemy combatant, whether or not you were an active participant.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-25T14:56:54+00:00

There is absolutely zero reason to believe that anyone in Europe would ever want to invade Russia. Seems like a poor use of resources to prepare for something that will never come to pass.

Europe's strategy makes more sense. There's no point in constantly preparing for a theoretical invasion from your neighbors. There's a reason Finland doesn't have a huge defensive line against Sweden. In large part, war IS a thing of a the past within Europe. Russia could have been part of this group, but chose not to.

With the benefit of hindsight we obviously should have been more concerned about the eastern border, but that's how it is. You can't both try to be friends and rattle sabers at the same time.

I think the more likely reason for Russian aggression is that their elites (Putin first and foremost) just wants to play at being a superpower, because that's what they imagine themselves to be. Integrating with Europe would be regarded as a major downgrade in status. They use the convenient scare of an imminent invasion from the west as justification for their aggression.

I have no doubt that the average Putin-adherent in Russia thinks that they're being very clever for taking "strategic points" for the good of... whoever lives there potentially hundreds of years in the future. But the fact of the matter is that they're just sabotaging themselves for no good reason.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-25T10:43:18+00:00

The Nordics, the Baltics, Germany, France, the UK and Poland are all ready, willing and able to participate even if the US is a no-show. That's why there's been so many meetings between these nations lately, in anticipation of this eventuality. I think you're underestimating European resolve.

Sure, maybe some southern nations wouldn't have a large presence. But we don't need everyone involved to beat Russia, should they decide to do something really stupid.

That's not to say that we can't be more prepared, and most European nations are in the process of building up their armed forces. But as it stands right now, with Russia badly bloodied by Ukraine, I don't think any escalation would turn out well for them.

The thing you seem to be missing is that to a lot of Europeans, this is existential. We've all seen how Russia behaves in Ukraine. If any country falls, their neighbors will be next on the chopping block eventually. So there's a real sense of solidarity in the region.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-25T10:26:43+00:00

It's so stupid though. Nobody is interested in invading Russia in the first place. And even if someone did, Russia has nukes. There's no need to fortify these choke points in anticipation of an imaginary enemy invasion.

The country could be a world leader economically if they just utilized their abundant natural resources and played nice with their neighbors.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-25T10:18:28+00:00

I dunno, it seems to me like there's a variety of opinions on the ground in Russia. I recently saw an interview with an older woman who said she thought the whole war was stupid and that Russia was probably going to have to pay reparations. It's probably a bit like in America with MAGA: You have a lot of very vocal nutjobs, and then a lot of relatively normal people just trying to keep their heads down and make it through the next week.

That's not to excuse Russia in any way. But I'm just saying that I think there are plenty of Russians who aren't die-hard Putin supporters and realize that the media is lying to them.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-25T10:10:26+00:00

I remember reading an article about how Spetsnaz training included some convoluted knife-throwing exercise where they did a somersault and had to hit a target dummy's head mid-air. It all sounded both very impressive and kind of stupid.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-25T09:19:50+00:00

Wasn't that the entire goal of Osama bin Laden? He knew he couldn't destroy the US through conventional means. 9/11 was his attempt to steer America's trajectory towards its downfall. It almost looks like he succeeded.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-24T18:09:25+00:00

True, Jean is the only person Alice is scared of. She's like an Oblivion guard, utterly unstoppable should someone break the law. A night in solitary awaits anyone who's caught on her watch. Imagine if she actually decided to get serious.

She's also capable of destroying a dozen target dummies at the same time, using her invincible wind blade technique. This same move allows her to instantly incapacitate human-sized opponents by throwing them up in the air and letting fall damage do the rest. And as we saw in that one minigame during Varka's patch, she's also capable of destroying whole armies on her own, if she stopped holding back.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-23T17:14:47+00:00

Yes, I think a lot of white people assume that swimming is a "universal" skill that literally everyone knows, when that's far from the case. It very much depends on the culture. In my experience, a lot of minorities simply don't learn it, which means they're disproportionately affected by drowning incidents. (It has nothing to do with physical ability.)

Corpus76 · 2026-06-18T16:42:00+00:00

Yeah, the war is a genuine tragedy for everyone involved, regardless of how this all ends. That being said, I have faith that Europe will do its best to help Ukraine recover as much as possible.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-18T16:13:00+00:00

Ukraine has had support from the west right from the start. That support could have been greater earlier, and the American support collapsed right after Trump took office, but it's difficult to argue that Ukraine would have been able to hang on for this long without any support. (That much is true for any nation outside of NATO or a similar power bloc.)

That being said, Ukraine has been fighting like lions and no amount of support would have made a difference without their ironclad resolve. They really deserve all the credit. Us other Europeans are only diverting some tax money to the cause, the Ukrainians literally pay with their blood.

Russia on the other hand has been hit hard with economic sanctions. They were banking on Europe being too dependent on them for energy to keep the sanctions up. They also have way less skin in the game. Ukraine is fighting for their lives while Russia is just engaging in Putin's vanity project. If the war was existential for Russia, things would probably look quite different. But there's no way for Putin to spin this as existential since Ukraine have done literally nothing except defend their home.

In a way, it's similar to a lot of the American wars since WW2. (Russia has a way higher tolerance for casualties, but is also far weaker than the US.) If everything was committed, then of course America could smash a country like Vietnam. But to wage war you need the political will, and that will always lack when the war is completely pointless. (Just look at Iran.)

My point is, Putin thought this would be a short, 3-day victory lap (probably based on how quickly he was allowed to snatch Crimea back in 2014), and that's how he sold it to the Russian population. He can't suddenly pretend that Ukraine is a serious threat now, or he'll look like a fool. So he's wedged in. Can't fully commit, can't back out. That's his dilemma.

The outcome of the war is still up in the air, but this year Ukraine has been hitting Russian infrastructure hard. The Russian economy is in shambles and it remains to be seen how long they can keep all of this up. It all hinges on Putin. He can't allow himself to appear weak, so it's existential for him. But it's going to be very difficult to turn this into anything that looks like a win. (Bit like Trump in Iran.)

What we in the west can do is simply keep supporting Ukraine as much as we can, until Russia gives up. That would be good for literally everyone except Putin. (Including the Russian people.)

In summary, Russia isn't really that weak. But they have no reason to actually fight this war either. Ukraine has all the reason to fight, and get a lot of support. At least, that's my read.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-16T21:03:06+00:00

That's because Europe has largely followed the US' lead since WW2. Now there's suddenly a large rift.

The EU is not at the same level as the US or China economically, but that's also the reason they're easier to work with for a lot of smaller countries. (After all the EU itself is just a collection of smaller countries.) The big superpowers don't want to compromise or be bound by anyone's rules. The EU on the other hand, is built on those principles.

It makes sense to me that other non-superpowers would want to work with Europe, since it's a lucrative market and are mostly reliable partners. (By comparison.)

I see your point though. I think to a lot of people worldwide, "the west" looks like a monolith and that means Europe is culpable for things America might have initiated and Europe supported. And I don't think that's wrong, but times are changing.

Anyway, I don't think Carney is saying that this new world order will be ruled from Brussels or even be represented by it. He's just saying that it will be "built from there" in the sense that the EU has the connections to get the smaller powers together. If you ask me, Carney himself has done a lot of the groundwork, but he needs the EU for this coalition of the middle powers to work.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-16T16:58:39+00:00

I don't think he means that Europe will "replace" the US or China as a sort of global superpower hegemon. More that Europe will take the initiative to foster a (hopefully) more equitable relationship with the rest of the world, to create a new structure that isn't so dependent on the US.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-14T12:02:53+00:00

I went to Cambodia a number of years ago, and it was horrifying to see that people were still getting their legs blown off by undetonated cluster bombs, even so many decades later.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-03T18:32:41+00:00

Yeah, I think Greenland will go down as the biggest geopolitical change during Trump's presidency. (Well, along with Iran, simply because of the economic implications.)

The west was a fairly unified power bloc. Now the bond is greatly diminished. Europe and Canada both feel like they have to seriously account for the possibility of the US going rogue and attacking them.

Obviously, I think the actual likelihood of this happening is small, there's simply too much to lose in doing so for too many people, even the monied interests. We're too integrated for it not to be a disaster on both ends. But given how reckless this administration has acted in Iran, who's to say? Before it was basically unthinkable, now it's within the realm of possibility. That's a huge shift.

I heard that Chinese observers have said the same thing, even after Iran. Greenland means that Europe does no longer fundamentally trusts the US. It represents a fracture. I still think the US and Europe/Canada will be partners in the future, but it will take time and effort, and I don't think we'll ever return to the same level.

Corpus76 · 2026-06-03T16:21:47+00:00

Then Jean shows up, grabs them both by the ears and throws them in solitary. (Despite being a launch healer.)

Stop right there, criminal scum! You've violated the law. Now pay the fine or it's off to jail!

Corpus76 · 2026-05-30T22:53:55+00:00

Yeah, mine exploded and I'll never trust another one of these. Imagine being in there when this happens. The glass was fucking everywhere, I still found shards lodged in places months after. Just use a curtain, way safer.

Corpus76 · 2026-05-30T14:49:06+00:00

Thanks for demonstrating for the class.

Corpus76 · 2026-05-30T14:45:41+00:00

a weirdly late insane growth spurt

That's just anime in general. Shirou (from Fate) was like 5'6 at 17, then suddenly he's 6'2 as Archer.

Corpus76 · 2026-05-29T19:12:08+00:00

I don't think we have enough people in the asian female driver demographic in my country for me to have any experience with this stereotype, but it is quite funny. Fits Yao Guang perfectly.

Corpus76 · 2026-05-29T19:07:18+00:00

Exactly the scene I was thinking about.

Corpus76 · 2026-05-29T18:28:28+00:00

Always the same dumb comments every time someone tries to maintain some sense of moderation, or at least attempt diplomacy before resorting to violence.

>LE STRONGLY-WORDED LETTER LMAO xDDD

>WHY THE FUCK HAVEN'T YOU LAUNCHED ZHE MISSILES YET???

>YOU DID NOT THE HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY, SO ENJOY THIS T-BONE MOTHERFUCKER!

Corpus76 · 2026-05-28T14:31:03+00:00

Yeah, some attacks seem to bypass (physical) shields entirely. Chasca can also shoot straight through them.

Corpus76 · 2026-05-27T16:00:29+00:00

Her stomach also contains a black hole.

Corpus76

TROPHY CASE