The Duke - Stronghold Crusader 2 AI Lords

The Duke is a skirmish opponent in Stronghold Crusader 2 (available as part of the The Duke & The Templar DLC)

Overview

"Having been raised in the French Royal Court, The Duke exudes arrogance. His castle design is more free-form than most featuring multiple layers of wall and nasty killing zones. In attacks he uses conscripts to test your defences before following up with swordsmen protected by rangers. Dangerous? Mais Qui!"

– the Duke's in-game description

Castles & Defenses

The Duke constructs a rather elaborate and unconventional castle. The entire castle is divided into sections separated by walls, made accessible by stairs. The number of sections varies depending on castle size. The most important sections are centred around a specific aspect of castle life such as the keep, barracks, economy and the inn. The duke's castles usually feature two gatehouses facing east and west respectively. Around eight watch towers can be found along the outer wall, while three medium towers are located closer to the keep. A grand tower is located in the southern part of the castle. In terms of tower mounted weaponry, the duke prefers to place two tower mangonels next to his keep. A very large force of rangers is stationed atop the walls, towers and gatehouses. Some of them are also protected by hoardings. The duke's personal bodyguard atop the keep is primarily made up of conscripts, along with some rangers and swordsmen.

The Duke's castle certainly looks very complex and intricate, but it's surprisingly easy to overcome. The first major weakness is the fact that the tower mangonels are placed very deep inside the castle. As a result, they're unlikely to play any part in the battle until an invader's forces are already inside the castle itself. The second major weakness of the Duke is his reliance on rangers for defence. Rangers are undoubtably a good unit, but they're neither durable nor very good at dealing with armoured opponents. The Duke's defensive set up is also poorly suited for dealing with siege weapons. Trebuchets can bombard his castle without consequence, while war wolves are sturdy enough to destroy most towers before the rangers can destroy them in turn. Even a bigger force or catapults can get the job done. Breaking down the wall at the economic section is the best approach, from there one only needs to walk a big enough group of pikemen, swordsmen or Templars up the stairs to the Duke's keep and finish the job.

Economy

The Duke's economy is quite formidable. Ten apple and five pig farms provide him with food. Five hop farms and six breweries supply his inn with lots of ale. For resource gathering he relies on seven wood camps, three quarries and two iron mines. His weapons industry is also quite respectable, hosting three fletchers, three armourers and six blacksmiths.

Raids & Sieges

The Duke's a better attacker than he is a defender. His armies consist out of conscripts, swordsmen, archers and rangers. For siege weapons his preference lies with catapults, war waggons and the occasional trebuchet.

The Duke's harassment strategy is rather similar to the Emperor and the Princess. His first and most common harassment force is simply a large horde of up to a hundred and ten conscripts. These can prove annoying and surprisingly durable, simply thanks to their large numbers. His second force for harassment consists of up to ninety rangers and swordsmen. When sieging his enemies, the Duke relies again on a force mostly made up of rangers and swordsmen supported by some catapults. Eventually, trebuchets and war waggons carrying archers will be added into the mix.

Defending against the Duke doesn't require a big change in tactics compared to lords like the Emperor or Princess. A combination of archers and crossbowmen should usually do the trick. Some pitch or oil pot throwers can also be useful in dealing with his swordsmen. It's advisable to place a group of men at arms or pikemen next to your farms in order to intercept incoming conscript raids. Should your farms end up outside the range of your castle's defenders, add some ranged units to the group defending your farms. When defending against his siege armies, tower ballistae are also a good idea, since they will be necessary to deal with his trebuchets later on. The most important thing to keep in mind with the Duke is that he's a consistent attacker and that his forces come in large numbers. His economy can sustain his war machine rather well, so remain vigilant and prepare for constant battle.