Bretonia Confederation Question

[Hev E Metal]

My first play as the Brets (WH1) and I was wondering how to handle the confederation of the other Bret kingdoms? When it became possible I did it with all other Brets and my economy took a giant nose dive, -5000 per turn, all army cost. Yikes!

So the first question is what is the best approach for doing this? Just take in one or two at a time?

Next, why doesn't the economy of the other Bret provinces cover the cost for the additional armies that came with their entry into the confederation? If they were supporting their armies without me then why did it change so much after the confederation?

Last, does this economic penalty fade over time or with some other actions / game mechanic that I haven't discovered yet? Is it even a penalty at all?

Thanks

[Ichon]

The AI gets income bonuses that players don't get unless you are playing on Easy.

Really for Bretonnia there are alot less reasons not to confederate since their borders are relatively compact compared to the Empire. Disband most of the units that come in the AI armies and even disbanding most of the commanders will simply send them to your pool and in 5 turns you can recruit again since the leveled Lords the AI has are usually the best part of their armies. Sometimes if I really need an army near where it is at one of the new confederated armies serves as a core of a new army but I rarely keep 100% of the units and usually disband a few even in army I keep.

Main thing with any confederation is that new borders can bring new enemies so keep that in mind though in Bretonnia's case unless all your army are far away even the furthest Duchy border is only 2-3 turns away in forced march.

[Emperor Arcturus Mengsk]

My first play as the Brets (WH1) and I was wondering how to handle the confederation of the other Bret kingdoms? When it became possible I did it with all other Brets and my economy took a giant nose dive, -5000 per turn, all army cost. Yikes!

So the first question is what is the best approach for doing this? Just take in one or two at a time?

Next, why doesn't the economy of the other Bret provinces cover the cost for the additional armies that came with their entry into the confederation? If they were supporting their armies without me then why did it change so much after the confederation?

Last, does this economic penalty fade over time or with some other actions / game mechanic that I haven't discovered yet? Is it even a penalty at all?

Thanks

In WH you get extra upkeep to ALL units with each extra Lord you have active. Which means that even if you recruit just a lord with no units, your existing armies will cost more.

So besides the bonuses the AI might get depending on difficulty level, you also get a lot of extra upkeep just from having extra Lords when you confederate. So usually first thing you do when you confederate if you see yourself in the minus income, is to start disbanding the extra units you got and keep only what you absolutely need.

[Hev E Metal]

Thanks guys. I thought I would have to disband those extra units. Did not know that having extra Lords alone would drive costs up and that disbanding them would make them available later. Good stuff, thanks.