A Good Start!

[travelingoz]

Not sure if everyone is onto this yet, but should at least help some of the newer players out there:

At the start, you need 4 things that u wont have:
More leadership, money, spells and a good selection of units.

I suggest u keep all your money, etc and have a look around first. To do this first check out the immediate area and see what you can grab especially the leadership flags. Grab a couple of units to defeat the robbers and complete the plugens quest, then go to Arlania and check what troops are available in the castle.

Now, quicksave and do NOT go over the bridge. Watch/dodge the enemy patrols and make your way straight up the path to the beach, speak to the guy there and he will give you a boat. (Don't worry if you alert whatever enemy is near that corner, just keep running, the game pauses while you are talking and you can quickly jump in the boat!).

Right now you can cruise around the coast areas of Arlania and the Vernon and pick up all the goodies. There are at least 20~30 flags that can be picked up without fighting, at least 16K of cash and lots of level ups and runes too.

Also you can go the back way from the coast of Arlania to complete the kings brother quest! I finished the kings 2nd and 3rd quests without any battles at all. If you want, you can sneak in via the coast and get the kings treasure from the castle in Vernon too for a nice XP/cash bonus!

By the time you get back to Greenwort, you should be level 2~4 (that's on hard!) with over 500 extra leadership and plenty of cash to burn. You will also know what kind of units are available at the random locations too!