Sweet Realistic Medieval Combat (Mount and Blade)

[Dutch_guy]

I find it very tough fighting Swadian deserters with armies of 20-30 crossbowmen. They kill my knights and so, like Kraxis said earlier in this thread, I avoid giving battle to them.

well I have found these army's to be very annoying also , so what I do is just pay them, it usually costs you 1500-2000 and the funny part is , that you don't lose ANY gold at all , this is a bug I guess.
Don't know if any one else has experienced this ( BTW I'am still playing the trial version )

As for army mix, I usually go all infantry with a couple of skirmishers,with these kind of army's I have beaten lot's of army's mostly Khergit Raiders ( because they are all horse army's easy to beat when bogged down )

[Big_John]

Yeah, I've done all that, except I'm using a crossbow instead of a bow. They've got much greater damage. You do have to dismount to use one but that should theoretically make you a smaller target.

remember though, bows don't take half as long to reload, so the damage-per-second difference isn't that great. with a good horse archery skill (like 3 at least) you can become a deadly, mobile sniping machine!

i once killed 3 bandits that were chasing me on horseback.. swiveled all the way around, and 3 bodkins later, three horses were bandit-less.

[BDC]

Hehe, level 9 already on my new character. Don't go merchant, it takes absolutely ages to do anything and the money you make will be lost because you are too inept to shoot anything that attacks you. It takes ages going between cities too. It needs a time-accelerate button.

[The Tuffen]

Hehe, level 9 already on my new character. Don't go merchant, it takes absolutely ages to do anything and the money you make will be lost because you are too inept to shoot anything that attacks you. It takes ages going between cities too. It needs a time-accelerate button.

I'm playing a merchant at the moment. At the moment he's kicking ass (then again i'm playing on easy).

He's already got 16000 in gold and has loads of cool equipment as well.

[Steppe Merc]

Although it does strike me that this method might be considered something of a cheat...

Not at all! The Mongols and other steppe forces always choose their ground,. and wouldn't fight unless they wanted to. Why shouldn't you?

[screwtype]

Well, this is one thing you can control - your exposure to enemy fire. When it gets excessive, you can use a reverse slope defence or just peak around the corner of your hill, taking them out one at a time.

Yeah, I've done that too. It's something you learn quite early in this game - to make yourself as small a target as possible.

But I've figured out what the main problem was. I was just fighting against a bunch of real hard guys - 18 sea raiders. I thought they weren't so tough as I have killed up to half a dozen fighting solo, and this time I had with me a party of 21 including 1 knight and half a dozen horsemen, but they are no match for those raiders. I played the same battle over a dozen times and lost it by a street every time.

But with essentially the same party I am now beating the crap out of large bands of mountain bandits, so I think the main lesson is to choose your enemies carefully

I find it very tough fighting Swadian deserters with armies of 20-30 crossbowmen. They kill my knights and so, like Kraxis said earlier in this thread, I avoid giving battle to them.

Yes, I instinctively avoid these parties, as I know from experience what kind of havoc I can wreak on large parties when fighting solo with just me and my own crossbow. Crossbows are really deadly weapons, even a humble hunting crossbow will get 60-70 points of damage at distance with a headshot, so they're not the sort of weapons you'd want to face en masse

I rather like the balance of arms in the this game - neither cav, nor shooters, nor melee infantry are obviously superior. Personally, I like a roughly 50:50 mix of cav and shooters.

Yeah, there's a lot to like about it. I think I just like the fact that it provides a real challenge, I've played so many PC games that have got everything but that most important element. Not only can the combat be tough, but you also have a bunch of different skills you can hone over time, so there's always that feeling you could be doing better if only you were a bit more skilful...

Thanks everyone for your advice. Much appreciated

[screwtype]

Not at all! The Mongols and other steppe forces always choose their ground,. and wouldn't fight unless they wanted to. Why shouldn't you?

On reflection I decided it wasn't a cheat. If you have the more mobile party then there's no reason you couldn't give battle on a field of your own choosing. Personally I think I prefer just taking pot luck, but I'll certainly keep your tactic in mind, especially for those battles where you need every bit of help you can get

[Sethik]

I don't think that any body has mentioned how good Javalins are. They are extremely accurate (the targeting reticule barely widens!) and deal loads of damage. The only problem I have is their relatively low ammunition rate (Jarls only have 8 per battle.) Though if you are aim good enough its possible to score a kill with each as headshots are pretty easy to dish out.

Another thing that's great about them is seeing someone recieve a headshot with a Jarl and see them live running around with a meter long stick jutting out of their skull.

[doc_bean]

I downloaded it last night. I think Kraxis' nailed it. The combat is great, the rest is pretty worthless (now). I'm not going to pay to play the beta, as I think the game is too limited at the moment.

I've been fighting in the arena most of the time, it's fun, you learn to use the different weapons, you can make some money, and at least you only have one other teammate that can screw up.
The weapon selections in the arena seems random, leading to some very unbalanced situations. Two guys with just longswords fighting a mounted lancer and a horse archer ? You can pretty much forget about winning that.
Some people commented that the horses in the arena are cr*p, I disagree, you just have to learn to use the breaks

Overall, it's a very promising combat system, now they just have to build a game around it

EDIT: So far no one mentioned the shadows, they're some of the Best shadows I ever saw in a game, in one fight, I noticed an enemy approaching me from behind because of his shadow.

[The Scourge]

The weapon selections in the arena seems random, leading to some very unbalanced situations. Two guys with just longswords fighting a mounted lancer and a horse archer ? You can pretty much forget about winning that.
Some people commented that the horses in the arena are cr*p, I disagree, you just have to learn to use the breaks

.

Get a good side swing ready ,and time it right ,and you can easily take any mounted fighter down from his horse.
In fact that's one of my favorite weapons in the arena.

[screwtype]

Yes the shadows are good, and I forgot to mention before that the lighting effects are also very good. Some of those sunsets and sunrises are quite spectacular, and the sky with its streaks of clouds is very evocative IMO.

As to there being "a combat system but no game", I'd say there's already more game there than a lot of commercial releases. But I agree it's all a bit purposeless ATM, all there is to do really is level up your character/s to ever greater heights. The developer Armanag says there's a lot in the works and the game is still many months from completion, so it will be interesting to see what the end result is like.

[The Scourge]

Btw ,Doc_bean ,that wasn't meant to be all snooty ,it's just that one of the things I've noticed about this game ,and one of the best things about it ,I think .Is that there is no one way of playing better than other .It lets you find your own style ;what ever it is that works best for you.
My heavy helmed ,great two handed sword night ,is a killer ,but I am pretty useless as a horse archer ,which I am trying to change with my latest steppe type hero.

screwtype .Another overlooked aspect I think is the sound effects .
That sound of sword going through flesh at full gallop ,really gives it a wicked ,but great feeling of immersion.

[Efrem]

I just love building up money and prestige. Awesome game.

[Steppe Merc]

:sigh:
Just reached level 6, when I was finally getting the hang of the game. Well, it helped me with Morrowind withdrawl when I broke the plug of my Xbox...
Probably gonna start a new game.

Oh, and my little brother whose 10, really likes this game.

[screwtype]

Why don't you just buy the game?

Cripes, it's only the price of a pizza!

[Steppe Merc]

Well I don't have a credit card, and I would feel a bit sketchy asking my parents to let me use 12 bucks off one of theirs to buy an internet game.

[Kraxis]

Well, the game certainly has promiss in the other departments, and there is talk about including jousting and various archery contests. Now that will be great right?
But as it is now it is the combat that is the best, and in my eyes the only part of the game that makes it stand out. But that part is so great that it honestly doesn't need much else to be successful, at least at this cost.

Before you disagree, remember that I got my first set of Black Armour at level 17. And I wasn't even a Merchant or someone out looking for money and so on. That is way too early to get the best armour (I have since advanced it to reinforced and those extra bonusses to the armour). I'm now level 29 and a nasty evil force on the battlefield. Even Marnid has gotten a full Black Armour set (though the helmet is rusty), and Borcha has gotten a Black Helmet and greaves and plate armour (which is odd given he is a horse archer).

Personalized equipment or special equipment is a need to some extent to let the game live on after level 25 where you are normally can survive basically anything.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Well I don't have a credit card, and I would feel a bit sketchy asking my parents to let me use 12 bucks off one of theirs to buy an internet game.

I do it all the time...how else do you buy anything off the net?

[doc_bean]

I do it all the time...how else do you buy anything off the net?

I never buy anything from the web

Get a good side swing ready ,and time it right ,and you can easily take any mounted fighter down from his horse.
In fact that's one of my favorite weapons in the arena.

Horse archers don't need to get close though.

Btw ,Doc_bean ,that wasn't meant to be all snooty

That didn't even cross my mind


Does anyone else find the jump feature a bit unrealistic ? Your guy/girl can jump pretty high wearing all that armour
It did give one of the most satisfying victories, me as an archer against a mounted lancer, he kept charging and I timed my jumps and shots so that I would hit him each time just as he would lower his shield

Everyone also seems to be able to take a lot of slice and dice before they go down....

[The Scourge]

Horse archers don't need to get close though.

Stay behind them ,to the right if you can .They have a bad habit of getting trapped against the fence .
Horsemanship is not one of the AI's strong points.

[screwtype]

Well I don't have a credit card, and I would feel a bit sketchy asking my parents to let me use 12 bucks off one of theirs to buy an internet game.

Oh okay, you don't have an income of your own. I assumed you did, my apologies

[screwtype]

I got my first set of Black Armour at level 17. And I wasn't even a Merchant or someone out looking for money and so on. That is way too early to get the best armour

Yeah I think it's way too easy to make money. Now that I've got a modestly useful party together it's pitifully easy to biff bandit hordes and just whip back to the nearest city to sell all the booty, rinse and repeat.

Someone at taleworlds argued that upkeep for troops, especially good ones, should be much higher, and that upgrading should also cost money. I've argued that you shouldn't get much booty as you have to share it out equally with your party members, but that you should get your money from trading slaves instead, which would make that area of the game more important. It really serves no function as it is. Of course slaves would then have to be worth a lot more than is currently the case...

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I think different slaves should be worth different amounts. A sea raider is bound to be more fit and therefore more valuable than some bottom-of-the-barrel river pirate, who probably hasn't eaten in days.

And slavery is worth a good 1k denars if you get 10 captives; this is not bad, especially if you have a team of Swadian crossbows. When they break out the hand-to-hand weapons, they are usually blunt. Slavery can be profitible, as long as you are patient. It probably isn't so useful later in the game, though.

[Crazed Rabbit]

At the higher levels (I'm in the low twenties) slavery becomes less usefull when you have 80k gold and can only sell them for 100 gold each, and they slow down your party, etc.

And I agree with the poster who said that javs are great. I love hitting a knight in the face and killing him before he gets to swing his sword even once.

And while combat is still great fun (I've played at least 20 hours), the lack of a storyline, and the fact that the game is, after all, in beta stage, does kind of make it not as fun.

What I'd love to see is the ability to build your own fort and defend it from the Vaegirs and Swadians.

Think about it: a small palisaded camp with a large wooden keep, archers patrolling the walls and shooting as enemy soldiers approach and try to batter down the gate medieval style. You fight on the ground as they enter, slowly backing up to the wall. But you see that they are to many for you, and order your archers to retreat into your keep. From the windows, they pepper the enemy soldiers while you and a handful of swordsmen stay fighting on the walls. Finally, you are forced to retreat into the keep, where you lock the door. They keep on attacking, but are almost annihilated. Finally, you burst out, sword raised on high, and they turn and run in fear. You take out a javelin and throw it at them, hitting one in the head while your archers kill the rest.

You could have a smithy, tavern, even your own room to rest and decorate. You could set taxes, lower than neighbors to attract their farmers, and attracting others by offering a refuge from the war.

Crazed Rabbit

[Spino]

What I'd love to see is the ability to build your own fort and defend it from the Vaegirs and Swadians.

Think about it: a small palisaded camp with a large wooden keep, archers patrolling the walls and shooting as enemy soldiers approach and try to batter down the gate medieval style. You fight on the ground as they enter, slowly backing up to the wall. But you see that they are to many for you, and order your archers to retreat into your keep. From the windows, they pepper the enemy soldiers while you and a handful of swordsmen stay fighting on the walls. Finally, you are forced to retreat into the keep, where you lock the door. They keep on attacking, but are almost annihilated. Finally, you burst out, sword raised on high, and they turn and run in fear. You take out a javelin and throw it at them, hitting one in the head while your archers kill the rest.

You could have a smithy, tavern, even your own room to rest and decorate. You could set taxes, lower than neighbors to attract their farmers, and attracting others by offering a refuge from the war.

Crazed Rabbit

Very

Cool

Idea

The idea of your own fort, keep, castle or town sounds brilliant. These should be rewards for long standing service with a particular faction's Count or King. Perfectly reasonable as it is a nod towards the feudal system in Medieval Europe. Sign me up!

However...

Given the current state of the AI it would be damn hard to implement. Missile troops in your party are already infuriatingly dodgy with respect to their behavior. Getting Amargan & company to program the AI droogies to man the walls or defend a gate or breach sounds like a tall order my friend.

Still, it's a brilliant idea.

[Steppe Merc]

That would be awesome.

I have a question: what is that current keep on the edge of the map? Haven't gotten over there yet...
And is it just me, or is the 4 Way Inn really sad? I guess they never finished it... It's just grass. Not even any people there, like the salt mine...

[zelda12]

Indeed, a most excellant idea, may I suggest that you suggest at the M&B forums? Amargan would almost certainly see it, and if not in this game then M&B2, and then you will be forever made immortal!

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I think I saw something in their forums (I'm lurking ) about building your own town. Here's the thread. It is a discussion of some mod tools, and includes some screenshots. Anyway, one of the people helping the devs had this to say:

alphabeta77 said,
Each of these buildings are modular - ie each floor, large object is
a separate object so you guys will be able to 'build' your own towns
lego-style in the later versions of the game.

But seiges would be amazing in this game. Please mention it in the suggestions forum.

[Quietus]

The battles are indeed exhilarating!

How do you guys capture soldiers? I have a hunter, but I'm more of merchant. I keep getting robbed Maybe I should lower the battle size?

I just got the fast horse with speed 11, and occassionally go join battles already in progress I've read in one of the post that you can make yourself fast by using multiple horses. Anyone tried?

Love the AI!! It can actually parry my strikes!! I use the Normal/Good AI setting, the highest ones I think.

[Big_John]

you can capture soldiers by knocking them unconscious instead of killing them. to knock them out, use blunt weapons like rocks, maces, hammers and clubs. the jousting lance also works for that, as does simply trampling an enemy with your horse. some troops tend to use blunt weapons too (manhunters, for example). you'll need some skill in "prisoner management" (i think it's called) to get many prisoners at once.

the extra horses thing works, to some degree (i haven't figured out the full extent of it yet). also, carrying priconers with you slows you down.