Sweet Realistic Medieval Combat (Mount and Blade)

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Man, I love javelins.

Yes, javelins are great. I just started using them instead of my crossbow, because I was focusing more on mounted combat, and I can use them and still have space for a lance, sword and shield. Crossbow's not much good on a horse either.

[screwtype]

Does anyone know whether injured horses recover over time? I had a cool spirited courser in my last game with a speed of 11 and he got hit a few times and I had a sense he was slowing down, then after one battle I happened to see his stats and he was down to a speed of 6 and listed as a "lame courser"!

Do lame horses get better? Or are they permanently lame? Do horses recover at all over time as long they don't reach lame status?

Also, anyone know if it helps party speed if you have an extra horse in your inventory to help distribute the weight?

[Magraev]

The horse will recover after a long time (as long as 30 days I've heard or as little as 4-6). Unfortunately it won't be spirited any longer.

[desdichado]

Do you also have combat AI on good? The only other thing is I selected the realistic save mode whereby you must save the game whenever you quit.

yeah that'll do it - normal damage, good AI and realistic saving is 107% I think.

Had to start a new campaign after my last one got bugged - had restart problems when I tried to load one particular campaign only - got the message to either retry, abort or ignore - only abort would work and that would rstart computer. Other saved games we're ok and new one seems fine for moment.

shame I lost that campaign cause I had a nice crew of Vaegir knights and was pretty heavily armoured myself riding a spirited courser (he was so fast nobody could catch me)- my dismounted run speed was horrible (too much heavy armour) so if i got knocked off I had to wait for enemy to attack me.

Lost most of a weekend to this game but I now understand what medeival knights were on about - nothing better than riding down a bunch of bandits at full speed with my fellow knights beside me!

Even managed to take about about 6-7 pirates solo with javelins and axes thrown from horseback at full gallop - that was a bunch of fun. takes a while to get it right - now I just have to figure out horse archery for my new character.

only complaint so far is I can't seem too choose exactly which guys to take into battle with me - I once decided to save some peasant women from some sea raiders (hoping their 'gratitude' might up my mens morale) so needless to say my starting force was me, 2 footmen and a bunch of peasants and their wives - against sea raiders we got whomped and I barely survived until my relief force arrived.

still haven't enjoyed a game this much since mtw.

[econ21]

Also, anyone know if it helps party speed if you have an extra horse in your inventory to help distribute the weight?

I believe it does, yes. Indeed, I think party speed depends on the average speed of your party including spare horses. Once I was escorting 7 steppe horses for a quest and my party was pretty fast.

There's a fair amount of depth in this game. I only found out yesterday that bludgeoning and piercing damage halves the effectiveness of armour. Time to put away that sword...

[Efrem]

No, I used to think they did, but after selling off the 5 horses in my inventory and having an identical speed I realised they didn't.

[asilv]

Extra horses help only if you are carrying so much stuff that it would slow you down.

The horse will recover after a long time (as long as 30 days I've heard or as little as 4-6). Unfortunately it won't be spirited any longer.

Apparently having high wound treatment skill speeds recovery.

[The Scourge]

only complaint so far is I can't seem too choose exactly which guys to take into battle with me - I once decided to save some peasant women from some sea raiders (hoping their 'gratitude' might up my mens morale) so needless to say my starting force was me, 2 footmen and a bunch of peasants and their wives - against sea raiders we got whomped and I barely survived until my relief force arrived.

still haven't enjoyed a game this much since mtw.

I think if you go into your party screen ,when in world map view ,you can give priority ,to which troops you start with.
You know those tags that say ;move up one slot ,down one slot .
Haven't tried it yet ,because the default set up seems to be your best men ,which suits me .
Maybe if you're trying to save peasants ,you can't ,which I think would make sense.

[Big_John]

I think if you go into your party screen ,when in world map view ,you can give priority ,to which troops you start with.
You know those tags that say ;move up one slot ,down one slot .
Haven't tried it yet ,because the default set up seems to be your best men ,which suits me .
Maybe if you're trying to save peasants ,you can't ,which I think would make sense.

yeah, that's right. i actually put my weaker troops up front, often, so they can get more experience (kill experience).

[Sethik]

A great way to get money in the beginning of the game is to fight in the arena until you have around 1k or 2k then by a cheap horse and ride for the salt mine. Spend all of your cash there and fill up with salt. Go back to Zender to sell for 2.5 times the price! After a trip or two I had around 4k or 5k!

Afterwards go buy some Swadian Militia (Or Veiger) and hunt river pirates and even mountain bandits for a while until they level up to Swadian Men-at-Arms/Knights. At this point you should be able to fight against more powerful mob groups.

[zelda12]

For those of us who are dabbling in the art of the Horse Archer may I draw your attention to a mod over at the M&B forums.

http://taleworlds.com/v-web/bulletin...t=1609&start=0

Thats right! You can now field an entirely horsearcher army for battle!

[Steppe Merc]

I'm finally getting good at this game! I got myself a spirited steppe horse, a lance, a khergit armour and a steppe bow. I was having a lot of fun riding past my enemies, peppering them with arrows, then charging them down with a lance!

[Spino]

It took roughly one week for this little 35meg game to generate 5 pages worth of posts here at the Org! Simply amazing!

For taking on a party of Huns.... err, Khergit horsemen (or Steppe Bandits for that matter) nothing beats a Spirited Hunter horse; it will catch anything on four legs, turn on a dime and is thick skinned to boot. Spirited Hunters are ideal for rapidly closing the distance between fleet footed horse archers who like to keep their distance and snipe at you and your men. With a Spirited Hunter it takes no time at all for you to catch up and get on their 'blind' side where you can hack them to death without getting a missile in the face. However, most of the time I use a Heavy Charger, it's 36 Charge rating is fantastic and its armor will absorb most minor blows. With a Charger you can knock down anything on two legs at will and can bowl over entire groups of men if you're galloping at a decent speed. I'd love to have a Spirited Charger but I have yet to see one for sale anywhere.

I do have to say that I think Steppe Horses should have the best Turn/Maneuver ratings of all the horses in the game. Those breeds may not be the swiftest but they really can turn on a dime.

[Steppe Merc]

And I think they should start with an 8, as opposed to a 7 in speed (fortuanatly, my spirited has 8). Cause they may not have been the fastest, but they sure as hell could support a rider using a lance. They were also very tough, and could move a long distance better than European horses. Perhaps they should give better map move speed?

[L'Impresario]

Sweet Realistic Medieval Combat indeed. 'Nuff said. And I learned about this game only a few days after I moaned about the lack of realistic medieval RPGs. Heavensent this game is heh
Now, I wonder whether there are some efficient anti-cav measures that one can take, apart from breaking enemy charges by means of missile, or using some form of zweihänder while the horse rides by. Something more in the sense of a spear/pike hedge, where you set your weapon to receive a charge rather than trying actively to chase the rider or kill the mount. I looked a bit at the forums, but I don't remember finding an answer.
Maybe it's reserved for M&B2, where in its mp mode people can form along with their companions nice spear-forests:)

[Big_John]

archery is fun. lancing people in the face got a little boring for me, so now i'm practicing other skills. i wish the battles were harder, though. khergit and dark hunters (or whatever they're called) put up good fights, but generally, that just means a few of my men get killed.. i've only lost most of my men like once.. and i'm lvl 25! once i did get my spirited charger lanced out from under me though.. that was pretty wicked, because i was behind the enemy, and my men were holding position. i got up and was surrounded by 8-10 bandits. it was fun waiting for my men to save me while i hid behind my steel shield. literally, as it was down to ~50/800, a swadian knight and a sword sister came riding through the group of bandits, and we went ape-house on them.



can't wait to see what the devs do with future versions. i wish axes did more damage to shields.. i mean, when i'm charging and swinging my great axe with a ~40% speed bonus, it should just shatter the weaker shields outright. as it is, i prefer the sword of war to the great axe.

oh, btw, can couched lances be blocked with shields? also, are jarids are worth the power throw point?

[The Tuffen]

I'm hooked as well. Only lvl 8 at the moment but getting there. I love charging enemies on horse back and attacking them with my sword.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I found two sound mods for this game. One generally improves battlefield noises, and the other (tries) to increase the sound of horse hooves.

They can both be found here.
Just extract the .zip files into the "Sound" folder in the Mount & Blade directory. I like the mods - the new sounds are pretty good, and a step up from the vanilla sounds.

[Zalmoxis]

I've gotten to level 6 twice so far, and on my second used court lady with Bouche, and even got heradric armor shortly before level 6. So, my question is, is the game worth the money, or will it oly shortly keep your attention?

[Sethik]

Game is definatly worth the 12 bucks. Its just so simple and addictive!

Sweet Realistic Medieval Combat indeed. 'Nuff said. And I learned about this game only a few days after I moaned about the lack of realistic medieval RPGs. Heavensent this game is heh
Now, I wonder whether there are some efficient anti-cav measures that one can take, apart from breaking enemy charges by means of missile, or using some form of zweihänder while the horse rides by. Something more in the sense of a spear/pike hedge, where you set your weapon to receive a charge rather than trying actively to chase the rider or kill the mount. I looked a bit at the forums, but I don't remember finding an answer.
Maybe it's reserved for M&B2, where in its mp mode people can form along with their companions nice spear-forests:)

My bane when on horseback are those npcs that have spears or polearms. I can't reach them with my Sword of War without them striking first. Polearms, if used properly, have a great advantage over horseback.

[screwtype]

Extra horses help only if you are carrying so much stuff that it would slow you down.

Yes, that's what I wanted the extra horses for. I find if I fill my saddlebags with salt or some other product, my party (just me) goes from a speed of 10.5 to around 6.

I have discovered that extra horses in the party will help you carry those goods at a faster speed, however they don't give you as much of a speed boost as you might expect. My character currently has three horses in his inventory (including his mount) but top speed is still only around 8 with full saddlebags.

[screwtype]

Crossbow's not much good on a horse either.

I've made very good use of a crossbow from a mount. In my last session I despatched a bunch of a dozen river pirates with just 15 bolts, hey man I'm getting pretty good at those headshots :)

Crossbows are not so useful when your opponents are mounted tho, although if you have a fast enough horse you can still find time to stop and reload. But it is a bit of nuisance.

I'm starting to think about using melee from horseback more. I've been reluctant to do that for fear of injury to my expensive horse, but I got pretty good results from it in my last party combat, just riding around bopping footbound sea raiders from horseback while avoiding the enemy's mounted troops. Ranged weapons aren't so useful in party melee because it's hard to get a bead without the risk of shooting one of your own. By the time you've got off one or two clear shots the battle can be over.

So what I've done now is get hold of a jousting lance, not only because it knocks opponents out for capture, but also because it has a very long reach of 200 plus which should give a substantial advantage. Now I've just got to learn how to use the darned thing :)

[screwtype]

I just started getting into party combat and it's really hard, a lot harder than fighting by yourself! My party invariably gets slaughtered, in spite of the fact that on paper they're a pretty good mixture of knights, horsemen and veterans. Makes no difference, after every combat, even the ones where we outnumber the enemy, everyone in my party gets killed and maybe one or two of the enemy get killed.

I can't figure out what to do in these combats either. The enemy run around too fast to be easily snagged with ranged weapons. I've tried attacking the ranged enemy units on horseback, but even when you hit them they turn around and shoot you in the back after you've ridden past. Two hits from a bow or crossbow and you're dead!

Sometimes I think the best thing I could do is get off the horse and just mix it up in melee, at least I might take a couple out before I go, but there doesn't seem to be an easy formula either for staying alive or for damaging enemy units.

Anyone got any hints or tips?

[The Scourge]

Anyone got any hints or tips?

How strong and well armoured are you?
Get your-self a good fast horse ,and learn to use the command buttons.
I usually take my men up a hill ,and put them men on hold position while I scout out the lay of the land .
Timing of the charge is also very important .
I almost always try to take their cavalry first ,as your own squad will go for the nearest enemys ,and often get caught in the rear or scattered around place ,if running after cavalry.
So after I've taken care of their cavalry .I use my own horse to harry their foot troops ,and make sure they are the ones that are scattered.

[BDC]

My merchant gets massacred pretty regularly. 9 river hunters managed to kill me and my 12 fairly good quality men because all my horsemen charged straight into a narrow river valley and got themselves chopped up. :(

[econ21]

Anyone got any hints or tips?

Find a nearby hill, hit "2" and lead your men up there. Being on a hill will slow down the enemy, especially the cavalry. Then hit "1". Your shooters will stand and shoot while your horse and melee foot will only engage when the enemy is close. You'll tend to have a concentration of force against the straggling AI army. Tactics skill helps here too.

Personally, I like ranged fire - get some Swadians and train them up the skirmisher to sharpshooter path. They will do a lot of damage and are not that weak in melee. Training skill is cumulative, so you and the two NPCs can all invest in it for fast upgrading of troops.

I like archery myself. Start off with a background that gives you a decent skill or otherwise get to 80+ archery. It will rise with kills after that. I don't bother targeting bandit cavalry much - they are too fast and not that dangerous. I'll take out the odd annoying one who gets too close or survives too long. But generally, my mounted men take care of them.

I focus on the enemy infantry and start shooting as soon as I see them. I usually miss most of the time early on, but have resupplies of arrows in the inventory. If they are heading straight for you, they are not hard to hit closer up. I and my Swadians pick them off as my mounted men get among them. I may have to position myself to the side or in front of my men to get a clear view, but often it's ok on the top of the hill. I focus on the AI infantry that is shooting first, then the others without shields or the ones who have exposed their backs/flanks to me as they chase my horse. It's a waste shooting at the ones approaching you with shield up.

If you put Borsha and Marnid on horse, they can take some of the blows that could otherwise kill your mounted men. They tend to charge off despite the hold position order and often fall unconscious early in the battle, but the disruption they cause is good and anyway it's better them getting a bump on the head than a dead knight or two.

[screwtype]

Find a nearby hill, hit "2" and lead your men up there. Being on a hill will slow down the enemy, especially the cavalry. Then hit "1". Your shooters will stand and shoot while your horse and melee foot will only engage when the enemy is close. You'll tend to have a concentration of force against the straggling AI army. Tactics skill helps here too.

Yeah I do that already but I find they seem to wander off. Often they will manage to take down the enemy's cavalry charge which doesn't wait for the foot soldiers but after that my crap party just seems to get totally murdered in the affray while doing little to no damage themselves. It's really annoying.

Personally, I like ranged fire - get some Swadians and train them up the skirmisher to sharpshooter path. They will do a lot of damage and are not that weak in melee. Training skill is cumulative, so you and the two NPCs can all invest in it for fast upgrading of troops.

This could be one mistake I've made. I've been going for horsemen and knights for the extra speed, but I agree that ranged units are pretty darned powerful in this game.

I like archery myself. Start off with a background that gives you a decent skill or otherwise get to 80+ archery. It will rise with kills after that. I don't bother targeting bandit cavalry much - they are too fast and not that dangerous. I'll take out the odd annoying one who gets too close or survives too long. But generally, my mounted men take care of them.

I focus on the enemy infantry and start shooting as soon as I see them. I usually miss most of the time early on, but have resupplies of arrows in the inventory. If they are heading straight for you, they are not hard to hit closer up. I and my Swadians pick them off as my mounted men get among them. I may have to position myself to the side or in front of my men to get a clear view, but often it's ok on the top of the hill. I focus on the AI infantry that is shooting first, then the others without shields or the ones who have exposed their backs/flanks to me as they chase my horse. It's a waste shooting at the ones approaching you with shield up.

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. All the same those damned enemy bowmen always seem to get me first, mainly because I'm outnumbered by them.

Probably the most successful battle I've fought so far is one where I just rode around at top speed slashing everyone with my sabre. Me and my guys won that really handsomely, and I suspect there is some sort of algorithm in the game that multiplies the success of the rest of your party by your own success. But then when I tried it another time those blasted bowmen cut me down.

If you put Borsha and Marnid on horse, they can take some of the blows that could otherwise kill your mounted men. They tend to charge off despite the hold position order and often fall unconscious early in the battle, but the disruption they cause is good and anyway it's better them getting a bump on the head than a dead knight or two.

Ah, those marvellous heroes. Somehow miraculously only ever manage to get knocked out! Obviously Mr Armanag's commitment to realism isn't all that great

[The Scourge]

Also a good idea to pick the battle field ,according to your preferred tactics.
With my currant knight heavy squad .I like flat open terrain .
Most of the time (Unless you're right in the thick of it.)
you can refuse battle ,and pull your army back and go in when the field is more to your liking.

[screwtype]

Hey, that's a good idea Scourge. I hadn't thought of that. Although it does strike me that this method might be considered something of a cheat...

[econ21]

All the same those damned enemy bowmen always seem to get me first, mainly because I'm outnumbered by them.

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.

But that won't help with your main problem - that your mounted men get cut down. I agree with your assessment - it sounds like you need some ranged troops. Kinda like the British army's response to the swarms of Napoleonic French skirmishers - get more of your own and better ones too.

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.

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.