Leveling melee combat skills - Family members

[Dabos37]

I am finding really tiresome to leveling up melee combat skills for my kids. Once they are available after 82635718263 days, I am usually king already, and leading a +400 men party which makes impossible to leveling up melee combat skills for my kids.

Making my kids party leaders does not work well either for melee combat skills, and most of the battles they do not get a single skill point for weapon skills.

Same happens with quests, you send them to resolve quests and most of them just give XP for non-related weapon skills.

The only way for leveling combat skills is babysitting family members for trying they get the kills while I distract enemies, which is a pain to do.

Leveling companions and family members in early game is ok, because small battles are good for leveling up combat skills, but we get our kids pretty late in campaign, when most of the battles are huge.Am I missing something for making easier leveling up combat skills for family members, or it is just another bad designed mechanic?

 

[Hero07911010]

Leveling companions and family members in early game is ok, because small battles are good for leveling up combat skills

That's the solution. Have them fight small battles. Raid hideouts or fight bandit parties. Use only the companions/family you want to build up.

 

[Dabos37]

That's the solution. Have them fight small battles. Raid hideouts or fight bandit parties. Use only the companions/family you want to build up.

Yes, but even if you have kids really soon, you have to wait about 1600-1700 days until they are available. In late game you rarely fight bandies or clear hideouts.

 

[MainTango]

If you're on PC, you can use the rts camera mod and play as a family member/companion during a battle. This way I was able to boost some of their skills like vigor skills and athletics.

 

[Hero07911010]

Yes, but even if you have kids really soon, you have to wait about 1600-1700 days until they are available. In late game you rarely fight bandies or clear hideouts.

Because you choose not to fight bandits and clear hideouts. I'm saying, choose to clear a hideout so you can level the skills.

 

[BigFat]

Because you choose not to fight bandits and clear hideouts. I'm saying, choose to clear a hideout so you can level the skills.

Even then it's slow and tedious. It's ok to take a break from being TWs greatest ally to admit certain aspects of the game could use quality of life improvements.

 

[Dabos37]

Because you choose not to fight bandits and clear hideouts. I'm saying, choose to clear a hideout so you can level the skills.

Yes, I choose not to fight bandits or clear hideouts. Once you are playing as a king and leading 400 men party in non-stop wars, there is really not much time to taking a walk with my kids and babysitting them for leveling up.

I think we need a way for leveling up companions and family members in late game. Fighting huge battles is not as effective for leveling up as fighting small battles in early game, and while “I choose” to not fight these small battles against bandits, it has also to do with the game progression. A king shouldn’t personally care of clearing hideouts and personally supervising (babysitting) their family training. We need something for effectively level up companions and family in late game.

 

[NPC99]

I think we need a way for leveling up companions and family members in late game.

Making children or companions party leaders in my army, levels them up reasonably quickly.

 

[Dabos37]

Making children or companions party leaders in my army, levels them up reasonably quickly.

You mean melee combat skills?

Leveling up social and intelligence skills is ok, and even leveling up archery is ok, because in large battles there are usually a skirmish at the beginning, but leveling combat melee skills is a pain for me when you are fighting big battles. My kids get wounded before being able to do much most of the times.

 

[NPC99]

You mean melee combat skills?

Leveling up social and intelligence skills is ok, and even leveling up archery is ok, because in large battles there are usually a skirmish at the beginning, but leveling combat melee skills is a pain for me when you are fighting big battles. My kids get wounded before being able to do much most of the times.

No, IMO melee combat skills are less important than leadership, medicine, stewardship and tactics. However, companions/children progress in combat skills if you keep taking them into battle.

 

[Dabos37]

No, IMO melee combat skills are less important than leadership, medicine, stewardship and tactics. However, companions/children progress in combat skills if you keep taking them into battle.

Yeah, melee combat skill are less relevant but still important for making kids able to participate in tournaments, and it is also more immersive to see some of your kids becoming great warriors by themselves. I only have doctors, nurses and engineers in my family…

Companions and family members fighting AI vs AI battles should give more XP for weapon skills. Currently it is pretty rare to see them gettin a skill point in weapon skills in battles. They just level up medicine and leadership in 99% of the battles.

 

[Hero07911010]

What if TW made it so you could put your companions in the arena for a few weeks? Not tournaments but arena fights, like practice or training.

 

[Dabos37]

That could work. On the Inter hand, just tweaking the features we currently have could help. For example:

- Increase combat skills XP in AI vs AI and autoresolve battles for companions and family members. They rarely get XP in AI vs AI battles, and it feels random. Most of the battles my kids do not get a single combat skill point in AI vs AI battles, despite of having really low skill level, which means that these skills could level up easily with a small amount of XP.
- Add combat skills XP in all quests where fight is involved, when sending companions & family to resolve them. Sending my son to clear a hideout and just getting XP in scouting is silly.

I think both changes are easy to apply and would improve a lot the current situation where our kids usually have pretty low combat skills.

 

[Hero07911010]

They rarely get XP in AI vs AI battles, and it feels random.

It is random, or at least it was last time I looked. The auto resolve battle would randomly select a troop from each side and simulate a fight. It's entirely possible that your companions will never be selected to fight in those battles. The only way to guarantee they participate in the fight is to run the battle live and order them to fight. I use hideouts for this. As you are marching your 400+ man army across the countryside, if you see a hideout, stop and clear it using the companions you want to gain melee skill xp.

 

[Dabos37]

It is random, or at least it was last time I looked. The auto resolve battle would randomly select a troop from each side and simulate a fight. It's entirely possible that your companions will never be selected to fight in those battles. The only way to guarantee they participate in the fight is to run the battle live and order them to fight. I use hideouts for this. As you are marching your 400+ man army across the countryside, if you see a hideout, stop and clear it using the companions you want to gain melee skill xp.

I have been doing this in my current campaign and it is still extremely slow. My kids get +1 or +2 skill points in melee skills at best, and sometimes they get 0.

Are you getting a good skill level by doing this? To reach +150 or so in only one weapon skill, I think I would need to clear out about +100 hideouts which is simply.

I can make them level up relatively fast if I babysit them, I mean, if I thank enemies while my son kills them, but I think this is not how this should work.

 

[Ananda_The_Destroyer]

Give them a bow and a horse instead and they will rack up exp and you can invest AP into better skills. You can slap a glaive on them if you want them to have some melee, but there's no reason to bother raising melee skills, it's just playing badly on purpose.

 

[Dabos37]

Give them a bow and a horse instead and they will rack up exp and you can invest AP into better skills. You can slap a glaive on them if you want them to have some melee, but there's no reason to bother raising melee skills, it's just playing badly on purpose.

Once you have played +2000, using the best strategy is just boring. For example, I do not use medicine, scouting, smithing, getting only 100 in riding, etc. Yes, it is about playing badly on purpose for making the game more challenging.

Then I have realized that leveling up melee skills for companions is really awful.

 

[mujadaddy]

I am finding really tiresome to leveling up melee combat skills for my kids.

Put them in your party and tell them to hold fire while you hunt down small parties. I doubt you can get them to 300, but 200s are doable if you focus on it. Also, tournaments.

This kid has been a Governor all his life, only tournies:

This kid has been in my party all her life, but I never told her to hold fire:

Her 2H is 100% from Tournaments, fyi.

 

[Dabos37]

Put them in your party and tell them to hold fire while you hunt down small parties. I doubt you can get them to 300, but 200s are doable if you focus on it. Also, tournaments.

This kid has been a Governor all his life, only tournies:

This kid has been in my party all her life, but I never told her to hold fire:

Her 2H is 100% from Tournaments, fyi.

Interesting, thanks for sharing.

Just some questions:
- how old are they?
- When you say tournaments, how is possible that the governor kid was able to participate in it? I mean, my low level weapon skill companions & kids are not able to participate in tournaments. I wonder how the governor kid was able to participate.
- Tournaments where you also participate, or they participate by their own? Which case is better for leveling up them?
- 160 skill level on polearm with only one focus point? It looks weird to me…
- Are you using any mod which could make it easier for leveling up them.

 

[mujadaddy]

Interesting, thanks for sharing.

Just some questions:

Adults, not sure of birthday but I'm a grandparent now; they show level 30 & 34.

Governors, and anyone "left" in town, always participate in tournaments for me; party members, I need to enter also.

1 pip 160, yeah, that does in fact look weird.

I do have "Governors Handle Issues", but afaik that only lets them get minor xp for Quest skills.