I don’t know about everyone playing these days, but I myself am greatly relieved that we can finally rescue our family from the slavers with the latest patches. Perhaps the single greatest reward, besides possibly securing “heirs” to replace us when we die, is getting our brother back as a Companion given that he starts off with ridiculously high stats.
Of particular note is that our brother has a Stewardship of 140 (as of patch e1.5.4) and so can increase your party size drastically if he is made your Quartermaster – thus allowing your own character to spend your precious Skill and Attribute points on other things like Vigor for hitting people or Endurance for smithing things to hit people with. Be sure to allocate his skills at the start of the game, because I believe the game allocates them automatically if you let him go without doing that yourself.
For those, like me, who just don’t want kidnapped family hanging over us while we adventure, I’ve deduced a method for saving them as quickly as possible. These steps are applicable the moment you complete the tutorial, although you might consider tailoring your character at the start to maximize progress.
Step 1 – Go to a Vlandian or Khuzait Arena
The first things you need are combat skills and shiny coins. The Practice Arena has been a staple of the Mount and Blade franchise for some time, offering a sort of “floor” from which any player can pick themselves up. Simply put, you go in and beat up some folks and get money for it – especially so if you survive until the end of the match (250 Denars as of Patch e1.5.4). You also get exp for skills used (weapons & athletics) but it's only a trickle compared to real fights - so you're not going to train a skill here past 100 unless you're very patient. Possible? Absolutely. Boring? Absolutely.
But here’s the kicker – not all arenas are made equal. Some, like the Imperial arena are difficult to grind owing to how easy it is to get surrounded and for how long matches last given the sheer size of the arena itself. For this method to be viable you need to participate in quick matches that are survivable.
You might be wondering why such matters? Well, for purposes of “technically” saving your family in a short amount of time, it bears noting that these arena fights can be done as many times as you want without the passage of time. It’s boring and I certainly wouldn’t advise doing it ad nauseam like I do, but you can comfortably make between 25,000 and 50,000 Denars after a few sittings and it will still be day three (or however long it took you to get there). Not to mention you can level up a few combat skills while you’re here for good measure (this comes in use later).
The first contender for those arenas with the two required elements (quick & survivable) are the practice fights held in Khuzait Cities at the start of the game. Little more than reconfigured square livestock pens, sitting in a corner prevents spawns from approaching from behind and with a shield makes front attacks from one or two guys quite survivable. A huge part of Khuzait Arena fights are the weighted javelins, easily the best you’ll find on such circuits. Simply put, Khuzait Practice Arenas are the best place to start getting your skill up in throwing given that it’s easy to bypass opponent shields by hitting them in the legs with a javelin from a distance (and to pick up missed shots). Javelins used in Imperial Practice Fights by comparison are garbage. The other weapon skill you can raise reliably here is One-Handed, but all other weapon pairings that don’t include a shield are subpar here. Spears here are terrible, and there's no real point waiting for the rare drop from later guys as you need consistency for this methodology.
The second contender are the practice fights held in Vlandian Cities at the start of the game. This type of practice fight is my favorite by far for one simple reason: a tree. At one end of the staple arena for such cities is a tree you can hide behind to avoid crossbow fire and funnel attacking npc from one direction (no spawns from the other end really). As long as you're covered and avoid crossbow fire you can easily survive a match. Did I mention crossbows? Yes, unlike bows which I’ve found to be garbage in practice fights, the crossbows in the practice fights are pretty darn good. Use that tree I spoke of like a Pavise and you can comfortably wrack up shot after shot. Another huge benefit of the Vlandian Practice Fights is easy access to billhooks, polearms you can swing. Again, using the tree for cover, you can from the start of most matches commence whacking people senseless with ease.
Other arenas offer different benefits based on the culture and the weapons that spawn from such. Battanian arenas offer consistent Two-Handed Weapon Skill Exp, but they aren't very survivable.
Step 2 – Tournament Circuit w/ Looter Battles
Your character now has a lot of money (25,000 Denars is good) and you are no longer a slouch with weapons or athletics. Congratulations! Now spend that money on raw recruits, supplies and some decent armor. You can’t bring your weapon to an arena fight, just your armor. Each Tournament victory gives 3 Renown, and relatively even battles with looters give about 1 Renown.
To find out where a tournament is being held, ask the arena master in each city about it and he’ll give you a heads up. Then just head to the given city, and if you see a group of looters on the way just have your recruits just stomp them and move on. This is easy to do with ranged or cavalry units, less so with infantry.
Step 3 – Complete the First Quest
In order to complete the starter quest you need to buildup you clan.
Note: Bear in mind that the location of the bandit hideout and the disposition of units will be decided by the city you start the quest in. Start in an imperial city down south and you’ll be fighting some wimpy raiders who run around naked chucking rocks and maybe the odd javelin. Start in a Sturgian city up north and you’ll be fighting a group of sea raiders who are much better equipped with shields, armor and javelins.
Of particular note is that our brother has a Stewardship of 140 (as of patch e1.5.4) and so can increase your party size drastically if he is made your Quartermaster – thus allowing your own character to spend your precious Skill and Attribute points on other things like Vigor for hitting people or Endurance for smithing things to hit people with. Be sure to allocate his skills at the start of the game, because I believe the game allocates them automatically if you let him go without doing that yourself.
For those, like me, who just don’t want kidnapped family hanging over us while we adventure, I’ve deduced a method for saving them as quickly as possible. These steps are applicable the moment you complete the tutorial, although you might consider tailoring your character at the start to maximize progress.
Step 1 – Go to a Vlandian or Khuzait Arena
The first things you need are combat skills and shiny coins. The Practice Arena has been a staple of the Mount and Blade franchise for some time, offering a sort of “floor” from which any player can pick themselves up. Simply put, you go in and beat up some folks and get money for it – especially so if you survive until the end of the match (250 Denars as of Patch e1.5.4). You also get exp for skills used (weapons & athletics) but it's only a trickle compared to real fights - so you're not going to train a skill here past 100 unless you're very patient. Possible? Absolutely. Boring? Absolutely.
But here’s the kicker – not all arenas are made equal. Some, like the Imperial arena are difficult to grind owing to how easy it is to get surrounded and for how long matches last given the sheer size of the arena itself. For this method to be viable you need to participate in quick matches that are survivable.
You might be wondering why such matters? Well, for purposes of “technically” saving your family in a short amount of time, it bears noting that these arena fights can be done as many times as you want without the passage of time. It’s boring and I certainly wouldn’t advise doing it ad nauseam like I do, but you can comfortably make between 25,000 and 50,000 Denars after a few sittings and it will still be day three (or however long it took you to get there). Not to mention you can level up a few combat skills while you’re here for good measure (this comes in use later).
The first contender for those arenas with the two required elements (quick & survivable) are the practice fights held in Khuzait Cities at the start of the game. Little more than reconfigured square livestock pens, sitting in a corner prevents spawns from approaching from behind and with a shield makes front attacks from one or two guys quite survivable. A huge part of Khuzait Arena fights are the weighted javelins, easily the best you’ll find on such circuits. Simply put, Khuzait Practice Arenas are the best place to start getting your skill up in throwing given that it’s easy to bypass opponent shields by hitting them in the legs with a javelin from a distance (and to pick up missed shots). Javelins used in Imperial Practice Fights by comparison are garbage. The other weapon skill you can raise reliably here is One-Handed, but all other weapon pairings that don’t include a shield are subpar here. Spears here are terrible, and there's no real point waiting for the rare drop from later guys as you need consistency for this methodology.
The second contender are the practice fights held in Vlandian Cities at the start of the game. This type of practice fight is my favorite by far for one simple reason: a tree. At one end of the staple arena for such cities is a tree you can hide behind to avoid crossbow fire and funnel attacking npc from one direction (no spawns from the other end really). As long as you're covered and avoid crossbow fire you can easily survive a match. Did I mention crossbows? Yes, unlike bows which I’ve found to be garbage in practice fights, the crossbows in the practice fights are pretty darn good. Use that tree I spoke of like a Pavise and you can comfortably wrack up shot after shot. Another huge benefit of the Vlandian Practice Fights is easy access to billhooks, polearms you can swing. Again, using the tree for cover, you can from the start of most matches commence whacking people senseless with ease.
Other arenas offer different benefits based on the culture and the weapons that spawn from such. Battanian arenas offer consistent Two-Handed Weapon Skill Exp, but they aren't very survivable.
Step 2 – Tournament Circuit w/ Looter Battles
Your character now has a lot of money (25,000 Denars is good) and you are no longer a slouch with weapons or athletics. Congratulations! Now spend that money on raw recruits, supplies and some decent armor. You can’t bring your weapon to an arena fight, just your armor. Each Tournament victory gives 3 Renown, and relatively even battles with looters give about 1 Renown.
To find out where a tournament is being held, ask the arena master in each city about it and he’ll give you a heads up. Then just head to the given city, and if you see a group of looters on the way just have your recruits just stomp them and move on. This is easy to do with ranged or cavalry units, less so with infantry.
Step 3 – Complete the First Quest
In order to complete the starter quest you need to buildup you clan.
- You’ll need 20 troops, some Denars, about 50 Renown and a companion in your roster. The instant these tasks are accomplished, an “acquaintance” will approach you when you’re in a city and tell you where to find your family. It's another bandit hideout... how original.
Note: Bear in mind that the location of the bandit hideout and the disposition of units will be decided by the city you start the quest in. Start in an imperial city down south and you’ll be fighting some wimpy raiders who run around naked chucking rocks and maybe the odd javelin. Start in a Sturgian city up north and you’ll be fighting a group of sea raiders who are much better equipped with shields, armor and javelins.
- An easy way to control this is to refrain from hiring a companion until you’re ready to start and when the companion (or just some temp choice) is in the city/ares of your choice. But if you don't care who you fight, just ignore this consideration entirely.
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