I just wanted to let the devs know from someone who almost exclusively played cavalry in Warband, NW, and in Bannerlord; cavalry is super overpowered in Mount&Blade: Bannerlord! In Warband and even more so in NW, cavalry was a glass cannon. It took only 3 arrows to kill the hunter and if you were stopped the follow-up jump stab was usually a one-shot kill. To fix cavalry in Bannerlord, horses should be given base health of 175, couch lancing should be rebalanced, all cavalry should be given shields by default (with some exceptions), Battanian and Bedouin cav should be given throwable weapons by default, and hitboxes of horses/horsemen need to be more precise.
Currently, the worst horse in the game, in terms of health, is the tarpan at 190 but the base horse for Courser and Vanguard starts at 220. The Vanguard can then add a further 36 armor by taking half barding; the Mamluke horse starts at 230 with 25 armor but with barding, it gets 235 hit points and 42 armor. Short of the tarpan, there is no horse in this game that cannot be turned into a tank. Even the Battanian dale pony starts at 215 but if with the tougher horse it is getting 260hp. Then additionally, barding adds 29 armor creating an unkillable medieval tank. The Knight with the tougher horse has 270 hp with 44 armor and I have NEVER seen a knight's horse die in a skirmish match (~1000 played). If the hp for a knight was 200 but the tougher horse got it to 220; that would be more balanced and realistic. HOWEVER, the damage output also needs to be fixed in that case.
The fact that my couched lance being delivered at 25 miles per hour with 2000 pounds behind it won’t one-shot that fat glorified peasant legionary because he was "running away from me at 3-6mph" is absurd. Couch lancing at any speed within the couching threshold should be a one-shot on foot troops and when used on cavalry, should always one-shot a horse unless it is running in the opposite direction. In the current game state, a head-on couch lance will sometimes not kill, or even glance the other guy’s horse and if the horse being couched isn’t moving FORGET ABOUT IT.
Additionally, any cavalry unit that has to make a choice between the lance or the shield negates the lance’s worth because it is not reasonable to bring a lance and no shield, especially with the effectiveness of archers and throwable weapons. Shields should be standard on all cavalry units. Taking shields from cavalry for balance purposes isn't enjoyable for anyone. The only cav in-game who should have to take a perk or shouldn't even be offered a shield at all are Empire Cataphract and Kuhzait cav. To balance the Cataphract it should have 55 armor, leave its horse at 250 hp, and increase knotos damage to 55. It should not be allowed to take a shield and then it might be viable and played like the devs intended. I think the unit looks laughable with that baby shield and spear. Kuzait cav would be WAY more viable if horses got nerfed. Lancers and nomads would take bows because they could actually whittle down horses allowing for diverse playstyles rather than cavalry “metas”.
Battanian and Bedouin cavalry should be given throwable weapons by default which would make them viable when playing against other factions in competitive matches. The Battanian’s are supposed to have the “weakest” cavalry unit since they lack a heavy option as well as a lance. Permanent throwables would be an adequate buff to the unit propagating competition with heavier cavalry units such as the Knight. In turn, Bedouins should be given Jarids again because that would be a lot of fun (teehee
).
Fixing the hitboxes of horses and their riders would make duels between horsemen more precise and skill-based. Currently, when fighting with melee weapons on horseback against other cavalry units, the horseman’s shield seems to cover their entire body, including their backs, as well as about 33% of the horse’s body. The current meta is to turtle by holding a shield block and hide behind their horse’s high hp (*cough cough Melon*). This mechanic does not really make sense. A small heater shield (for example) should not prevent a sword stroke to a rider’s legs or horse’s ribcage when the rider is holding that shield to cover their body. The shield on horseback seems to have a shadow hitbox that covers a majority of the horse as well, making mounted hand-to-hand combat lackluster and unimaginative. If the shield were to only cover the rider’s body like a footman’s shield does, then cavalry players would be forced to dodge, parry, or at least attack back to survive combat (@MELON <3).
Cavalry in Bannerlord can be fixed by giving horses base health of 175, rebalancing couch lancing, giving shields by default to most cav units, giving default throwable weapons to Battanian and Bedouins, and adjusting the hitboxes of horses/horsemen especially in the case of shields. These are just my thoughts and opinions, and therefore I wanted to start a discussion around this topic to see some positive change in the competitive Bannerlord scene.
Where is my bug finder badge?
Currently, the worst horse in the game, in terms of health, is the tarpan at 190 but the base horse for Courser and Vanguard starts at 220. The Vanguard can then add a further 36 armor by taking half barding; the Mamluke horse starts at 230 with 25 armor but with barding, it gets 235 hit points and 42 armor. Short of the tarpan, there is no horse in this game that cannot be turned into a tank. Even the Battanian dale pony starts at 215 but if with the tougher horse it is getting 260hp. Then additionally, barding adds 29 armor creating an unkillable medieval tank. The Knight with the tougher horse has 270 hp with 44 armor and I have NEVER seen a knight's horse die in a skirmish match (~1000 played). If the hp for a knight was 200 but the tougher horse got it to 220; that would be more balanced and realistic. HOWEVER, the damage output also needs to be fixed in that case.
The fact that my couched lance being delivered at 25 miles per hour with 2000 pounds behind it won’t one-shot that fat glorified peasant legionary because he was "running away from me at 3-6mph" is absurd. Couch lancing at any speed within the couching threshold should be a one-shot on foot troops and when used on cavalry, should always one-shot a horse unless it is running in the opposite direction. In the current game state, a head-on couch lance will sometimes not kill, or even glance the other guy’s horse and if the horse being couched isn’t moving FORGET ABOUT IT.
Additionally, any cavalry unit that has to make a choice between the lance or the shield negates the lance’s worth because it is not reasonable to bring a lance and no shield, especially with the effectiveness of archers and throwable weapons. Shields should be standard on all cavalry units. Taking shields from cavalry for balance purposes isn't enjoyable for anyone. The only cav in-game who should have to take a perk or shouldn't even be offered a shield at all are Empire Cataphract and Kuhzait cav. To balance the Cataphract it should have 55 armor, leave its horse at 250 hp, and increase knotos damage to 55. It should not be allowed to take a shield and then it might be viable and played like the devs intended. I think the unit looks laughable with that baby shield and spear. Kuzait cav would be WAY more viable if horses got nerfed. Lancers and nomads would take bows because they could actually whittle down horses allowing for diverse playstyles rather than cavalry “metas”.
Battanian and Bedouin cavalry should be given throwable weapons by default which would make them viable when playing against other factions in competitive matches. The Battanian’s are supposed to have the “weakest” cavalry unit since they lack a heavy option as well as a lance. Permanent throwables would be an adequate buff to the unit propagating competition with heavier cavalry units such as the Knight. In turn, Bedouins should be given Jarids again because that would be a lot of fun (teehee
).Fixing the hitboxes of horses and their riders would make duels between horsemen more precise and skill-based. Currently, when fighting with melee weapons on horseback against other cavalry units, the horseman’s shield seems to cover their entire body, including their backs, as well as about 33% of the horse’s body. The current meta is to turtle by holding a shield block and hide behind their horse’s high hp (*cough cough Melon*). This mechanic does not really make sense. A small heater shield (for example) should not prevent a sword stroke to a rider’s legs or horse’s ribcage when the rider is holding that shield to cover their body. The shield on horseback seems to have a shadow hitbox that covers a majority of the horse as well, making mounted hand-to-hand combat lackluster and unimaginative. If the shield were to only cover the rider’s body like a footman’s shield does, then cavalry players would be forced to dodge, parry, or at least attack back to survive combat (@MELON <3).
Cavalry in Bannerlord can be fixed by giving horses base health of 175, rebalancing couch lancing, giving shields by default to most cav units, giving default throwable weapons to Battanian and Bedouins, and adjusting the hitboxes of horses/horsemen especially in the case of shields. These are just my thoughts and opinions, and therefore I wanted to start a discussion around this topic to see some positive change in the competitive Bannerlord scene.
Where is my bug finder badge?
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