Recent content by newcomer

Chiprel said:

Posted 21 december 2021
Answered 09 july 2022

What's the point?

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A late reply is better than no reply. Thank you for your input.

Veledentella said:

If the game appears to have switched to full version, there is no need to worry; Steam may have not caught up with serial key activation yet.

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I hadn't checked this thread for a while.Thank you very much for your reply!

Honved said:

Rather than a single battle, my biggest success was in defending a Khergit castle (on the hill above Uxhal) from the entire Rhodock war party of something like 8-9 armies.  With only about 40 men in my party, and the castle garrison being less than 30, there wasn't much hope of holding the walls against a direct assault by around 600 attackers, so I led the attackers away on a wild goose chase (a highly mobile mounted army pursued by slower footmen), stopping many times to let them get closer rather than have them give up the chase.  When most of those followers were strung out in a long line, and many of them started to give up the chase and head back to reinitiate the castle siege, I lured away and engaged the one closest to me (my 40 versus their 100+).  Destroyed them, with only one or two wounded from my own army, and some companions down a few percent in health.  Repeated that, by luring away another group, peeling them away from their friends, and engaging, again at bad odds, with light casualties.  I then had to draw off the whole mob again for a day-long chase to allow the siege to lift, and to allow a few troops to recover slightly for the next fight.

By the time I had demolished 4 of the larger stacks (but not the Rhodock king's huge army), I didn't have enough men left in fighting condition to do that again. so it was time to join the castle defense and hold off the remaining 300-ish attackers, who repeated the attack several times, losing a lot of men each time, partly due to my flanking fire against the guys coming up the ladder, at least until the arrows ran out.  Barely survived it myself (it rarely goes well when I get stuck in the melee, but I was able to use a quarterstaff to beat down the guys coming up the ladder before they got within weapons reach of me, while the other defenders quickly took advantage of their stunned condition), and at the end I didn't have a single unwounded member of my own party left, with only 3-4 of the castle defenders still standing.  The Rhodock army, or what little was left of it, shuffled away in defeat.

I hate fighting against Rhodocks.

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You sound like the ultimate badass. Do you record some of your gameplay or do you play for your own amusement? It's quite popular to upload M & B footage on YouTube. Warband, though.

Honved said:

The trick of backing up to the map edge works for the player against the Khergits, but is easily thwarted by a Khergit player, who simply has his troops follow him to a spot some distance away from the edge, has them shower you with arrows from range, while personally moving to either side of your line and picking your troops off one by one in a neat row.  Again, they either face the player and get shot by the host, or face the host and get shot by the player.  If the foot troops leave the map edge to charge the mounted host, the Khergit player orders a charge and the riders can do their usual bow and lance tactics.  If they charge the player, the player simply rides away while his friends get easy back shots.  The AI has tried that "back up" trick against me numerous times, but after a hard struggle on the first or second occasion that they used it, it hasn't helped.

Of course, sieging castles is where the Khergits fall face down, which is why it's nice to have captured Nords and Rhodocks (with shields) to climb the ladders while your regular Khergit troops pincushion the poor sods on the walls with massed arrow fire.  Personally, I tend to maneuver in close to the walls, to shoot the guys on the flanking towers, which does wonders for the survival of the people on the ladders.  I'm not the "uber skilz" kind of player who rushes up the ladder to trade blows with the mob behind the parapets, my reaction times aren't what they were 30 years ago when I was already past my prime for that kind of thing.

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Nice. What is your most successful battle. Did you survive against many enemy armies at once?

The thing about Khergit AI is it rarely acts as an organized entity. It's more like a pack of cooperating raider hordes than a kingdom like the rest. Just like the barbarian tribes during the last days of the Roman Empire, the Khergits go wherever they want, whenever they want and get their daily ration of blood with little to no resistance. Like you said, they can hit troops with arrows in the back or in any other unprotected areas, thanks to the fast horses. If you lose your horse against the Khergits, to quote the popular meme: "you're gonna have a bad time." Even if you neutralize their horses, their Lancers can still pose a challenge with their strong shields and armor. Otherwise not even Knights can oppose them. Sending top tier Mercenary Cavalry against anything but Tribesmen and Horsemen is gonna end badly.
However if you use a pike or a lance against them they die in droves. Also, against an army of infantry only (say Huscarls), they struggle if you do the following: since you start on opposite ends of the map, you can order your men to retreat to the very borders, where your troops can't retreat any further. The AI will aggressively charge as expected but will face an impenetrable wall. They will clash with your guys which will halt their advance immediately. Whoever gets through will get stuck in the invisible walls. Sure, you will lose a few men because of their lances being unstoppable, however once an entire wave of enemies is immobilised your troops can wipe them out in seconds. The horses will die, then their riders. Of course, since half their army consists of moving archers you're gonna have to move and kill them but at least a wave of them can be destroyed by this simple method. So on the field they may have the advantage but only if they're mobile and you're alone.
They suck when they besiege castles. While they are on the field and they can bombard you with arrows they are deadly, but once on the ladders/tower, they will fall. Of course if they have gathered all their lords and you defeat like three in the siege defense, you'll get obliterated when you leave but still worth it. You don't kill hundreds of Khergits with little losses every day.
When they defend a settlement, they are probably the best kingdom at it. Arrows will kill you until you reach the walls and if you still do, you have Lancers on the front and archers on the sides. Death is imminent. Only Rhodok Sargeants are better defenders.
The best thing about the Khergits, hands down, is their starting location. They are surrounded by mountains and they can only expand. Whoever enters the steppe but the Khergits is gonna have a warm welcome by the Steppe Bandits in packs of 50 (!) and in smaller groups that I can swear are more than the Sea Raiders near the coast. Which is an accomplishment. And remember how said Sea Raiders hunted you in five parties while you were in the early stages of the game? Now imagine having five packs of Steppe Bandits on your ass, with their fastest horses and the smallest party consisting of five riders. They will join forces against you. You're dead. Your equipment is gonna be gone. All your upgraded army boys and companions will scatter like broken glass. You're gonna wish you never started playing. Which is the worst thing this game can do to you because it's a drug. A good kind of drug.
The only way to defeat the Khergits for good is to somehow beat their armies (considering you're the Marshall it's theoretically possible), capture as many lords as you can and never accept any ransoms. Of course, the game will laugh in your face when it activates the algorithm that allows lords to simply escape but at least you would have slowed them down. Which is enough to turn the tide. If only...

I'm a rare type of player, it would seem. Not only do I play the original M & B exclusively, but its also the native version. Always. Why? First of all, I haven't beat it, but I'll get to that later. Second of all, and this is the part where you kill me, to me Warband is not superior. Even with all the changes, I still view it as nothing more than a very, very successful old-school expansion pack. And finally, I am not a person who prefers mods to the core game.
Anyway. My campaigns have continued for hundreds of hours, not sure if I've reached a thousand (non-Steam version). I played with several avatars before but eventually I'd get bored and start over. Not with the last one.
Named him Ubiec. Like every campaign prior to this, I joined the Nords. First as a mercenary, then as a lord with fiefs and ultimately I became the marshall that got the votes every time.
Nothing unusual so far, right? Well, I'll let my creation tell of his life in his own words:
"I am Sir Ubiec, the favorite of King Ragnar! My army was "pure" Nord steel, as I was building it around Huscarls and Nord Warriors, with no archers whatsoever (Warriors and Huscarls can decapitate people on a castle wall with their throwing axes, absolutely OP). As I didn't need any other recruits but Nords, I found myself burning down entire villages of the other factions which made me very rich very fast, but I was also hated among the common folk and the rival lords. Only when I defeated a mighty lord did I take troops from other factions and most of the time they were either Rhodok Sargeants or Khergit Lancers. My losses were usually compensated with the Nord prisoners, of course, minus the archers.
Our main enemies were definitely the Rhodoks and the Swadians. The Rhodoks, being the neighbouring kingdom, took some of our castles, we took some of theirs and so on, and so on. Sieges could only be carried out with the other lords because the lack of archers meant the deaths of experienced men (Huscarls don't have shields for the most part) while the archers of my allies could return fire AND take some of the inevitable casualties themselves which would make victory even sweeter. The problem was that the Rhodok fough fanatically for every inch of land and not only would he retaliate after a lost fief, he also gathered all armies to attack on Nord soil and capture every castle all the way to the sea. I managed to capture their lands on the mountain pass and those that neighboured ours all the way to the big towns like Praven, but wars with them costed too many men and resources while gaining little in terms of land. Their kingdom remained as powerful as before, if weakened a bit.
The Swadians were another story. They didn't want Nord lands but pillaged villages and ran. In the early years of my ascension, their lords' armies ran free among our lands, started a fight or two but mainly clashed with travelling caravans or peasants. This pissed off our king, who not only destroyed their armies home (mainly by my sword), forcing them to flee in dishonor, but also started crusades against them, besieging castles as near as the Khergits. Success was on our side, as they fought with all kingdoms and rarely had time to invade. To them, Kelredan Castle was the ultimate prize. The Swadian banner flew over its walls for short perios of time, but ultimately its inhabitants remained our servants. Vaegir lands were more tempting for the Swadians which was a welcome chance for us to not think of them often. They too survived despite the odds.
The perils that we had to live through on account of the Vaegirs are... sadly my fault. You see, our kingdoms had good relations. I was respected among their lords as I helped them defeat several Swadian armies. I freed Vaegir lords from Swadian captivity on many occasions and on the battlefield we saw our common enemy fall.
One day I got bored. Peace with the enemies of ours was in force. I mobilized my army and marched to Vaegir lands. I started stealing resources from their villagers by force and their caravans were no match for my men. I tried to capture their castles across the river in the name of our King Ragnar but defeat was my mistress. The Vaegir archers were like the hand of death, as their arrows killed my men in droves before they could reach the walls and swing their axes. One castle took multiple offensives to put its defenders to never-ending sleep. Once captured for the Kingdom of Nords, the castle soon went back to its original master, since my army was too weak to keep it. The Vaegirs also managed to capture two important Nord castles neighboring their lands and I, to my shame, could not put them back where they belong - under my King's scepter. Their lords only marched together and their men were never few in number. Their fury in battle could only be matched by the atrocities I committed against the servants of the Kingdom of Vaegirs. Alas, what once was a trusted ally, quickly became another adversary we had to crush to achieve complete domination over Calradia.
These next lines I write with sadness, as not even the boldest sceptics could have predicted what would happen once they appeared. Khergits... From the far steppes they came, mounted on mighty horses. With armor that few arrows could compromise and eyes like the devil himself. Their fighting in close range could only be bested by their ability with their bow - both on the saddle and during sieges. Their men were as many as the souls lost to the Underworld - beyond count. Not a single kingdom could withstand their advance, as we were too weak because of killing each other for years. The outlanders would not be satisfied with border lands. Instead they captured the most beloved castles of their enemies, in the heart of their territory, where it hurt the most. And thanks to their many men, they could keep their new fiefs, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Their bravery on the battlefield was devastating to our morale and as they had the fastest horses in the land, they could catch whoever they wanted. I couldn't escape them myself many times and a bad head injury which can't be healed will always remind me of those barbarians. Every kingdom now has precious fiefs lost to the Khergits and their leader, Sanjar Khan, is greedy beyond comprehension and reason. If we do not unite against them, all will be lost and the good men who died in the service of Ragnar would have fallen for nothing..."
Aaand this is where the story ends, because my save got corrupted and no solution proved useful. I'm gonna start a new game soon.

I'm Bulgarian and my favorite town is Jelkata. I purposefully call the town Zelkata, because in Bulgarian that means The Cabbage. Just another reason to make fun of the Rhodoks.
PS: I can't take over their lands so kudos to all the players who defend their colors and serve their king.

Honved said:

Note that those Huscarls have a significant chance of being equipped with throwing axes, as well as a big freaking axe for combat.  A throwing axe to the face is enough to ruin your day.  The only defenses against that are either a big shield, or else a fast horse riding obliquely to the target as you put a couple of arrows into the thrower's own face or the full weight of the horse behind a lance to the groin.  They don't usually get to throw twice.

I love recruiting Huscarls from among my prisoners, since they're great for soaking up damage on siege attacks.  That saves my own troops for the field battles, where we cut down armies of Nords like fields of ripened grain.

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The big axes are bs in Mount & Blade, because the Huscarls equipped with them are defenseless. During a siege they always stick to the siege tower first and even though they can take up to 7-8 arrows in their body, they still die in the end. No wonder I never saw a shieldless Huscarl in Warband. This isn't "Braveheart", you fight smart or you're dead meat.

I vote for the Nords. Every playthrough of mine has been with these guys.
They have Nord Huscarls - the most overpowered unit in the game, for all the right reasons.
If you have an army of Nord Warriors and Nord Huscarls, you don't need archers. Yes, in a siege you will have a higher percentage of casualties until you slay the enemy archers on the walls, but once that is done, the destruction may commence. Hell, Huscarls can be used as archers themselves - I once saw a Huscarl take a Rhodok's head off from a significant distance: the Rhodok was on a castle's tower (the ones on the farther walls, that have stairs leading to them), while the Huscarl had just climbed the ladder to the castle. They are absolute beasts and it is sad every time I lose one in battle, especially on the field. Now, in my experience, there are two Kingdoms that the Nords have difficulties against: the Rhodoks and the Khergits. The first ones are weak on the field, though I must admit: once or twice those spears of theirs managed to murder my horse and once the player is on foot he's pretty much dead. Even though you can humiliate them on the field (watch for those Sergeants) they are damn masterminds at defending castles. Their archers are bloody deadly behind walls. So you better have good tactics, or you'll either lose, or achieve a Pyrrhic victory. Plus, the Rhodok lords ALWAYS have huge armies of 150 men or more, so watch when you go around their territory. They often start campaigns against the Nords. The other problematic nation are the Khergits. Remember the Mongols? Yeah, it's something like that. Again, not only are their lords with mighty armies, they also have the fastest horses, which means that even with a smaller army, your escape from a battle with unpleasant odds is not guaranteed. Now, the horsemen of the Veaegirs and the Swadians are easy to kill. Doesn't matter whether you strike at the rider or the horse - most of the time they die without much of a resistance (r.i.p. Caravan Guards - genocide confirmed). Khergit Lancers are the bulk of a Khergit army - not only do they have fast horses, but they are also well-protected with armor and kill your own horsemen, with arrows and spears. Even unsaddled, a Lancer can defend himself pretty well. The previous tears survive longer by running away while shooting the player with arrows. You can guess that they are also a nightmare when they defend a fortification. And don't get me started on one-hit deaths of the character - happens too damn often. I used to be an adventurer like you, but then I took an arrow to the face."
Sorry for the long post.

My strategy is this (note: you must be at war with at least one faction):
1) Pillage enemy villages, collect as many items as you can and sell the most expensive ones (for example beef) in the nearest town.This brings a lot of denars in your pocket and while the damaged faction will hate you severely for it, after the war only the lord whose fief you destroyed will look ill upon you. In my experience the kingdoms are far more pissed off when you loot their caravans. Caravans are not worth the effort as A) you don't know whether you'll get the best stuff, and B) there is resistance, which may lead to unwanted losses.
2) Considering you have a well trained, large force, you absolutely must attack enemy lords. Their armies are sometimes upgraded to the max, which means two things (if victory is achieved): you avoid a very stressful fight in the future, while also weakening the enemy's overall military forces; another positive of this is the loot that a defeated army leaves: heavy weaponry, armor and the best horses are all things that you could not only sell, but also use for your own party's benefit!
3) In my playthrough I got ambushed by thugs everywhere I went. If the case is the same with you, then you'll receive a small sum of denars every time you prevail (600 denars is not something you say no to).
4) Follow your warband carefully. Okay, this is weird but a percentage of my Nord army automatically upgrades to archers that I don't use (as Huscarls with javelins are just as good imo). I always end up disbanding these, which leads to less troops, a.k.a. less money for upkeep.
5) From time to time you find these Deserter guys, who are both significant in numbers and upgraded, which returns me to point 2: they leave good loot and you don't need to fear they will crush you when you are weak. Also, their large forces mean that they won't be as fast as Sea Raiders, Looters etc. and you should be able to get them in some corner even with a big force of troops.
Good luck.

Honved said:

I think it's more likely a case of losing your immunity to being injured.  After some point, your stats can be damaged.  Saw it at least once, where a stat suffered damage.

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My hero received a wound to his head that never healed. So every time I god captured, for example by bandits, the game informed me that the hero was hit on the head and because of this old injury he loses one point of intelligence. The game also advised retirement. Bu I kept playing because the decline of stats does not affect the battles which are about 90% of the game. You can't develop your skills - that is the price of being a veteran. So I find myself unable to siege settlements fast (ladders are fine). But my save game got corrupted and that was that. Still, every opinion on the problem is appreciated, somebody might encounter it again and not know what to do. Like me right now.

Honved said:

After something like 2 years of in-game time, your character begins to "age".  You begin to lose stats, rather than gain them.  If that's the case, at some point when you decide that you've done about as much as possible before age catches up with you, you can "retire" the character and see some kind of "ending" to their story.  Their progress (fiefs owned, etc.) is divided by the amount of time spent, so the longer you wait beyond the point where you're not progressing further, the worse your "ending" scenario may be.  Difficulty settings apparently have a big effect on this.

It's pretty silly in retrospect.  My one character, who had 3 towns, 2 castles, and half a dozen villages, with a bit over 100K Denars in cash, was described as having saved just enough to buy a small farm to retire to.

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Perhaps that is the reason for losing points... The question is - how do I return them prior to retirement? Thank you for the informative comment, I was not aware of the ageing process.

AmateurHetman said:

Have you come across companions in taverns? Artimenner is an engineer/architect who you can hire into your party. As he levels up you can choose where to put points into, by talking to him. He begins with high engineering, and so you can quickly level up his intelligence to put more points into engineering. You can do this with multiple companions. I for example have Bunduk as a sort of second in command, who has high training, therefore without even fighting my troops can get upgraded.

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Yep, Artimenner is in my party and his engineering skill is a level above mine, but that's not saying very much.