Being a Khergit killing machine for 9 str and 9 agi

[InstantBlade]

Well, I decided to try out a character with just 9 on str and agi, so that I could save extra points on intelligence and mostly for charisma (biig army).

It's great fun, and the secret is speed.
You don't need a lot of power and speed if you're riding a lightning courser with your faithful saber.
Even the most armored knight gets sliced up if you pass by the dude and take a good swing at him... sometimes it takes 2, but that just adds a bit to the fun.

My 3 power draw are perfect for the khergit bow (I don't need more, since the bow and arrow are a 2nd choice, just for support and when I really need them, I aim for headshots).
Choosing a steppe kid or something like that will give you more ridding ability than you can get with 9 agility, so...

In the end, I find that I get much more out of my extra charisma, than would by having much more strength or agility. As long as I'm on my horse, my enemies are in trouble. Hordes of easy to train Lancers and Horse Archers will allways keep coming.
Oh, and with the horse archers and some lancers, I can easy take castles without even trying to get in... just aim and fire.

 

[Mage246]

Yeah, but you'll never solo whole armies with that build. The point of pure-combat builds isn't to make some character that's fairly decent at combat, but to make a character that's *awesome* in combat.

 

[Trooper5445]

Interesting build. I'll have to try it one of these days.

Combat builds are boring. The trick is winning without a combat build.

 

[InstantBlade]

It is awesome if you stay on horseback.

If fighting infantry, still awesome.
If fighting Cav, things might shake a bit, but specially against lancers. Those can be a bit difficult to solo.


But I would agree with the last post. Soloing is booooring as boring things can be.

 

[Mage246]

You could have a butter knife and still win if you were on horseback. It doesn't make you a "Khergit killing machine", it just means that fighting on a horse is an easy way to beat the AI, especially if you are on a faster horse.

I'm not disputing the intricacies of the support character build, I'm disputing the topic, which advertises being a "Khergit killing machine for 9 str and 9 agi". By the standards of an NPC (who usually can't fight their way out of a paper bag), you're a killing machine. But by the standard of a combat build, you're not.

 

[Trooper5445]

Well there isn't any MP anyway.

 

[Mage246]

Not my point, it wasn't about having his character compete against a combat build in a 1 vs 1 combat. My point is that if I was to take his build into combat, then take a combat build into combat, the combat build would kill more enemies faster and with fewer injuries.

Any starting character can be a "killing machine", as long as they have the right equipment. Archery is tougher until you get your proficiency high, but a spirited courser and a sabre can easily kill any enemy in the game (horse archers would be the only difficulty). Some people choose to expand on those combat skills in order to improve results, but the player character is always going to be a "killing machine" unless they neglect their combat skills entirely and from the very start.

 

[iamahorse]

I never understood why people want to make builds that are capable of soloing armies. It just seems silly to me, really, and makes hiring/training soldiers pointless (not to mention it detracts from the whole immersion aspect of things: Commander: "WAAGH I JUST TOOK OUT 500 MEN WITH MY AXE!" Soldier: "... Why even take us away from our homes and families if you can do that... Sir.")

Interesting build really!

I have a tendency, now, to RP my character's progress, making up a ton of stuff and putting points into build-crippling stats just because it made sense for a story or some such. It is so much fun when you triumph when you had a weakness to overcome as opposed to triumphing because you pumped your STR up to 20.

 

[Trooper5445]

I've never gotten past the 10th level. I just install another mod.

 

[duracell]

The 9-9 build (which I mostly use too) can do everything what a combat build can if you use a horse, only exceptions are that you will never be really good with bows and you will suck in foot combat but the better party skills are compensating this very well.

Sadly the surgery skill got a HUGE nerf in the recent version, almost halfed its effectiveness so the commander build is not that tempting which it was in 0.953 

 

[Triosta]

The 9-9 build (which I mostly use too) can do everything what a combat build can if you use a horse, only exceptions are that you will never be really good with bows and you will suck in foot combat but the better party skills are compensating this very well.

Sadly the surgery skill got a HUGE nerf in the recent version, almost halfed its effectiveness so the commander build is not that tempting which it was in 0.953 

Agreed, and since inventory management, prisoner management and leadership are leader skills, the player is even more restricted. However I imagine that'll change in 1.0(Katrin's 7 invo management anyone?). Invo management, if mastered by the player, will have a bonus 24 item slots, 10(+4). Hopefully.

 

[G36E]

For 9 str and 9 agi, I'd go for the horse humper build, but seriously, is it interesting at all? The fun part ends after the first charge of lances, while a footman has to slog his way through waves and waves of soldiers, ever watchful for that one crossbow bolt/arrow which might kill him.

Anyway, you can still make an army of almost immortals, the trick is to get 30 int and 10 surgery on you and a companion, after that you're pretty much safe from casualties. Then you can have fun with agi and str, as renown is easy to come by to increase army size. If all else fails, you can still account for 50% of the enemy alone in most mods even with gimp stats, so the intelligent build truly is intelligent .

 

[nonrumpali]

My favourite character is a noble Lady-in-waiting who starts with 6 in AGI but 4 in riding and a spirited courser. I never boost AGI on that character since it's redundant. I only get the strength to 8 so I can wear a bit better armor but aside from that, everything goes to intelligence. And I also soloed about 15 nords on  foot with that build (2 in athletics, full maille, bascinet, bastard sword, heater shield) So, having character combat skills isn't essential to winning in combat tho' they help a lot. Oh, and the armor and superior weaponry help also. heh

 

[G36E]

You really need a combat build for footmen characters. Otherwise you just die.

I disagree. As was said earlier, the secret is speed you viking!
So all I do is run around, get 30 int, then focus on agi and a smattering of str for the rest of the game. No use being clad in +50 def armor when you can't outrun that axe wielding Nord.

 

[G36E]

On a horse, 6 agi is enough. Which is what I do until I get enough athletics.

 

[InstantBlade]

with the 9-9 you can actually fight on the ground, but no soloing, of course.
There are 2 obvious problems - lack of speed and lack of power.
It's actually great fun to fall from the horse and order the other fallen companions and lancers to join you and fight.
They can take care of themselves, unless they are fighting other top tier units.

That raises another question:
Why aren't there more top tier units in other lords armies?

Because in the end I ride around with some 80 lancers and 20 veteran horse archers and fight armies with some 10-15 knights (if they're lucky).

A question to the nord:

Aren't the huscarls:
1- idiot looking?
2- not soooo amazing as all that?
3- a bit time consuming to train to that level?

Don't get me wrong, I love playing the nords (right after khergits). But I think the northern army is so... well, uncool. Specially if you compare it to some mod versions out there (I could say the same about the khergs, though... but they kind of look cool in they're rags and all).

 

[InstantBlade]

uhm... thought so. :\

I have a char with some 120 days being nord... and at a certain point it looses a bit the fun of it. Specially when you try sieges and they go some meters up the ramp and then start having second thoughts, "should we really do this? Like, what is war, does life has a meaning?"

 

[Sir Devlyn]

How is it that everyone says it's so easy to solo armies, that the AI is so bad?  Are you playing on min difficulty? I'm playing on max and I have a very hard time fighting foes.  It's actually getting to be rather frustrating.

When I initially started, I started with a mount and a blade.  I couldn't hit for ****.  My weapon was always on the wrong side of the horse, or raised up to chop, or the foe slid away like he had ice skates, or my horse knocked him down, or my weapon somehow swung over his head, or my troops would run in front of me, or I misjudged the distance and he was too far away.  When I learned that you don't have to click attack with the lance, but simply ride at them, I immediately switched.  Then my foes just slid away more, or did an annoying I-can't-see-you-behind-me-but-I'm-suddenly-for-no-reason-going-to-step-to-the-right-and switch-weapons-to-pull-out-my-two-hander-and-swing-around-in-a-graceful-pivot-and-slice-your-horse-for-43-damage.  That got old VERY quickly.

What's more, it seems like 97% of all the terrain I come across is lumpy, rolling hills.  This makes it all but impossible to use a lance.  I am now getting to the point where I am so frustrated with mounted combat that I am only going to use the horse to ride into combat, and then dismount to continue on foot.

I don't understand how everyone keeps saying that mounted killing is so powerful and soloing armies is easy.  Do I just suck that bad?

@InstantBlade that's another annoying thing.  Watching troops in a siege constantly playing "chutes and ladders" (sliding up and down the ladder, usually falling off) and "pot of gold" (where they all cluster at the end of the ladder like they think there's a pot of gold buried there).

 

[InstantBlade]

Well...

How is it that everyone says it's so easy to solo armies, that the AI is so bad?  Are you playing on min difficulty? I'm playing on max and I have a very hard time fighting foes.  It's actually getting to be rather frustrating.

You need to train a bit and get a grip of the fighting system, particulary the horsie fighting scheme.
Just train a bit until you get it.

What's more, it seems like 97% of all the terrain I come across is lumpy, rolling hills.  This makes it all but impossible to use a lance.  I am now getting to the point where I am so frustrated with mounted combat that I am only going to use the horse to ride into combat, and then dismount to continue on foot.

Well there are a lot of strange un unrealistic (read "unfun") terrain out there. I wouldn't say 97% though...

I don't understand how everyone keeps saying that mounted killing is so powerful and soloing armies is easy.  Do I just suck that bad?

Sorry. You do. Just train and try to get a feeling at it. Try fighting village idiots... oh, they call them looters (what on earth they can loot is beyond me)

@InstantBlade that's another annoying thing.  Watching troops in a siege constantly playing "chutes and ladders" (sliding up and down the ladder, usually falling off) and "pot of gold" (where they all cluster at the end of the ladder like they think there's a pot of gold buried there).

You've said it. Accept the fact that you are leading a bunch of morons.
Just use archers to conquer castles and you should be pretty ok.

cheers

 

[G36E]

@InstantBlade that's another annoying thing.  Watching troops in a siege constantly playing "chutes and ladders" (sliding up and down the ladder, usually falling off) and "pot of gold" (where they all cluster at the end of the ladder like they think there's a pot of gold buried there).

God that was funny. I share your woes, fully half my Nord Huscarls died at the top of the ladder getting headshotted by Swadian Sharpshooters. Well, not exactly died, but you get the picture. But you forgot this: "Peek-a-bo", where your men walk to the top, wait 5 minutes, get shot/stabbed/slashed to death, then get their carcasses ragdolled to the bottom of the ladder, only to be replaced by soldier no.2, no.3 etc.

And Vil, You only need to get on the horie for 4-5 levels, it won't hurt your viking arse you know...