Companions with sword and mace always seem to use mace.

[edbzoso]

I like to give my companions swords and also blunt weapons for manhunting in the early stages of the game to make denars.  The problem is that they always or mostly always use the blunt weapon (without being ordered to) instead of the sword.  I put the swords in what I assumed was the primary slot at the top but then the companion avatar showed the blunt weapon on their waist, so I moved the sword to the bottom slot where it now showed on their avatar, but no difference in battle, they still seemed to prefer the blunt weapon for some reason.  How do I address this?

 

[Mr. Wonder]

Well, since they're both one-handed weapons, they will use the better weapon.  Give them a reall epic one handed sword, and they'll use it.

 

[edbzoso]

I just experimented with a couple mace and sword combos and even though the stats for the sword were all better than the mace, the companion always used the mace.  Now the lowly folks with clubs still use their swords, but mace seems to trump sword for some reason.

 

[Nikomakkos]

I'm guessing the AI values damage type over damage value.  Blunt and piercing damage have armor penetration, piercing more so than blunt.  Make an experiment and give them a piercing 1hander and a blunt (mace or hammer) of similar quality and see what they choose.  If they choose the piercing weapon I take that as an indicator that they're prioritizing armor penetration.

But if you have them on horseback, I recommend choosing a weapon with at least 80 reach.  The Morning Star comes to mind as a good weapon that just barely has sufficient reach.  Otherwise I'd go for a sword, Elite Scimitar or Long Arming Sword.

I know I'm not helping you with your problem very much, but if you can't figure out a way to make them not use their blunt weapon unless they're told to, and you have them fight mounted, just forgo the whole blunt thing.  They'll get much more kills with decent weapons.

EDIT: Hey, I just remembered the Spiked Staff!  Problem solved, give them that, it has great reach and is an ok weapon all around.

 

[edbzoso]

Yes I think you've figured it out.  When I gave one of them a mace and sword with the same piercing value he used the sword.  I had been testing with sabres and scimitars so hadn't considered the p value since they have none.  Thanks for your reply.

 

[Ibo]

Yeah I gave up on having them use the mace... They always end up using that instead.  I don't mind them NOT using their swords (as I gave them junk anyways), but not using the shield I give them is just too much, especially in a siege.

Stick with one-handed blunt weapons like the military hammer.  The flanged maces and stuff that bandits drop are decent too as long as they are being used from horseback.  The extra speed is more beneficial in any case.  Spiked staff is not a good idea as polearms can't be swung from a horse, and if you give them a shield they will only use the pointy end anyways, horse or not.

 

[Nikomakkos]

Yeah I gave up on having them use the mace... They always end up using that instead.  I don't mind them NOT using their swords (as I gave them junk anyways), but not using the shield I give them is just too much, especially in a siege.

Stick with one-handed blunt weapons like the military hammer.  The flanged maces and stuff that bandits drop are decent too as long as they are being used from horseback.  The extra speed is more beneficial in any case.  Spiked staff is not a good idea as polearms can't be swung from a horse, and if you give them a shield they will only use the pointy end anyways, horse or not.

The Spiked Staff is not a polearm.  It is two handed/one handed like the bastard sword.  So it is actually every possible type of melee weapon except for polearms .

 

[Ibo]

Odd.  Was sure I've seen it before it and it was listed as a polearm.  Why would you use a staff with one hand? 

EDIT: Ah, it was the Spiked Club that was polearm.... Wait, isn't that totally backwards?? 

 

[Nikomakkos]

Odd.  Was sure I've seen it before it and it was listed as a polearm.  Why would you use a staff with one hand? 

Because it's not that long so you can relatively easily wield it one handed and thus use a shield (though not as easily as two handed hence the 35% damage penalty).

 

[Ibo]

It's more like a bat with a nail on the end, though...

Still think they just got the names wrong.  Even if i'm willing to accept that this was a staff, I have a tough time ever imagining a club being classified as a polearm...

 

[Killakot]

No, it's more a club with a spear on the end. I prefer to call it a Goedendag instead of Spiked Staff though.
Nevertheless, it's one of my favourite weapons.
It's pretty decent, both in-game as it was in real life, against the French ^^

But yeah, they probably favour the maces because 20b is rated higher than 20c due to armour piercing as mentioned.
There was some formula as a rule of thumb as what blunt damage is rated as cut damage, but I don't know it out of my head.

 

[killer-blead]

Then just take away their maces and give them swords only?

 

[edbzoso]

I like to give my companions swords and also blunt weapons for manhunting in the early stages of the game to make denars.

 

[edbzoso]

Thanks for the tip on the spiked staff, that seems to be the way to go for my needs.

 

[Nikomakkos]

Thanks for the tip on the spiked staff, that seems to be the way to go for my needs.

You're welcome .

 

[Cleomenes]

Yeah the AI are dumb.  I was fighting and 2 were stuck behind a stone.

Anyway the mace has to be better that the sword 

 

[killer-blead]

I like to give my companions swords and also blunt weapons for manhunting in the early stages of the game to make denars.

If you want to kill your enemy only give your companions swords. If you want to capture them give them maces and keep their swords in your inventory ready to be switched out again by you.

It requires a bit of managing and effort but it works. I don't know why you would give someone 2 weapons if he isn't allowed to use 1 of them.

 

[Dziadu_Swierznowski]

I keep my best fighters with only blunts all the time. Even though they have lower damage, with 5-6 points in powerstrike they will knock out lighlty armoured opponents with one blow, as most of lightly armored troops have low HP (light armor= low tier = low HP) so lower base damage is not a problem. If not, there is a chance to knock them off their feet. Against heavy armor opponents blunts will work better no matter how high power strike does wielder have. Damage bonus against light/no armor which cutting weapons have is useless, since low HP almost always goes with low HP. Blunts rule I learned this when i was trying to rescue a prisoner from a khergit castle. Had plate armor so sabres wielded by guards weren't very dangerous. I have easily killed 5 guards, but then came a lancer with blunt and beat the crap out of me, simply because my character felt on the ground 3 times in a row after the blow.