does horse archery effect NPCs?

[reallybigjohnson]

i gave some of my companions 3 points in horse archery cause they seem to miss alot.  i havent really noticed a huge difference.  there skill are around 150 or so which is the same as you typical archer so they should be doing ok i woudl think.  also, does horse archery effect crossbows as well or just throwing and regular bows?

 

[Ironking]

Yes it does affect Ai aswell and yes it also affect crossbows.
Note that firing from a horse doesn't only affect your aiming precision but also has a damage penalty, so even if you don't see a noticeable effect on your companions precision straight away when they do hit their target they will definitely do more damage.

 

[Khalim]

is there really a considerable damage penaly? I know it is in the discription but playing as an archer I think it is really insignificant and actually I have not recognized doing less damage when riding.

 

[Qwertyman]

Its more noticable on higher tier troops, as you need the extra damage to punch through their armour-  as well as them having more health.

 

[reallybigjohnson]

good then.....nice too know they werent wasted skill points.  is 3 enough or should i put 4 in.  seems to be the magical number for me where i can hit pretty much whatever i shoot at.

 

[Archonsod]

6 will pretty much remove the penalties from moving.

 

[Bobsama]

good then.....nice too know they werent wasted skill points.  is 3 enough or should i put 4 in.  seems to be the magical number for me where i can hit pretty much whatever i shoot at.

It will also depend on your Power Draw rating and your weapon points. The higher, the better, of course. With 300 Archery, 4 Power Draw and 4 Horse Archer, I can shoot quite accurately with a War Bow when on horseback. Not perfect, but sufficient to kill quite a few soldiers on foot as well as cripple most horses.

 

[Lord Doom]

I find 4 sufficient for player but 6 is needed for companions. Companions can get by with 4, but they hit noticably more with 6 points.

 

[Kenkage]

Just wondering but what happens if you give them 10 Horse Archery? Never really used a companion horse archer before. Have one in my current game. Does it gives bonuses or just extremely high accuracy while on horseback?

 

[Lord Doom]

Good question, I've never gone beyond 6 for either myself or companions.

If you decide to pump your companions HA to 10, be sure to have at least one other companion (at say 4-6) so you can make a reasonable comparison.

 

[Kenkage]

If I do end up testing this it won't be for a long long time. This thread will most likely have dried up by then.

 

[Turumbar]

I would recommend NOT putting points into HA for companions because it seriously messes up their AI. Some of my companions have 3 HA and they are retarded in open field battles now. I have to do the hold fire command and charge command for them to even want to engage in melee.

One of my companions had rank 8 horse archery in 1.25 and he was still missing quite abit, it's not worth it.

 

[nofearhere]

I would recommend NOT putting points into HA for companions because it seriously messes up their AI. Some of my companions have 3 HA and they are retarded in open field battles now. I have to do the hold fire command and charge command for them to even want to engage in melee.

Couldn't agree more. I'm seeing some pretty strange behavior myself.
For instance when the enemy is down to 5 people and they are routing, all my companions will switch to ranged weapons. Why not just chase them down with a sword? They got mounts and all.

 

[reallybigjohnson]

ah nuts.  i added the points specifically cause of that problem.  like you said when they get down to a few soldiers left they went all archery but kept missing.  i think if you just give them a bow or light crossbow they start doing it.

 

[delra]

If I make my companion a HA now, will he still charge head-on into the crowd?

Or maybe devs thought them to run around the crowd firing arrows at un-shielded people by now?

 

[Turumbar]

If I make my companion a HA now, will he still charge head-on into the crowd?

Or maybe devs thought them to run around the crowd firing arrows at un-shielded people by now?

You can have your companion do whatever you want, but sometimes they just will NOT listen to the commands.

 

[Puritan]

If I make my companion a HA now, will he still charge head-on into the crowd?

Or maybe devs thought them to run around the crowd firing arrows at un-shielded people by now?

Well, in his defense, you told him to CHAAAAAARGE~! Never mind the fact that this is the default battle order that you can't change, only "F1" your way out of.

What we need is a 'skirmish' option that would tell bow equipped units to stay in 'optimal' range for thier weapons; For horse archers this could mean riding in circles around the enemy, and maybe foot archers would stop putting arrows into the wall that's right in front of them in sieges?

 

[Galdus]

Max it all out and have massive agility. You will be like Legolas!