Getting into the game

[Blitzkrieg Says]

Hi all, I recently got the trial for warband and am liking it a lot. I am a huge fan of medieval history, and I love the combat mechanics.

I've tried the singleplayer and am not really impressed. But that's ok, I'm mostly looking for a multi-player game. I've done the custom match thing in deathmatch and siege and I think it's AWESOME! I've tried infantry, archery and mounted and they are all really fun. Actually being in a battle that is pretty realistic is so cool. I kind of suck at archery/mounted right now but I'm getting better at those

I had a few questions though.

Do I have to buy the original M&B? Or can I just buy Warband to play multiplayer?
Is there a "leveling up" process in multiplayer? Or do you just get to pick from an array of weapons to play with?
How do the servers work?
How is the community (in general)?
Is there a role (archery/infantry/mounted) that there is typically less of?
Are you glad you bought the game?
edit: Can you explain the factions? Do some have more benefits than others? Are some more played than others? Does it matter in terms of gameplay or is it just for looks?
edit: As a new player, what kind of style would you reccomend in terms of weapons/roles?
edit: Can you explain mods? Is it just a scenario you can play or is it a version of the game?

Or if there's a FAQ answering most of these that'd be cool too

I'm basically looking for an "alternate" game. I play WoW mostly, but I'm a bit bored now and would really like to try something out. And I love the Army vs. Army style that this has.

 

[tumph]

Do I have to buy the original M&B? Or can I just buy Warband to play multiplayer?  You only need warband
Is there a "leveling up" process in multiplayer? Or do you just get to pick from an array of weapons to play with?  There's no levelling up, but when you geet more kills you get money so you can buy armour and weapons, but that's just for that match. There's a mod called cRPG where you can buy equipment permanently and level up though.
How do the servers work? You join a server and play.
How is the community (in general)? Good IMO, I've actually never had any problems with TK'ers etc. (and I bought the game the day it came out)
Is there a role (archery/infantry/mounted) that there is typically less of?There's usually mostly infantry. It depends on the map though.
Are you glad you bought the game?Yes, it's one of the best games I've played.

 

[Plazek]

The game is awesome. You will find multiplayer a bit different from single player though. The pitched battles that you get in single player are not generally repeated in multi. In multiplayer it is generally a lot less organised. However get yourself on the right servers, the right events and it can be near identical! Which is for me the best way to play.

Also be aware the learning curve is more of a cliff. When you first play multiplayer you gunna get raeped. Keep at it though, develop your skills and one day you will be laying down the law. This is one of the most skill based games there is. This I am sure, is part of its long lasting appeal for me.

 

[MadocComadrin]

One thing that eases your entry into multiplayer is getting your manual-block skill down. To do this offline, crank the combat speed up all the way, set the player damage to 1/4, go to the tutorial level, and practice blocking the veteran trainer (choose to spar him, not the practice blocking option, it's better this way). Once you can get about 8-10 successful blocks in a row, you'll have a blocking skill better than most players.

 

[Thel]

To do this offline, hax the speed to faster-than-fastest, set the player damage to 100000000 percent, go to the tutorial level, and practice blocking the veteran trainer (choose to spar him, not the practice blocking option, it's better this way). then drink 12 cans of energy drink and you're ready to gooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MadocComadrin]

To do this offline, hax the speed to faster-than-fastest, set the player damage to 100000000 percent, go to the tutorial level, and practice blocking the veteran trainer (choose to spar him, not the practice blocking option, it's better this way). then drink 12 cans of energy drink and you're ready to gooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spoiler

They didn't have anything good in either purple OR colorful