Getting Started

[moondog548]

Howdy.  Hope this isn't the most redundant question but I haven't seen anything specific about it after lurking for a few weeks. ;-}

Am I doing it completely wrong or does getting started in this game require a lot of luck?  After I get a bit of a warband built up I do just fine.  I get on a roll doing quests and earning money.  But starting at the very beginning of the game it seems that I have to get very lucky by finding a group of looters I can beat to death with my grim bear hands or else it's a bunch of futility.  Can't do quests because I have no army, can't raise an army because I have no money, etc.

And if I happen to spawn in the desert... forget it.  Steppe Bandits are inescapable and undefeatable for a lowbie. :[

Is there some obvious or smarter tactic that I'm overlooking to make some money in the very beginning of the game? ;-} Am I supposed to grind out arena fights for a few levels? 

Thanks. LOVE the game.  Can't wait for Warbands too

 

[Fuscus]

In my experience, you can do some of the quests without an army: delivering letters for lords just means riding around and you'll be faster on your own; I think you can do the delivering ale for the guildmaster quest on your own though the ale will slow you down a bit; hunting down a fugitive from justice means one 1v1 fight which you can prepare for, and nets you enough denars to recruit 30 men (assuming you can find enough people willing to sign up!); collecting taxes for lords means bashing a few peasants with a staff, and you can always run off with the money instead of delivering it.

I dunno about the steppe bandits, though. I guess starting with points in Pathfinding and Spotting might help, but they might feel like a waste if you didn't start in the steppes, and of course that's decided by chance.

But I'm pretty new to the game myself, so don't take what I say as gospel. I guess a veteran will come along and put me right on anything I've got wrong here.

 

[moondog548]

Yar thanks for the response.  I have gotten lucky and found quests like that right away.  It's hard to tell what a quest is going to require from you first time you get it though (whether or not you can do it alone or you need 20+ soldiers).  Training peasants against bandits is another great one.

So I guess that 1) don't spawning in Kherjit territory and 2) shop around for quests are about the best strategies starting off. ;-}  I suppose the arena isn't too bad either though it doesn't give very much money unless you are a supreme combat master to start with. ;-} Helps level you up though too...

Any other suggestions for working around bad luck in the start of the game?

 

[Welshboy]

I find the best way to get started is to solo a few looter/Deserter groups. Grab yourself a polearm and just ride the buggers down. I do this until I'm roughly lvl 8-10, build my forces and become a Vassal. I have to admit though, that those Wannable Mongol gits are a right pain in the arse. I've been known to ignore the King when he commands me to assault them. HAcking my way through a metric tonne of Bandit cavalry really diminshes my forces, making the assaults on the Castles largely pointless

 

[kt0]

I pretty much follow the same formula every time I start a new game (which is pretty often these days for testing):
- Hit the nearest training ground and do the quest there (easy L2)
- Hit the nearest town and train in the arena.  In Native you get a handful of coins and a pittance of experience but in Conquest, I increased both substantially.  Even then, the important thing is getting your weapon proficiencies up and there's no real penalty for failure.
- Solo as many groups as I can stand to train.
- Win as many tournaments as possible to build a cash reserve.

I don't start campaigning for reals until I hit level 20 or so and have at least 200 weapon proficiencies in a melee weapon and a ranged weapon, though I don't really start to feel effective until 250 or so.  YMMV.

 

[moondog548]

Man.  Sounds like I fill out my party WAY earlier than I "should".  I was around lvl 4 or 5 when I was running around with a full party of 30-something mercs and recruits. ;-}  I'll keep in mind to level my guy up faster by eating looters for a while.  Thanks!

 

[Moss]

Also, keep in mind that the coast is the best place to be early game. There are plenty of looters to be found and the sea raiders can be outrun when until your ready, when they become a good source of loot revenue.

One of the best ways to make money both early game and as good side revenue later on, is taking prisoners by beating people unconscious with a blunt damage weapon. At 50 denars each your average looters party will be giving you 250-500 bucks. Building up a large party early game isn't the best idea. 15-20 is the most you'd want for simple bandit hunting. And remember, the more men in your party, the more people the XP and money is split between for each battle.

 

[starmonkey]

I find the best way to get started is to solo a few looter/Deserter groups. Grab yourself a polearm and just ride the buggers down.

What diff do you play on? I'm playing full damage, normal AI, normal combat speed and solo'ing a large group is tough! Can only take a few hits and I'm down

// S

 

[Moss]

It's considerably easier with a horse.

 

[Welshboy]

I find the best way to get started is to solo a few looter/Deserter groups. Grab yourself a polearm and just ride the buggers down.

What diff do you play on? I'm playing full damage, normal AI, normal combat speed and solo'ing a large group is tough! Can only take a few hits and I'm down

// S

I'm on the same settings, but I find the advantage of a horse makes these earlier groups easy fodder. If after your first pass, you just circle the Looters/Deserters, they have a tendancey to scatter slightly. It means you can pick your target and stops you charging into a whole group of them. I tend to rely exclusively on Crouch damage if that helps.

The only disadvantage to this system is when you face Mobs with a ranged capacity. You have to keep on the move at all times then and never ride in a straight line. In my current game, there's a lot of Swadian footmen deserters. They're easy money in my experience, especially if you have some Prison management. Ride them down and sel them to Slavers.

 

[naji7898]

I find having 5 or so recuits can help if you need it and they can level up making it easier later on.

 

[ComradeZoolander]

I used a couple of TheMageLord's tweaks and increased tournaments payouts by 10 each. So that way, the most you can win is 40k. You can do the same or make the prices different, but the 4k was way too low to be worth it, I could get that much from pillaging some villages. So I just go to the nearest tournament, win two of them (first one to get some real money to bet on, second to actually get the full 40k), then buy some good armor, spear, shield, 1h, and a 2h weapon. Go and solo sea raiders with a horse and your spear and you'll rack up levels very quickly. You'll also get a bunch of reknown (I'm 25 days in and have upwards of ~550 of it at level 1. When you reach a comfortable level, go and get a king to vassal you and there you go.

I like to get my trainer up to 7 or 8, mass recruit nords and vaegirs, and then get a bunch of huscarls and marksmen. You can hold a castle pretty much indefinately with that army.

But that's just how I do it.

 

[moron]

you can make quite good money on trade. some villages sell their produce at ridiculously low price, like beef for 11 while it can be sold in a city for 60-90 (at no trade skill points invested). you won't make a fortune on that, but its enough to buy yourself some decent weapons and armour. and remember not to buy too much at once, as it will slow you down on the map

 

[stygN]

The way the game is built up you cant only rely on ingame skills, you will have to rely on your skills as a player too. Right now I'm practicing with horsearchery and sword of war from horseback, and its devastating if you get it right. I play on easy, but I think I'll move on a notch soon.

After a while you will find out that the game is just easy beat on easy, cause you as a player fight better then the AI.

To be able to solo a bit in the start is really important, and when you start being able to solo Sea Raiders it really starts moving your game ahead!

You should always make your character a really good fighter, and go solo. Then, when you are a massive one man army you should start upping the partyskills and finally get a party of your own.

This turns you into a really good leader! A man who can fight the toughest fights, pay the toughest wages, and field the toughest army.

Don't worry about failure.. as Albert Einstein said:

"I did not fail 2 000 times before I invented the lightbulb, I invented 2 000 different ways to make a lightbulb that did not work."

 

[Rochester]

My strategy is a bit different, I use the looters at the start of the game to upgrade about 15-20 men. All you have to do is try to take care of them early on keep them in formation and make sure they attack as a group.
The point is that at first you need to fight and think if you want to upgrade your character as a warrior or a leader.

PS I'm pretty sure Einstein did not invent the lightbulb, it was Edison. 

 

[stygN]

PS I'm pretty sure Einstein did not invent the lightbulb, it was Edison. 

Hahahhahahaaaaaa...... I cant believe I wrote Einstein... Of course it was Edison : ) "No.. The lightbulb was not invented until around 1930.. All they had in WW1 was candles..!!".. Sorry. Yes, of course it was Edison : )

 

[Lord Benrir]

I suppose the arena isn't too bad either though it doesn't give very much money unless you are a supreme combat master to start with. ;-} Helps level you up though too...

An easy way to become champion in the arena is just standing by in the corner, and waiting until you are one of the last 5 combatants left!

 

[Stubb]

I found that having a RL tutor hanging over my shoulder, a pack of cigarettes and copious amounts of beer was an excellent way to learn the game.

And the first electric light was produced by Sir Humphry Davy in 1802.