Horse Archery

[Outlawed]

Lmao. Are you for real??
Horse Archery has NOTHING AT ALL to do with the difficulty settings in any way.
If your opponent is a total noob or a chamber blocking bot machine, you would still have to circle around them, aim well, use 2/3 arrows to get a kill. Thats the fun of it. Getting good to a point where you can force your own conditions, which is probably the only advantage of using HA. Where you could chose the confrontation most of the time. Its not like stronger opponents are going to barrelroll and dodge your arrows. Sure, they might kill you easier if they catch you/get off your horse, but if you get caught that means you probably still can't move your horse right.  But to play HA you need to be able to do that obviously.

Also, I'm not going to even argue over that stupid Athletics point. The game allows you to put points in different areas for different reasons, no matter how you see it, you might not need any points anywhere, but adding them adds an RP aspect of the game which helps M&B be itself.

I'm not even Christian to be carrying a Bible around, the fact that you, a person who never met me, somehow happened to summarize the gist of my life and being through one forum post really shows you are no more than a judgmental a**hole.

Next thing you know you'll be claiming that playing with a blindfold and on mute is the way men do it.
Whats really funny though is that you yourself said that fun is subjective to the player and you still try to flex your non-existant muscles and share your non-existent wisdom on 'How the game is played.". Pathetic really.

Edit:If you hate seeing quotations then what are you doing on forums?

 

[Rookfrjosa]

HA is very fun to play, I did lot of that on my first play-through, but I'm a melee guy at heart, rather I prefer being afoot than on horseback, it's less utility but I prefer having the ability to strafe. I like general archery either way, and using a nice powerful bow on charging enemies to watch their horses literally crumble from underneath the rider is all kinds of visceral satisfaction (like that once shot from the movie 300, with the Rhino, pure craziness), then you cut the guy down as e tries to get up.

Or plugging an arrow in a cavalry rider's chest when he tries to skewer you with a couched lance, it's like jousting, but the stakes are astronomically higher! I tell you, anyone, ANYONE who's ever done something like that has laughed aloud at their computer  because it's pretty much the coolest thing ever.

Again, I prefer getting my hands dirty, and the best thing I've ever done was in melee with a Glaive against a charging Man-at-Arms, a quick sidestep + opposite spear sweep somehow killed both horse + rider at once. I'm standing there confused, staring at the guy, wondering why he doesn't get up after falling off the horse, then I slowly realize that he's dead. It was one of those really slow crescendo-style , sardonically satisfying,  evil laughter moments that I refer to as 'Megatron Moments'

 

[bowlie]

i like them. but it is best if you play as a horse archer and make them follow you otherwise they run into people

 

[FlyByU]

I'll let someone else comment on singleplayer (IMO, horse archers have a variety of problems - they miss often, go into melee, hit the edge of the map..).

But you won't be disappointed if you play with Khergits in multiplayer on an open map

The thing is to keep your eye on them and call them back when they start getting to close to the map edge. Just call them back reform and send them back out or you can have them follow you I use both of these commands when using mounted archers there a hand full until they are Veteran horse archers then they are really very good. Main thing is to keep tabs on them at all times.

I am a battlefield commander more then I get into the melee because if your set on normal damage it don’t take much to kill you or your companions which I renamed to Guard and keep them close to my side so we can protect each other.

 

[ragamer]

HA Armies are unique in the way you need to command them... Sadly you HAVE TO BE with them most of the time and takes away personal freedom as you have to become more a commander than a Fighter Hero.

ATM my character is a Horse Archer commanding Khergit Armies so I can give you some 1st hand tips on how to deal with them:

- Never command them to charge 1st. Always be sure you get some solid meat to send to "choke" your charging enemy. Lancers are k after Khergit rebalance but, at least on my games, Sarranid are rarely at war with khergit, so it pays to keep a bunch of Mamlukes in your ranks. My typical warband is 20% Mamlukes 30% Lancers 50% Archers.

- Right Flank is your game. Horse archers have the same limitations as you so you always have to attack the right flank of your enemy. That way the enemy will be on their left facing and they will be able to shoot.


Regarding specific tactics on-the-field:

- Slow walk is better: The best results with HA section of your army are enjoyed if you command them to follow you and you slowly walk ahead. That way you control their facing (sometimes is good to make the walk laterally against masse of Cav or Inf, but sometimes you need to walk straight on against archer rows so their shots fall far and your horses present minimum collision section). If you just sit there... you will see how, because of horse collisions, some of them will "look back" and will not be able to shoot ever.

- Campers: When the AI perceives it lacks cavalry and has archer superiority you will see them camping the highest spot on the area and wait for you there. What you have to do is leaving your melee Cav on the max range and then move with your HA to the right flank and then slowly walk to attack the enemy archer column "aligning" them so only the closer ones can shoot your. You will discover that your HA archers have good accuracy on the hit plane, but suck at evaluating depth (Probably its because they fail to take into account the elevated possition their horse give) when you attack an enemy "row" this way, your kills rate will dramatically increase as shots that fall far will ALWAYS hit someone else. If the chosen possition is a step hill, you get the extra advantage of reducing the number of archers that can shoot back because part of "the row" will be on the opposite downhill section and will lack LoS to answer back.

- Chargers: If you have chargers you need to act fast. You need to send your melee section 20 paces ahead (and preferably downhill) and send (or carry by making them follow you) your Archer section to the right side. BE SURE that at all times you melee section is the closest target. Then the enemy will "clash" against your melee section and their back will be exposed to your HA barrage that will soften/kill them in seconds.

- Regular: Most of the time the AI will just walk slowly ahead so just do a variation of the Camper tactic but this time "circle" them starting from the right flank, then on the back and finnally on the left flank while you return to your initial spot (where you should have left your melee section). That way, keeping them following you and keeping the enemy always on your left you will soften/killl most of them.

- Reinforcements: Reinforcements on big battles is what triggers the vast majority of casualties for Khergit Armies, as compact packs of enemies "pop from thin air" and they travel through the field intercepting your disperse Cav. Learn to command your HA to camp a place where the reinforcement zone is visible to "greet them" with a deadly arrow barrage when they are all packed. That way they will also disperse while trying to reach your archers and your melee section (that at that moment will be in charge order) will slowly pick them one by one. Once you master the "Reinforcement" wave effect you will see how your casualties are dramatically reduced.

- Dismount sometimes is worthy: Remember that the dismount order will convert your innacurate but mobile HA into regular Archers with deadly precission. Sometimes, specially on hills with forest, is better to just convert your HA Archer section into regular Archers and, like AI campers do, go to the highest spot you can find and then you command your melee section in successive charges to "break" your oppossition at the bottom of the field your Archers can cover, that way, while the enemy pursues your melee section they will eat the high precission fire of your foot Archers.


Hope this helps because it's a refreshing change on the standard tactic of "lets get all heavy cavalry and just charge forward" approach most players do on single player.