How do you get by? im struggling in VC

[Nublet123]

Hi guys, i just got the reforged edition, well, a few days ago.
Im doing the story(no spoilers please), atm just trying to increase rep with the jarls of Denmark(then i dont think i've said too much).
However i find it hard to maintain even a small army(got 100 people with me right now). That is 5k wages! I find that to be a lot when i have no other income than killing bandits etc, if i really farm them maybe i can make those 5k before the week is over, not getting to focus on any of the fun stuff though.
I did use the search function, many people suggest selling slaves, i saw someone post that he sold his 90 prisoners as slaves, for 13k or so, which would be amazing, though when I went to Stone Row to sell prisoners, i had 36 of them, and it only payed 1500! So im guessing it got nerfed hard.

One options is of course to place your army in the refugee as their weekly pay becomes much lower, but im also trying to do some stuff in england atm, and its just not really and option if you wanna accomplish something where you need an army.

Running trade routes through the map did make some okay profit, assuming you are keeping your army minimal, but that also means you will get attacked by bandits every 30 sec. And it takes forever(real life time) to get some decent money from it. Not very much in game time though.

I guess what im asking is, how do you guys get by in this game? Dont take me wrong the mod is really interesting, i just wish there was one or more legitimade methods for getting some nice cash, so i can finally start capturing cities etc.
I hope a kind soul can help me, feels like im a bit stuck =D

 

[Laizenbh]

Trade tip: buy wool for less than 100 and sell it in Dorestead
Prisioners tip: vikingr are the kind of prisioner that would make You close to the 13k goal
M&B every mod/DLC tip: Buy Enterprises when You start, dont buy equipament (it comes to You sooner or later) and become mercenary if You play sandbox(not your case i know)

 

[kraggrim]

Raiding! Sail up and down the coast looking for a village with no lord patrolling nearby. If you get chased by pirates on the way you land the ship til they''re gone, if bandits come you sail away. When you find a village wait until dusk before you start raiding, enemy parties move more slowly and have shorter spotting distance so you're much less likely to get caught.

If you're trying to be a nice character then I don't know, I tried once (non-storyline) and it was definitely harder.

The prisoner thing you mentioned is probably back from 1.03, it was hugely profitable then.

 

[Nublet123]

Raiding! Sail up and down the coast looking for a village with no lord patrolling nearby. If you get chased by pirates on the way you land the ship til they''re gone, if bandits come you sail away. When you find a village wait until dusk before you start raiding, enemy parties move more slowly and have shorter spotting distance so you're much less likely to get caught.

If you're trying to be a nice character then I don't know, I tried once (non-storyline) and it was definitely harder.

The prisoner thing you mentioned is probably back from 1.03, it was hugely profitable then.

Yeah i tried some raiding, it just gets everyone to hate you though. Im not trying to be a nice guy specificly, just trying to plan for my future as i will want those towns/villages for myself eventually, so dont want them to hate me =D

 

[janjanxtreme]

Raiding! Sail up and down the coast looking for a village with no lord patrolling nearby. If you get chased by pirates on the way you land the ship til they''re gone, if bandits come you sail away. When you find a village wait until dusk before you start raiding, enemy parties move more slowly and have shorter spotting distance so you're much less likely to get caught.

If you're trying to be a nice character then I don't know, I tried once (non-storyline) and it was definitely harder.

The prisoner thing you mentioned is probably back from 1.03, it was hugely profitable then.

Yeah i tried some raiding, it just gets everyone to hate you though. Im not trying to be a nice guy specificly, just trying to plan for my future as i will want those towns/villages for myself eventually, so dont want them to hate me =D

I have never raided ever as I hate raiding in all my MnB playthroughs as I hate being dishonourable

Kill bandits. Sell their loot. Sell the prisoners. with only 20 men. Trade. Buy all enterprises. then bam 10K+ money every week.

I'm in day 100 already and I don't even know what to do with my 100K+


but yeah raiding will make early game alot easier

 

[Wulfric]

Raiding! Sail up and down the coast looking for a village with no lord patrolling nearby. If you get chased by pirates on the way you land the ship til they''re gone, if bandits come you sail away. When you find a village wait until dusk before you start raiding, enemy parties move more slowly and have shorter spotting distance so you're much less likely to get caught.

If you're trying to be a nice character then I don't know, I tried once (non-storyline) and it was definitely harder.

The prisoner thing you mentioned is probably back from 1.03, it was hugely profitable then.

Yeah i tried some raiding, it just gets everyone to hate you though. Im not trying to be a nice guy specificly, just trying to plan for my future as i will want those towns/villages for myself eventually, so dont want them to hate me =D

I have never raided ever as I hate raiding in all my MnB playthroughs as I hate being dishonourable

Kill bandits. Sell their loot. Sell the prisoners. with only 20 men. Trade. Buy all enterprises. then bam 10K+ money every week.

I'm in day 100 already and I don't even know what to do with my 100K+


but yeah raiding will make early game alot easier

Happy widows.

 

[RhodokSergeant]

I made a small army, hunted bandits, then bought a ship, hunted vikings, then bought veterans and vikings and high tier soldiers, and now I raid villages in Scotland. I have a large army and enough renown to join any army. Continue with that process and you'll be a rich warlord with over 40k pennings in no time.

 

[Kale3]

Hi guys, i just got the reforged edition, well, a few days ago.
Im doing the story(no spoilers please), atm just trying to increase rep with the jarls of Denmark(then i dont think i've said too much).
However i find it hard to maintain even a small army(got 100 people with me right now). That is 5k wages! I find that to be a lot when i have no other income than killing bandits etc, if i really farm them maybe i can make those 5k before the week is over, not getting to focus on any of the fun stuff though.
I did use the search function, many people suggest selling slaves, i saw someone post that he sold his 90 prisoners as slaves, for 13k or so, which would be amazing, though when I went to Stone Row to sell prisoners, i had 36 of them, and it only payed 1500! So im guessing it got nerfed hard.

One options is of course to place your army in the refugee as their weekly pay becomes much lower, but im also trying to do some stuff in england atm, and its just not really and option if you wanna accomplish something where you need an army.

Running trade routes through the map did make some okay profit, assuming you are keeping your army minimal, but that also means you will get attacked by bandits every 30 sec. And it takes forever(real life time) to get some decent money from it. Not very much in game time though.

I guess what im asking is, how do you guys get by in this game? Dont take me wrong the mod is really interesting, i just wish there was one or more legitimade methods for getting some nice cash, so i can finally start capturing cities etc.
I hope a kind soul can help me, feels like im a bit stuck =D

Warband and VC Vet here. My advice is to keep a low amount of men use the ship the guy gives you in the beginning, disband the rest of your men or put them in a lair. Sail over to England, do the Roman ruins mission and kill all the Svear at the stone Row in alban (been awhile since I've played, but that's were they should be). Rep is easy to get among the jarls, just deliver letters or do mercenary work for them, the find and destroy bandit layer mission gives great relation, XP, and money. Forget trading, it takes to long and is not worth it. If you wan't lower the prices of troops in the options, there's no shame in it as VC is a Single player DLC. Also continue with the story if you wish, you get the same result with good relations or low relations. Save up money for ships and men if your ships can house 100 men than that's fantastic, if they can't then forget those men and disband them.

You can also do the Ireland quest line, it's entertaining and doesn't require a large amount of men. You make great money in it. Continue with the story and you will make a ton of money. Don't worry about taking cities until later in the story.

Overall, ditch your 100 guys to 20 or so guys and continue the story. Good luck!

 

[Wayfarer]

It's certainly harder than it used to be.  Keeping low numbers of troops, levelling them up, picking your fights carefully and keeping aware of enemies while you're travelling is pretty important I think.  Trading can work, as you say though it's a bit hit-and-miss where you go to "talk to traders" as to the possibilities.  And it takes a long time irl.  Enterprises are good, but take a LOT to set up in VC, so the pay-off is a ways down the track.  Raiding can be lucrative, but makes everyone hate ya....so can be harder down the track, too.

What I've found that works fairly well beyond the occasional trading and obvious bandit fights:  Tournaments.  If you bet maximum each time and win, it's a decent payout and also you can sometimes get good gear.  Also good for relations with towns.  My current game char has nice mail and made lots of money that way.  You've gotta win though, which, like trading, can be very hit-and-miss depending on agro.  Always get your team to follow you instead of running off in separate directions to get beat down...

 

[RhodokSergeant]

It's certainly harder than it used to be.  Keeping low numbers of troops, levelling them up, picking your fights carefully and keeping aware of enemies while you're travelling is pretty important I think.  Trading can work, as you say though it's a bit hit-and-miss where you go to "talk to traders" as to the possibilities.  And it takes a long time irl.  Enterprises are good, but take a LOT to set up in VC, so the pay-off is a ways down the track.  Raiding can be lucrative, but makes everyone hate ya....so can be harder down the track, too.

What I've found that works fairly well beyond the occasional trading and obvious bandit fights:  Tournaments.  If you bet maximum each time and win, it's a decent payout and also you can sometimes get good gear.  Also good for relations with towns.  My current game char has nice mail and made lots of money that way.  You've gotta win though, which, like trading, can be very hit-and-miss depending on agro.  Always get your team to follow you instead of running off in separate directions to get beat down...

On top of that, you can always make your way up to 150 renown and join a pretender´s campaign. You now have access to their armaments. I have only done this once, but you can simply strip them of their great gear and tell them you´re giving up on them. A bit cheaty, but it´s always an alternative if things are going too poorly.

 

[WDMeaun]

It has been made a bit more difficult, which is an improvement to me personally.

Currently playing in a sandbox campaign (done the story part in earlier versions, so I was already kinda done with that; not a criticism.. I just (almost) never re-watch/re-play media)

I found it hard to survive, however possible, by hunting regular bandits/reavers. (I started in Mierce)
At the coast line it is possible to hunt the Vinkingr's, but the problem is that they're often scarce or hunted by other lords.

I tend to keep only a small army at start with several companions (in story mode this is a bit tougher) to train up and only after I got a bit of a financial backup, I start raising an actual army.
Starting in Friese is a bit problematic, because you'd need boats right from the get-go.
Plus there aint that many native troops and mercenaries tend to be more expensive.

My advice would be to use a refuge (or a castle, if you own one) to store the elite troops.. Which are expensive.
Do not immediately destroy bandit lairs, but just find their location and let more enemies spawn.
Once in a while you can go around asking lords for a task and they might give you a quest to get that bandit lair, which is good for a bit more money and better relations.

In my own game I'm currently laying waste to a few villages, but I always (ab)use the same villages.
The downside is that their lords will always and immediately lay waste to your fiefs.
Don't do this with lords, you might want to have a positive relation with and just pick a few from the start to steal from.