Lance combat from horse, optimal position (multiplayer)

[Autumn]

Hi all, I was just wondering if any talented lance users could offer some advice about lance vs lance horse back combat. I consider myself to be pretty handy with the lance and 90% of the time I can put the tip exactly where I want. This is all very usefull for slaughtering infantry and musket troops but against other talented cav players I sometimes feel like i have a lack of understanding about lance mechanics which lets me down. So i have a couple of questions which I hope some people will be able to help with.

Firstly if two lance users go head to head aiming their lances at the same spots on each others bodies is it a case that the one who releases their lance first will get the hit.

Secondly the lance can be used in a fairly wide arc. do you get a longer reach or more effective jab at any point in this arc. (experience seems to suggest that you get more reach aiming the lance ahead rather than to the side)

Thirdly I tend to aim for a players head with the lance, would i be more wise to aim for the chest as it is at a level with the lance and thus my jab might connect slightly faster?

Basically I am trying to get a jist of whether lance combat is more about angle of approach or being the first to release or a combination of both.

Ps- I know a lance aimed at a horses head will hit first if the other person is aiming at you body (Two horses straight on) but that is both cheap and risky and not a tactic i would use.

Also on a side note with horse back sword vs sword combat is there a swing with more reach. i have been beaten by overheads swings a few times when i have released a sidewards swipe at the same time and i am not sure if overhead might be better than the sideways swipes i am currently using horse vs horse.

 

[Nomad007]

Actually aiming at the other guy's horse is probably the best tactic if both your lance's are the same length..but if you don't wanna do that you could try getting out of his way an instant before your lances connect, turn around (i prefer a horse with good maneuverability ) and then jab him in the back with your lance. He most probably won't see it coming . 

 

[Majestic7]

Does anyone else think lances do too much damage on foot, though? I've picked up the hussar lance a few times on foot and totally murdered people with it... That and being skewered by lancers whose horses I've killed with one hit. I think lances should totally suck on foot.

 

[Nomad007]

Does anyone else think lances do too much damage on foot, though? I've picked up the hussar lance a few times on foot and totally murdered people with it... That and being skewered by lancers whose horses I've killed with one hit. I think lances should totally suck on foot.

It's a mixed bag .You might do well against cav but if infantry closes in you , you're basically dead unless you have good athletics .

 

[Autumn]

Yes i have noticed that often against players you can get them to mistime their thrust and then move in with your own via decent horse movement. Better lancers however won't fall for such tactics and you will end up jocking for position with them, usually this will end in a situation where both lancers are thrusting at the same time ending with the death of one (if both are not thrusting at the same time then it is an easy block) Now this is where I am interested in knowing if there is an optimal position and/or timing I should be aiming for while jocking for position with another horse.

I think the polish lance is much like the other spear on foot tbh. I will happily fight a spear user one on one but they are bloody annoying when they attack paired with another spear user or any infantry really.

Fights like that usually go

block spear 
shape to block other infantry
get jabbed by spears second thrust
die to infantrys attack

or....

Turn and run

 

[Wu-long]

Turn and run with barely any life left

Added my bit to it . I always try to get the longest lance even if it means stripping the dead. And for my best results it's always been at the horses head. Why? cause it'd hit at body if not then the horse would die and then i'd run off and pick at it with a firearm.