Nords.

[socks]

This subject has been broached many times before, and each time has come to no satisfactory conclusion. With that in mind, I'm trying myself. I used to like Nords, before I learned of the excessive fanboyism that is inherent in them. There are even clans dedicated to them. No wonder they're so OP, if half the TW population is obsessed with them.

How are they OP, you ask if you are blind, deaf, and have never played Warband before? Well, let's see, shall we?

NORD CAVALRY
Nord cav are awesome. They get free throwing weapons and can get the best throwing weapon in the game, the throwing spear. No other unit in the beta can get this AFAIK. These guys aren't nearly so OP as the other nord units, however.

NORD ARCHERS
They can get the best arrows in the game and a choice between the long bow and the short bow [free]. The short bow is accurate, relatively powerful, and fast to draw. With it you can buy two quivers of the best arrows in the game as well as the two handed axe nord archers can buy.

NORD INFANTRY
What do they have going for them?
- an awesome spear lineup, nearly as good as that of the Rhodoks
- throwing axes, which are OP at the moment and are ridiculously easy to use
- two handed axe lineup, which concludes with the uber-OP/easy to use longaxe
- great armor

They're the only ones in the game to get axes aside from the Vaegirs' bardiches, and the axes are awesome weapons.

Of course, this thread will undoubtedly be swamped with Nord fanboys as the last few threads of its nature have; when I discussed how OP nords were in game, and said that I would make a topic about it here, a shieldling [a nord fanboy clan] said that he would come here and flame me just for making this thread.

Every time one team is nords that I have seen, there are more nord players than players on the other team.

Anyway, get to flaming

 

[Skot the Sanguine]

Nords have always been tough.  I never liked the Long Axe....but since the ability to use it as a pole arm, I love it.  Just today I "tripped" a horse by stabbing its legs with the long axe, followed by a nice overhead chop on the fallen rider.  Besides, the stance used while holding the axe in pole arm mode is more natural, IMO.

Honestly I don't think Nords should be nerfed, but instead if anything the other factions should be brought to its level....though I don't know how one would go about doing that for the Khergit.  Btw, I wouldn't say Nord cav is awesome, they are ok to good at most.

 

[Teala]

This will be a fun can of worms.    ::grabs her popcorn::  Proceed.

 

[ScientiaExcelsa]

Nord infantry is superior to all other infantry.  This is as it should be.  I reject the idea that they're overpowered at all.

 

[Night Ninja]

They are indeed OP, though not nearly as much as the OP makes them out to be.

They can get the best arrows in the game and a choice between the long bow and the short bow [free]. The short bow is accurate, relatively powerful, and fast to draw. With it you can buy two quivers of the best arrows in the game as well as the two handed axe nord archers can buy.

How is this a problem? The best arrows give a small numerical bonus. The two handed axe has been there forever since the Nord archers are both missile troops and second line infantry. The short bow is a tad too powerful though, but this problem is easily fixed by dropping speed a tad.

- throwing axes, which are OP at the moment and are ridiculously easy to use

Dropping stack sizes has been suggested, but the developers seem reluctant to tweak them further. If it were up to me, I'd drop the stack sizes to two or so, reduce prices and slow down the throwing animation. It isn't my decision to make, so missile spammers can rest easy.

The problem is their use as a cure-all. Suck in melee? Carry throwing axes. Enemy cavalry? Carry throwing axes. Enemy missile troops? Carry throwing axes. It's annoying as ****, especially when you get killed at point blank range with one because the other fellow didn't feel like fighting today.

- two handed axe lineup, which concludes with the uber-OP/easy to use longaxe

Sure, they do a lot of damage in melee, but that's the area that the Nords are supposed to excel in. It's your bloody fault for letting them get there in numbers.

The vast majority of the two handed axes have inferior reach and utility when compared to other 2h weapons. It's the wielder, not the weapon, and holding a longaxe appears to trigger some kind of 'SPAMSPAMSPAM' switch in the brain of the average player.

The longaxes do inflict too much damage while in polearm mode, and it almost appears that the alternate mode was just meant to bring the axehead in closer to yourself. Speeding up the attacks and greatly reducing damage and range while in that alternate mode would help distinguish it from the regular mode; it'd become the Nord equivalent of the bastard sword, so to speak. Plus, the use of blunt damage for the thrust is an abomination and ought to be changed to a lower amount of penetration damage. 

- great armor

What? Are you serious? Did you just run out of stuff to gripe about?

 

[Jericho]

Night Ninja pretty much covered it all…

It's annoying as ****, especially when you get killed at point blank range with one because the other fellow didn't feel like fighting today.

I must confess of being guilty of this from time to time, but in my defense it is when I only have a sliver of health left and a fart in my general direction would’ve been enough to finish me off.
– My apologies if you happened to be one of those I “cheated”. 

 

[ScientiaExcelsa]

Long axe swings are exaggeratedly over-signaled thanks to the sheer size of the things, making them easy to block.  Now that we have chamber-parrying as well, they'll be even less of a threat to good players.