I remember playing the M&B classic version, and was not aware that there is a new version. A short summary for players who cannot decide to try this. (hint: everyone should try this!)
General info:
- this is a super harsh mod
- starting up is very-very difficult. (you don't have good gear, you cannot hire from villages, you cannot finish the quests for the villages so that you can recruit, you cannot use the arena to increase your stats)
- but when you actually manage to start your game, it is quite rewarding
- beware: weapon balance is drastically different than any other warband mod. In general everything is more deadly, it is quite common to be one shot from a javelin or spear stab.
- in general this is a very good quality mod, which has unique settings. Because of the latter, might not be for everyone though. But give it a try!
- I would advise to avoid the usual adventurer start. Being a vassal, and being able to recruit your troops from day one is a very big help in this mod. (I would advise starting as a russian vassal)
details:
positives:
- lovely items, which you cannot see elsewhere
- unique scenes not seen elsewhere. I especially liked the tatar tent-town, it is brilliant!
EDIT: I cannot seem to stress these two points. Really, items and scenes are very good, flavorful, and unique.
- the bots seem to have better AI (and are more challanging) than in other mods. For example they change weapons according to the distance you are. They also try to keep optimal distance. Heavily armored AI bots seem to be aware that you have a very low chance of damaging them, and they don't bother with defense, just spam attack. Very efficient, and when I think about it, realistic too.
- as far as I can tell, historical characters (or characters inspired by history)
- very good world map! I especially like that you can add a layer which makes it map-like
negatives:
- the arena doesn't seem to work. The AI bots just stand there, take 3-4-5 hits to the head with a sword, refuse to die, and kill you. They don't even bother to block for some reason. (I think they get periodic magic healing.)
- ammunition refills in sieges. This makes javelin troops super-overpowered in siege defense
- magic healing in battles to every participant. I don't understand what this represents. Dramatically drags out battles though, especially when ranged cavalry is involved (which pretty much always happens in field battles)
- lots of different textures, no optimization. Also, some lockdowns where only a hard reset helps (not common). A few dialogs are an endless loop, and have no exit (you have to close the game in task manager)
- some quality of life improvements from the base game are removed (most important: cattle doesn't follow you, the horror!. Horses now require horse food. Enterprises actually don't make a profit now, only if you micromanage their output. These are realistic, but not fun)
- factions are not really balanced, especially russians, and to a lesser extent, lithuanians have units which wipe the floor with everything else. This can be a good of bad thing. Helps newcomers (if they join the russians), and provides challenge (if players join teutotons/polish)