The problem with this suggestion (raising armor values) is that it would make an unreasonable gap between top tier troops and lower tier ones.
At the state of the game right now top tier infantry will defeat the lower tier ones in similar numbers, but if they are outnumbered on like 2:1, in medium-large numbers, there's a very significant chance they will lose in an open field battle without using terrain advantages, and I like that for the sake of realism. Raising armor values might lead to situations like the ones we had in warband with the swadian knights, per example:
This is the 1st video I found, but there are obviously more. If you guys find this fun (I do), it's genuinely ok, but the higher armor for the sake of realism argument completely loses it's place. The Swadian Knight isn't a realistic knight, but a mythical beast, a force of nature, a fabled legend, it's romanticized Musashi killing 100 Yoshiokas, Alan Moore's 300 spartans against a million persians, it's pure fantasy.
A tier 5 unit currently costs 6x as much in wages as a tier 1 unit at 12 denars vs a tier 1 unit at 2 denars. A tier 6 unit costs 18 denars per day, which is 9x as much as a tier 1. A unit has to justify it's wage cost first and foremost. Winning 2:1 with mostly tier 5 and 6 units against a mainly recruit army doesn't sound unreasonable given the vast difference in troop wages. Otherwise there would be a far weaker justification for high tier units.
A group of knights losing to peasants outnumbered when outnumbered by just 2:1 seems like the totally unrealistic, immersion breaking part to me.
You are talking about recruits with minimal training and not very well equipped going up against veteran units with top tier equipment. Most recruits are not going to be capable and disciplined. That will progressively improve as they improve in tier, assuming of course they survive and their leader opts to upgrade them.
Historically such recruits were extremely vulnerable to breaking and routing in the face of even moderate casualties. That could result in a chain rout and an entire army, including even veterans falling apart. Not to mention, the home economy still needed workers.
On that note, Swadian Knights were never that invulnerable. Although very powerful, they could be cut down by polearms and struggled against the Khergits' horse archers.
It always buffles me why people play against the looters all the time, its the worst most boring part of the combat gamaplay (monoarmy with garbage gear and garbage loot and zero tactics), you can literally avoid fighting them after 30 minutes of playing and never again bother with them, looters should not be benchmark of anything. More focus should be put on how funny and immersive (and balanced if you are into that in SP) big battles are, not literal gameplay padding that is looters.
Also if realism would be focus, armors should be more more powerfull in general, this includes gambesons.
I even made some tables based on scientific literature and experimental evidence which I apllied in my mod.
The main reason may be that they can still hurt the prosperity of settlements - I believe mods like Improved Garrisons have patrols for this function.
Late game, engaging looters is something I automate. Engaging enemy lords and mods like Scum and Villanry though - that's something interesting and challenging.
All I'm going to say is that I think realistic combat mod should be the stock game's armor configuration.
Exactly, people say "oh but if you boost armor you'll be invincible against looters and that's bad"
But what about medium/high tier units? those would get the biggest benefits of improving armor, the player is just one but armies can have hundreds of those units that would be a treat to you and your army with being able to tank more hits instead of dying in one or two as in vanilla.
in warband lategame i was basically invincible against looters yes but i still dreaded a charge of swadian knights against me, or nord huscarls, rhodok sharpshooters etc if i wasn't accompanied by equally strong soldiers.
Strongly agree.
Armor works both ways. The enemy higher tier troops and lords are also going to have greater effectiveness too and any advantages the player has with their troops will be cancelled by this, unless of course the player is engaging just looters or an army of just recruits.