Bannerlord's cinematic intro depicts a proper shield wall like so.
The current Bannerlord Shield Wall by the Singleplayer AI is more akin to...
Lots of exposed heads and legs, vulnerable to incoming fire.
But in Singleplayer, a shield wall of the more effective and realistic caliber can only be done by players who work as a team because they can manipulate their stances, guards and blocks to effectively cover each other. However, this is rare and I don't even think many clans talk about proper guards in formation fighting, instead they just tell them to block in a group without knowing the proper disciplined formula to make the most effective shield wall and you see lots of gaps in untrained groups in clan battles.
My solution to this is to give each rank a better stance when ordered in formation such as shield wall, square or circle. My formula is:
To demonstrate how this would look, I played in Custom Battle to show how it would compare with AI unit formations in effect.
In here, a crouched player offers greater personal protection and protection for their allies to their rear with their slightly high angled view. It is far more difficult to shoot the legs and the only viable way of damaging is indirect fire. Already, without changing the guard or stance of the other units, we can see the increased survivability or combat effectiveness of this unit formation by simply changing the way the front rank forms up.
The second rank however needs a different guard and view to be more effective as a team and a unit - but in doing so sacrifices personal protection if the person in front of them does not comply with the suggested technique.
A high guard and parallel view provides excellent cover in close order but in doing so leaves a lot of trust to the front rank's position and stance.
In my opinion, these small changes would definitely create more effective shield walls and unit formations in the game.
The current Bannerlord Shield Wall by the Singleplayer AI is more akin to...
Lots of exposed heads and legs, vulnerable to incoming fire.
But in Singleplayer, a shield wall of the more effective and realistic caliber can only be done by players who work as a team because they can manipulate their stances, guards and blocks to effectively cover each other. However, this is rare and I don't even think many clans talk about proper guards in formation fighting, instead they just tell them to block in a group without knowing the proper disciplined formula to make the most effective shield wall and you see lots of gaps in untrained groups in clan battles.
My solution to this is to give each rank a better stance when ordered in formation such as shield wall, square or circle. My formula is:
Code:
FRONT RANK - CROUCH. LOW GUARD(bottom block). SLIGHT ANGLE HIGH VIEW(look slightly upwards).
SECOND RANK - STAND. HIGH GUARD(up block). PARALLEL VIEW(look straight ahead).
To demonstrate how this would look, I played in Custom Battle to show how it would compare with AI unit formations in effect.
In here, a crouched player offers greater personal protection and protection for their allies to their rear with their slightly high angled view. It is far more difficult to shoot the legs and the only viable way of damaging is indirect fire. Already, without changing the guard or stance of the other units, we can see the increased survivability or combat effectiveness of this unit formation by simply changing the way the front rank forms up.
The second rank however needs a different guard and view to be more effective as a team and a unit - but in doing so sacrifices personal protection if the person in front of them does not comply with the suggested technique.
A high guard and parallel view provides excellent cover in close order but in doing so leaves a lot of trust to the front rank's position and stance.
In my opinion, these small changes would definitely create more effective shield walls and unit formations in the game.