Shields and other stuff

[Pushkinpashtet]

What kind of shield do you prefer? I have dilemma between Reinforced Steel Shield and Reinforced Huscarl Shield.
I'm going to play in the Kingdom of Rhodoks. Can you give me any tips about that kingdom?

By the way, is it better to play as a footman or chevalier?

 

[Hazzardevil]

I'm presuming that by chevalier you mean cavalry.
I think it is best to play as an infantry based character who can ride a horse to scout and get a better position, but fight on foot. Like a dragoon really.

Every tier 3+ soldier carries a board shield. I recommend you carry one as well and fight in the shieldwall or with the crossbowmen.

The Rhodoks fight best when they position on a hill to stop cavalry overwhelming them. Khergiy, swadians, sarranids or Vaegir cavalry, so make sure that your whole lot of crossbowmen fire at the same time at the first wave of cavaly and then have t hem fire at will. Rhodok infantry needs to stand closer several times, but the line still needs to be wider than the archers generally. I recommend having infantry to archers, 3:1.

 

[Pushkinpashtet]

Thanks for your reply.
Yes. Chevalier - cavalry/knight.
So - is it better to invest in Athletics and Riding both?
I thought maybe I'll carry some polearm weapon - maybe Masterwork Long Awlpike? Good damage and pretty far range, huh?

 

[Blackfish]

With the Rhodoks, probably better to play as a horseman, since the Rhodoks have no cavalry. As a horseman you can chase down fleeing enemies and, in a pinch, skirmish with the enemy to buy your men more time to get in position.

And yes, you should always invest in both riding and athletics, even as a horseman - so that you're not a sitting duck if your horse dies under you.

Polearms are, imo, not very good for personal combat, though it's devastating in a formation. I am personally inordinately fond of the great bardiche.

 

[Mkhedari]

Thanks for your reply.
Yes. Chevalier - cavalry/knight.
So - is it better to invest in Athletics and Riding both?
I thought maybe I'll carry some polearm weapon - maybe Masterwork Long Awlpike? Good damage and pretty far range, huh?

Polearms never come in Masterwork unless you're using a mod, so get a balanced one.  The Long Awlpike is incredible from horseback and pretty good with two hands- just be sure to maintain that distance- but using a polearm with a shield reduces power and speed a good bit.

My shield of choice depends on my character- if I'm playing cavalry or any sort of eastern type of character, I prefer the steel shield, because it's relatively compact for riding (no effect on gameplay) and looks Central Asian, Middle Eastern, Russian, etc.  If I'm playing like a Nord, I use the Huscarl shield.  The steel shield's tougher (still don't understand whether resistance or durability is better) but the Huscarl's bigger.

I usually play as cavalry.  This gives you speed, mobility, momentum, height, and a million other advantages.  It's just better in the open field.  However, I sometimes play as an infantry sort of character and fight on foot.  You'll be slow and vulnerable to cavalry, so keep your infantry close by and in very tight formation if the enemy's got any.

 

[Pushkinpashtet]

Thanks again for your replies. It's really helpful because I'm new.
So I will be - probably - fighting with Balanced Long Awlpike, Masterwork Iron War Axe/Masterwork Long Arming Sword, Jarids and Reinforced Knightly Heater Shield/Reinforced Steel Shield.
And horses - which should I play - Champion Charger or Champion Courser? What do you prefer - charging straight on the enemy's formation or killing them on their formation's borders?

 

[Blackfish]

Definitely the charger. A courser is just too fragile. You still shouldn't be charging straight into the enemy though, especially if you're going to be the lone horseman of your warband.

Consider the morningstar for your one-handed weapon. It's a real heavy infantry killer. Also think about whether you really want jarids. They can be useful in some situations, but you can also use that slot for an extra shield.

 

[Pushkinpashtet]

Ok, I think that Charger will be good choice.

But I have read that Morningstar with shield will be extremely slow. I have seen that my friend was playing Warband with Bastard Sword and Huscarl Round Shield. It was damn slow fight.

About Jarids - I think that every melee fighter should have some throwing weapons.

 

[Mkhedari]

The charger's best for enabling you to fight without worrying about losing your horse, so you arrows aren't as big a problem and you can even wade into a melee with infantry for a while.  The courser is fun, and combined with a blanaced long awlpike, gives you huge momentum for a fatal face-stab and then lets you dart back out of sword-reach. 

Axes unfortunately don't come in Masterwork either.  The morningstar is heavy and slow, but it's very hard-hitting and ignores some armor.  Combine this with power strike, a horse's momentum, and the "crush blocks" ability, and you'll be able to instantly kill anyone with one hit regardless of armor, shields, ironflesh, or even blocking.

Now, I don't much use throwing weapons, because you only have a few, most will miss, some that hit will hit shields, and so on. 

 

[Pushkinpashtet]

Thank you very much. I already bought typical Charger and I'm afraid about Balanced Long Awlpike damage - I don't have it yet, but will Charger give me enough speed to kill (for example - Nord huscarl) in one strike? And why not Iron War Axe? Just a little bit shorter reach, but greatly increased swing speed.

 

[Mkhedari]

Thank you very much. I already bought typical Charger and I'm afraid about Balanced Long Awlpike damage - I don't have it yet, but will Charger give me enough speed to kill (for example - Nord huscarl) in one strike? And why not Iron War Axe? Just a little bit shorter reach, but greatly increased swing speed.

In one campaign I've got 5 Power Strike and 200+ polearm proficiency.  At the speeds at which I travel on a courser, everything dies.  I once took out Count Reland with a single strike to the face.  That's the trick- use momentum and aim for the face.  It may sometimes take two thrusts, but the awlpike's fast.  A charger at speed is probably fast enough- a lot of my face stabs from a courser deliver 100, 150, even 200 damage!  That's overkill, so a charger (which isn't that slow) should do fine.

As for a sidearm, I like various 1h swords or the Balanced Spiked Mace.  A blunt weapon will ignore most armor and get you valuable captives, but the mace is very short.  The Iron War Axe is a good choice too if you need a shield breaker.

 

[Pushkinpashtet]

Thanks for the advice. I'll buy Sarranian War Horse. I've also bought Heavy Morningstar. I haven't tried it yet, but I trust it. It does 40c damage in single hand.

 

[Mkhedari]

Thanks for the advice. I'll buy Sarranian War Horse. I've also bought Heavy Morningstar. I haven't tried it yet, but I trust it. It does 40c damage in single hand.

The Sarranian War Horse is my favorite because of its looks and armor.  The Heavy Morningstar is a 2h/1h weapon, meaning that it can be used at the stats listed with two hands, or used with a shield but at a 30% penalty to power and I think speed.  So it's not quite as strong as the stats say when with a shield, but it's still very powerful, pierces some armor, and can crush blocks.  It's slow, but once it comes at you, blocking, shields, and armor rarely help.

 

[Pushkinpashtet]

30%?! Now I know that Morningstar isn't worthy with shield.  Even on horse.
Damage - 30% of 40 = 12. 28c damage.
Attack speed - 30% of 91 ≈ 27. 64 attack speed.
Numbers don't lie.

Even a typical Sword is better than that! So the highest damage in one hand has Heavy Iron War Axe. It's obvious that this is better choice than Heavy Morningstar. What do you think?

 

[Mods]

I really liked investing a ton of points in foot skills like shields and athletics and fighting on foot, while keeping 2 in riding for hunting down runners with my my heavy courser
You have a chance to use some of the really powerful 'ground only' items then. And true rhodocks/nords fight on foot anyway

 

[Mods]

Also for shields, I find that resistance just means how well it will fare against crossbow bolts.
I sometime pierce right trough a sea raiders wooden shield with my siege crossbow, but it never happens against steel shields etc,..
So generally, get the bigger shield, except against the rhodocks/swadians (doesn't matter with high shield skill though)

 

[Pushkinpashtet]

Thanks, Mods. For now I have (finally!) Balanced Long Awlpike, Heavy Morningstar, Reinforced Steel Shield - and I'm going to buy Large Bag of Heavy Throwing Axes. I don't know what armor should I take.

 

[Mkhedari]

Thanks, Mods. For now I have (finally!) Balanced Long Awlpike, Heavy Morningstar, Reinforced Steel Shield - and I'm going to buy Large Bag of Heavy Throwing Axes. I don't know what armor should I take.

Looks like you're going to see some close combat.  I'd get heavy armor- encumberance doesn't seem to matter on horseback. 

 

[Pushkinpashtet]

Ok. I'll get Cuir Boulli.

Screenshots:

How about my character? Will it be good for longer play?
And how to increase morale? I have a little problem with that.

Thank you very much for advices.

 

[Cornelius Constantine]

I think you need to increase your charisma. And your intelligence... Well... You might try to become a Marx Brother...

Your morale is High, so quite okay. Try to get more types of food.