Spears vs cavalry? oh and crossbows vs bows.

[dja_hel]

I'm playing as the Rhodoks and I can't say I find anything special about them. Since they don't have any cavalry, they dont have an advance guard or anything, they have to sit and wait for all the cavalry to come to them, or shoot them down. So since alot of them have spears, are they better at fighting cavalry then? or does it matter. Also, is the Rhodok Sharpshooter worth passing up a vaegir marksman, simply because of the crossbow?

 

[Orj]

A spear thrust to a horse's chest will stop it in its tracks, so spears are the best anti-cavalry weapons.

Sharpshooters are great for sieges, as they have powerful ranged weapons and good armor. Rhodock Sergeants are very powerful melee fighters, also great for sieges.

 

[eugenioso]

thats the on-paper what if scenario.

the rhodoks are good anti cav units with their spears, but a charge by swadian knights will still kick ur ass

and the rhodok sharpshooters are the rhodok high tier units. they are great melee fighters andtheir crossbows en masse can cause a great many casualties on any unit kind (though never quickly enough to kill the enemy outright, such as the bows of teh vaegir marksman)

 

[dja_hel]

So then whats the point of picking a Rhodock sharpshooter over a Vaegir sharpshooter?

 

[The Mercenary]

There isn't really one.

 

[DanAngleland]

Well, I think Rhodok Sharpshooters tend to be more heavily armoured, and can be very tough in melee as well. Plus they will fire more slowly, which can be an advantage if you're in a long battle and you want missile protection for longer. Personally though, if I choose a faction I tend to stick to the faction troop tree.

As for the Rhodoks in general, the Sergeants are very strong units, they usually have glaives which have a long reach and are dangerous to cavalry and infantry. I find they're tough to fight against in the final version.

 

[Shadow0]

Rhodoks are generally seen as pathetically weak. The #1 reason being that the AI just plain sucks and theres nothing we can do since its hard coded, the AI cant use their spears properly, and spears themselves suck unless on horseback (which can be changed pretty well with modding).

The one and only thing going for the Rhodoks are probably their heavier crossbowmen, thats it. They get demolished in every other area.

 

[hayabusa12]

One good thing about Rhodok crossbowmen is that you can train a ****load of them in the blink of an eye, unlike those Vaegir archer types.

Truth.

Better to be caught with 20 Rhodok Sharpshooters then 10 Vaegir Skirmishers, 8 Vaegir Archers, and 2 Vaegir Marksmen.

 

[mastablasta]

Been playing with swadians for a while, but that didn't stop me from recruiting rhodoks. and here is why the have some units that are good:

heavy armoured sergeants = good for siege, because they can take a lot of beating

sharpshooter - i had plenty of varous ranged units. but when i saw how my swadian sharpshooters get slaughtered by rhodocs and so do vaegirs i had a closer look a what is going on. and here is the thing. the swadian shaprshooter does not always get a shield and they are crappy on close range. vaegir marksman don't even have a shield. rhodocs always have big shield which is very handy in siege. the defenders can shoot at you all they want yet your units are propperly shielded.

Otherwise they are crappy indeed. with a charger (or warhorse) and spear you can decimate them before they come to your starting point and then you order charge to your troops and they kill them all (especially swadian knights) with little or no casualties. the key is to pick fights out in the open.

 

[dja_hel]

Been playing with swadians for a while, but that didn't stop me from recruiting rhodoks. and here is why the have some units that are good:

heavy armoured sergeants = good for siege, because they can take a lot of beating

sharpshooter - i had plenty of varous ranged units. but when i saw how my swadian sharpshooters get slaughtered by rhodocs and so do vaegirs i had a closer look a what is going on. and here is the thing. the swadian shaprshooter does not always get a shield and they are crappy on close range. vaegir marksman don't even have a shield. rhodocs always have big shield which is very handy in siege. the defenders can shoot at you all they want yet your units are propperly shielded.

Otherwise they are crappy indeed. with a charger (or warhorse) and spear you can decimate them before they come to your starting point and then you order charge to your troops and they kill them all (especially swadian knights) with little or no casualties. the key is to pick fights out in the open.

I was in a battle the other day and I noticed that only my Rhodok sharpshooters were able to nullify the distance away from the enemy, and they were pretty damn good shots, too. However, I would like to know if the Vaegir marksman can still deal out some punishment in close combat, because that kind of gets rid of the up close and personal advantage that the Rhodok sharpshooter seems to have. Also, I don't understand why the anything below the Rhodok veteran spear man seems to suck pretty badly.

 

[Gabeed]

*swoops in to the defense of the Rhodoks*

Not only are Rhodok crossbowmen easier to train, but they are also amazing in melee combat.

The Rhodoks were quite weak in previous versions of the game.  Except for an armor and helmet weakness in the middle tiers of the Spearmen branch, I'd say that they are quite awesome now.  Nevertheless, immature, commonly Swadian forum-goers who always get tons of disgusting mixed armies of Swadian knights, Vaegir Marksmen, and Nord Huskarls deride the Rhodoks.  Although they speak of mowing down Rhodoks with their chargers, I can say that I've slaughtered horsemen with my Rhodoks just as easily, making a pile of corpses that would put Zack Snyder to shame.

*swoops away*

 

[SaracenX]

Vaegir Archers/sharpshooters are great for seiges provided that you keep them away from the melee combat taking place on the ramp/tower. Have them hold position at a slight distance so they can pick off the enemies on the walss. Dont, however, have them charge(unless you have so many arrowless archers standing that they actually impede the arrival of reinforcements).

And I initally thought this thread was about bows and crossbows for the player in question. I'd always pick a bow  on account of faster reload, range and accuracy(since the trajectory is straighter for a longer distance)

 

[MisterBarca]

And I initally thought this thread was about bows and crossbows for the player in question. I'd always pick a bow  on account of faster reload, range and accuracy(since the trajectory is straighter for a longer distance)

What about ranged weapons for companions? Would you still favor Bows for them--though the better Bows require you to expend a lot of skill points?

 

[SaracenX]

And I initally thought this thread was about bows and crossbows for the player in question. I'd always pick a bow  on account of faster reload, range and accuracy(since the trajectory is straighter for a longer distance)

What about ranged weapons for companions? Would you still favor Bows for them--though the better Bows require you to expend a lot of skill points?

I wouldn't know. My companions act as either support characters ( first aid etc) or as melee tanks ( coat of plates, bastard swords etc). It is my character that usually focuses on the power draws.

 

[mastablasta]

i explored both options with characters with bows and crossbows (both on horse). One of the characters is the kind that we have to part every once in a while. anyway i don't see much difference between them on horse, as they both tend to go melee after firing a few shots. I seem to remember in previous versions that they attacked more from long distance.

Archers (vaegir) are also ok for siege. yes the load faster than crossbowers and don't get hit as much when rreloading (i think). they have descent armour and their weapon is some large two handed axe or something similar. and its reasonably good especiall if they can stay a bit behind when on siege.

 

[ferroburak]

Maybe better speaers for infantry(that are not usable by cavalry) needed.

 

[Birger Jarl]

Maybe better speaers for infantry(that are not usable by cavalry) needed.

Aren't there quite a few spears/pikes that are "Not usable on horseback"?

 

[mWAZLIB]

I normally go for the bows as they are faster. But i agree that crossbows are a lot stronger.  As to spears and horses, horses would pretty much kill the spear carriers by charging them down or dodging and swiping at them.  I usually have amix of crossbows and archers in my army. but if i have archers it only the top tierd ones.

 

[*Hakim*]

Rhodoks are crappy....i have to say it sorry....
I am at war with the rhodoks, i will give them the fact that their sharpshooters are a bit annoying with seiges, but on an open battle field my footmen clean up the spear men....and behind comes my knights at full gollap while my archers unleash hell with arrows! I love fighting them cause even tho i am out numbered i can still pull off a good win!

The only thing rhodoks are exceptional good at fighting are the Khregit...other than that...swadians, nords, and vaegirs clean them up pretty good! From personal experience but that is different between each player!

With the Rhodok veterans...well they are as well good with seiges...i believe the Rhodoks are masters of seige defense and attacking...better than any other faction...but open battles which i commonly see myself doing....they eat the hooves of my knights and taste the steel of my soldiers....

 

[mastablasta]

With the Rhodok veterans...well they are as well good with seiges...i believe the Rhodoks are masters of seige defense and attacking...better than any other faction...but open battles which i commonly see myself doing....they eat the hooves of my knights and taste the steel of my soldiers....

your whoel assesment is not based on the use of rhodocs but on fight of you against their AI. because if you look at it like that then let me tell you that nords and vaegirs also suck. as do khergit. in fact i can beat them all. the game is made like that otherwise it won't be interesting. i bet no one owuld be playing it if they would keep loosing.

anyway as i said before i am using them with other units and so far they are ok. i am currently at war with vaegirs. they can stop their knight easilly and get them off horses. while the famed marksman don't really hurt them because of their big shields. all i need to do is put them on the hill and then even swadian knights are not mcuh of a match (i am talking about the AI ofcourse). computer can't do propper tactics. they hide the cavarly behind infantry but they don't attack when the time is right for example to crush the infantry.

now back ontopic - i am at war with vaegirs and doing plenty of sieges. one army got decimated by their marksmen archers (they really had a lot of them and knights & gurads to protect the access to them. to the seem to be good in defending the castle. they made a lot of kills of my knights eventhough i have high surgery and stuff. they also hit me a lot and seem to do quite a bit of damage with their bow. they are however easy pray if you manage to get close (no shields).