I believe that bannerlord would benefit from a more realistic approach to movement speed based on weight.
Currently movement speeds vary dramatically based on class selection rather then weight/equipment carried, I think this is a mistake. There are classes((even within the infantry classes)such as peasant, rabble, clan warrior, etc) that are lightly armored but still run slower than heavily armored infantry(with speed perk).
Movement speed is essential to melee combat when outnumbered. Given a two on one scenario you simply cannot win if you are artificially slower then your opponents.
Archer and cavalry classes should not be punished for trying to melee by having a movement penalty (they have this bc arrows have an artificially high armor penetration rate and cavalry have horses with high hit points and an un-blockable strike mechanic (horse bump strike) given the removal of the movement penalty on these two classes these should be removed/balanced along with the speed penalty that infantry/archers have when using a horse and the accuracy penalty infantry/cavalry have when using a bow)
Having two different movement speeds would even the playing field so that all classes can melee equally(relative to movement speed) differentiating themselves only through individual skill rather then inherit class advantage/disadvantage.
Another benefit to a uniform movement speed approach based only on armor weight would be in catching fleeing/delaying opponents. Having equal running speeds (two lightly armored opponents chasing one lightly armored individual) ensures that an individual cannot run away forever because they are 1 point faster then everyone else(beserker class is the fastest right now I think). Given a finite space and equal running speeds 2 individuals would always catch 1 person fleeing/delaying.
To clarify, I am not saying that everyone should run the same with their relative equipment (either heavily armored running speed or lightly armored running speed) rather that anyone without any weapons/equipment would run the same as any other person without thier weapons/equipment relative to their armor classification(light or heavy armor). So a light archer would still be caught by a heavy infantry(the quiver/bow could have the movement penalty instead of the archer himself to prevent kiting, this is also realistic because it is hard to run with a quiver full of arrows) unless the light archer dropped his bow/quiver.
Currently movement speeds vary dramatically based on class selection rather then weight/equipment carried, I think this is a mistake. There are classes((even within the infantry classes)such as peasant, rabble, clan warrior, etc) that are lightly armored but still run slower than heavily armored infantry(with speed perk).
Movement speed is essential to melee combat when outnumbered. Given a two on one scenario you simply cannot win if you are artificially slower then your opponents.
Archer and cavalry classes should not be punished for trying to melee by having a movement penalty (they have this bc arrows have an artificially high armor penetration rate and cavalry have horses with high hit points and an un-blockable strike mechanic (horse bump strike) given the removal of the movement penalty on these two classes these should be removed/balanced along with the speed penalty that infantry/archers have when using a horse and the accuracy penalty infantry/cavalry have when using a bow)
Having two different movement speeds would even the playing field so that all classes can melee equally(relative to movement speed) differentiating themselves only through individual skill rather then inherit class advantage/disadvantage.
Another benefit to a uniform movement speed approach based only on armor weight would be in catching fleeing/delaying opponents. Having equal running speeds (two lightly armored opponents chasing one lightly armored individual) ensures that an individual cannot run away forever because they are 1 point faster then everyone else(beserker class is the fastest right now I think). Given a finite space and equal running speeds 2 individuals would always catch 1 person fleeing/delaying.
To clarify, I am not saying that everyone should run the same with their relative equipment (either heavily armored running speed or lightly armored running speed) rather that anyone without any weapons/equipment would run the same as any other person without thier weapons/equipment relative to their armor classification(light or heavy armor). So a light archer would still be caught by a heavy infantry(the quiver/bow could have the movement penalty instead of the archer himself to prevent kiting, this is also realistic because it is hard to run with a quiver full of arrows) unless the light archer dropped his bow/quiver.
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