there's going to be an influx of new players! - helpful stuff inside for them

[minmaster]

there's going to be an influx of new players, because D2D is having a sale and M&B is just $5.  and the word has been spreading how incredible this deal is.

anyways, my contribution for the noobs:

Map of Calradia

this is based on someone else's world map (forgot who, sorry), but it wasn't B/W printer friendly due to all the colors.  so i took that one and i turned it B/W and added the names on white background to make it show up better.

if you have firefox, click it once more for full size then put it on landscape and about 38% scale and you should be able to print it in one page and include every location.


----------------

and links to few very helpful beginner references:

http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,36781.0.html - NPC interaction guide

http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,36125.0.html - starting character stats

http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,46386.0.html - trading in calradia guide (not 100% accurate, but gives you a general idea)

and when you understand the game a bit more:

http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,46290.0.html - contains some essential tweaks for better gameplay.

 

[Manoflooks]

Thanks for editing that, but I dont know how helpful a world map is-memorizing the big cities comes fast, and then the encyclopedia for the villages.


BUt my advice to new people, you will die. You will lose 30 recruits in one battle. You will recover.

 

[minmaster]

Thanks for editing that, but I dont know how helpful a world map is-memorizing the big cities comes fast, and then the encyclopedia for the villages.


BUt my advice to new people, you will die. You will lose 30 recruits in one battle. You will recover.

you can't always access the encyclopedia.  for instance, maps come in handy when you are offered a quest and you have to give an answer right then and there without access to encyclopedia.  you can use the map to see if the village is worth traveling to or not.

plus some people aren't good at memorizing. 

 

[weezl]

More info for those just starting out...

Most mountain bandits spawn near Ayikke (border of Swadia and Vaegir)..
Sea raider are found exclusively in Nord land (North and NorthWest on the map).
Most forest bandits spawn in the (gasp) forests near Jelkala.
Steppe Bandits are found in Kerghit land only (Narra/Ishamur/etc.).

seems like Looters can be found anywhere..

Looters are easy..
Mountain/Forest bandits harder
Steppe Bandits can be difficult if you aren't prepared, since they are predominately horse archers.. and very fast on the campaign map and therefore uncatchable unless your party is purely mounted.
Sea Raiders hardest...

The first time I played this game I took 20 raw recruits against 10 sea raiders, and lost all 20.. leveling your recruits is paramount to success against the higher bandits..

More useful pieces of info..

You can level your recruits in the training grounds.. its not efficient after a while (since trainer skill on you and your companions eliminates the need).. but when first starting fighting your recruits in the training grounds (called sparring) will level them and also level your own weapons skills.. very useful indeed for a starting player!

Training is the only 'additive skill'.. a skill that adds across the entire party.. so if you and all your companions have a high training skill, then all party members gain benefit from the aggregate of all training from all companions/you with that skill..

Companions will not couch their lances if they have a one handed lance equipped and ALSO a shield.  That ain't logical (since the player can do this), but its how it works.

Finally:  the search function on this forum is your friend..


--edited based on Ducksauce's comments (thanks to Ducksauce!).

 

[minmaster]

good reference for explaining the skills and types of skills:

http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Mount%26Blade/Skills

 

[DuckSauce]

隐藏

More info for those just starting out...

Most mountain bandits spawn near Ayikke (border of Swadia and Vaegir)..
Sea raider are found exclusively in Nord land (North and NorthWest on the map).
Most forest bandits spawn in the (gasp) forests near Jelkala.

seems like Looters can be found anywhere..

Looters are easy..
Mountain/Forest bandits harder
Sea Raiders hardest...

The first time I played this game I took 20 raw recruits against 10 sea raiders, and lost all 20.. leveling your recruits is paramount to success against the higher bandits..

More useful pieces of info..

You can level your recruits in the training grounds.. its not efficient after a while (since trainer skill on you and your companions eliminates the need).. but when first starting fighting your recruits in the training grounds (called sparring) will level them and also level your own weapons skills.. very useful indeed for a starting player!

Training is the only 'additive skill'.. a skill that adds across the entire party.. so if you and all your companions have a high training skill, then all party members gain benefit from the aggregate of all training from all companions/you with that skill..

Companions will not couch their lances if they have a one handed lance equipped and ALSO a shield.  That ain't logical (since the player can do this), but its how it works.

Finally:  the search function on this forum is your friend..

You forgot Steppe Bandits, they're near the Halmar/Narra/Ichamur Area and are a pain in the ass if you're planning on hanging around the Khergit lands, Steppe Bandits usually don't have high numbers but multiple groups of them will follow you and they ALL have horses(and usually bows) so they're a pain in the ass to fight and once you beat one group(party) 5 other groups(parties) will be waiting for you

Later on it's unlikely you'll fight them though, due to their small party size they will all run away from you much faster then you can chase when you have a bigger party then them.

 

[weezl]

隐藏

More info for those just starting out...

Most mountain bandits spawn near Ayikke (border of Swadia and Vaegir)..
Sea raider are found exclusively in Nord land (North and NorthWest on the map).
Most forest bandits spawn in the (gasp) forests near Jelkala.

seems like Looters can be found anywhere..

Looters are easy..
Mountain/Forest bandits harder
Sea Raiders hardest...

The first time I played this game I took 20 raw recruits against 10 sea raiders, and lost all 20.. leveling your recruits is paramount to success against the higher bandits..

More useful pieces of info..

You can level your recruits in the training grounds.. its not efficient after a while (since trainer skill on you and your companions eliminates the need).. but when first starting fighting your recruits in the training grounds (called sparring) will level them and also level your own weapons skills.. very useful indeed for a starting player!

Training is the only 'additive skill'.. a skill that adds across the entire party.. so if you and all your companions have a high training skill, then all party members gain benefit from the aggregate of all training from all companions/you with that skill..

Companions will not couch their lances if they have a one handed lance equipped and ALSO a shield.  That ain't logical (since the player can do this), but its how it works.

Finally:  the search function on this forum is your friend..

You forgot Steppe Bandits, they're near the Halmar/Narra/Ichamur Area and are a pain in the ass if you're planning on hanging around the Khergit lands, Steppe Bandits usually don't have high numbers but multiple groups of them will follow you and they ALL have horses(and usually bows) so they're a pain in the ass to fight and once you beat one group(party) 5 other groups(parties) will be waiting for you

Later on it's unlikely you'll fight them though, due to their small party size they will all run away from you much faster then you can chase when you have a bigger party then them.

Thanks.. edited..

 

[Donivin]

Being fairly new to the game still but having asked plenty of questions and used the information to ensure its accuracy.

I can honestly say carry around a few extra horses.  Nothing good but get yourself a good horse and if you want, get the Heros mounted on at least Steppe Horses (Though later I find chargers more suited to their stupid logic of charge in and usually get unhorsed).  The extra horses assist in carry capacity so you are not slowed down nearly as much by goods you picked up and are doing merchanting runs.
                            About 100lbs per extra horse seems to work pretty well

Buy supplies from villages and sell at other villages (if possible but it usually isnt) then cities.  I am not sure how the pricing works but I do know its partially based on your Trade skill (or any party members...whoever has the highest).

The best overall unit for open field fights and melee siege defense/assault seems to be the Swadian Knights (Militia - footman - man at arms - Knight) due to them having Warhorses / Chargers, high armor rating and 1h/shield / polearms.

My opinion on the best ranged unit for Siege Defense / Assault would be the Nord Vet Archer or the Vaegirs Marksman.  Bows fire faster than Crossbows due to the reload time.  Crossbow might hit harder but for every one shot a bow gets off two.

Weapons to use for yourself.  This is a very opinionated debate that flies around though some people base what to use from the weapon / item stats, appearance or just how badly the item sucks because they are looking for new ways to challenge themselves.

Sword of War - Best two handed sword and overall one of the best weapons.  It has great reach, good damage and isnt so slow that it works against you.
Military Scythe - One of the more versatile polearms due to its reach and damage.  Its not too slow but it doesnt have the kick that some two handers do.
Military Hammer - Probably one of the best one handed weapons in the game.  If memory serves its the best 1h blunt weapon with decent reach and good speed.
Jousting Lance - Personal opinion this is one of the worst weapons in the game due to its versatility being less than that of a pile of dog crap.  Its only use it couched lance damage (which means you ride around on your horse, after you hit a certain speed point, the lance tip goes down and you aim it in front of you).  It has great range, horrid speed and it only does damage if you are moving at a decent rate.
Iron Staff - Decent 2h blunt weapon, can do couched lance damage along with its usual clubbings.  Decent range, low - moderate damage and decent speed.

Lets go into ranged weapon debate.

Crossbow vs Bow - Crossbow hits the hardest though some are restricted from mounted combat and they have a slow reload speed.  Bows can still hit really hard, faster reload and are not restricted from horses.

Bows
War Bow - This is the bow that tends to win debates or get the most votes.  At Power Draw 4 it hits for 25 (base).  A lot of bows just don't compare.  The other bows at PD4 are 21-23 damage.
Strong Bow - PD3 21? damage (base)  I am not sure I have not used this bow so do not really keep its stats in mind.
Longbow - Also heard tell this isnt a bad bow either though never even looked at it after picking up a war bow.

Crossbows
Blank
Blank
Blank some more.  No one really even gives them a second thought though one advantage I have found from using crossbow is that it doesnt lose accuracy while being held for short periods of time while you target your victim.

 

[GeoKinkladze]

there's going to be an influx of new players, because D2D is having a sale and M&B is just $5.  and the word has been spreading how incredible this deal is.

If people buy from D2D they will no doubt get a version >1 of the game, if they wish to run a mod such as The Last Days is there anyway for them to do this?

 

[ShortFatBloke]

Hello, I'm (one of?) the influx, having just bought M&B from D2D for a fiver (sorry) - the version for download on there is 1.001 but I guess it should be fairly easy (?) to update it to 1.011.

Thanks Minmaster for the quick guide (above), I'm really looking forward to playing the game - I was up until 1.30 this morning, getting my **** kicked by steppe bandits but my time will come...

 

[minmaster]

yes, the download page for the patch is here:

http://taleworlds.com/mb_download.html

you can also find the manual there.