Throwing weapons is AWESOME

[Mercenary88]

I diagree friend . I'm not sure how many points you have invested in power throw and horse archery(which affects throwing as well of course) but I always one hit kill everybody with my throwing spears. If I'm riding fast enough it's always a one hit kill even on armoured foes.

 

[uly]

You also have to take into account that a quiver of arrows contains anywhere from 28 - 34 arrows, all of which pretty deadly in the hands of a skilled bowman.

Yes, you get more ammo because it's meant to be a primary weapon and not a backup weapon. There are pros and cons to bows and to thrown weapons. Throwing weapons are ideal as a backup weapon to give a melee-focused character some versitility. If you plan to need to throw 30+ of them, you're probably better off accepting that you're not really melee focused and go with a proper ranged weapon.

I don't agree with that.  There are situations where only a "true" ranged weapon is useful, and a character can easily develop to be fully competent in both ranged and melee.

Sieges (both offense and defense), for example, is a place where both ranged and melee fighting will be important, and a character who excels in both is very valuable.  In general, being able to switch between different roles just gives a lot more tactical flexibility.

 

[lodder]

saved me a few times in SP.  Whas almost dead (got ym horsie killed) and moving back to my own line when 1 of the enemy's following me got a AXE in teh head and died

 

[GoatR]

For some time now I have been playing as a high DEX, low encumbrance, foot soldier in the original M&B and am now trying to do the same in WB.  As such my general load out used to be Light leather armor and boots, a 1.0 helmet (think skull cap was about the best) a polearm and throwing weapons, trying to stay at or below about 20 total encumbrance with very high athletics and weapon mastery. 

In the original, this set up was awesome as I could "kite" pretty much anyone on foot and throw knives/daggers at their face once they opened up for an attack.  I have found that in WB the "passive" shield protection makes this much more difficult, even if their shield is at their side when swinging a sword I hit the shield about 7/10 times.

So basically as it is now I am still using this setup but just going melee with any shield user and saving my daggers for people with no shields or their back turned in most fights, though they are also handy for taking down horses.  And at power throw 10 Throwing 200 I kill medium to lower tier troops with one dagger most of time.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention the best part about throwing weapons, the reticle does not spread very much while running as opposed to a bow or crossbow.  And one of the worst parts in WB as far as I am concerned is that when enemies "bump" into you it messes up your throw/shot.

Current load out:
Balanced Long Awlpike, 3x Heavy throwing daggers, Sarranid Mail boots, Sarranid guard armor, Vaegir War Mask (cause it looks creepy even though its kind of heavy) encumberance=20.8.

As far as companions using throwing weapons, I have given 2 stacks of axes of rolf with a shield and sword and he seems to be doing ok, not sure if many of his kills come from the axes though.

 

[Shadow0]

Throwng weapons = useless? Tell that to the cavalry guy I saw in MP a few days ago, I'm sure the axe sticking out of his face would tell another story.

I mainly use throwing weapons in a few situations...

1) When some cavalry is harrassing me, as stated above I'll put an axe in their head as they pass me.
2) As infantry approach me, it'll often scare or surprise them.
3) When I and my opponent separate a bit, just switch and throw before they realize your about to lob an axe at their face.
and 4) When approaching archers, as those few feet can mean the difference between life and death.

You have to admit it's a massive put off when someones fighting you and you back off then he suddenly tosses his axe at you.

In SP though their uses are rather limited in comparison to archery, mainly due to the suicidal rushing of the AI and the sheer numbers.

 

[Thundertrod]

Kalthi is spooke accurate with her throwing spears with disfaculting setings of Good AI.

 

[shinji]

I love throwing Weapon... the only problem is that they have limited ammo. one hit with a javelin and the horse is down the second Javelin is for the dude trying to get up! I love throwing weapon and that love made me Have 190 skill which then makes Jav really deadly!

If you are an infantry and like the sight of enemies up close, then throwing weapons are the  best! personally that's when I get the best feel of the game. I dodge an archer and Bam! in the face! or when a horse in coming really fast and then the horsman goes flying passed me!

I love bows too ... but they take two spots and you have such a rapid rate of fire that you actually run out of arrows before you even notice! but with throwing stuff ... you really think about it!

Do I throw this one and run or do I stay and stick'm with it!! LOL

 

[Berserker Pride]

I just want to be able to actually properly aim the damn things.  There is no skill with the current weapons because of the crazy wide aiming reticule.  I had 300 throwing proficiency on one character and still had a wide reticule.  At that level proficiency and 9 powerthrow the aim should be pinpoint.

 

[Fuffles]

But what I'm really trying to evaluate here is throwing weapons' overall effectiveness in the hands of SP AI.

not really. When you face an army of infantry with throwing weapons in addition to their regular weapons and shields, you have some deadly opponents. A single throwing weapon can take down a lord. Very few weapons in the game have 40+ piercing damage.

Well, thanks anyway for reading my post before replying.

It's good that you've got uber l33t throwing skill, but I'm talking about an AI companion.  I'm usually happy when they're shooting at all, let alone being deadly accurate.

And yes, an army of axe throwing Nords is deadly.  But so is an army of sharpshooters, or an army of anything for that matter.  Again, it's not a useful example when it comes to evaluating how to equip your companions.

Yes, but the thing your forgetting is that the instant they close range the throwing weapons don't lose their effectiveness. I can tell you right now a formation of 5-6 huscarls on a hill will rip apart 2-3 charging cavalry before they even get to them. Then the rest die once they close range, because instead of losing effectiveness, they actually gain some. Unlike most ranged troops.

 

[Aeon221]

Great as a secondary weapon type, wouldn't specialize in it. Very effective at injuring/killing charging cav/inf before they hit line and disrupt shield wall. AI makes effective use of throwing weapons -- not perfect, but certainly sufficient given proper positioning.

For a melee character who prefers to fight on foot, the dual functionality of spear type throwing weapons is key, providing additional utility in what would otherwise be a purely anti-cav slot.

edit: In MP, some people swear by them, most go with a second shield -- the high cost severely weakens most standard builds.

 

[drunk]

Throwing weapons are *great for dissmounting enemy cavalry* . Thats the only great use for them in MP. And sneaking to someone unprepared sometimes works too.

 

[Ozwan]

I'm really interested to know if anyone's found any good use for them. 

Yes. Killing rage berserkers blindly charging with a 2h. Also axes/javs are extremely useful in CQB cluster**** when you just can't get on front line. Sieges are generally the proper places for thrown weapons (ladder clearing and so on).

In some situations I also use ex. darts as counter-archer weapon but it's really limited and usually uneffective.

 

[shinji]

been playing the game for a while ... long while LOL ... and I've never used darts. EVER!
I don't know why , but I don't imagine myself doing it!

listen guys ... I just read a thread where a guy swears the spears are useless and his arguments are valid too. but by the end of the day each have weapons preferences and all weapons are effective IF USED FOR THEIR ROLE! I laugh at spearmen charging 2H inf with Shields of archers. running around while CAV is near.

Throwing weapon in an assist weapon for an infantry man. they are not for sniping nor surprising attacks they **** **** up if you throw 2 of them before charging! + u can even switch to melee mode and hold your line with the rest of the guys.

In sieges they are a must have ... sometimes I take'm with a bow a shield and arrows!

but as I said it's a personal choice for each one of us! Some like mobility some like armor! some want to kill from distance and sole want enemy blood on their face (+ some brain!).

One word IMAGINATION!

 

[Plazek]

1)

*smash smash smash*

/shield breaks

*Throwing axe to face*

2)

*dueling*

/look behind

OMG A GUY WITH A GIANT AXE RAISED ABOVE HIS HEAD

*throwing axe to face*

 

[Krald]

In my eyes throwing are good in multiplayer, as an added strategical option, and absolutely deadly to swap to when someone has a two hander out and is closing to you, if you can get one or two in before he swaps to shield you can win before even closing to melee.

However in singleplayer they plain suck. They seem to have reduced the ammo count when they made them melee-possible, as if they were balanced in the first place, yet the melee isn't very good and the ammo was way too low to begin with. For singleplayer only I'd make javelins have 12 stacks per stack, throwing axes 9 per stack, and others more, and perhaps add some high-end thrown for high power throw. Because it seems to be that they're just not having enough to be very useful against an army in singleplayer. I mean, at high bow skill, I can be headshotting one enemy after the other with a masterwork war bow, dispatching enemies left right and centre and get over 60 shots off before I run out, wheras with thrown, well, you barely get anything done.

I just think thrown does need improving for single player, it's fine for multiplayer though.

 

[uly]

And yes, an army of axe throwing Nords is deadly.  But so is an army of sharpshooters, or an army of anything for that matter.  Again, it's not a useful example when it comes to evaluating how to equip your companions.

Yes, but the thing your forgetting is that the instant they close range the throwing weapons don't lose their effectiveness. I can tell you right now a formation of 5-6 huscarls on a hill will rip apart 2-3 charging cavalry before they even get to them. Then the rest die once they close range, because instead of losing effectiveness, they actually gain some.

True enough.  But then you could say the same thing about other ranged troops gaining effectiveness at longer range.  In the end, you are still stuck with the fact that thrown weapons are pretty much a melee extention, not proper ranged weapons, and do not allow for effective multi-role.

However in singleplayer they plain suck. They seem to have reduced the ammo count when they made them melee-possible, as if they were balanced in the first place, yet the melee isn't very good and the ammo was way too low to begin with. For singleplayer only I'd make javelins have 12 stacks per stack, throwing axes 9 per stack, and others more, and perhaps add some high-end thrown for high power throw. Because it seems to be that they're just not having enough to be very useful against an army in singleplayer. I mean, at high bow skill, I can be headshotting one enemy after the other with a masterwork war bow, dispatching enemies left right and centre and get over 60 shots off before I run out, wheras with thrown, well, you barely get anything done.

I just think thrown does need improving for single player, it's fine for multiplayer though.

I don't play MP at all, so can't say anything on that.  But yes, I think the ammo count is definitely too low for SP.  4 shots a pop, or meesely 5 for a "large bag", seems a very inefficient use of a weapon slot.  No matter how good your throws are, the most you can do with javelins are 5 kills per battle.  A half-way decent archer can easily manage more than that.  If the ammo count was back to the M&B level, I'd be much more inclined to use them.

Oh, and one very small complaint I have with throwing axes specifically: why doesn't it have a "sheathed" model?  I want to see my axes dammit!

 

[Aeon221]

If throwing weapons, a one slot non-specialist weapon, were as good as bows/xbows, two slot specialist weapons, at getting ranged kills, something would be quite wrong.

They're a utility tool equally effective on melee (where they provide the ability to engage at range) and ranged troops (where they add close range stopping power and melee capability in a single slot). Use them to complement your existing capabilities, not as a replacement for a primary weapon class.

And, honestly, if they were an effective primary weapon option, they'd be extremely overpowered. Can you imagine a trooper who is equally effective in melee and ranged combat, without having to sacrifice anything for either? It'd be absurd. It's why, in MP, the only option for having both a bow and sword and board natively is on the Khergits, and lacks much in the way of armor or weapon selection.

 

[Darkday]

The versatility of throwing weapons cannot be understated.

Let me give you a few situations:

An archer starts pelting you with arrows.  You are able to run up to him, but as soon as you get within melee range, he turns around and starts running.  His lighter armor makes him faster than you. There seems to be no way to engage. What do you do? Answer: Throw an axe into the back of his head

A horseman on a courser with a great lance is running around, staying JUST out of range of your spear.  He is basically juking your spear thrusts, using the superior range of his great lance to poke you. What do you do? Answer: Throw an axe into his horse's head.  Kill him when he lands.

What makes axes (and darts to a certain extent) so great IMO is the surprise factor.  You are fighting someone with your throwing axe in melee. Your axe is tearing up their shield.  So they try to get away to have some distance and they switch to 2h thinking they have the upper hand against your shield and 1h axe.  They don't realize that your 1h axe is a throwing axe. You hit x, throw, and BAM: they crumple to the ground with an axe in their chest.

2h may have longer range than sword and board, but throwing axe has longer range than 2h. 

So in conclusion, Do I want to be a skirmisher with nothing but javelins? No.

But do I want to carry a few throwing weapons on me at all times? Yes.

 

[SUBS]

No, not really.

IMO throwing weapon was pretty much rubish in M&B, and it seems to still be the case in Warband.

It's got no range to speak of, and miniscule ammo to boot.  Worst of all, it's really hard to aim properly.  The one thing that it's got going for it is that it only takes up one slot.  In Warband, you could also use them as melee weapon -- very crappy melee weapon.

I'm not just here to tell the obvious, though.  I'm really interested to know if anyone's found any good use for them.  And not just for the PC: I'm wondering if I should let Klethi stick to throwing weapons or develop her in a better ranged weapon.  It seems that the AI is, on a whole, a lot worse with ranged weapons nowadays, so maybe throwing weapons in the hands of the AI has become relatively useful?

well i always mod it so i have more ammo, if u want to know how search the forums/check my post history - or if your really lazy PM me and ill find the info for u.

 

[HTAPAWASO]

I find throwing weapons to be quite useful in the hands of the AI when used en masse.

Just make them hold fire until the enemy is close, and release... a whole heap of Nords throwing axes is a scary sight indeed - even if it doesn't kill that many people it'll still disrupt them and damage a lot of them.

Companions, however... I don't think it's worth investing the skill points into throwing when they could go into something more useful.