Tips for playing as Nords

[Seekster]

Ive always loved the Nords but lately I have only been playing as the Swadians because, as I said in another topic, I just like being on a horse (or using coconuts) in battle. Has anyone had success playing as the Nords in the latest version of the game? It could just be me but it seems that the Nords got nerfed a bit after version 1.003, possibly to make up for the fact that they now have "archers" which suck.

If I did go and play as the Nords now I would probably simply make an army of 5 cavalry (me and 4 companions) and just have the rest be Nord Warriors and above. Can anyone give me some feedback or tell me if I am on the right track here or not?

What have you tried and found works or doesnt work? Also is there really any way to compensate for the slow movement speed of foot armies on the world map? I know having extra horses in your inventory helps (I usually have about 6 extra horses) but I still have a hard time catching Sea Raider groups unless I have a notably smaller army than the group I am chasing which usually means that they are doing the chasing.

 

[Tachyon]

Increase your pathfinding ability, this will still give you a good speed on the map even if most of your troops are infantry.

If you're playing pure Nords, don't even bother with their archers. Try to train your troops to Nord Veterans or Huscarls if you can. Even then, you'll be at a disadvantage against parties with a large no. of archers (Nords have really small shields).

If the enemy refuses to come to you and stays on their half of the map, go over to them (solo) and knock out a few of their guys. This will force them to charge at you. Also, your troops will be protected against Archery fire since they don't charge first.

For Nords, the greatest threats are archers and cavalry. If you've got only warriors and trained footmen , then you won't have much chance against a cavalry charge (Rhodok sergeants and spearmen are better at this, way better). Huscarls can withstand a cavalry assault, but I'd pick a rhodok sergeant any day over them. Just order all your troops to hold position and Stand closer (High surgery skill also recommended to minimize battle losses).

As for protection against archers, use the tactic I mentioned above. It's always best to make the enemy come to you rather than charge and get your troops cut down by arrow fire.

 

[supraliminal]

I wouldn't say skip the archers, even nord archers fair well against crossbowmen.  At least they do for me.  If you are in a situation where you want your infantry to hold to take out advancing Swadian cavalry or lots of rhodok infantry coming, all of your Huscarls with no shield (which depending purely on luck could end up being half or more of them) are crossbowmen fodder while you are holding position.  If you have archers, their better rate of fire hugely interrupts as well as draws a lot of enemy fire. You could do without, sure, but then.. the huscarls are so good that you don't really need 50 of them as opposed to 30 huscarls and 20 archers either, so having archers around to die instead of uber huscarls in and of itself can make them useful.  It's entirely random whether you will get enough huscarls with shields to really make a shield wall, and regardless... having them hold fire until you release a barrage of thrown weapons is just as devastating as the actual melee itself, at which point they'll still be vulnerable to missles if you have no one to answer back.

 

[Calanor]

I am mostly with Naridill here - I have considered Nord archers a bit, but decided against it for the time being. The main reason is that basically any Nord infrantryman has got a chance of getting a thrown weapon. While that might not be compared to a bow at anything beyong relatively close range, it still adds some extra flexibility to a hand-to-hand soldier that is arguably the best one in the game. It's true that there's absolutely no guarantee that a huscarl will enter combat with a shield, but even then they've got good armour and quite a decent number of hit points. So far, my experience is that a Nord shieldwall is indeed very effective, assuming of course that you'll maintain a close formation, but I suppose that goes without saying

 

[fisheye]

If you feel the need for ranged units and don't want to dilute your kickass nords with Vaegir marksmen, then give your NPC heroes some bows. They can get pretty damn good with those things and can really slap on the heavy armor and mix it up with the best of your Huscarls.

Also don't forget that about half of your nord infantry have throwing weapons, very effective against enemy infantry. Hold fire until the enemy is close and then let them rip through those shields.

 

[Calanor]

Also don't forget that about half of your nord infantry have throwing weapons, very effective against enemy infantry. Hold fire until the enemy is close and then let them rip through those shields.

Well, part of what I said before - the ranged attacks of the infantry is not to be dismissed lightly. The axes can literally rip through those shields. Three or four thrown axes and the shield might well be obliterated.

 

[grievous5226]

I Used to use Nord Archers, untill I finally trained some Marksmen. All and all against Rhodoks they only start killing when they get really close, and by that time they only kill 3-5. I Find archers in General useless, but I keep 'em anyways.

 

[BlindGamer]

i gave my nord archers ( top2 tiers) mail shirts and fighting axes, i think it balances stuff out a bit better, i have 2 infantry for every 1 archer in my army, we pwn

 

[Dartagan]

I am a nord.  And I have a good tip for you.

I agree with most of what's been said by everyone else, but there are a few crucial things I think they missed.

Hide behind a hill!
-Since Nord huscurls and Vets have powerful throwing weapons, their ideal distance from enemy troops is within 25 paces or so.  So, have them hide behind a slope so that the enemy can't shoot at them until they are only 20 paces away.

Hero wall!
-War Horses and Chargers are a pain, they don't kill, but can blast straight through your lines sometimes.  So make your mounted heroes stand ground right behind your infantry.  Sure, the Swadian knights will smash through your huscurls once, but then they'll run into your heroes and your entire army will engulf them in seconds.

Diversify?
-If you happen to pick them up, Rhodok Sergents are an excellent addition to any nord infantry.  They either have huge shields to help protect the huscurls fet around them, or have extended range with big ass polearms.
-Remember the hero wall?  This works with Khergit vetern horse archers too.  Plus, they are cheap and easy to train, and will serve as excellent range cover for your nords because of their extra mounted height and excellent archery skills

 

[Lord_Adam]

The Nordic archers are useless clowns.. They can't fight worth balls and yes, they usually end up killing your own men because they can't hit anything.

Much better of beefing up vets to be huscarls, they throw axes  and are too heavily armored to really kill that much.. not to mention the fact the archers have leather and they die after 2 seconds of close quaters combat. I made the mistake of hiring them.

 

[LK]

Ive always loved the Nords but lately I have only been playing as the Swadians because, as I said in another topic, I just like being on a horse (or using coconuts) in battle. Has anyone had success playing as the Nords in the latest version of the game? It could just be me but it seems that the Nords got nerfed a bit after version 1.003, possibly to make up for the fact that they now have "archers" which suck.

If I did go and play as the Nords now I would probably simply make an army of 5 cavalry (me and 4 companions) and just have the rest be Nord Warriors and above. Can anyone give me some feedback or tell me if I am on the right track here or not?

What have you tried and found works or doesnt work? Also is there really any way to compensate for the slow movement speed of foot armies on the world map? I know having extra horses in your inventory helps (I usually have about 6 extra horses) but I still have a hard time catching Sea Raider groups unless I have a notably smaller army than the group I am chasing which usually means that they are doing the chasing.

After much trial and error, I found what works quite well is to replace approximately 100% of your Nord troops with a 1:1 ratio of Swadian Knights to nothing else. It solves both your problems - it lets your army move on the world map at a speed that doesn't make it look like they're suffering from the terminal stages of polio, and simultaneously de-pussifies your army.

 

[Tachyon]

After much trial and error, I found what works quite well is to replace approximately 100% of your Nord troops with a 1:1 ratio of Swadian Knights to nothing else. It solves both your problems - it lets your army move on the world map at a speed that doesn't make it look like they're suffering from the terminal stages of polio, and simultaneously de-pussifies your army.

And it also makes your army less effective at Sieges than Nords , plus Knights suck on hilly terrain.

 

[radicalhit]

one thing i learned today while fighting along the nords was that they make good meatshields. we went against the swadians and i didnt use shields. so i hid behind another nord with a shield while we charged at them. its quite effective actually, his shield protected us both from those pesky swadian crossbowmen.. i should try it with a rhodock next time