As I am getting ready to play Warband, I thought to share a few things I found helpful in playing M&B.
My character was not doing too well in the Rhodok Rebellion, only had one Castle which I lost a few times, but then I finally learned some helpful tips from the forums and some panned out others did not.
Here is what I think helped me to a successful campaign:
I prefer Cavalry over Infantry though a mix can be useful for sieges.
I recruit primarily Swadians and train them up to Knight, Rhodoks are great Sharpshooters, though I prefer Kergit mounted archers.
I have about six to eight companions with me and the foremost attribute you want to develop is Trainer, that way you can get Knights trained very rapidly; next in importance would be Surgery and other healing traits, then tactics, spotting, tracking before you train their personal skills because I find that they matter not that much in a fight once you surround yourself with Knights.
Early on you may also want to train their charisma to increase your overall troop level, but you actually do not need so many to be successful, and you will get troop size increases rapidly as you engage and win battles.
With 40 Swadian Knights and 20 Kergit Veteran Archers, plus your companions to bring you up to around 80 (all mounted) you absolutely rule the field. I have taken on any army 3 or even 5 times my size and won with minimal casualties.
Very important tip I learned is to adjust your battle size slider before a battle; with said numbers I have the battle size set to 90 or 100 in the field, otherwise it takes forever and it is quite a thrill to ride into battle ahead of a mounted throng.
For sieges however lower your battle size to around 40 or even 30, that way you can overcome smaller waves of enemies as you scale walls and move into the streets or bailiffs, as enemy reinforcements arrive.
There are various ways to lead a siege, sometimes I charge ahead up the ladder and start clearing archers off the walls, but if you are a decent shot you may choose to give your troops back up from below or behind them on the ladder taking out enemy archers.
I usually tell my archers to hold position outside the walls and fire from there while knights or Nord Huscarls take the charge. A siege tower is a bit different, I try to hold all my troops back until the ramp comes down, while I walk behind the siege tower to make it move and shoot at archers from there. Once the ramp is down I charge up with the first wave and try to jump over them to get to more archers that take shots at your troops from side towers.
Important also is to adjust your inventory before battle, for sieges have enough food with you and I change some weapons; for sieges I use bow and arrow and a bastard sword with shield. As you make your way up against archers your shield protects you, once in close range I put it away to make use of the faster and more powerful two handed mode a bastard sword offers. I also carry a heavier helmet for sieges. On the field I switch to a high grade Nordic sword and a pole arm instead of the bow.
Though it was stated by many that you need numbers above 100 to take and hold a castle or town I found that not to be the case; I like to keep my fighting force around 80 to 90 but it is useful to be able to lead 150 plus because you will be able to hire many freed fighters in the towns and castles you take and have them garrison those places right away.
I am now on my third rebel campaign and still have many of my original knights with me; though I have mixed it up a bit more. I found late in the game that female camp followers can level up to pretty mean "sword sisters". I like Kergit Lancers and Vaghir knights as well and Nord Huscarls are excellent for taking castles. I garrison my towns and castles mostly with sharpshooters and infantry and move between with my heavy Cavalry.
Cashflow: Very important once your numbers swell, loot enemy villages for quick cash, but remember eventually they may be on your side again and if they hate your guts you can't recruit from them. Solution? Raid some repeatedly and leave some untouched.
Enemy Caravans, offer them free passage for a price, if their offer is greater than 500 it is fast cash and you may not get nearly that much in loot after a fight.
I know there is more to tell but I hope someone will find this useful and may like to chime in and we can cover more details later.
My character was not doing too well in the Rhodok Rebellion, only had one Castle which I lost a few times, but then I finally learned some helpful tips from the forums and some panned out others did not.
Here is what I think helped me to a successful campaign:
I prefer Cavalry over Infantry though a mix can be useful for sieges.
I recruit primarily Swadians and train them up to Knight, Rhodoks are great Sharpshooters, though I prefer Kergit mounted archers.
I have about six to eight companions with me and the foremost attribute you want to develop is Trainer, that way you can get Knights trained very rapidly; next in importance would be Surgery and other healing traits, then tactics, spotting, tracking before you train their personal skills because I find that they matter not that much in a fight once you surround yourself with Knights.
Early on you may also want to train their charisma to increase your overall troop level, but you actually do not need so many to be successful, and you will get troop size increases rapidly as you engage and win battles.
With 40 Swadian Knights and 20 Kergit Veteran Archers, plus your companions to bring you up to around 80 (all mounted) you absolutely rule the field. I have taken on any army 3 or even 5 times my size and won with minimal casualties.
Very important tip I learned is to adjust your battle size slider before a battle; with said numbers I have the battle size set to 90 or 100 in the field, otherwise it takes forever and it is quite a thrill to ride into battle ahead of a mounted throng.
For sieges however lower your battle size to around 40 or even 30, that way you can overcome smaller waves of enemies as you scale walls and move into the streets or bailiffs, as enemy reinforcements arrive.
There are various ways to lead a siege, sometimes I charge ahead up the ladder and start clearing archers off the walls, but if you are a decent shot you may choose to give your troops back up from below or behind them on the ladder taking out enemy archers.
I usually tell my archers to hold position outside the walls and fire from there while knights or Nord Huscarls take the charge. A siege tower is a bit different, I try to hold all my troops back until the ramp comes down, while I walk behind the siege tower to make it move and shoot at archers from there. Once the ramp is down I charge up with the first wave and try to jump over them to get to more archers that take shots at your troops from side towers.
Important also is to adjust your inventory before battle, for sieges have enough food with you and I change some weapons; for sieges I use bow and arrow and a bastard sword with shield. As you make your way up against archers your shield protects you, once in close range I put it away to make use of the faster and more powerful two handed mode a bastard sword offers. I also carry a heavier helmet for sieges. On the field I switch to a high grade Nordic sword and a pole arm instead of the bow.
Though it was stated by many that you need numbers above 100 to take and hold a castle or town I found that not to be the case; I like to keep my fighting force around 80 to 90 but it is useful to be able to lead 150 plus because you will be able to hire many freed fighters in the towns and castles you take and have them garrison those places right away.
I am now on my third rebel campaign and still have many of my original knights with me; though I have mixed it up a bit more. I found late in the game that female camp followers can level up to pretty mean "sword sisters". I like Kergit Lancers and Vaghir knights as well and Nord Huscarls are excellent for taking castles. I garrison my towns and castles mostly with sharpshooters and infantry and move between with my heavy Cavalry.
Cashflow: Very important once your numbers swell, loot enemy villages for quick cash, but remember eventually they may be on your side again and if they hate your guts you can't recruit from them. Solution? Raid some repeatedly and leave some untouched.
Enemy Caravans, offer them free passage for a price, if their offer is greater than 500 it is fast cash and you may not get nearly that much in loot after a fight.
I know there is more to tell but I hope someone will find this useful and may like to chime in and we can cover more details later.
