what is the strongest faction?

[r3dt4g]

I just started this mod
I must admit, i tried a whole lot of mods, but this one is just IT!
A great mod that doesn't add any complexity yet makes the game so much more fun
and with such a nice graphical additions (such as the way the map looks, which is AWESOME!)

Anyways while i was patrolling and seeking for looters to hunt (to train my recruits)
i was wondering, what faction should i focus on (to increase my reputation with)
I want it to have the most powerfully units, and i prefer powerful mounted units
as they do the most damage during battles, while ordinary melee soldiers just getting
surrounded and butchered...
I was thinking about the Sweaden, are they any good?

Anyways it could be nice to have a list of the new soldier types each faction have...

Cheers!

 

[Jean Plassy]

If you really want to get the best I would suggest saving your money for Knights. They can be hired like any mercenary, but they can be expensive unless you have a lot of cash (generally 20k) in your hands. Swadian Knights are second best to them but take too long to train, but are cheaper, though Swadian Infantry is quite lacking in capabilities.

 

[Lord Rust]

I find it very easy to hire knights at the start, aquire some loot via tournaments (its sooo easy to win them in this mod, just buy a lance and bobs your uncle and yes I play on normal difficult).

Then hire some knights, loot and pillage some villages hire more knights etc.

I find they die quite easilly though :S

 

[Nerius]

I still feel that the game mechanics are balanced towards infantry.

Why?

Because real life is geared towards infantry. Until people used the horse saddle with the lance & invented organized cavalry charges. That's when it went ape**** for infantry.

However, since Knights and horsemen in this game don't know how to effectively pull off a cavalry charge with couched lances, their charge is a lot weaker. Therefore, they don't run en-masse through  the infantry. Therefore, infantry cna stop them and begin the "meat grinder".

Therefore, any infantry based army will win if you're the player. And most of the time, Rhodoks & Nords will win. In sieges, Rhodoks and Nords will have a huge advantage.

Right now, my 3 knight companions are on horse with me. The inexperienced companions like Ymira, etc. have a bow & a sword/shield. The experienced companions like Bunduk & Mathled only have a short one hand axe. This last group completely decimates all. All. Bunduk, Mathled, John, etc. take all the kills all the time.

 

[Spongly]

Therefore, any infantry based army will win if you're the player. And most of the time, Rhodoks & Nords will win. In sieges, Rhodoks and Nords will have a huge advantage.

I think that's the key, not that they're infantry. Any cavalry army will also win if you're the player, because the enemy infantry go mental chasing you all over the battlefield individually while your host of cavalry rides them down and kills them. It's because the AI isn't very good, not because either cavalry or infantry is superior.

 

[Nerius]

Not really. I let my army fight it off on their own all the time. Infantry only armies move as a whole, while armies with cavalry always splits up. Nords usually win this way because Vaegirs and Swadians charge in first with cavalry - that gets killed, then come the infantry - that gets killed too, and then come the archers - needless to say, that gets killed.

I'll admit, Rhodoks are far harder to use properly, but that much more powerful is used properly. And infantry/archer based armies are also effective versus the Khanate. They also have that edge of range over the nords, but at the same time, if the nords get close enough then the Rhodoks have some things to be sorry for. Especially since their range comes at the expense of that shield.

End game is basically in a siege. And that is where nords kick ass the most. Being tweaked to have inferiro armor doesnt even grasp the boost that their 1-hand axes give them. What we really need is some smart AI that charges in as a group while expecting to use that couched lance damage. Then we'd be hearing a different story.

 

[Assad_al-Faris]

Mmmm. I have the idea of the Roman legion, and usually i use a strong group of infantry with a wing of cavalry and archers or crossbowmans to sustain my attacks.

as many commanders, my idea is that "Infantry is the battlefield queen": also Rommel, one of the greatests world tactician, wrote a book that called "Infanterie Greif an" then also him, as von Clausewitz, the other great tactician that i respect much, and i have his book "vom Kriege" knew well the power of a good infantry that smash enemy resistance with the proper cavalry and archers support.

Usually i have Rhodoks or Swadian as infantry in my army, eventually when i ran out of men i take also Nords.

 

[Jean Plassy]

What we really need is some smart AI that charges in as a group while expecting to use that couched lance damage.

It's quite possible to do so as a player by imitating the way cavalry really charged back then. In a typical battle the cavalry usually rushes towards the enemy without sense or cohesion, when in reality the cavalry would be often placed in the flanks of an infantry line, or behind, and followed them closely before maneuvering around. Charges were always conducted by moving slowly and slowly so the horses would not be tired and cohesion not lost, then gradually increasing speed until trot or gallop when the unit was near the enemy, to get the best impact while simultaneously not giving time for the formation to lose too much integrity in the process.

In M&B this means the cavalry follows you slowly, then when you come closely to the enemy, you let them loose so they'll hit as an unit, instead of reckless individuals. Works well especially when the horses trample and ride them down, but there's no way to make the AI do it right. One of the reasons cavalry rules on the battlefield is because M&B sadly lacks decent formation mechanics, and combat degenerates to the degree where the most mobile and well armoured fellow wins the day. Pit one armored guy vs. an unarmored one, and the armored one will always win the melee.

This rule gets broken with a good formations mod, such as the one in TEATRC. The difference being that while an armoured guy vs. unarmored one means inevitable victory for the armoured guy, even an elite troop has difficulty in breaking through several mediocre but well grouped units. This is the essence of infantry warfare.

EDIT - This is also why the spear and pike are essentially worthless weapons here too: they are more effective amidst a formation than in individual combat.