Tips for beginner

[Kawee]

I have finally been able to get my character going! I have a small party which im using to comlpete quests and killing looters and bandits

This game is so addicting, I cant stop playing!

So addictive? Then why are you here?

But I know what you mean. This game, once you're on a roll, you can't stop. Until of course, you run into a lord's party and sliced to pieces. Then it's just a pain riding around looking for your companions again.

[General Brittanicus]

So addictive? Then why are you here?

But I know what you mean. This game, once you're on a roll, you can't stop. Until of course, you run into a lord's party and sliced to pieces. Then it's just a pain riding around looking for your companions again.

Or you get into the late game period where everything becomes really motonous and you become invincible (Which is fun for a while though ), hopefully M&B2 will help add a bit of variety later in the gaame.

[shikaka]

Or you get into the late game period where everything becomes really motonous and you become invincible (Which is fun for a while though ), hopefully M&B2 will help add a bit of variety later in the gaame.

Yep, it would be a good idea to have different quests when you are a vassal of the king yourself.


I mean these 'capture killer' 'bring cattle to the army' is fun and useful until you are a lowly peasant or poverty-stricken noble, but when you are the 'sword of god' you will get the same quests, which by then are boring and not giving you any real benefits.
Quests like 'capture X lord' 'capture Y castle' 'punish looting army' 'build church' 'arrange merriage'.

It would be also good to be able to give quests. (collect taxes for me from settlement X)

[Thanatos]

Doggone it, my Sword Sisters keep dying. But I keep training peasant women, so I suppose it's all cool. I just wish I could hold onto them longer, but they seem to just up and die when they get swarmed.

Sigh, must make surgery skill higher.

[E.K]

So addictive? Then why are you here?

But I know what you mean. This game, once you're on a roll, you can't stop. Until of course, you run into a lord's party and sliced to pieces. Then it's just a pain riding around looking for your companions again.

Thats basically what happened to me.

[Shaio]

Worse when you've been fighting lords for ages and are in habit of immediately clicking "we will fight to the death", then randomly your out fighting a bandit party and immediately click the first dialogue, which is don't hurt us we surrender instead... Then you proceed to lose all your armour and weapons, your horse, your gold, all your companions and kickass army... then they drag you into khergit lands an abandon you in there center sorrounded by groups of angry raiders who move faster then your completely unequipped 1 man army....

I hate it when this happens.

actully yah the becoming a god is a problem, personally i loved playing the demo because it stopped me at level 7 or 8, but if you got more levels in a single battle you could go higher, so I'd fight some crazy battle and make like level 14, but never any higher, it gave the game a very cool feel.

[E.K]

Has anybody got anytips for attacking from horseback?
Like using a lance, bow etc. I just bought a nice horse but I suck with it.

[Shaio]

Well you either couch the lance, which happens when you speed up in MnB, or by pressing x when going fast enough in warband. You can attack more often stabbing with lance, it just takes a while to get used tothe length of your weapon.

[Hieronymos]

This thread has gotten me totally stoked to get Warband! But some questions for starting out:

1) Mods: good to start vanilla, or jump into a mod? If so, which mod(s) are best? I know this question is probably highly subjective; but any opinions good at this point.
2) Starting location: which area of world is best to start off in?
3) Noble/non-noble character: advantages/disadvantages?
4) Bow vs. Crossbow: which is best for noob?

[shikaka]

This thread has gotten me totally stoked to get Warband! But some questions for starting out:

1) Mods: good to start vanilla, or jump into a mod? If so, which mod(s) are best? I know this question is probably highly subjective; but any opinions good at this point.

I have native so I dunno. For native, 1257 middle europe is great!

2) Starting location: which area of world is best to start off in?

The area around Tihr (Nords).
You can easily overrun sea raider parties alone (!) if you have a polearm and a horse, get good loot and renown.

oble/non-noble character: advantages/disadvantages?

I think only some texts when talking to nobles as a commoner ('I don't recognize you').
And a coat of arms from the beginning as a noble. But you can easily become vassal of a king and get your coat of arms (in my third game it took 19 game days)

edit:
On creation:
Warrior: Ironflesh +1, Power Strike +1, Weapon Master +1, Trainer +1, Leadership +1
Noble: Power Strike +1, Weapon Master +1, Riding +1, Tactics +1, Leadership +1
Merchant: Riding +1, Inventory Management +1, Leadership +1, Trade +2
Hunter: Power Draw +1, Athletics +1, Tracking +1, Path-finding +1, Spotting +1
Nomad: Power Draw +1, Riding +2, Horse Archery +1, Path-finding +1
Thief: Power Throw +1, Athletics +2, Looting +1, Inventory Management +1

4) Bow vs. Crossbow: which is best for noob?

I still use javelins
But I think bow is hard to start with...

[Thanatos]

They are different. Crossbows are more powerful, and you don't get tired, but you can shoot with Bows MUCH MUCH MUCH faster.

Furthermore, when you get your archery skill high enough, you get crazily accurate and scarily powerful.

[Hieronymos]

Just ordered a hard copy of Warband.

Will archery skill with Crossbow carry over later in game to Bow? From reading an AAR it seems that on foot, with a few villager recruits, you could take on a Sea Raider party by taking out 2-3 with the crossbow, then close to take out the rest engaging your recruits. Is this viable? Getting a horse seems like an expensive proposition for the very early game..

[Kamos]

Bows and Crossbows are totally separate skills.

I suppose that's a viable strategy but you'll definitely want to outnumber the Sea Raiders even after thinning the herd.

[Thanatos]

Just ordered a hard copy of Warband.

Will archery skill with Crossbow carry over later in game to Bow? From reading an AAR it seems that on foot, with a few villager recruits, you could take on a Sea Raider party by taking out 2-3 with the crossbow, then close to take out the rest engaging your recruits. Is this viable? Getting a horse seems like an expensive proposition for the very early game..

1) If you choose your beginning stats right, you will end up with a horse already.

2) No such luck with the Sea Raiders like that. Many of them carry shields, and I guarantee you that you will not be able to take them down in time like that.

3) Try your luck with looters first, then forest and mountain bandits.

[shikaka]

Just ordered a hard copy of Warband.

Will archery skill with Crossbow carry over later in game to Bow? From reading an AAR it seems that on foot, with a few villager recruits, you could take on a Sea Raider party by taking out 2-3 with the crossbow, then close to take out the rest engaging your recruits. Is this viable? Getting a horse seems like an expensive proposition for the very early game..

I never had a character who didn't have a horse after character generation.
Yes, most of the time it was a low-end horse (swaybacked saddle horse) but sometimes very good (spirited courser). That will do in the beginning.

If you learn attacking with lance from horseback, you can safely defeat 15-20 men sea raider stacks alone. You only need a cheap (but not lame) horse, some kind of polearm, a cheap shield and a cheap cap. They have very useful loot, some kind of chainmail (not common, but it can happen, but even their 'thick leather' is good), nordic swords, nordic helmets, javelins, throwing axes and nordic shields.


About horses:
I usually find myself buying two, a 'heavy hunter' which is the compromise between speed/maneuver/charging, and a 'spirited courser' to fight steppe bandits. For your companions is doesn't really matter, they don't use them properly anyway, so I try to use a fitting horse for them (warhorse for Rolf, steppe pony to Borcha, etc.)
Also, you can get lame horses very cheap, which will heal over time while being in your inventory. (a lame charger or lame warhorse is a good buy, your companions need time to get up to riding skill 4 anyway)

[Kawee]

I have native so I dunno. For native, 1257 middle europe is great!


The area around Tihr (Nords).
You can easily overrun sea raider parties alone (!) if you have a polearm and a horse, get good loot and renown.

1. 1257 is not native. It's a historical mod. For native, go with Floris Mod Pack.

2. I think you said you're just starting out, so I really don't recommend you going up against Sea Raiders. Fight looters and forest bandits first, they're much easier. This whole taking on sea raiders by yourself is for someone who already know what they're doing. If you're just starting out, don't!

[shikaka]

2. I think you said you're just starting out, so I really don't recommend you going up against Sea Raiders. Fight looters and forest bandits first, they're much easier.

Forest bandits are mounted or with longbows!
Especially fighting cavalry while mounted was difficult for me in my first game. Sea raiders are only infantry with longbows being quite rare (they usually miss with javelins and axes), so in my opinion, easier then forest bandits and especially easier then steppe bandits.

Looters would be and easy target, however the loot they drop doesn't worth the time consumed fighting them.

[Hieronymos]

How useful are missles in Warband (compared with Mount&Blade)? My understanding is that enemies in Warband make much, much better use of their shields to block them, considerably toning down the 'Legolas' effect. So exactly how useful are the different types of missle in Warband? And which, if any, are good to start with?

And how do you generate character stats to gaurantee starting with a horse?

[Shaio]

Forest bandits are mounted or with longbows!
Especially fighting cavalry while mounted was difficult for me in my first game. Sea raiders are only infantry with longbows being quite rare (they usually miss with javelins and axes), so in my opinion, easier then forest bandits and especially easier then steppe bandits.

Looters would be and easy target, however the loot they drop doesn't worth the time consumed fighting them.

^ Huh.... forest bandits aren't mounted, and they have crap bows, atleast in native.

Tips for dealing with mountain bandits, there actually ridiculously easy to kill, get a relatively equal number of any infantry, and attack them, as they tend to hang out around mountains you end up in incredibly mountainous terrain where cavalry is useless, find steep spot, hold ground, make men stand closer, wait till enemy ride up, yell charge, watch almost stationary cavalry be slaughtered.


Sea raiders are actually quite tough and will happily carve there way through recruits, or anything not armored. But they can be easily solo'd by a player with a horse and a pointy stick, never ride directly at anyone thou, javelins and longbows both hurt, unless your riding strait at them they almost always miss.

Person who mentioned earlier about whittling them down with arrows was wrong, but if you have only a few archers you can ride up and down infront of them with sea raiders chasing you and they'll get shot down that way, a group of recruits of equal number will be raped.

Steepe bandits.... Don't fight them, it is never worth it. If you have to fight them, hope you have fast lancers or use edge of map exploit to make them all cluster and stop moving.

Forest bandits, if you've got cav or remotely good troops just charge, if you've got weak crap, find a hill, hind behind it just out of view, charge when they crest hill.

For cavalry combat, order your horsemen to follow you, it will make getting kills alot easier as alot more enemies will be randomly crossing your path chasing your other horsemen, never feel afraid to just stab there horse either, there death without it.

For leveling up/gaining loot ignore everything but sea raiders, there the only ones that are really worth the time killing.

@Hieronymos i haven't noticed bows being any less effective, they still have that machine gun effect and cutting down hordes of low level enemies.

[Hieronymos]

What's the best missle weapon to start out with? Axes, javelins, xbow, or bow?

Also "native", refers to vanilla (unmodded) gameplay?