Mount & Blade

[Bluehawk]

Just took Verluca with really only 50 Mamluks.... felt real damn good. But now my army's been cut in half by the casualities and I can't afford to leave a garrison, or to return to Sarranid lands to recruit more men. All the local villages still offer Rhodok troops and F' that noise.

So, now I'm holding off 200+ marshalled armies, each trying to take the 0-man garrisoned city in the mountains.

AND I still have castles to defend, should they ever come under attack.

 

[C_Gibby]

recruit more men

Is there an alternative way to recuit people in this game? I know you recruit in villages and taverns, but are there any other methods?

 

[[-project.rattus-]]

Liberate prisoners from enemy parties and castles.

 

[Bluehawk]

Or recruit them from your own prisoners, though that damages morale.

 

[Nimsky]

Or recruit them from your own prisoners, though that damages morale.

I tried to do that but I don't think that's possible, not in Warband at least. I can only capture them, not recruit.

 

[Peter.Steele]

I tried to do that but I don't think that's possible, not in Warband at least. I can only capture them, not recruit.

I don't think you can do it at the screen where you capture them. IIRC, you have to wait. After you get back to the world view, then check your prisoner screen again. I -think- that's where you can recruit them.

It's been a while since I played M&B, and I haven't played the full Warband game, just the MP beta, so I might be off.

 

[Bluehawk]

When you make a camp, you choose "Take an action" and then you can try to recruit them, but they usually refuse.

 

[Nimsky]

You can also recruit them from conquered villages if you want to recruit specific units.

I'm still disappointed in the faction AI. They make very strange decisions. For example, oftentimes when I help the AI conquer a castle, they don't even bother to garrison it and the castle (or town) soon falls to enemy hands. Or even worse: one time the AI besieged a castle and I was about to help out but then the siege commander decides that a feast is more important, so he cancels the siege and the entire group travels back to Sargoth to eat. I wish the AI was more aggressive. If your goal is to conquer the land, that process is VERY slow because you are fully dependent on your King. And the kings in Warband, King Ragnar at least, aren't very keen to conquer land at all. And I can't besiege towns and castles by myself because I only have 87 men.

So does anybody know how that process can be sped up a little?

 

[Panzer Meyer]

You can also recruit them from conquered villages if you want to recruit specific units.

I'm still disappointed in the faction AI. They make very strange decisions. For example, oftentimes when I help the AI conquer a castle, they don't even bother to garrison it and the castle (or town) soon falls to enemy hands. Or even worse: one time the AI besieged a castle and I was about to help out but then the siege commander decides that a feast is more important, so he cancels the siege and the entire group travels back to Sargoth to eat. I wish the AI was more aggressive. If your goal is to conquer the land, that process is VERY slow because you are fully dependent on your King. And the kings in Warband, King Ragnar at least, aren't very keen to conquer land at all. And I can't besiege towns and castles by myself because I only have 87 men.

So does anybody know how that process can be sped up a little?

Don't worry I have the same issue, though not as bad as yours, but it's a safe bet to say it varies from every game.

I am also a vassal to the Nords, however they managed to capture all of Swabia except Praven, and one major city from the Veagris, the name of which I forget. So the Nords have expanded quite a bit.

The only thing I do is try to help them as much as I can, come long with sieges, and try to intercept oncoming armies that are trying to relieve the besieged city. I found it I can face 2:1 even 3:1 odds and still come out on top with minimal casualties. Thou I have quite a seasoned force of Swadian Knights and Men at Arms, and Nord Huscarls (sp). So facing even 3:1 to odds is not much of an issue.

However I do agree, in the middle of war calling for a feast, or I'll be riding along with the King's army deep in the enemy lands, and he calls for a feast and goes back home, wtf?!

 

[Discoisntdead]

Couple of questions for you guys before I get this;

- Do I need the original M & B to play Warband?
- Are there any recommended mods for the first playthrough?

 

[Peter.Steele]

When you make a camp, you choose "Take an action" and then you can try to recruit them, but they usually refuse.

Ah, yeah, that's what I was trying to get at.



I need to install M&B on my laptop. I think it'd be fun to play through again.

 

[Nimsky]

Don't worry I have the same issue, though not as bad as yours, but it's a safe bet to say it varies from every game.

I am also a vassal to the Nords, however they managed to capture all of Swabia except Praven, and one major city from the Veagris, the name of which I forget. So the Nords have expanded quite a bit.

The only thing I do is try to help them as much as I can, come long with sieges, and try to intercept oncoming armies that are trying to relieve the besieged city. I found it I can face 2:1 even 3:1 odds and still come out on top with minimal casualties. Thou I have quite a seasoned force of Swadian Knights and Men at Arms, and Nord Huscarls (sp). So facing even 3:1 to odds is not much of an issue.

However I do agree, in the middle of war calling for a feast, or I'll be riding along with the King's army deep in the enemy lands, and he calls for a feast and goes back home, wtf?!

Haha, I hear ya. I guess you can't do that much about it except follow the armies around. I played again for an hour or two between this and my previous message and the Nords managed to deliver more blows to Swadia and this time it looks like King Ragnar wants to continue conquering more of that kingdom. Although I must admit I cheated a little bit because everytime the Nords made peace with Swadia, I loaded a very recent savegame. It works, you can prevent alliances that way. Now Swadia is at war with other kingdoms as well, which gives me / the Nords an advantage. Once I capture the remaining towns and castles, the rest should easily follow.

Speaking of capturing, what is more wise to capture first, castles or towns?

Couple of questions for you guys before I get this;

- Do I need the original M & B to play Warband?

No, you don't. Don't know about your other question.

 

[timur]

Mount&Blade is awesome. And you can even make ur own empire with the expansion . So many good imes with this game. If only it had an :IS2:


Also, there is now multiplayer, isnt there?

 

[Amerikaner]

Also, there is now multiplayer, isnt there?

Yes. That's all I play in Warband. Stock modes are alot of fun but I've become addicted to cRPG mod.

 

[C_Gibby]

Also, there is now multiplayer, isnt there?

You can try the Mount and Musket multiplayer mod. A friend told me about it (haven't tried it myself yet) but there is only one european server for it BUT it holds over 200 people. They also hold giant tournaments.

 

[Discoisntdead]

No, you don't. Don't know about your other question.

Thanks.

 

[Murphy]

Is there a mod for this game (singleplayer. Warband compatible) that changes

a) the ridiculously bumpy hill generation? I have Polished Landscapes and while the environments look a lot better now they still suffer from the horrible hill generation. Especially in steeper parts of the world map.

b) combat entirely? Lol, a lot to ask for, I know, but the combat in this game is horrible. Sieges are a joke with everyone bunching up in one chokepoint and skirmishes elsewhere are held back by the (imo) horrible infantry combat.

Fighting from horse-back works quite alright, but as soon as you get off and try to fight on foot the game gets boring.
If you have a shield you block a hit, then you strike, then you block a hit, then you strike. Unless you opponent has a faster weapon or you're up against more than one and they alternate their hits. Then you can't get a hit in anymore unless you get lucky. It just has nothing to do with actual combat.
I often think that their noble idea of more or less using your mouse to direct your sword is biting them in the *** now because a system with attack buttons and combos like, say, Ninja Gaiden (except much less ninja-y, obviously) would make for more realistic looking fights. Simplistic as they are, for example, the fights in Assassin's Creed 1 looked superb! More or less movie realism with dramatic animations that resemble stage combat more than actual combat and as I said, very simplistic, but the system is much better than M&B in its current form, in my opinion.

Anyway, are there mods that attempt to improve the game in either of those areas?

 

[Amerikaner]

Is there a mod for this game (singleplayer. Warband compatible) that changes

a) the ridiculously bumpy hill generation? I have Polished Landscapes and while the environments look a lot better now they still suffer from the horrible hill generation. Especially in steeper parts of the world map.

b) combat entirely? Lol, a lot to ask for, I know, but the combat in this game is horrible. Sieges are a joke with everyone bunching up in one chokepoint and skirmishes elsewhere are held back by the (imo) horrible infantry combat.

Fighting from horse-back works quite alright, but as soon as you get off and try to fight on foot the game gets boring.
If you have a shield you block a hit, then you strike, then you block a hit, then you strike. Unless you opponent has a faster weapon or you're up against more than one and they alternate their hits. Then you can't get a hit in anymore unless you get lucky. It just has nothing to do with actual combat.
I often think that their noble idea of more or less using your mouse to direct your sword is biting them in the *** now because a system with attack buttons and combos like, say, Ninja Gaiden (except much less ninja-y, obviously) would make for more realistic looking fights. Simplistic as they are, for example, the fights in Assassin's Creed 1 looked superb! More or less movie realism with dramatic animations that resemble stage combat more than actual combat and as I said, very simplistic, but the system is much better than M&B in its current form, in my opinion.

Anyway, are there mods that attempt to improve the game in either of those areas?

Have you tried multiplayer? The combat is much more interesting.

The good players feign attacks constantly while keeping on the edge of the danger area and probing in for swings while maneuvering around opponents. Add to that mastering swing sequences for fake outs while keeping in mind the speeds of each. Then add in whether you can crush through enemy defenses based on the weight of your weapon, how long your range is, whether you can perform pierce attacks on enemy armor for maximum damage... You also have to worry about keeping a shield handy to block ranged attacks or dodging mounted attacks. Then there's attacking techniques to combat each of those as well. There's actually a guide somewhere out there detailing all the possible techniques people use. It's rather complicated and takes some skill. If you join a game and just attempt to do the simple attack/block sequence I guarantee you will get destroyed by anyone with even a little experience.

 

[Nenjin]

Melee on foot is hit or miss for me. Against 1 or 2 AI opponents, I enjoy it. Against 3+, it sucks because you get almost no openings and the constant stumbles from a hit prevent you from doing much else besides backing up and blocking. And then you get hit from behind.

So I generally stay at the edges of melee, because the whole system kind of breaks down when you're trapped in a mass of your own guys and enemies.

Melee combat is the best against mounted opponents, IMO. Timing, accuracy, all come into play when a lancer is bearing down on you. Doing a Braveheart and sending the rider flying never gets old.

I have a serious problem in this game with committing to a nation. That's the only way it seems to really get started on the ruling game. But I don't want to give any one side a clear advantage, because when I sign up for mercenary contracts, I turn the tide of the war.

It usually goes one of two ways: get recruited, fight some skirmishes, win a decisive victory, and they declare peace. Or, get recruited, fight some skirmishes, then get assigned an asinine duty like HERDING CATTLE, then they declare peace.

And now the whole world is a state of semi-perpetual peace and I'm running out of ways to pay my guys. I don't want to wipe out a nation, but it's starting to look like it's the only way to get paid. Signing up for the losing side is probably not a good idea, since they're outnumbered 6 capital cities to 3.

 

[Nicholas]

I can't wait for the Europe 1200 mod to fully come out, it will have all of Europe and make many gameplay changes.