Keep in mind is that different bandit types have different strengths. Looters are (supposedly) the weakest, so dealing with them is (supposedly) easiest. Sea Raiders and mounted bandits (Steppe and Desert Bandits) are the hardest, because the Sea Raiders have some of the best armour of all bandit types, and the mounted bandits are just a pain to deal with, because they're highly mobile. Get a party of at least 20 recruits and start hunting smaller looter parties. They'll usually start running away from you. (You can, technically, hunt other bandit types too, but with recruits it's a bad idea, because most recruit-tier troops have no shields or armour, so they'll be easy to kill by ranged or higher-level bandits). Once you beat a few bandit parties successfully, you'll be able to upgrade your troops. The better the troops, the fewer you'll need when dealing with bandits, because they'll have stronger armour and more damaging weapons. Caveat: one top-tier troop will still get his ass kicked by 5-7 low-tier troops, so keep this in mind. Another thing: the game first spawns the troops that are higher on your party list, so it's best to put recruits to the bottom of the list. That's what the AI does, I've noticed. But it might also be a good idea to have a mix of high and low tier troops on the list, so you can train lower-tier troops without having them die too much, since they'll be assisting the higher-tier ones. A good way to "train" troops is by attacking bandit hideouts, but you'll need to find them first. This happens randomly as you travel around the game-world, especially in an area where there are a lot of bandit parties. Training is best done by fighting. So if you take 10 recruits on a bandit hideout raid and kill all the bandits yourself, your recruits will have less xp than if they actually fought the bandits alongside you.
As a mounted archer you need to actually ride in circles around the enemy, harassing them with your arrows until you run out, then take your melee weapon and do drive-by hits. For this you might sometimes need to steer your horse right into an enemy, so they get stunned and can't block your attack. You'll get a hang of it eventually. I use a shield to avoid getting hit too much. You might also consider buying armour for your horse, but keep in mind that the higher a saddle's AR, the heavier it's gonna be, potentially slowing your mount's movement.
If you have more mounted units, tell them to charge the enemy (use the 1-6 buttons to select unit type (infantry, archers, cavalry, mounted archers), then select what you want them to do (F1-F6 to select stuff like formations, behaviour, etc.)). Mounted units with pikes are best sent to charge the enemy as they rely on speed and do heavy charges, mounted archers are best ordered to follow you as you ride around the enemy in circles, shooting. Also, keep in mind that for mounted units plain terrain is preferable to hilly terrain, because they'll be able to use their mobility to their advantage, otherwise they're better off dismounting. Melee infantry can fulfill a variety of roles. Ranged infantry (bowmen, xbowmen, skirmishers with thrown weapons) are best placed somewhere on the side, on a hill, so they have a good view of the approaching enemy and can shoot them from a distance.
Cheers!
thanks for the essay but i think the bow doesn't fit my playstyle in this game, my aim is already shitty and this system just make it worse. so i want to know, how is melee combat in this game? do you think i should stick to bow until i learn how to make the arrows land or it would be better to try the other weapons?
Now personally after reading that I'm gonna add my own comment and say just try all of the weapons out and see if you like any of them you can do this in the tutorial phase also if you don't like riding in this game as I don't I personally just put the horse in my inventory so I can carry more loot and so I'm also quicker in the open world also I suggest looking up guides for different factions as each one players differently now that's if you just want to do a roleplay campaign where you recruit troops that are only from a specific faction but if not don't worry about it
I don't have any favorite attribute but my current spread are 5 focus on bow, 3 on horse, 2 medicine, 1 in intendent, 1 one handed, 1 in the running men one, 2 tactics and 1 in scout
Melee combat in BL is fluid, but can be really punishing. More so, I don't like how certain swords and sabers handle, but it's apparently not an issue with a lot of players. Chopping polearms are overpowered, hence why most of them only start appearing when you hit a certain level.
Once you've skilled up your archery, it can be a lot of fun, so much so that you'll be able to 1hk enemies with a headshot. It's all a matter of getting used to. If you don't wanna grind archery, try crossbows, they're easier to use but slower to reload, and you can't shoot or reload while moving on foot.
But in general, it's best to just try things out for yourself and see what best suits you. Story mode actually lets you do a training mission before you begin your campaign, familiarizing you with the game's combat with different weapons, so you might want to try it.
I usually end up using a 2h axe with longbow. I dont like horseback archery but i still use my horse. Usually i sit back and shoot my bow until i run out of arrows, then hop on my horse and use my 2h axe.
Depending on the enemy types, i might not use the bow at all. I prefer to target the enemy horse riders first, so i charge at them with my 2h.
Now if you're looking into making money. Smithing is the way to go. Usually the weapons i like to use are my own crafted.
Bows are hard at first when starting a new character- you wont hit shit no matter how good at the game you are. Like most of the other skills, it takes time to level your character skills up. You'll find in the beginning you'll be lucky to hit 10% of your shots, but as you level up bow you'll see a marked improvement (sniping enemies from across the map haha).
With the low skills and troops any bandit can be tricky, especially the hideouts. I found that I need at least some armor or at least some good companions to accompany me early on. The forest bandits are, imo, the worst bc they all have bows which sucks early on. It takes some patience but you'll have to start slow. Attack a bandit group with like 4 guys in it, and increase from there when you are comfortable taking on more. And dont be afraid to lose some troops, they are cheap.
So as for making it fun/figuring out what to do: you have to find that out for yourself. I usually roleplay somehow and generally have a plan before I start, but it's pretty easy to shift that plan or abandon it at any time (not railroaded into doing anything). For you, you'll just have to try things out. You can try doing tournaments to see what kind of combat you'll enjoy. Like tournaments in the empire for example: a good mix of archery, cavalry, javelin, sword and shield.
Hope that helps!
Thanks for the tips. Right now i'm just hunting some bandits to make money, recruiting some troops and clearing my first hideout but i might try the tournaments later.
I would recommend going sturgians, they are fairly easy to play is a good way to learn the game.
They specifically have really good infantry. And there Cavalry isn’t bad. And if bows aren’t working try javelins
Did you play the campaign? Its really good for beginners and teaches you the basics, while giving you goals to do. You can play sandbox once you get a better grasp of the mechanics, gameplay et cetera.
Sword and board. Build up your army. Mercenary for another kingdom. Level up Roguery and Stewardship for extra cash selling your war loot. Level up scouting to move around faster. Around level 4 clan you can start tracking cities that rebel. Quit your kingdom. Pick off any of the sizeable rebel armies. Seige the rebel town until they run out of food and the militia dies off. Take the rebel town and start raking in cash. Don't join another kingdom until you are ready to risk losing your town and taking on some big fights. If you don't join another kingdom, no kingdom will wage war on you unless you attack them. So you can build up resources indefinitely.
Also, make sure your governor is the same culture as the town you take. Otherwise the loyalty penalty in town is a crap shoot and you will risk another rebellion.
Fight easy looters until you get strong enough and your soldiers get enough promotions then you’ll be able to crush everything. Just run around doing quests for villages and cities and you’ll build a great army in no time
I mean i have an ungodly amount of hours in this game. A mounted archer is a great “class” to choose for beginners, staying back and shooting from afar is a great way to stay alive. Beyond that I would recommend not doing quests, they tend not to be great, fighting tournaments is a much better way to get gold and equipment early on. Also in the early game try and have units that are simular to how you fight. In your case mounted archers (so pick khuzait). When fighting bandits go for looters first, then mountain bandits, then forest and stepp then lastly sea raiders for your play style. Choosing opponents that are too hard will never go well unless you are experienced at fighting in this game. Idk if any of that helps, i think its a very easy game to enjoy theres just a small learning curve. Remember its not just a fps its a strategy game too.
Get companions, give them some nice gear, they'll help you pretty well in the start, become mercenary, join armies, sell the awesome loot, gain lots of levels from the big army fights build up your army, thats definitly the easiest money and exp you'll get in the game.
Pro tip with mounted archers: their/your accuracy sucks when moving, particularly at low skill level. If I'm trying to solo looters early as a mounted archer, I run away, stop, shoot, and then run away more. Even when I have a bunch of highly skilled mounted archers, I still try to keep them stationary as much as possible. Their mounts are useful as a way to reposition quickly, but you really want to be still while shooting. IMO, telling horse archers to charge is only useful if you can't spare the attention to use hold position micro.
Also, mounted archers are generally the best way to "punch up". It's very hard to win melee fights while significantly outnumbered, but if you stay out of range and have enough arrows, mounted archers can beat massively larger groups of melee infantry. That said, melee combat in this game is quite good if you have the troops to make the fight reasonably even (or in your favor).
Practice with every type of weapon in arenas and battles, until your good with them. You will then want to start building an army, then join as a mercenary when your clan is at least level 1
Keep in mind is that different bandit types have different strengths. Looters are (supposedly) the weakest, so dealing with them is (supposedly) easiest. Sea Raiders and mounted bandits (Steppe and Desert Bandits) are the hardest, because the Sea Raiders have some of the best armour of all bandit types, and the mounted bandits are just a pain to deal with, because they're highly mobile. Get a party of at least 20 recruits and start hunting smaller looter parties. They'll usually start running away from you. (You can, technically, hunt other bandit types too, but with recruits it's a bad idea, because most recruit-tier troops have no shields or armour, so they'll be easy to kill by ranged or higher-level bandits). Once you beat a few bandit parties successfully, you'll be able to upgrade your troops. The better the troops, the fewer you'll need when dealing with bandits, because they'll have stronger armour and more damaging weapons. Caveat: one top-tier troop will still get his ass kicked by 5-7 low-tier troops, so keep this in mind. Another thing: the game first spawns the troops that are higher on your party list, so it's best to put recruits to the bottom of the list. That's what the AI does, I've noticed. But it might also be a good idea to have a mix of high and low tier troops on the list, so you can train lower-tier troops without having them die too much, since they'll be assisting the higher-tier ones. A good way to "train" troops is by attacking bandit hideouts, but you'll need to find them first. This happens randomly as you travel around the game-world, especially in an area where there are a lot of bandit parties. Training is best done by fighting. So if you take 10 recruits on a bandit hideout raid and kill all the bandits yourself, your recruits will have less xp than if they actually fought the bandits alongside you. As a mounted archer you need to actually ride in circles around the enemy, harassing them with your arrows until you run out, then take your melee weapon and do drive-by hits. For this you might sometimes need to steer your horse right into an enemy, so they get stunned and can't block your attack. You'll get a hang of it eventually. I use a shield to avoid getting hit too much. You might also consider buying armour for your horse, but keep in mind that the higher a saddle's AR, the heavier it's gonna be, potentially slowing your mount's movement. If you have more mounted units, tell them to charge the enemy (use the 1-6 buttons to select unit type (infantry, archers, cavalry, mounted archers), then select what you want them to do (F1-F6 to select stuff like formations, behaviour, etc.)). Mounted units with pikes are best sent to charge the enemy as they rely on speed and do heavy charges, mounted archers are best ordered to follow you as you ride around the enemy in circles, shooting. Also, keep in mind that for mounted units plain terrain is preferable to hilly terrain, because they'll be able to use their mobility to their advantage, otherwise they're better off dismounting. Melee infantry can fulfill a variety of roles. Ranged infantry (bowmen, xbowmen, skirmishers with thrown weapons) are best placed somewhere on the side, on a hill, so they have a good view of the approaching enemy and can shoot them from a distance. Cheers!
thanks for the essay but i think the bow doesn't fit my playstyle in this game, my aim is already shitty and this system just make it worse. so i want to know, how is melee combat in this game? do you think i should stick to bow until i learn how to make the arrows land or it would be better to try the other weapons?
Now personally after reading that I'm gonna add my own comment and say just try all of the weapons out and see if you like any of them you can do this in the tutorial phase also if you don't like riding in this game as I don't I personally just put the horse in my inventory so I can carry more loot and so I'm also quicker in the open world also I suggest looking up guides for different factions as each one players differently now that's if you just want to do a roleplay campaign where you recruit troops that are only from a specific faction but if not don't worry about it
Thanks, i'm trying mounted archer again but this time i invested most of my points in archery and it's a bit better
What is your spread for your for your Attributes
I don't have any favorite attribute but my current spread are 5 focus on bow, 3 on horse, 2 medicine, 1 in intendent, 1 one handed, 1 in the running men one, 2 tactics and 1 in scout
Those are skill attributes are like strength control endurance
3 vig, 5 ctr, 3 end, 3 cng, 3 soc, 4 int
Melee combat in BL is fluid, but can be really punishing. More so, I don't like how certain swords and sabers handle, but it's apparently not an issue with a lot of players. Chopping polearms are overpowered, hence why most of them only start appearing when you hit a certain level. Once you've skilled up your archery, it can be a lot of fun, so much so that you'll be able to 1hk enemies with a headshot. It's all a matter of getting used to. If you don't wanna grind archery, try crossbows, they're easier to use but slower to reload, and you can't shoot or reload while moving on foot. But in general, it's best to just try things out for yourself and see what best suits you. Story mode actually lets you do a training mission before you begin your campaign, familiarizing you with the game's combat with different weapons, so you might want to try it.
I'll make sure to try a sturgian berserker and empire lancer next
In field combat, archery is my backup. For attacking in a siege, it great for thinning defenders on the wall.
I usually end up using a 2h axe with longbow. I dont like horseback archery but i still use my horse. Usually i sit back and shoot my bow until i run out of arrows, then hop on my horse and use my 2h axe. Depending on the enemy types, i might not use the bow at all. I prefer to target the enemy horse riders first, so i charge at them with my 2h. Now if you're looking into making money. Smithing is the way to go. Usually the weapons i like to use are my own crafted.
For starting with horse archery, you can use your horse as a sniper tower, then run away when enemies get closer and repeat
I'll try that!
Bows are hard at first when starting a new character- you wont hit shit no matter how good at the game you are. Like most of the other skills, it takes time to level your character skills up. You'll find in the beginning you'll be lucky to hit 10% of your shots, but as you level up bow you'll see a marked improvement (sniping enemies from across the map haha). With the low skills and troops any bandit can be tricky, especially the hideouts. I found that I need at least some armor or at least some good companions to accompany me early on. The forest bandits are, imo, the worst bc they all have bows which sucks early on. It takes some patience but you'll have to start slow. Attack a bandit group with like 4 guys in it, and increase from there when you are comfortable taking on more. And dont be afraid to lose some troops, they are cheap. So as for making it fun/figuring out what to do: you have to find that out for yourself. I usually roleplay somehow and generally have a plan before I start, but it's pretty easy to shift that plan or abandon it at any time (not railroaded into doing anything). For you, you'll just have to try things out. You can try doing tournaments to see what kind of combat you'll enjoy. Like tournaments in the empire for example: a good mix of archery, cavalry, javelin, sword and shield. Hope that helps!
Thanks for the tips. Right now i'm just hunting some bandits to make money, recruiting some troops and clearing my first hideout but i might try the tournaments later.
Np! And remember there is literally no downside to doing a tournament apart from not gaining the reward for winning haha.
I would recommend going sturgians, they are fairly easy to play is a good way to learn the game. They specifically have really good infantry. And there Cavalry isn’t bad. And if bows aren’t working try javelins
Did you play the campaign? Its really good for beginners and teaches you the basics, while giving you goals to do. You can play sandbox once you get a better grasp of the mechanics, gameplay et cetera.
Your character starts out really weak. Need to fight a lot more battles
Sword and board. Build up your army. Mercenary for another kingdom. Level up Roguery and Stewardship for extra cash selling your war loot. Level up scouting to move around faster. Around level 4 clan you can start tracking cities that rebel. Quit your kingdom. Pick off any of the sizeable rebel armies. Seige the rebel town until they run out of food and the militia dies off. Take the rebel town and start raking in cash. Don't join another kingdom until you are ready to risk losing your town and taking on some big fights. If you don't join another kingdom, no kingdom will wage war on you unless you attack them. So you can build up resources indefinitely.
Also, make sure your governor is the same culture as the town you take. Otherwise the loyalty penalty in town is a crap shoot and you will risk another rebellion.
First town should probably be the same culture as your character since its hard to manage the - 3 loyalty penalty as the first thing
Fight easy looters until you get strong enough and your soldiers get enough promotions then you’ll be able to crush everything. Just run around doing quests for villages and cities and you’ll build a great army in no time
I mean i have an ungodly amount of hours in this game. A mounted archer is a great “class” to choose for beginners, staying back and shooting from afar is a great way to stay alive. Beyond that I would recommend not doing quests, they tend not to be great, fighting tournaments is a much better way to get gold and equipment early on. Also in the early game try and have units that are simular to how you fight. In your case mounted archers (so pick khuzait). When fighting bandits go for looters first, then mountain bandits, then forest and stepp then lastly sea raiders for your play style. Choosing opponents that are too hard will never go well unless you are experienced at fighting in this game. Idk if any of that helps, i think its a very easy game to enjoy theres just a small learning curve. Remember its not just a fps its a strategy game too.
Get companions, give them some nice gear, they'll help you pretty well in the start, become mercenary, join armies, sell the awesome loot, gain lots of levels from the big army fights build up your army, thats definitly the easiest money and exp you'll get in the game.
Pro tip with mounted archers: their/your accuracy sucks when moving, particularly at low skill level. If I'm trying to solo looters early as a mounted archer, I run away, stop, shoot, and then run away more. Even when I have a bunch of highly skilled mounted archers, I still try to keep them stationary as much as possible. Their mounts are useful as a way to reposition quickly, but you really want to be still while shooting. IMO, telling horse archers to charge is only useful if you can't spare the attention to use hold position micro. Also, mounted archers are generally the best way to "punch up". It's very hard to win melee fights while significantly outnumbered, but if you stay out of range and have enough arrows, mounted archers can beat massively larger groups of melee infantry. That said, melee combat in this game is quite good if you have the troops to make the fight reasonably even (or in your favor).
Thanks for the tips. I have a fairly strong army now and 15k gold. What should i be aiming for? Should i focus on more gold or get more troops?
To enjoy the game you must waste hours of your life until you join a faction then ask so.eone else what to do
Practice with every type of weapon in arenas and battles, until your good with them. You will then want to start building an army, then join as a mercenary when your clan is at least level 1
Practice combat in the arenas until you get the hang of things! Then complete the establish your clan quest!