Mount & Blade: Warband

[Galanti]

Interesting bit about playing as the Byzantines is that the mod begins in 1257, four years before the Palaeologan restoration in 1261, so that if you want to play as a Byzzie, you need to join the Roman Empire of Nicaea faction and assist in the destruction of the Latin Empire.

Of course, you can always just destroy both factions yourself and proclaim a new Roman Empire.

Here's the link to the mod's subforum.

Next release will feature recruitable Varangians in Constantinople!

[Robsoie]

This game is just phenomenal, i missed the whole Mount&Blade era but a friend insisted that i tried the Warband demo a few months ago.
Oh boy, how much this thing addicted me, so much that even i that don't play much games went out and bought it.

I was not happy to discover that unlike the file that is the demo (and unlockable into the full game by buying online a serial) the dvd box has a forced install of Steam, but fortunately thanks to the Taleworlds official boards, there was a way to enjoy the product i bought without the steam thing wasting my ressources uselessly in the background :
http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.p...sg2597527.html

Once i was setup, how much fun i had with that piece of genius game.
And when i think it was originally a husband and wife that coded this awesome masterpiece !
And i only talk about the single player nearly infinitively replayable sandbox, i have not even tried multiplayer as i simply don't care at all about online gaming.

It's been a -very- long time i did not played and been addicted to a videogame that much, since Operation Flashpoint that i play since 2001 and continue to play in fact

I hope it will gain much more popularity that it seems to have, as unlike all the useless piece of fast food that are called 99,99% of the games nowadays, this is complete quality and so fun and replayable that it is enjoyable for years to come.

If there is a game nowadays that deserve to be bought by everyone to support good developers, this is the one.

My favorite mod is Diplomacy, it does not modifiy the visuals or the original setup, but it adds some features that i can't play without after having tried it.

[Takeda Shingen]

I know I posted earlier in the thread, but this game has been an obsession with me as well. Let it not be said that gameplay does not trump graphics.

[Dowly]

Old Mount & Blade thread I choose you!

*puff*

Well that was anti-climatic.

Right, I got a question about the relationship stuff once you join Lord's family. I'm not sure if this is a stock feature or if Diplomacy adds it (I think it's stock ). Anywho, I chose to join one of the Sarranid families so I could get some sexy time with Lady Zahara (Get it? It's desert and she's called Zahara.) and the whole family seems to be women... in that their moods swing all the time. When someone from the family loses a battle, my relationship with everyone in the family deteriorates. So, what exactly they want me to do? Babysit all of them when their out waging war?

Ow and how big of an negative hit is it if I flip them the finger and leave the family? I still have 2 other chicks in the nearby cities to polish my spear with no strings attached.

[Lord_magerius]

Typical Dowly Are there swords? Can I get myself some clunge? Sure I'll play it Sounds like you're not going to get anywhere with them though so I think it would probably be best if you cut your losses and run. Like you said you have another two maidens to sharpen your blade on

[Dowly]

Well, it seems to be an Diplomacy feature and fortunately for me I found out that breaking your oath to the family won't cause bad reputation. So, I went and married another gal (and got 19k poorer while doing so ).

But of course this was all in vain as I realised I had installed just the basic Diplomacy mod, not the Diplomacy + OSP items mod I had intended to, so back to square one.

Oh well, atleast I know what I'm doing now: Get ridiculous amounts of Sarranid Mamlukes and ride to victory after victory without losses.

[CCIP]

I tried the demo for a few minutes, then immediately purchased the game. I was rather skeptical going in, but I have to say that this game promises to be pretty well what I've been looking for, for ages and ages. Roleplaying in the true sense of the world with a pretty compelling world and yet fairly unforgiving realism as far as combat.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by CCIP

I tried the demo for a few minutes, then immediately purchased the game. I was rather skeptical going in, but I have to say that this game promises to be pretty well what I've been looking for, for ages and ages. Roleplaying in the true sense of the world with a pretty compelling world and yet fairly unforgiving realism as far as combat.

Absolutely! Warband has become one of my all-time favorites.

[CCIP]

I got about two months of game time under my belt now, and I still feel like I'm taking baby steps. I'm trying to stay independent for as long as I can, but it feels like as your band grows and gains experience (and expenses), vassaldom gets kind of inevitable. There's only so much you can do on bandit-killing quests. I get by fine on the occasional good trade, but it feels like those can't be relied on either. And of course the Swadian king has been almost suspiciously happy with me for a while, which tempts me all the more...

I'll be really curious to see how well the game holds up in replay on 2nd, 3rd etc. playthroughs. I'm already rather enthused that I'm looking forward to them, but I'm curious whether it really has the juice to keep my attention equally those times... I guess we'll find out when we get there!

[Takeda Shingen]

Oh, I've replayed and replayed. Started yet another time through a few days ago. Politically, it is very interesting, but the combat is where it shines. It isn't just 'swing until it's dead', rather it is a very intricate affair. I find myself measuring horse speed, timing my blows, planning my approach based on which side I want to swing from, whether it will be full swing or a stab, what sword to use and how I am going to dismount my mounted opponent. And once you get enough money and experience to use the heavy armors and horse, you really begin to understand just why pike infantry was developed; you are the feudal period's answer to the modern tank (Heavy War Horse, Plate Mail, Winged helmet and Morning Star ftw).

I know that you probably know all of that, but I can't help but gush over the game again. It's just so friggin' good.

[CCIP]

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

I know that you probably know all of that, but I can't help but gush over the game again. It's just so friggin' good.

No, go on, we don't mind. It's good to see justified enthusiasm for a game

I'm still really terrible at mounted combat, with the possible exception of light crossbow. I can't hit anything with a lance or polearm from a horse to save my life, and even if I do hit, it really fails on damage. I've ended up switching to a one-handed sword + shield as my main mounted hand-to-hand weapon for now, until I get a better idea of what I'm doing wrong....

[Lord_magerius]

It's Mount & Blade, whatever you do is wrong and makes you feel like an idiot in combat. Until you win and then think "holy crap, we were outnumbered ten to one and we won!"
The best thing to do with a polearm/lance is just get up to speed, make sure its couched and then aim with your mouse for some poor gits head

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by CCIP

No, go on, we don't mind. It's good to see justified enthusiasm for a game

I'm still really terrible at mounted combat, with the possible exception of light crossbow. I can't hit anything with a lance or polearm from a horse to save my life, and even if I do hit, it really fails on damage. I've ended up switching to a one-handed sword + shield as my main mounted hand-to-hand weapon for now, until I get a better idea of what I'm doing wrong....

I honed my mounted combat skills on the tournament circut. Find out where they are and sign up. Rinse and repeat.

Forget the shield if you are using a sword on horseback. The strategy for mounted combat is to keep moving no matter what, and lanced opponents will be aiming for your horse, not you, so you won't have much use for it. A good bastard sword is a must for any aspiring rider who wishes to use blades. It is light enough where you can time your swing adequately, but still with enough reach so that you don't have to lean all the way out of the saddle to hit. I only use a shield with my lance, which I use exclusively to unhorse mounted opponents, or as sadistic punishment for foot soldiers who have done something to piss me off. However, selecting the lance equips your sheild automatically, so you don't really have a choice.

When making your approach with the lance, be sure to keep your eye on the weapon's tip, not on your horse's head, which is where we instinctively look when steering. Then use your 'peripheral' vision to steer the horse and move the weapon onto the target, but don't take your eye off the tip. Don't worry about trying to avoid his sheild; even if his timing is good on the block, the force of your momentum will likely shatter it. You can simply loop around and attack him in the same manner again.

[Dowly]

Few things to help in early game (didn't read what Takeda wrote as I have a huge hangover, so sorry if it's said already), dont become vassal immediately, take the mercenary jobs and use a small army so you can actually get some money. Trade iron from Curaw, also flax seems to be pretty good option. Pick one faction you want to associate later on and save money so you can start building the 10k costing factories to their cities.

As for combat, I go mounted with a mix of lance and 2h sword/axe. Just keep circling the main battle and pick off any who gets separated.

Can't say much about army composition, still experimenting with it. I know what units are good for different factions, but I tend to go with non-archer army, sarranid mamlukes mainly. Costly, but they are like the King Tiger tanks of WWII, except with the mobility of a medium tank.

[Rhodes]

I recently downloaded the 1866 mod for M&B. It is a must to experiment!


PS: not for warband, it didn came out for this, only M&B!