Mount & Blade: Warband The Mount and Blade:Warband Compendium (Native)

Introducktion

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That's a duck, right?

Anyway, welcome to my guide on Mount and Blade Warband. I'll be talking about everything from tactics to what to do as a Mercenary, to Lord, to King.

Like in the summary, this guide is for beginners. If you have 50+ hours then you probably won't learn much.

You're Gonna Need The Wiki.

Using the wikipedia for M&B is a very, very, very good idea. And i'll probably refer you to it in more than one of these sections. Just make sure you're using the M&B: Warband wiki, and not the regular M&B one. Warband is a much different better game than the original. With about 200 hours, I still find myself on it almost every time I play.

How To Mercenary

When you start the game, you will be a mercenary. during the character creation, you may have noticed all that flavor text backstory you entered. Here's the kicker, it wasn't flavor text. That's right, all that mumbo jumbo you spammed through actually affects your starting stats and equipment. I recommend the wiki for you to see exactly what each one does.

Alright, now that you've gotten through the text, you have to decide where to start. Starting really isn't as important as you may think, as it doesn't affect relations with anyone. Though if you plan to become a lord, you should probably start where the kingdom you want to be a lord of is. More on lordship later.

The only thing to really mess up here is starting with the Vaegirs or Nords. Do NOT start with the Vaegirs or the Nords. The special bandits around their kingdoms are called Sea Raiders, a lovely band of Merrymen who will push your $hit in faster than you can say "I'll pay for free passage". Because guess what? You cant. Sea Raiders want skulls to drink from, and yours is looking mighty fine.

So you just spawned in somewhere. Fantastic. Now what?

That travelling merchant gave you a quest. The quest is entirely optional, but i recommend doing it for the troops and denars. Now every troop of every faction is capable of something, but each kingdom specializes in something that sometimes geographically makes sense.

The best cavalries in the game are as follows: Swadian Knights, Sarranid Mamluks.

I personally prefer Mamluks because they sometimes spawn with bulawas that are almost as good as la chancla for knocking morons out and immediately selling them into slavery.

The best infantry in the game are as follows: Nord Huscarls, Rhodok Sergeants.

Rhodok Sergeants are god tier anti-cavalry units, largely one-shotting them. The problem is they're a bit weak against other infantry. On the other end, Nord Huscarls are very, very good at killing everything. Only outclassed by Rhodok Sergeants in anti-cavalry.

The best ranged in the game are as follows: Rhodok Crossbowmen, Vaegir Marksmen, Sarranid Master Archers, Khergit Veteran Horse Archers.

Rhodok Crossbowmen are dead-accurate in mid-close range, and reload fast enough to spam enemies down at long range, while not being awful at melee combat. I strongly recommend these for defending your towns and castles(more on that later). An all around good ranged. Vaegir Marksmen are less accurate archers that have a ridiculous firing rate. Like, "Our Arrows will blot out the sun!" firing rate. They just don't have the survivability for sieges, and don't make good defenders at all.

Sarranid Master Archers are basically Vaegir Marksmen that shoot just a wee bit less accurate, have a wee bit stronger arrows, and have a wee bit more armor. Use them if travelling across Calradia for Vaegirs isn't your forte.

Now, this may come as a massive dissappointment, but please listen. Do not use Khergit Horse Archers. Their bows pack a massive punch, at a high firing rate, but there is a gigundus problem with them. Their AI is b r o k e d. Khergit Horse Archers, like any archers, are not good at dealing with damage. This is no more apparent than when your Khergit Horse Archers charge headfirst into infantry because they think they're Swadian Knights. Seriously, when i have to train these guys for quests, i've genuinely made them dismount.

A few things not to do as a mercenary:

1. Attack caravans or travelling villagers. This causes an entire kingdom to be at war with you.

2. Over/under build your army. If you plan on slaughtering villainous scum for money then you should probably have maximum troops available. On the other side of the coin, a trader doesn't need a 70+ warband accompanying him.

3. Become a Vassal too quickly. The next section will cover Vassalage.

A few thing you SHOULD do as a mercenary:

1. Buy varied, but not perishable foods. I wouldn't like eating bread for every meal, and neither would your soldiers. They also wouldn't like eating rotted beef.

2. Go to taverns. You'll meet poets, ransom brokers, and more importantly, heroes.

3. Do favors for the lords of the faction you want to join. Yes, even if it's delivering mail. Hey, it isn't glamorous, but friends in high places are always worth the trouble.

4. Participate in tournaments. I'll turn around while you save scum to assure victory, but always bet the maximum on yourself and come out with renown, XP, and a cool 2000-4000 denars in your pocket.

5. Buy productive enterprises. Especially buy a velvet factory in rivacheg. Seriously, one Rivacheg velvet factory easily supports a warband of 80 mid-quality troops. And buy enterprises everywhere else too. Don't just buy the first decent one, check every option to see what's best.

Do you have an 80+ warband? Are you level 15? Is King Graveth your drinking buddy? Have you turned down at least 3 offers of vassalage from monarchs you've never met? You're ready. Ready... To become a VASSAL!

Hero Characters

Alright, I get it, you want to get on to lordship, but this is important so i'll make it quick.

You find hero characters by going to taverns. Heroes are special snowflakes like you and cannot die. If you are captured, and you escape without your heroes, you can either buy them back from a ransom broker, or get them back the good, old-fashioned way. With steel.

Heroes are basically a lot like your character, but AI controlled. They all have backstories and specialize in something. Something like those useful skills you skimped on because you wanted to be able to swing a mace like a dagger and shoot a bow as if it were a sniper rifle. I was watching the whole time.

Some heroes like eachother. Some heroes have a hissy fit when you have another hero in your party. Never have two heroes that dislike eachother in your party. It's a constant loss of morale that is difficult to counter without constant battles and lots of varied food.

Even if you don't plan on using a hero, you should recruit them anyway to have them increase your right to rule(explained later) and then part ways right after.

You can even make your Heroes into Lords if you're a King. Though i wouldn't recommend making any old commoner a lord. Check the wiki for who is a noble, because if you elevate someone who isn't a noble to Lordship, your other lords will get pissy about it, and it usually isn't worth it. With one exception.

Lezalit.

Lezalit is a fantastic Hero to make a lord, even if he isn't a noble. He basically does what you should be doing by now, and recruits the best troops available from each faction for his armies. He garrisons with Rhodok Crossbowmen, Consists his infantry of Huscarls, cavalries of Knights and Mamluks, rangers of Marksmen and Master Archers, and paves his well-defended castles with streets of gold.

How To Lord

Being a lord isn't all fun and games.

Alright, this is a video game, so maybe it is, but shut up.

This section will teach you how to do all the honorable or dishonorable things to maximum effectiveness.

Let's start with how to become a lord. First, get enough renown. You're a foreigner in Calradia, and will only be something to anyone if you prove your worth. So prove your worth. Defeat enemies, win tournaments, etc. You'll also want to be friends with your liege. If not because you need less renown to become a vassal, then because his vote counts more than others for events in the realm (who becomes marshal, where fiefs go, etc.) and having him vote for you on a fief you REALLY want is incredibly useful.

Also, as a lord, you'll be able to increase relations with other lords easier, but also more dangerously. You'll no longer be a postal man, but you'll be asked to uncover spy plots, free prisoners, and capture enemy lords. As you can probably imagine, they'll be a lot more heccin angery that you didn't uncover a ring of spies in their town than they would if you held their thank-you card to Uncle Tom in your pocket for a month.

You can also request a way to mutually benefit. This is shorthand lingo for "stab this friendly lord and i'll like you a lot more".

You might have noticed that you have an honor or dishonor by now. This honor/dishonor makes certain lords predisposed to like you. Other honorable lords will see you as a kind commander of men, while tyrants see you as a flaming goody two-shoes. And vice-versa with dishonor. You can get more honor by doing generally honorable things, like refusing pay for bounties, helping villages, freeing captured lords, etc. You can also get dishonor for doing dastardly things, you handlebar-mustachioed villain, you. Dishonorable things like beating someone up for liking the same girl you like, refusing ransom for imprisoned lords, and raiding villages. Speaking of raiding villages...

Unless you plan to make money exclusively through raiding and pillaging, you probably shouldn't. Because even though other lords pillage, they do it just enough as not to completely destroy a kingdom's economy, where you can totally do that and more. Each kingdom has an economy. If you pillage a kingdom's main source of raw silk, then velvet will cost more to produce because of shortages, and it will cost more, less people will want it, hibbidy hoobla just don't do it.

Now, let's just imagine for a moment that you have everything you need to start your own kingdom. You have friends willing to join your side, you have at least one town and a few fiefs as yours, you have a large enough army to crush anyone but other kings (120+), and you decide, "Hey King dude, this place, is mine now.".

Let's just imagine that for a moment and run with it.

How To Be King And CONQUER!

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It ain't easy being cheesy, and it also ain't easy being a king.

There's a lot of prep that goes into being a king. Training your noble heroes and Lezalit to be lords, gathering sufficient funds, making the right friends, and ESPECIALLY having the right to rule.

Remember how i said to get every hero, even if you don't want them, just so they can raise your right to rule?

This is why.

Having right to rule is very important. Like the most important of all the things. With insufficient right to rule, a couple things will happen. Other lords will not join you, for one, and other factions will see you as a bandit, instead of a claimant. You'll have more wars declared on you, factions will be much less likely to agree to truces, and lords won't respect you.

You should also get married before becoming a King. It's not a necessity, but it helps with right to rule, and allows you to hold feasts, which are good for relations with your Lords.

So let's say you have enough right to rule, and you have a new kingdom with a town. Never start a kingdom with a castle, it'll just end badly for you. Not enough income since you depend on your constantly-looted villages, and they're easier to siege than towns.

Note this doesn't mean to become a King with just a town. You still need other fiefs to give to your Lords so that they don't go AWOL.

So you have a town and a few fiefs. Now you need to get lords. Make your Hero characters lords and award them castles, you'll want them to be the most loyal. Proceed by getting other lords to join you. You may persuade them, or, if you have a high enough right to rule, their Kings are treating them badly enough, and you have a high enough relation, they may come to you. Award these Lords with villages. They need to be loyal, but they don't need to be pampered. With a large enough Kingdom, losing one or two isn't a huge problem as long as someone else comes and takes their place.

Also, don't keep castles and villages to yourself. Keep every town, but save castles and villages for your lords.

Now, it's as simple as conquering whenever you see fit. I recommend waiting until someone declares war on you, and using the meantime to have feasts for relations and reinforce your towns and Lords with soldiers.

General Tactics

Okay, you've got troops, I recommend a healthy serving of archers, with a large side of infantry and a spicy sprinkle of cavalry. Their are four main ways you'll be fighting in this game, and i'll cover all of them.

When you have the advantage(Field combat: Offensive):

For an offensive combat, send your infantry and cavalry farther ahead of your archers. Have your archers hold where they can shoot the enemy. Also try to get any height advantage you can. Even in plains, a tiny hill can go a long way. If you have a troop advantage, you should usually have your infantry and cavalry far ahead of your archers dealing with the baddies before they have a chance to touch your archers. Your archers will be allowed to charge to pick off the fleeing enemies.

When you don't have the advantage(Field combat: Defensive):

You should have an infantry of shields and spearmen for this scenario. You want a height advantage very badly. Don't be afraid to retreat so you can reroll the map for one where you start near a hill. You want to put your infantry about 20 paces, or two advance commands, ahead of your archers. The cavalry will come first, and should be stopped by your infantry. Archers won't be much help here, so have a few spearmen. Then, the infantry. You should jump into the fray yourself and put a "hold this position" marker for your infantry and cavalry just behind the enemy infantry, so your archers can shoot them in the back. This will get you through most battles.

When you're sieging: You may have heard rumors about the deathly death ladders of death, and they're all true. What you want is for your archers, infantry, and cavalry holding at the same position. This time, the shield wall isn't meant to protect your archers from attackers, but from arrows instead. After a while, your archers will have killed most of that wave's worth of archers, and when you're getting almost no arrows/bolts shot at you, it's time to ascend the deathly death ladders of death, or, preferably, your siege tower. Either way, send in your infantry and cavalry first, while your archers hold the base of the ladder. Once you've got a foothold in the castle/town at the end of your ladder, send in the archers. After that, enamor yourself in the bloodshed. Most enemies will be too busy dealing with the arrows and swords coming for their throats to notice the one coming at the back of their heads.

When you're being sieged:

Frankly, there isn't much tactics to siege defense. Just try to kill off archers with your bow/crossbow because you want yours to stay alive, and the AI basically targets the closest enemy, with no real prioritization.

End Of The Guide

You should be good to go now. Assuming you read the whole guide thoroughly, you should do just fine in Calradia.

If any of my information is incorrect, or you feel I left something out, please tell me in the comments so I can update the guide. I would ask for you to point out tpyos, but i'm sure you'll do that anyway, won't you?

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=794512727

The Mount and Blade:Warband Compendium (Native)