Fighting a shield

[Spartan]

So, any advice on handling an npc with a shield? Feinting doesn't work, cause even if they block the wrong direction the massive shield will still just tank it for them, closest thing I've had to -consistent- success is holding my attack out and waiting for them to try and hit first. Shield bashing doesn't seem to leave them open for long enough unless I'm doing that wrong.

[Clovis Sangrail]

Get yourself a honkin' big 2H Falx with ShieldCleave.

It's the only 2H sword blade that does shield damage.

You want that shield to go? A couple of good whacks and that sumbitch is gone.

[Spartan]

Originally posted by Clovis Sangrail:

Get yourself a honkin' big 2H Falx with ShieldCleave.

It's the only 2H sword blade that does shield damage.

You want that shield to go? A couple of good whacks and that sumbitch is gone.

Asking for tournament situations. Where they force you to use Sword n board

[★ GallowDancer]

I usually do 3 hits from the right side and then when ai thinks I am hitting there again I switch side and get a strike on them. Sometimes I hit from all directions so the ai doesn't know where I'm going to hit next. I would recommend to use the kick button whilst in a sword fight because kicking the ai will leave them open and if you have sword that is fast you should be able to strike them down.

When you first play, it's not really possible, it's trial and error, but as you level up skills, your swordplay should get better and easier to fight shield bearers.

I would recommend training in the arena and doing a thew tournaments. Then focusing on what kind of weapon skills you want to level up. Using a large axe/sword is good for killing enemies quickly as it only takes around 2-3 hits, but you are exposed to archers (until you unlock the block arrows perk) and the weapon is relatively slow.

[★ GallowDancer]

Originally posted by Spartan:

Originally posted by Clovis Sangrail:

Get yourself a honkin' big 2H Falx with ShieldCleave.

It's the only 2H sword blade that does shield damage.

You want that shield to go? A couple of good whacks and that sumbitch is gone.

Asking for tournament situations. Where they force you to use Sword n board

If it's tournament then I recommend getting some decent armour, specifically anything that protects chest and head. You won't really ever get hit in the legs or arms. Using the sword and shield you should be very aggressive. You want to swing in all directions and kick the enemy whenever possible. When you're not swinging keep your shield up. Eventually the enemies shield will break and then they are prone to anything.

You want to level up your skills in one handed weapons and pick any perk that mentions 5+ or 10+ damage

[Karna5]

I agree with the advice you got above, Spartan, and I'll add that in arena fights where there were more than two opponents, if you see someone die who has a heavier weapon than you have, make sure to loot it off the ground and use it. Also if you see a rider die, make sure to hop on their horse.

Heavier weapons do more damage per hit, and damage per hit is your friend. Horses let you build up speed and likewise do single attacks that hit hard instead of standing toe to toe.

All that you were told above is correct, but don't forget sometimes you can change the rules in an arena.

[ShadowFox]

Originally posted by Spartan:

So, any advice on handling an npc with a shield? Feinting doesn't work, cause even if they block the wrong direction the massive shield will still just tank it for them, closest thing I've had to -consistent- success is holding my attack out and waiting for them to try and hit first. Shield bashing doesn't seem to leave them open for long enough unless I'm doing that wrong.

The holding your attack is why they are block spamming, if you feint an attack they will block to the side and then try to counter swing at this point you quickly block or parry (or dodge) and then swing and voila! Rinse and repeat and easy day

[Distant ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥]

You can kick them (press E while not blocking) to break their guard. The hitbox is wonky though and you need to be really close to them, so be careful.

[Genozoid]

Kick followed by an upward slash usually works, but what works even in the worst circumstances is holding W all the time, attack and run away, attack and run away, you can easily win the tournaments without blocking any attacks.

[LilithHecateZillah]

Originally posted by Goatman:

You can kick them (press E while not blocking) to break their guard. The hitbox is wonky though and you need to be really close to them, so be careful.

Pick the largest in height when you make your char, since your kicking goes further then.
Jep your char height matters in your kicking distance ;)

[Karna5]

Originally posted by FlyingSpaghettiMonster:

Pick the largest in height when you make your char, since your kicking goes further then.
Jep your char height matters in your kicking distance ;)

FYI I tried that one playthrough and found that my lateral axe and pole arm swings kept swishing over the heads of short opponents. Apparently Bannerlord is not smart enough to assume a lateral swing is still trying to go for the head and just blindly does shoulder height.

I now no longer make my characters maximum height, though I allow NPCs to be maximum height mostly for RP reasons. It might explain, however, why my tallest companions most often die in battles even when they have the best skills *laughs*

[Liro Raériyo]

shortest is bestest, less area for projectiles is most important.

[BenShinobi]

Originally posted by Liro Raériyo:

shortest is bestest, less area for projectiles is most important.

There's a Terry Pratchett book where a Dwarf character says something along the lines of: when their knee is in range of your head, your head is in range of their groin.

[Rat]

kicking. they are stunned long enough to get a free hit every single time after you land a kick. do it right after blocking their attack to have the longest window to connect the kick. block > kick > swing. very easy once you get it down and works every single time

[Genozoid]

Originally posted by Rat:

kicking. they are stunned long enough to get a free hit every single time after you land a kick. do it right after blocking their attack to have the longest window to connect the kick. block > kick > swing. very easy once you get it down and works every single time

It doesn't always work, some lords recover too quickly after a kick, but that especially doesn't help you when you're facing several at the same time.

[Rat]

Originally posted by Genozoid:

Originally posted by Rat:

kicking. they are stunned long enough to get a free hit every single time after you land a kick. do it right after blocking their attack to have the longest window to connect the kick. block > kick > swing. very easy once you get it down and works every single time

It doesn't always work, some lords recover too quickly after a kick, but that especially doesn't help you when you're facing several at the same time.

I have never encounter anyone recovering from the kick too fast to hit them after, and I play on bannerlord difficulty often with 0 focus points in any combat stats on my characters so they're only at 18 skill in their weapons. true about the multiple opponents point but most people asking this question are asking because of tournaments