Horse Archer vs. Lancer

[Gudabeg]

In my current Game, should I focus on havign a bow and arrows, or use a lance and fill in the extra slot with something else? I am using a single ahnded sword with shield, and my party is size 60 (Game Day is in the 80s-90s I think).

Also, is this size of Party a problem at this stage? I have as of yet to have 2000 moeny at any single moment in time.

[White Knight]

Personally, I think the Khergit style of combat is highly specialized and requires a skillset from the player that I don't have. Certain people can have great success with either the lance or horse archery and they both have plenty of good reasons to favour either one.

It comes down to your preferences and what works well for you, as a player.

Party size will never be a huge factor. It will come down to you and your troops - better training and higher skills will win more battles than simply showing up with more guys. At one end of the spectrum, you have the soloist, one-man-army approach where just the player and maybe a few companions can defeat whole armies; at the other end you have the bloated, useless behemoths that Kings ride about with. Five hundred peasants are not terribly intimidating to a well trained army. You will likely find yourself somewhere in between those two extremes.

For money, keep it coming in and start to get smart about it. Make investments, get several cities, buy and sell valuable items, etc. The sooner you can start making money in your sleep, the sooner you can stop worrying about denars and focus on killing bad guys.

[banana shake]

A maxed out H.Archer is without a doubt the most lethal combat build, but it requires patience to build stats to really get the most out of it. On top of that your kill potential is tied to how many arrows you can land before you run out, but if you stick with it you'll become nearly unstoppable.

[Tuidjy]

I would recommend starting as a lancer, to get a feel for the game. Building a horse archer is harder, and to play an effective one, you need to have a feel about horse combat, especially when it comes to distracting ranged enemies, dodging projectiles and making fast cavalry foul each other. It is much easier to learn that as a knight with a shield than as an archer on a light horse.

This said, the power levels are simply incomparable. The knight is an one man squad. The horse archer is a one man army.

By the way, the horse archer needs to know how to use a sword. Not so much for when his arrows run out, because you can refill from the stash, but because sometimes your horse catches an arrow or ten, and you better know how to swing a blade.

[Ideologiclamb4]

i say do both in order to learn the feel for horse combat. That way you can decide which one suits you better.

[Gudabeg]

Currntly my strategy is to get close, shoot a few arrors, then run back to my lines, dismount, and play as infantry (with sword and bow). Is this a good idea?

[Sohei]

Well if your horse is injured, yes it is good to dismount and protect it from possible death. If you have any other horses available in your army though you can comandeer them. Order the mounted troops to dismount, mount one of the horses, and then order them to mount again. Some unlucky guy will have to fight on foot but it doesn't have to be you. Also note that any horses you borrow cannot get injured or die after the battle, unlike your own horse.

[eye81]

Originally posted by Being Gneiss Rocks!:

Currntly my strategy is to get close, shoot a few arrors, then run back to my lines, dismount, and play as infantry (with sword and bow). Is this a good idea?

not really. mostly because the AI is stupid and tends to blob. so either you get surrounded by 5 enemies or 5 of your guys surround you and you cant swing. plus your almost guaranteed more causalties since your not on a horse peeling half the enemy army away. if you were fighting somone like the the khergits id say go for it since if cav blobs its going to die pretty quickly. jut make sure you spam stand closer on your infanttry a couple times so they form a block instead of a single line

[damesh2]

Originally posted by Tuidjy:

I would recommend starting as a lancer, to get a feel for the game. Building a horse archer is harder, and to play an effective one, you need to have a feel about horse combat, especially when it comes to distracting ranged enemies, dodging projectiles and making fast cavalry foul each other. It is much easier to learn that as a knight with a shield than as an archer on a light horse.

Questions I've had for a long time. How do you distract archers? My experience is that once they lock on to you they keep firing until you are out of sight. How do you dodge arrows( or javelins or axes)? When riding I have to watch where I'm going or aim my bow, typically I can't do both, so where do I find the time to monitor arrows flying through the air? This also begs the question, how do you avoid riding into any obstacles if you are aiming the bow and looking for arrows headed your way? I almost never have a nice flat terrain battlefield with no rocks or trees, so how do you do this in mountainous terrain, in a forest or plain with rocks, not to mention the riderless horses that litter the field and act as large granite boulders?

What interface do you use to play? I'm a mouse and keyboard user and have never used a controller. Does using a controller make movement and actions easier/quicker to do?

[Sohei]

Originally posted by damesh2:

How do you dodge arrows( or javelins or axes)? When riding I have to watch where I'm going or aim my bow, typically I can't do both, so where do I find the time to monitor arrows flying through the air? This also begs the question, how do you avoid riding into any obstacles if you are aiming the bow and looking for arrows headed your way?

Keep moving laterally in relation to the archers at high speed. The AI is bad at leading shots. Use the terrain and other units to block line of sight when possible. You have to look back and forth periodically between target and direction of movement. Practice guiding the horse in a curved path to avoid obstacles without looking. Most of your focus should be on targets but maintain situational awareness. For more tips check the archer guides.

Using a controller is generally more difficult than mouse and keyboard for this game. Boost agility and weapon proficiencies to attack faster. Boost athletics and riding to move faster.

[Tuidjy]

I would have answered, but Sohei nailed it.

I would only add that it pays to have a small force of immortal cavalry, i.e. those of your companions whom you have equipped as heavy cavalry, to distract the enemy archers if your horse goes down, or to mop them up if they get separated from the enemy infantry as they focus on you.

By the way, there are videos of horse archers on Youtube. You will see the weaving, glancing to see where one is going, riding on the bottom of a gully, etc.