Weapon locations/shop stock.

[Weizen1988]

Are they totally random aside from the goods and horses? are they tied to faction, or prosperity (ie only rich cities have lordly X or champion Y's)? Im trying to track down master crossbows and bolts, costs too many points to make Artimenner into anything but a crossbowman/siege engineer, so i want to get him a good one.

[White Knight]

In short, I have no idea. The quality and value of goods does go up over time but whether this is tied into the local economy or just a function of hours spent in-game, I couldn't really say.

My approach is to scour the markets in all of the places I visit during my merchant runs. Since I'm constantly circling Calradia, buying cheap spices, velvet and salt, etc. anyway, I just make a point of picking up the best pieces of armour and weaponry I can get my hands on.

There is no fast and easy way to get all of the very best stuff, you have to put some work into it. Unless you'd rather just use a mod, in which case I'm sure there are plenty of options available to you for that.

[Sohei]

Certain weapons, armor, and horses seem to be more common in certain areas. If you are looking for crossbows I suggest traveling around Rhodoks and Swadian starting areas. Also, the higher quality level items are much rarer so you may not find any at all of the specific item you want. Instead, just get the best base item you can find and upgrade to a higher quality version once you come across one later. For crossbows that is the siege crossbow in the native game but that cannot be used while mounted so keep that in mind. Light crossbows are the strongest ones that can be used while mounted. Large bags of steel bolts are the best bolts and they can be somewhat uncommon as well so make do with whatever you can find and upgrade when you find them, just like the crossbows.

By the way Swadians and Rhodoks merchants will also be more likey to have some of the heavy armor pieces although it can be found all over.

For the best heavy horses look in Swadian and Sarranid areas. Heavy Chargers you can find most often in Swadian areas. Heavy Sarranian War Horses have the same stats and tend to only be found in Sarranid areas. Personally I like the looks of the Sarranian War Horses better. Chargers were easier for me to find but you may have different luck.

[Weizen1988]

Thank you both. Aside from Diplomacy mod (makes managing lands a bit easier) ive largely avoided such things, I found a masterwork (masterpiece? i forget the word, the best kind) of the hunting crossbow, but it seems like a joke, basic light crossbow is better at everything. Are the heavier cannot use on horseback ones actually worth it? ive been avoiding them and instead using the lighter ones with horseback on a few companions, so i have a quick small crossbow subgroup i can move around to harass armies while the main archer force rains hell from a hilltop, would i be better served sticking my crossbow companions in the normal archers group with heavier weapons?

[Paperclip *PIRX*COP*]

I personally carry both types depending on the situation because that's what works best for me.

I equip myself and Ymira with a Masterwork Light Crossbow which has 49 pirercing damage since she and I normally ride around on horseback, to take advantage of the reload speed as well as speed of movement running around on the battlefield. And then I have Bunduk as my regular footman standing next to all my archers who is always armed with a Masterwork Siege Crossbow. That weapon has a 69p damage, so it's quite a substantial difference in terms of destructive power compared to even a Masterwork version of the Light Crossbow -- and even more so compared to that of a bent or otherwise damaged version of a Hunting Crossbow -- but of course the tradeoff is on the reload speed (a Masterwork Siege only has 38s, compared to 49s on the Masterwork Light), but I'm okay with that, all things considered. And all three of us are carrying a large bag of steel bolts at all times which adds +2 to damage on top of the base stat for the weapon we each happen to have.

But then as I said I also carry an additional two extra Masterwork Siege Crossbows in my inventory as a spare for me and Ymira to use for when we are out doing seigework against castles -- no one's riding around on horseback during sieges anyway so might as well take advantage of all that power on the bigger weapon. And so right before we assault a fortress, I pause for 1 second to open up my inventory screen and swap out a lot of our weapons from light to heavy (while my other companions that are normally armed with lances as a primary weapon I replace them with elite shields, and so on, and so forth).

After the siege is over, I open up the inventory and swap everyone back the equipment that they normally use for travel and field battles.

*** Addendum: I forgot to add that everyone of course also needs to have their stats upgraded enough before being able to use said crossbows (12 strength to use a Masterwork Light and 14 strength for the Masterwork Siege).

[Sohei]

I give light crossbows to most of my own companions because I want them to have a ranged option when mounted. This is because I otherwise equip them like heavy cavalry (similar to Swadian Knights). Having a ranged weapon helps to take care of light cavalry that tries to run away from them. Bows or throwing weapons would also work but I would prefer to save the skill points in power throw and power draw.

Siege crossbows are worth it if you have them on foot. They can one shot many enemies and pierce shields easily. Light crossbows do much less damage but require less micromanagement. With siege crossbows you have to take the time to order them to dismount to use them and mount again to charge. This may take too much time in some situations. A light crossbow is rarely going to one shot an enemy but I look at it as just some extra damage to soften them up while they are out of range of heavy cavalry with morningstars and shields. I use eight mounted companions so it is impractical for me to carry around and switch that many crossbows all the time. To give them siege crossbows instead is fine but then they really should just be foot troops.

For group assignments I put most of them in a Guards group and 2 or 3 with essential party skills in the Archers group. Those companions with the archers get put at the bottom of the list unless I am fighting a really easy battle. You could also put them in a support group and have them back up or even retreat but I prefer to keep them in the battle and do a little damage. Since I usually leave them mounted even as part of the archers they will have some protection once they run out of bolts and they will be high enough to fire over the heads of the other archers. Giving them siege crosbows would double the damage they can do but they would have to be ordered to mount up while I am busy smashing enemy faces. Light crossbows are mostly for convenience.

It all really depends on the way you choose to use your companions. For me, I choose to have them as heavy cavalry first and crossbowmen second. But , you could set them all up as cavalry archers or foot crossbowmen if you want.

[Weizen1988]

What ive done so far thats worked most of the time was 4 with important party skills stay back on horseback behind archers to shoot over line, 4 come with me as a kinda light cavalry force with crossbows and polearms/swords whatever they happen to use best on fast horses, i take them with me, have them go between charging or backing off to harass with crossbows while i smash through the group over and over on the heaviest horse i can find with a big sword or a spear, call in a mob of huscarls after the enemy blob is softened, kill them all or they break and run away. I should probably use my huscarls more, but they take so long to train up if my surgeon fails, i prefer to use them to break groups i weaken with my companion cavalry who can just be knocked out.

[Sohei]

I leave Nord infantry in the rear as reinforcements or at home in garrison as soon as they reach huscarls. They are much more effective in sieges so I save them for that purpose. For field battles I use Rhodok infantry instead. The Rhodoks train much faster and have gear more suited for the field. Their skills are close to Nord Veterans but Rhodok Sergeants have better gear.

[Weizen1988]

Originally posted by Sohei:

I leave Nord infantry in the rear as reinforcements or at home in garrison as soon as they reach huscarls. They are much more effective in sieges so I save them for that purpose. For field battles I use Rhodok infantry instead. The Rhodoks train much faster and have gear more suited for the field. Their skills are close to Nord Veterans but Rhodok Sergeants have better gear.

Thats my plan once my lord gives me anything, all ive got so far is a village, taken several cities and castles, always grants it to someone else. I may just leave faction next time.

[White Knight]

It's interesting to hear about how others work with their companions. In my games, it's more like Knights of the Round Table kind of thing. I'm happiest when they are all outfitted in Full Plate, have Masterwork weapons and ride Coursers. With all the Sword Sisters I bring along, that makes for one helluva sight on the battle fields.

If it were possible to outfit them all in Lordly stuff, I would. I usually carry the spare Masterwork Siege Crossbow for sieges but only remember to switch them before the battle about half of the time. In the field, my companions and I lead the charge with heavy cavalry, in sieges we hang back with crossbows and let the huscarls do the heavy lifting.