How to Fight Large Battles

[ARY//RØK]

Unless I'm on horseback and I'm able to bob and weave through my enemies I have a v ery hard time fighting multiple people at one time in close range battles... Sometimes instead of enemies fighting my army they cluster against me instead. What is the best way to fight multiple targets on foot? I obviously need a shorter weapon yes? Same thing for seiges when you have to throw bodies into the fray... How can I fight this?

Also out of curiosity what mouse settings does everyone use?

[Mikaelmorgansjodin]

u can make a unit of "bodyguards" and order them to follow u

[Vark]

Fighting multiple enemies on foot is a beast, particularly if you have a low level character. You need a long range weapon and back up while swinging. Even then you'll likely end up dead if they get too close. Best not get too far removed from the main group of your army. That gets you ganged up on. If you find yourself ganged, keep your shield up and back up into a mass of your own troops. They'll swarm and kill the guys focused on you.

[Sigmar's Faithful]

My advice would be: never charge head long into the fray. Tell your army to hold ground, Infantry in front of archers, and tell you cavalry to follow you and stay somewhere behind your front line.
Keep your army facing the enemies' and the archers protected by the infantries using the tactical map (default Backspace button, you can control your army using your mouse in this screen. Be aware the game is not paused while you do this, so find a place their range attack can't reach you. You may close the map by pressing backspace again.). Stay somewhere close to your main army and try to find a window where you can quickly maneuver to the side of the enemies before the bulk of them can react. Once they get bogged down with your infantry, charge your cavalry into the side of the enemies. Disengage your cavalry when you feel the momentum have lost and charge again from a distance.
The AI is pretty dumb, even the smart AI lords are vulnerable to this kind of attacks because they generally march in a single or double file. And because you maximize your time fighting the enemy while minimize the time they can reach you, your character has a much higher chance to survive the battle

[Tuidjy]

With a low level character, you have no chance against multiple enemies on foot, at least not if the terrain is open.

With a higher level character, one that has either the armor to avoid being staggered or the speed to avoid being hit after he hits, you can do unrealistic things like cutting down dozens, even on the highest difficulty.

There are different ways of achieving that: using a high damage two-handed sword that is still fast enough to control the enemy numbers, running backwards with a really long polearm, etc...

Still, unless you are in a siege, there is simply NO REASON WHATSOEVER to fight multiple enemies on foot. So do not do it, unless your horse has been killed, and even then, try to get on a horse, or to join your line.

[Sentinel]

Heres something to do i would suggest you try fine and advatage point and not charge in aimlessly arrchers at the frony and infantry and cav near the back maybe tell cav to follow you for protection just dont be the agressor of the attack if you know what i mean.

[ARY//RØK]

Thanks for all the tips guys, especially with tactics. I need to stick close to my army more. I'm still a little clumsy with swinging my sword but i will get it down eventually. I use movement keys to determine swing direction

[Trippy]

Originally posted by Obi-Wan Kenobi:

Thanks for all the tips guys, especially with tactics. I need to stick close to my army more. I'm still a little clumsy with swinging my sword but i will get it down eventually. I use movement keys to determine swing direction

NONONONO obi wan... get of your horse, pull out your lightsaber, use the force and throw your horse at the enemy, than force your archers into the air so they can shoot and cut up the bad guys like droids...

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Obi-Wan Kenobi:

...What is the best way to fight multiple targets on foot?..

Remain unmounted, at a distance from the battle, and order your troops to do the fighting for you... :)

In order to wade into the fray on foot and to fight multiple enemies, you need very good armor, good hp, good strength, good agility, good run speed, very good weapons, good weapon proficiencies and lots of practice at melee combat... These are not things you will normally have in the early game. Therefore, in the early game, don't even think about it...

Warband is not like many RPG games where you boost your stats until you can slaughter entire armies, naked. (You naked, not the enemy..) When you gain a level and decide to increase your hitpoints by putting in one point of strength, what happens? You get an extra hitpoint... Big deal. In fact, nobody cares about that extra hitpoint. While it could mean the difference between getting knocked out or not, it's not likely to be a factor. But, that extra strength might give you access to better armor or weapons and THAT matters a great deal.

Warband is not a game where your base "stats" will determine victory or defeat. It comes down to gear and skill, both which acquire time to accumulate. Even with the best gear available, though, low combat skills or weapon proficiencies can doom you, too. When you put a skill point into "Power Strike", that gives you an 8% increase in damage. That's huge. A point in "Weapon Master" lets you increase your Weapon Proficiencies which can add up to obscene amounts of damage. Ever fight a Lord, one on one, on the battlefield? They're tough and, unless you're tough too, they will eat you.

The point is this: Warband's difficulty level is not based on the player's primary stats, but is based on how the player advances their character in other ways. (Warband enemy units, individually, do not "scale" in difficulty with the Player. Though, some other things may.) A high-level unit doesn't change from Day 1 of a player's game through Day 500. It is always the same, maxxed out primary weapon proficiencies and hit points, whether your Level 1 or Level 40. But, encountering and fighting that unit type on the battlefield is surely different from Level 1 through Level 40 for the player, as the player accumulate skills, armor, weapon proficiencies and weapons. A Nord Huscarl will beat the snot out of you on the battlefield if you're Level 1. But, if you screw away your skill points and weapon proficiencies and don't pay attention to your armor and weapons, they'll still beat the snot out of you at level 40, though it might take them a few more swings to do it.

I obviously need a shorter weapon yes? Same thing for seiges when you have to throw bodies into the fray... How can I fight this?

If you're determined to jump into a blender made from angry flying steel, you'll need good protection, first. You have to live long enough to be able to swing. Next, you'll need a good, fast, weapon. Maces and axes are good, too, since they can overcome shields and you're likely to face a number of them. But, unless you have the necessary Skills and Weapon Proficiencies to stand toe-to-toe with multiple enemies, you are going to die. (Get knocked out.) I have played probably thousands of hours of Warband and am a competent melee'er. However, I would not be so foolish to think that, as a low-level character, I'd be able to survive for very long in the middle of a melee. At low levels, your units, the ones in your army, fighting beside you, are likely better skilled and geared for the fight than you are, even though you're they're commander!

At low level, go ahead and get some licks in, but spend more of your time directing battles than you do throwing yourself into the middle of a furball. Once you get some good protection, then you can start being a bit more brave. Eventually, you'll have enough experience to know what sorts of combat you can manage and what sorts it's best to stay away from.

[Init]

a tactic I like to use if ganged up on is first get the metal shield with 700 something health and like others have sugested make a group for body gaurds especially if on foot(the bigest defence of a horse is its mobility) and then just tank with the sheild dont attack back up till your gaurds or other troops are there and then join in attacking this also works good in tourniments though the shield does not last as long. this is not as good against horsman.

[azxcvbnm321]

Even at high levels you aren't going to survive for very long against a mob. The best chance though is with a weapon that has both good reach and good speed. Often opponents will open up and try to swing at you before they're within their own range. You can swing and kill them with your long reaching weapon and do that for a little while. If you have good athletics, you might be able to back away as fast as they are coming at you, but really against any decent leveled enemies, you're not going to win against a mob.

[azxcvbnm321]

In sieges, it's again all about weapon reach. Get a 2-H sword or polearm with good speed. You just position yourself next to the ladder entrance with the stone wall guarding you from arrows. You also will need to be a bit back from the ladder, with preferably a friendly troop between you and the ladder itself. You'll be able to hit enemies if you swing down into the gaps between your troops, and that minimizes the chances of you getting hit. If you ever do get hit, back away for a few seconds and then reposition yourself. You can easily get 50-100 kills this way.

[Anenin]

Another good strategy is to build a huge cavarly army and yolo