[Umpyre Records]

I picked up the Mount & Blade collection on Steam a few days ago and finally started to get into it. I do not recall what faction I am playing as but I keep running intot he same trouble. Either I get wiped out and can't buy more troops or do quests, can't find quests, or can't find bandits to kill to make money. I have been interested in it just to figure it out since it still seems a bit complex to me, I am not exactly fond of the lack of goal but I understand you have to make it your own.

Any tips for a new player or care to share experiences? Right now I am only playing the unmodded game for the time being but may eventually look into them. I am also playing Warband but I do have the others. Is multiplayer just battles or is it like the actual game on the overworld as well?

[kevin ball]

M&B quests are not really conventional. the best quests to do are for villages imo, because you the more villages like you the better you are off in the long run because you will be able to recruit better soldiers.

[Carolyne Bolt]

I weep silently for humanity when I see this inevitably come up from people who just bought M&B /tongue.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />

For MP, it is just the battle aspect (there may be a mod, I dunno).

Do some basic letter delivering quests right now, build up some gold then hire some recruits. Take them to the area around the Rhodoks and begin fighting any Mountain Bandits or whatever they are called, as they are the easiest IMO because of their poor equipment. Upgrade your troops (many will die but you'll eventually get a core of veterans that will last battles). You could also try the snowy area around the Vaegirs and fight tundra bandits, as they seem to always have hideouts out there and spawn like crazy. Make sure you're chasing down Tundra Bandits and not Sea Raiders though, because the former are lightly armed like Mountain Bandits but the latter are heavily armed and will crush recruit-level troops.

Joining a faction as a mercenary is great IMO. They basically pay your wages for your troops (I'm not sure the vanilla rate, but in Floris, my troops are completely paid for plus I get about 10 gold for myself from the kingdom I'm fighting for), plus you can then accompany strong warlords, often with 100+ soldiers, into battle against other factions. This will get you lots of reknown, good relations with the faction you're hired by (plus any lords you fight with), good XP for yourself and your troops, potentially good loot plus the automatic gold loot after each battle. It also gives you a chance to raid villages which is very profitable.

This is personal preference probably, but if you're having a hard time in battle, between positioning your troops and giving them orders and what not, I'd go to the Nords and hire as many volunteers as possible. Train them up and you'll have the best infantry in the game. Some people would probably disagree with me because of the lack of cavalry, but if you're getting beat often in battles, a pure infantry (and Nordic archer) army is a good way to learn the different commands. Maybe I just have a special fondness for Nord Huscarls from my first long game /biggrin.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />

[Rob Smith]

I very much agree. It is not the most efficient or fancy way of doing battle, but it is easy and very effective nonetheless. Just place a bunch of Huscarls in a very tight formation on top of a hill (preferably between rocks and trees, to ruin cavalry charges even more) and just hack away until the enemy stops coming. Works very well with any type of infantry, really. If you have enough heavy infantry you can supplement your force with archers. I always position them in front of my infantry to cause as much damage as possible, and then withdraw them to the top of the hill (if I'm lucky enough to be on one) when the enemy gets close enough to engage my infantry.

I prefer Kergith horse archer armies because they're totally awesome, but they're not nearly as good as heavy infantry.

[Micah Judaeah]

Is it just me, or is multiplayer extremely hard?

[darnell waddington]

It is definitely a steep learning curve. Playing single-player doesn't do a whole lot to prepare for the ruthless slaughter at the hands of fellow players that have more MP time logged than you.

[Craig Martin]

When one of my companions explained what each factions best troop type was, I made my army basically of Nord Huscarls then went to Rhodok territory and trained them up to Sharpshooters. Deadly combo in any situation, especially sieges.

[QuinDINGDONGcey]

I just got a city, it is extremely poor, how do I make it more wealthy?

[RaeAnne]

A city's wealth will improve if it can regularly get visited by caravans and if the movement of villagers to and from the hinterlands is not interfered with. So keep the surrounding villages from being burned down, clear out bandits, and generally ensure safe travels in the surrounding area. Then you just have to wait. I'm not sure what impact having a buisness in the town or having structures built in the villages will have, if any.

[jessica robson]

Ok thanks, I got a town in a relatively wartorn part of the map. right between vaegris and the purple guys. ( my faction is at war with both of them.)

[Eileen Collinson]

Those are fantastic, but I never use them as I don't like the look of Rhodok units (those tower shields, pikes and crossbows really aren't my thing). When I can get them, I prefer Vaegir Marksmen. Just as deadly at long range, though they can't take as much punishment as the Sharpshooters. With Floris, the Kergith have excellent foot archers as well.

[Suzy Santana]

Swadians have the fastest upgrading troops, so if you want a relatively weak army but want it fast, those are the ones you want.

[Benji]

I love their look. With their pavises, its how a proper crossbowman should look. I wish they could actually set their pavises up to give them protection as they reload.

[Emzy Baby!]

M&B Warband and M&B With Fire and Sword are two of my favorite games of all time.

OP I have one tip for you consisting of two words; heavy cavalry. In my experience this is probably the most efficient method of doing battle in Warband. Heavy cavalry has a massive advantage over any other troop in the game (as long as it's AI, multiplayer is a whole different deal). It's very numbers-efficient so that means you can have a relatively small and yet deadly party (this has the added bonus of moving faster on the overworld map, even more so because it's cavalry troops). You don't even need to employ any tactics, just lead a head on charge into enemy formations, it will smash them and send them into disarray and from that point they're easy pickings for your heavy cav. I've defeated armies of hundreds of men with like 30-40 troops of heavy cavalry without even taking significant losses, just make sure you're on a horse yourself and preferably one that's faster than the horses your own troops use.
Now as for how to go about getting heavy cavalry, well the easiest method (and the one I employ) is going round to taverns and hiring either Mercenary Cavalrymen or Mercenary Horseman which can be upgraded to Merc Cav. Start with just four or five then fight bandits to get more money (sea raiders are the best, they're tough but also have the best loot) and once you get more money build up your forces. Alternatively, you can get recruits from villages and train them up to heavy cavalry but for me personally, this takes too long so I usually don't do it. The nations you want (in ranking) are:
1. Swadians - best heavy cavalry in the game hands-down, their knights are something to be feared
2. Sarrandids - their Mamelukes pack a hell of a punch, though not too good when dismounted
3. Vaegirs - they have knights too, perhaps not as good as Swadians but still
4. Khergits - their lancers are okay, especially if you prefer lighter, faster troops to heavy ones, they also have horse archers which are great for supplementing your melee cavalry
Avoid Rhodoks and Nords as they have no cavalry at all.

Now the nice part of this game is you can play how you want. You can explore the possibilities when you get more familiar with the game, but for now I'd suggest starting with becoming the noble of a kingdom. Pick your kingdom then ride around and ask the lords of that kingdom for tasks (quests). Soon enough you will get the opportunity to lead a company of mercenaries in that nations army. Accept and then do the quests the Marshall requests during times of war. Keep fighting for that nation (you can also do other stuff meanwhile but cannot randomly attack non-enemy kingdoms) and keep asking the Ruler of the Kingdom to let you become a noble until he does. From then on you can acquire lands and castles by either winning them in battle, or convincing the lords of the realm to award it to you (protip; it's enough if you're very good friends with the Ruler as he pretty much has the final word in which lands are given to whom meaning if you're best buddies, he will give you lands that others fought to take for the Kingdom /banana.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':banana:' /> ). From then on... you can do pretty much anything you want, start your own kingdom, help a claimant to take the throne or keep fighting till your guys control the map etc... whatever you want really.

NOTE: You can skip the process of the mercenary captain stage and just gain enough renown until a Ruler let's you become one of his nobles straight away.
NOTE 2: Multiplayer is as hard as it is fun, some of the guys there have robotic reflexes so don't be disappointed if you do really poorly at first... like really, really poorly. With Fire and Sword has better multiplayer because of guns, but that's just my personal preference as I'm always a sniper.

For more info, http://mountandblade.wikia.com/wiki/Mount_and_Blade_WikiHope this helps, have fun. /smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

[Pawel Platek]

If you're strapped for cash, beware employing too much cavalry. They are more expensive to upkeep and upgrade.

[Allison Sizemore]

So this game I seem to be doing alright. I have decent armor and a small squad of men (39). I have been doing alot of trading but what helps is knowing where the cities are. If you take awhile to get from one to the next do the prices go down? For instance I was told a town would igve 50 profit per item so I prompted bought a bunch and ran off to the town but I think I got less than the 50 profit per item but am not positive.

[brandon frier]

Your Trade skill being low might have affected that?

[His Bella]

Heh. I started playing last night and I was getting slaughtered. I mean, my difficulty percentage sits at 82% and I can hold my own quite well. But nope. I always get destroyed.

--

Just talking about Mount and Blade gets me all excited for Bannerlord!

[james kite]

except that there has been absolutely nothing announced on it.

[Roddy]

Just knowing it's in development is more than enough for me.

[Misty lt]

Fight sea raiders and sell their loot, they always seem to be in groups of 30+

[KIng James]

I actually started doign well. I am level 16 now with over 7000 denars and a full army, which is only 60 people but it won't let me have more. I started in the Nordic kingdom and the very first city got taken over. How can I convince the lords to take it back? I suggested it to one of them and he patroled around for a little while then went off and did something else.

[Mari martnez Martinez]

Maybe you should have followed him and then try talking to him again. Perhaps it will trigger another dialog, which will end up with both of you besieging the town? I have no idea. I never had to convince another lord as I always took castles/towns myself.

[Hayley O'Gara]

Some lords wont take your advice until you are influental enough or they like you enough. And even If they say they'll do it, they wont besiege the city If they dont outnumber the defenders significantly.
Your best bet would be to convince your marshall to besiege the castle. That way he may call the other lords as well, and together you'll be able to take it back.

[.X chantelle .x Smith]

Just got Prophesy of Pendor. It's really fun, I only have one nitpick about it though: the way the Empire looks.