Mount & Blade?

[Josquius]

What do people go with? Long sword and shield or two handed weapon?
Increasingly i always found myself going with two handers except for castle assaults.

[Cerr]

What do people go with? Long sword and shield or two handed weapon?
Increasingly i always found myself going with two handers except for castle assaults.

I go with long sword, shield, bow and arrows. The shield can be handy for soaking up arrows even if I'm not holding it up. Also handy if I get stuck in a crowd of enemies when on horseback.
The sword I equip can be used one handed or two handed.

[DisturbedPervert]

It's usually one kill, as your lance goes up immediately after plunging through someone's chest, then takes a second to get back in position.  Sometimes though this doesn't happen and I've killed multiple enemies.

It's seriously the best way to kill people in this game.  Combined with a horse with good charge you can just massacre infantry.  Cavalry will go down just as easily but you can't plow through them like you can with infantry.

[DisturbedPervert]

Using the lance does take some practice though.  Go after some bandits and order your troops to hold position.  Just keep making passes at them until you get the hang of it.

[grumbler]

Using the lance does take some practice though.  Go after some bandits and order your troops to hold position.  Just keep making passes at them until you get the hang of it.

I have discovered that this is the secret to mounted combat, at least at the start; leave your troops behind and just massacre the enemy foot types over a long period of time (taking care not to stop or slow anywhere near them).  Still cannot say I am enjoying mounted combat, but I am understanding why people like it so much.

I assume that, as my level increases, I will encounter archers at some point?  That will make my strategy pretty risky.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Using the lance does take some practice though.  Go after some bandits and order your troops to hold position.  Just keep making passes at them until you get the hang of it.

I have discovered that this is the secret to mounted combat, at least at the start; leave your troops behind and just massacre the enemy foot types over a long period of time (taking care not to stop or slow anywhere near them).  Still cannot say I am enjoying mounted combat, but I am understanding why people like it so much.

I assume that, as my level increases, I will encounter archers at some point?  That will make my strategy pretty risky.

The forest bandits tend to have archers, and, as their name suggests, they usually spawn in forests that provide plenty of trees for your horse to run into if you're not careful (and thus making you a sitting duck for several of those arrows heading your way). Charging archers can be tricky, because if they time their shots right they can disrupt your swing, especially if you're couching a lance. On the other hand, they usually aim for your shield, and your horse in vanilla can withstand a number of arrows, so if you're a sword-and-shield guy, you won't have as many problems.

I would recommend letting your troops take part in battle at that point, though, and not attempt your "Lone Ranger" strategy, partly because it gives the archers plenty of other targets to shoot at, and will give your troops a chance to gain some experience.

[Iormlund]

Don't lose your horse. 

The lance is the best, most overpowered weapon in the game.  Couched lance damage destroys everything in one hit.  I can take out dozens of people on foot alone if I'm patient and careful.  I only wish my cavalry were as good and plowed through infantry instead of getting stuck in them hacking away with their sword.

I guess you don't play against braced spears. It is easy to be unhorsed in a melee every once in a while.

[grumbler]

I would recommend letting your troops take part in battle at that point, though, and not attempt your "Lone Ranger" strategy, partly because it gives the archers plenty of other targets to shoot at, and will give your troops a chance to gain some experience.

I am hoping that, by the time i have to face archers, I will know the game mechanics well enough that i don't need the practice of going after the foot alone and just taking as long as it takes.

[Iormlund]

It's usually one kill, as your lance goes up immediately after plunging through someone's chest, then takes a second to get back in position.  Sometimes though this doesn't happen and I've killed multiple enemies.

It's seriously the best way to kill people in this game.  Combined with a horse with good charge you can just massacre infantry.  Cavalry will go down just as easily but you can't plow through them like you can with infantry.

Nah, horse archer is by far the most efficient way to kill. In the time it takes you to charge and kill one guy an archer can score a dozen headshots while staying out of harms way.

[DisturbedPervert]

I guess you don't play against braced spears. It is easy to be unhorsed in a melee every once in a while.

What mod gives you this?  I do get unhorsed sometimes, and it's basically game over at that point.

[DisturbedPervert]

I assume that, as my level increases, I will encounter archers at some point?  That will make my strategy pretty risky.

Not only archers, but horse archers.  An army of horse archers is incredibly annoying to deal with.

[Josquius]

One thing I will say I hate in this game, apart from the time it takes armies to meet each other initially, is the way the end of battles evolve into a game of chasey on horseback.

I had to use Getright to download it.  The server was incredibly slow and kept cutting me off.

Incidentally I'm having trouble getting the mod quests to start.  There are supposed to be scouts you can hire that will locate stuff as you wander around the map but I haven't seen any.

hmm....tempting but...I don't want to clog up my computer with more crap...maybe in summer

[Lucidor]

One thing I will say I hate in this game, apart from the time it takes armies to meet each other initially, is the way the end of battles evolve into a game of chasey on horseback.

That is annoying, yes. Still, no game since has had as good mass fights.

[Iormlund]

I guess you don't play against braced spears. It is easy to be unhorsed in a melee every once in a while.

What mod gives you this?  I do get unhorsed sometimes, and it's basically game over at that point.

Native Expansion. Braced spears is a minimod (just a simple script AFAIK), so I guess more mods have it implemented.  In other mods like The Eagle and the Radiant Cross pikes play a similar role.

[Iormlund]

What do people go with? Long sword and shield or two handed weapon?
Increasingly i always found myself going with two handers except for castle assaults.

While I like the concept of two-handers, I usually end up with a one-hander plus shield to defend myself from ambushes and projectiles. Depending on my mood I'll use a military hammer (to wound) or a morningstar (which does penetrating damage). Bow and arrows are also part of my kit. For early assaults I will get a lot of quivers.