Can someone elaborate on the new fighting? I like Warband, not much fan of multiplayer and I would like to read up more about the game before buying it.
If you are not a fan of multyplayer you maybe don't want this DLC, since it basically multiplayer only. Close combat in this game is basically as if you would be fighting spearman most of the time, since the bayonets work in game as spears (with increadible damage, mostly you are one-'shotted' by a bayonet hit).
I can't really compare it to warband, since i haven't played it for a very long time (the only thing i've really noticed that swords have rather low damage output - i've once had a fight with a sword (beeing a canoneer - it might hae been because they are not meant to fight at all, but still) against a guy with a bayonet, i hit him 4 times and he as still alive, than he hit me once... (i know that the class i played probably have low skills for close combat, but come one 4 times))...
But a lot of the figthing is ranged combat eitherway (at least when playing commander battles (every player commands a squad of lets say 20 bots and gives them orders), which are IMHO the most fun gameode (when i first played i went for some conquests and sieges and TBH they were really fun, but rarely get that 'Napoleonic feeling' - i'm still liking them and playing from time to time, but mostly i search for commander battles)) - though the shooting from any distance is qute luck based, since they quite good simulate the innacuracy of thoes guns.
What i really liked even on 'random' servers that people play the support classes (musicians (providing bonuses when they play near allies - if thoses bonuses are turned on server side (i've seen quite a few servers which had them disabled)) and sappers (building cover for the infantry guys and stuff to provide some protection against cavalry)), there were some memerable moments when for example gathering near a breached wall, about 20 of us still shooting to clear some of the defenders before going up and two drummers always beeing near us in the line of fire for the defenders to provide us with faster reload and when we charged the wall a guy with a flag running in the first line to give us a close combat bonus
Overall i would say this DLC is great - a lot of awesome gamemodes (conquests, sieges and commander battles beeing my favourites), destructibe buildings (even the bigger forts in sieges will fall if the arty concentrates on one wall), a lot of playable 'classes' with distinctive roles on the battlefield (infantry, artillerists, rocket artilerrists, sappers, cavalry, commanders, flag bearers, musicians), a lot of realistic looking uniforms (providing great immersion)...
Though if you don't want to play (or don't enjoy) multiplayer its not really for you...