Recommended Start in Warband?

[leftguard]

So, I've had a bit of a dabble in both Warlord and Fire & Sword to get the hang of how this game plays, and now am keen to start a fully fledged campaign on normal settings in Warband (no unfair advantage to myself). Having travelled around a bit I see that the various nations raise different troop types, although the starting quests just repeat depending upon where you choose to start. I just wonder whether anyone would recommend a starting nation based on the troop types that become available, or do they pretty much balance out?

 

[ByzCrusader]

Well, if you're into cavalry, from what I've heard and experienced, Swadian Cavalry is the best. So, there's that.

 

[leftguard]

Thanks ByzCrusader - just the kind of tip I was hoping for

 

[Esben_DRK]

In my experience the best country to start as is Rhodoks because their infantry is very excellent (And Swadian Knights are very expensive), so unless you want to join another faction I'd start in Rhodoks and build up from there.
My other point is that Swadia is very central and I haven't seen a game where Swadia survives and flourishes unless I join Swadia, since it will often be under attack from every possible direction. That means that Swadian villages often have trouble with enemies plundering them and that is a hard blow to counter for a starting player. Rhodoks is only bordering two potential enemies at first and will be better able to cope (Most of the time).
When building my own kingdom, however, I will nearly always try to go for Swadian lands since their soldiers (Cavalry especially) is tonnes better then the other options, and as long as I can defeat any other single army on the field, taking their cities and castles will become much easier. I wait a long time before going independent king though, so at that time I often have a large and good army, several companions and I'm high in levels myself, so I can often cope with trouble that I wouldn't be able to cope with on a new character.

 

[leftguard]

Sounds like a wise approach - with most Paradox games I do the same thing for a first campaign - choose somewhere fairly isolated so as not to have to fight everyone at once. I'll try a quick start with the Rhodoks and see how things progress. Many thanks

 

[Sn3ipen]

@Esben_DRK:
Thanks for the tip. I just started a game as Rhodoks and it was great.

 

[KPJ]

There are better resources than this forum to answer your question, google the mount and blade wiki or the taleworlds forums and you'll find a wealth of information.
For a few cents, instead, here is what you're in for:

Rhodoks: Cavalry-less. Strong and steady crossbowmen who aren't half-bad in melee, very sturdy spearmen infantry. Excellent against cavalry in the field, and at sieges due to their excellent crossbowmen. Poor against strong infantry, patricularly Nords.

Nords: Cavalry-less. Very strong melee, and infantry generally have a few throwing weapons. Their longbowmen are decent (3rd best after Rhodok and Vaegir), but can defend themselves in melee best of any, I think. I find them quite weak in sieges, attacking or defending, because of a general high-damage low-armour setup.

Vaegir: These are supposedly the best archers, though that is argued (bows run out of ammo a lot sooner than crossbows, for one factor). They have quite weak armour overall. Their infantry and horses are all quite weak in comparison to other factions, but some people like them for their versatility. Definitely best to use archer-heavy armies with these guys, and use the horses and infantry only to support them.

Swadians: Their foot troops are a lot like the Rhodoks, just a bit crappier in skill and equipment. They have incredible melee cavalry, however. A bit weak during sieges, but not as bad as the other horse-heavy faction, the Khergits.

Khergits: All-horse, except their recruit troop. They're a lot of fun, and can be the strongest in the field as long as the field isn't too obstacle-strewn. Only the Swadians freak me out when I player Khergits. They are very unwieldy to control, however, due to having only 'Cavalry' types. If you play 'em, make sure your Khergit Veteran Horse Archers can be switched to Archers, so you can direct them separate from your Lancers.

Sarranids: These guys have so-so infantry and bowmen, and strong cavalry. I would say that their cavalry are about equal to the Swadians' cavalry one-to-one, but they use swords instead of lances and thus have a bit of a weaker charge en masse. One major complaint about their bowmen is that they at certain levels can possibly spawn with javelins as a ranged weapon, making your Archers line a bit weaker (generally you'd want javelins in your infantry)

Did I miss one?

 

[leftguard]

Many thanks KPJ - fantastic information!

 

[Zaleukos]

Some thoughts:

- I usually start as a freelancer with relatively few men and spend the early game levelling up my character and the NPCs. You share "non-killing" experience with the rest of your men and this allows you to level up faster. Once you are a high level and have a few high level companions with the trainer skill you'll be able to level up quickly. I've had good experience of using Khergit (flexible and fast troops that can be used as shock cavalry or dragoons) at this stage. The manhunter tree is also good when coupled with prisoner management, but manhunters are a pain to recruit (they need to be rescued from someone who captured them). Mounted troops with blunt weapons will knock out anything.

- I usually order my non-heroes to stand their ground while I soften the enemies together with my NPCs. The exception is when I face an archer-heavy group of enemies (forest or tundra bandits), then I prefer to have everyone charge. Against heavy infantry i might let my khergits dismount and shoot the enemy while I circle around the enemy group and try to distract them from charging my archers.

- Rhodok infantry is AFAIK the most cost efficient troop type for taking cities and castles. The top of the line units are relatively easy to level up (you need to be a higher level than your trainees for the trainer skill to kick in) and they are cheap in upkeep. Their large shields protect them from enemy ranged attacks.

- Nord infantry is the hardest to train. You need to be level 25 to level them up to Huscarls.

- Nords are not bad for sieges, but should ALWAYS be told to hold their fire when storming castles and cities. They let their shields down as they look for an opportunity to throw their axes and that allows the defenders to turn them into pin cushions.

- Cavalry heavy armies allow you to choose your battles on the overland map. Chasing Khergits with a Nord force is not fun.