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Mount and Blade:Warband-X Mod better than Y Mod- Z Mod okay

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Posts

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    And speaking for myself, once I got past the early days, Warband mostly served as a mod-delivery device.

    Accordingly, Bannerlord is still missing a decent chunk of the content I come to M&B for (though it’s hardly their fault).

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    I really don’t understand the smithing progression in this game.

  • ApogeeApogee Lancks In Every Game Ever Registered User regular
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    I really don’t understand the smithing progression in this game.

    I don't understand why smithing is in the game at all. The scope of the game is so much larger than 'man makes sword', if anything it should be 'man gathers resources and expert smiths over months of campaigning, orders smithy to make 1000 swords for his army'.

    All that said I really should check out the mod scene and try this game again. I'm really hoping for a Floris 2.0 of some kind - I played the shit out of that.

    8R7BtLw.png
  • RonaldoTheGypsyRonaldoTheGypsy Yes, yes Registered User regular
    Smithing is in so you can learn to make one javelin and sell it for 100k each.

  • FleebFleeb has all of the fleeb juice Registered User regular
    edited June 2021
    Ooo Persistent Lord of the Rings mod, for Warband, looks pretty cool

    https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2510524833

    ::edit:: Heh, man, Warband is hard on the eyes after playing Bannerlord for the past year or so :D

    Fleeb on
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Fun thing to kvetch about in Bannerlord:

    I’m leading a small army and have taken an enemy castle. While I was besieging the castle, there were a number of smaller enemy groups running around. They hadn’t formed into an army, so they couldn’t meaningfully assault my siege camp, so they basically did the Warband dance outside.

    So I take the castle, but took a decent number of casualties (mostly wounded).

    This puts my active strength below that of the combined enemy groups outside the castle. No real problem, right - just hole up inside while people heal for a bit. With the castle walls, I can easily hold against an assault by the groups outside.

    Except.

    After winning the fight to take the castle, I’m not inside the castle. The game instead puts me a significant distance outside the castle. Far enough away that I can’t reach the castle before one of the enemy groups outside can catch me, which pulls literally all of them in as reinforcements.

    This kinda sucks.

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    edited June 2021
    Smithing is in so you can learn to make one javelin and sell it for 100k each.
    Tonight I made an 88k “war glaive” because I still haven’t figured out how to put a point on a stick and throw it.

    Ed: wish there was some way to pull up your last-forged recipe or favorite them or something.

    Also, the list of unlocked things when you craft / forge is bad UX, because who the hell knows what a “Northern ridged blade” is for.

    Ed2: Actually, the whole smithing interface is ass.

    Elvenshae on
  • RonaldoTheGypsyRonaldoTheGypsy Yes, yes Registered User regular
    it sure is

    but I have only messed with smithing on two characters, most of the time I just ignore it because it's broken

  • MassenaMassena Registered User regular
    I posted this up in the CK3 channel, but just realized it might be more interesting to folks who want a deeper strategic layer to Bannerlord.

    https://crusaderblade.itch.io/crusaderblade

    Basically, if you have CK3 and Bannerlord, it's a mod that lets you play CK3 and then when a battle happens you have the option to load it up in Bannerlord and then fight it out with troop compositions that are based on your CK3 army. Your leader has equipment (and presumably stats) based on the CK3 characters martial skill. Been a lot of fun, very easy to use, no errors that I've found recently. Enjoy.

  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    edited January 2022
    From the patch notes it sounds like they're really not ready to let this blacksmithing thing go, and notables in towns will now place orders for weapons you can try to fill?

    Waiting for 1.7 to go live, but I'm interested to see if adding social/rep hook to smithing gets it closer to Javelin Tycoon being a viable domination strategy (combined with the capstone trade perk of buying cities).

    Has anyone tried it? Is the smithing system itself still a bizarrely conceived inside-out slot machine?

    ArbitraryDescriptor on
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    From the patch notes it sounds like they're really not ready to let this blacksmithing thing go, and notables in towns will now place orders for weapons you can try to fill?

    That's been in for a long time, now.

    It's ... reasonable?

    Like, someone will put in an order for an axe that you could make and sell for, I dunno, 200 denars. They'll pay 300 on the order instead, but they'll dock you some of your payout if you don't meet all of the performance goals (weight, swing damage, etc.). Sometimes you'll get a bonus if you make a weapon that's better than what they're asking for.

    The orders disappear once filled and new ones will gradually fill in over time, so you can't just do endless orders.

    The jank (possibly fixed in a patch since I played a bunch) will be that, a lot times, especially when starting out, there won't be any orders you can fill because you don't know the right parts and, sometimes, you'll meet all of the performance goals but they'll still dock your pay for some reason.

  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    edited January 2022
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    The jank (possibly fixed in a patch since I played a bunch) will be that, a lot times, especially when starting out, there won't be any orders you can fill because you don't know the right parts and, sometimes, you'll meet all of the performance goals but they'll still dock your pay for some reason.

    Apparently 1.7 is now live (!), and addresses least this:
    -A better explanation of why the crafting order has failed has been added to the crafted weapon popup.

    But sadly you can no longer wear armor made from the scales of warlords:
    Renamed Warlord Scale Armor to Scale Warlord Armor.

    They also claim to have reduced high tier item prices, so maybe that will make smithing seem less broken. I had forgotten that smithing was basically a license to print money such that Javelin Tycoon was already too viable an option; except for not being able to acquire the secrets of pointy sticks until they come to you in a dream.

    These are cool though, and what I was mostly looking forward to in 1.7:
    Added a new Battle Terrain system:

    -The spawn positions and the facing directions of each side inside the field battle mission are now determined by the encounter position and direction on the campaign map.
    -Added 23 new battle scenes for the more recognisable regions. This increases the current total count to 72. We are looking to further expand the pool of available scenes over time.

    Added a new Order of Battle system:

    -A new deployment screen has been added which appears before every battle mission with at least 20 troops on the player's side and if the encounter is not an offensive sally-out.
    -Players can divide troops into different formations by troop type, using percentage sliders.
    -Players can give preference to "Shield", "Spear", "Throwing" and "Heavy" troops in these formations with combinations of these filters (one or more filters can be enabled).
    -Players can assign captains to these formations if they're the encounter leader. They can assign themselves to an empty formation if they're not the encounter leader.
    -Players can give starting orders to these formations and place them before the battle starts.
    -Values (sliders, filters) set in the OoB are saved between encounters.
    -Formation cards in the order UI now include an explicit number of troops, their type, ammo bar, and morale.

    -Added a game option "Slow Down While Giving Orders" that slows the game down by 75% while the player is giving orders.

    -Allied units can now be issued commands while the enemy is retreating.

    The last one was super annoying. I only just got back into it (1.6.5), but I swear it didn't used to be that way and will not miss it.

    Really want to see how that first one works.
    Are armies proper-fucked now when you corner them with a river on three sides? Doubt it, but the new maps probably make for some more interesting terrain advantages; it should definitely modable now if it wasn't before.

    OoB sounds like what had been teased as an unimplemented Tactics perk from the start.
    I was really disappointed it still wasn't in there in 1.6.5; but there it is!

    ArbitraryDescriptor on
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    edited January 2022
    Yeah, those new additions are what I was waiting for before hopping back in for a bit. Super excited to see how they play out.

    Edit to add:
    Added "Crafting History" to the crafting screen. Players can now see and select the last 10 weapons that they've crafted in free mode.

    Thank goodness for that; so annoying to make an awesome item, then want to make another, and being completely unable to remember what pieces and settings you had used.

    Elvenshae on
  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    edited January 2022
    Some of the new maps are TIGHT.

    Pre battle setup let's you rearrange your troops into 8 groups then position them, the group assignments in the party menu are gone.

    I was playing archer heavy Battanians, attacked a Vageir party with a unintimidating cavalry compliment on a mountain slope.

    Their setup zone had the lowlands, low hills and some light tree cover.

    My setup zone had a steep ridge with two small peaks, each big enough for half my archers with minimal LOS obstruction.

    I arranged my small cavalry unit off to the side to flank, and the infantry on slope defending the archers from a charge. Mostly for cosmetics, because it was an even fight (~100v100), which meant I was ultimately going to have to climb down and go dig them out of whatever nook they had crammed themselves into.

    What I did not appreciate, until it started, was that there was no nook. They were being forced to start in range of my archers. It was on from the word GO, it was great.

    Only had time for a fight or six, observations overall positive:

    -Was only fighting along the mountains on B/V border, all of the maps felt new, claustrophobic, and appropriately hostile to cavalry.

    - I DID see a map where a side border appeared to a coast. We didn't engage with anyone's back to it, but based on my experience up there ^, I don't think the game would have had any qualms forcing one side to start on the beach (cliff?) if we had.

    -The battle setup camera has some real jank; frustrating at times but ultimately manageable.

    -You assign troops to groups by general type (inf,arch,cav) with "preference" filters (weights) for polearms, heavy armor, shields, and thrown weapons.

    Pro: having a ramshackle army of mixed cultures and skill levels is much easier to manage

    Con: Makes it harder to single out specific units to train.

    Pro: it also makes it easier in some cases? Like with the Battanian archers, the high levels have heavier armor. So two archer groups, add heavy armor preference to one, and the other will be comprised mostly of the greener archers. I was still seeing a vet or two with the recruits, and some recruits with the vets, but it worked out fine. Having an elite troop in there in isn't the worst thing in the world if the looters get frisky, nor is having a recruit steal a kill or two with the vets if you had to pulled the trainee group out of harms way.

    - Slowdown for orders is cool, but required a slight adjustment to my order muscle memory, because it kicks in as soon as you hit a group number, and doesn't abate until you're closed out of the order UI.

    -The price progression curve between tier 4 and 6 bows no longer includes $Danustica as its mid point. Stock T6 Bows seem to be in the low 100k range (120-140), and 5s seem appropriately placed between 4 and 6.

    - Something significant has changed, and I'm not sure what, but the result has been that when grinding looters, it seems like far more looters are dead before they break than they previously would have been, eliminating the need for post battle orders, let alone the subsequent engagements it would take because I just couldn't kill them all before they fled.

    Maybe the morale tweaks? Are my archers are more efficient due to higher morale (archer kills were apparently not awarding it), or are the looters simply not breaking as quickly and fleeing because of some of the other tweaks?

    I'm not mad about it, that was super annoying.

    ArbitraryDescriptor on
  • ZibblsnrtZibblsnrt Registered User regular
    Yeah, they definitely did something to morale. Looters used to start breaking at maybe ten or twenty percent casualties, and now they usually don't manage to get clear of my infantry threshing machine.

    I'm still trying to puzzle out the new unit grouping system - if you don't want the generic "infantry, ranged, shock cav, missile cav" thing do you have to manually assign them *in* battle now? I kind of want to make a "companions" unit that's my party's named characters, which I liked doing in the original M&B..

  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    Zibblsnrt wrote: »
    Yeah, they definitely did something to morale. Looters used to start breaking at maybe ten or twenty percent casualties, and now they usually don't manage to get clear of my infantry threshing machine.

    I'm still trying to puzzle out the new unit grouping system - if you don't want the generic "infantry, ranged, shock cav, missile cav" thing do you have to manually assign them *in* battle now? I kind of want to make a "companions" unit that's my party's named characters, which I liked doing in the original M&B..

    I don't think you can assign them with increased precision in battle. I haven't tried the squad transfer command in the new system; but it seems like you would be limited to simply transferring anonymously from one squad to another.

    As for a companion-squad: I used to do that but have not considered it since I set them up as captains now (to leverage feats). I don't think you can?

    Depending on your army, you could try to give them all a unique setup, or make them captains of empty squads then transferring them to one? Awkward but plausible

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    edited January 2022
    Zibblsnrt wrote: »
    if you don't want the generic "infantry, ranged, shock cav, missile cav" thing do you have to manually assign them *in* battle now?

    Yes, but only once - the settings are saved between battles (though not starting formation, which I wish it would; I like my archers and my archer cav to start in loose formation, and my infantry to start in shield wall).

    There isn't a way to make your companions all serve as a single Companion Squad. Instead, you can assign them as captains of each group, which lets them use their perks like, "10% better damage for infantry under your command," etc. Unassigned companions go with their natural group, I think? E.g., a companion on foot with a bow will gravitate to the Archers group.

    One thing I noticed is that, when your archers / archer cav are out of arrows, their unit type changes in the command menu. E.g., if a group started 20 archers, and 5 of them used all their ammo, pressing the group number will show them as 15 archers, 5 infantry.

    Elvenshae on
  • ZibblsnrtZibblsnrt Registered User regular
    On the one hand, the thing where the AI's designed to absolutely prioritize attacking your holdings over all others to the point where you have to bail out a village multiple times every day is incredibly irritating.

    On the other hand, ransom-as-primary-income-source should they do so one band at a time instead of in full armies is pretty lucrative..

    Still really wish the AI didn't know which lord is the player, though.

  • OpposingFarceOpposingFarce Registered User regular
    Hows the development of Bannerlord, going?

    I have it but haven't played. I'm kind of waiting for it to be more feature complete. It sounds like that for the past year+ it's just been mainly bug fixes. Not knocking that, but still.

  • eEK!eEK! Registered User regular
    It does feel close to feature complete and its totally playable and fun, but there's still alot of work to be done fleshing out quests and re-balancing units and items, etc.

    If you just want to play a complete game and don't want to have to ignore missing or imbalanced content, you should wait a few more months.

    That said I've played personally really enjoyed seeing Bannerlord come together and I'd recommend giving it a short play, to atleast see what it was like before its finished.

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Hows the development of Bannerlord, going?

    OMG SLOWLY.

    I’ve been playing quite a bit each time a major patch comes out for the past ~100 years, give or take a decade or two.

    The current version (plus a couple of mods) is the first time it feels like a releasable game. The number of weirdly jank things has dropped, the battlefield customizations are nice, sieges are working finally (and are fun)!

    There’s still some jankiness (esp. in smithing and equipment) but I’m feeling pretty positive right now.

    And the modding scene is pretty awesome.

  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    Started a new game for this latest update but didn't have enough people for it to activate the pre-battle setup stuff, until I went to murder some looters and a huge 100+ army showed up out of nowhere to help at the last second. Then I got to try it (once) and it was pretty cool!

    Wish I hadn't chosen such a younger age for my guy tho. His body is normal, but he has the face of a baby and his head is tiny. Three toddlers in a trenchcoat lookin motherfucker

    JtgVX0H.png
  • ApogeeApogee Lancks In Every Game Ever Registered User regular
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    Hows the development of Bannerlord, going?

    OMG SLOWLY.

    I’ve been playing quite a bit each time a major patch comes out for the past ~100 years, give or take a decade or two.

    The current version (plus a couple of mods) is the first time it feels like a releasable game. The number of weirdly jank things has dropped, the battlefield customizations are nice, sieges are working finally (and are fun)!

    There’s still some jankiness (esp. in smithing and equipment) but I’m feeling pretty positive right now.

    And the modding scene is pretty awesome.

    Someone notify me when there's an equivalent of the Floris mod for MB2... all I really need is a deep troop customization tree and some diplomacy and I'm set.

    Also, an option to remove smithing entirely would be nice...

    8R7BtLw.png
  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    Darmak wrote: »
    Started a new game for this latest update but didn't have enough people for it to activate the pre-battle setup stuff, until I went to murder some looters and a huge 100+ army showed up out of nowhere to help at the last second. Then I got to try it (once) and it was pretty cool!

    Wish I hadn't chosen such a younger age for my guy tho. His body is normal, but he has the face of a baby and his head is tiny. Three toddlers in a trenchcoat lookin motherfucker

    Need a mod that swaps between one of three faces every time it loads your character model

  • LowHitPointsLowHitPoints Sword of the Afternoon MichiganRegistered User regular
    Apogee wrote: »

    Someone notify me when there's an equivalent of the Floris mod for MB2... all I really need is a deep troop customization tree and some diplomacy and I'm set.

    Also, an option to remove smithing entirely would be nice...

    "My Little Warband" on Nexus Mods allows fully customizable troops from day one. You develop your own troop tree, including separate elite tree, and can mix and match any armor/weapon from any culture. You can also import the template from any existing troop and tweak it. For instance, I gave the Empire archer/crossbow line extra ammo because they had an open inventory slot. Now they shoot all battle long.

    Bonus: You can recruit your custom troops from any village/town

    Double bonus: Go to any tavern and you can export/import your troop template between save files.

  • ApogeeApogee Lancks In Every Game Ever Registered User regular
    Apogee wrote: »

    Someone notify me when there's an equivalent of the Floris mod for MB2... all I really need is a deep troop customization tree and some diplomacy and I'm set.

    Also, an option to remove smithing entirely would be nice...

    "My Little Warband" on Nexus Mods allows fully customizable troops from day one. You develop your own troop tree, including separate elite tree, and can mix and match any armor/weapon from any culture. You can also import the template from any existing troop and tweak it. For instance, I gave the Empire archer/crossbow line extra ammo because they had an open inventory slot. Now they shoot all battle long.

    Bonus: You can recruit your custom troops from any village/town

    Double bonus: Go to any tavern and you can export/import your troop template between save files.

    Oh shit. That sounds like my jam! Thanks for the tip... now to go make an army of bowmen.

    8R7BtLw.png
  • Metzger MeisterMetzger Meister It Gets Worse before it gets any better.Registered User regular
    I really want another Prophesy of Pendor. Nothing like getting wiped by a demonic doomstack to really humble you.

  • ZibblsnrtZibblsnrt Registered User regular
    Apogee wrote: »

    Someone notify me when there's an equivalent of the Floris mod for MB2... all I really need is a deep troop customization tree and some diplomacy and I'm set.

    Also, an option to remove smithing entirely would be nice...

    "My Little Warband" on Nexus Mods allows fully customizable troops from day one. You develop your own troop tree, including separate elite tree, and can mix and match any armor/weapon from any culture. You can also import the template from any existing troop and tweak it. For instance, I gave the Empire archer/crossbow line extra ammo because they had an open inventory slot. Now they shoot all battle long.

    Bonus: You can recruit your custom troops from any village/town

    Double bonus: Go to any tavern and you can export/import your troop template between save files.

    If we're talking mods, the Diplomacy one (also on Nexus) feels like a must-have to me. Adds a lot more to warfare and, well, diplomacy - you can have nonaggression pacts, the game handles war exhaustion, you can send couriers to talk to someone instead of chasing their speed-4.9 army in your speed-5.0 army across half the map, etc.

  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    Apogee wrote: »
    Apogee wrote: »

    Someone notify me when there's an equivalent of the Floris mod for MB2... all I really need is a deep troop customization tree and some diplomacy and I'm set.

    Also, an option to remove smithing entirely would be nice...

    "My Little Warband" on Nexus Mods allows fully customizable troops from day one. You develop your own troop tree, including separate elite tree, and can mix and match any armor/weapon from any culture. You can also import the template from any existing troop and tweak it. For instance, I gave the Empire archer/crossbow line extra ammo because they had an open inventory slot. Now they shoot all battle long.

    Bonus: You can recruit your custom troops from any village/town

    Double bonus: Go to any tavern and you can export/import your troop template between save files.

    Oh shit. That sounds like my jam! Thanks for the tip... now to go make an army of bowmen.

    Please post details if you do! I have no* complaints about the battanian fians, but I'm sure there's room for improvements / artistic license.

    *Not sure if hearth affects troop availability, but the Battanians have been doing really well and I haven't had trouble sourcing the elite recruits this time through (single party, no garissons, though).

  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    Apogee wrote: »

    Someone notify me when there's an equivalent of the Floris mod for MB2... all I really need is a deep troop customization tree and some diplomacy and I'm set.

    Also, an option to remove smithing entirely would be nice...

    "My Little Warband" on Nexus Mods allows fully customizable troops from day one. You develop your own troop tree, including separate elite tree, and can mix and match any armor/weapon from any culture. You can also import the template from any existing troop and tweak it. For instance, I gave the Empire archer/crossbow line extra ammo because they had an open inventory slot. Now they shoot all battle long.

    Bonus: You can recruit your custom troops from any village/town

    Double bonus: Go to any tavern and you can export/import your troop template between save files.

    Okay, this is freaking cool. One of my favorite aspects of PoP was the custom knighthood order, and this basically lets me have an entire troop tree of them. I'm going to be busy for a while, I think....

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    We talkin' MODS here? Maybe? Okay, here's my current mod list. I treat M&B kinda like Skyrim light, though, so be warned. I'm also v1.7.1, and most of my mods have been updated for that.
    • Agriculture Estate: Fixes the "almost no passive income" mechanic and lack of businesses to invest money in. You can buy land in villages which produces a little bit of money per day, or you can drop off (or let them automatically buy) bandit prisoners to work the land and get a steady production of whatever the village makes, plus some grain. E.g., buy some land in an Imperial Charger village, and it'll slowly turn out mules, sumpter horses, midlands palfreys, and Imperial Chargers for you.
    • Autoresolve Rebalanced: It's now really hard for a cataphract to die when fighting looters using autoresolve.
    • Better Exception Window: When the game crashes, you get more useful information and a back-up save.
    • ButterLib: Dependency for many mods.
    • Diplomacy: Form alliances, sign NAPs, send messengers to Lords and notables, etc.
    • Harmony: Dependency for many mods.
    • Helmet Hair Cover Tweaks: More helmets allow the actors' hair to be rendered as well, making outfits look way better at the cost of some clipping issues.
    • Improved Garrisons: Set up recruiting and training templates for all of your fiefs, copy them across savegames, and allow automatic recruiting in addition to lots of tweaks.
    • Mod Configuration Menu: Adjust many modules' settings from within M&B itself.
    • No Bald Female: Default character creation scripts for Bannerlord have waaaaaaay too many bald female NPCs. So just turn it off entirely.
    • Post-Mortem Possession: Battles in M&B are fun! Battles that kinda autoresolve as you watch the numbers tick down for 20 minutes after you take an arrow in the knee in the opening salvo are less fun. So switch bodies and play as one of your companions! Until they die, anyway, and then switch again!
    • Raise Your Banner: Troops are randomly assigned banners to hold, giving a morale bonus to allies around them and making the battlefield look way cooler.
    • Raise Your Torch: In night battles, troops are randomly assigned a torch to carry, allowing you to see more of the fight and making the battlefield look way cooler.
    • Realistic Battle Mod: Tweaks to individual AI, troop AI, weapon statistics, new bows and crossbows and ammo, etc. Makes more advanced troops fight better, smarter against less advanced troops.
    • Troop Sorting: Troops in lists - party, post-battle, "Manage the Garrison" screen, etc. - are automatically sorted according to parameters you set; default is PC, Companions, troops of your culture in descending order of rank, troops of other cultures in descending order of rank. No more do you need to hunt through the list to find your vets and / or newbies!
    • True Arena Experience: Full XP value for any fight. Looking into some of the other True mods, as well, as I kinda like what they're going for here.
    • UIExtenderEX: Allows mods to adjust and / or overwrite default UI.

  • ZibblsnrtZibblsnrt Registered User regular
    Thanks for the list! That feels like a to-grab list for my next campaign, I think. I'm after anything that makes fiefs more interesting.

    Raise Your Banner is great. Like even completely ignoring the mechanical changes, it's such a small thing but makes things look so much better, especially in huge battles.
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    We talkin' MODS here? Maybe? Okay, here's my current mod list. I treat M&B kinda like Skyrim light, though, so be warned. I'm also v1.7.1, and most of my mods have been updated for that.

    I was not aware this mod existed and immediately deem it the greatest mod of all time.

    I think every time I've had casualties autoresolving some doomstack horde against ten looters it's been whatever my highest-tier soldier currently is. I'm pretty sure if Abrams tanks were in the game I'd lose one autoresolving against five dudes with rocks...

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    edited January 2022
    And now for mods I'm interested in / tweaks to the game I'd like to see, but haven't found something just right for, yet:
    • Companions: The role of companions in Bannerlord is far broader than it was in Warband, and sort of approaches the level of where it was in mods like Prophesy of Pendor. Succinctly, in BL, you need companions to act as soldiers in your party, leaders of other parties, governors of your fiefs, and leaders of your caravans. However, you are limited to far fewer companions than you could hire in base Warband; you simply do not have enough available companions to act in all of those roles. This leaves aside the fact that, since they're randomly generated, you just might never find a doctor companion. Additionally, the companions in Warband, and even in extensions of that like PoP, were pretty barebones as far as characterization was concerned. They had a couple of lines they'd say when they were near a particular location, and some companions they liked or hated (which caused their morale to improve slowly or drop precipitously) and that was it. Bannerlord manages to trip over even that low bar with characterless, soulless statblocks with OMG repetitive names: Hi, Laura the Wronged! have you met Liesl, Stacy, Anastasia, Letitia, and Gladys? They've all been Wronged, too.
    • Smithing: I love the idea of smithing. I like the idea of customizing a weapon to fit my particular character. I hate that you can unlock 40 mutually indistinguishable (stats-wise) sword pommels, and that you'll go for possibly years before you figure out the mysteries of "The Slightly Longer Stick" or "An Axe Handle, But What If You Could Throw It?" I know how to make 5 varieties of hammer head, but I can't quite figure out how to put on on the end of the spear pole I've already figured out how to make. Also, there are, at last count, 350 varieties of sword blade, and 2 two-handed mace heads. There's something interesting here, and I like fulfilling orders by subtly tweaking the sizes on the design I've got, but the payout is absolutely not worth the investment of resources they've put into this. Also, you get frequent nonsensical results, like smelting down 20 weapons for a single skill-up and no recipe to be seen, but the next one gives you 4 points and 5 unlocks. Just WTH is going on here?
    • Settlement Loyalty: I have no idea what this does, but it's really insanely hard to make it go up. I hope you managed to luck out and get a companion suitable as a governor who happens to be the right ethnicity, because otherwise you're eating a more-or-less permanent -3 penalty to this (per day? per week? who knows!), whatever that means.
    • Family: I love Crusader Kings; it's one of my favorite game series of all time. But the marriage / family game just doesn't really work here, in Bannerlord. The time frames don't line up. I suspect that you are supposed to supplement your limited companion count with family members, but your initial child siblings take, uh, I dunno how long to grow up to be old enough to play as; I've played something like a couple dozen hours in my current 1.7.1 save, and my kid sister (the oldest non-starting adult sib) is still a child, according to the game. At this rate, it'll be a couple hundred hours before my character is too old for riding around Calradia (or dies) and I need to play as someone else. In CK, this works because managing your family tree is basically the entire game, and the game time passes at a rate of days-per-second (until you get to the end game, anyway), rather than the comparatively staid rate in Bannerlord. I like that having a family is an option, but it's just not tied into the rest of the game well.
    • Other stuff I'm forgetting because it's late.
    • Oh, I remembered one! Governorships: None of the "Governor" traits do anything for a PC, because you can't be a governor. That sucks.

    Elvenshae on
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Zibblsnrt wrote: »
    Thanks for the list! That feels like a to-grab list for my next campaign, I think. I'm after anything that makes fiefs more interesting.

    Raise Your Banner is great. Like even completely ignoring the mechanical changes, it's such a small thing but makes things look so much better, especially in huge battles.
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    We talkin' MODS here? Maybe? Okay, here's my current mod list. I treat M&B kinda like Skyrim light, though, so be warned. I'm also v1.7.1, and most of my mods have been updated for that.

    I was not aware this mod existed and immediately deem it the greatest mod of all time.

    I think every time I've had casualties autoresolving some doomstack horde against ten looters it's been whatever my highest-tier soldier currently is. I'm pretty sure if Abrams tanks were in the game I'd lose one autoresolving against five dudes with rocks...

    My favorite is when I've got, ferinstance, a stack with plenty of Imperial Palatine Guards and Elite Cataphractoi (horse archers!) and I run into a stack of 20 looters. Normal autoresolve results in an archer and a horseguy dying. I'm, like, "Have you actually played this out? Because the looters get slaughtered before they can get closer than 150 paces ... and how do they manage to kill an archer but not an infantry soldier?"

  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    And now for mods I'm interested in / tweaks to the game I'd like to see, but haven't found something just right for, yet:
    • Smithing: I love the idea of smithing. I like the idea of customizing a weapon to fit my particular character. I hate that you can unlock 40 mutually indistinguishable (stats-wise) sword pommels, and that you'll go for possibly years before you figure out the mysteries of "The Slightly Longer Stick" or "An Axe Handle, But What If You Could Throw It?" I know how to make 5 varieties of hammer head, but I can't quite figure out how to put on on the end of the spear pole I've already figured out how to make. Also, there are, at last count, 350 varieties of sword blade, and 2 two-handed mace heads. There's something interesting here, and I like fulfilling orders by subtly tweaking the sizes on the design I've got, but the payout is absolutely not worth the investment of resources they've put into this. Also, you get frequent nonsensical results, like smelting down 20 weapons for a single skill-up and no recipe to be seen, but the next one gives you 4 points and 5 unlocks. Just WTH is going on here?

    I like smithing for the most part, but the random unlocks really fuckin suck. Just let me earn a point every time my skill goes up and then I can spend my smithing points to unlock the parts I want, or maybe have certain entire tiers unlock at certain levels of smithing (with enough parts at each tier so I can build even shitty versions of every type of weapon immediately).

    Also just add more parts in general, especially to those weapon types that are underrepresented

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  • A duck!A duck! Moderator, ClubPA mod
    Loyalty is fairly straightforward. It ticks up or down once per day by your modifier. Low loyalty imposes a penalty to construction, and stops all building when below 25. Below 25 your city has a chance to rebel, but it can't do that while you're inside. When your loyalty is high you get a bonus to construction (I think starting at 75).

    There are some policies you can enact with fairly minor downsides that will give a total of 3.5 loyalty. Just having a dude of the right culture in town is also a bonus +1.

  • Metzger MeisterMetzger Meister It Gets Worse before it gets any better.Registered User regular
    Getting that one passive, Parade I think it's called, gives your settlements or whatever +5 loyalty just for hanging around! I think it's in the leadership tree maybe.

  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    I tried the romance game to get more companions, it is more intensely period appropriate than I remembered.

    Courting the Princess for a year with gifts, battle-dates, and skill challenges: "I'm sorry, I just don't see anyway I could ever marry a mercenary!"

    Offering the king $25,000: "SON!!"
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    And now for mods I'm interested in / tweaks to the game I'd like to see, but haven't found something just right for, yet:
    • Companions: [Variety]
    • Family: [Time]
    • Governorships

    Alone these are merely annoying, but they synergize into a mini Voltron of genuine frustration with governorships in the mix.

    An apparent solution has been there the whole time: make the city default to the Notable of greatest influence, or let you pick one, and they just take a cut. Given that the notables still don't seem to justify the effort put into them having influence and territory and interpersonal beefs, I wonder if something like that has always been on the to do list.

    Or something that already happens and I never noticed? I haven't held a town in a long time

  • ZibblsnrtZibblsnrt Registered User regular
    Re: names, the Detailed Character Creation mod lets you rename (and visually resign) NPCs at whim. I mainly use it so that I occasionally have companions who aren't Wronged.
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    I love the idea of smithing. I like the idea of customizing a weapon to fit my particular character. I hate that you can unlock 40 mutually indistinguishable (stats-wise) sword pommels, and that you'll go for possibly years before you figure out the mysteries of "The Slightly Longer Stick" or "An Axe Handle, But What If You Could Throw It?" I know how to make 5 varieties of hammer head, but I can't quite figure out how to put on on the end of the spear pole I've already figured out how to make. Also, there are, at last count, 350 varieties of sword blade, and 2 two-handed mace heads. There's something interesting here, and I like fulfilling orders by subtly tweaking the sizes on the design I've got, but the payout is absolutely not worth the investment of resources they've put into this. Also, you get frequent nonsensical results, like smelting down 20 weapons for a single skill-up and no recipe to be seen, but the next one gives you 4 points and 5 unlocks. Just WTH is going on here?

    I think roll-the-unlock-dice odds are entirely based on the tier of the components. Making a bunch of something high-tier and then remelting them is probably the most "efficient" way to cheese unlocks, though the randomness still screws with that. I was crafting blinged-out thamaskene steel twohanders for pizza money for months before my character learned how to put a sledgehammer head on a long handle instead of a medium one. Gotta love blacksmithing before the scientific method, I guess!

    (That said, sledgehammers on polearm handles are fun. One-hit ransom generator goes brrrrrrBONK.)

    My main smithing gripe is the stamina thing being absurdly annoying and obviously in there specifically to make things grindier. I just modded it out because I don't feel like having to rest specifically in a city for one or two days because making some charcoal tuckered me out that badly.

  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    I've fallen down a rabbit hole where I'm now modding in armored dresses for my fancy lady cavalry.

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