Need Help In M&B Warband

[SpireOfFire]

i started playing mount and blade: warband last night. i do enjoy the game but it seems like i cant get ahead in the game. i cant seem to get sufficient money, i cant get my troops to a respectable level before i'm defeated, and i cant seem to find decent enough work to get money and exp.

where do i get the best work?
where do i get the best troops?
where do i get the best money? equipment?

give me some strategies, plz. i've played 3 characters so far and i cant help but spin my wheels.

 

[Chal]

For starters, I prefer picking a specific faction that works well so you can become familiar with how the soldiers upgrade. I swear by the Khergits myself because they get horses relatively early on, but I haven't experimented much with the other factions.

The best work is usually those from the capital city guilds, they pay higher and are generally less difficult (though sometimes tedious. Beware of cattle drives). The best money, however, lies in avoiding dealing with the ongoing wars and instead going bandit hunting. Start with looters for upgrading your troops. See if you can't get a few manhunters to help out for the later fights. When you feel ready, move up to tundra, mountain, or forest bandits. Put a few points into prisoner management as you level.

Now start selling. Pick up the loot they drop for sure, but the most important part is taking prisoners to sell them to slave traders in taverns. Manhunters help because they are more likely to knock enemies unconscious instead of outright killing them.

Avoid sea raiders and the coasts in general at low levels. They are the highest tier of bandit, often attacking in large groups and with superior equipment. However, once you have a larger army (say, ~30 troops) then start hunting them. They are worth the most as prisoners and have the best loot. Some of the equipment they have is worth keeping, and even when it's not you can use it to save up and buy elite equipment in the city shops. That should be a good start before you are involved in the factional crisis at hand.

If you are really starving for cash/supplies, pick a rival kingdom and steal supplies from their villages. As long as you have enough men to prevent a village riot, the huge armies won't attack you because you aren't considered an enemy of their kingdom unless you really abuse this. Attacking bandit hideouts is another good source of supplies, but harder to find.

Happy hunting!

 

[SimuLord]

First thought: Learn to fight on a horse. If you're doing the bulk of the heavy lifting, especially early on, it makes life easier on your team.

Second thought: I swear by the Swadians. To me there is no substitute for an iron fist on a mailed horse for getting shit done. Expensive, yes, but they pay for themselves with the ass they kick. Put plenty of points into Trainer to get those ranks up early.

Third thought: Find a couple of trade routes that work. Yes, this is mostly trial and error, but once you've got it, you've GOT IT. Admittedly this was easier in the first M&B.

Fourth and final thought: Know your bandit ranks. Looters -> Forest Bandits (but watch the charge into arrow fire) -> Mountain Bandits -> Sea Raiders (I leave Steppe Bandits out of this because I can never seem to catch them.)

 

[.p-0-q.]

http://www.htsti.com/?q=+mount+and+blade%3A+warband+WALK+THROUGH

 

[SimuLord]

http://www.htsti.com/?q=+mount+and+blade%3A+warband+WALK+THROUGH

You're new, so let me say this as nicely as I can: That's not how we do things around here. Someone asks for help with a game on a gaming forum, they get help with a game---especially when there are a few Warband players who have passionately advocated for the game's awesomeness around here.

 

[Yokai]

Well, the strategy I always use is to find a tournament, save the game, then bet a undred denars on every round of the tournament. If you manage to win, that's about 3000 in your pocket. If not, reload the save and try again! Unless, of course, you chose realistic saving, in which case that totally doesn't work.

The other big moneymaker in WB is selling prisoners. The lowest-ranking prisoner will still fetch you fifty denars with a ransom broker, and if you help a faction lord fight off one of their enemies, you can get some really good ones. Top-tier units such as Sarranid Mamluks or Nord Huscarls go for around 200 a head. It's somewhat up to chance, since there's little way to control whether your opponents are killed or merely wounded, but if there are prisoners after a battle, take as many as you can.

 

[Kavonde]

Chal and SimuLord basically covered it, but I'd also like to say that once you're ready to join a kingdom and start besieging castles, I recommend signing on with one of the two infantry-based factions (Rhodoks and the Nords). The Rhodoks always seem pretty effective on defense, what with the spears coming at you from all directions, and unlike the Nords, they have dedicated crossbow guys who can do some serious damage. Then again, the Nords tend to be a little deadlier one-on-one and can stomp pretty much anyone in a fair fight on an open field.

You don't need to actually recruit them yourself, of course. That's why you have all those friendly Jarls running around with their magically regenerating armies.

 

[demoman_chaos]

Here is what I do, before recruiting anyone take on a few small bands of looters to get used to combat then decide what kind of weapons you want to use (bows, swords, etc) and start leveling that up. Sell all loot that isn't as good as your stuff, but take what you get that is better.

After you get a thousand or so gold, look in taverns for mercenaries. The best infantry would be Hired Blades, but they are expensive (worth the cost though). You may want to go with Mecenary Horseman or Merc Cavalry since in the M&B world cavalry are key to victory.
Then go pick on some mid-level bandits like Forest Bandits or Tundra Bandits. Avoid Steppe Bandits, those horse archers can be VERY annoying to beat. Also look out for Sea Raiders, they are quite tough infantry.

After you get some decent gear, go take on some Sea Raiders since they have the best loot. Building yourself up like this gives you a chance to figure out what weapons work for you while leveling up. You also increase your reknown.

Fight in a tournament every now and then if you feel confident. Be warned, you may get screwed over so save before hand and make sure you don't choose to auto-save when you are making your character. The reward maxes at around 4000 with max bets every round, so the profit isn't amazing. Quests from Village Elders, Guild Masters, and faction lords also don't have overly high rewards, so I stick to looting bandits and deserters.

Once you get yourself built up enough, it is time to choose a faction and the real gameplay begins. Get friendly with a faction of your choice (I normally go with Swadia because the Swadian Knights are absolute beasts in open field fights and in sieges, but they are hard to get), and ask to join them. You get a town to manage and can siege enemy stuff. Look for lightly guarded castles and small warparties until you get built up enough to take on larger warbands and better defended castles.

Castles that you need siege towers for require a VERY long time investment so be sure to have enough food. Also, note that warriors don't like fighting their own faction, so don't try using Vaeger infantry against Vaeger armies. If you get enemy units, use them as garrison troops so morale won't effect them.

I hope this wall of text helps.

 

[SpireOfFire]

who are the guild masters? are they the lords or counts or are they seperate?

also, when should i align myself with a faction?

 

[Spoonius]

who are the guild masters? are they the lords or counts or are they seperate?

also, when should i align myself with a faction?

Guild Masters are like Village Elders (you find them in towns).

You want to muster a reasonable-sized army (20-30 men) before selling your sword to a faction. If your renown is high enough, you can become a sworn vassal of whatever realm you choose, meaning that you can keep any castles or towns that you conquer in your faction's name. Towns especially are a good source of income, and can help to fuel your warmongering efforts.

If you're really stuck for money, then you can cheat your way to prosperity. Go to the "Character" screen, and then the "Statistics" screen. You'll see an "Export Character" option. Click it.
Exit the game, and go to My Documents. You'll see a folder named "Mount&Blade Warband". Inside that'll be a folder named "Characters", and inside that will be a text file. You can open it and change your character's stats (I only ever change his wealth).
Save it, and go back to the "Statistics" screen in-game. Import the character (the text file must have the same name as the character you're using), and you'll be rich.