Mount & Blade: Warband

[Vigil80]

Mount & Blade: Warband is the standalone expansion to Mount & Blade, an action-RPG with a complex combat system and an open-ended singleplayer campaign. The expansion boasts numerous additions, including improved graphics, the ability to start a new faction in the singleplayer campaign, improved mod support, and multiplayer.

We are offering Mount&Blade through a try before you buy model. You can download the game and start playing right away. What you download is not a demo, it is the full game. There is, however, a level limit at 7. When your character reaches level 7, you can start a new game or, if you decide you like the game well enough, go on and buy a license online. As soon as you buy a license you will obtain a serial key which will remove the level limit. You will not need to download the game again.

Home page: http://www.taleworlds.com (http://www.taleworlds.com/)

Current game version: 1.131



http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3022/ss0695098a3da5951b53d2c.jpg

I doubt I'll play much multiplayer, personally, but the updates and changes to the singleplayer are enough for me to support the devs with a purchase.

[CappinCanuck]

Looks prettier too. Although I never played the release version of Mount and Blade, just the beta. Maybe they changed things up for release.

[Panthera]

If you haven't played M&B since beta, I think you'll be surprised by how much it changed.

[ClannerDelta]

I've been playing the Multi in beta. Couched lances can blow me. :p

That said, it's surprisingly fun on some maps. Dreadfully boring on others. It's pretty hit or miss for me. On any of the maps with lots of buildings, it's annoying because of the speed hit when climbing and the constant archers/crossbowmen. When it turns into an archer mass v archer mass situation. It's just a really boring FPS. When you have the maps with lots of streets and open space. That's when you get the fun mixed fights. With archers bunching up for mutual protection and hordes of foot soldiers. With the odd horseman thrown in.

It's hilarious to watch every single person on one team shift to the mounted lancetard as soon as he gets his first... and only... kill.

[Vigil80]

I really want to dive into the singleplayer, but there's one or two serious quest bugs. Already fixed, from what I saw on the dev's forums, but the next patch hasn't come out yet.

I'm tempted to start a vanilla Mount & Blade game just to start leveling a character, then see about exporting him to Warband.

[Panthera]

I really want to dive into the singleplayer, but there's one or two serious quest bugs. Already fixed, from what I saw on the dev's forums, but the next patch hasn't come out yet.

I'm tempted to start a vanilla Mount & Blade game just to start leveling a character, then see about exporting him to Warband.

One of the nice new things in Warband is the action-y quest that happens to you as you start up the game, though. I'm not sure you can export your character to it, anyway. The world changed a lot.

[Khrymsyn]

I love the original M&B but the one thing I really wished it allowed you to do is become a king yourself and take your own towns and create your own kingdom. Shame I have to buy an expansion to do that, but oh well. On the fence on this, but I bought the original during a steam sale, so likely will pick this up then too =)

[Vigil80]

One of the nice new things in Warband is the action-y quest that happens to you as you start up the game, though. I'm not sure you can export your character to it, anyway. The world changed a lot.
This is actually the main bug I was talking about. As of v0.860, completing that quest causes every NPC in the world to respond "I'm leaving town soon, etcetera" when you talk to them. :p Really, I should just wait until v1.0 to start with it.

As for exporting from original Mount & Blade, I figured it wouldn't do it directly. But assuming they haven't changed much about the stats system, the numbers could be copied and pasted. After all, the file it creates is just a .txt you can open with notepad.

[IIntrude]

I love M&B and Warband is no exception. Yes it is a bit rough, but there is nothing out there that compares to it.

The other day I was in a group and we were really working well together. The opposing team was using mostly cav, so most of us switched to pikemen w/spears. We formed a very nice shield wall and stood our ground. The enemy cav were attacking all at once, using coordinated charges.

Standing our ground with 20 pikemen, watching 10-15 horses charge at you was amazing. So to was the carnage as they slammed into our wall, men and horses were flying everywhere. I had on horse attempt to jump over our wall and I promptly stabbed it through the gut and watched as horse and rider tumbled over me and to the ground behind me, where he was quickly dispatched by our swordsmen and archers in the rear.

The opposing team loved it too, they kep raving about how much fun it was to charge the wall, how it looked so very epic to see us standing our ground and working as a team.

After that experience I joined a clan and look forward to more group action like that night.


BTW, Warband is now released, go and get it and I hope to see you on the battlefield. Look for XIII_IIntrude

[Lint of Death]

I gotta second IIntrude on the spearmen vs. cavalry thing. I was a part of that once while playing with Airosh and Diplomew and it ruled. Later on we were playing Sultanate vs Khergits on a random hilly map, so we eventually figured out that we needed to mass archers and camp up on the highest mountain while the Khergit horse archers fought tooth and nail against us.

On that note, the Sultanate is my fav faction in the multiplayer game, especially the archer troop. I love the rapid fire, highly accurate bow. It's basically the only thing I'm good at in this game.

[Libuke]

Soon as I get paid (mid April), ya for finding a job, I will definitely be picking this up. I enjoyed the first one a lot.

[Airosh]

Yeah I've been having tons of fun with multiplayer with Lint and my Friend (Diplomew Immunitwo - he plays TF2 with us sometimes). I really enjoy the street ones as said before, I love going with the 2 handed weapons. Especially the Nords, my favourite by far, take a 2 hand axe with the free one hand axe and 2 crappy sheilds and I'll tear through other peoples shield's even if I don't kill them it leaves them in a more vulnerable position for others.

I use as my name Airosh in the multiplayer as well, so if you see me don't be afraid to give me a shout, and if you have it on steam you could add me to your friends list, name is Airosh on that too.

[BrassGecko]

I tried a little bit of multiplayer last night, it's interesting. Infantry vs infantry is sort of an odd standoff with shields, until either a shield breaks or someone gets around behind.

I like the new start to single-player, and the new map seems pretty cool. The changes to the attack animations and to how couching the lance works are taking a bit of getting used to. Also, and I don't thiiiink I'm just imagining it, but shields seem to break a bit easier and the movement penalty for hills seems even more dramatic.

Edit: And I LOVE being able to manually set if those named characters you can pick up are archer, infantry or cavalry!

[ClannerDelta]

I tried a little bit of multiplayer last night, it's interesting. Infantry vs infantry is sort of an odd standoff with shields, until either a shield breaks or someone gets around behind.

Only for newbs. You'll find out that the cheese of the Warcleaver reigns supreme over infantry fights. Fastest attack, 1-2 hit kill any swipe, blocks are faster and more effective without shield.

Oh, also owns Cavalry.

[BrassGecko]

I'm loving some of the multiplayer types.. I wasn't sure how deathmatch would work for this game, but it's surprisingly fun. A couple times I've seen impromptu teamwork as a couple footmen stop fighting to both stab at an oncoming horseman. The team game types definitely have the better fights, though.

One thing that's terrible... I joined a server that turned out to have full friendly damage. The extremely wide arcs that some of the larger melee weapons go through made that pretty frustrating!

[Lint of Death]

One thing that's terrible... I joined a server that turned out to have full friendly damage. The extremely wide arcs that some of the larger melee weapons go through made that pretty frustrating!

The Jest servers have hilarious friendly fire: it only applies to ranged weapons, and does no damage to the victim. The twist is that it does full damage to the shooter, leading to instant suicides if you accidentally headshot a friend.

[BrassGecko]

The Jest servers have hilarious friendly fire: it only applies to ranged weapons, and does no damage to the victim. The twist is that it does full damage to the shooter, leading to instant suicides if you accidentally headshot a friend.

Yeah, I managed to one-shot myself on there! That doesn't bother me though, you've got much more control on where arrows and bolts are headed.

[Lint of Death]

Yeah, I managed to one-shot myself on there! That doesn't bother me though, you've got much more control on where arrows and bolts are headed.

Yeah, definitely. The Sarranid Sultanate has perfect aim with its shortbows, and the Khergits have near-perfect aim while mounted at any speed.

Which reminds me, Khergit is surprisingly good without horses - at least the lancers are, as you can get an extremely good polearm. PLus you can nab a dead Khergit's horse if you still want it.

[ClannerDelta]

It's unfortunate that the best way to take out a horse is to jump stab the rider. I don't know, something about the way it looks just annoys the shit out of me.

[BrassGecko]

Really? I mean, I've seen people doing it and it does look like it works, but I've had plenty of luck stabbing people off horses with my feet firmly planted. I can usually hit the rider, and even if I don't I enjoy taking the horse out from under them.

It's pretty hilarious how everyone who sees a horse drop will do their best to KILL THAT RIDER NOW. I know I do it, it's satisfying.

[ClannerDelta]

Really? I mean, I've seen people doing it and it does look like it works, but I've had plenty of luck stabbing people off horses with my feet firmly planted. I can usually hit the rider, and even if I don't I enjoy taking the horse out from under them.

It's pretty hilarious how everyone who sees a horse drop will do their best to KILL THAT RIDER NOW. I know I do it, it's satisfying.

Once you run into people who know what they are doing they'll have heavy boots/armor. It also depends on the server's cash allowance. Jump stabbing the face is just the best way. Also works on Lancers.

[BrassGecko]

Heh, alrighty. I'll just have to do without it though, I refuse to bunny-hop in this game!

[ClannerDelta]

Heh, alrighty. I'll just have to do without it though, I refuse to bunny-hop in this game!

I'm with you it's just so common and almost necessary once people get the right armor. I've taken to camping on any hill/house/whatever with some javelins and a spear whenever it comes to a horse match. Only in Deathmatch of course.

had one where my little spire was being circled by 20-40 riderless horses by the end. They kept running into the actual players and stopping them. *Kthunk* was the last thing those poor saps ever heard... for the next 15 seconds.

[Vigil80]

I've been living in the single player since the official release. Good stuff there. For me, the game doesn't even begin until you start your own faction, which could be many hours into a new game. I've only just begun to play with it, but so far it seems like a surprisingly deep addition to the campaign.

They're really on to something here. Action/tactical combat meets strategy meets empire building? It's a potent combination, and it's hard to believe that M&B is the first I've come across to try it at all, much less do it in a way that's remotely entertaining.

Sure, it's rough around the edges, but patches and mods are going to increase the potential every day. Best $30 I've spent in a long time.

Edit:
Fun fact: If you bought it through Steam, but decide you don't want to go through Steam for whatever reason, you can get your serial key from your Steam copy (it can be found in your registry even if it isn't showing up in Steam's menu) and download the game directly from the Talewords site. And yes, it's 100% legit to do so.

[IIntrude]

It's unfortunate that the best way to take out a horse is to jump stab the rider. I don't know, something about the way it looks just annoys the shit out of me.

Get a long polearm and stab that horse right through the chest. Timing is key, your polearm must be at full extension at the moment the horse hits it. The horse will tumble downwards and if you didn't kill the rider in the same blow you have a few seconds to run him through while he is on the ground. No need for jumping around.

[Airosh]

Get a long polearm and stab that horse right through the chest. Timing is key, your polearm must be at full extension at the moment the horse hits it. The horse will tumble downwards and if you didn't kill the rider in the same blow you have a few seconds to run him through while he is on the ground. No need for jumping around.

I find I that I am best at killing an enemy horse with the "Long Axe" as the Nords, it has a poking action with it and I almost always get the horse and just murder the rider while he's on the ground. Polearms do work well, but I seem to have the most success with the axe. I think it really come down to having something that can poke, using it at it's max range and keeping the horseman as far away as possible.

Also when you see one horse go down and about 5 people all turn and circle the guy to demolish him is absolutely hilarious!

[IIntrude]

I find I that I am best at killing an enemy horse with the "Long Axe" as the Nords, it has a poking action with it and I almost always get the horse and just murder the rider while he's on the ground. Polearms do work well, but I seem to have the most success with the axe. I think it really come down to having something that can poke, using it at it's max range and keeping the horseman as far away as possible.

Also when you see one horse go down and about 5 people all turn and circle the guy to demolish him is absolutely hilarious!

Yeah the good ole horse cleave is fun too. I am big on the polearms because I like having that shield there too. But the big axes sure are nasty.

[ClannerDelta]

I've been living in the single player since the official release. Good stuff there. For me, the game doesn't even begin until you start your own faction, which could be many hours into a new game. I've only just begun to play with it, but so far it seems like a surprisingly deep addition to the campaign..

It's pretty good. To save some people long hours of frustration.
Alliance with the Nords = easy mode.
Alliance with Swadia = hard mode.
Anyone else falls in between.

I don't suggest siding with Swadia if you're just starting, but it's a great challenge for your second or third playthrough.

Also Huscarls are ridiculous. :p Day 30, I took 20 Huscarls and 20 Veteran Warriors over to Praven and captured it. 300 defenders utterly obliterated. It's amazing how smoothly a siege goes when you make it up the ladder first. Not having the one douche up top holding everyone up saves a ton of lives.

[Hotcod]

I wasn't going to pick this up just yet given it was a bit pricey for something that is more an 1.5 rather than a 2.0 but then i realised i brought the first one for £3 or so so the temptation got a little to much given how much i love the single player. The upgrades to that have been fun so far even just starting out.

[Panthera]

I don't suggest siding with Swadia if you're just starting, but it's a great challenge for your second or third playthrough.

Huh? Seriously? I know Huscarls are powerful as hell, but doesn't Swadia have the best knights? If anybody, it's Rhodoks who are known as the challenging faction.

[ClannerDelta]

Huh? Seriously? I know Huscarls are powerful as hell, but doesn't Swadia have the best knights? If anybody, it's Rhodoks who are known as the challenging faction.

Swadian Knights are good, but they don't win the auto-engagements as solidly as they do under the player control. Which makes Swadia weaker.

Siding with Swadia is hard because you will have every other faction attacking. If you have a fief or castle. Be prepared to fight off 3-4 factions at a time. This on top of being called by the Marshal ALL the time. So you'll end up with a lot of burning/under siege properties. The other factions, due to their distance, really only have to deal with one or two other factions.

As for the units. Knights are easily countered using terrain and sieges. Huscarls, under every circumstance, rape face. As for Rhodoks... Sharpshooters. Those crossbowmen have good helms, good armor, solid shields, and a piercing weapon(with an overhead chop), and excellent crossbows. They are so so good. I've started using them as the backup for my Huscarl rape-train. Watching knights/lords charge into the crossbowman to be instantly owned is great.

*edit* Let me add that you don't have to side with Swadia to get the knights. You just need to pick 1-2 villages and do quests/not pillage them until you have 15+ rating. You'll get 10+ recruits every time.

[Vigil80]

Patch 1.104 went up on the homepage today.

My favored way to assemble an army right now is Swadian Knights, Nord Huscarls, and Nord Archers. I try to get my units from just 2 factions. It's easy to tour the map and cherrypick the best, but where's the flavor in that? :p When I start my own faction, I plan to straddle it across Nord and Swadian towns.

How well do crossbowmen seem to do? Without knowing how accurate the ranged troops tend to be, I figure archers are a better bet, firing twice as fast.

[ClannerDelta]

How well do crossbowmen seem to do? Without knowing how accurate the ranged troops tend to be, I figure archers are a better bet, firing twice as fast.

With the way shields work, most ranged troops just suck in general. Out in the open, they are just going to close with your melee/cavalry and your archers wont be able to fire and they don't do near enough damage when troops are closing.

That's why the Sharpshooters are so excellent. They kick ass during sieges, and out on the field you can form a tight ranked line with your Huscarls. This lets em get some shots off and then obliterate the enemy in close with the Huscarls. They are that durable. I find the Swadian Sharpshooters to be almost as good. The lack of a piercing melee weapon makes them trash against any high end infantry/knights though. Which is where the Rhodok version shines.

Nord archers just don't have the kind of armor required. If I remember right, they still use padded at highest level. Any weapon will do damage through that.

[ClannerDelta]

They really need to bring back the companion interaction toggle.

Traveling around with the biggest group of pussies is tedious.

Dear Diary Journal

April 20th: Marnid decided to come cry to me again today. He's deeply offended by Beheshtur's constant bragging. He's upset that his Caravan was beset upon by bandits and is now lashing out. I wonder if I should tell him that the last ten groups of "bandits" were actually Swadian Caravans... probably not.

May 11th: Today Jeremus and Artimennir got into a fight over some ancient scholar, Gonerrhea... or Gaius... or Gaymen... something like that. In any case Artimennir decided to give me an ultimatum. How important does he think he is? We're not a band of Keebler elfs out to spread our delicious cookies to all of Calradia. We're a band of extremely successful mercenaries. In this scenario the Doctor is always more important. I'll have to kill him in his sleep and make it look like Klethi did it.

June 1st: Ymira is upset that Lezalit is "too hard" on the men. I'm almost certain it was a gay joke. I need to talk to her about her prejudices. She also seems to lack perspective. She wants me to avoid attacking villages but then gets mad when Lezalit keeps the men in line. I'll have to explain to her what happens when men aren't properly controlled. Mainly rape, murder, plundering, and villages in ruins. I'm beginning to question why I brought along a spoiled merchant's daughter in the first place. Ale and breasts must have been involved.

June 28th: Deshevi is angry at both Borcha and Rolf. Apparently Borcha was "staring" at her. I find it hard to believe, Borcha always seemed like a horse fucker. Even if Borcha did, probably after lots of Ale, I'd think she'd be happier that someone found that mutated face attractive. To add to my problems she now says she's seen Rolf before while she was a bandit. She's apparently upset because he says he's a Baron. Big deal, we'll all be filthy rich and have titles of our own when I destroy those who oppose me. Not like anyone else has really told me anything about them but a generic profession and possibly how they made it to whatever shitty tavern I found them in. It looks like "Klethi" is going to strike again.

July 1st: I woke up this morning to find Klethi hanging from the tree we set up camp next to. Surrounded by an angry mob. Apparently my companions, for once, decided to act on their own without coming and crying to me about their feelings. I admit, I'm impressed that they finally showed some initiative, but I don't think this was the proper time. Especially considering I'll no longer be able to pin the murders on her. Unless... unless it was her ghost that came back... yes. These people are stupid, they'll believe it.

[Vigil80]

There's a tweak (http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,103816.0.html) for it, but it requires a new game (and manually editing a script file, of course).

[ClannerDelta]

There's a tweak (http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,103816.0.html) for it, but it requires a new game (and manually editing a script file, of course).

It's hit or miss. Sometimes it works for people sometimes it doesn't and I've done several versions of it for the 03 and 04 patch with no success. It's unfortunate.

It used to be a toggle, which would solve all the problems. Not sure why they removed it.

[BrassGecko]

In single-player, I've always been a fan of sword, shield and lance from horseback, or else replacing the lance with a bow. In multiplayer.... the rhodok glaive is now my absolute favorite weapon.

Against horsemen, I can either try to stab the horse or rider straight on or sidestep and cut, which almost always brings them down in one hit if I connect. Against infantry, I've got more reach than almost anyone and can either break shields down or keep someone at a distance well enough to back away towards friends. Bows or thrown weapons are the weakness, but I enjoy sneaking up on archers or trying to dodge. A couple times I managed to find someone with a shield and hide behind them until we got close.

I hope a lot of people stick with the multiplayer for while, it's just not the same at all without big numbers on each team.

[Lint of Death]

I like the long spears myself - glaive is fun, but I like the ones with a 190 reach. At least with those I can stay out of range of the war cleavers. And, fortunately, I don't see too many people using the war cleaver! It's weird, but true.

[Vigil80]

Patch 1.105 out today.

[Smoof]

Man I love this game. Been playing multiplayer lately and it's as though it's a whole different game. I find the single player rather easy and not at all challenging, but holy shit is the multi ever fun and pretty hard at times. But it is damn satisfying battling it out with other humans, I must say. I've been kicking ass with the reach weapons, but today my best kill was throwing a javalin through a guys head while he was trying to put up a ladder.

[Squidbot]

I've just picked this up, after having an afternoon revival of the original. It's downloading at the moment. I'll likely get heavily into the single player campaign, before touching upon the multiplayer. I hope that when I do I will be able to find some Cogs to fight beside.

[Vigil80]

Man I love this game. Been playing multiplayer lately and it's as though it's a whole different game. I find the single player rather easy and not at all challenging, but holy shit is the multi ever fun and pretty hard at times. But it is damn satisfying battling it out with other humans, I must say. I've been kicking ass with the reach weapons, but today my best kill was throwing a javalin through a guys head while he was trying to put up a ladder.
You can fiddle with the difficulty settings and/or place limitations on yourself - for example, using recruits from only one faction - to make things more interesting. The singleplayer can be virtually as challenging or as easy as you like, which seems like one subtle triumph of those that made the game.

[Vigil80]

I hate double posting, but for all my fellow Warband peeps, version 1.110 is out today. Seems like a pretty major patch.

•New Game option to set Campaign AI to easy, normal or difficult
•NPC soldiers should now climb siege ladders without problem.
•There is now a chance player companions will not fall prisoner with you when you are defeated.
•The game will no longer crash if you move all your prisoner into a castle.
•AI weapon selection improved.
•AI will no longer equip two shields.
•Your companions who are prisoners at a faction's castles are now set free when peace is declared.
•Party skill bonuses are now calculated correctly.
•Fixed slashing through your horse and buildings using hafted blades on horseback.
•Added max_number_of_connections option to rgl_config.txt. Players who have difficulty receiving server list from internet can lower the default value (64) to 20 or so.
•Number of maximum bandit parties reduced by 15%.
•Added Chinese language option (Simplified and Traditional).
•Many other bug-fixes.
Might be a good idea to start a new game after the patch, just to make sure the fixes apply properly.

[BrassGecko]

•Number of maximum bandit parties reduced by 15%.


Yeesh, so did they just get even MORE scarce? The other changes look good, though.

I haven't tried multiplayer in a while, after a day where I couldn't connect to any servers. I also haven't played the single-player in a bit... I got frustrated by how much money it takes to support a castle's garrison. I was given two castles and three towns, and after tax income (and the inefficiency penalty, ugh) I was having to find an extra 4-5k a week. It wouldn't bug me so much if it didn't show just how badly the npc nobles are cheating with income and upkeep!

[ClannerDelta]

Yeesh, so did they just get even MORE scarce? The other changes look good, though.

I haven't tried multiplayer in a while, after a day where I couldn't connect to any servers. I also haven't played the single-player in a bit... I got frustrated by how much money it takes to support a castle's garrison. I was given two castles and three towns, and after tax income (and the inefficiency penalty, ugh) I was having to find an extra 4-5k a week. It wouldn't bug me so much if it didn't show just how badly the npc nobles are cheating with income and upkeep!

This is the big problem for me. A city needs somewhere around 100+ as a garrison and a castle needs at least 50 but they are improperly costing full instead of half. I ended up using TweakMB to setup the arena payouts at 400 for everything except total victory, which is now 2000. Which lets me offset some of the obscene weekly costs. On top of that, I started handing out my castles like candy and just keeping Praven for myself.

The downside to this is that your lords are retarded and take all of your troops out of the castles :P Makes it fun to resiege though.

[BrassGecko]

This is the big problem for me. A city needs somewhere around 100+ as a garrison and a castle needs at least 50 but they are improperly costing full instead of half. I ended up using TweakMB to setup the arena payouts at 400 for everything except total victory, which is now 2000. Which lets me offset some of the obscene weekly costs. On top of that, I started handing out my castles like candy and just keeping Praven for myself.

The downside to this is that your lords are retarded and take all of your troops out of the castles :P Makes it fun to resiege though.

I'm not a king, I'm just a vassal. I don't even have the option to give property away, and if I don't accept it I'm insulting the guy I want to keep happy for now (or at least lowering the odds of being eventually given a city)! The only viable option, besides CHEATING I GUESS, would be to disband all or most of the upper level troops in the garrisons. That just doesn't feel right to me though, what with all my stuff being on the borders.

Really though, my biggest objection is that the npcs and I appear to be living by completely different sets of rules. That always bugs me. Maybe despite the constant wars they're all still sitting on millions in inheritances. Sigh!

[Vigil80]

That and more about the economy has been officially bugged and (hopefully) flagged for fixing soon, if not in 1.110. I can confirm that villages are more prosperous now, which should help a little.

Edit:
Someone on the Taleworlds forums reported that garrisons are now half price, too.

[Slack3r78]

Don't care a thing about the multiplayer but I've already sunk almost 20 hours into the campaign. <3 M&B so much.

[BrassGecko]

That and more about the economy has been officially bugged and (hopefully) flagged for fixing soon, if not in 1.110. I can confirm that villages are more prosperous now, which should help a little.

Edit:
Someone on the Taleworlds forums reported that garrisons are now half price, too.

Very nice to hear. I'll have to start up another new game!

[Libuke]

Guess I'll have to start another game was not to far but was having fun with my Swadian Knights in the one I am playing right now.

[Vigil80]

The new new patch is out today, v1.111. It fixes a couple additional issues, including a pathfinding bug that v1.110 apparently introduced on some maps. I hadn't even had the chance to play v1.110 yet, so I don't know how serious it was.

Edit:
I hate to have to call these guys out, as M&B is one of my favorite games. But, don't bother installing 1.110/1.111. Troops are randomly huddling together and not moving in battles, and some folks say the trade skill has been borked, too. So just keep playing 1.105 for now, and when 1.112 comes, I'll let you know if it's safe. :)

[Khrymsyn]

Silly question as I haven't picked this up yet, but... did they change the max # of units in a battle at one time? It sometimes was a bummer when you'd take 240 units into a battle against 350, and only see like 50 on 50 (was the limit even that high?).
I know there are mods to fix that, I was just curious if they actually put something in the game itself so you wouldn't need mods. I tend to play my games pretty vanilla anymore (except for MechWarrior Living Legends that is =) )

[Vigil80]

The troop limit for battles in Warband is 150, which I think is up from original's 100.

[Vigil80]

Crap, you guys are going to make me double post again. Start discussing troop selection, strategy, favorite weapons, posting screenshots, something. :p

Patch. v1.112 is out today.

* Initial party size limit is extended by 20.
* Shield blocking is updated: Fixed bug where shields didn't protect against missiles shot from above.
* AI pathfinding is updated, and lots of weird behaviors are fixed.
* AI troops that seldomly spawn with shields bug is fixed.
* Retreat simulation in battles now damages the enemy even if player is knocked down.
* Models and lengths are updated for some of the weapons.
* Characters who have been killed now soak up attacks for a short while.
* Incorrect coloring of heraldic mails is fixed.
* Fixed a bug where throwing weapons couldn't be used as melee weapons on horseback.
* Some of the multiplayer maps' glitches are fixed.
* Mount&Blade Warband directory is added under My Documents folder. Some of the editable files are moved to there for ease of access.
* Rendering performance is increased slightly.
* Removed memory leaks from dedicated servers.
* Many other bug-fixes.

My favorite weapon at the moment is the balanced heavy bastard sword. Versatile and nasty.

[BrassGecko]

Crap, you guys are going to make me double post again. Start discussing troop selection, strategy, favorite weapons, posting screenshots, something. :p

Patch. v1.112 is out today.


My favorite weapon at the moment is the balanced heavy bastard sword. Versatile and nasty.

I haven't played more than half an hour with the last two patches and there have been some very nice sounding fixes. I'll have to get going again!

Balanced bastard sword was my previous favorite, mostly for having nice reach while keeping a shield. I've started liking the really fast swords though. I mostly lance from horseback, so my reach is fine there, and some of the balanced shortswords can let you stab and get a shield back up if you're partially surrounded.

[Vigil80]

Well, I wouldn't be the paragon of virtue I am if I didn't warn you that v1.112 introduces some rather serious stability issues. Expect the game to crash half the time when enemies rout from battle.

Ugh, so frustrating. Taleworlds is sitting on such a great game, but they really need a more rigorous testing process, or something.

Anyway, the most playable versions right now are v1.105, followed by v1.111. Stay at v1.111 if you've already patched past v1.105. And keep the faith, these guys put out patches in record time. Guess that's the tradeoff for some of the issues that are sometimes introduced.

It isn't unreasonable to expect a fix by the weekend.

The good news is you could also choose to pass the time playing multiplayer. Since launch, it's been basically rock solid. It's singleplayer that's had all the trouble.

Edit:
Lucky v1.113 is out, with the main fix being the crash that sometimes occurs during battles.

[BrassGecko]

Okay, had an awesome couple rounds of Battle multiplayer as rhodoks against vaegir on a random grassy map. They had a ton of archers, and the first round we had a lot of horsemen who just got their mounts shot out from under them. The next round was more or less the same.

The third round, most of my team went infantry, and we made it to the base of a low hill before their archers could see us. I ran up next to one of our crossbowman and just kept my shield up, and sure enough, he started ducking behind me to reload. As more people caught up, suddenly we had a shield wall about seven sergeants across inching up the hill with crossbows shooting between us. It was pretty excellently effective, and it must have looked intimidating!

It's too bad that sort of teamwork doesn't happen more often.

[Vigil80]

Yeah, good teamwork owns all, and the sergeant/sharpshooter combo may as well have been made for it. I had a very similar match as Rhodoks versus either Vaegirs or Swadians. We were on the ruins map, and we would either group up on a hill underneath some trees, or stay in the little village where we spawned and defend.

Sharpshooters firing, spearmen holding off any troops that got too close, and one guy on horseback riding around and coordinating us. It was the most fun I've had yet with it.

Nothing like stopping a horseman with a spear thrust and having a teammate run up from behind and knock him off. :)

[Mung Beans]

I am absolutely hooked to this game! :)

However I am having difficulties gaining money without raiding villages, I tried trading but the castles never seem to have enough money to trade with :(. Also I got my first castle, and its probably gonna make me bankrupt if I am not careful.

Any suggestions or ideas?

[Vigil80]

Good trade runs usually necessitate several stops. I'm not much of a trader, but other folks talk about a strategy of selling your cargo until the merchant runs out of money, then trading the rest for another type of good. Then you take that good to another town and do the same thing, and so on until you eventually sell all the goods you were carrying.

As far as your fiefs, be sure to encourage villages' prosperity by protecting them from raids and asking the village elders if they need any help. That should net you more tax income. Some people say they even help their villages by giving them tools. I haven't got far enough along in a single playthrough to observe that making a difference, though.

Between you and me, on some playthroughs I have exported/imported my character and gave myself 2,000,000,000 denars. Then I can focus on other things. :D

[Vigil80]

There was a live chat interview today at Strategy Informer with Armagan Yavuz, founder of Taleworlds, and Mikail Yazbeck, a lead designer. You can read the entire transcript at Strategy Informer. (http://www.strategyinformer.com/editorials/7954/strategy-informer-live-mount--blade-warband)

Here are some of the more interesting comments.

On new features in patches:
Wheem Wheem:
I remember reading on the forums (during beta) that a few features wouldn't make release, but would hopefully be patched in after the game went live (investing in towns for instance). Is this still planned, and if so, will there be beta patches released, or do you think internal testing will be enough?

Armagan Yavuz:
Yes, it will be done. That feature will probably not require beta patches, but we may release beta patches for some multiplayer additions.

Joe R:
Would you say your focus at the moment is on Multiplayer support/expansion, or Single player? A balance of both maybe?

Armagan Yavuz:
We are working on both. We can say it's balanced with a slight lean towards multiplayer.

Joe R:
That's to be expected. Many developers concentrate on getting new features right first, before going back over what has already been implemented.

Mikail Yazbeck:
We've got some really exciting stuff planned for both, and we plan on meeting some requests of the MP community in the near future

Joe R:
Are you able to talk about what you have planned?

Vigil80:
Can we get a hint as to some of the new incoming features? :)

Armagan Yavuz:
We can say at this point that "We are working on a new multiplayer mode."

Mikail Yazbeck:
It will be a roaring fun time ala collecting the dead like in Monty Python

Armagan Yavuz:
Anything more, and we could get some angry letters from our Public Relations person.

On co-op and the future of Mount & Blade:
Armagan Yavuz:
Co-op campaign was something we thought about a lot as well. The thing is the game is not designed with multiplayer in mind, so it would require a huge amount of re-writing to get that working fluidly.

Armagan Yavuz:
It's definitely something we;ll look into in upcoming games, but it's not really feasible for Warband.

Joe R:
Would "Upcoming Games" involve Mount & Blade 3? (Readers: Warband IS Mount & Blade 2 :p)

Joe R:
Or perhaps a console port, maybe?

Mikail Yazbeck:
We're trying to achieve players' dreams one at a time, just keep in mind we are a small studio :)

Armagan Yavuz:
There will definitely be a M&B 3, but we can't say at this moment when.

Armagan Yavuz:
Console ports could be interesting, but they are not open platforms like the PC.

Armagan Yavuz:
So, it's difficult to make any solid plans for those.

On Warband's sales and hiring:

Aeon:
How much did you sold M&B:W so far ? Is it profit-making (or not yet) ?

Armagan Yavuz:
We have sold over 70,000 copies so far. We have started to make a profit on the game, yes.

Jordy Jordy:
Question: Are there any plans in the near or far future for expanding the team any further? (I believe it's a 12 man team now) Any urges to grow even larger as a company; even after coming such a long way already, or would you prefer it to stay the way it is now?

Armagan Yavuz:
We want to grow our team, but probably not too fast. We want to expand slowly to make sure we stay lean and efficient.

On multiplayer community features in-game:

Kleid Kleid:
Any planned official support for MP clans? a lobby, friends list, custom heraldry editor? anything?

Armagan Yavuz:
We may add support for third-party sites keeping track of clans, etc. but we think it wouldn't be ideal to develop the functionality directly.

Armagan Yavuz:
An advantage of the Warband Multi-player is its openness, and we think delegating support for clans, leader boards etc. to third parties would work better in the long run.

Armagan Yavuz:
It would help us do what we do best and focus on the core game.

[Vigil80]

Big update today. v1.124
Multi-player:

* Dedicated server list has been revamped and several game filters are now operational.
* Fixed bug where some players were unable to join multiplayer games.
* Character turning cap has been made tighter.
* The code for finding spawn locations has been moved from scripts to native code, making dedicated servers run smoother.

Single-player:

* AI that is following their leader as a tactic now switches to charge when the leader dies.
* Item stat display improved in inventory screen.
* Retreat order is now operational.
* Fixed a critical bug causing occasional crashes.
* Tax efficiency has been reduced in easy Campaign difficulty setting.
* Kidnapped girl staying on party when quest aborts is fixed.
* Village prosperity texts are shown only when the player is the owner.
* Fixed bug where hit point loss during a tournament was not cleared at the end of the round.
* Player no longer has to pay for staying at vassal's castles.
* Prisoner and castle guards are spawned correctly in towns in player's domain.
* Surrendering no longer delivers you permanent stat damage.
* Player caravans are now stronger.
* Player party name change bug is fixed.
* Allies' shields can no longer be damaged by friendly fire.
* A cut-scene is now shown at weddings.

Both:

* The method for calculating damage when your attack connects too soon or too late has been changed.
* AI now moves back more effectively in combat to control distance.
* Some polearm attack animations have been redone.
* Some troop stats and equipment have been rebalanced.
* New key combination added to hide overlay mesh (Ctrl + o).
* Left-right and up-down keys now cancel each other (instead of one key always overriding another).
* Characters now have softer shadows.
* The models for several items and weapons have been redone.
* Camera raycast direction fix for dungeon-like places.

General:

* A ton of other bug fixes and improvements.

[Vigil80]

Version 1.127 has been released.

Features and Gameplay:
Content Additions:
*NEW! By community demand Duel mode is being introduced into multi-player. You can now partake in 1 on 1 protected duels.
*NEW! Server setting to disallow ranged weapons, get rid of pesky archers with one click!
*NEW! Two new horse armors have been added for Steppe and Sarranid factions.

Gameplay:
*Bow accuracy has been rebalanced, higher tier bows are even better, with low tiers being slightly more inaccurate.
*AI Bots in multi-player have been changed to be more difficult in dedicated servers.
*Economy balance is somewhat tied to campaign difficulty setting.
*Minor Khergit troop stat changes.
*Knock down chances have been reduced.

Fixes:
*AI is no longer able to hit allied horses in single player.
*A minor bug in the spy meeting quest has been fixed.
*Links to finished quests will no longer appear in other notes.
*Several new and useful operations have been added for modders.
*Some shield banners have been fixed for multi-player.
*Various other fixes for non English packs.
*Various other bug fixes.

[Panthera]

I've been playing the Brytenwalda mod and leading small hordes of farmers and shepards to their doom against bandits.

http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=2115

It's done much to take the sting out of the Hegemony mod being put on hold.

[Vigil80]

Update 1.130/1.131 has been released, and contains "free DLC."

Version 1.130 for M&B Warband has been released. You can download the upgrade patch on our download page. The changelog is:

Features and Gameplay:
3 Amazingly awesome multiplayer maps:

* NEW! Forest Hideout: Perfect for team play modes like TDM, CTF, and Conquest.
* NEW! The Arena: The go to place for battle, deathmatch, and duel modes.
* NEW! Jammeyyed Castle: A unique siege in the desert.

Other content additions:

* New music and sounds have been added to single and multi-player modes.

Gameplay:

* Mahdaar Castle map has been slightly redesigned for better play.
* Warhorse & Charger stats have been balanced.
* Camp Followers and Sword Sisters now get Power strike skill.
* Swadian and Rhodok troops have been rebalance.

Fixes:

* Village infestation quest is fixed.
* Bandit lair navigation meshes have been updated.
* Custom troop group behavior fix for defending castles.
* Some graphical fixes concerning specularity.
* Fixed banner display problems on heraldic armors.
* Non-English language fixes/additions.
* Various other bug fixes.

[JayK47]

Finally started a game of this. Really fun game. Reminds me of the good parts of Two Worlds. I just can't get enough of the combat. Surprised that the only game I am aware of with similar horse combat is Two Worlds. Are there any other decent games with good horse combat?

[JayK47]

How do you sneak into a town and get prisoners out? I disguised myself, and was stripped of any decent weapons and armor. I then got quickly surrounded and taken down by the guards. I then found myself in the company of the very men I hoped to rescue. How embarrassing. I am about level 15. I have an army of about 60, and could not hope to take the town by force. Am I too inexperienced for prison rescues?

Right now it seems I am only good at taking out bandit parties and camps and occasionally looting a town.

[Vigil80]

It's been a while since I played, but as I recall, a successful sneak attempt takes a few things into account.

If you approach the town with a huge army following you, you won't be very sneaky.

If you're on good terms with a nearby village, you can have them create a distraction that will improve your chances.

Beyond that, it's a roll of the dice. If you succeed in sneaking in, you'll still have to beat down the prison guard for his key, then fight your way out with the prisoner. You need to be able to beat the guards in one-on-many combat with modest equipment, so higher skills will certainly help.

[Vigil80]

The next expansion in the M&B series, With Fire and Sword, is currently scheduled to be released this spring. Like Warband, it will be stand-alone and cost $30.

From the Taleworlds website (http://www.taleworlds.com/):
A storyline based on the cult novel from
Nobel-prize winner author Henry Sienkiewicz.

A new century of warfare that brings pistols, muskets, grenades, and other advanced weaponry to the battlefield.

Fully customizable armies; players can outfit their soldiers with each piece of weaponry & armor.

Additional quest types. More political intrigue with colorful factions. More adventure in a new land.

New economic system, which includes village / town development, a banking system, & new trade options. Players will have the opportunity to loan money, keep money on deposit, and arrange caravans.

Multiple endings to sustain player's interest and increase replayability.

Deeply researched historical component encompassing every aspect of the game's assets.

Ferocious new multiplayer action, bringing players the thrill of pitting old technology against the looming threat of firearms.


Additonal details from the April 2011 issue of PC Gamer:
"Owner's of the previous version should get a discount."

Explosive weapons and firearms will be expensive. Two primitive grenades cost 40,000 gold.

Some firearms can be used as rudimentary melee weapons in a pinch.

Improved sieges. Blow a hole in castle walls with the engineering skill, or try to poison a castle's water supply to eliminate a percentage of defenders.

New castles and more detailed urban environments.

New multiplayer mode. Captain Mode allows players to bring their own AI troops into battle.

I love the M&B series, but Warband's single player campaign suffered from some bug problems, I'm guessing because of the time spent developing the multiplayer mode. Hopefully, this latest expansion will release in a more stable state with the work and experience of the previous two versions behind them.

[Squidbot]

A new century of warfare that brings pistols, muskets, grenades, and other advanced weaponry to the battlefield.

I'm wary of this. M&B works so well with melee weaponry, I'm not sure how this is going to work. But then M&B is so damn good this could be fantastic. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it, but the real hook for me with M&B is the fun hand to hand combat.

[Vigil80]

Aside from being expensive, I'd expect that the black powder firearms would only be good for a couple of shots before the enemy are too close. The devs have also hinted that they would not be terribly accurate, either. Early video makes it looks like very much a melee game still.

They could leave the guns and explosives out, and I'd still be quite interested. Customizing all your troops' equipment is huge. I imagine it completely changes if not eliminates the old dynamic of this faction having the best cavalry bar none, that faction having the best siege infantry, etcetera.

I'd wish for that to be patched into Warband too, among other things, just to have the option of a campaign without black powder but with the other improvements.

Edit:
This Gamereactor interview video - originally linked by Talewords - covers a lot of the new content.
http://www.gamereactor.eu/grtv/?id=10177

[Squidbot]

Fair point on the firearms, actually. I probably read too much into "advanced weaponry". Having muskets rather than archers could be rather cool.
Damnit, I'm going to reinstall Warband AGAIN when I get home from work, this game just won't let me go. Will also check out that link. And yes, the customizaton of all equipment is fantastic news.

[Zagrash]

For anybody that doesn't have this and wants it, or anyone like me that's 3 years late to the party and is just now playing the original M&B, Impulse has Warband on sale for $5.99 today

[Abyssion]

I don't know if I'm in the right M&B thread, but since I just picked up all the games and haven't had the time to play them. I was curious how does multiplayer for these games work?

[Scaryfaced]

It's been a while since I've played M&B multi, but I remember it working a bit like Counter Strike, in a general sense, with a bit of a class structure. You're split into 2 teams, each a specific faction from the game. There are a few general classes, like archer, horseman and footman, each with a base amount of cash from which to buy equipment. You pick your weapons and armor from a short list. Usually the more enemies you kill, the more cash you earn and the better equipment you can afford.

After that, it usually turns into chaotic team deathmatch. I know there's alternative gameplay types, like a form of king of the hill, but deathmatch was the majority of what I played. That then took on two shapes, one was again Counter Strike-like where a large number of people have a single life per round. I think the largest I fought was a around a 40vs40 match on a giant battlefield. That mode was entertaining, but off putting when you're new. You can easily be picked off by an archer you never spotted and spend 10 minutes watching everyone else fight.

The more fast paced deathmatch involved each team having a total point value to start with. Each respawn costs a certain amount of points and the goal is to have the most points left at the end. Sometimes its timed, sometimes not. Its much faster paced and on much smaller maps.

Fire & Sword has a few new modes I'm looking forward to as well.