TROOP TREE.

Here are my thoughts about the top tier troops each faction can field in each of 6 classes - foot archers, horse archers, heavy cavalry, light cavalry, offensive infantry, and defensive infantry.

These are merely my personal observations and analyses; I do not pretend to have all the answers. Therefore, please feel free to chime in! You can tell me that I'm wrong. I'll survive. I think. 

Notes on damage types

(B)lunt weapons (i) penetrate armour well, (ii) may crush through a block, and (iii) may cause a knockdown on a downswing.

(C)utting weapons do extra damage to lightly armoured targets.

(P)iercing damage penetrates armour well.

The following numerical analyses mostly ignore damage types as it would be pretty much impossible to determine a good weighting system to standardise the types against one another. This is because effects based on chance or player skill are fluid in effectiveness, because things change depending on the armour loadout of the enemy, and because it's just blasted hard to get universal agreement regarding the relative value of damage versus status effects.

Do look up the attached tables to see what damage types are available to each unit to help you get a more complete picture of how combat-effective it really is.

Part I: Foot archers

The primary purposes of the foot archer are to inflict heavy casualties before the enemy can even get close and to restrict the movement of enemy infantry. Most archers are poorly armoured and weak in close combat and consequently should be kept out of the fray either using an infantry (or, less commonly, mounted) screen or their own two legs.

In sieges, good archers can pick off the defenders on the battlements from range and kill with impunity once they are up on the walls firing into the courtyard. They are invaluable in siege defence, doing the majority of the damage until the attackers manage to take the walls (if they manage to do so).

Rankings are based first on ranged effectiveness and only second on melee survivability and other characteristics. Therefore, depending on terrain, army composition, and tactical needs, these rankings may not always be correct.

Swadian A7 Retinue Longbowman

3rd best bow, 2nd best bow skills; compared to the Vaegir A7, has significantly lower damage output. However, still a very strong archer and a little better in melee than the Vaegir (on paper). Fairly fast runner and shooter: on the field, may employ skirmishing tactics if infantry support is lacking. Important as Swadians lack good defensive infantry. This mobility advantage is negated in sieges, however.

Vaegir A7 Sokolinty Glaz

Strongest (but arguably only 2nd best) bow, best bow skills; far and away the best (bow) archer of all. Not very good in melee, however, though B 1H may cause occasional knockdowns; also, only average running speed. Best used as fixed artillery; station in fortifications or behind infantry screen and rain death on the enemy from afar. Brilliant when storming or defending castles.

Khergit A6 Kharvaach

Has probably the best bow (39 damage to Vaegir's 40, but speed of 97 instead of Vaegir's 79), but only decent bow skills. Mediocre swordsman, above-average armour. Slightly better than Swadian A7 (because of superior bow). Less effective in melee than the Swadian because of power (though armour is slightly better) and not as effective as a skirmisher because of running speed, but a really good unit especially considering this is an A6. That said, Khergit lack of infantry support troublesome. Shines in siege warfare.

Nord (i) A6 Ealdorman

High damage with throwing axes but ammo and range limited. Mediocre in melee. Fast runners perhaps best used as skirmishers: harass enemy forces with ranged attacks and finish off the badly wounded in melee. Also may take on role of chasing down routers since Nords lack light horse. Absolutely rubbish in sieges.

Nord (ii) A4 Bogsveigir

Bow is fast but weak. Low grade archer and swordsman. Poorly armoured. This is the best true ranged unit the Nords have, but it ranks far below the other factions' archers. Probably best used in garrison to shower arrows on besiegers. Poor accuracy so quite useless in castle assault.

Rhodok A7 Condottiero d'Assedio

Powerful but slow crossbow. Great armour and shield; good sword. Tough, fast runner, strong offensive and defensive melee combatant. Good against all foot soldiers and archers. Good as self-sufficient artillery in the field; can also serve as heavy infantry with a terrific ranged punch. Outstanding for both offensive and defensive sieges.

Sarranid A6 Silahtar

Decent bow but ranged skills mediocre. High damage (but slow and short) melee weapon, decent melee skills. Heavy armour; not a bad melee figher. Can serve as an average but hard-to-kill archer unit or as a decent offensive infantry unit with good ranged capabilities. Okay in siege offence but can present interesting option in siege defence: populate the walls only with these archers and allow them to switch to melee when necessary.

Sword Sisters A5 Virago

Weak bow, mediocre ranged ability. Short, fast, weak sword meant for close quarter fighting; poor melee skills. Armour also not great. However, has a pavise shield; may be useful in field defence against other archers but must be protected from infantry and cavalry by other troops. Perhaps second best (next to Rhodok A7) as ranged support in siege offence - relatively safe from return fire by defenders.

Mercenaries (i) A4 Armbrust Komtur

Crossbow slow but damaging; mediocre ranged skill. Fairly good shield, average armour; defensive 1H; good against other archers, can survive in melee for short while but needs protection for long haul. Okay in siege assault: good ranged defence and big damage, but let down by ranged ability. Also okay in castle defence.

Mercenaries (ii) A3 Armbrust Miliz

2nd best crossbow, surprisingly better than Merc A4's; slightly poorer ranged skill. Shield, armour of low quality; fragile and only self-sufficient against ranged foes. About same as Merc A4 in sieges. Cheaper than Merc A4 though and may be better choice therefore.

Rankings

#1 - Vaegir does high damage accurately. Not great in melee.

#2 - Khergit better than Swadian in ranged but weak in melee.

#3 - Swadian fast and damaging. Fair runner, able to skirmish.

#4 - Rhodok does huge damage very slowly. Excellent melee combatant; truly self-sufficient archer. Probably rank 1 in siege offence and defence.

#5 - Sarranid only average but also good in melee.

#6 - Sword Sister poor archer, but has pavise shield and may be #2 for castle assaults.

#7 - Mercenaries damaging but only moderately accurate.

#8 - Nords have 2 ranged options, neither of which is very strong.

Part II: Mounted archers

Mounted archers, like foot archers, are generally used either for offence or harassment. A third responsibility is chasing down escapees (though the light horseman is typically better suited for that). The advantages of the horse archer over his poorer cousin are the ability to reposition rapidly on the battlefield and the option of shooting on the move. The carrying capacity of the horse also allows many in this group to wear heavier armour.

They are however bigger targets for enemy marksmen when not moving; they therefore are not so well-served by an infantry cordon. Mounted archers do also tend to cost more, making it harder to field a large platoon of these. Since they lose their four-legged advantage in sieges, they tend to be only approximately as useful as foot archers there.

Rankings are based first on ranged effectiveness and mobility and only second on melee survivability and other characteristics. Therefore, depending on terrain, army composition, and tactical needs, these rankings may not always be correct.

Swadian C5 Hobilar

Good damage but short range, little ammo; poor ranged skills. Poor rider; horse fast but not agile. Does not do well at ranged harassment. Decent sword and melee skills; good armour for an archer; all weapons are one-handed, allowing shield to be deployed at all times. Actually light cavalry with ranged option. Perhaps best as anti-horse archer: pepper with darts while attempting to close to melee. Complete rubbish in sieges.

Vaegir H6 Voevoda

Good ranged skill, fairly good bow; slow but powerful shots. Decent melee skills slightly offset average sword. Armour mediocre, shield poor. Horse heavily armoured but not manoeuvrable; also, bow shots not that accurate when on the move. Good as mobile artillery platform and to chase down routers but does not do as well as skirmisher. Quite good in sieges because of high damage and because shooting speed matters less in that arena.

Khergit H7 Mandugai

Good fast bow, best archery skills; high damage with impressive rate of fire, hands down best mounted archer. Good sword and okay shield, great armour, quick but light strikes; good in melee against lightly armoured opponents but will have difficulty hurting tough foes. Slow armoured horse not meant for skirmishing but for large-group ride bys or direct combat; however, excellent riding skill ameliorates this weakness. Superb archery and good armour, surprisingly good in sieges. Toughness allows these to stand next to tanks in castle defence, replacing melee off-tanks (tough units that back up main tanks) with ranged ones.

Nords

Nord faction completely lacks horses.

Rhodok H5 Balestrieri

Crossbow does damage comparable to other factions' horsebows but is slow; archery skills unimpressive. Very poor armour and shield; horse fast but weak and not agile; axes powerful but slow; not good in either harassment or protracted melee. Two uses: (1) As alpha strike - ride fast to meet enemy first, unload a round of bolts, then ride back behind friendly lines. (2) As clean-up crew - chase down routers or injured single foes and hit them with crossbow bolt or slow-but-strong axe. Okay in defensive sieges, but poor armour makes this unit vulnerable in attack.

Sarranid H7 Iqta'dar

About as good as Vaegir H6 when stationary, much better when in motion; 2nd best horse archer. Much better in melee than Khergit H7: excellent weapon, armour, shield. Like Khergit, horse tough but slow, but high riding skill helpful. Also like Khergit, good at ride-by archery and direct combat; nowhere near as good as Khergit in mobile archery but has easier time against heavily armoured foes in melee. Good in sieges; lower accuracy and better armour compared to Khergit H7 make this unit more suited for defence than offence. Better off-tank than Khergit.

Sword Sisters H6 Black Widow

Fast, weak bow; okay ranged skills. Melee gear and skills nothing to write home about. Shield and shield skill best against projectiles. Horse weak and slow but highly agile. Best as ranged harasser: ride circles around everyone while lobbing shots. However, beware: horse not well-protected and can get downed by ranged attacks. Also, avoid getting forced into melee combat. Okay in sieges but as defender should try to stay out of melee.

Black Khergit Horseman

Same bow as Sword Sister H6; much better ranged skill. Defensive 1H supplement best armour and hardy shield; tough and accurate but not powerful; melee stats and equipment clearly for survival rather than damage, but highly resilient. Horse fast but neither tough nor agile; made for chases and ride-bys, not skirmishing. In sieges, excellent in either archer role and does very well as off-tank or second-group attacker. Even good as main tank - more than a match for most heavy infantry and comparable to heavy horse.

Rankings

#1 - Khergit clear winner. Low melee damage though.

#2 - Sarranid good archers even in motion. Also strong in melee.

#3 - Vaegir decent all around. Powerful but slow shots. Not so accurate when moving.

#4 - Black Khergit ridiculously hard to kill. However, ranged damage a bit lacking.

#5 - Sword Sister pretty much only good at harassment.

#6 - Rhodok limited to alpha strikes and clean-up.

#7 - Swadian more light cav with ranged option than actual mounted archer.

Unrepresented - Nords.

Part III: Heavy cavalry

These units are typically among the most heavily armoured troops on the battlefield. They can act as shock troops, crushing the enemy with powerful charges, or as melee powerhouses, absorbing and dishing out damage in close quarters. Though extreme speed and agility are not necessary attributes of the heavy horseman, most of these units are not exactly slow.

Heavy horsemen are often so heavily armed and armoured that they are deadly even when unhorsed. They therefore make good frontline attackers as well as defenders in castle battles.

Rankings are based first on alpha strike and CQC ability (damage, toughness, etc.) and only second on manoeuvrability and other characteristics. Therefore, depending on terrain, army composition, and tactical needs, these rankings may not always be correct.

Swadian C7 Baron Mineures

Polearm has good damage and fantastic reach; speed unimportant for charging; melee skills are unmatched. 1H also has damage and length, lacks speed; but shield fast, shield skill very high; among strongest in melee as well. When given room to charge, Swadian C7 is unparalleled offensive cavalry unit. Also excellent in both offensive and defensive melee.

Vaegir C7 Bogatyr

Polearm very fast, very damaging, can be swung, but somewhat short; decent for charging, but also good on foot. Melee skills with polearm excellent, so consider using spear as primary weapon for dismounted offence, anti-cavalry work, or siege defence. Sabre of high quality though, and is very good alternative especially for personal defence. Armour only slightly worse than Swadian C7's. Shield is somewhat better than Swadian's against projectiles, but somewhat less good (slower) against melee strikes. Good unit all around; plays second fiddle to Swadian and Sarranid but may be slightly superior in castle defence because of shorter lance.

Khergit C7 Cherbi

Worst polearm of all heavy cav; despite decent combat skills, may have more difficulty than other heavy cav in pulling off one-hit kills against tougher opponents. Horse and 1H truly excellent, however, and 1H and riding skill very high; regardless of opponent, best suited to charging and then switching immediately to melee. Shield and armour decent. Quite good as main tank or off-tank in castle defence, and as first or second wave in fortress assault.

Nords

Nord faction completely lacks horses.

Rhodok C5 Lanza Spezzata

Rhodok C5 polearm strong, long, quick, and capable of sweeping attacks; good for both charging and normal attack. However, this being a C5 unit, all skills are letdowns. Lousy armour, shield, and sword; will not fare well against other factions' heavy cav. Horse also slightly less well-armoured. Not all that good in sieges either. Really a light cav unit forced to fill the heavy cav hole.

Sarranid C7 Hasham

One of top 2 heavy cav units. Polearm essentially identical to Swadian C7's. Offensive and defensive abilities between Swadian and Vaegir. Best rider (9!) so able to return for a second charge more quickly and have easier time chasing down other horses. Number 1 in melee, with best 1H weapon and skill; also very good in sieges.

Sword Sisters (i) C6 Walkure

1H only, but secondary weapon Blunt, therefore anti-armour and useful for prisoner-taking. Primary weapon more powerful than other heavy cavs' melee weapons and also fast, but short, not suitable for ride-by attacks. Really meant for close quarter combat. However, armour, shield, and horse not good compared to other heavy cavs; poor Power Strike and Ironflesh too. Best used against foot soldiers and lighter cavalry. Against heavy cav, best to double-team and attack from two sides at once; B secondary very helpful here. Would have been good in fortress defence if a bit more resilient, but not a very good main tank as is and lacks the long weapon to be a good off-tank. Likewise, too squishy for first wave castle attack but may be okay as second or third wave attacker. Considering this is a C6 unit, it's pretty good.

Sword Sisters (ii) C6 Kenau

Almost identical to Walkure but swaps secondary mace for a quick but weak sword best used against light troops. Also has slightly faster and more agile horse.

Mercenaries C6 Hochmeister

Polearm relatively quick but neither long nor powerful; 1H fast but weak; skills-wise, built for accuracy and defence but has only average power. Top-notch armour though shield rather poor; Shield skill also low. Does not deliver a strong alpha strike or hit particularly hard close up but tough enough to take a beating. In sieges, okay as main tank though shield a little flimsy. Competent as off-tank but lacks decisive damage. May also act as second-line attacker.

Slaver Chief

Unusual unit mounted on elephant. Polearm not particularly long or poweful, but quick and Blunt, good against other heavy cav; however, nonexistent polearm skill (40 - mistake?) means it can only really be used for charging. 2H very powerful, short, slow; average skill; in melee, forget finesse, just use downward strikes to crush guard and knock down. Decent armour and shield; ridiculously tough but slow mount; meant for short charge and then close combat; will have hard time against skirmishing lighter horsemen. Probably absolutely fantastic against infantry and foot archers though. In sieges excellent as first attacker due to high damage against armour and as main tank due to toughness and damage. Not so good in other roles.

Rankings

#1 - Swadian, Sarranid; Swadian better in large open spaces, Sarranid better up close.

#2 - N.A.

#3 - Vaegir good all around.

#4 Mercenary has somewhat better armour than Khergit C7; slightly better at range and slightly less capable in melee; overall about the same as Khergit but only a C6 so cheaper. (Or do mercs cost more? Merc/Khergit ranking here pretty much down to price.)

#5 - Khergit almost as good as Sarranid up close, but has weak charge. 

#6 - Slaver Chief has some big advantages but also very limited in some ways.

#7 - Sword Sister units meant for close combat only. Equipment and stats not that good.

#8 - Rhodok really light cav. Far outclassed by other factions' units.

Unplaced - Nords have no cav.

Note: Black Khergit Horsemen, though equipped with a bow, would do fairly well in some heavy cav roles. Lack of a big alpha strike or close-in damage though, so on the whole not a great choice for heavy cav.

Part IV: Light cavalry

Light cavalry is composed of fast and agile but lightly armoured mounted units meant mainly for reconnaissance, skirmishing (harassment), chasing down or occupying skirmishers (particularly horse bowmen), and taking the fight to ranged opponents. They are also often used for screening (i.e., absorbing enemy alpha strike to allow own heavier units to get into position), for finishing off injured foes and pursuing routers, and as offensive cavalry against lower-tier units. Note that some light cav units pack a pretty big punch and should not be underestimated.

Because they lack the heavy armour of top tier infantry and heavy horsemen, light horse soldiers have a limited role in sieges. They are typically only good as second wave attackers, when the way is clear for them to rush the archers. In defence, they may act as bodyguards to ranged units.

Rankings are based on an only-somewhat-miscible concoction of damage, resilience, speed, and agility. Therefore, depending on terrain, army composition, and tactical needs, these rankings may not always be correct.

Swadian C6 Lancer

Polearm has fairly long reach but is weak; 1H fairly powerful but short and slow. Shield defensively mediocre but good for shield bash. Poor riding skill; may try to occupy enemy horse archers but will have difficulty catching up. Relatively tough and well-armoured; toughest horse. Can be used to screen other troops from a heavy cav charge, mixed with heavy cav to provide additional damage, or sent solo against less well-armoured foes. May fill tanking or first assault wave duties in a pinch.

Vaegir (i) C6 Elitniy Druzhinnik

Interesting maul primary; short but does massive Blunt damage; 1H poor though. Armour and shield top notch, horse very tough but slow. Abilities-wise biased towards power and resilience. Can really give heavily armoured foes trouble in-close; best used as offensive melee unit against heavy cav once they are pinned down by other units, or against heavy infantry. Slow horse not suitable for engaging skirmishers. Unit also able to perform first wave offensive infantry role, clearing a path with maul. 1H and shield combo mostly useful for siege defence (main tank), but will be outclassed by heavy cav or heavy infantry.

Vaegir (ii) C6 C6 Legkoy Vityas

Short, quick polearm; good damage and can be used in castle defence. Also armed with superior 2H sabre for ride-by attacks. Good melee skills. Tough and well armoured. Good charge/ride-by offensive unit able to hit as hard as most heavy cav; good in offence against pretty much anything short of heavy cav; skirmishers attacked by this unit should run for the hills. Quite good as off-tank garrison or second wave attacker.

Khergit (i) H6 Jurtchi

Actually a second-tier horse archer, but can serve as light cav. Decent bow and bow skills; has high Riding and Horse Archery so excellent at chasing down runners and at harassment. Mediocre melee skills offset by powerful 2H sword; decent armour; fairly good in the crunch, but since horse not that tough and real strength is in ranged combat, best to hit and run rather than stay in melee. Against other horse archers, may be best to push into melee; has the Riding skill to do it and the CQC damage to finish the job fast. Okay at screening, but lack of shield drops survivability against lancers and especially archers. Archery, good 2H, armour give this unit many options in sieges: defensive or offensive shooter, off-tank (switching between 2H and bow as necessary), member of first assault wave (firing arrows until in sword range).

Khergit (ii) C6 Keshig

Polearm not particularly good; 2H much better; mediocre armour and shield; high Riding skill and horse agility; therefore, best used for ride-by slashing. Excels in harassment and pursuit of horse archers and routers; not so good for screening and close quarter combat. Not so good in siege warfare but could be used as a suicide attacker in the first wave.

Nords

Nord faction completely lacks horses.

Rhodok C5 Lanza Spezzata

Long and fast polearm with decent damage; can be useful for castle defence behind off-tanks. 1H not that good, armour and shield terrible; not suited for protracted face-to-face battle. Horse very tough, hard to unhorse this unit; meant for charge-and-run against stationary opponents (harassment and opportunistic killing). Okay but not great as hunter of horse archers. Not very good in sieges except as support for off-tanks.

Sarranid (i) C6 Sekban

Rather good armour; shield better against arrows than blades. Relatively good stats. Good at weakening enemies with jarids and then riding in close for the coup de grace; should survive even if stuck in melee for a bit. Decent light cav with additional ranged option. Good riding skill and jarids; fearsome against horse archers. Blunt 1H also good for anti-armour duties and prisoner taking. Can take on main tanking or first assault responsibilities if better units not available.

Sarranid (ii) C6 Qilich Arslan

Impressive speed (horse 46 Riding 7!) and manoeuvrability (53!); longest polearm though damage lacking; 1H long and quick; great as scout, skirmisher, or chaser. Will absolutely destroy the poor horse bowman who crosses his path. Poor armour and shield; not so good as screen or in head-to-head combat. Very bad in all siege-related activities.

Sword Sisters C5 Schildjungfer

Primary 1H fast but short and weak; Blunt, so good for prisoner-taking especially when unit is used to chase down already-injured foes. Secondary 1H longer and does more damage against light armour and shields, but slow. Armour and shield average, horse fragile but fast. Fairly competent chaser of horse archers and injured knights.

Mercenaries C5 Kreuzritter

Meant for melee combat; short, fast weapons; able to take hits. Primary B 1H for anti-armour; move in close to prevent foe from using his (probably) longer and more damaging weapon; also good for prisoner-taking. Secondary 1H good against lightly armoured enemies. Melee skills well developed. Rather good armour and shield; horse tough. Riding skill makes up for horse slowness a little; still may have difficulty catching horse archers. Not fantastic for typical light cav work, but very good in the crunch.

Rankings

#1 - Sarranid light cav very strong. One option is standard light cav with good ranged attack, and other option is fleet as the wind and superior in anything but direct combat.

#2 - Khergit (ii) traditional light cav, but (i) exceptional in some light cav areas. Neither built for screening, but Khergit force doesn't really require that.

#3 - Sword Sister strong in close quarters but lacks range. Has remarkable speed; good for the chase.

#4 - Vaegir light cav are more like slightly less sturdy heavy cav: very tough, hard-hitting, rather slow. Two options: melee and charge specialists; former one too slow for many light horse duties though.

#5 - Mercenary also short ranged fighter. Lacks speed of Sword Sister, however. Better in melee but less capable at usual light cav duties.

#6 - Swadian light cav are very resilient. Offensive power leaves something to be desired, however, and too slow to do well against skirmishers.

#7 - Rhodok light cav is one-trick pony (sorry). Best used to sucker punch enemies already engaged by foot troops. May have trouble catching horse archers.

Unplaced - Nords unrepresented.

Part V: Offensive infantry

The job of the offensive infantryman is to directly hurt the enemy in close combat. Deployed in either tight or loose formations depending on armour and shields, these soldiers take the fight to the enemy and are particularly devastating against enemy footmen and foot archers. These soldiers often carry powerful weapons meant to cut through flesh and steel alike.

Not all offensive infantry are well-armoured though and some may not be expected to survive battle. In large enough numbers, however, even the most lightly dressed shock troopers will frighten heavy horsemen: if they can keep the horseman in place for a bit, their heavy hits can quickly end the fight.

When besieging a castle, offensive foot soldiers are useful in the first wave to clear the path as rapidly as possible. More durable but less damaging infantry can follow behind to sweep out the more lightly armoured archers and reinforcements. In siege defence, a small number of these with long weapons standing to the side of the tanks can help whittle down the attacking forces.

Rankings are based first on damage potential and only second on toughness, vesatility and other characteristics. Therefore, depending on terrain, army composition, and tactical needs, these rankings may not always be correct.

Swadian I6 Highlander

2H powerful and long, decently fast; highest melee damage, one of the two best primaries. 1H fast but not great otherwise; better used for defence. Poorly armoured and has no shield; skills have strong offensive slant; able to dish out the hurt but unable to take it in return. Good in all situations but less useful in large open fields against cavalry or archers.

Vaegir I5 Druzhinnik Veteran

Able to throw knives before closing to melee, but offensive skills and equipment poor. Armour and shield of average quality. Not really suited for offence, better as defensive infantry. Not terribly good either in the field or at the castle walls.

Khergit I5 Yabagharu Morici

1H quick but light, better for defence. Polearm powerful but hard to use offensively except when supporting tanks in castle defence. Mediocre armour, shield, stats. Not the best shock trooper.

Nord I7 Vaeringi

1H solid weapon, if a bit short; deadly throwing axes useful to close distance; great at the ranges awkward for other infantry (very close up and just out of sword reach). Exceptional stats and armour, great shield. Offensively about as competent as Swadian I6, but much, much harder to kill, runs extremely fast, and able to fight at ranges other soldiers weak at. Excellent at siege warfare both as first attack wave that may survive the entire battle and as backup tank in defence.

Rhodok I6 Guardia Ducale

2H slightly behind Swadian I6's; fighting skill slightly better than Swadian's. 1H quite good all around, slightly makes up for lack of shield in defence; also, armour about as good as Nord I7's. Fast runner; able to quickly close in for the kill. Quite decent as first up the ladder in fort assault or as tank support in defence.

Sarranid I5 Yeniceri

Both 2H and 1H nothing to write home about; they 

are

 B weapons and capable of knocking down targets, but the job of the offensive soldier is to kill, not inconvenience. Power Strike decent at least. Other skills poor, armour pitiful, no shield. Essentially suicide troops. Send first over castle walls to quickly take out strongest defenders before dying horribly. May have trouble staying alive long enough to do damage in the field.

Sword Sisters I5 Schildmaid

Primary weapon does good damage with decent reach and speed. 1H strong, fast, short, good for fighting in tight quarters. Armour poor and shield only average, though quite good stats help. Competent offensive soldier without glaring weaknesses.

Mercenaries I5 Doppelsoldner

The other top-ranked primary weapon; hard-hitting, longer range than Swadian's though a little slower. Blunt 1H not that good; does too little damage to swap 2H for except in tight spaces. Mediocre armour and shield; shield fairly large and good against archers though - until it breaks (low shield HP and low Shield skill). Stats average but Power Strike a bit low. Quite good as off-tank and first attacker in sieges, though may die quite quickly.

Rankings

#1 - Nord does big damage at ranges difficult for other footmen; also very resilient. Unmatched in this category.

#2 - Rhodok edges out Swadian only slightly in offence but enhanced survivability and significantly faster movement make this a winner.

#3 - Swadian actually archetypal good offensive soldier - huge damage at cost of own safety.

#4 - Mercenary has good primary weapon but much less skilled than Swadian I6. However, has a shield and can stay healthy longer at cost of giving up first-class weapon for average one.

#5 - Sword Sister not quite damaging enough for offensive infantry but has no major problems.

#6 - Sarranid more damaging than Khergit and Vaegir but almost certain to die in battle.

#7 - Khergit does too little damage up close, better as defender. Useful in castle defence though.

#8 - Vaegir even poorer damage, reach, speed. Throwing skill somewhat useful but outclassed by other factions' offensive footmen.

Part VI: Defensive infantry

The defensive infantryman (or "tank" in modern gaming parlance) has one primary duty: to hold ground and prevent the enemy from passing him. To succeed in this, most tanks are heavily armoured and carry strong shields good against both bow and blade. They are extremely hard to kill and are also often capable of inflicting significant damage to the unwary. Most tanks are armed with both pole weapons and short weapons, the former effective against charging cavalry, the latter good in the short range.

In sieges, tanks are needed to keep an invading force from sticking their big, nasty pointies into the soft bellies of the allied bowmen. A successful tank is one that jams up the castle breach for a good long time, giving his bow-armed friends time to do their jobs. They are more limited in offence: if sent first into the fray, their lower damage output may mean the good guys stay in the line of fire for longer; they are therefore best used to soak up enemy arrows before the walls can be seized.

Rankings are based first on ability to take a punch and only second on damage, speed, manoeuvrability, and other characteristics. Therefore, depending on terrain, army composition, and tactical needs, these rankings may not always be correct.

Swadian I5 Sheriff

Polearm average, 1H poor, but armed with bow to weaken enemy before they get into melee range. Armour weak and stats poor; will not survive very long against strong opponents. Does not tank well in siege defence, but can be good off-tank with bow and polearm options. In attack, best as second wave; while waiting for way to clear, can add to arrow count though quite inaccurate.

Vaegir I5 Druzhinnik Veteran

Lousy 1H supplemented with throwing knives; though shield good, armour poor; defensive stats poor; will have major difficulty tanking heavy cav and will have hard fight against most heavy infantry (offensive or defensive). Not particularly good in sieges.

Khergit I5 Yabagharu Morici

Long, powerful polearm good against cavalry. 1H, armour, and shield mediocre; stats poor; not great against other infantry. Can do any siege infantry job but not good at any of them.

Nord I7 Aetheling

Polearm not the strongest, but quickness allows use in sieges; decent 1H. Melee backed up with powerful javelins. Armour and shield good. Great defensive and ranged stats. Good tank all around with ability to cause major hurt at medium range. Fast runner. Excellent in all infantry siege roles. Note that javelins have short range and few in number, so unit not quite able to replace archer in defence and completely unable to take attack archer's role. 

MosesZD says:

 If I'm on offense, conducting field operations and storming castles and cities, I want the Nords.   I need some tanking and they do a great job.   Plus those javelins help soften up charging/defending enemies as we close. OTOH, if I'm defending a city and I'm dealing with 1200+ enemies...   I like the Rhodoks because they last longer.

Rhodok I7 Condottiero

Impressive equipment and stats. Polearm long, strong, and quick; 1H above average; armour and shield first class; stats unmatched. High Athletics skills, able to reposition quickly. Head and shoulders above other tanks in the field in a defensive formation. Able to fill any infantry siege role admirably.

Sarranid I4 Al-Haqa

Polearm quick enough for offensive use; 1H also weak but quick. Terrible armour but shield good especially against projectiles. Poor stats. Okay against cavalry charges and ranged attackers but weak against all else. Damage-wise worse than Swadian I5 at range, better than Swadian up close. Only good as off-tank support or mop-up crew in sieges. Is an I4 unit though, so relatively cheap.

Sword Sisters I5 Schildmaid

1H fast but short; armour and shield below average. 2H powerful but not viable in primary tanking role. Stats mediocre although good with shield. Acceptable but unexciting tank. In sieges can take on any infantry role but not that good as main tank.

Mercenaries (i) I6 Landsknecht

Polearm most damaging primary among tanks, but slow and not particularly long. 1H fair defensive weapon. Above average armour and shield; shield particularly good against arrows. Good stats; tough, fast, and accurate. Good in all siege roles except first wave attacker.

Mercenaries (ii) I6 Grosskomtur

Practically the same stats and equipment loadout as Merc (i) but gives up polearm for a tougher shield. Not as good in stand-off against archers because shield smaller despite being hardier; this is a more aggressive tank meant for in-your-face action. Lack of long weapon restricts role as off-tank, but is very capable main tank. Lacks range and damage though; not that useful in siege attack.

Rankings

#1 - Rhodok best all-purpose tank by far.

#2 - Nord excellent tank with powerful ranged attack. Good contender for #1 especially for aggressive players who don't need "stationary" tanking.

#3 - Mercenary (i) good at holding position, (ii) better at charging in. Both strong tanks, but (i) is more versatile and (ii)'s tougher shield may not be that important except against axe-heavy forces (like the Nords).

#4 - Khergit good against cavalry charge only.

#5 - Sword Sister pretty much average but not good against cavalry charges.

#6 - Vaegir has inferior ranged option instead of polearm.

#7 - Sarranid poor tank but cheap.

#8 - Swadian poor tank though has interesting options as second-line attacker or defender in sieges.

Overview of factions

Looking at the rankings, we have the following faction characteristics:

Swadia

1 heavy cavalry

3 archer

3 offensive infantry

6 light cavalry

7 horse archer

8 defensive infantry

Good:

 heavy cavalry, archer, offensive infantry

Mediocre:

 light cavalry

Poor:

 horse archer, defensive infantry

Vaegirs

1 archer

3 horse archer

3 heavy cavalry

4 light cavalry

6 defensive infantry

8 offensive infantry

Good:

 archer, horse archer, heavy cavalry, light cavalry

Mediocre:

Poor:

  defensive infantry, offensive infantry

Khergit

1 horse archer

2 archer

2 light cavalry

4 defensive infantry

5 heavy cavalry

7 offensive infantry

Good:

 horse archer, archer, light cavalry

Mediocre:

 defensive infantry, heavy cavalry

Poor:

 offensive infantry

Nord

1 offensive infantry

2 defensive infantry

8 archer

no horse archer

no heavy cavalry

no light cavalry

Good:

 offensive infantry, defensive infantry

Mediocre:

Poor:

 archer

Rhodoks

1 defensive infantry

2 offensive infantry

4 archer

6 horse archer

7 light cavalry

8 heavy cavalry

Good:

 defensive infantry, offensive infantry, archer

Mediocre:

Poor:

 horse archer, light cavalry, heavy cavalry

Sarranid

1 heavy cavalry

1 light cavalry

2 horse archer

5 archer

6 offensive infantry

7 defensive infantry

Good:

 heavy cavalry, light cavalry, horse archer

Mediocre:

 archer

Poor:

 offensive infantry, defensive infantry

Sword Sisters

3 light cavalry

5 offensive infantry

5 defensive infantry

5 horse archer

6 archer

7 heavy cavalry

Good:

 light cavalry

Mediocre:

 offensive infantry, defensive infantry, horse archer, archer (but may be good for siege offence), heavy cavalry

Poor:

DaElf says:

 I just re-read your summaries of the Cavalry forces, and I must say that the major thing that stood out to me was the fact that what isn't mentioned is how easily obtainable Sword Sister units such as the Kenau and Black Widows are compared to their Faction-based equivalents. You can hire 10+ of them at a time at around 600 denars each to have them fully-trained and ready to fight instantly, which simply can't be done with the Hashams or Mandugais of Calradia.

Mercenaries

3 defensive infantry

4 heavy cavalry

4 offensive infantry

5 light cavalry

7 archer

Good:

 defensive infantry, heavy cavalry

Mediocre:

 offensive infantry, light cavalry, horse archer, archer (but may be good for siege offence)

Poor:

DaElf says:

 I6 Landsknecht and Grosskomturs - Again, much easier to obtain good amounts of than I7 Aethelings or Condottieri.

Miscellaneous

4 Black Khergit horse archer

6 Slaver Chief heavy cavalry

Good:

 horse archer

Mediocre:

 heavy cavalry

Poor:

Of course, we're looking only at the top tier units in each faction and early-game and mid-game characteristics may be different.

As well, a single-rank summary discards a lot of information. For instance, we see that the Rhodoks are ranked 4th in foot archers. This might lead us to conclude that they don't have good ranged units, but the truth is that their ranged units are awesome in sieges and pretty good in the field. If nothing else, they are tough little buggers capable of going toe-to-toe with heavy infantry. So these numbers are useful merely as a first step and we'll need to dig a little deeper for the nuanced truth.

MONEY AND STARTING GUIDE

The first thing i try to do in the beginning is get a few manhunters and level them up. Not so hard to do since most bandit groups usually drag a few of them around. Having manhunters/slavers in your party means easy money because they give you a bonus to your Prisoner Management skill which is pretty awesome for the following reason: having 40+ slavers gets you +3 PM so that means 15 more slaves to sell. You can find slave traders often enough so this is the one of best sources of income in the early stages of the game.

Also, when leveled up a bit they pack quite a punch, a band of 50 Slave Crushers can crush double that amount of bandits easily and considering bandits are 130 denars a pop that's a nice chunk of change for low risk adventuring.

What i do is set them in a separate group and send them out when i'm done softening up the enemy with my archers, they just mop up and i always have full prisoner slots for sale.

When battling lords i tend to choose tier 5 and above prisoners, because lower quality troop just aren't profitable and are just taking up valuable space. If you have 3 or 4 battles between every visit to a town you'll easily fill up on tier 5+ troops or bandit prisoners. Actually anything above 130 denars is profitable because bandits are easiest to catch and you can always go pick up a few if you're short on cash, everything else is just bonus money.

They are also excellent for getting them tier 7 troops which are so hard to train since you can just look for a bandit group that has high tier prisoners, with the bandits in 2.5 that's not that hard, they rape every lord they can get their hands on 

 then it's just a matter of luring that gang out of reach of the main host of bandits and there you go - with a little patience, tier 7 troops rescued and recruited.

There's another way to get tier 7 that i found just now but it involves being farther into the game. When lords change faction they still keep the original faction troop preference, so what i do is i try to find lords who have changed sides and are in the enemy faction, then you just send in your slaver crew and imprison their higher tier units. When you finish fighting you just go to camp and recruit prisoners, and you don't get a morale penalty if you use only that factions troops (which i normally do, not sure about this if you have a multi-faction army)

So anyway just remember this: 

Prisoner Management at 10 gives you 50 slots for prisoners, with bandits/sea raiders that are 130 a pop you get 6500 in one go! How bout that for easy money

First - look a spot on the map where u are going to settle - i mean like I did - Praven/Suno...

Then the nearest 4-5 towns use the new banking system to have money in the super late game when if u have like 10 000 - 15 000 or more gold to pay in a week to troops so u can pay them without always selling bandits/ captuered prisoners. I mean that so late better to get rid of all (walkaries,slave crushers - or u can also put them on the bottom of your party window when you don't fight and the opposite also. But this way u loose like atleast 40-50 people to get prisoners AND against enemy lord with really good army or a lot of enemy troops u need 6-7 tiers of strongest units in the game.) So like i am for now - day 100(third optional try) i get like from Suno/Praven/UXhal like 40 000 and i will max in Veluca to get 50 000.This way every 2 months u get like 40 000 and u pay for the army(my army - 160man almost all tier 5-7, + around 20 companions) - 8000-1000 money per week or something. This way you will have all the money u need in the super late game(ofcourse late contioniue to invest in the banks(money landers...).

This was my advice for the money system ( I still hope to see a new patch that u take all the money from 1 place... 

 )

So about the entire begining of the game.

First like i do with this character just get to level 10-15...Max your archery(if u want to in later game) and Power Strike,Iron flesh to 6-7 atleast.

Then u max your inteligence to 35-40(i am still like to 25-35 or something...level 24-25 ...)When u have like 40 inteliggence Per a kill I THINK(not sure did not play since 4 days) - u get from a tier 6-7 troop like 560xp and because of the intelligence u get 700-800 or smh. I think that I explained everything here like an idiot but still this is one of the best tactics i think.In the super late game u must not wait like 20-50 days for a level u know..this is easier and faster and Ofcourse THE most important thing:

with this intelligence max - the party map speed, party see range,wound treatment,the bonus after a battle that heroes regain hp,the 4% per level chance a dude get's knocked out rather than go to god.<<<!!! also some other important intelligence stuff(persuasion at 10 > 100% !!).For the all left use like Artimennter and Jeremus - for engeniiring,and alll...(play with them max them same way...have all PARTY skills to 10 If u can.)For looting and foraging pick a random guy max 6-7 PW,IF.THen only agility and theese 2 + other bonuses for him.So after u max inteligence to 35-40 then max all IF,PW,PD and all to 10.Then u coud max shield,athletics,horse archery - Agility skills and other to 4-5-10 BUT then it will be still so hard to get levels so better just go to straitgh Charisma and other skills(LEADERSHIP!!!). Forgot to say - before that all to level 4-5 atleast... YOu can max PM to level 10 in char expor (easier but so frustrating to sell 20-30 prisoners per course rather than 50. If u are like to day 500-1000 ( I never  made it so far

) U will have almost everything needed at MAX. U can either max all agility fighning bonuses OR STH so u are like 120hp ++ OR ofcourse to spam CHAR for more army(i am talking about level 70+ or smh iv'e seen really nice pictures ^^)

I think i only explained all the skills and money in the early/late game. There are simply so so many things but I think this is the basic of the basic in this nice mod

 . I hope i helped and that u will understand most of the things i said.

Early Game Guide for Floris Expanded v2.5

As others before have said, the Early Game is all about:

1) Making money 

to build enterprises and buy land to create tons of 

residual income 

to pay for your huge late-game war machine. The easiest way to do this is by:

1a) Capturing bandits

, looters, sea raiders and deserters; and selling them to ransom brokers. To do this you need the Prisoner Management skill--1 level lets you grab 5 prisoners--so build it up quickly. And get a blunt weapon to knock them out with, like the military hammer, empire hammer, etc. Being mounted is really useful, too, as you've got more mobility to close on and chase banditos using ranged weapons. Being mounted also allows you to do drive-by hammer strikes, which are roughly 200% more powerful--useful in early game when you're weakest. Supplementing your party with 15 or more 

Manhunters

 will not only boost your Prisoner Management skill, but net you more captives, as manhunters are all mounted with blunt weapons. Other hammer and maul equipped troops are: Vaegir 

I3 Grid

-->

I4 Mladshiy Druzhinnik

 line, which can eventually upgrade into the mounted

 C5 Druzhinnik 

--->

C6 Elitniy Druzhinnik

. Also check out the Sarranid 

I3 Cemaat

--->

C4 Kapikulu Suveri

--->

C5 Beylik

--->

C6 Sekban

. These are the two premier mounted troop-capturing lines in the game, and should form the core of your army, until you are filthy, stinking rich. In Floris v2.5 there is a new Sword Sisters cavalry line that ain't bad either: 

I3 Hospitaller

--->

C4 Beritten Jungfrau

--->

C5 Schildjungfur

--->

C6 Walkure

.  To actually capture a bandit party in combat, I prefer my party to be 100% mounted, then approach bandit party at a trot [use commands F1,F2]. If enemy party is too strong for you, stop [F1,F1] and thin them out with arrow fire. Then charge [F1,F3]. Using command to 'use blunt weapons only' [F3,F3] is also useful here. Against 

mounted

 desert and steppe bandits, avoid their lethal lances by veering off to right as you approach them, hopefully pulling them all off to an angle in pursuit (they will charge you 

en masse

), then [F1,F3] to have your riders charge their now exposed flank. Experiment until you get the timing right, as it will allow your boys to het the enemy in the flank and not get couched. Use your bow to shoot the horses of those bandits that aren't taken out in the initial scrum. Once on foot, you or your boys bash 'em on the head. 

1b) Soloing Sea Bandit Parties for Loot

: in v2.4 Sea Bandits were arguably the toughest, baddest banditos around, and had pretty pricey loot. Starting out with 

noble background & squire

 gave you a starting horse + lance, which you could use to inflict 

couched damage 

(means one-hit-one-kill). You'd go out, ride around those mangy vikings, waiting for them to fire all their axes; then start taking them out with your lance. Soloing a party of 25 could net good loot, a few prisoners, and 30 or so renown. Personally I preferred to go the horsearcher route, killing some (their archers and 2H axemen) until my arrows ran out. Then doing rapid drive-by strikes with a military hammer to thump the rest. Either way, in v2.5 Sea Raiders have more bows, which makes them more dangerous to a lightly armored horseman. And they have less loot. It's a different world...

1c) Winning Tournements

: if you've got smokin' hot fighting skills, then following the tournement circuit is the best way to make tons of $$$ in the early game. With the new tournement system in v2.5 you can make around 8,000 per; or disable it and use the older native version to bag the winner-take-all pot of 26,000.   Either system can be daunting until your fighting skills are good, but you can make it much easier by selecting 

1/4 damage, poor combat AI, slowest combat speed

 in game options tab. Winning tourneys is a great way to win $$$, gain 20 renown per, and impress the ladies--as you can dedicate your success to 1 single or married lady in the castle after the match.

1d) Freelancer

: in v2.5 you can now join a lord's army as a ranker. Many players find it a great way to build up the gear, xp, etc. of a new character to lvl9 or so. 

1e) Trading

: in v2.4 this was an excellent money maker at all stages of the game. Now, with the new trading system, I see it as a waste of time. But go form you own conclusions. There are several guides out there for the old system that still largely apply. After about day 7 when commodity prices and volumes stabilize, try 

Iron

 from Curaw (to Reyyavadin or most other cities).

Once you've started earning dough, quickly invest it in Silk Manufacturies, which in most cities net ~550/week. Make placing factories in all/most cities your first economic goal. After you've done this, start buying land, the rents for which you can collect every 2 weeks. Having a ton of residual income is essential to training up and maintaining your high-tier units later in the game; especially during times of peace when there's only low-value bandits around to capture for ransom.

2) Accumulating renown and honor. 

These are essential commodities on your rise to becoming ruler of Calradia. 

Renown

 determines many things, especially the max size of your army, and how much 'respect' you get from other nobles. Get it >500, or even >1,000 before getting really political. Fight battles--the steeper the odds against you, the more renown; win tournements; duel for ladies; and rescue villagers from bandits to win renown. 

Honor

 is what you get from doing, well, honorable things, like releasing enemy lords you capture in battle or not accepting the quest reward from a lord after killing an outlaw. Raiding villages, refusing ransom offers for captured lords, etc. loses you honor. Honor is very, very useful when you get it >300. Then watch every single 'honorable' personality-type lord in Calradia (it's about 30% of them) develop a huge liking for you. 

Even if they've never met you

. 

3) Sucking up to nobles

--preferably entirely of the faction you wish to eventually join, so that they will let you marry their daughters, and more importantly support your being awarded the cities you capture. To actually have the king of the faction you join award you the city or castle you so painstakingly captured, you will need to get the support of 5 or more lords of your faction. Usually only lords with whom you have a rating of 20 or above will support you. Other tan being a goody-two-shoes with super high honor, such good relations must be earned the hard way, by doing quests for them, or more easily, by rescuing them if they're prisoners, or capturing then releasing them after battle. 

Rescue a faction lord who's getting his butt kicked by an enemy party, and get a relations boost proportional to how outnumbered he was. You also get a relations boost with his faction. 

A great strategy I often use is to scan castles and cities of a faction you're not a war with to check for captured lords. When present, go to the castle dungeon and take out the jailer and all nearby soldiers. Then enter dungeon, speak to captive, have him 'stay behind' you. Exit dungeon, kill remaining sentries. Then captive lord goes free, netting you a personal and faction relations bonus. The I'll become a merc for faction whose dungeons I just emptied, so I can have chance to meet and beat very same lords I recently freed. Capture and release, for more relations boost.

Also: every time you defeat an enemy lord, go speak with your faction king for +1 relations. Every time you go to a feast, speak to the hosting lord fo +2 relations. Once you have a castle or city, you can host feasts, and speak with every guest for a +1 (or is it +2?) bonus. 

Giving away quality troops was a great way in v2.4 to gain massive amounts of relations. Seems to be diabled for v2.5

4) Details:

4a) Gathering, Sorting, Training Companions

: the early game is also about collecting up all of your companions, from the taverns of Calradia. There is a method for how you create a stable group of companions who aren't at each others throats. There are plenty of good guides out there for native; but Floris 2.5 has several new ones. The quick and dirty way is to a) recruit every companion you find (you can always dismiss him/her, then ask a Traveller in a tavern their location); b) fight a battle ASAP--even against 3 looters (this will trigger an 'I like so-and-so scripted event by 1 companion for the 1 other companion they have an affinity for). Usually I retain them in pairs, waiting until each of a pair expresses their liking for the other, creating a "stable pair" before starting on another pair. Any companion who likes 1 companion will put up with another he/she dislikes. If you carefully assemble your team pair by pair, you can have 17 no problem (unless you raid villages and walk the dark side). Don't know if this approach works for v2.5, where there are 5 new companions added.

Regarding training, I prefer all my companions as Heavy Horsearchers, and train up their skills accordingly. All will have high to maximal Trainer skill--essential to rapidly train up peasants into elites in the mid-/late-game. Most of them will also have a 'specialty', like Jeremus for surgery other medical skills. Rolf, Baheshtur, Mattheld, Alayen are nobles, and I usually groom some or all of them to be future vassals (with good Trainer + Leadership + Tactics levels). Ymira & Katrin I'll make my backup medical speciallists. Then I'll have 1 primary, 1 backup for Spotting, Foraging, Looting, Engineer, Trading, Persuasion. 

4b Yourself

: Regarding how to train up your own character, there are plenty of good guides available, and all address different playstyles. Floris v2.5 is a huge sandbox and Calradia your oyster. Personally, I ensure that by late-game I'm close to maxed out in Leadership, Persuasion, Tactics, Pwerstrike, Powerdraw (I like bows), and Athletics (didn't use to like it; but now find it gives huge benefit when fighting on foot in battles, siege assaults, & tournements). Riding & Horsearchery: 4-6 is enough. Ironskin & Shield: used to max out; now 2-4 is enough. All others are not needed, as long as you have companions with them. 

4c Village Relations

: every thirty days or so you can do village elder quests Train Against Bandits and Bring Cattle. Do them. Every month. Extremely important, as a high village relation will let you recruit more and better recruits--even if at war with village owning faction. Getting good troops late in game is crucial; so lay groundwork in early game by ensuring that every game-month you take these missions. For example, in my current game at day 29, I did both missions back to back on a Vaegir village, and then got to recruit 27 

H5 Posadnik

! For 270d. At that point in game, the time + money (around 13,000) to train up such a force from scratch would've been huge. What a deal!

Conclusion

: So now you're ready for the mid-game, which usually means fighting as a mercenary, and painstakingly building up an army of elite troops that will form the backbone of the army you will use to conquer Calradia. My personal preference is to start with a 100% mounted force: 70% Hammer-armed cav, 30% H.Horsearchers; then as I grow towards the 200+ mark to end up with a force that can win sieges: 35% hammer-armed cavalry, 40% elite archers, 15% H.Horsearchers, 10% infantry. As a mercenary leader, remember to keep doing village elder quests every month. Make a ton of money on troop ransoms as you perfect your tactical formation command skills to win battle after battle, gaining renown, honor and lord relations. The mid-game is also about shaping the map, and setting the stage for which heavily weakened faction you will eventually join. If you wish to be Swadian, for example, and they are strong, then it must be you who humbles them by fighting for one of their enemies. Defeat their armies, earn the friendship and respect of their nobles, take their strongholds...until they're down to 2-3 castles. 

Then

 join them as a vassal. And start winning their cities back, making sure it is you who are awarded these as fiefs. Once you've got 2-3 cities, 1,000 good troops, and a fine looking Nord wife..you're ready to become a king in your own right. Your majesty, Calradia awaits!

CALAVARY Guide

Introduction

This strategy, which is my personal favourite to use in Floris, utilises the Horse/Pike Damage Tweak to use a wedge of cavalry to pummel your foes into oblivion time and time again. That's it in a nutshell, really, but it's a little more complicated than that, which I'll try to illustrate in this guide and, hopefully, show you some ways to overcome the weaknesses that this army-build suffers from.

I should also mention that this is for your field army only; you should have a dedicated Infantry/Archer team in your garrison(s).

I'm probably going to drone on about many little minute details and make endless sections, but bear with me and it might just make sense by the end. If you don't like my style of writing, then, eh, stop reading right now, because there's going to be a lot of it (4,600ish words), and I don't plan on providing many summaries! >: D

Now, Cavalry are often seen as a sort of 'easy-mode' in M&B, given their immense advantage over foot troops on the battlefield. Indeed, in Native you can pretty much just charge in with a load of Swadian Knights (which are quick to train) and watch the kills roll in without thinking anything else of it. Now, it isn't exactly that easy (or boring) in Floris, and the Cavalry strategy I'm going to explain (in tiring detail) to you here is a little more involved than simply hitting the 'Charge' button, else even I would have stopped talking by now.

Whilst Floris does make the Native option of blind charges obsolete, Cavalry does (and rightly so) remain the medieval tank of the battlefield with the riders clearly superior to their ground-level counterparts, who you will grow to, literally, look down on whilst you lead your army of crushing oblivion to trample not just your enemies' spirits, but their broken, bloodied bodies, too.

Interested? Of course you are, you sadistic little (wo)man. Then ride with me, and I shall teach you my ways and sing you the song of my people.

Note: You must have the Pike/Horse Damage Tweak (found in Camp->Mod Options) ticked in order for this strategy to work, so go do that.

You

Yes, you! In order to become the absolutely super-awesome general/cavalryman/'Death, Destroyer of Worlds' that you will become, you must first learn a few skills and equip yourself with the right gear.

If you haven't already realised: you will be riding a horse, and not just any horse! So, train yourself up in the Riding skill to at least level4.

Next, you're going to be taking a lot of prisoners (which will be discussed, to extraneous lengths, later on in the guide), so be prepared to be just as good at Prisoner Management as you are at Leadership; these should be respectable, if you want to be respected by your men and loved by Ransom Brokers, so make sure you're at level 6 in both as the minimum, with an aim to improve them over time.

Now, I know you young adventurers coming to Calradia are barely educated these days, but you'll also be needing to take a course inSurgery, in order to help those poor men you plan on leading to their glorious deaths on the field of battle actually survive. Naturally, you wont be wanting to get your hands dirty yourself, but your knowledge could prove valuable to the Fisique you hire, so have at least a basic understanding (2+, boosted by the Surgeon you'll have in your party).

Of course, you'll also need to show yourself to be a fine Trainer if you want to fulfil your ambition of hosting the greatest army the pretender-Lords of Calradia have ever seen. A level of 7 should suffice as a starting point.

Naturally, you should also invest points in Power Strike and all the normal combat ones of your choosing, so get on with that, we haven't got all day; there are empires to fell and bandits to annihilate.

A Skill Summary
Riding 4+
Prisoner Management 6+
Leadership 6+
Surgery 2+
Trainer 7+
Power Strike and other skills of your choosing (Path Finding/Spotting are always handy to have a couple of points in)

Of course, nobody wants you to go in to battle mentally and physically prepared but without any equipment; it's not a nice sight for your men and embarrassing, not to mention potentially painful, for you.

Thus, get the strongest armour you can get your hands on, a Charger (not a Warhorse) with a base Speed of 40+ (you're not going to be hanging around) and, of course, some weaponry.

As for weaponry, it's ultimately up to you, but I choose a 1H Horseman's Mace, Shield, Bow and Arrows. If you're no good with a bow, a spare Shield to protect your back and either a lance or 2H as a secondary weapon could be used. Note that I would suggest a Blunt primary weapon for pummelling your foes to the ground and later dragging them from the battlefield to die another day, once they've been ransomed off, of course.

This was supposed to be a short section, so.. prepare yourself for the rest.

Companions

Even you, as beautiful as you now look in that fine armour sat upon your mighty steed, need friends.

I tend to split these into two groups, and so will now bore you with those details, too:

Fighting Companions

These are the companions who you train in nothing but the art of war, death and misery to mankind. They won't be particularly good compared to the rest of your Army, but hey, they're immortal, which has got to be a plus.

Most of these should be given a similar build to the one that you have, ready to ride with you in your wedge of horsey doom. These companions should have Chargers, heavy armour and preferably 1H maces and a Shield as their primary weapon setup. I tend to also give them a Lance and a Thrown weapon, too, but this is down to your personal preference.

Some of them, however, are less suited to Melee, and more versed in the ways of Ranged combat. These should be made into Cavalry Archers, with the fastest horse you can find, a fast, piercing bow and medium-heavy armour. I tend to also give them a Polearm in case they run out of arrows, but for most of the game they'll be too fragile to last until that point. (So, Bow+2xArrows+Polearm).

Floris would make a good Cavalryman with you, so it's a good idea to get him, especially since he comes with other decent support stats and should last longer/be knocked unconscious less than most of your other fighting companions.

Supporting Companions

These are actually the most important companions you'll have and you will need to train them purely in the Party skills they will each be contributing in. Only once they've become the best that they can be in these areas should you be giving them any combat skills. Don't worry, they won't be entering combat with you, anyway (you should place them lower in your Party list than any of your Cavalrymen/Cav. Archers).

You need a Medic; this is non-negotiable and you will grow to love him/her. I choose Fisique Jeremus for this role, and will train him up in Surgery, Wound Treatment and First Aid (as well as Trainer, since you'll have a few left-over skill points as you go along).

Second in importance in this area is a Scout. I've chosen Edwyn for this, but you could choose differently. This Palantinus should be at one with his/her surrounding, proving to be an adept Tracker, Spotter and Path-finder. They'll also pick up the slack of Engineering, but this is of lesser importance.

Finally, we have your Street Urchin, with plenty of experience in both Foraging and Looting. Katrin fills this role pretty well.

Army Composition

"Finally", I hear you say, "something I can get my teeth into". Firstly, don't bite people; they don't tend to like it. Secondly, I'll be talking at you about this at length, so don't rejoice too soon.

Outline

Note: Percentages ignore any Support elements of your army.

85-90% Heavy Cavalry
Slaver Chiefs (2-5)
Slave Crushers (enough to give you a total of 12+ Slavers)
C6 Kenau
Swadian/Sarranid Heavy Cavalry
Cavalry Fighting Companions

10-15% Cavalry Archers
H6 Black Widows
Any H6/7 Khergit/Sarranid Cav. Archers you free from captivity.
Cavalry Archer Fighting Companions

Support
5 Hunters
1 Merchant
1 Monk/Priest
1 Surgeon
1 Bishop
Supporting Companions

Support Troops should, of course, be at the bottom of your party list.

Troop-by-Troop Analysis/Explanation

Heavy Cavalry

Slaver Chiefs

These are a very niche troop. Thankfully for you, their niche is this exact build; hurrah! Slaver Chiefs are very slow on the field but, since you're going to be charging down the enemy, their Charge damage will be an immense boon for you; they can OHKO Forest Bandits, for example, just by running in to them. They'll then be able to do the same again about half a second down the road.

Expect just 2-3 of these guys to bring you about 1/4 of your enemy's casualties in a typical battle. They are hard to train up to, though, so having 5 isn't as easy as you might think, especially since their slow speed makes them vulnerable to a lucky arrow going through the back of their head, which I'll discuss a bit later. Anyway, having more than 5 of these magnificent beasts will mean your army will lack the speed to get around the battlefield at the pace you'd like since you'll have so many stragglers.

Slave Crushers

These are pretty much a C6 unit in terms of equipment, and, coupled with the Slaver Chiefs, will give you a nice +1 boost to your Prisoner Management if you have 10 or more of them. I advise using them to bring your Slaver total to 12-14 so that you can afford for a couple of Slavers to suffer from a case of the dead-ness or a mild concussion and still keep the PM bonus. Heck, if you really love these guys then knock yourself out (preferably not literally) and get 25 of them for the +2 boost, but this will mean that training any Swadian/Sarranid troops to C6 will take longer, since you'll have fewer of them, so I wouldn't particularly advise it.

C6 Kenau

These will form the majority of your C6+ units. They've got respectable stats, have decent equipment and, most importantly, are quick, cheap and easy to recruit. You could find, perhaps, 15 of these just from one encounter in a Tavern, paying 600~ denars for each one in order to immediately have some high-levelled cavalry at your service. Their weekly pay is also in line with other C6 units, so you won't be paying through the teeth to maintain them, either.

Swadian/Sarranid C6/7 Heavy Cavalry

These will take a while to train up, apart from the handful that you might manage to free as prisoners. Thus, for a long time, these will be C4/5 Cavalry, and thus pretty vulnerable. The key here is to try to recruit in bulk, so that plenty of Exp gets added to the Exp pool for that stack of units each day.

As for which of of the types you go for, that's really down to your personal preference.

The Swadians will give you the heaviest armour, and are the stereotypical Heavy Cav. unit.

The Sarranids have two lines of Heavy Cav., one ending with the C7 Hasham and one with the C6 Sekban. The C7 Hasham line is the closest to the Swadian-style, although (as eastpaw's analysis shows, quite correctly) they're stronger up-close than the Swadians are. The C6 Sekban line, on the other hand, is a Blunt Weapon version of the Sarranid's other Heavy Cav. line, but with the added advantage of having a Ranged option, helpful for getting the odd kill of a troop that your charge of fate passes at a distance, and for cleaning up at the end of a fight. The obvious disadvantage, though is that they have no C7 unit in this line, although, given that it's rare to manage to train one to C7, I regard this as a non-issue.

I, personally, go with the Sarranid C6 Sekban line, since they're more versatile and give you an even greater pool of prisoners to choose from at the end of the battle.

Cavalry Fighting Companions

As previously mentioned, most of your Fighting Companions will be Heavy Cavalry, and these should join this group of Heavy Cav, forming part of your wedge-trail.

Cavalry Archers

H6 Black Widow

These are excellent Cavalry Archers, and shouldn't be under-estimated simply based on their Skill levels. As with the C6 Kenau, you can recruit these in bulk (perhaps your entire contingent of Cav. Archers in one Tavern-visit), and they're cheap and immediately at a high level.

Their great Archery Weapon Proficiency (beaten only by the Khergit H7 Mandugai and Black Khergit Horsemen) is the best of ANY mounted T6 unit and is even superior to the Sarranid's H7 Iqta'dar. This means that they're fantastic at headshots and will actually rack up quite a few kills throughout the battle.

H6/7 Khergit/Sarranid Freed Prisoners

I must emphasise here that you should only have these if you've managed to free them from captivity; given the small number you need, they'll take far too long to train to an acceptable level if you attempt to build them from scratch.

Cavalry Archer Fighting Companions

As with the Heavy Cav. Fighting Companions joining your main Cavalry group, your Cav. Archer Fighting Companions should sidle up to the Cavalry Archer group.

General Strategy

If you're still reading this, have a cookie. There's plenty left to read, though, so don't scoff them all down at once. Also, remember how long it took me to write this compared to how long it's taking you to read it. I accept donations in the form of denars to be paid cash-in-hand to my Chamberlain based in Uxkhal.

This will be your typical field-battle strategy when conditions are optimal or passable, hence, your default, general strategy. I'll discuss later the weaknesses of the build and ways to overcome them.

So, your Army should be split into three sections as I outlined in the Army Composition section:

Cavalry
Cavalry Archers
Support

These are the PBOD that I issue each section with before a battle:

Cavalry - Follow Me, Wedge.
Cavalry Archers - (No Order), Avoid Combat.
Support - Hold, Avoid Combat.

Upon the start of the battle, your Cavalry Archers will race ahead to the front of the enemy lines and then begin harassing them by running circles around them whilst perhaps getting a few headshots in. The aim of this is to disorganise them from their Formation and distract their attention from the main body of your army.

Once your Cavalry have untangled themselves from the mess they spawn in (taking a couple/few seconds), they'll form a wedge behind you. Once your Cavalry Archers have got a little way ahead, you should begin your gallop toward the enemy. It's important not to follow your Cavalry Archers straight away, else you'll run into them when they turn away from the enemy to begin their arrow bombardment, and the enemy won't have been distracted yet.

Hopefully, by the time you reach the enemy, their attention won't be entirely on you, making it easy for you to charge your way through their ranks (Infantry or Archers; both if it's possible to line your route up to crash through both sections of their army). Now, make sure you keep on the move; don't charge your way into a group of enemies so dense that they'll manage to halt your charge, instead find a route round them. The rest of your wedge should soften them up on their way through, aided by the fact that the enemy will have about-faced to watch you racing off into the sunset. Continue your charge, running a good distance away from the enemy (1/3rd of the entire field should do it), before looping back round to face them once again, allowing your Wedge to regroup a little (don't wait for them all) behind you. Then, rinse and repeat.

If the enemy has a cavalry contingent, you'll need to charge into this at some point, and you personally should attempt to deal with their top cavalry units. You will likely have to stop and deal with them there and then, effectively swarming them with your own, larger, cavalry group. If they're lucky, they'll fell a couple of your units, but they will take considerably more casualties. If you manage to get a good swing in on them at speed, your blunt weapon should aid you in destroying them straight away. The need to swarm enemy cavalry is a good reason to choose Sarranid, rather than Swadian, Heavy Cavalry.

If any enemies attempt to kill any Support troops who might have spawned, your Cav. Archers will normally deal with them, but paying them a visit after a charge in that direction can occasionally be a good idea.

When there are a lot of Archers in the opposing army, it's a good idea to cut back and begin your second etc. charges earlier than you would otherwise do in order to form a shield to protect the rear of your slow Slaver Chiefs attempting to catch up with the rest of your wedge.

Strengths

Archers and Non-Pike Infantry

This is a no-brainer. This strategy is specifically designed to crush these sorts of troops, and you have the distinct advantage over them.

Dominance on Open Plains

On an open plain, your medieval tanks of brain-crunching metal are in their prime, and the opposing side has nothing to help lessen the sheer force of the impact when your annihilating death-riders of the apocalypse burst forth unto them.

Map Speed

Given that all but your Support troops are mounted, you will have phenomenal speed on the World Map, able to outpace any party other than routers or Lords lacking an army.

This is strengthened by the fact that you have a Supporting Companion devoted to increasing your advantage on the Map. Well done, you.

Money

Normally money is a major issue when fielding a cavalry army, given their cost. That is far from the case with this strategy; roughly 2/3-3/4 of enemies you face will be knocked unconscious rather than be killed on the battlefield, meaning that you can expect to fill your Prisoner slots with quality prisoners every battle. I'd encourage you to regularly (numerous times a week) go hunting for Bandits, preferably Forest Bandits; each one is worth 130 denars, meaning that 2 or 3 loads will pay for your entire army+a garrisoned army per week. After that, everything is profit.

Expect to go Tavern-trawling for Ransom Brokers often, though.

Weaknesses

Whilst this strategy's Strengths are particularly potent, so, unfortunately, are its weaknesses. I'll attempt to give some ideas for how to minimise the effects of them after outlining each one, though.

Pikes

Problem level: 9/10

This is, without a doubt, your biggest weakness.

Whilst the Horse/Pike Damage Tweak makes this build, it also provides its biggest downfall. Pikes will deal considerable damage to horses, as well as having the potential to stop your charge right in its tracks.

Solution effectiveness: 2/10

Really, you need your Cavalry Archers to distract the Pikemen enough that they turn away from your Cavalry charge. Even then, you will take considerable casualties (they WILL fell some Cav. Archers and Heavy Cav.). If you do manage to get a charge in whilst they're facing away, you can wreak havoc amongst their ranks, though, and considerably weaken them. They will still, however, get some hits on your horses. If possible, have allies deal with Pikemen.

Mountains

Problem level: 7/10

Mountains will stop your tactic from being plausible, apart from in a few cases. It will be especially problematic when you're facing Crossbowmen, who will chew you up as you slowly approach them.

There are two solutions here:

Solution level: 9/10

Lure the enemy away from the mountains on the World Map before engaging them. Thanks to your Cavalry army, you should easily have greater speed than them, so bring them away from the mountains toward flatter terrain before fighting them, eliminating the problem altogether.

Solution effectiveness: 3/10

If the above solution isn't an option for whatever reason, and you have to fight them in the mountains, then this is your best bet:

Search for a gentler slope up the mountains to get in and amongst the enemy. If you're lucky, the mountains will actually shield your approach. If no such opportunity exists on the terrain, you may have to make your army dismount and approach on foot. Your Cav. Archers will then become normal archers and should help you, and, thanks to the quality of your cavalrymen, they will still make respectable infantry. You will still take casualties, though.

Enemy Cavalry

Problem level: 4/10

This is mainly a problem in that it distracts you from utilising your true strategy and the fact that they might well cause you to have a few casualties. Not a major problem.

Solution effectiveness: 4/10

As described in the General Strategy section, swarm the Cavalry with your own superior numbers and make sure you get a few of them yourself.

Hills

Problem level: 3/10

Note that these are a distinctly different weakness than mountains in that they have different effects. Rather than eliminating your strategy, they'll help to neutralise it by significantly slowing your speed on arrival.

Solution effectiveness: 7/10

Normally the AI isn't smart enough to position all their troops at the top of the hill, so most of the opposing army should still be easy pickings. When approaching those on the top of the hill, try to use high-ground as an approach, since then you might manage to keep your speed up a little bit more. You'll likely have to stop and engage them in close-up combat, but this shouldn't normally be too problematic. Watch out, though, for them having the height advantage over you.

Forests

Problem level: 3/10

More of an irritation than a problem, but they can cause your Cavalry to get stuck and become a target for enemies. For me, I find the worst thing about it the fact that I can't always see where I'm going.

Solution effectiveness: 4/10

Either try to lure the enemy away, which might not be as easy as doing so with mountains, given how much more of the map is forested than it is mountainous, or just work with it, looking to lead your Wedge-trail through the largest gaps in the trees you can find. Be sensible; if you can only just squeeze through, it's going to cause some problems for the horde following you.

Rivers

Problem level: 2/10

I've given this a low problem level because of how effective the solution is, but, if you were to ignore my solution, the problem would be more like 6/10. Rivers will slow your charge to a slow speed, and the terrain could quickly be a killing ground for your own troops.

Solution effectiveness: 8/10

Depending on where the river is in relation to you and the enemy on the map, either wait (call Cav. Archers back at first and don't lead your Wedge into battle) for them to have crossed the river and be on flat ground or, if the river is going vertically down the middle of the map, cross the river straight away and charge as quickly as you can toward the enemy to reach them before they reach the point where they want to cross the river.

If you misjudge either of these, don't be afraid of changing your mind, turning around and heading back until the enemy reaches a more favourable piece of terrain for you to engage them on.

Faction Analysis

You will, of course, perform differently against different Factions. This section is meant as a (short?) analysis of how effective you can expect to be.

Nords

Whilst their Infantry power is colossal, they are effectively neutralised by this strategy. Only one branch of their troop tree has polearms, so you don't have to worry too much. Make sure you don't get over ambitious when charging into their ranks and end up getting yourself trapped, though!

As long as you do things right, the biggest threat here is the possibility of them getting some lucky Thrown-Weapon hits.

Swadians

Watch out for their Cavalry (you'll need to take down any C6/7 units they have, else they'll take down a few of your own troops) and lucky headshots from their archers against your slower Cavalry.

I4 Piquiers are a pain, too, with their Polearms, but they don't make up much of their army, so you should be alright. If you see a band of I4 Piquier deserters, though, I'd suggest you save yourself for another fight.

Vaegirs

Similar to the Swadians, but without the Polearm-Infantry threat. These shouldn't be a problem, as long as you take down their Cavalry.

Khergits

You'll take some casualties, especially amongst your Cav. Archers, who will be thoroughly outnumbered. Take down most of their ground-based troops with an initial charge or two and then see about dealing with their Cavalry. You may need to get your Heavy Cavalry to Charge after their Cavalry Archers on their own, otherwise you'll never catch them. You should outnumber them, and have strong Cavalry yourself, though.

Sarranids

Pretty much a mixture of all the Factions I've mentioned so far, really. Their I4 Al-Haqas will be of a similar threat level as the Swadian I4 Piquiers, their Cavalry will be better at fighting you off in close combat than the Swadians were, but you should still vastly outnumber them, and you may well have to charge after their Cavalry Archers as with the Khergits. Oh, and they have Thrown Weapons, like the Nords. Have fun.

Rhodoks

These are the direct counter to your strategy. Their Infantry is liable destroy you, given how impressive their Polearm-Infantry is. Their Archers have Crossbows, which are renowned as being better against Cavalry than conventional Bows. Also, they live in the mountains.

You're in for an extremely tough fight if you want to fight them, but at least their Cavalry won't be much of a threat.

A Couple of Considerations

This is the final section (I've been sitting here for 3 hours writing all this o.O) and is really for me to bring a couple of considerations to your mind, assuming I haven't blown your mind (knocked it unconscious, perhaps?) already.

1) When looking for a base of operations for yourself (your home city, etc.), choose somewhere which has lots of terrain advantageous to you around it. Whilst the Sarranid lands seem ideal for this, also remember that you'll need to be taking lots of prisoners for income to pay for your army, and the easiest way to do this is going after bandits. In the desert, the bandits are mounted and have Black Khergits with them, so this isn't necessarily a great idea for a base. I chose Uxkhal, since it has lots of Forest Bandits nearby and a huge open plain to the East.

2) If becoming a vassal of a Faction, consider which Faction you'd least like to face in combat. I enjoy playing the game as a vassal, rather than a King, and so this is a particularly potent issue for myself. I chose to join the Rhodoks, since they're both close enough to Uxkhal to help me to defend it from the Swadians I took it from, and I'd really rather fight with them than against them.