Biggest thing I've taken away from this is that you should prefer ammunition with higher count than higher damage. Why take 20 arrows at 4 pierce, when you could have 32 at 3 pierce? Also, would love to see some more graphs used for these sorts of comparisons. Plotting each melee type as a line showing how the damage changes as armour increases would make it much easier to visualise. Great work as always though.
based on math alone you should get the higher count arrows. late game you have a noble bow or noble long bow at 80 or 95 respectively. so an extra point or 2 to damage is about a 2% damage increase. the stacked version of arrows have about 50% more ammunition, which means 50% more damage output during battle. add in that if you need more xp more shots gives more xp.
Crossbow damage not being impacted by skill does make sense. Nothing the user is doing makes the crossbow shoot better, it is all about aim and reload time. The arrow damage technically makes sense, but it does make the high price questionable. I wish the arrow type had an impact on armor effectiveness in that case. Thank you for teaching me so much about Bannerlord!
That's the exact same for all weapons. When you shoot a long bow as comparison to don't do more damage just because you're more proficient. You shoot faster and more accurate and you do that by drawing a consistent weight from your bow.
@@FrankieLeonie Archers with a very basic proficiency have an anchor point, a point to which you draw back the bowstring to ensure consistent aim. Archers do not draw back the string further with increasing proficiency. That being said a better trained archer may choose a harder bow or different string to get some more punch. Whether this should be represented by skill level or a different item in game is up to you.
It's super odd that people always try to justify bad game mechanics with realism argument. You don't even get tired after shooting 200 arrows, hence reducing damage output and accuracy, so what's the point?
This definitely helped me understand why certain weapons seem to suck despite having better damage values. It also makes me hope Taleworlds will revamp spear combat, because they are in a sorry state right now for everything but bracing against a cavalry charge. And while I wouldn't argue against swords and axes dealing more damage, spears were a very common weapon choice for a reason. They were definitely more effective than they are in Bannerlord.
@@jamoecw I've never tried RBM but saw some gameplays in this channel. RBM seems to overdo it. The speed and damage of spears went way overboard, making you a super soldier. RBM is overhyped imo.
@@aretiredsubberl7036 RBM is overhyped, but it does make spears good for massed troops like in real life, while individual players can get better results with other weapons if they know how to use them.
That's an impressive amount of science. Methodical, well explained and in-depth. I expected weapon skill to be more impactful on damage though I've never built a character with a maxed 300 weapon skill. There's also the attack speed increase that's not considered there. Also surprised by the horse impact damage with 275 perk. Compelling case for a high endurance build.
Pierce damage can be doubled by a headshot, while cut and blunt damage can't (only 20% increase, I read it from code). Imperial swords like spatha have quite high thrust damage. If your skill level is low and want to use one-handed weapon, Fine Steel Paramerion, which is easy to get from loots, is a decent option. Thrust headshot can one-shot low armored units while a mace can't, and also give decent damage to heavy armored units while one-handed axe can't.
Thanks for doing this - I've always suspected there was almost no benefit to choosing piercing arrows over stacked bodkin - definitely not enough to warrant taking 9 fewer arrows into battle.
I'm pretty sure the destrier has more charge damage, but I would be really interested in seeing what the max damage of the super fast wadar hotblood is. Maybe you could test that too or make a followup/short about it. Great video as always!
Pretty much confirmed my suspicions that relative speed was the most important factor in damage and that, for the most part, 2H cut weapons performed better than blunt ones. Only thing which still isn't clear was the difference between short blunt x cut weapons vs high armor (e.g: mace vs short sword).
Awesome video Strat! Exhaustive testing. I don't think I could've articulated it specifically, but this seems to confirm a lot of suspicions I've had - thrust attacks and blunt damage have always just felt frustratingly weak, and now you've given us the data to support it. Hope it continues to get tweaked. It would be awesome to see a similar breakdown for RMB sometime, but no rush - this sounds like an inordinate amount of work to catalogue and test.
As an organic chem major, your experimental procedure is set up fantastically. Controlled environment, clear and concise data reports, closed system, and still entertaining as hell! Do you have a science background? Fantastic work as always!!
Very cool! Ochem is a tough subject, definitely not for the meek lol. I was originally Physics and Chem major (I did get through Ochem but it was tough) but ended up Physics and Astrophysics since I couldn't manage doing both labs. Sadly I've never used my degree after graduation... I guess this is as close as it gets - tearing apart video games haha
Sometimes I think the only reason I still play bannerlord is from getting psyched up from your videos. Thanks for the awesome content and the ultra grind for this data!
I really got to say I was surprised about the arrows. And to this day I am surprised at how poorly crossbows perform on paper and in everybody's videos but how well I seem to do with them in my campaigns. I was also very surprised at the charge damage from horses. I have to put a lot more points in writing than I thought. Usually I just put enough points in there until I can ride the fastest horse. Would have also been nice to see if the fastest horse did a lot of charge damage even without a high charge damage modifier on the horse
in unmodded Bannerlord crossbows have the furthest range, which means that you can more easily induce a charge from the AI into a more favorable position. being in a favorable position can result in 10-1 KDR, so inducing a charge is a huge deal. in sieges being able to attack the enemy when they cannot attack back is also pretty nice. crossbows have their uses and while not as good as bows do bowlike things so you can use them as poor bows when they are not filling their niche.
I always had a feeling that the supposed "armour ignoring" effect of blunt weapons does not outweigh the raw damage numbers of bladed weapons, but I still wanted to believe. The expensive arrows having almost no effect is a little disappointing. Also, I am in awe of your dedication to objectivity!
So much data condensed into such a short video, I really admire the effort and this video deserves to do really well. Overall it seems to correlate with my lived experience, high damage cut weapons seem to be king in melee, and crossbows feel like a waste of time. I also think this video shows javelins deserve more credit, people seem to gravitate more towards the bow but this shows javelins can outperform them. Bows really shine in siege defences, with the ammunition barrels you can stay out of harms way and rack up dozens of kills as long as you are not overrun. In field battles you can use a bow while staying out of immediate, and if you are commanding in a difficult battle stay conscious is crucial as your party's tactics fall apart if you are knocked out. While bows deal less damage to high tier armor by comparison, a noble longbow + perks should let you one shot low tier units, especially if you headshot them. Javelins, on the other hand, have more damage, sure, but run out of ammunition much faster, and have a lower range and accuracy. However, they deal a lot more damage with every hit, and are usually a one shot kill. If you use them on horseback they function like throwable lances and can deal an insane amount of damage (to a single target). Because their damage is so high and javelins only take up one weapon slot, despite bow and arrow having more shots you might actually end up killing the same amount of enemies. If your bow and arrow has 30-35 arrows, but take 2-3 shots to kill, and javelins take 1 shot to kill but you have 14-15 of them, then the end amount of kills shouldn't be too different. In that case javelins have an edge over bow and arrow. It's also immensely satisfying to watch people ragdoll from your javelin hits.
The studio doesn't deserve you, but thank you sincerely for your work. I wish they actually bugfixed these perks that have been known to be an issue for months on end (and remove the Fog of War).
@@Strat-Guides I was playing today and noticed that sometimes when you are creating new groups for your troops the percentages are messed up. It will say group 1 has 60 troops and is 46%. Group 2 has 56 troops and is 54%.
Yeah, also based on your habits, where you habitually hit them on the blade, and with some cuts being better, some weapons will do more damage than indicated. The top down paramenion cut does amazing damage, and I've been one-shot by units using it as well.
@@Strat-Guides and i was also surprised by the impact of blunt weapons. i guess i should reconsider the weapon loadout of some companions. axes seem to be overall more useful and maces more situational
Hey strat just gotta say your one of if not my favorite UA-cam channel right now and I'm loving these videos. I was wondering if you could make a video on how to take the fiefs of the last couple kingdoms because it's really hard with every other kingdom at war with you , if you make this video be sure to take into account if you should execute lord prisoners and the affects of it as well as how to strategically take the last couple kingdoms without losing half your fiefs in the meantime , thanks
I'm working on a world conquest series right now and plan on putting together a couple videos on taking fiefs once it's all done! It's definitely a challenge that changes based on where in your campaign you are. Taking the first fief is very different from taking the last one from the first kingdom you destroy and again different from taking fiefs from the last kingdom left on the map.
The thing you're missing with swing damage is that hitting people in the 'Lowest damage' section is that that's where you start your swing and therefore is the fastest to hit and is great if you want to throw your enemy off balance at the start of a fight.
Haha - your thumbnails are awesome! feel kinda sorry for crossbows - they still need skill to oneshot things(mighty pull) and bow outperforms them in every way. in warband, their biggest win was that there was no skill requirement, only strenght so anybody can be good with them
I really wish those hardback guide books were more of a thing like they used to be, only because you would have such a great career working for taleworlds and I’d buy the guide book anyway. Addicted to your videos as much as I’m addicted to this game.
Several patches ago during the early access (Patch 1.8.0 I think), Taleworlds nerfed blunt damage since units like the Imperial Legionary is too effective against both armored and unarmored units. The nerf now make blunt damage more as a way to specifically counter high armor or capture prisoners. Something worth mentioning is the 225 2H perk Vandal that ignores 25% armor for ALL weapons. Each weapon class has a specific perk that significantly boosts base damage but with certain caveats (1H with no shield, 2H with
You would often infer in your other vids that blunt damage was superior. In my games I never saw that when I compared 2H maces to 2H swords. Todays vid shows the difference is not much between the too. Thanks for clarifying today. I do enjoy, however, the knockdown ability of the makeshift sledgehammer. Very enjoyable to hit and watch the guy go flying to the ground.
This is a great example of why numbers and data is much better than anecdotal evidence - human perception sucks most of the time lol Thanks for watching!
I think the 275 riding perk is bugged right now. It state that it increase charge dmg by 1 every 10 levels, but sometimes by just touching troops with low speed i can do 30-35 dmg.
I really recently started playing bannerlord, and your videos have been an amazing resource to learning the game. I've taken to modding, and I'm curious to the changes made to this data by mods such as RBM. I've been in a siege where I climbed the walls, crept behind the enemy lines and kept poking them in the head with a Vlandian Lance. I got a LOT of 1 shots. One of my favourite loadouts is a Vlandian Lance, a shield, a 2 handed sword, and some sort of javelin. That way, if the enemy is distracted, I poke em with the lance, but if they get closeby, I can switch a javelin into melee mode and poke em. Two handed sword is what I'm looking to replace by some sort of cleaving axe or something similar. Something to kill a lot of enemies at once with.
one thing that occurred to me is that in the first game charge value decreased the momentum penalty for charging (the amount you slowed down when running into people), meaning that high charge value even at slow speed allowed you to smash through larger groups of people even if the damage was less than faster horses. this was very pronounced with Last Days of the Third Age mod which they had slow wargs that had really high charge values. it makes me wonder if the same holds true, and if the incline penalty is also tied to charge stat as well (the rate you slowed down when going up an incline from full speed on level ground, high charge meant it took longer for you to slow to the new max speed).
I hope someone on Taleworlds watched this and made a lot of notes. Spears and thrusts in general need a buff. I am still hoping to see them implement a skill where you can block with a shield and poke with the onehanded spear at the same time. Would really buff shieldwall with spear troops. Oh, and please make more graphics or put more footage in the next videos. i am totally bad at getting infos from charts, especially if i have to listen to you at the same time to get what i am even looking at. I mean, i had to watch the vid twice and pause a lot on the second run to finally understand the charts. I need more visualisation. Whenever the combat footage was shown i rather learned more from the damage notifications shown there than from the charts.
Awesome amount of work done here, very impressive :) Do you see any point in doing a similar video for RBM? It is pretty popular, although it is also pretty well documented, so maybe it would not warrant a video. Would be cool to see, though. Especially, since, it seems like the mod addresses the thrust and arrow damage gimps in vanilla. Crossbows still kinda suck tho.
I would love to, but need to take a break from this type of guide for a few weeks lol I only have so much mental fortitude and need to do some Let's Plays to get that energy back :P
I didn't realize arrow type wasnt effected that much, good to know high stack arrows are more valuable than high pierce. But had noticed in actual playing, spears suck, bladed weapons OP, and maces are for show or knockouts, most of the time.
I use a long glaive, I just hit stuff and it perishes. The true weapon for those who suck .... like me :). On a more serious note, that´s why Khans Guard are so freaking OP, it´s not their bow. They don´t need speed, they don´t need a precise charge with a couched lance nor much else, they can kill from any position at any speed and sometimes they don´t even kill the intended target, just somebody else who got in their way.
Hey strat i don't know if you remember me but I used to comment on your videos a lot. I have recently broken my collar bone and was away from social media for awhile but its good to be back and seeing you in a great state!
The only thing I'd say about thrust attacks (specifically with polearms) is that they are also good if you play on foot instead of mounted. Against cavalry charges, you also get the speed bonus. Thrust attacks can also make enemy horses rear up, stopping them in place (though I'd prefer just to hit the rider instead). Finally, while there are some swinging polearms that can dismount, it seems to me that there are more polearms with dismounting thrust attacks than polearms with swinging dismounts. This last point may just be confirmation bias on my part, however. Testing is needed. I will try to verify this later.
Yeah, arrow stack count is really a very important stat. Remember the threshold effect though - that extra 3 damage really matters if you're "only" hitting for 97 damage, as that's a whopping 2 arrows to kill instead of 1. Naturally, the better your bow and Archery skill, the less the arrow damage matters. Man, that exponentially increasing charge damage... an Agility build with a very fast horse, high armour and horse armour, a 240 length custom lance and all the Athletics and Riding perks could be an absolute mounted juggernaut. One hit kills with the lance, Skewer multi-hit chance, and near-guaranteed charge damage that can hit multiple targets. What a nasty idea for a build... I wonder if it can compete against heavy horse archers with long glaives though?
I propose a test in your next movies - of comparing the Flags ? If it is better/efficent to have +15% meele damage ( weapon buff ) or 15% less meele damage ( armour buff ). The test should be done for low-end troops then medium then elite . If the Frags work and what are good one to have for different formations? It is better to kill faster ( with lower troops most likey would benefit ) and if the weapon uplifts do overcome better the armours of the elites in game. Or is it better to have armour buff and it better to keep the elite for longer and make them even not take damage from bad weapons that are not so high on damage scale. This tests should be based on what you have found here : what is the damage that passes vis-a-vis armour types/ quality ? EX: sword is 65 damage but with medium armour is becomes a 45 damage . To 45 damage add 15%. = 52 damage . Or is it better to have 50 armour + 15% = 65 armour vs. the damage sword that is 45 and how is that impacted.
Need to make armor more effective against cut damage. Takes a remarkable strike to do damage against good quality mail or brigantine. Cut should do zero damage when they strike plate. Give ax a combination of cut and blunt damage.
I typically use a 115 length two handed sword on my Wadar Hotblood and primarily only thrust attacks at medium-high speed against other cavalry units. With 280 skill and my equipped perks, I'm typically able to get 300+ damage on any armored enemy unless they put up a shield . I can also slow down and swing at unmounted troops for about 70-100 damage if I'm not moving, and troops with low armor will take about 150 damage.
I had that same feeling, which is why I always went with stacked bodkin arrows or the steppe one with 36 arrows (forgot the name). That is, until I managed to get the fabled large bag of piercing arrows.
I know this test took a ton of time to make, but I would love to see the same test (with the same weapons) done with RBM. so that we could know exactly how much damage is changed by it.
I've got it on my list but I need a break from this type of video - it's really painful to script and edit to be honest lol I spent so much time writing and rewriting the script, doing my best to not make it so boring! I'll definitely cover it though because I use RBM a lot and want to know :)
I'm pretty sure the reason why base damage delivered is usually higher than the weapons base damage is because it is modified by the users weapon skill, plus speed bonus etc etc.
I have no idea why your channel doesn't get as much support and attention it deserves. The sheer quality of learnable content has earn my subscription long ago.
Horses should do like 40-50 to unarmored targets with additional trample damage if they knock you over. 2-4 damage is the equivalent of being pelted by a looter rock...
piercing especially for 2 handers its much easier to click on there head with piercing and it has longer range starting a fight with w pierce to the head running at eacother can end a fight in one click
What's surprising is how effective armor is against archers. Make me rethink my heavy need for shielded units. Could probably make due with a lot less shields when using high tier Imperials.
Or a terrible one - after I do a test like this, I don't want to do another one for at least a month haha only in short bursts (which isn't what a good employee would do)!
I could have sworn crossbow dmg used to scale with skills. It must’ve been a really early build or I’m coping lmao Thanks for the hard work in testing!!
My main gripe is that you always get interrupted. That was a thing in Warband aswell but could be mitigated with good armor, and could only be achieved with the appropriate weapon (Pierce,Blunt). In Bannerlord however, it doesn´t matter. You could have the best armor in the game and still some bandit or recruit with a twig can stagger you.
i am surprised about the blunt damage not punching through armor. i figured armor would a lot less, i guess the 15% effectiveness results in the armor math getting in the way.
If the difference between the various qualities of arrows doesn't matter, then I would go for the quiver holding the most arrows, because the high-tier arrows are usually fewer in numbers.
Yeah thrust was a big let-down for sure. Adding that now, thanks for reminding me! I was so done with this guide once I finished it lol I was working on this for over 2 week
its actually insane how much work you do for bannerlord
Thanks for watching! Hopefully some of the info is useful :)
@@Strat-Guides Really! Thank you
@@Strat-Guides At this point TW should just hire you
@@zerophoenix8312 I'm not sure I could handle the TW maths tbh lol
@@Strat-Guides what is text/table editor you are using ? it looks so handy
This is the best video I have ever seen.
Yes! The amount of work for the video is very impressive.
Biggest thing I've taken away from this is that you should prefer ammunition with higher count than higher damage. Why take 20 arrows at 4 pierce, when you could have 32 at 3 pierce?
Also, would love to see some more graphs used for these sorts of comparisons. Plotting each melee type as a line showing how the damage changes as armour increases would make it much easier to visualise. Great work as always though.
Yes! I agree 100% on the graphs idea!
Absolutely
Get the stacked steppe arrows x3, and you are set for life.
based on math alone you should get the higher count arrows. late game you have a noble bow or noble long bow at 80 or 95 respectively. so an extra point or 2 to damage is about a 2% damage increase. the stacked version of arrows have about 50% more ammunition, which means 50% more damage output during battle. add in that if you need more xp more shots gives more xp.
Honestly the 0 pierce 32 arrow is dirt cheap and gets the job done.
Crossbow damage not being impacted by skill does make sense. Nothing the user is doing makes the crossbow shoot better, it is all about aim and reload time. The arrow damage technically makes sense, but it does make the high price questionable. I wish the arrow type had an impact on armor effectiveness in that case. Thank you for teaching me so much about Bannerlord!
That's the exact same for all weapons. When you shoot a long bow as comparison to don't do more damage just because you're more proficient. You shoot faster and more accurate and you do that by drawing a consistent weight from your bow.
@@MonsterGodzArmy not true, your ability to draw back a bow string is usually related to skill also.
@@FrankieLeonie no that would be strength.
@@FrankieLeonie Archers with a very basic proficiency have an anchor point, a point to which you draw back the bowstring to ensure consistent aim. Archers do not draw back the string further with increasing proficiency. That being said a better trained archer may choose a harder bow or different string to get some more punch. Whether this should be represented by skill level or a different item in game is up to you.
It's super odd that people always try to justify bad game mechanics with realism argument. You don't even get tired after shooting 200 arrows, hence reducing damage output and accuracy, so what's the point?
Wow that was such an incredible guide! The bannerlord community is blessed to have a content creator as dedicated as you Strat
Glad you enjoyed it! Who knew looking at databases for 10+ minutes could be interesting lol
This definitely helped me understand why certain weapons seem to suck despite having better damage values. It also makes me hope Taleworlds will revamp spear combat, because they are in a sorry state right now for everything but bracing against a cavalry charge. And while I wouldn't argue against swords and axes dealing more damage, spears were a very common weapon choice for a reason. They were definitely more effective than they are in Bannerlord.
try RBM mod, it changes the AI in a way that makes spears great again.
Its called bad game design
Spear rework makes spears decent enough.
@@jamoecw I've never tried RBM but saw some gameplays in this channel. RBM seems to overdo it. The speed and damage of spears went way overboard, making you a super soldier. RBM is overhyped imo.
@@aretiredsubberl7036 RBM is overhyped, but it does make spears good for massed troops like in real life, while individual players can get better results with other weapons if they know how to use them.
I’m so happy that you posted. You are definitely my favorite bannerlord UA-camr :)
Thanks!!
That's an impressive amount of science. Methodical, well explained and in-depth. I expected weapon skill to be more impactful on damage though I've never built a character with a maxed 300 weapon skill. There's also the attack speed increase that's not considered there.
Also surprised by the horse impact damage with 275 perk. Compelling case for a high endurance build.
Pierce damage can be doubled by a headshot, while cut and blunt damage can't (only 20% increase, I read it from code). Imperial swords like spatha have quite high thrust damage. If your skill level is low and want to use one-handed weapon, Fine Steel Paramerion, which is easy to get from loots, is a decent option. Thrust headshot can one-shot low armored units while a mace can't, and also give decent damage to heavy armored units while one-handed axe can't.
Thanks for doing this - I've always suspected there was almost no benefit to choosing piercing arrows over stacked bodkin - definitely not enough to warrant taking 9 fewer arrows into battle.
I'm pretty sure the destrier has more charge damage, but I would be really interested in seeing what the max damage of the super fast wadar hotblood is. Maybe you could test that too or make a followup/short about it. Great video as always!
Wow, this video came out awesome. With the amount of analysis that needed to be done, I can honestly say thank you, big time, from the community
The arrows and bolts surprised me the most.
Pretty much confirmed my suspicions that relative speed was the most important factor in damage and that, for the most part, 2H cut weapons performed better than blunt ones. Only thing which still isn't clear was the difference between short blunt x cut weapons vs high armor (e.g: mace vs short sword).
well axes can cut multiple people and maces can knock enemies i switch between polearm when mounted and axe in dismounted and mace when sieging
Awesome video Strat! Exhaustive testing. I don't think I could've articulated it specifically, but this seems to confirm a lot of suspicions I've had - thrust attacks and blunt damage have always just felt frustratingly weak, and now you've given us the data to support it. Hope it continues to get tweaked.
It would be awesome to see a similar breakdown for RMB sometime, but no rush - this sounds like an inordinate amount of work to catalogue and test.
As an organic chem major, your experimental procedure is set up fantastically. Controlled environment, clear and concise data reports, closed system, and still entertaining as hell! Do you have a science background? Fantastic work as always!!
Very cool! Ochem is a tough subject, definitely not for the meek lol. I was originally Physics and Chem major (I did get through Ochem but it was tough) but ended up Physics and Astrophysics since I couldn't manage doing both labs. Sadly I've never used my degree after graduation... I guess this is as close as it gets - tearing apart video games haha
@@Strat-Guides At least you're the best in what you do. I always had strive for that and value it above all else.
@@Strat-Guidesyour analytical mind shows through. Love it
Best Guide I have ever seen. The amount of time you put into it is impressive. Keep up your good work.
Thank you soooo much!!!! This is the video ive been waiting for!!!
Damn this is a really informative video. Excellent work as always!
You are insane, in a good way. I admire your scientific approach and the presentation, always a joy to watch
This experiment design is worthy of any scientific gradute program. Incredibly planned and executed!
Thanks! It's nice to finally put my schooling to use since I've never once used it at a job lol So much for all those student loans :D
It brings me great pleasure seeing dirt man destroyed in this fashion. Keep up the great work strat!
He makes the perfect punching bag lol Thanks!
Sometimes I think the only reason I still play bannerlord is from getting psyched up from your videos. Thanks for the awesome content and the ultra grind for this data!
Glad you're still enjoying the game :) Thanks for watching!
I really got to say I was surprised about the arrows. And to this day I am surprised at how poorly crossbows perform on paper and in everybody's videos but how well I seem to do with them in my campaigns.
I was also very surprised at the charge damage from horses. I have to put a lot more points in writing than I thought. Usually I just put enough points in there until I can ride the fastest horse. Would have also been nice to see if the fastest horse did a lot of charge damage even without a high charge damage modifier on the horse
in unmodded Bannerlord crossbows have the furthest range, which means that you can more easily induce a charge from the AI into a more favorable position. being in a favorable position can result in 10-1 KDR, so inducing a charge is a huge deal. in sieges being able to attack the enemy when they cannot attack back is also pretty nice. crossbows have their uses and while not as good as bows do bowlike things so you can use them as poor bows when they are not filling their niche.
You should put all 5 focus points in writing. After all, the pen is mightier than the horse.
Man you don't know how much i needed this video thanks
I always had a feeling that the supposed "armour ignoring" effect of blunt weapons does not outweigh the raw damage numbers of bladed weapons, but I still wanted to believe.
The expensive arrows having almost no effect is a little disappointing.
Also, I am in awe of your dedication to objectivity!
I would say that using blunt damage against well armoured opponents is still a good idea... so you can get higher tier units as captives.
Thank you so much for your time. And for your work. Your analysis. Your presentation. The humour. Really nice.
So much data condensed into such a short video, I really admire the effort and this video deserves to do really well.
Overall it seems to correlate with my lived experience, high damage cut weapons seem to be king in melee, and crossbows feel like a waste of time.
I also think this video shows javelins deserve more credit, people seem to gravitate more towards the bow but this shows javelins can outperform them.
Bows really shine in siege defences, with the ammunition barrels you can stay out of harms way and rack up dozens of kills as long as you are not overrun. In field battles you can use a bow while staying out of immediate, and if you are commanding in a difficult battle stay conscious is crucial as your party's tactics fall apart if you are knocked out. While bows deal less damage to high tier armor by comparison, a noble longbow + perks should let you one shot low tier units, especially if you headshot them.
Javelins, on the other hand, have more damage, sure, but run out of ammunition much faster, and have a lower range and accuracy. However, they deal a lot more damage with every hit, and are usually a one shot kill. If you use them on horseback they function like throwable lances and can deal an insane amount of damage (to a single target).
Because their damage is so high and javelins only take up one weapon slot, despite bow and arrow having more shots you might actually end up killing the same amount of enemies. If your bow and arrow has 30-35 arrows, but take 2-3 shots to kill, and javelins take 1 shot to kill but you have 14-15 of them, then the end amount of kills shouldn't be too different. In that case javelins have an edge over bow and arrow.
It's also immensely satisfying to watch people ragdoll from your javelin hits.
The studio doesn't deserve you, but thank you sincerely for your work. I wish they actually bugfixed these perks that have been known to be an issue for months on end (and remove the Fog of War).
Your videos have literally changed they way I play and perceive Bannerlord. You rock! Thankyouthankyou!
I'm happy to hear that, thanks for letting me know! :D
I love taleworld math. From what I understand the damage stat is just for show. Also the work you put in this video is insane
Yeah it's all TW maths IMO lol No problem, hopefully some of this info was useful.
@@Strat-Guides I was playing today and noticed that sometimes when you are creating new groups for your troops the percentages are messed up. It will say group 1 has 60 troops and is 46%. Group 2 has 56 troops and is 54%.
@@itsorcacraft9037 Yeah I noticed that too - even when you lock them, the numbers jump all over the place and it's really frustrating :(
Yep I will have to keep this in mind next time I hop on the game. Thanks for this guide!
Great video Stat! It absolutely rages me when I’m swinging the mouse for higher swing damage and I get a random 9 just like in that last clip 🤣
You are my hero. As an engineer, I can't help myself with digging into numbers like you did.. cheers to you
Yeah, also based on your habits, where you habitually hit them on the blade, and with some cuts being better, some weapons will do more damage than indicated. The top down paramenion cut does amazing damage, and I've been one-shot by units using it as well.
very helpful. thanks for the effort. i wasn´t expecting that the "better" arrows would be that bad.
Yeah that was really surprising to me. I'm not sure why I didn't test this sooner because I swear by the piercing arrows :(
@@Strat-Guides and i was also surprised by the impact of blunt weapons. i guess i should reconsider the weapon loadout of some companions. axes seem to be overall more useful and maces more situational
Hey strat just gotta say your one of if not my favorite UA-cam channel right now and I'm loving these videos. I was wondering if you could make a video on how to take the fiefs of the last couple kingdoms because it's really hard with every other kingdom at war with you , if you make this video be sure to take into account if you should execute lord prisoners and the affects of it as well as how to strategically take the last couple kingdoms without losing half your fiefs in the meantime , thanks
I'm working on a world conquest series right now and plan on putting together a couple videos on taking fiefs once it's all done! It's definitely a challenge that changes based on where in your campaign you are. Taking the first fief is very different from taking the last one from the first kingdom you destroy and again different from taking fiefs from the last kingdom left on the map.
The thing you're missing with swing damage is that hitting people in the 'Lowest damage' section is that that's where you start your swing and therefore is the fastest to hit and is great if you want to throw your enemy off balance at the start of a fight.
Haha - your thumbnails are awesome!
feel kinda sorry for crossbows - they still need skill to oneshot things(mighty pull) and bow outperforms them in every way. in warband, their biggest win was that there was no skill requirement, only strenght so anybody can be good with them
Lol thanks, I figured I would play off the new movie hype to spruce up this otherwise boring topic (starting at data)
I really wish those hardback guide books were more of a thing like they used to be, only because you would have such a great career working for taleworlds and I’d buy the guide book anyway. Addicted to your videos as much as I’m addicted to this game.
Mind boggling amounts of data. Well done as usual.
Several patches ago during the early access (Patch 1.8.0 I think), Taleworlds nerfed blunt damage since units like the Imperial Legionary is too effective against both armored and unarmored units. The nerf now make blunt damage more as a way to specifically counter high armor or capture prisoners.
Something worth mentioning is the 225 2H perk Vandal that ignores 25% armor for ALL weapons. Each weapon class has a specific perk that significantly boosts base damage but with certain caveats (1H with no shield, 2H with
What a fucking legend for doing all this testing. Great work man!
You would often infer in your other vids that blunt damage was superior. In my games I never saw that when I compared 2H maces to 2H swords. Todays vid shows the difference is not much between the too. Thanks for clarifying today. I do enjoy, however, the knockdown ability of the makeshift sledgehammer. Very enjoyable to hit and watch the guy go flying to the ground.
This is a great example of why numbers and data is much better than anecdotal evidence - human perception sucks most of the time lol Thanks for watching!
Strat isn't that into one handed, but the buff to maces can really help if you want shield and kataphract mace. Very satisfying crunch.
Broo You are Unique ,thx for all that effort and work .
I think the 275 riding perk is bugged right now. It state that it increase charge dmg by 1 every 10 levels, but sometimes by just touching troops with low speed i can do 30-35 dmg.
I really recently started playing bannerlord, and your videos have been an amazing resource to learning the game.
I've taken to modding, and I'm curious to the changes made to this data by mods such as RBM. I've been in a siege where I climbed the walls, crept behind the enemy lines and kept poking them in the head with a Vlandian Lance. I got a LOT of 1 shots.
One of my favourite loadouts is a Vlandian Lance, a shield, a 2 handed sword, and some sort of javelin.
That way, if the enemy is distracted, I poke em with the lance, but if they get closeby, I can switch a javelin into melee mode and poke em.
Two handed sword is what I'm looking to replace by some sort of cleaving axe or something similar. Something to kill a lot of enemies at once with.
one thing that occurred to me is that in the first game charge value decreased the momentum penalty for charging (the amount you slowed down when running into people), meaning that high charge value even at slow speed allowed you to smash through larger groups of people even if the damage was less than faster horses. this was very pronounced with Last Days of the Third Age mod which they had slow wargs that had really high charge values. it makes me wonder if the same holds true, and if the incline penalty is also tied to charge stat as well (the rate you slowed down when going up an incline from full speed on level ground, high charge meant it took longer for you to slow to the new max speed).
Good question - I specifically avoided hills for that reason but it's definitely worth retesting for!
I hope someone on Taleworlds watched this and made a lot of notes. Spears and thrusts in general need a buff. I am still hoping to see them implement a skill where you can block with a shield and poke with the onehanded spear at the same time. Would really buff shieldwall with spear troops.
Oh, and please make more graphics or put more footage in the next videos. i am totally bad at getting infos from charts, especially if i have to listen to you at the same time to get what i am even looking at. I mean, i had to watch the vid twice and pause a lot on the second run to finally understand the charts.
I need more visualisation. Whenever the combat footage was shown i rather learned more from the damage notifications shown there than from the charts.
Awesome amount of work done here, very impressive :) Do you see any point in doing a similar video for RBM? It is pretty popular, although it is also pretty well documented, so maybe it would not warrant a video.
Would be cool to see, though.
Especially, since, it seems like the mod addresses the thrust and arrow damage gimps in vanilla. Crossbows still kinda suck tho.
I would love to, but need to take a break from this type of guide for a few weeks lol I only have so much mental fortitude and need to do some Let's Plays to get that energy back :P
I didn't realize arrow type wasnt effected that much, good to know high stack arrows are more valuable than high pierce. But had noticed in actual playing, spears suck, bladed weapons OP, and maces are for show or knockouts, most of the time.
This is insanely helpful
Absolutely incredible work. Thank you for doing this!
Thanks for the in depth guide and the time taken to test and put together. Also kudos to Derthert for taking it for the team 1k times. 😁
MOVEMENT SPEED DAMAGE in the demon voice at 2:20 ish was hilarious
😮 that is an awesome piece of testing here, respect dude
bro works too hard , goddamn. Wish you success!
I use a long glaive, I just hit stuff and it perishes. The true weapon for those who suck .... like me :).
On a more serious note, that´s why Khans Guard are so freaking OP, it´s not their bow. They don´t need speed, they don´t need a precise charge with a couched lance nor much else, they can kill from any position at any speed and sometimes they don´t even kill the intended target, just somebody else who got in their way.
I really appreciate how much work you do to help us figure out what's good in this game.
No problem, as long as someone's getting some value from it, I'll keep doing these :D
Hey strat i don't know if you remember me but I used to comment on your videos a lot. I have recently broken my collar bone and was away from social media for awhile but its good to be back and seeing you in a great state!
The only thing I'd say about thrust attacks (specifically with polearms) is that they are also good if you play on foot instead of mounted.
Against cavalry charges, you also get the speed bonus. Thrust attacks can also make enemy horses rear up, stopping them in place (though I'd prefer just to hit the rider instead).
Finally, while there are some swinging polearms that can dismount, it seems to me that there are more polearms with dismounting thrust attacks than polearms with swinging dismounts. This last point may just be confirmation bias on my part, however. Testing is needed. I will try to verify this later.
It's good you included the friendly fire tests.
great video man. wow. learned a lot from this.
Horse piking with a cloud of horse archers around works well for me. Now I see where the speed comes into play. Good stuff, Strat Gaming
Yeah, arrow stack count is really a very important stat. Remember the threshold effect though - that extra 3 damage really matters if you're "only" hitting for 97 damage, as that's a whopping 2 arrows to kill instead of 1. Naturally, the better your bow and Archery skill, the less the arrow damage matters.
Man, that exponentially increasing charge damage... an Agility build with a very fast horse, high armour and horse armour, a 240 length custom lance and all the Athletics and Riding perks could be an absolute mounted juggernaut. One hit kills with the lance, Skewer multi-hit chance, and near-guaranteed charge damage that can hit multiple targets. What a nasty idea for a build... I wonder if it can compete against heavy horse archers with long glaives though?
Great Title! Definitely made me click. Great video on top of that. Love your story arc series like Robin Hood. Awesome work.
Great video. Hope you reach 100k subs soon.
I propose a test in your next movies - of comparing the Flags ? If it is better/efficent to have +15% meele damage ( weapon buff ) or 15% less meele damage ( armour buff ). The test should be done for low-end troops then medium then elite . If the Frags work and what are good one to have for different formations? It is better to kill faster ( with lower troops most likey would benefit ) and if the weapon uplifts do overcome better the armours of the elites in game. Or is it better to have armour buff and it better to keep the elite for longer and make them even not take damage from bad weapons that are not so high on damage scale. This tests should be based on what you have found here : what is the damage that passes vis-a-vis armour types/ quality ? EX: sword is 65 damage but with medium armour is becomes a 45 damage . To 45 damage add 15%. = 52 damage . Or is it better to have 50 armour + 15% = 65 armour vs. the damage sword that is 45 and how is that impacted.
Just leaving a lil something something for le almighty algorithm. Thanks as always strat bae
Need to make armor more effective against cut damage. Takes a remarkable strike to do damage against good quality mail or brigantine. Cut should do zero damage when they strike plate.
Give ax a combination of cut and blunt damage.
Fantastic video! Are you sure that your companion wasnt helping by cup checking Derthert with uppercuts?
Lol I'm sure I saw him go for the nuts once or twice! Can't blame him, it's a lot of fun
I typically use a 115 length two handed sword on my Wadar Hotblood and primarily only thrust attacks at medium-high speed against other cavalry units. With 280 skill and my equipped perks, I'm typically able to get 300+ damage on any armored enemy unless they put up a shield . I can also slow down and swing at unmounted troops for about 70-100 damage if I'm not moving, and troops with low armor will take about 150 damage.
Yeah, "for science" he says.
Another banger.
I did notice high tier arrows make no difference. Good to see an actual test.
I had that same feeling, which is why I always went with stacked bodkin arrows or the steppe one with 36 arrows (forgot the name). That is, until I managed to get the fabled large bag of piercing arrows.
Just want to say, this is some high quality stuff. THE MAN
You Sir are my favorite scientist.
Man, wailing away at King Dirtbag for hours must have been cathartic.
Lol oddly enough, it wasn't quite as repetitive as it seems it should be :)
I know this test took a ton of time to make, but I would love to see the same test (with the same weapons) done with RBM. so that we could know exactly how much damage is changed by it.
I've got it on my list but I need a break from this type of video - it's really painful to script and edit to be honest lol I spent so much time writing and rewriting the script, doing my best to not make it so boring! I'll definitely cover it though because I use RBM a lot and want to know :)
@@Strat-Guides plus it would help us with balancing our Total War Bannerlord mod as well.
Idk why but I’m 10 seconds in and this is my favorite video title so far!!!
Lol something about funny mustache man (the Bannerlord one) getting a beat down maybe :D
I'm pretty sure the reason why base damage delivered is usually higher than the weapons base damage is because it is modified by the users weapon skill, plus speed bonus etc etc.
So excited for this video. Thank you Strat
You are a blessing to us all. Thanks for your time and effort.
I cant imagine a world without nerds like yourself. You are a true saint.
When 2 the most deadly weapons are so useless - Pikes and Crossbows
I have no idea why your channel doesn't get as much support and attention it deserves. The sheer quality of learnable content has earn my subscription long ago.
Horses should do like 40-50 to unarmored targets with additional trample damage if they knock you over. 2-4 damage is the equivalent of being pelted by a looter rock...
piercing especially for 2 handers its much easier to click on there head with piercing and it has longer range starting a fight with w pierce to the head running at eacother can end a fight in one click
Absolute awesome deep research. Thanks!
P.S. My sincere condolences to ur Derthert. ;)
Thanks for watching! Lol I regret nothing about using Derthert as the test dummy :P
What's surprising is how effective armor is against archers. Make me rethink my heavy need for shielded units. Could probably make due with a lot less shields when using high tier Imperials.
You would make for an excellent QA Engineer!
Or a terrible one - after I do a test like this, I don't want to do another one for at least a month haha only in short bursts (which isn't what a good employee would do)!
I could have sworn crossbow dmg used to scale with skills. It must’ve been a really early build or I’m coping lmao
Thanks for the hard work in testing!!
My main gripe is that you always get interrupted. That was a thing in Warband aswell but could be mitigated with good armor, and could only be achieved with the appropriate weapon (Pierce,Blunt). In Bannerlord however, it doesn´t matter. You could have the best armor in the game and still some bandit or recruit with a twig can stagger you.
Dude you should be working for TaleWorlds at this point, the amount of information and help you give the community is worth getting hired by them!
That clean ass liver shot at thd intro doe
Reminds me of Miguel Cotto!
i am surprised about the blunt damage not punching through armor. i figured armor would a lot less, i guess the 15% effectiveness results in the armor math getting in the way.
If the difference between the various qualities of arrows doesn't matter, then I would go for the quiver holding the most arrows, because the high-tier arrows are usually fewer in numbers.
Exactly my thoughts! Never again with the piercing arrows
The thrust and crossbow damage results make me sad.
Also, please update the description with the current version of Bannerlord tested against :)
Yeah thrust was a big let-down for sure.
Adding that now, thanks for reminding me! I was so done with this guide once I finished it lol I was working on this for over 2 week
great work!
wow amazing work again thank you strat!
That fist fight intro is really funny lol