My Brytenwalda Tips (Campaign Ongoing)

** MAKING MONEY**

1. Hunting. You can do this as soon as you have a real horse (or even a donkey). The best way is with three sets of javelins and a dawn ray (or a bow/sling and ride to the next hilltop, shoot, and ride). Goats, boar, wolves, and donkeys are slow. Deer are fast. You have to trick deer; you can't run them down unless you have a good riding skill and a really fast horse. If you kill a big herd, don't sell all the items in one city.

2. Trade. One of the best routes is silver, minerals, and stone from Wales back to England. Buy from VILLAGES, not towns. Generally, a good trade route will not take you all the way from London to Scotland. It's not worth your time. The profits look good, but ask yourself about profit/(time x danger).

3. Tournaments, like always. I will discuss tournaments shortly.

4. Prisoners. As always, prisoners are great for earning money. Prisoner management doesn't exist anymore, so holding prisoners is much easier. There are not any good nonlethal weapons that I know of, though, so don't rely on it as a main source of income. It is worth spending 50 gold to find a ransom broker, absolutely.

5. Looting villages can make you quite a bit of money. If you plan on looting them, don't bother making them give you stuff as well. It's not really worth the costs. I have heard that looting churches is cool as well but it lowers your favor with EVERY CHRISTIAN TOWN BY 8 so don't do it until you already have your enterprises up and running. That's a late-game strategy for quick cash.

6. Rules for buying and selling.

   1. Don't sell everything to one city.
   2. Don't start trading heavily until you have a companion with the trade skill.
   3. Don't buy raw goods in cities unless you know what you're doing and you trade all the time to know what good prices are.
   4. Perishables are not always good choices for trading.

SPENDING MONEY

1. Always keep in mind the rate of return when you invest your money into making money.

2. Buying horses takes a huge priority, especially if you're trading. Even donkeys help massively, and you will hardly notice the cost. I have never tried supply wagons, let me know how that goes. Even if you don't want to ride as cav, buy one for yourself. You need it for hunting, running through towns, and getting back to your side of the battle if you are alone and reinforcements are far away. Buy a horse.

3. Focus down on a single town to start your enterprises. Don't do twenty jobs for 20 people. One town at time, spend your trading money on the best RoR (usually wine press but you can't put one in literally every town or you will flood the market), and then move on.

4. Land tends to vary in price more than it does in payout. Always check the RoR, but as a rule of thumb only buy cheap land (like 2k or just over, don't do 3k unless the payout is really good). You also have to come back to the land to get your money. If you must buy land somewhere, buy it early game in the location you plan to finish your campaign. For most people that's Scotland.

5. I think that learning to read is required before you get to read books? In any case, don't buy it until you're ready to start reading books.

ARMOR

1. The best light armor (no penalties) is rawhide with some kind of positive modifier. Honestly, though, light armor is cool but it's ok to take a penalty.

2. Leg armor is normally important for cavalry. If you aren't on a horse, buy this last, and you probably shouldn't buy heavy.

3. Gloves are amazing in this mod, please buy some. And save to get a modifier or go to the mystic merchant. It's cheaper in the long run than replacing 5 pairs of shitty gloves among your companions.

ARMS

1. Shield choice is a little confusing in this game as some of the pictures are misleading. NEVER use a bad modifier shield. I don't care how poor you are. There are too many axes in this game for you to skimp. A good shield can also keep 10 enemies at bay while your reinforcements arrive (assuming you don't fall).

2. You might SAY you want to use throwing only, but that's before you get into a siege (either side) or fight against a defensive enemy. And throwing weapons will not save you in these situations. So let's go over pros and cons of the other ranged weapons:

   1. Bow. Bow kind of sucks in terms of skills because you have to work on proficiencies AND power draw. This makes it hard to do both throwing (which is normally better) and archery. Bow best in native IMO, but not here. Don't bother. I also don't think it can be used on horseback very well in this mod. There are no Khergits in Britannia.
   2. Crossbow. I haven't used crossbows, but it's like a slower, fatter sling with less ammo. It does not require a skill. I don't know what proficiency it runs off of.
   3. Sling has the most ammo capacity I have seen (56 in one slot holy shit), and that makes it good for drawn out sieges. Slings (fustibalus is best I've seen) and their ammo are both cheap, and they're kind of like smaller crossbows. Your chances of finding sling ammo in the wild, though, are not so good. I'm not sure about accuracy at high proficiency, but you can certainly hit groups of people without issue.
   4. Both crossbow and sling can be used alongside throwing. I recommend one or the other. I am personally using sling at the moment (but I don't always carry it).

3. Balanced Dawn Ray is the best spear I have found by far. It's a good investment, especially if you're cav. If you're a ground troop you might go for something smaller.

4. Sword and board is very viable. Learn to chamber stabs from shield+spear troops and you're golden. Make sure you pick up shields after your javelins run out or when your shield gets low.

5. Good swords include Scian Bone (if you like stabbing) or just "Sword" (though there are two varieties and one sucks). Rich Saxon isn't really worth it. Seaxes and 1H axes kind of suck. It's better (especially in this mod) to fight in large groups and circle the enemy than to try and break shields.

6. I have never used angons or franciscas. They're probably fantastic for small encounters (like bandits, mod quests, and so on), but I wouldn't advise them for sieges or huge battles.

7. 2H axe is good for defending from sieges and perhaps in the quest encounters. That is because you can manage enemy throwing weapons fairly well in these instances. Hiding behind a wall and splitting skulls is a great maneuver (with backup) and a 2H axe can be really really good in 1v1. Don't take it to a field battle. Don't make it your first weapon.

8. I have never used torches. Let me know how that goes for you.

TOURNAMENTS AND ARENA

1. These are both good ways of making money early game. Arena is really important to get your proficiencies up and to learn to fight against modded shield + spear tactics.

2. In the arena, don't use shield and spear. Just don't. Never do that 1v1.

3. As far as I know there are no bows or throwing weapons in the arena. You will have to raise proficiencies in battle.

4. In tourneys, always bet money at the beginning. It makes you the most at the end. If you're poor, you can hold off at the end if you like.

5. Always tell your men to hold/follow and hold fire. Put them behind cover if you can. Stand in front of unshielded friends if you have a shield.

6. Make it your job to go around the enemy and attack from behind while your friends take their attention.

7. If you get stuck against a turtley spear user, remember that he literally can't hurt you as long as you are blocking stabs.

   1. Don't fall for feints.
   2. Try to circle and bait out strikes. You can hit after he strikes.
   3. Don't stab. He may chamber it.
   4. You MUST turn into your swings to hit before your opponent.
   5. You can try chambering. Overhead is probably best.

8. If you get 2v1, you can roar with U (or is it B?) to scare them. Shield bash also works. Take out axes and swords first. Spears are hard to kill but easy to defend against.

FIELD BATTLES

1. Hold fire until they get close, then let loose. Archers have more ammo, so if you're good to micromanage then tell ALL to hold fire. At med. range tell ARCHERS to fire at will. At close range tell INFANTRY to fire at will.

2. Don't be too scared by anything but elite cav. They will likely die quickly because the AI sucks at using them, and horses aren't really all that tanky in this game anyway. Check your map to see if horses are incoming, form up on a hill,(!) and be ready at the back of your formation to finish him off.

   1. You don't have to form up at the top of a hill. Forming halfway up protects you from the second charge from the rear. I like to form just behind the top, to protect from enemy fire.
   2. You can also play hunter killer and take your horse to go kill and distract cavalry. I highly recommend it. Block until they are out of javelins and then spear them. Many cav units have no spears or don't use them. They are defenseless. Take a fast horse.

3. If the enemy is defensive, you can sometimes actually hit them with ranged without them doing anything. They may not have any rangers or they only have very few. Hide behind a tree or something, put your men behind the hill, and use all your ammo. Then charge them.

4. Things to do as cav:

   1. Hunter killer.
   2. Kill bannermen and enemy leaders. Be careful of the long banners. It's best to do this with javelins or to play dragoon and dismount, shoot, and mount up before they reach you.
   3. Distraction. Run behind the enemy lines or break up an enemy charge. Draw fire, circle, and try not to die. When new enemies arrive, slow them down as well. Form your men up once they have finished killing the last wave and then retreat behind them. This is fun to do with an "honor guard" of a few companions or cavalry.
   4. Cleanup crew. Look for enemies who are already engaged with one of your men. Slay them from behind. Sword is faster, spear is safer.
   5. Go for archers. Single archers are easy pickings. Two archers is ok. Three or more and you need to be careful. If they are engaged with your troops, you can slaughter them with impunity. Keeps the pressure off your troops so they can just fight.

5. Things to do as infantry:

   1. Don't actually be infantry, but a dragoon. Ride to location, drop off horse in some bushes, and mount up if you have to retreat or press on.
   2. Roar to help your nearby troops. Press U or B, I forget. One is a buff, one pushes nearby enemies away.
   3. Take an honor guard of heavy shock troops (preferably companions) and split from your main force to smash the side of the enemy force and circle them. Not usually advised when outnumbered. HIGHLY recommended in sieges (depending on location). This gets you lots of xp.
   4. Fight with the main force. Don't charge until the last minute. Form up first, and then charge. Charging reduces deaths from projectiles, but it's best to stay in line.

6. Don't fucking get knocked out. It's really bad in this mod. You lose tons of morale and you can get wounds. Better to have an even fight or slightly lose and run away with your hide intact than to get knocked out. Don't get cocky.

DEFENDING SIEGE BATTLES

1. I haven't done a lot of sieges in Brytenwalda, and most of what I have done is actually defense. However, I have sieged most of Japan in Gekokujo and I sieged all of Calradia, so I'm experienced in general.

2. TELL YOUR MEN TO HOLD IN THE BEST POSITION. The worst thing you can do is die and let them charge over and over and get encircled over and over. They may have to fight their way to the position but it will drastically reduce casualties.

3. Pick off ranged combatants. You can bring extra ammo in lieu of a shield and just pick one up when you're out of ammo anyway.

4. Use the Nearby Soldiers command to split your archers if you need to. If you end up with too few infantry, go to the side of your archer line and quickly take a few soldiers to add to your infantry group.

5. Make a killing tunnel. Put the 60% of your infantry on one side, with you and 40% on the other. Elevate your archers or at least put them at the opening of the tunnel (defended by your companions group). Things will quickly go to shit logistically but getting a few extra safe kills in every wave is still worth it. After every wave, check the map and if you have time you can reorganize.

6. Check on your archers. If they are out of ammo, hurry up and add them to your (probably weakened by this point) infantry. It doesn't matter if they die, they have served their purpose.

7. Stay behind cover. Moving the killing tunnel back is totally worth it compared to the alternative of getting shot to pieces just to get a few extra melee kills.

PARTY MANAGEMENT

1. Don't bother too much with village reputation. You can do that in some core villages that you know you will base your empire in, but it's not a big deal. Persuasion makes up for it. By far.

2. Make sure you stack leadership and trainer on all of your troops. I think foraging may stack as well.

3. Go to fucking sleep once in a while. If you're a merc or independent, feel free to sleep two nights in a row. It's cheap. No skin off your nose.

4. Don't bother putting entertain on your own character (unless you're really speccing into it to become a bard or something I guess), but definitely put it on some companions.

5. Stop buying food in cities all the time. Sometimes it is cheaper in villages, and it's also easier to get to villages than cities. This helps you keep inventory clutter and weight down while keeping food variety up.

6. Invest in food variety, but only buy 150 sizes. It keeps your inventory compact.

7. If your inventory is full after looting, you may find goods at a nearby village that you want. You can probably lighten your load and make more money this way.

8. Early and mid-game, make selling prisoners a very high priority. When you have a town or fort to hold them in you can take them there instead.

9. Try to get mostly the same kind of recruits. This makes leveling them up easier. I won't explain why, just look up how trainer works.

10. Make sure all your companions have horses. Seriously. It makes you noticeably faster.

SKILLS

1. For the player:

   1. Ironflesh is always good.
   2. Power strike is mandatory.
   3. At least 1 power throw is probably smart.
   4. Shield is mandatory.
   5. Athletics is good to put a few points into. AGI isn't a great stat in Brytenwalda though so I wouldn't make it a focus, especially if you use cav. You can "cheat" a point in athletics by using lighter armor that lets you run faster than everyone else.
   6. At least 1 in riding is mandatory, but more than that really isn't unless you love cav.
   7. Don't take any INT skills except for inventory management, trainer, and persuasion. Persuasion is amazing in this mod and it is mandatory.
   8. Leadership is totally mandatory. Spec mostly into CHA just for this.
   9. Power draw, weapon master, entertain, and trade all suck for the PC. Don't bother with them.

2. For the party:

   1. You need someone strong in every party skill.
   2. Ideally you want two squishies (I put them into a company called squishies) whose job is just to keep the party running. One of them is INT heavy, the other one is CHA heavy. They don't fight, and they go at the bottom of your party so they stay safe. They also wear the heaviest armor possible, carry the biggest shields, and wield spears. At the start of every battle and reinforcement wave press Backspace to see if your squishies have been added. Keep them out of the battle.
   3. The others should all be warriors. Almost all their points should go into STR and AGI. You can add 1 point to CHA if it will get you to the next threshold (for leadership). A point or two in INT will also give you extra skill points, and it may raise the threshold for Training.
   4. One of your warriors will also spec into looting.
   5. Stack trainer and leadership on all of your companions. These take priority over warrior skills.

3. The best gear goes first to squishies (think of them as HM slaves if you play Pokemon), then to the warriors at the top. Gear flows down the chain from there.

4. DO pick up companions you can't keep in your party. Strip their gear and send them off immediately to speak of your exploits and gain you Right to Rule. When they return, get rid of them or send them off as spies if you like.

5. I don't know the point of giving bracelets or seducing. If you know, talk about it in the comments.

COMING SECTIONS

I haven't played this mod enough to talk about empire management, climbing the career ladder, quests, naval combat, sieging forts/towns, troop choice, faction choice, or some of the weird mod options (like lairs and ambushes). If you know something about those, put it into the comments and I'll add them (while crediting you) in this guide and in the next one.

It will probably take me a week or two to play enough to write the next guide. If you search my name on this forum, you might find some other guides I've written for Warband that I still think are pretty good. They're to do with native, multiplayer, and Gekokujo. Maybe ACOK too but I doubt it.

Let me know if there is anything else I've forgotten!

Submitted March 26, 2017 at 06:01PM by Prometheus720 http://ift.tt/2nlhVTh