Lilura's Blog: An Ongoing Codexian Obsession

[pidstuff]

Lilura, IIRC, in your blog, you said that PST is your top 15th RPG. You only have your top 10 RPGs listed. What are the games between your top 10 and PST?

 

[Darth Canoli]

Lilura, IIRC, in your blog, you said that PST is your top 15th RPG. You only have your top 10 RPGs listed. What are the games between your top 10 and PST?

Beamdog's Enhanced editions, of course!

 

[thesheeep]

die by the sword had directional swings (and maybe momentum) a decade earlier..

Die By The Sword seems like one of those games that would be so slow and clunky that it would be virtually unplayable today to fans familiar with the M&B and Dark Souls games. But I remember how innovative it was when it came out.

I remember playing it about the time it came out.
Back then, I did fine.

Then I tried playing it again a few years ago.
Not a chance I would get through the first half of the game. It is a mystery to me how I controlled that mess

 

[Lilura]

Lilura, IIRC, in your blog, you said that PST is your top 15th RPG. You only have your top 10 RPGs listed. What are the games between your top 10 and PST?

Who cares, pidstuff. All that matters in this sphere is that I'm no.1.

 

[Delterius]

Lilura, IIRC, in your blog, you said that PST is your top 15th RPG. You only have your top 10 RPGs listed. What are the games between your top 10 and PST?

Who cares, pidstuff. All that matters in this sphere is that I'm no.1.

he just asked about your other favorite games

 

[Viata]

 

[Roguey]

he just asked about your other favorite games

Lilura dodges questions she doesn't want to answer.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Lilura dodges questions he doesn't want to answer.

FIFY

 

[TheImplodingVoice]

he just asked about your other favorite games

Lilura dodges questions she doesn't want to answer.

That or she puts you on ignore. The latter being the usual way to not answer questions she doesn't like.

 

[Efe]

lets not start 2020 with bullshit, she does that only when you provoke

 

[Lilura]

Lilura dodges questions she doesn't want to answer.

I disagree. People dodge questions when they want to avoid embarrassment or think they are being interrogated. In this case, I'm refusing to answer the question simply because I don't want to answer it.

To expand, I find the question boring. And I don't respond to newfags meaningfully. Besides, they're probably just alts of shitposters that are already in my iggy bin.

 

[Transfiguring Roar]

Happy new year, Lilura.

 

[Lilura]

Happy new year, Lilura.

HNY to you, too.

2020 is going to be a huge year for my blog.

 

[Transfiguring Roar]

I'll be sure to keep an eye on it.

 

[boobio]

Show bobs pls.

 

[Open Path]

Show bobs pls.

Are you sure you are ready, son?

Spoiler

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

We don't have enough social skills to come up with this idea ourselves, thanks for the warning.

 

[Latro]

Honest question to those writing here, except Lilura: do you do it knowing full well he's a narcissist thriving on the scraps of attention he can get?

just another iggy in the bin

 

[Lilura]

Highly disagree with Lilura's position that M&B was the most complex combat system until XD dark souls XD came out. Dark Souls is baby shit compared to M&B, rote hit, dodge, hit with no depth. M&B had directional swinging and momentum which were far more complex and demanding to master.

I hate how in Warband a fucking peasant can block a heavy great long bardiche with their fucking dagger. The sheer weight and power I swing it down at would split them in half from crown to crotch. I have inflicted 270 dmg hits on them when they don't block. Or a peasant can block my masterwork heavy bastard sword that I swing at them while riding at full-tilt on a champion coarser... with a dagger.

What do you think about my Brytenwalda write-up? It's supposed to be realistic.

 

[octavius]

I hate how in Warband a fucking peasant can block a heavy great long bardiche with their fucking dagger. The sheer weight and power I swing it down at would split them in half from crown to crotch. I have inflicted 270 dmg hits on them when they don't block. Or a peasant can block my masterwork heavy bastard sword that I swing at them while riding at full-tilt on a champion coarser... with a dagger.

Peasants are revolting.

 

[Grimwulf]

What do you think about my Brytenwalda write-up? It's supposed to be realistic.

It's gud overall, especially companion compatibility section, but the urge to RANT is too stronk in me. Brytenwalda is my fav MB mod, I've spent more time playing Brytenwalda than any other mod and vanilla MB combined.

I mentioned ambushes in the opening paragraph. Well, they are random, chaotic and deadly.

I am not sure what affects the chance of an ambush or if it's completely random. There seems to be some kind of mechanic at work, though

They are not random; they are deadly; there is a mechanic.

It's been a long time, but I'm 100% positive that the chance of ambush is affected by tactics skill and the number of troops. And something else. Shouldn't be that difficult to find the details on Brytenwalda forum.

Successful ambush prevents your opponent from making formations. The battle begins at skirmishing distance, the ambusher gets terrain advantage, and their enemy usually starts surrounded by ambusher's forces. Those battles are fun to play.

Just like in Native Warband, it's best to roll with a physically strong main character (one-handed weapon and shield + bow, Power Attack and Power Draw) and recruit companion Heroes from town taverns ASAP.

That statement is arguable at best. And so is this one:

Create and build a physically-strong main character that can fight on the battlefield. Someone that wields a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other. Main characters can dictate encounter outcomes much more profoundly than any combat unit controlled by AI.

Yes, just like in vanilla, it is possible to make a difference on the battlefield by simply being gud at the game, and killing a horde of opponents by yourself. What you forgot to mention is:

- Being gud in vanilla doesn't make you gud in BW - you have to learn new tricks, because the old ones don't work here. Lance strike? No such thing in Dark Ages. You wanna fight saddled - better get used to fighting with Gaelic horseman swords.
- WOUNDS. Even a pro makes mistakes or gets unlucky at times. Once you fall on the battlefield, you might get a temporary wound. Fall again before that wound heals, and it will become permanent. Over-reliance on your personal combat performance will only lead you to the glorious future of a cripple.

In BW it's way more important to focus on charisma and leadership, especially when you compare BW and vanilla games. Formations, tactical and strategical decisions play an important role here, crucial even. Your warband composition and ability to use and shuffle formations in battle makes all the difference in this game.

Get a bow, too. Archery is not powerful but it can be situationally useful.

On your main char? Please, no. Other than RP reasons, which I know you don't care for, there is no reason to choose archery over throwing weapons. In those few situations where your personal combat skills REALLY matter (solo missions), you gotta have javelins to break your opponent's shields and causing actual damage.

• Ireland. Get your ass to Ireland. Why? It's just so much easier to train over there without dena and frankish raiders hot on your heels. There are Scoti and Outlaws instead, which are much easier to take out. Find their lairs and build wealth to about 50,000. Maintain an elite cavalry-based army of 30. Build fame (Renown, Reputation/Honor).

I would argue it's easier to build start-up wealth in Pictish lands. Easier brigand lairs. So a grindy approach to BW would be taking brigand lair jobs, earning money, then buying businesses in cities to create a stable flow of income, and only then assembling an elite force.

Waiting for part 2. I suppose the quest walkthroughs are coming? Because BW quests are both challenging and rewarding, you can't simply skip them.

Spoiler

Nice read. Brought a manly nostalgic tear to me eye.

 

[laclongquan]

I hate how in Warband a fucking peasant can block a heavy great long bardiche with their fucking dagger. The sheer weight and power I swing it down at would split them in half from crown to crotch. I have inflicted 270 dmg hits on them when they don't block. Or a peasant can block my masterwork heavy bastard sword that I swing at them while riding at full-tilt on a champion coarser... with a dagger.

Peasants are revolting.

Peasants always are revolting ~

 

[Lilura]

Shouldn't be that difficult to find the details on Brytenwalda forum.

I don't Google up answers. I find them in-game or in the files and acknowledge no authority but my own (and yours when it comes to Brytenwalda). Most of the info would be old, anyway.

Successful ambush prevents your opponent from making formations. The battle begins at skirmishing distance, the ambusher gets terrain advantage, and their enemy usually starts surrounded by ambusher's forces. Those battles are fun to play.

Indeed.

Yes, just like in vanilla, it is possible to make a difference on the battlefield by simply being gud at the game, and killing a horde of opponents by yourself. What you forgot to mention is:

- Being gud in vanilla doesn't make you gud in BW - you have to learn new tricks, because the old ones don't work here. Lance strike? No such thing in Dark Ages. You wanna fight saddled - better get used to fighting with Gaelic horseman swords.

I didn't forget to mention that Native is a cakewalk compared to Brytenwalda. In fact, the theme that runs through the post is "this is hard" (which I like).

- WOUNDS. Even a pro makes mistakes or gets unlucky at times. Once you fall on the battlefield, you might get a temporary wound. Fall again before that wound heals, and it will become permanent. Over-reliance on your personal combat performance will only lead you to the glorious future of a cripple.

I'm talking about early game, Grimwulf. I flank for +dmg and wield a sturdy shield off-hand. I back off if bleeding kicks in or I get exhausted.

In BW it's way more important to focus on charisma and leadership, especially when you compare BW and vanilla games. Formations, tactical and strategical decisions play an important role here, crucial even. Your warband composition and ability to use and shuffle formations in battle makes all the difference in this game.

Charisma and Leadership are third-quater-of-the-game skills. At least, that's how I've always played. I covered the importance of formations and Company order (maybe not well enough yet, though).

On your main char? Please, no. Other than RP reasons, which I know you don't care for, there is no reason to choose archery over throwing weapons. In those few situations where your personal combat skills REALLY matter (solo missions), you gotta have javelins to break your opponent's shields and causing actual damage.

Which I corrected in the Archery section. Bare with me, I just started writing this.

I would argue it's easier to build start-up wealth in Pictish lands. Easier brigand lairs. So a grindy approach to BW would be taking brigand lair jobs, earning money, then buying businesses in cities to create a stable flow of income, and only then assembling an elite force.

I'll check it out. I'm playing v.1.61 so the game might have changed a bit.

Btw, you last posted on my blog as DomOP, 5 years ago or something. Time flies, eh?

 

[Grimwulf]

I didn't forget to mention that Native is a cakewalk compared to Brytenwalda. In fact, the theme that runs through the post is "this is hard" (which I like).

Aye, your article is perfectly clear on the difficulty of Brytenwalda. And yet you suggest taking a physically strong, combat-oriented char. If a regular MB player stumbles upon your article, he might get an impression that fighting in BW is basically the same as vanilla, only a bit harder. Maybe your opponents have better skills or more hp. But Lilura told me to grab a shield, so I'll be fine. Right?

Wrong. A regular MB player will look for cheesy methods to win a battle. Abusing lance strikes; getting 200+ bow skill; moonwalking with a two-handed weapon, etc. None of it works in BW. There is no lance strikes; bows are useless outside of dedicated archer squads; moonwalking will only lead to stumbling and falling down.

You're not giving viable advice to Brytenwalda beginners here. "Grab a shield, pump up physical stats in chargen, and get your arse to Ireland" is guaranteed to bring loads of suffering.

Also, your merchant char started in East Engla - the hardest region in the game. If a player gets caught by dena raiders, who are notoriously fast-moving, it's game over. They don't negotiate.

There is a single reason I can think of to start in East Engla. Getting a "destroy Dena landing" quest immediately after starting the game. Since these quests scale with your level, getting one early will result in easier (lower numbers) Dena lair. If you manage to beat it, you'll get expensive armor that'll make the early game much more manageable. It's a dicey approach to BW.

A more conservative approach would be moving your butt to the nearest training camp as soon as you start the game, for both initial xp boost, getting used to the new combat mechanics, AND pumping up weapon skills to the point where you'll be able to make a proper swing. Low-skilled chars are too slow with weapons to fight in battles. And the difference in scaling is more significant compared to Native.

I back off if bleeding kicks in or I get exhausted.

Best way to conserve stamina is to walk (not run) during battles, attacking raider camps, and performing solo missions. I think it's also worth mentioning for the new players.

Charisma and Leadership are third-quater-of-the-game skills. At least, that's how I've always played.

The only thing preventing you from gathering a huge army from the start is the cost and inability to lead. High leadership and charisma allow you to lead a big army at a much lower cost. You can train them safely in training camps, but in order to do it in fast & effective fashion, you have to gather significant numbers first. The more troops of the same type you have - the faster they train up. And make sure you promote them only when everyone gains a promotion. Otherwise, those left behind will take forever to train up.

I'm not saying that creating a leader-type in chargen is a better approach, all I'm saying it's easier for the new players.

Oh, one more issue I have with your post:

When you can afford it, every companion should be sword + shield + bow and every companion should be armored and riding a mule, donkey or horse. Everyone.

This is wrong on so many levels.

You need speed on the overland map or your Company is going to get run down and hacked up by bandit mobs; and also, it'll be hard to catch the more mobile, weaker mobs to train on.

Most units in Brytenwalda are foot soldiers, with only a bunch of cavalry types. The best troops in Brytenwalda are foot soldiers - heavy infantry of various types. There is no elite cavalry capable of pwning any army on its own, Swadia-style. Cavalry in Brytenwalda serve for flanking strikes, chasing routing enemy, skirmishes, but never to dominate the battlefield. It's squishy, and you mention it in your article.

So your warband will not be all-mounted at any point of the game, or at least it shouldn't be. Providing all your companions with a horse is not only pointless, but also a sure way to get them killed in battle as soon as you forget to give that "dismount" order at the start of it. Because cavalry in BW gets killed fast.

I always assign Companions to their own group called "Heroes". The medic/doctor is always assigned to a separate group, too, which I call "Squishies" or "Don't Dies".

Exactly. Now why would a "Squishy" need a horse? Isn't it better to give him a bow and place among your archer ranks?

I would even argue that most "heroes" don't need a horse either. In my experience, Ciniod and Onuist perform best with heavy armor + two-handed axe, no mount. Each of them wreaks havoc on the battlefield when geared out like that.

 

[overly excitable young man]

What? Lilura rates Jagged Alliance 2 only as 99%? lol