cRPG is fun, but the going is rough.

[Breidr]

My progression through M&B is a bit backwards.  I bought the game for Napoleonic Wars.  I experimented with Native and had fun, but didn't like some things about it.  This summer I've been searching through the Mod forums and found a few populated mods that re cool, most are pretty dead when I play though, cRPG being one of the exceptions.

I like Native, don't get me wrong.  It's one of the more unique games I've played.  I'm average at it (maybe a bit below) usually breaking even at the least.  I was drawn to cRPG because I wanted to give the character progression and inventory system a whirl.  I never cared for the gold system in Native.
I downloaded the mod, got everything up and running and did some searching and have a few builds on paper.  I created my first character and started grinding.

I expected to die... a lot.  I was not disappointed.  I think my ratio is 1:20 so far.  This was anticipated, but it's starting to feel like I'm going nowhere.  It's a different feeling from Warband for sure.  Enemy players seem to just shrug me off like I'm nothing.  I was thinking it was because I was new, but now that I'm almost  30 it doesn't seem to have gotten any better.

How do I make headway in this new world.  I know some tactics from M&B, but they seem to be useless here.  I went with the Shielder build I found on these forums and I feel like I would be better off without the shield sometimes.  It feels that useless.  There has to be something that I'm not understanding.

[Dooz]

Only thing that's gonna help you is time. Time spent playing this game. Time that could be better spent doing anything else. Give it some thought, but if you find that you really can't tear yourself away, then you'll get better all the time. As far as classes and builds and equipment, go with what you like. Unless you're a statistics only numbers cruncher and want the maximum this for the minimum that, I'm sure there's plenty here who can help you with that. But if you're in it for the fun, then wear what you like, use what you like, be whatever class you like. You'll have plenty of time to figure out what suits you better as you go and try new things along the way. Plenty of time. Plenty.

[Legs]

Sword & board is a mixed bag for new players. Defense is easier since you don't have to deal with directional blocking and you can defend against missiles and multiple attacks at once. However, it also slows you down both in terms of attack speed and foot speed and restricts you to 1-handed weapons which tend to be shorter and weaker. Unless you know what you're doing most players will be able to shrug off your attacks, especially if they're wearing heavy armor or have a lot of strength.

My advice would be to:
1.) Respec to a strength build (24/15 maybe) with maxed power strike and iron flesh, that way you'll be hard-hitting and durable, especially in heavier armor
2.) Switch to polearms or 2-handed swords since they tend to be longer and do more damage, then backpedal and use reach to your advantage

This is good for beginners since it allows for a large margin of error. Try to block one attack, then two in a row, then three, etc. After you start to get the hang of directional blocking and other misc. mechanics like feints, holds, and all that you can begin to try out other playstyles without quite as much frustration.

Also, try to look for situations that you can actually handle. Find a peasant to fight, or a group of teammates that outnumber the enemy, or a top player to tag along with. Don't try to duel that monster with the shiny plate armor and 20 kills, or to charge a group of enemies by yourself.

cRPG can be tough for new players since the average skill level is high and most people have plenty of money saved up but try to remember that all of us started out just like you.

[Grumpy_Nic]

Thats the same thing I went through when I started this mod. You can do quite much when you stay with the main crowd as shielder or for example as polearm supporter.
You might aswell find someone who makes some training duels with you without oneshotting you right at the beginning but giving you a struggle.

What I did after being steamrolled by the veterans is to switch to crossbow (a very unpopular choice). I spend many generations as xbow but now I only have an xbow alt and my main character is back on melee. If you want to try xbowing I can give you some help if you want. I can also go to duel server with you and train a bit or we team up in battle... whatever. If you are an EU player... 

[WITCHCRAFT]

Fighting against someone who agrees to help train you on the duel server will boost your skill faster than anything else. You will learn from your mistakes more quickly, and be able to master the strong points of your class without getting mobbed by 10 enemies at once.

If you are on battle or siege, follow large groups and try to mimic the playstyle of other shielders near you. You will pick up a bunch of good habits this way. You can also put effort into spectating good shielders after you have died. Watching someone wreck their opponent with a similar build to yours is inspiring as well.

If you join a decent sized clan, you will have access to their armory. You can access +3 heirloomed items that will give you an edge in combat without playing for thousands of hours to acquire all of them. They are no replacement for skill, but better items do help.

[the real god emperor]

If you re a shielder join the Grey Order.Their players seem to know nothing but they will beat the shit out of you.
Joke beside, I can help you with offensive shielder builds if you want..

[Molly]

I am playing this (whatever it is, really ) for a while now... dunno how many years by now... and I am still below average but I manage to still enjoy the game. A huge factor that comes with crpg is its community. You'll get to know people that regularly play the same server as you do. You'll start to talk with them and at some point even consider a lot of them as e-friends. And beside all the flaws, roughness of the game and the flaming in chat/forum, this community is pretty great to be a part of...

What I'm trying to say is: Stick with it and you'll be as addicted to this place like the rest of us

[rufio]

the skill bar is pretty high in this community, if you want to improve to the medium standard, the most effective way is to ask good players in the duel servers for tips and tricks, you can also search the faction halls for clans: hop on a ts, or make contact through forums, from there on its all about practice and knowledge. for me finding a clan and learning from experienced players was the key to succes,

(click to show/hide)

also shit loads of hours of practice and teamplay, loomed gear is a small factor to

[Mlekce]

Shield is more for passive play and support,you also need to wear lighter armors and get faster weapons.
I feel too that shield is pretty much shit,and just slows you down,i bought plate and military hammer and now playing without shield,it is much more better then playing with shield. You can do the same if you are decent with blocking in melee. Just don't rush into fights like retard,i like more to get separated from my team and go and duel loners on battlefield. You will get better skills and will get more kills then going to fight a mob of enemies where everyone is pointing their weapon at you.

[Grumbs]

Might sound stupid, but the number 1 thing to learn in this game is how to survive. Actually dealing damage is secondary and can come later. I'd suggest learning to manually block so that its at least some fun while you learn to survive rather than just holding down right mouse with a shield. Main things to learn imo for survival:

Know when to run and when to fight. Make a mental note of how many team mates you have in the area and how many enemies there are, and refuse to engage in a fight that you think you have little chance of winning. You need to be aware of how many team mates you have alive compared to the enemy though, it might be that you have to take a risk and  engage outnumbered sometimes. Generally though with evenish numbers on each team you should always retreat when outnumbered and regroup. If you have more players alive than the enemy then you don't ever have to fight outnumbered and you should regroup rather than fight an even fight and then lose the round. As you get better you can take more risks, but to start just be passive and learn to survive as long as you can while still having some impact on the round. Some rounds have an initial melee phase that you can't really retreat from without losing the round though, theres a bit more to it than I've put here.

Rebind the "view outfit" key or get used to pressing it constantly. Its the ` (left of 1) by default. I have this as the b key and I'm pressing it 90% of the time when I'm not fighting. You need this to be aware of your surroundings and to avoid cavalry.

Teamwork is king in this game. If you help your team to survive you win, but you have to balance it with knowing when you should be retreating. Helping a guy survive in the short team might not help you win the round in the long term if there are too many enemies nearby.

Learn to recognise people on the field and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Check tab to see who is alive and what clan they're in. Even if you think you have the round won, you might press tab and see someone who can actually win the round for the enemy. You might see a key player knocked down and jump in and block for him, or you might be a distraction to help someone who's in a bad situation. Remember the first point though, helping guys out that are outnumbered can just end with you both dying which is no good for anyone. But you might decide its worth you dying if you help a particular player survive

Don't fight 1v1 if you can help it. If you're group fighting then be aware of people making sneak attacks on you, and you should rotate around who you attack. So don't tunnel vision on one guy, take a look to the side and maybe help a team mate while you block the other one. People tunnel vision a lot in this game and think they're 1v1ing when they aren't

Try not to look like an easy target. Stay with team mates, wear medium gear at least with a decent helmet and boots. Even if the armour doesn't help all that much, if you look like a peasent people will try to take you out of the picture first as it will take more effort to kill the other guys. I think this is one of the key reasons new players die early, they just look like an easy target because of something they do or how their gear looks. It might seem unfair, but you get fake peasants that actually can cause a lot of problems, and 1 less distraction is worth like 1 or 2 hits if its an easy kill.

Use a balanced build and gear. You need some speed, some HP and some damage imo. I used to always go 21/18 builds with a 2 hander until I stopped retiring. I would go 21/18 with a polearm now. 7IF,7PS,6Ath, 3 WM I think it is. Lots of viable builds though

Probably a bunch I left out but maybe this can help. This is a game that will suck you in as you get better, try to enjoy learning to play rather than get frustrated. You should only get frustrated if you aren't really learning much as you play

[Eugen]

[...]

Rebind the "view outfit" key or get used to pressing it constantly. Its the ` (left of 1) by default. I have this as the b key and I'm pressing it 90% of the time when I'm not fighting. You need this to be aware of your surroundings and to avoid cavalry.

[...]

All together Grumbs post is full of good stuff. The "look key" really is essential and will save your ass. Look around as often as you can and build your decissions on what you see going on on the battlefield. I have bound the "look" key on middel mouse button, so i can even look around when running or infight.

Awerness is key next to good reaction and timing. All else will come with time - that is, if you like this melee shooter roleplaying medieval whatever game.

Best thing is, if your reached level 31 you can retire gain a loompoint and a generation. Then you will get an xp-boost and you can improve your gear. And with every time you retire you reach lvl 31 faster. If your gen 3 or 4 youll be in charge of everything I bet.

[Elindor]

Average skill level in cRPG is MUCH higher than in Native...so what you are experiencing is that. 
As these guys have said - it takes time.  You start with the basics and then add onto those over time.

  Here's a guide I made a while back for people new to manual combat systems : CLICK HERE
 

[Phew]

If you insist on playing a shielder, get a blunt weapon. 1h Swords are awful without looms and high level stats (you'll barely hurt anyone and glance a lot).

Next, focus on fighting people that are attacking one of your teammates. I can't hardly beat any 2h players on the duel server, but I usually have one of the top scores on siege because I just hack people that are fighting someone else. Shielders are a low priority target in any kind of group fight, so use that to your advantage and sneak in attacks when your opponents are pre-occupied blocking a giant greatsword or whatever.

[Tore]

Average skill level in cRPG is MUCH higher than in Native...so what you are experiencing is that. 

Ever played on IG_Battlegrounds?

[Elindor]

Ever played on IG_Battlegrounds?

Nah, but I said "average"...there are some very good native players for sure.