The Horse Archery Guide
by Miwiw
Content- 1) Introduction
- 2) What is a HA?
- 2.1) Why on Horse?
- 2.2) HAs reputation
- 3) HA builds
- 3.1) Standard HA: 15/24
- 3.2) 18/18 HA
- 3.3) 21/18 HA
- 3.4) HA Hybrid (by Jackie)
- 3.5) 12/24 HA
- 3.6) Other HA builds
- 4) HA Equip
- 4.1) Bows
- 4.2) Arrows
- 4.3) Horses
- 4.4) Melee Weapon
- 4.5) Armor
- 5) On the battlefield
- 5.1) on battle
- 5.2) on siege
- 5.3) in duels
- 5.4) in Strategus
- 5.5) other
- 6) List of other useful threads
- 8) My Experience
- 7.1) prefered HA build
- 7.2) prefered Equip
- 10) Other Comments to this guide
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1) IntroductionWelcome to this thread and my first guide related to warband and crpg. Until now I wrote several guides for other games, e.g. some free to play MMOs and their builds (sadly those forums are down now and I got no copy).
I hope you enjoy reading and get some interest in any HA build. Maybe you even like to try HA after reading. You will probably also understand the HA better afterwards (if you hold some hate against it before).
I am myself actually not a dedicated HA player but I always loved playing them. My main character is currently in generation ten and half my time I played some kind of archer class and one HA generation (and many more on my old main character). I do however read the forums a lot and gathered the most important information in here.
If you think that the Horse Archer was an useless class, you probably stop reading here. To the rest of you, have fun!
On another note:I quoted many posts and added them under each section. If anyone does not want to be quoted, please say so!
2) What is a HA?An Horse Archer is an archer on a horse, obviously. Different to an archer on foot is the total dedication focused on archery. A common Horse Archer does not fight in melee or does put any skill points in Power Strike or Iron Flesh, as well as any WPF in anything else than Archery.
And there are of courses needed skill points in Riding and Horse Archery [for builds see 3)].
Here only some variations of the HA hybrids consider to use points for melee combat (see 3.4) HA Hybrids).
2.1) Why on Horse?Why does an archer decide to go Horse Archer if he usually has a better aim while on foot and probably even more possibilites when it comes to equipment (Rus/Long Bow for example) and choice of builds (hybrids for example)?
There are different reasons for this and they are not only explained by the word fun.
Considering going Horse Archer does first need some thoughts; e.g. is it worth going on horse if I do only play siege mode [see 5.2)]? Do I have enough gold to pay upkeep for both my horse, bow and arrows [see 4)]?
What build should I go [see 3)]? What equipment do I use in what situation [see 3) and 4)]?
After finding your build and the best fitting equipment you can go ahead and start leveling and have fun.
Being on horse does also mean speed and maneuverability, being able to survive infantry attacks without having to have any skill points in melee combat.
It means support on horseback and also the possibility to move from one point of the map to another one.
2.2) HAs reputationThe Horse Archers reputation is, easily noticed after playing some time on the battle server, quite different. People playing infantry tend to complain about the horse archer as they do not like to be chased by an archer on horse being able to shoot a lot of arrows over a short period of time and even doing some nice damage.
For most people the Horse Archer is an annoying class and also hated and disliked.
There are for example special rules on servers preventing Horse Archers to prolong a round (prolonging a round on battle is generally forbidden, with any class), by staying on horseback if enemy infantry went hiding themselves from arrows. In those cases the Horse Archer generally has to dismount and engage in melee which usually ends in a lost round. Of course that is understandable.
However Horse Archers are usually disliked while being on horseback. Once dismounted only hybrid builds with melee attributes are able to survive (or people being nicely skilled in melee).
3) HA buildsThere are some different HA builds which are mostly only different in certain stats, such as Riding or Horse Archery.
You either have the choice between more damage or more accuracy.
3.1) Standard HA 15/24 Level 30 (4 420 577 xp)
Strength: 15
Agility: 24
Hit points: 50
Skills to attributes: 8
Ironflesh: 0
Power Strike: 0
Shield: 0
Athletics: 0
Riding: 6
Horse Archery: 4
Power Draw: 5
Power Throw: 0
Weapon Master: 8
One Handed: 1
Two Handed: 1
Polearm: 1
Archery: 173
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1
This is the usual HA build, also recommend by Marathon in the Solid Builds thread.
The Riding skill 6 makes it possible to ride any horse except for the Arabian Warhorse [see 4.3)].
This can of course be changed to 7 Riding and 7 Weapon Master if you prefer to ride an Arabian Warhorse. The only problem is that you lose some WPF (7 WM = 165 archery) which means less accuracy but another horse and more riding speed.
This decision is up to you and if you try both builds you probably will see what you like more.
I will try both builds in the future and give my own comment to judge both builds.
Players Comment(s):by Marathon: Note: I personally don't use this build, Most people swear by it though for Horse archery. It is pretty accurate but does low damage. As with all HAs, it is pretty bad on foot when dehorsed.
3.2) 18/18 HA Level 30 (4 420 577 xp)
Strength: 18
Agility: 18
Hit points: 57
Skills to attributes: 2
Ironflesh: 2
Power Strike: 0
Shield: 0
Athletics: 6
Riding: 6
Horse Archery: 3
Power Draw: 6
Power Throw: 0
Weapon Master: 6
One Handed: 1
Two Handed: 1
Polearm: 1
Archery: 156
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1
This is another HA build which is more an all rounder and can also be used as a foot archer due to 6 Power Draw and 6 Athletics. The 6 Power Draw allows to use both Rus and Long Bow for damage reasons. Those 2 bows are of course not being to be used on horse so you still use the Horn Bow on horse but due to more PD you deal more damage and that usually pays off for less Weapon Master.
Instead of 6 Athletics you can also take more IF or PS if you want. However do not take less WPF. You will need all accuracy you get.
Players Comment(s):by Marathon: Note: Athletics, power strike and IF are all up for changing for your preferred role in this build. it is flexible, does alright damage and maneuvers fairly well. If you want Melee, get power strike and cut your IF and lower your athletics. Up to you.
3.3) 21/18 HA Level 30 (4 420 577 xp)
Strength: 21
Agility: 18
Hit points: 56
Skills to attributes: 8
Ironflesh: 0
Power Strike: 0
Shield: 0
Athletics: 1
Riding: 6
Horse Archery: 3
Power Draw: 7
Power Throw: 0
Weapon Master: 6
One Handed: 1
Two Handed: 1
Polearm: 1
Archery: 156
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1
This is a dedicated Horse Archery build based on max damage with best possible accuracy. With 7 Power Draw you will deal a good amount of damage but do not forget that with more PD you will also have less accuracy in the end. I would recommend this build for Horse Archer advanced. Beginner should take builds with more accuracy to test their builds.
Players Comment(s):by Marathon:
Note: No melee, worse on foot. If you are always on a horse and always shooting it is better than 18/18.
3.4) HA Hybrid (by Jackie)Level 30
Strength: 15
Agility: 18
Hit points: 50
Attributes to skills: 2
Ironflesh: 0
Power Strike: 5
Shield: 4
Athletics: 6
Riding: 6
Horse Archery: 3
Power Draw: 5
Power Throw: 0
Weapon Master: 6
One Handed: 50
Two Handed: 1
Polearm: 1
Archery: 150
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1
This is a build Jackie (Byzantinum) used before and as I saw him using both bow and 1h/shield on horseback with heavy armor he told me his build and I was very interested in knowing it. It is obvious that it is a heavy hybrid, useful for both melee and horse archery.
However you should also note that this isnt either a build for beginners but for players who got some experience in this game. The amount of WPF is high enough for 5 PD to have some nice accuracy however you also need to know that you should at least wear medium gear which will also lower your aim (medium gear so your PS/IF/Shield skill pays off).
Probably also putting some WPF in 1handed.
Alternative choose either Polearm or 2handed and remove the Shield skill points, putting them in Athletics for example so you can also fight on foot.
Players Comment(s):
by Jackie:(
) it is a lot of fun (
) and very interesting (
) and strong (
)
3.5) 12/24 HALevel 30 (4 420 577 xp)
Strength: 12
Agility: 24
Hit points: 47
Skills to attributes: 2
Ironflesh: 0
Power Strike: 0
Shield: 0
Athletics: 5
Riding: 8
Horse Archery: 4
Power Draw: 4
Power Throw: 0
Weapon Master: 8
One Handed: 1
Two Handed: 1
Polearm: 1
Archery: 173
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1
Used with Tatar Bow as 4 PD only. In comparison this build has more Riding and 5 Athletics instead of some damage. With Tatar Bow you can shoot more arrows but do a bit less of damage, but the 2 more Riding allow you to use any Horse you want and also improve your horses speed. This is a nice build for open plains as you will be able to outrun most lancers.
Players Comment(s):
3.6) Other HA buildsAbove the 3 most common HA builds are described and shown. The build by Jackie is just another example I wanted to show what is possible in crpg related to Horse Archery.
Same goes for the 12/24 build. Most HAs still use the Horn Bow instead of the Tatar Bow.
Still the 12/24 build has more riding and also some athletics, so you can also be a foot archer with a Tatar Bow if you like to. You have no skill in melee combat though.
I wouldnt recommend going less STR (= less PD) because your damage will be too low.
Also going more Power Draw than 7 isnt a good idea as your accuracy will drop and make aiming to a nearly impossible challenge.
Testing is of course always a good idea!
Players Comment(s):by Marathon: The build might be pretty good at 33, but damn man that's going to take a while to actually flesh that build out to be good. Also, I'd only do HA if you have MW bows and arrows already.
Level 33 (35 569 612 xp)
Strength: 18
Agility: 24
Hit points: 53
Skills to attributes: 8
Ironflesh: 0
Power Strike: 0
Shield: 0
Athletics: 0
Riding: 8
Horse Archery: 4
Power Draw: 6
Power Throw: 0
Weapon Master: 8
One Handed: 1
Two Handed: 1
Polearm: 1
Archery: 174
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1
If you aren't, do a normal HA build like: 15-24, 18-18, 21-18, (or even 27/12, my personal favorite level 30 Ha, but who am i!? Go 15/24 like every other ha ^_^)
by Murchad: I have done tons of HA builds and had fun with all of them. don't listen to people who tell you tell you that a certain way is the "right way" to make them.
The build you posted would certainly work.
some advantages and weaknesses would be:
Pro
good damage and able to shoot effectively while moving fast because of the 4HA
would be a good body shot build.
Cons
low riding and wpf.
6riding isn't too bad but you are probobly going to be dehorsed alot with this build. and with no ps or ath you will be a sitting duck on the ground.
This build really begs for more levels. it seems a waste to have that many points in agi and not getting more wm and riding.
if you want 6pd i would rather drop the 4ha to have more skill points available.
I had lots of fun with this build
level 30
18/18 build
6ps
6pd
6riding
6wm
3ha
2ath
4) EquipmentDepending on your build your equipment might be slightly different to another build. However some builds have similar equipment and usually you can use the same over and over again.
The most important parts of your equipment are 1) your bow, 2) your horse and 3) your arrows.
4.1) BowsFor a horse archer there are actually only three bows which should catch our interest.
The Tatar Bow which needs 4 Power Draw.
The Horn Bow which needs 5 Power Draw.
The Yumi Bow which needs 6 Power Draw.
Depending on your build, your experience and own liking you choose a bow best fitting to your style.
Loomed Bows have more damage and accuracy.
Tatar BowThe Tatar Bow needs 4 Power Draw as said above. That means that you should only use this bow when you do not have more than 12 Strength or you are wasting damage.
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Stats:
missile speed: 38
weight: 1.2
accuracy: 97
difficulty: 4
speed rating: 66
missile speed: 38
thrust damage: 22 cut
slots: 1
Players Comment(s):by isatis: I love tatar for precision (and arrow spamm but shhhhh don't tell that!)
by Cris: You get better accuracy and can hold the aim for longer. Tatar and horn bows both have 97 accuracy, so you would only be missing out on the extra damage and missile speed. Tatar bow spams faster which can be an advantage depending on your play style.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to what suits you best, if you like tatar, keep it extra PD will help that damage so no need to drop it unless you reaaaaalllyyyy want something else with that skill point.
by Gomer: Tatar Bow:
The Machine Gun. Doesn't do a whole lot of damage (only two less then Horn though) but horribly fast. Very good for Archer Duels and medium range combat vs. Light armored targets. Tough to use at the start of your career but when the right hands of an archer who can aim for the head this can be deadly. Tough to use but tough to beat. Recommendation is to not use in your first generation but later on. (BTW This is Strategus GOLD Cheap to make and masterworked mows down people in strategus)
Horn BowThe Horn Bow needs 5 Power Draw as said above and is the most recommend bows and also usually used for most builds (unless you have less than 15 Strength). The bows stats are very balanced and are good related to the price.
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Stats:
missile speed: 39
weight: 1.2
accuracy: 97
difficulty: 5
speed rating: 61
missile speed: 39
thrust damage: 24 cut
slots: 1
Players Comment(s):by Cris: HA bows:
Nomad bow -----> Not my first choice, very little damage, BUT, if you want it, it will alow you to have a build with Horser Archery 5, not that bad if you can manage those headshots (10wn will sure help you) - I do not recomend this build as first build.
Tatar Bow -----> Since you cannot get a good build with HA5 with this bow, I'd skip it unless you want the looks or a hybrid build and are missing skill points somewhere else.
Horn Bow ----> my bow of choice, good accuracy, best missile speed on horseback, can get HA4 at level 30 ----> you can even go hybrid and spend some points in PS and still get HA4 at higher levels. Although HA3 will do just fine too.
Yumi bow ----> More damage than horn bow, better accuracy, best reload in game, WORST misile speed in game. Its a nice looking bow, but even with PD6 I would still use the horn bow. Although a loomed yumi will do fine imo. With a yumi bow you will be locked to HA3 for most of your gaming life.
I'd say Horn bow is the best for my money.
by Tears of Destiny: Horn Bow for best bow overall (the most balanced, there is no "best bow" everything has a purpose), very good for horseback or as a ground archer. If this is your first gen, us this bow.
Any other bow is for very specialist purposes or thematic use.
by Gomer: Horn Bow:
Fast. This does an OK amount of damage (4 less then the Rus Bow) but makes up for the lack of damage with speed. The three speed difference sacrificed for the four damage bonus of the Rus must not be discounted. The 3 speed makes a HUGE difference. This bow is great for archer duels. It is fast so if your going for the head it gives you a lot more chances. Good bow one of the two most common. Recommendation good bow, easy to use, great for trying archery for the first time.
Yumi BowThe Yumi Bow needs 6 Power Draw as said above and is therefore only possible to use if you have at least 18 Strength. It is actually not common to use this bow on horse however it might make fun or give you a challenge to use this bow. In this case it is about your own liking and experience. If the bow is loomed it is also much stronger and easier to use (regarding damage and accuracy).
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Stats:
missile speed: 35
weight: 1.5
accuracy: 100
difficulty: 6
speed rating: 60
missile speed: 35
thrust damage: 26 cut
slots: 1
Players Comment(s):by Gomer: Yumi:
Hard. This bow lacks Damage and especially Missile speed. It is a very large bow and very hard to stay in a good position without being noticed. Hard to use. Slow draw. Some people are good with it. Not recommended to use but recommended to try. Some people are very good with it.
These are the 3 most common used bows for a Horse Archer. You cannot use Rus and Long Bow on horseback.
Besides of that there are also the Short Bow (1 PD), the Bow (2 PD) and the Nomad Bow (3 PD). These 3 Bows actually lack too much damage to be useful on horseback and arent actually used. During low levels they can however be used to level up and test some aiming but they shouldnt be used at higher levels (25+) as you will likely not gain any kills unless you play with a higher PD build and decide to use one of these bows (if you have at least 4 PD you will not use anything less than the Tatar Bow anyway).
Note that also here it is important that you decide what you like yourself! If you are absolutely fine with the Nomad Bow then use it and have fun!
Players Comment(s):by Gomer: Short Bow, Bow and Nomad Bow:
The three cheapest lowest tier bows and are an obvious choice to use intill you have the required skill to use the upper tier bows. Recommended not to use if your skill permits else-wise.
4.2) ArrowsIn crpg there are 4 different kinds of arrows:
- Arrows
- Barbed Arrows
- Tatar Arrows
- Bodkin Arrows
They differ in additional damage and amount of arrows given. The first three arrows give normal cut damage, but the bodkin arrows change the bows cut damage to pierce damage (which means that those arrows are more effective against high ed players).
Loomed Arrows do have more damage and more arrows in the quivers.
ArrowsIf you want to use a bow you need at least these standard arrows. They just add 1 damage to the normal bows damage.
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Stats:
weapon length: 95
weight: 5
weapon length: 95
max ammo: 24
thrust damage: 1 cut
slots: 1
Barbed ArrowsThe Barbed Arrows are improved arrows, and deal 3times as much damage as the normal Arrows. At the same time there are less arrows in the quiver.
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Stats:
weapon length: 95
weight: 4
weapon length: 95
max ammo: 20
thrust damage: 3 cut
slots: 1
Tatar ArrowsThe Tatar Arrows do have another additional damage in comparison to the Barbed Arrows but again the quiver is smaller and only contains 18 arrows.
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Stats:
weapon length: 95
weight: 3.5
weapon length: 95
max ammo: 18
thrust damage: 4 cut
slots: 1
Bodkin ArrowsThe Bodkin Arrows are different to the other 3 kind of Arrows. They have pierce damage instead of cut damage and do also change the bows damage to pierce. Pierce is useful against heavy players. However this change of damage is near to being useless against low armor equipment.
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Stats:
weapon length: 91
weight: 3
weapon length: 91
max ammo: 15
thrust damage: 0 pierce
slots: 1
Players Comment(s):by Cris: There are many factors that affect the arrows you use.
Your budget, your horse, your build (HA and WPP) and most importantly how accurate YOU are.
Also, there is no way around it, your damage will suck which ever arrows you use.
For max damage agaisnt the target you actually have a chance of killing, Tatar.
Barbed are great though, nice bonus, specially if loomed, larger amount of arrows and very easy to upkeep (very important if you like expensive horses such as courser/destrier/arabian)
Bodkins are for plate and expensive.
"Arrows" are great if money is short, and a good HA will do well with them anyway...the amounts of shots taken to kill no plate with better arrows can be 1 shot difference in many cases.
A word of advice though, forget looming arrows for now, loom the bow to x3, loom the horse to x3 and then loom your arrows.
by Gomer: Arrows:
You get tons of cheap to upkeep arrows. They don't add much damage but are cheap. Recommended for people that go for head shots, people conserving money, or people wanting something good to craft for strategus.
Barbed Arrows:
Underestimated. Cheap high quantity arrows. One less damage then Tatar but +2 arrows per quiver and much cheaper to maintain. Underestimated. Again Strategus gold.
Tatar Arrows:
Basic. Not as expensive as Bodkins and the highest damage bonus. A large amount of arrows per quiver. Basic default for the average archer own a set.
Bodkin Arrows:
Expensive little buggers. Only get 15 arrows per quiver. BUT it transfers your damage to pierce. Do not underestimate that. It will tear through armored enemys. Good for the archer that want's to help his team. Good for killing armored horses. Own a set of these.
4.3) HorsesThere are a lot of horses to choose from. It is possible to divide them in 2 categories;
light horses and armored horses.
The advantages of the light horses are high speed, high maneuverability and a lower price.
Armored horses have in comparison to the others horses more health points, more armor and a higher charge (charge means the damage when riding over infantry). They do also cost more gold as they are harder to kill.
A HA can actually use any horse but for most HA players the most important stats are speed and maneuver. With a higher amount of health points and more armor a horse is of course useful as well for a HA player however as a HA cannot block attack by lancers when using a bow, speed and maneuver become very important and more important over armor.
Never forget that a high Riding skill improves speed, so even high armored and actually slow horses can compete with other cavalry (who probably have 5 Riding only for example).
Also take in account that a loomed horse has improved stats like more speed.
Sumpter HorseThe Sumpter Horse is the cheapest horse but has also the lowest stats and does not really warrant the price or is any use for a Horse Archer as it is too slow and has low health.
Better directly skip this horse.
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hit points: 90
body armor: 10
difficulty: 2
speed: 33
maneuver: 37
charge: 9
The Rouncey is the most standard horse and has quite average stats. It is always a good choice if you are either lower level or want to pay less upkeep.
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hit points: 95
body armor: 16
difficulty: 3
speed: 41
maneuver: 41
charge: 20
The Steppe Horse is also a standard horse of the Horse Archer and has a high advantage due to his nice maneuver stats. It is slower than the Rouncey but has higher stats in maneuver.
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hit points: 85
body armor: 14
difficulty: 4
speed: 37
maneuver: 47
charge: 14
Desert HorseThe Desert Horse has compared to the Rouncey and Steppe Horse, advantages of both horses. A bit more speed than the Steppe Horse and more maneuver than the Rouncey.
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hit points: 90
body armor: 10
difficulty: 6
speed: 39
maneuver: 46
charge: 16
The Palfrey is stat-wise similar to the Rouncey but more a light version and lacks some stats.
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hit points: 85
body armor: 12
difficulty: 3
speed: 42
maneuver: 41
charge: 18
The Courser is speed-wise the fastest horse with 46 speed.
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hit points: 100
body armor: 18
difficulty: 6
speed: 46
maneuver: 41
charge: 24
The Arabian Warhorse has the highest stats in maneuver and is therefore a perfect horse for the Horse Archer. It just has average stats in speed and is probably also easy to kill but it is best horse to dodge other cavalry.
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hit points: 100
body armor: 10
difficulty: 7
speed: 41
maneuver: 48
charge: 20
The Destrier is a prefered horse by most cavalry players as it is still a light horse with decent price and speed but has a good protection and decent amount of health points. It can also be used by Horse Archers for less distant shots and infantry support by bumps.
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hit points: 120
body armor: 27
difficulty: 5
speed: 42
maneuver: 42
charge: 33
The War Horse is stat-wise very similar to the Rouncey, by speed and maneuver. The difference is far higher protection, more charge and healthpoints.
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hit points: 120
body armor: 40
difficulty: 5
speed: 41
maneuver: 41
charge: 36
The Large Warhorse is a bit heaver than the War Horse but has less speed (-1).
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hit points: 130
body armor: 43
difficulty: 5
speed: 40
maneuver: 41
charge: 36
The Cataphract Horse is a heaver Horse with good average protection and high health points. It is more a horse used by melee cavalry such as 1handed/shield for close infantry combat due to different stats (ua. charge).
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hit points: 120
body armor: 47
difficulty: 5
speed: 38
maneuver: 40
charge: 38
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hit points: 130
body armor: 58
difficulty: 5
speed: 37
maneuver: 38
charge: 40
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hit points: 140
body armor: 62
difficulty: 5
speed: 37
maneuver: 38
charge: 42
The Plated Charger is the most expensive horse with highest amount of health points and armor. It is in comparison to most horses very slow and has also low maneuver stats. However it has also a high amount of charge damage and is therefore a nice help to attack infantry in close combat.
It is actually not meant to be used by an Horse Archer.
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hit points: 150
body armor: 70
difficulty: 5
speed: 35
maneuver: 36
charge: 46
Players Comment(s):by Ulruk: If you are going for a specific horse to use you can change your build for that.
For horse archer I recommend desert horse, destrier and Arabian warhorse.
Builds for this
24/15 (Destrier)
21/18 (Desert Horse)
18/21 (Arabian Warhorse)
by Mlekce: i have champ rouncey,and it is awsome. It have 43 speed and 43 manover so it is fast as +1 destrier. If you add some more riding skill it will becaome even faster. You can outrun ordinary destrier with just 3 riding skill.
loomed rouncey can take more beating and arrows then courser,stepe,desert,arabian warhorse. For 9k horse preformance is awsome.
by Mlekce:well i must add that rouncey needs a little more riding then 3. Every riding point you invest more then required horse becomes better.
For example if you buy destrier and you have 5 riding,you will not get any bonus for that,but if you add 6 or 7 riding your destrier will be better.
More speed,manouver,quicker start. Champ rouncey is mega awsome with 6-7 riding,i used it as lancer,and i would never sell that horse.
if you had some expirience with arabian warhorse,with high riding skill , you will love rouncey.
by buba: Dunno what horse you will be using, but riding 6 is low for a HA (one hit where pretty much dead)
Also 50 wpf in one hander without PS is not so usefull, maybe for an unaware peasant?
but then again its personel, and depends what you want to do with it.
by Toffi:Sumpter
Since the last patch useless, cause it does no charge damage anymore. Useless because it's the slowest horse ingame. Better save up your money for other horses.
Rouncey
I actually like that horse because it's the 2nd cheapest and has better body armour/ hit points in comparison than the Palfrey, Steppe, Desert & Arabian Horse. Not too slow either. Nice horse for beginners.
Palfrey
Only a bit faster than Rouncey and more maneuver, but not much enough worth buying, in my opinion. I used it for some months, but now I sold it.
Steppe Horse
Nice Horse for HA and maybe also 1h, because of it's nice maneuver, but useless for lancing because waaaaay tooo slooow. Also very cheap.
Desert Horse
Same goes for that, a bit faster, great for HA.
Courser
A lancer's favourite, cause of it's high speed. I recommend using it with at least riding 6. My horse of choice, got a champion. Good hit points in comparison to the difficulty 3 horses.
Arabian Warhorse
Also one of the best horses for lancers, and has more maneuver, but way less speed. Templar_Tommmy loves it, but also weaker and more expensive than courser. Best horse for HA.
Destrier
Horse of choice for people who wanna play 1h and bump a lot of people, cause it has nice hp and nice charge damage.
War Horse
Cheapest armoured horse. Fastest armoured horse (together with the cataphract horse).
Large Warhorse
Useless, do not buy it! War Horse has better stats and is cheaper!
Cataphract Horse
In my opinion the best armoured horse there is, stats are better than stats of the warhorse, but also more expensive. Nice maneuver.
Charger
Awesome health & armour, nice charge, but slow.
Mamluk
Awesome health & armour, nice charge, but slow, still faster than the plated charger
Plated Charger
OMG OMG... no, to be serious, some people say its usefull.... most say it's useless. It is indeed, but I've seen some good players with it in full armour, steel shield, bumping poor archers to death. As an archer it's truly a nightmare coming true, but luckily enough there are not many "elephants" around.
4.4) Melee WeaponEven a Horse Archer should always take a melee weapon as it may happen that theyre getting de-horsed even in the beginning of the round.
As all bows being used are 1 slot weapons, it doesnt make sense to take a 0 slot weapon as HA like most foot archers if theyre using 2 slot bows.
Here the weapon depends on your own liking or maybe on the price, depending on how expensive the bow, arrows and horse are.
As most dedicated Horse Archers have either no or low melee damage (no PS/IF, weapon WPF), it is probably a good choice to take a weapon with a special ability, such as knockdown. Weapons with 1 slot providing knockdown are for example:
- Knobbed Mace, 1handed, 24 blunt
- Spiked Mace, 1handed, 25 blunt
- Flanged Mace, 1handed, 25 blunt
- Iron Mace, 1handed, 26 blunt
- Winged Mace, 1handed, 27 blunt
- Mace, 2handed, 28 blunt
- Iberian Mace, 1handed, 28 blunt
- Warhammer, 1handed, 31 blunt/18 pierce
These are the weapons with 1 slot and knockdown, however a Horse Archer can also use any other weapon if they are used to them. Most players do look on the price in this case and take a less expensive weapon.
Note that knockdown is also factored by PS, the weapons raw damage and your characters strength. Therefore the chance to knockdown isnt that high but it is still possible.
You might also decide to take a cut weapon (Nomad Sabre, Short Falchion, Simple Sword, Arabian Straight Sword for example). Note here that you might glance on most peoples armor as you have 0 PS with most HA builds.
A pierce weapon (Fighting Pick, Military Sickle, Military Pick for example, or even Shortened Spear as polearm) might be the best choice after all as your hits do not necessarily glance but deal damage directly (and even more on armored players). Of course your over all damage with low STR and 0 PS is also quite low.
This is different with Jackies HA Hybrid build as that one is also good for melee combat. Here the choice of weapon does become important.
Players Comment(s):by Toffi:The longer, the better again.
4.5) ArmorThe choice of armor is quite important as you need low weight so your aim and accuracy is higher and the chance to hit while being on high speed on horse.
It is important that you note to stay under the amount of 7.0 weight, which includes your head armor (which weight counts 3 times its stat), your chest armor, your hand armor (which weight counts 2 times its stat) and your leg armor.
As example:
Leather Gloves 0.1 Weight *2 = 0.2 Weight
Steppe Cap 0.4 Weight *3 = 1.2 Weight
Steppe Armor 2.2 Weight *1 = 2.2 Weight
Nomad Boots 0.6 Weight *1 = 0.6 Weight
0.2 + 1.2 + 2.2 + 0.6 = 4.2 Weight
In this case it is possible to take a bit heaver armor parts as this equipment is still under the 7.0 weight border where no penalty is being taken.
Recent changes:
Read http://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,33944.msg509575.html#msg509575
As of the latest patch, archers can wear up to 10 weight without losing accuracy.
Helmets count double
Gloves count quadruple.
boots and body armor are x1
Even if you go above 10 weight though, it's not the end of the world.
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Players Comment(s):by Zanze: Keep under 7 weight max. (armor)
I don't remember the head/gloves tho. Mixed with throwing atm. Glovesx2, headx6 OR 8.
by rustyspoon: If you wear more than about 7.5 in weight you'll get a WPF reduction. If you go here: http://infinitum.dyndns.org/crpg/calc.htm and click on "melee weapon damage calculator" you can get a fairly accurate measure of what your WPF is based on your armor.
by Armpit_Sweat: Armor weight modified proficiency = base proficiency * (1 - 0.01 * effective armor weight)
Effective armor weight = 3*head armor weight + body armor weight + leg armor weight + 2*hand armor weight 7
by Cup1d: archery wpf is specific case.
at first - every point in PD kill 14 points of your effective wpf.
So, if you have 100 wpf in archery and 5 PD - you'll receive 30 efective wpf in archery. Not much eh?
Second - you start to lose wpf, if you have more than 7 overall armor weight.
But - you must multiply weight of hand armor by 2, and head armor by 3.
Good luck.
5) On the battlefieldThe tactic you use as HA is always different, related to the game mode as well. Very important is the map and the enemy team.
It is different if the enemy team has near to zero cavalry players. If that happens you can use a normal horse like Rouncey or Steppe Horse to save gold as you do not need all the speed you usually do, if you are chased by several other cavalry players.
If the enemy team is full of cavalry players and you know they would probably easily chase you down, you better take a faster horse like Courser so you do not even have to think about easily getting chased down.
You do also have time to shoot down your enemies horses in such a situation.
Important question:Should I shoot in 1st or 3rd person mode?Answer:It clearly depends on:
a) your skill to control the horse and therefore also the map (open plains or a city map?5.1) on battleOn battle tactics are related to the map and the enemy team.
As said above the choice of the horse depends on the enemies choice of horses and amount of cavalry. A courser can be used on open maps as speed is very important in those situations.
If the map is closed, e.g. a city map you better take a slower horse and one with more maneuver and probably even health points and defense. In that case, if you know you would probably end up in a close combat pretty soon, either an armored horse or a light horse like the destrier are the best choices. Here armor and charge damage becomes quite important to even help out your team in close combat.
You can also choose to go with a Steppe or Desert Horse and stay with the other foot archers behind your infantry to be safe from melee attacks. In those cases you are able to shoot into the enemies infantry without being attacked yourself.
Be aware of enemy archers here! You are on a horse and therefore you are more easy to be shot!
With dedicated HA builds (builds without melee skills, e.g. 15/24) you shouldnt go to near to enemy infantry as they are able to take down your horse easily with some hits. Also never go near to enemy archers or throwers if you know that youre an easy target for them. Try to circle around them on a more far distance and only take safe shots!
Remember that your horse is very important for you and shouldnt die!
If you are using Jackies Hybrid HA build or anything similar with melee skills, you can also choose to go by a heavier horse, e.g. Destrier and help out in melee from time to time. Here it is important that you do not bump your teammates or even hit them. Always be aware of throwers and especially pikers!
Never underestimate their range!
Players Comment(s):
5.2) on siegeSiege does of course only have closed maps. Here depending on the map, your horse is pretty much useless, especially as defender.
You better do not spawn with your horse and save that upkeep. Depending on your build you probably also have some athletics to run away from engaging enemies. If you have no melee skills, you also better do not engage in close combat.
Stay like other archers on the walls or in towers, far away from enemy infantry. Try to take safe shots and stay with your team!
Players Comment(s):5.3) in duelsWell
-
duels. If you are doing a duel against other cavalry and only on horseback, you can still use your strengths. Here it is important that you have enough space to use your horses speed and maneuverability.
If you notice that your enemy comes to near, either dodge him (if you are still using your bow), or try to block a hit (if you are on your melee weapon already).
A duel between two Horse Archers is mostly based on speed as you will probably go in a circle. Distance shots do less damage, so try to let your arrows take their speed into the enemy. With speed your arrows cause more damage and you are able to take down your enemy more easily.
On foot duels are pretty much lost against most others builds if you do not have any PS/IF or WPF in your weapon. In those cases it is up to your own personal skill in manual blocking and attack timing of course you can still win a duel. ;)
A hint here: try to use kicks.
Players Comment(s):
5.4) in StrategusDepending on your build you are either able to use the Horn bow only (5 PD) or any bow (6 PD). Then it just depends on your armies equipment. If you are able to use any bow such as the Rus or Long Bow you are as good as any foot archer. Aim and take safe shots at the enemies and try to stay away from melee combat. Let your teammates do that and stay on walls or on towers (or as attacker behind trees, behind your infantry).
In Strategus tickets (troops) are very important, so try not to die and safe tickets for your team. Teamplay is very important!
Players Comment(s):5.5) otherThere are also other game modes like rage ball. Without athletics you are quite slow on the field hower note that your Riding skill does replace your athletic skill on rage ball mode! Therefore you are as good as anyone else. If you are using your bow you can also take good shots at the enemy and stun them. If you shoot an enemy having the ball, he will drop it for a short amount of time and that makes your team able to catch up.
As an archer it is best to either play as goalkeeper or defender.
For an attacker some melee skills will always be more important as there is a lot of fighting going on on the battlefield.
Players Comment(s):
6) List of other useful threads
<
link > <
useful comment in the thread by xx >
http://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,9160.0.html by Marathonhttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,30641.0.html by Ulrukhttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,29614.0.html by Mlekcehttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,28751.0.html by Zanzehttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,28399.0.html by Crishttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,27326.0.html by Tears of Destinyhttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,27326.0.html by isatishttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,26919.0.html by Marathonhttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,26919.0.html by bubahttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,26919.0.html by Murchadhttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,25736.0.html by rustyspoonhttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,25736.0.html by Armpit_Sweathttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,25736.0.html by Cup1dhttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,25082.0.html by Crishttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,21947.0.html by Gomerhttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,9365.0.html by Toffihttp://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,33944.msg509575.html#msg509575 by Shik
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