Destrier vs Courser

[Bull]

To all you cavalry out there:

I've been riding my heirloomed Destrier around, and have noticed that it seems to be a dying breed. Courses, on the other hand, are as common as hillbillies in Tennessee.

I've killed a few of the Courser's riders and hijacked their mount, and the speed bonus certainly makes lancing more lethal. Is it the speed that seals the deal, or the price of the Destrier, or something else entirely?

Thanks,
Bull

[Rheinhardt]

Upkeep. I'd rather have a destrier than my courser, but doubt I could make it economical. Horses in general are too weak in melee (quite unlike in real life, where they're as dangerous as the rider) so having a fast horse negates their weaknesses of low hitpoints and paltry armor. With some changes to upkeep and horse staying-power I'd gladly choose a destrier.

[Murmillus_Prime]

Before upkeep I used an heirloomed destrider, loved it. Not as fast as the courser but had higher survivability, unfortuantly after the bump nerf and upkeep I decided a cheaper faster horse would be wiser, so I use a courser now, even though I rage everytime I either A. get lanced at the start of a round or B. archers kill my horse straight away and the enemy cavalry feast on my single soul like hungry hippos gabbling for the last balls in the arena.. Rage !!!!

All cus of upkeep!

[tankmen]

depends on who you stay in melee with, i can sit in melee on my destrier against one person,but not a named person whom i know hits hard(dan_ats for example), maybe even in melee with 3-4 low levels, then again.... i now have a heavy charger... i can camp in melee lol

[EponiCo]

Before upkeep I used an heirloomed destrider, loved it. Not as fast as the courser but had higher survivability, unfortuantly after the bump nerf and upkeep I decided a cheaper faster horse would be wiser, so I use a courser now, even though I rage everytime I either A. get lanced at the start of a round or B. archers kill my horse straight away and the enemy cavalry feast on my single soul like hungry hippos gabbling for the last balls in the arena.. Rage !!!!

All cus of upkeep!

Haha, I know that feeling. But who lives by the horse ... 

[Bull]

I suspected it was upkeep. I usually try to keep a 10k reserve; any time I drop below it, I swap to a rouncey, and promptly get my mount killed about 1 minute into the round.

[KaMiKaZe_JoE]

I use courser for the speed. It's also cheaper to maintain than the destrier.

Basically what Murmillus said. Horses are delicate now, to say the least, especially with the super abundance of throwers. It only takes two or three darts, or two throwing axes (one if it's well aimed), to kill my horse. And so, I choose speed and sneakiness over high health/charge... because neither help much now.

[Duster]

I've always used a courser for lancing because of the damage increase/ ability to run from other cav and horse archers (pre patch obv,  seeing a horse archer now is like seeing someone breastfeeding in public, strange and rare). Its a risk reward thing for me. The manouvering thing has never been a problem for me either, you just have to get used to the speed. 

[Dach]

Heavy Destrier here, yeah the major problem is the cost, so your build need to be cheap for your remaining equipment.

Using around 35k myself with a stable gold balance.

Thought, the extra hp & armor really help vs archer now since they are cutting not piercing.

Piercing throwing weapon are still a PITA.... even more since their population are spiking like hell...

Another reason I choose the destrier is because I'm a crazy 2H polearm slasher, no shield, no lance. So I prefer the more resiliant horse. If you're going only for the lancer build, stay with the courser IMO.

[MrNicklebe]

I used to use a Destrier but then I noticed that I was slowly but surely losing money so I switched to a Rouncey. I've now heir-loomed that up to Heavy Rouncey which isn't too far off the durabilty of a regular Destrier and for a fraction of the price.

I'm a lancer but I don't care much for fast horses. The way I see it is the longer my horse is alive the longer I am, so riding a horse effectively made of glass isn't a good plan I think. Some may say that you have more maneuverability and speed to dodge projectiles or get away from other horses but I disagree in a game where every other player has a throwing weapon or a pike . Doesn't really matter how fast you are you're still gonna get hit.

My heavy Rouncey usually survives even the most critical of hits, even from throwers or pesky ass stabbing pike-men. Which is great because it lets me ride off and find a new horse if need be instead of being chucked to the ground and then raped hard in all orifices.

Saying all this I may buy and try a Courser anyway, I have nothing else to spend gold on anyway

[Engine]

I use a Sarranid; his name is Herbert and he's made of carrots and assbeatings.

Pre-patch he was a Heavy Sarranid, but the costs are so prohibitive now that I can't justify heirlooming him. Unless I ride effectively naked or hit a lucky no-repair streak, I can't sustain an even gold balance with a Sarranid.

I do think Sarranids are better than both Coursers and Destriers.... but like the all the other unarmored horses they almost never survive a whole round.

[Dexxtaa]

I use a Sarranid; his name is Herbert and he's made of carrots and assbeatings.

Pre-patch he was a Heavy Sarranid, but the costs are so prohibitive now that I can't justify heirlooming him. Unless I ride effectively naked or hit a lucky no-repair streak, I can't sustain an even gold balance with a Sarranid.

I do think Sarranids are better than both Coursers and Destriers.... but like the all the other unarmored horses they almost never survive a whole round.

Keyarna was my Heavy Cataphract pre-patch. She never died.

But then Fasader the Grinch took all our heirlooms.

Either way, I'd recommend the Courser, Bull. The speed bonus makes it deadly when I stab the living bejesus out of horses, and Destriers might take a couple gos, but the Coursers speed bonus, as you put it, "seals the deal."

[Engine]

I think maneuverability is more important than speed... but that's the beauty of the game and why we have choices.

[CtrlAltDe1337]

I've used both a lot in Native of course, and both have their advantages.  However, I personally prefer a horse with more HP, so I have a Drestier atm.  I'm thinking of buying a courser also, though.

[Duster]

I used to use a Destrier but then I noticed that I was slowly but surely losing money so I switched to a Rouncey. I've now heir-loomed that up to Heavy Rouncey which isn't too far off the durabilty of a regular Destrier and for a fraction of the price.

I'm a lancer but I don't care much for fast horses. The way I see it is the longer my horse is alive the longer I am, so riding a horse effectively made of glass isn't a good plan I think. Some may say that you have more maneuverability and speed to dodge projectiles or get away from other horses but I disagree in a game where every other player has a throwing weapon or a pike . Doesn't really matter how fast you are you're still gonna get hit.

My heavy Rouncey usually survives even the most critical of hits, even from throwers or pesky ass stabbing pike-men. Which is great because it lets me ride off and find a new horse if need be instead of being chucked to the ground and then raped hard in all orifices.

Saying all this I may buy and try a Courser anyway, I have nothing else to spend gold on anyway

Also, my heavy courser has more hp than your rouncey