Calvary needs a buff.

[La Makina]

Personally, I am fine with cav (I play infantry). I would think of some suggestions that would make the game more sportive:

Fix the sounds of horses: they are deceiving. Sometimes they seem to be far although they are close (or the opposite). Detecting direction is also tricky (even with my 4 speakers). If I could hear them coming, things would be really different (less easy backstab notably).

Lower the maneuver and reduce the acceleration but increase the top speed. Some mods did this and it really makes sense. Yesterday, I tried to ambush a cav: when I jumped out of my hideout, the rider could brake, make a u turn and escape at full throttle (in a jet fighter this would be a 8G maneuver and the breakfast on the windscreen). Currently cav can turn and evade attacks like TIE fighters.

Lower stats of horses as they get wounded (not sure that this is not already implemented).

Turning the thrust: this is the thing I dislike the most. I rely a lot on footsteps and the fact that a rider can wipe the air in a 60° cone attack voids any attempt to dodge. I know it is the same problem with thrust of infantry (and overhead attacks). The thrust should remain locked in the direction the rider aimed at (quite logic IMO) or be very slow to turn (like the couch).

[bruce]

Lower the maneuver and reduce the acceleration but increase the top speed. Some mods did this and it really makes sense. Yesterday, I tried to ambush a cav: when I jumped out of my hideout, the rider could brake, make a u turn and escape at full throttle (in a jet fighter this would be a 8G maneuver and the breakfast on the windscreen). Currently cav can turn and evade attacks like TIE fighters.

It is silly, especially on the high maneuver type of horses, -10 maneuver or so would make a ton more sense. But on the other hand, so is horse corpses being ethereal (so for instance, when someone charges me with a horse I can overhead the horse in the face, and when timed right, I can also overhead the rider on the floor in a second), and infantry being able to jump and attack like it does now.

I mean, with 12 agi and light armour you can jump over a rouncey. Not to mention you can attack and do the same damage as if you were putting your full body weight in. Not to mention putting a pike out of invisible hammerspace then spinning with it as if it was a toy rather then a 2.5 meter long fairly heavy piece of wood.

If you want things to be sensible, they have to go both ways.

When I'm on foot (it's fairly often), the only horses I find really to be problematic are the superduperagile ones which can turn on a dime.

[Mtemtko]

Just my opinion on currenct cav:

With a cav char (21/15) i'm doing pretty fine, with 130 1h wpf/80 polearm wpf , 2k gold worth shield, 500 gold armor,heavy lance,courser and military cleaver im making a steady income at 3 x+ bonus  and im having a blast too.
( i had a break down last week tho, lost 20k gold in one day with THAT gear, because the courser broke almost every round)
With the military cleaver combined with 7PS i oneshot upto tranny armor with a good strike and upto heraldic mail with a normal lance hit, even with 5IF and 21str im very fragile because im wearing robes ( i cant afford better armor, upkeep is killing me), the cav itself if we ignore the upkeep is quite good and im loving it... but its upkeep that kills it.

On ground i can do well too if i have support,but i usually die in 1v1 situations  because of the sluggish shield and only 130wpf in onehander (most people are ALOT faster than me).
The military cleaver is a very good choice ( i underestimated it myself,but seeing oneshot everything with decent all around stats im preety surprised)
I would use sarranid cav sword if i had loads of money, but the difference is only in lenght.
All i want now is a nerf to upkeep so i can put on some mail

[Kalam]

What? Jesus doesn't die quickly enough on it for you?

[Wulzzz]

My impressions as HA on cav....

Why do cav need a buff?
I still see good cav players doing good effort for their team.Especially the ones using sarranid horse or destrier.( high riding skill)
When i see rouncy, palfrey or even courser i automatically assume that they are noobs.

But many cav are so dumb idiotic that i guess they need mameluke horse + plate armor in compensation.
I'm HA and about 80% of the cav i face are pure idiotic=trying to hunt me in open field without archer support.

The only cav i take serious are the ones using sarranid horse + high riding skill, as they actually have a chance in killing me, when i'm not directly near big fights.

[Kafein]

My suggestion is to buff the charge damage and survivability of horses a lot, maybe (maybe !) decrease prices a tad, as a tradeoff to a big nerf in maneuvrability (expescially for maneuvrability-oriented horses).

There's a reason why cav charges were, well... you know... charges. Not randomly picking on scattered enemies.

My impressions as HA on cav....

Why do cav need a buff?
I still see good cav players doing good effort for their team.Especially the ones using sarranid horse or destrier.( high riding skill)
When i see rouncy, palfrey or even courser i automatically assume that they are noobs.

But many cav are so dumb idiotic that i guess they need mameluke horse + plate armor in compensation.
I'm HA and about 80% of the cav i face are pure idiotic=trying to hunt me in open field without archer support.

The only cav i take serious are the ones using sarranid horse + high riding skill, as they actually have a chance in killing me, when i'm not directly near big fights.

I don't know you, but as 100% of other HA's you sure are focusing only on enemy horses. Melee cavs have absolutely no means of defense against that (the game is sick broken about that, how can you aim an shoot while another horse is bumping into yours...), and the only defendable reaction is fleeing to "ally archers", if they exist and care to help you, and if your horse survives the escape run. Chasing the HA usually isn't idiotic. As he flees, just go back, hope he's victimizing someone else, and enjoy a few seconds of safe time.

[bruce]

On ground i can do well too if i have support,but i usually die in 1v1 situations  because of the sluggish shield and only 130wpf in onehander (most people are ALOT faster than me).

Meh, I have the same build and 120 wpf and a sarranid cavalry sword and it's fine for infantry combat, I fight on foot sometimes because it's stupid to play cav on some maps. It is usable. I'm quite sure you can afford to upkeep it too, try it out, the lenght makes it a great cavalry sword even if it's not something I'd pick if I was a footman. Just don't stab with it, gets you in trouble more then it's useful.

[Wulzzz]

I don't know you, but as 100% of other HA's you sure are focusing only on enemy horses. Melee cavs have absolutely no means of defense against that (the game is sick broken about that, how can you aim an shoot while another horse is bumping into yours...), and the only defendable reaction is fleeing to "ally archers", if they exist and care to help you, and if your horse survives the escape run. Chasing the HA usually isn't idiotic. As he flees, just go back, hope he's victimizing someone else, and enjoy a few seconds of safe time.

Riding after HA in open field without archer support IS idiotic.
If i would be a cav i wouldn't keep riding after HA and always loose my horse..why do many others think this is a good idea? I don't get it.
As cav knowing the enemy team has HAs i would wait until the archers move out a bit and then choose where attacking would make sense and fall back to archer cover when HA chase me.
I would think before i attack where the best chances would be... and NOT ride into the battle like some crazy maniac.

Compensating the lack of tactical understanding and common knowledge with better items(always upkeepable warhorse+) is just not the way to be.
I mean.. archers got nerfed in EVERY aspect and i still play good as HA.
Why? Because i could adept to it.
Obviously many cav hang back in the time where metal horse + good body armor granted them easy kills.

[Solidox]

I myself a Pure Cav player in this gen have no problem with upkeep. My only complaint on cav is how easily crossbows but mostly throwing can take it down, But as everyone knows throwing is probably going to see darker days soon. So I won't have much of a problem. I use a light lancer build of my own using a Rouncy, tunic with mail, I vary my lances accordingly, as well as a knightly heater shield and I usually MAKE money while playing. I bought a steel shield, Courser, and tons of 1h weps; went from 100k down to about 60k then made it all back in about 2-3 days(While still riding about 60% of the time).

I also like the fact that Cav is a luxury class to teams. I'll throw it from both sides of the fence here. For realism nuts only the noble elite could afford horses. For the arcade side if everyone had horses It would not be as fun to use them. As well I own, Sumter, Rouncy, Courser, and Destrier. Never really bothered with the armored horses, speed is not a good trade off for armor in my opinion.

[Roran Hawkins]

cavalry:

-backstab or death
-cloth armour or broke
-1-hit horse or broke
-always run from foot fights cause you're always slower
-always run from foot fights cause you always do less damage
-always run from foot fights cause even archers can afford better armour and weapons


Why do we even have ARMOURED HORSES?
Noone ever uses them. Maybe 1 or 2 people.

=> we have armoured horses IG for the 3 persons who rarely ever use them

good job diversity!

[Cyclopsided]

I made a horse and do well with it and have fun. They take way more beating than is suggested in every thread, my courser survives three arrows for sure.

[bruce]

Idk, I do just fine on a horse with a onehander (I use a lance for times when using a onehander wouldn't work) and I do just fine defending vs horses on foot with a onehander (which is generally easy, although the superagile horses are somewhat of a problem... but a lancer on a courser, rouncey, palfrey or such is generally speaking going to get dehorsed and then lose a lot of HP or die while he's faceplanting).

The easiest way I found to kill horses is to step in front of it and overhead it with a 1h sword. They don't expect it, and it onehits the horse. But being a horseman on some maps is really the route to easy kills vs unaware opponents... so eh. Horses in CRPG are basically very mobile backstabbing machines, if people spot you, you pick on someone else.

As for upkeep... yes, it is a pain for a courser (990g repair), forces you to keep the rest of the gear cheapish, especially if you want to have a lance as well as a normal weapon and shield on top. But I don't find it crippling really, and I guess you can always use a rouncey or palfrey or steppe.

[Killface_]

i have played cav 9 out of 10 gens, so a long enough time for some of you to know me..
i have sumpter, rouncey, champion steppe, courser, destrier and charger but i have played quite a few rounds on catapract aswell
i play with sidesword and steppe horse and do quite well, but that does not mean the internal balance of cav is ok..
after the patch heavier than destrier is worthless, they may live longer, but yield a mouch WORSE k/d, and i say this as heavy cav pre patch.
i think the heavy horses should have slightly worse manouver but less cost, that way you choose to be able to charge more head on or be a light/ninja cav
the choise of horse should be connected to playstyle.
a choise between charging/durability and flaking/monuverability
i dont think heavier should equal more cost by it self, i think the sum of stats of the horse should determine its cost.

Ps: saying cav is balanced because Tommy and Ujin is doing well is not realy a valid argument since most would be cavs are doing less than good compared to the cost of their gear.
tommy and ujin was using light horses pre patch also... the upkeep nerf hit the heavy cavaly hardest and its that clas that needs a little love, not cav in general(except for throwing nerf)

[Spawny]

The easiest way I found to kill horses is to step in front of it and overhead it with a 1h sword. They don't expect it, and it onehits the horse.

Doesn't work vs skilled cav. They turn just before they hit (sideways stab) to outrange anything but a pike and even pikes when the guy holding it times it wrong.

Pre-patch I dehorsed cav with my long espada eslavona all the time by outranging their heavy lance. It only worked with head on charges and most didn't bother to do the turning when they saw a 1h chambering an thrust. Haven't used my long espada much since the patch.

[Xant]

They don't even have to turn - just ride from far enough. Most cav make the mistake of aiming for a 100% sure hit so they put their horse at risk too. Someone good (well lots of them still fall for the "Oh my, I have no idea you're coming... come couch me" trick) is impossible to kill without a pike.