Hello guys, if you are a new player and eager to play cavalry, then you are in the right thread!
First of all, I want to say that I never claim to be the best lancer in the game.But I think I have enough experience to guide the newbies on the path of cavalry.
I hope you find this guide useful and stick with the class.Let's begin!
-The Class-
Melee Cavalry classes are the carrying classes of c-RPG.But when Lancer Cavalry is compared with the 1h Cavalry class, it is a bit more supportive.Using a lighter horse let's you move faster in the battlefield therefore help your teammates easier.But as 1h cav you will need a heavy horse, because you will tank and wipe out every guy behind the line.
Also If you think cavalry is not honourable - yes it is not - and only way to play normally is to get a 2h greatsword , there is no meaning in reading this guide for you.
Anyway, let's look at the pros and cons of the Lancer Cavalry.
Pros:
The best hit and run class.
High mobility on the field & scout.
Easy points, therefore easy valour.
Mostly counters other melee cavs.
Cons:
High repairs.
You have to be mobile all the time.
Archer focus.
Harder than other melee cav classes.
High repairs:
If you are a newbie reading this, do not get another melee weapon than your Lance.It will just be a waste of money, and lances are pretty good 2d poles on the ground.
Also you will want to keep your armor light, because if you re dismounted, you re %90 dead already.
I will speak of the horses in another chapter.
Mobile all the time
Well, as a cavalry, you HAVE to take risks.But make sure they are not stupid risks, -for example ; don't run into an archer with a wall behind him, because he is expecting you to do so.-
Always be mobile, and confuse your enemies.Remember, even just your appearence will make enemies uncomfortable.
Archers focusing you:
Yeah, they are dicks.But they are your counters, remember.Always know the enemy archer.Remember their outfits, their names etc.
For example , if an archer dodges you 3-4 times in a row and shoots you while you re turning, remember his equipment, and be more careful next time running into him, maybe avoid him.
Also, structures, hills, bridges and rivers, are not your enemies. They re your biggest friends while you re fighting against or running from archers.But try not to run into them
Harder than 1h cavalry:
Yeah, that is a fact and you know why.I don't want a 1h cav hero to come in the thread and say "1h cav hardest class, deal with it 8| " because you know it isn't.But don't worry newbie, you will eventually get used to it and kick peasant butts!
-Builds-
The build I currently am using;
Level 30
Attribute points:0
Strength:15
Agility:21
Weapon points:11
One Handed:27
Two Handed:27
Polearm:170
Throwing:1
Crossbow:1
Archery:1
Skill points:0
Weapon Master:7
Athletics:7
Riding:7
Iron Flesh:3
Shield:0
Horse Archery:0
Power Strike:5
Power Draw:0
Power Throw:0
I use this build to use higher tier horses and I close up the difference between 5 and 6 PS with my masterwork items.That's why I will suggest new guys a better build;
Level 30
Strength: 18
Agility: 18
Skills to attributes: 2
Power Strike: 6
Shield: 5
Athletics: 6
Riding: 6
Weapon Master: 6
One Handed: 24
Two Handed: 24
Polearm: 155
Archery: 1
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1
Don't think of any builds without athletics.Because in today's c-RPG you will have to play in shitty maps such as Pueblo Village - Where cavalry has not a single plain to fight - so you will have to get off your horse and play as an infantry!.
6 riding skill should be enough as I assume newbies won't be able to pay for higher tier horses.Only problem you will be encountering is that you won't be able to ride stray heavywarhorses on the field.
5 shield skill can be changed with ironflesh if you know how to block.If you don't, I definetely suggest a shield.
You can also spare some points on 1h weapons aswell , but I wouldn't prefer it.Will slow your lance down and will cost extra gold for a sword.
-Equipment-Lance;I am using Masterwork Lance (thanks armory) at the moment, which is good against ground units but bad against other cavs.Also it glances less than the Heavy Lance.
But as a newbie you are not used to c-RPG horse riding (it is very much harder than Native.) and maneuvers so I would suggest you to stick with the Heavy Lance.
Light Lance? Well, could be ; if you think you can bump stab everytime , I could never manage to use that weapon, so I don't have anything more to say.
Great Lance? Great Lance is a side weapon for 1h cavs, and the most gay weapon ever created.I suggest not to use it.
Practice Lance? Pff.
Double sided lance? Lol.
Side Polearm;If you are rich, you can take any polearm that suits your gameplay.I use whatever I find in armory, most of the time I don't use a sidearm.If you re a poor guy
then take a Quarter Staff! That thing is 1 slot so you can grab a shield aswell
Shield;Don't take round cavalry shields.Those shields are named "cavalry" just to deceive you.Get the biggest fucking shield you can find -check if they re usable on horseback
- . I suggest kite or heater shields in this case.With a big shield, hitting the rider on the horseback will be harder when it is hard already,and enemies will struggle hitting your horse too -sometimes- .
I don't use a shield, because I don't want to invest points in it , I am happy with my ironflesh and medium armor, I just tank enemy arrows.If shield is really needed, I take a 0 difficulty shield, which most likely won't break if you don't get hit much.
Armor;Armors are flexible depending on your amount of gold.I suggest armors between 9-13kg to newbies.
Horses;Whatever horse you get, the upkeep will hurt.And with the suggested build there are 2 favourite options of mine; Destrier or Courser.
The courser is the fastest horse in game, so the best horse to use as a lancer, in an open field map.But it is weak, it might get 1 shotted by throwing weapons, or 2-3 shotted by archers.I don't recommend this one, if you are new at cavalry.
In the other hand, destrier is durable.It will give you more than 1 chances to survive a clusterfuck, therefore you can gank more peasants.If you are a new cavalry sticking with the guide, use a Destrier as first step.
-The Game-You get in the server, first thing you should do is to check enemy spawn.I know it is gay, but you are cavalry, you need more valour than anybody else to maintain your gold amount, so you need more kills as possible.
WARNING! Sometimes sneaky guys will pretend as AFKs and will stab you when you approach them, to prevent this, try to avoid spearmen and 2 handers on the spawn, go for peasants and archers first *insert evil laugh here*.
After you're done in spawn, go after enemy archers.But remember the advices I gave in chapter one.If archers on the ground are all dead and the others are on structures, avoid them and help your team, backstab enemies.
If you encounter enemy cavalry;Identify his weapon,
if he is using a swing weapon;Dive in, -but be warned, he might run directly to you aswell to stop both horses, if this happens, you probably have no chance of winning in close quarters.Try to run if both horses stop.- if you have remarkable distance between you, try couching,if not just normal attack.
If he is using a lance;The question here is, what lance?
Lets say we are using a Heavy Lance.
A regular enemy with light lance or normal lance would be easy enemies.If the enemy is using a lance which has same length as yours, there goes the trick in;
Always face them from your right side. ALWAYS. If he tries the same thing, just dodge him and come back. If you take the guy from your left side, your arm length will be shorter so he will get an advantage, if he is moving right into you.
Hold the lance with a 180 degrees angle with the horse, that will provide the most length.
If the enemy is using a Great Lance;Oh shit!Jump, jump if you can so you will survive! (Your horse will probably die)
If you encounter enemy 2Hander/PolearmerIn this case, you will need the balls, if you see a Two hander and try to turn your horse backwards, he will kill you without a doubt.So with the balls you have, use the lance tricks stated above, and hit him in the head! I once again, recommend couching if you have a good distance between you two, but he might just jump the other way and fail you.But you will get used to the horse manauvers ;) REMEMBER; If you move your horse, the lance moves the same direction aswell.
Against poles , the weapon is the most important, if the enemy has a poleaxe like weapon or a spear/pike , attacking them would be suicide charge.If you encounter them, and you have no chances to get back the way you came , jumping is a good option and proven worthy most of the time.
If they have some other shitty polearm, use the same tactics as two handers.
-How do I stay away from bankrupting?-You will need valour.Thats why you need to slash as much as peasants possible.Greed is something good, if you re playing as cav.
If you're having lots of horse repairs; Don't just rage and respec to a 2h shitlord!Be patient, take gold from your friends, sell your loompoints,non used items etc. You eventually will get the gold, as long as you grind with x5.
If you're struggling on winning; well, you can always play Defend the Viscount with low tier equipment and without a horse *cough*leech*cough* , that place definetely is a gold mine, if you lack gold, try that.
I hope this Guide will be useful to newbies, welcome to c-RPG
If you have more questions, feel free to ask in this thread!
Kratos