Diggles Rules of 1H Cavalry

[Digglez]

Cav can be an incredible powerful tool when used with a team, they are not just lolracecar lances in the back.  Good cav working along side infantry can be a force to be reckoned with.  Its really ashame that more players dont do 1h from horseback, its a very rewarding feeling especially on those multikill passes that a lance just cant do.

I plan to add to this post later, as the thoughts trickle in.

These are general rules of thumb and guidelines that if followed will improve your role as cav.  There are of course exceptions to these rules under certain curcumstances, but following these will help you become a cav master.

DIGGLES RULES OF 1H CAV

1.  Never leave your team.  Stay near your infantry and protect them and yourself.

If you happen to get dehorsed after charging an enemy spawn, good luck living.  Meanwhile, if you stay near your team's infantry, they can quickly surround and protect you if you are downed.


2.  Never frontal charge enemies that are aware of your presence and expecting you.

Ie...the spearman crouching with his weapon ready to stab.  Spears, pikes and 2h swords are the most dangerous opponents to you, be wary of them.  Expect them to loljumpslash or 360 spin stab you.


3.  Avoid engaging enemy cav

Since you are at a reach disadvantage, do not engage lancer cavalry.  Waste their time maneuvering, the more time they waste chasing you the less time they spend attacking your teammates.  Since you SHOULD be close to your infantry, wait for the enemy cav to make a mistake and go in for the kill.  Or better yet, bait them into your teammates pikes!


4.  Never charge directly at an enemy that is near a wall.

I would say something flatter than a 45° is safe.  Its too risky and if you happen to miss and slam into the wall and rear, you're toast.


5.  Never underestimate your role as a distraction. 

Many an enemy infantry I've seen blunder right into my waiting teammates because I stayed on their flank with weapon cocked and the enemy was too fixated on me.

[Digglez]

reserved for future use.


If you have advice you'd like to add, either being 1h cav or the receiving end, post!

[Kafein]

Get a long 1h that allows you to hit something with overhead swings right in front of your horse. This is extremely handy against HA and lancers.

Always look beyond your target. And I really put the stress on this. You are not an invincible juggernaut of destruction so you always have to be sure there aren't any enemies ready to hit you after you killed the first guy on your trajectory.

Another useful advice is to never come close to archers without hiding behind buildings (or anything that doesn't reveal your presence) if they are not otherwise engaged. You can safely come very close to aware infantry (you have to stay out of reach ofc.) though.


Here is my target ranking :

1° running archers (or sometimes inf). Your inf follows them so they are engaged and hopefully can't shoot at you. You can either bump or kill the archer, anything works. This is particularly team-friendly as you stop some of your infantry teammates from being useless and spreading out. Never forget that without infantry, you are cannon-fodder.

3° unaware pikemen. It is sometimes tricky to tell apart people that intentionnally turn their back on you or are simply distracted. Anyway, when you have the opportunity to kill a pikeman, do it. Most pikemen are weak when they are helping their first line infantry teammates against your infantry. They will generally place themselves a little behind the battle line. As the pike is a very effective weapon in mass infantry fights, many pikemen tend to do this even if all the enemy cav isn't dead.

3° people attacking your archers. Easier, more useful and team-friendlier than the next category. Even better if your archer is running.

4° enemies occupied in little fights. Typically, if you see a 2v2 fight, it is a very good move to kill one of the enemies. Beware, this is sometimes hard as some people tend to facehug and turn around enemies. If you see someone (either ally or enemy or both) doing this, don't bother helping and look for something else to do. Also, be extremely cautious with 2h and polearm users. If they spot you trying to approach, they will likely try to land a hit on you when you will get close.

5° random unaware people. Generally, new players lack the awareness to spot you soon enough. This holds true for inf as well as archers, but is easier for archers as their movements are much more predictable.


The next ones are really last resort choices and much more risky.


6° aware 1h. I doubt a good 1h will ever let a 1h cav kill him up front, but the overall skill makes this 50% safe. Place your horse as far as possible from the target.

7° aware lance cav. Very hard, but possible. At least you can make them loose some time. I don't know many secrets about this and I doubt there are many.

8° aware 2h/polearms/archers/xbow/throwers. Just don't do that.


Also, it is clear that you have to mix this with the "whatever comes up first" rule. If you see an archer being chased, go help him, even if there is an unaware pikeman somewhere else. It is often better to switch target even if you fail your first attack. Once the enemy is aware of your presence, your chances are greatly reduced. You can even try to hit-and-run as many different unaware enemies as possible.


Finally, never underestimate a good o'll bump. It is often safer to simply bump the enemy and let your allies finish the job.

[Digglez]

Get a long 1h that allows you to hit something with overhead swings right in front of your horse. This is extremely handy against HA and lancers.

I've found the overhead useful for when archers try to run circles around my horse.  instead of getting to the side of them, just run them over and overhead at the same time. they cant take bump+hit

[gazda]

If there is a one thing i learned playing 1h cav, then that is

never never never never never ever never ever never never ever charge awlpiker

[Digglez]

If there is a one thing i learned playing 1h cav, then that is

never never never never never ever never ever never never ever charge awlpiker

that would fall under rule #2

[gazda]

that would fall under rule #2

but awlpikers are different , they are evil !!! im telling ya

[Kafein]

You can replace awlpiker with polearmer. Any pole but the smaller ones are dangerous.

[gazda]

You can replace awlpiker with polearmer. Any pole but the smaller ones are dangerous.

but theye are not evil, awlpikes are !!!

[Hisagi]

Change up your speed usage while approaching an aware enemy with a shorter weapon so you throw off their timing. (Takes practice and can get you killed but makes you happy when it works)

Such as riding towards at a bec whos going to thrust. Slow down -> turn away -> once stab is retracting bump slash

^ Only really useful against thrusts.


Also, to bump slash:

As you hit you want to slow down right after the bump to get the hit. I mean you can go fast and do it too; but I find you swing past your enemy if you go full speed.

[Digglez]

Change up your speed usage while approaching an aware enemy with a shorter weapon so you throw off their timing. (Takes practice and can get you killed but makes you happy when it works)

Such as riding towards at a bec whos going to thrust. Slow down -> turn away -> once stab is retracting bump slash

^ Only really useful against thrusts.


Also, to bump slash:

As you hit you want to slow down right after the bump to get the hit. I mean you can go fast and do it too; but I find you swing past your enemy if you go full speed.

Ya I make good use of the 'changeup' when attacking aware enemies.  I find it easier to go slow and speed up at the last minute than the other way around.  Some of the 2h weapons can hang in the air for an awfully long time.

[Beans]

Yo 1h cav thread, is there ever a time when you are worried about lance cav? Obviously let's assume you are intelligent enough to not run right at them.

I'm a long time lance cav, and while I still enjoy lancing after the patch I'm rapidly approaching the conclusion that the only thing lance cav can do better than 1h cav is a head on attack, which is suicide vs 2h and even some 1h on foot, and couching is easy as shit to dodge. I've even resorted to short spear to try and stab you dicks at close range because that close maneuver fighting is what I love(usually use desert horse, my +3 large warhorse sits collecting dust).

Convince me to turn to the dark side.

[Mtemtko]

Facing lancer cav: Very easy to down,  if you are sure that they arent in a position to couch then just stop, raise shield and block their pony , shield will eat up all the damage and then you can spam their horses to death with your onehander, then hit them while theyre on the ground.

[Digglez]

Yo 1h cav thread, is there ever a time when you are worried about lance cav? Obviously let's assume you are intelligent enough to not run right at them.

I'm a long time lance cav, and while I still enjoy lancing after the patch I'm rapidly approaching the conclusion that the only thing lance cav can do better than 1h cav is a head on attack, which is suicide vs 2h and even some 1h on foot, and couching is easy as shit to dodge. I've even resorted to short spear to try and stab you dicks at close range because that close maneuver fighting is what I love(usually use desert horse, my +3 large warhorse sits collecting dust).

Convince me to turn to the dark side.

After the patch lancers dont scare me in the least, unless I make some huge mistake they cant get me.  In the past, they had to triple team me or worse but I'd still waste plenty of their time and occasionally kill some of their infantry friends in the process.

I think teams of cav can work together well.  I love when 2-3 cav teamup on some poor sap and he cant even swing hes getting knocked down so often.  The fast coursers are still good at couching heavily armored enemies that might take 2-3 hits from 1h cav to kill if they started from full HP.

Remember rule #5: become a distraction.  Work with your the lancer cav and be a distraction for them, get enemy to face you and let the lancer couch the shit out of them!

[Gurnisson]

Facing lancer cav: Very easy to down,  if you are sure that they arent in a position to couch then just stop, raise shield and block their pony , shield will eat up all the damage and then you can spam their horses to death with your onehander, then hit them while theyre on the ground.

What I was going to say.