How Good is CAVALRY ONLY In Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord?

The mass of vlandian knights reigns strong, but are they as good as people think?
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[@mdocevski]

The cavalrymen are not couching their lances, and also they spread out quite a lot when charging. They won't be very effective until the AI is improved.

[@damjan4435]

I find that when cavalry is spread out, each guy tends to do more damage overall, but the couching is a huge problem, cav tends to also miss their targets alot.

[@TuDeDaTe]

Splitting is really a pain in the butt, esspecially if you dont organize your cavalry in different groups like 20 valandian knight to a key 20 aserai faris to an another key and micromanage them.

[@Kadbros]

Yeah they seem inaccurate, when charging, accuracy should be a big deal for AI

[@venix20]

not to mention that cavalry should not stay about and try to poke oyu they all thrust together ... do the strike getting distance turn around and charge all together again hit and run hit and run

[@Parameshvara]

Yes true. as well, from the vid, it seemed if he had cycle charged them immediately after each contact he would have gotten more use out of them. Soaking them in close combat roasted his own numbers to grizzle.

[@indoom666]

Cavalry miss most of their hits due to a bug, they can't couch their lances, and they really can't aim their spears if they use them. They are really bugged

[@crusaderpilled5541]

yeah. i haven't seen them use secondary weapons like swords or maces on horseback like they did in warband, that's what allowed them to utterly crush enemies after a charge.

[@andrewgodly5739]

I've been hit by a couched lance by the ai before

[@Axzealot]

Andrew Godly yeah me too and i have seen them switch weapons

[@creativedegree]

I thought something felt off

[@badalrana10]

Have the devs talked about this?

[@Algebrodadio]

"Rock and Pitchfork 2: LOOTERLORD"

[@cenetermacaronied2489]

Cock and Balls 2: The Cum Zone

[@jasonslatt2470]

@@cenetermacaronied2489 are you ok?

[@davids.8909]

Just play the Rohirrin charge song while charging in and cavalry only will get op every time

[@BG_Low]

DEAAAAAATH....!!!

[@davids.8909]

@Maximus Roebuck is that a LoTR mod?

[@davids.8909]

@Maximus Roebuck oh boi, definitely gonna check it out, thanks!

[@anonymussicarius8899]

@@davids.8909 Full titel of the mod is Kingdomes of Arda, should make it easier to find it. ^^

[@davids.8909]

@@anonymussicarius8899 i managed to find it on moddb thanks a lot guys, really looking forward to this one, looks amazing! Stay safe out there and i wish you the best to keep up a decent mood in these times

[@Jakman01]

I’ve noticed that actually just commanding your cavalry to follow you proves to be better than just letting them charge so you can actually force them to cycle charge and not just stop in the middle of a crowd of troops.

[@kemeras3689]

Ive found that I have to pull them back to reorganize, there power is in that first hit, infantry is following right behind them, pull Cav back as infantry fights, charge again.

[@loewensternYT]

so the old F1 F3 tactic isnt working anymore?

[@kemeras3689]

@@loewensternYT more F1 F4 mixed with some charges. I find you just have to command cavalry directly more than horse archers. F4 with horse archers is deadly

[@berketugral8236]

Bannerlord cavalry charges are giving me blue balls everytime

[@umbradens6129]

its because they can't actually charge right if they crouch lanced or if the line of horses hitting a line had actually realistic damage then it would be better. the way it is they mostly have to fight in sustained combat which is not what you want

[@Toetech0]

download the mod deadly horse charges

[@danielzonneveld5972]

@@Toetech0 this

[@vucovix7]

@@Toetech0 I was going to say that, with this mod horse charges are devastating

[@BijiMustardGas]

@@vucovix7 which mod?

[@alxmagro]

I still miss a "brace formation" that allows spearmen to counterattack the cavalry charge. But it is good to know that infantry has value and is not useless. The more tactical the combat, the better.

[@AzureShadow88]

A spear thrust to a charging horse will stop it dead in its tracks though

[@mr.fantastic7756]

Missed that from warband mods

[@marconapolitano2821]

Try 500 imperial catafracts against 500 battanian spearman and see the result.

[@swordscythe]

@G S Personally, I've learned to fear polearm infantry when i'm charging in with my lance couched. When I see a soldier coming at me with a spear, I turn back and take out my bow. They destroy your mount easy, and they're extremely accurate.

[@hazzballgaming6790]

Hendrik Veerbeek yeah but say goodbye to your wrist though

[@lukewithann7256]

is it just me or are cavalry charges kinda not as great as they should be?

[@reveriesend4668]

yeah, no couching yet.

[@spectrent]

Download a collision fix mod, cavalry will crush infantry like bugs, additionally a mod that multiplies the damage horses do and it feels really immersive

[@fabienherry6690]

Well the comparaison he did is kinda unfair as vlandian knight are actually around half the upkeep of all the other unit he tested (max level standard tree). Also the fact that horse tend to stick around and not flee in terror is kinda nerfing them since cavalery to cavalery impact just stop you

[@Sandderad]

Because the ai doesn't fight properly, if you actually lead them around and cycle charge they are invincible.

[@bakersmileyface]

@@spectrent really immersive? Do you know how heavy humans are? Cavalry might crush one or two people before falling over. That is if it didn't break it's legs upon impact. The cavalry is balanced enough as it is now. Why break it? At most they need to fix lances. But that's all.

[@ryanschmidt3319]

I think cavalry, particularly shock cavalry, more than any other type of troop needs support. Heavy infantry is a meat grinder, archers can project their force incredibly well across their whole line, and missile cav is so eminently survivable. Shock cav needs an anvil so they can be the hammer, otherwise they are wasted.

[@ElioCarosone]

I use a mix of cavalry and horse archers: enemy AI doesn't form a square if it's hit by arrows

[@Halvtooth]

I use full horse archers, as long as I am on a field and my arrows last I only lose like 3 or 2 units in a 100 Vs 150 fight.

[@TheRockhound119]

@@Halvtooth A combination works better because then you can have your horse archers ride around and then send in the cavalry and cycle charge them when the enemy doesn't form a square, becomes fractured and softened up. The cavalry will do more damage than your horse archers will when your horse archers run out of arrows. This is talking when you have over 100 units. Most troops I took out with 120 was an army of 400 or so Aserai. Lots of casualties yes, but the Aserai army was cooked. The cavalry are extremely good at making the enemy break ranks and flee.

[@clnetrooper]

Yeah, from the video you can see it. When the ennemy goes into a tight formation the losses are much greater than when the troops stay in line and all.

[@antonicv88]

@@TheRockhound119 I use a mixt of horse archers with some lancers in the group and other group of cav only with lancer, usualy skirimish from the right flank (all archers shoot beter from their left side) an them charge with the cav, and them charge with the mixt of archer cav, works pretty good, and if u use some heavy infantery the ia usualy scaters too much and its pretty easy charge to them, with the two cav groups from behind or the flanks (sorry for my broke english)

[@TheRockhound119]

@@antonicv88 precisely.

[@someidiotfromover7yearsago]

How good is LOOTER only? Can 600 looters kill anything?

[@RooZvonBooZ]

They can loot our lifes, but they can never loot.... OUR BUTTER !

[@Dethilion]

@Aput you have no cavalry? O.o

[@The_Falk]

They can kill my Frame Rate

[@ridvirgo1994]

Spear shall be shaken, shield shall be splintered, a sword day, a red day, ere the sun rises. Death! DEATH!! - intensifies music playing-

[@MinktheStorykeeper]

Death!!

[@horen2136]

I recommend to download a mod "deadly horse charges" and "horse rebalance".

[@Al4___]

Horen What did they do ?

[@Angelchaser29]

@@Al4___ they make horse charges more realistic since right now an armored beast running over you only does like 4 damage

[@horen2136]

@@Angelchaser29 so true

[@DziaduSwierznowski]

Heavy cav is hugely nerfed compared to Warband. I see two problems here: inability to hit anything with lance (which was supposed to be fixed) and second, maybe even bigger - they don't switch to swords/maces if stuck after charge. 10-12 knights with maces if stuck in a mass od infantry could inflict huge losses before going down or be more likely to break out

[@drekor884]

You can't really leave cavalry to sergeants. You need to have them charge through the enemy all together, reform then do it again. Having them charge at different times/angles makes them get in each others way and if they ever stop to attack people they get pulled down pretty quick.

[@Emkato]

Drekor classic hammer and anvil!

[@danilooliveira6580]

that is strange, I've always had a lot of success with cavalry, but I never tried cavalry only though. but when used for flanking or to break formation they were extremely effective. however I'm kinda happy that cavalry only is not unbeatable, the fact that you need to to buy warhorses for higher tier units is also pretty cool. I just hope that if they ever add spear brace formation they also buff the cavalry.

[@winterpyg]

A bit micromanaging, but cycle charging works best with cavalry. And form skein (F3-F6). Have cavalry standard-move order (F1) behind enemy formation to stay in formation and charge (F1-F3) only on the last few minutes, AI tends to split the formation if you charge from the get go. Once all my cavalry have full contact, I order to reform away from enemy and redo. Suffice to say, I'm up on a hill watching the entire thing and giving orders as a Lord is suppose to do.

[@badoucancel9332]

A Lord does not send his men to battle. He leads them to Victory

[@noctusfury6918]

*Vlandian Knights:* Damsel have-nots 😭💢 *Swadian Knights:* Chads of F1+F3 😎

[@FF-qv8en]

Nobody: Absolutely No one: Resonant: *THICK AND FAST*

[@potatoeking6339]

At this point you can call any video thick and fast compilation seeing as you say it all the time :D

[@Zz-qr3mv]

Don't know why you would feel shocked. They are shock cavalry after all.

[@Raddosseuss]

just a thing here cause it seems no one have notices how to use calvary properly , theres 2 ways really efective to use them one of them is to spread them to make a line of 2 (one on front one on the back) no more than 2 otherwise you will have a ball of calvary and their attack range will go to the same place doing 30% of their total number damage , other way is making 2 groups of calvary , 1 to the left spread out , other to the right spread out too , first make one of them charge and when the enemy turn to the side of that calvary their practically giving you the back , now make the second calvary also charge and you will get many crits for backstabs , also never start a war with a frontal calvary assault , better use a mix of spearman with swordmans , your swordmans will keep the enemy busy and the spearman will keep pushing the enemy back with their spears, your basically making a wall there , hope someone new to the series of M&B get this tips useful and dont be shy and try new formations you will be surprised how creative you can use formations :D

[@PackaGame]

You have to hit and run. Charge them, let them run through command them behind the enemy and let them regroup. Then charge again, over and over.

[@BigMut389]

Do the britanian wildings! Their huge shields should make a very interesting army and make enemy ranged units very useless. Great vids man 👍

[@aeth4190]

I'd like to see Wildigns Batanian I'm really wondering how they manage in battle, being the only accessible ranged Batanian unit (which can be massed)

[@chrisg2739]

They need to work on the unit cohesion of melee cavalry. The effect of a cavalry charge is in its mass of impact not an individual impact. They should move at a moderate speed in a wedge or line and about 100yds from the target they should open up to a full gallop. These broken cavalry charges are impotent compared to what a cohesive charge would be.

[@littlebig170]

The most fun and effective cavalry for me remains the khuzait horse archers as you just make them charge and they melt big armies like crazy. When you run out of arrows just retreat and go for another round. Took down 600 men army withonly 70 horse archers (they were khan's guard).

[@rayleigh7407]

This is like cheating

[@chiefbigsad7995]

cavalry is a skirmishing unit by nature. they dont charge in and stay in combat. to be most effective they are used in cycle charges against the sides and rear of the enemy. use infantry and archers to bait them into breaking formation and charging your lines, and use the follow command with your cav and repeatedly charge into their sides as they move.

[@ClockworkAnomaly]

The problem is people only know "Knight" tactics and don't remember that before, like during the sort of time period this game is set in, cavalry was never a core force.

[@rachmadsetyo1512]

finaly genius dude come out

[@andrejanastasovski1189]

Knights were a core force and could stay in combat because they were basically tanks. But ARMOR in bannerlord is next to useless as swords cut through the best armor like it's nothing.

[@ClockworkAnomaly]

@@andrejanastasovski1189 this game is set during a time when infantry armies were augmented by skirmisher screens and flanking cavalry. The (late tier) knights in this game are early proto knights and cataphracts that are not used remotely in the same way as a medieval knight.

[@andrejanastasovski1189]

@@ClockworkAnomaly Yes I realise that and very rarely use cavarly. Most of the time i charge them right before the infantry clashes so the enemy formation gets disrupted. But the cavarly is still really underpowered in the game. Cavarly shouldn't be very effective against tight formations as it already is but it isnt very effective against loose formation troops as well. Charge damage is basically non existant. Best i've done is 12-15. Imagine getting smacked by a horse with armor going full speed all your bones will be broken.

[@simoneguarise9012]

I really can't wait for a Third Age mod. It will be fantastic

[@Stelgim]

Same, went back to play it on Warband just recently. Excited for the mods that will come

[@bobafat2082]

People are already planning and preparing for a lotr conversion called Kingdoms of Arda. It looks really promising!

[@DungTran-wq2dj]

Simone Guarise tbh third age warband was boring

[@simoneguarise9012]

@@DungTran-wq2dj you don't know what you are saying

[@Dover78]

Don't just F1, F3 from the other side of the map. Set them on "advance" until they're 50-100 meters from the enemy line and then issue the charge order. Their formation stays much more cohesive and they hit like a fucking truck.

[@fobie7913]

I want a mod that has a horse that does insane charge damage, like a unicorn that just impales people.

[@azell2913]

theres a mod that makes all horses do insane charge dmg you might like

[@umbradens6129]

just a normal horse would do insane charge damage the default in the game is much too low

[@tayloraverett3138]

Ben Schwarz whats the mod name?

[@footballeratilla]

Xorberax's Deadly Horse Charges Website is Nexus mods.

[@悲歌-x9k]

... And if there is, it need a bucket load of hp and armor when it get hit as you charge.

[@taylorantczak9125]

I think a big way to improve the cavalry only army is to put them into multiple different command squads. That way you can always have them on a flank and charge from different directions and have a few quick waves of charges. While one pulls out the other smashes in.

[@randompasserby2697]

I just make my Cav follow me as I lead them from the flank. I would leap over spearmen to make sure I don't get stopped in my tracks. Easier this way than constantly pin pointing marks

[@elhananiluz8435]

Great video , maybe you can test 1000 battaniens riders ?

[@kharekelas4259]

Cavalry need to always follow you, and you lead them strike the outer edge of the enemy's formation. Charging into dense troops is suicidal.

[@GrammerPollice]

I'd really like to see an army of Strugian infantry. A full shield wall of Sturgian veteran warriors with javelins sounds terrifying.

[@thomasvanwonterghem1498]

Im already using them like that along with some good archers (vlandian sharpshooters and fian champion) every time the enemy gets close enough for that rain of javelins their morale is destroyed and since the new armor of the sturgian veteran warriors along with the javs I prefer them over legionairs even.

[@Sinvx]

I find as cav you have to charge, fall back, and charge again, rinse repeat. Can't let them get bogged down, and you have to keep them together. Edit, also I like to seperate cav into multiple units. 1 unit charges, then have the other unit charge, as you regroup the first, rinse repeat.

[@JustinJohnStanley]

Seems to me like a better tactic might be to gather your cavalry, then give them a move order to beyond the enemy you want them to charge, then repeat as applicable. That way they don't get stuck just trying to duke it out with footmen while they're sitting ducks

[@WildWombats]

I'd love an updated answer :) I'm sure a lot's changed since!

[@raymondjhorology]

I use around 40-50 cav , 100 ranged and about 60 infantry. Pretty good balance except for seiges.

[@artua7461]

I have found when using like 200 cav, if you puts some like knights into a custom group, and champions or something in just cavalry section, you can command them more tactically, and it's much more effective.

[@trowell200]

I think cav are excellent but only when combined with other troop types, otherwise the enemy can always form a defensive square or a circle like they did here - if a cav charge hits an isolated archer formation it will absolutely tear through and cause a huge morale hit, also with cav only they just end up getting bundled up instead of charging straight through

[@bakersmileyface]

I like how the cav is now. They break enemy formations. They do a LOT of morale damage causing troops to route and they're well protected. At the same time they're balanced. Spears are deadly, AI is good at hitting them with missiles and the cav doesn't deal ridiculous amounts of damage. I wish couched lances worked but apart from that, I have no complaints. Much better than warband where they steamrolled everything and you had no need for other troops.

[@trowell200]

bakersmileyface yeah I agree completely, also being able to attack with spears up as well as down actually made a surprisingly big impact

[@pixel6964]

I've noticed from my own experience that the crouch lance and miss even wen on target (bug I think) and only certain cav can crouch lance which is new compared to launch. But cav is very situational and can win you a fight of a much larger force if you have infantry to back them up. I always use my cav from the sides or rear after mopping up the enemies own cav, and I only do this before and infantry charge while underfire from xbow men and archers as they work as a great distraction. They also really suck in a siege and is one of the bigger losses I take compared to other troops which is suprising because of there armour, weapons and stats.

[@RoastingPotPieMonkey]

i know this isn't the point of the challenge but if you have a few horse archers on skirmish they cause the enemy ai to run be less effective at stopping your Calvary charge. I also typically put them on loose formation so they don't clump up on the charge. It's something helpful to just let the sergeants take over for Calvary (especially horse archers). their line typically breaks easier when half their force is chasing the horse archers while the regular cavalry messes them up.

[@stillwaterstyx762]

I’ve found that cavalry are very good if you lead them yourself but they just die if you delegate command or just tell them to charge. That’s because if you lead them you can charge them through the enemy and keep the going past them and loop around for another pass, if they just charge they’ll crash into the enemy, but then will just stay there ineffectively trying to attack with spears

[@MutatingManiacGarr]

I found cavvalry army works best when you have mix half heavy cavalry, half horse archers, so either khuzaits, or go multi-culti

[@soundsofexpressions3720]

Same ive taken on and beaten an army of 700 imperial men, with 150 mixed cav, on realistic only settings, by the end i still have 60 or so left.

[@dank8793]

I find that a Cav only army is much more effective if you always give the follow order at the beginning and attack the sides of an army rather than charging the center. Charging the weaker flanks and shearing down their numbers opens them up for a devastating charge down the center. It also helps to split your army into 2 groups (I set banner knights/elite cataphracts as cav and valandian vanguards as infantry) so you can send one group behind the enemy while keeping the enemy focused on your main force in front.

[@Philipp.of.Swabia]

I mean in medival times ( at least in the early and high medival time, so 11th, 12, and 13th century cavalry had only the job to kill the fleeing enemy’s so that they don’t return to the battlefield, in some battles they actually charged right in, but that was really rare at these early times, it more developed in the 14th century...) ( please correct if I’m wrong, but I remember that Loyd from Lidybeige once said that stuff...)

[@ZechsMerquise195]

I made it work with an equal mix of horse-archers and lancers. The trick is that the horse-archers will pepper the enemy with arrows and usually break the enemies formation (or at least dent it), and then the lancers strike.

[@NoOdL3z18]

The cavalry isn't staying in formation or using crouched lances in their charges, so they are't using their mass or weapons to their full effect. When I play I do a hammer and anvil or time an infantry charge immediately following a cav charge and push the cavalry out the backside, I usually lead the cavalry myself to make it easier and never let my cavalry get bogged down. The cavalry takes a lot more micromanaging to be effective at this point in ai.

[@AmarothEng]

You need to actually personally lead the cav on follow mode, ideally in skein formation. Cav will keep in tight formation, hit way more constantly, and actually break through enemy ranks and keep running, instead of stopping in the middle of the enemies (at least as long as that is what you do yourself). Their inability to hit a bloody thing also gets vastly reduced in this use case. You also need to actually pick your time when you charge into enemies and when you retreat, drawing them out of their braced positions and catching them unprepared on flanks, when moving etc. In general, cav is insane powerhouse when micromanaged, but very underwhelming when just left to AI. As someone who tends to play on horse, I don't mind that, as I lead cav personally anyway and get very good reward for actually micromanaging it, however, I would probably mind this fact a lot if I wanted to use cav in my army, yet I also wanted to be a footman myself.

[@Alfaomegabravo]

I find that melee cavalry tend to get boged down in a sea of infantry after charges and just gets rekt. Their lances are useless in close combat and they just get so many hits they get perma stunned.

[@th5154]

It's realistic in a way, but the cav might need a bit of improvement in AI

[@Alfaomegabravo]

@Zwenk Wiel They will end up there eventually if left to their own devices and the ai tends to just send the whole army in a lump.

[@MonsieurNarlan]

I think they should debug the cav, but I found out that they are actually more effective when used as they where historical : to disturb the opponent. For example, charging into infantry back while they are fighting your shield wall - they do immense damages at impact.

[@faboFromNomads]

try the "Troop Collision and siege tower and castle stairs fix" mod. It will put bigger distance between troops so they don't bunch up like that. Those unrealistic tight formations could be the reason they block your cav so effectively

[@vainfate6275]

This is why a heavy cav comp w/imperial palatine guards(some form of high level bowman), is exceptionally difficult to deal with. You rain arrows on a stationary wall until they break formation, then you flank with cav.

[@legatusmaximus7432]

Back 9 months later banner knights and champions get a sick new helmet and cavalry are pretty good now, they’re insane at breaking up a solid line, in preparation for a infantry charge

[@MrRichardHammerbush]

I had a thought: What about an army made of troops you borrow during the "Train these troops up" quests you can get from settlements? For instance, would it be worth taking as many of those quests at once as possible, or even ignoring the quest itself? I'm pretty sure when I first had one of those quests fail on me it didn't immediately remove the troops from my party so if they're any good it could be a cheap way of gaining some men. Also just wanted to say I love the video. I had been curious as to how potent the Cav could be in its current state, since it seems to hang around a bit too much after each charge unless extensively mircomanaged

[@AhuizotlXiuh]

I don't think you can take more than one of that quest at a time. Maybe a mod could remove that limitation or you could just use a mod or console to give yourself borrowed troops.

[@aidanallen1976]

@@AhuizotlXiuh once you fail the quest you keep the troops so you could make an army of them

[@jabom22]

@@aidanallen1976 And the battanian ones may turn into the noble line too xD , so that could be a very strong strat.

[@POSEID0N_WRATH]

What is that soundtrack used at 16:45 keep hearing it all over youtube but don't know what's it's called

[@Arnechk]

What if you use the tried and trusted method of stand closer + follow me and then just joust through the enemy lines and get your cavalry to comb though them, get some distance, make them hold and repeat until Calradia is yours?

[@NihilIslands]

Ask for tightest formation ask follow and lead them 15-20 meters and give charge command for them to couch enemies. Give follow me command behind enemy lines but better retreat them lateraly command. Rinse and repeat , try also to couch together with them, take a couch lance. Try to flank them when they are many, go direct charge if they arent spearmen...

[@UCeagle79]

I have noticed spears are very underwhelming in this game because of their small hit radious. Heavy cav with two handed weapons or axs would be better because swings are better. Atleast for smaller battles and seiges... i think you need to make a third video with either a mix of cav or 2h weapon cav. Still love the videos. The cinematics are great. But you gotta command more the ai is to dumb. Next unit. 2h weapon cav or All tribal warriors. Ive seen them to work especially online. Also do best multiplayer unit list!

[@raphaelrocha473]

“They’re kinda perched up on the hill but I don’t think it’ll help that much” *Darth Vader has joined the chat*

[@cloudsora]

This is why I asked before in a previous video why he didn't use a square or circle formation, they were designed for anti-cav historically.

[@culturedthug8850]

A mix of cavalry and horseback archers would be pretty sick. Use the archers to whittle them down a bit then use the heavy cavalry to break the formation. Use the archers to flank and cause chaos. Then use both to cut down stragglers.

[@BePatient888]

To amend a previous post, my 80 mounted troops consist of both horse archers and knights. SO, it's a free for all. Those circle formations are decimated by arrows, and then overwhelmed by the shock troops.

[@ggoddkkiller1342]

I use 250 heavy cavalry (Mixed ofc but mostly vlandian banner) and 100 horse archers (Also mixed but mostly imperial) and im just slaughtering everything on my path including twice larger armies!! Just position heavy cavalry in the middle of the map and go harass them with horse archers that they will break formation and start charging so wait until their infantry is close to your heavy cavalry then order them to charge they will just run over the enemy without loosing anybody..

[@Sputnik312]

Maybe one could stretch the meaning of Cav only and have a even split of Cav and Cav Archers. I find if you can skirmish a little it helps keep the enemy infantry from forming big clumps and forcing your cavalry into sustained mosh pits where charges go to die. Having to fight the Khuzait a lot has made me field a huge army of cavalry to catch their armies, so having a strong Archer Cav is key.

[@apollodorus4759]

Put your cavalry in shield wall formation before charging. Dont ever have them folllow you while in that formation otherwise they get in the way of each other. Then ask them to charge. after charging take them out of formation and regroup, reform away from the infantry. Rinse and repeat. Dont let your cav stay in melee for too long. And alway stay in a group.

[@CollinRezac]

It also helps when the enemy is more spread out instead of in a group that will slow down and stop the cav. So instead you shouldnt charge them into spear but from the side or when they are spread out.

[@stuartmaltby2035]

Cavalry should be used from the flank or rear. I split them in 2 send them either side of the enemy, get my archers to pin the infantry down. Then charge cavalry before pressing f4 on the archers(not sure if friendly fire is a thing) then f1, f2 the cav on me and F4 the archers again(no more shield wall). One charge normally breaks them then my infantry F1, F4 till face to face with the enemy archers then all charge.

[@theangusschmaloer]

I got 260 banner Knights. They get stuck and die when i play normally. BUT, when i put them into 4 groups and continuously manually circle charge then going in circles, hit and go tactic, it works wonders. But takes Perma management. And it kills slow, but very high k/d ratio

[@1good100]

I have a majority of cav and cav archers and a smaller elite inf force. The presence of inf forces the AI to prepare for an inf battle while my cav picks off and dwiddles the enemy force. Also having that inf group makes your delegate command AI smarter because they want to act as a support cav role, not a main army role. So they use smarter more effective tactics.

[@Angelchaser29]

There's a proper way of using Vlandian heavy cavalry. My Vlandian character has a personal guard of about 10 banner knights that he takes everywhere he goes but they NEED infantry support. 1: pick them apart with your archers 2: establish contact with melee infantry in a shield wall 3: set cavalry in a skein and tell them to follow you so they don't stop and hack with a sword. Charge into the enemy line's flank and they almost always break formation and retreat 4: set all units to chase down routed enemies. Heavy cavalry is for shock and awe, they are most effective at ravaging enemy morale

[@goetzvonb123]

As in every RTS micromanaging the cav is the key to success. You can split your cav into several units that u can command and give way more orders to circle charge etc.... i mean since the invention of the pike, straight forward cav charges, haven´t been a good idea. So would you consider showing us your doomstack mastery by making it work...Show us some rear charges, manually cycle charge different units of cav, etc...? I would watch it.

[@judechauhan6715]

I tried to make a cav only campaign army and could never get enough. For 60 men you need ~40 cav and I could only get around 20 at any time :(

[@mathewvo1320]

I use like 80-85% Cav, and the rest horse archers. Skirmish with horse archers and eventually the enemy will be forced to charge, then send in cav.

[@emrysmyridden]

updated info just did a custom battle 500 banner knights vs 500 pikemen in shieldwall and square formations and they barely lost 20 against 500 sargents they won without casualties. massed pikemen are supposed to counter cavalry its why the sqare formation was invented and used untill the cavalry became tanks.

[@bivojcz445]

in bannerlord lots of cavalry units dont use couch but sometimes they do and with that couch they often hit me :/, if you remember mount and blade warband there i used vaegir knigts and with that 100-120 vaegir knigts army i was only once defeated when i faced something about 600 units army of rhodock (if you remember they are specialy anticavalry infantry) on field, and one thing it was without any cheats, there was that vaegir knigts universal for field battle and also for taking castles and towns because of their bardiches :) but there in bannerlord you must have army composed of infantry, cavalry and yes good amount of archers they are so good in bannerlord and yes sometimes some skirmishers and finally units i like most in bannerlord are Sturgian troops they have mounted skirmishers, not bad cavalry (druzhinik champion), archers are good too and that sturgian infantry from fast moving ulfhednars over shock troops to veteran warriors, sturgian troops are good someone maybe dont agree but i like them

[@Gnomkiller2000]

Tbh did a run cav only once you have 50 heavy knights there really wasn't anything that could stop it in the end did supplement it with horse archers because that makes ai do strange formations

[@The_Flamekeepers]

Quality Archers are the GOAT. Its a toss up between Fian Champions and Palatine Archers. How do you get those camera controls? Is there a battle replay feature I missed or something?

[@Geckogold]

I've found that rather than let cavalry do their own thing, I just have them follow me. Then similar to what happened in the video, I charge through or near the enemy formation, but I just keep going, so that the cavalry continues to run past instead of sticking around. Then I circle around and do another pass. Cavalry that isn't mobile are very vulnerable, especially vs spears. Overall though, they don't seem to be as powerful as they were in Warband. Which is a good thing though, because I just kept finding myself using cavalry heavily, whereas in Bannerlord it forces me to mix it up with combined arms from cavalry, archery, and infantry.

[@vxu3826]

cav is nasty in this game if you use hammer and anvil strategy

[@Lord-of-Cats]

I use an army of Banner Knights only, and with only 50, we take out armies of hundreds. However I do micro manage my men. I pull them out after each charge and send them again after setting up a good position.

[@ProudFilthyCasual]

Man a lot has changed in two years for the console release. My calv have much better AI now that actually tend to couch, they form decent lines and will sort of regroup to charge again though that's not perfect by any means. Also, they represent themselves much better on foot now, as they should, so if I charge into a tight formation and they stop us up, I just dismount them and they tend to start wrecking everyone. Mainly Banner Knights, occasionally Elite Cataphract.

[@ColSanders2]

It’s cavalry Calvary is where Jesus was crucified

[@ProudFilthyCasual]

@@ColSanders2 That's the auto correct, every time. I also don't fucking care, it's called context and you knew exactly what I meant, thus the purpose was served. Shut up and move the fuck on you insufferable dork.

[@Darman0430]

Tbh I feel like a pitchfork made out of a few sticks some peasant found and tied together outside of their home would snap in half before doing any kind of serious damage to an 1800 lb warhorse.

[@hagalathekido]

if history is anything to go by horses are a support class to the fronline much like archers, they are meant to sneak behind and kill soft targets or disrupt crucial attakcs, not smash through the frontlines

[@ALegitimateYoutuber]

you should include hideouts in you're test. since those are a pain so knowing whats good for those is.. good.

[@SL-mj2eq]

For hideouts basically for steppebandits/forest bandits i would recommend high tier ranged units. So battanian fians champions. Make sure u put units with large shields in the top of ur party list since u cant pick ur troops. And put them in shieldwall to tank some of the arrows. And use a bow urself while sniping them from behind cover. This method allows me to take out bandit camps with 40 people in it. Mountain bandits and sea raiders. Its shield units cos of there javis if u give ur companions. a bow shield/sword they do pretty good. But no sweat if u get some high tier ranged units offc. but some of these enemies do have shields so its less effective.

[@BildoDaggins]

People point out bugs of calvary. But its also better to use calvary in mixed arms tactics. Hitting flanks, rears, and the archers in the back lines. Effective maneuvering, placement, and speed are essential for shock calvary which are the vlandians knights basically. You could field mass Sturgian calvary and would fair much better for when they get knocked off their mount. But they suffer against other calvary and khuzait mounted archers. Etc etc, cataphract would also excel.

[@richardforsman]

I have mostly cavalry only, but I mix Vlandians with Khuzan and I have a little infantry force acting like a little tank in the square formation, so my cavalry gets to attack behind the enemy more easily.

[@jackiebiskan4748]

Just recently I had 75 banner nights in a normal campaign and iversed an army of 700 versus my 260 Max difficulty and it was incredible. It came down to the wire. My '75 bannonites killed 300 troops. The army had pretty much no cavalry and a s*** ton of range. So I snuck my cavalry behind their main lines pretty far away so they couldn't get shot. Can my archers on the right side to Target the shields and sent my infantry in shield mode? Just waiting. I ended up winning by myself at the end. My archers killed pretty much I killed just shy of 100 and my infantry picked up the rest. Incredible

[@diojiwoolf]

To be most effective with cavalry you can't just F3 them like the Mounted Archers. To keep them in formation, stop them from getting swarmed, and make sure their charge is reaching maximum speed; Always use F2 and have them Follow Me as you charge into the front-lines and push all the way through! The rest of your thunderous horde will sweep through them like a hammer.

[@bat353]

Flanking that is what makes cav so effective. They flank quicker and more effectivly than other unit types.

[@kaikart123]

Watching this I remember my SWADIAN KNIGHTS FLOOD ARMY in Warband. Also I think after you order your cav to charge and you order them to regroup to charge again it would be more effective. Also it seems when you order them to charge they didn't maintain their formation which is a shame. I remember in Warband with more formation mod they will maintain their formation while charging.

[@coranda326]

I like the calvary in the game because they are support units used for cycle charging which historically was their use

[@harveybrown7792]

Heavy cavalry really can't be left to the sergeants to manage. They need to be withdrawn completely and reformed in repeated cycles otherwise their formation breaks up and they charge as individuals rather than a massed unit. It is only when you micro them that they become unbeatable. Break them into two command units so you can charge one from a different direction while the other reforms. In this arrangement, an all cavalry army will defeat even 'undefeatable' archer armies.

[@aznfattass]

this is where mods come in handy. some guy made it so that charges from cav are more devastating. its beautiful.

[@andrejanastasovski1189]

They should drastically buff cavalry (both charge and melee damage) but implement a countermeasure like the brace mechanic and damage taken if the horse dies on fast speeds.

[@HenryHoang-x]

MAN, your comment, it's just so good, you describe it accurately and so entertaining.

[@michup86]

To see how effective it is look at Khuzait on campaign map. They are beating up raging war in parallel with Sturgians and all sort of Empire.

[@CattusVert]

Its quite sad because the deadly charge mod shouldn't have to be a thing, like ik its not supposed to be hyper realistic but a horse in heavy armour or just a naked horse hitting you at like 40mph is gonna do more than 3 fucking damage lol it should be a base game mechanic for cav charges to kill and do a shit ton of dmg

[@a-drewg1716]

seriously though a 1800 object charging 40mph can just kill a man outright yet in the game it is like they just stubbed a toe.

[@lireth3851]

you need to use follow command or to position command to prevent them from stuck inside enemies

[@Lord_Raymund]

The reason why you lose so many horsemen is because armor issent as good as it should be. Try the ”armor matters” mod, it makes it much more realistic.