How GOOD Is The Vanguard Faris? Bannerlord Cavalry Units Guide

This is a 1.8. Bannerlord in Depth Analysis of the Aserai Vanguard Faris the Cavalry unit of the desert.
This video is part of a Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Playlist where we analyze each unit not only based on their equipment but also on statistics taken after intensive testings.
The Data will be trimmed down and showcased both throughout the video and at the end to allow the viewer to know as much as possible about the unit in question.
A score will also be provided at the end based on Lyon’s opinion, this score shouldn’t be taken as hard evidence, as different playstyles may impact the way viewers evaluate units.
In this here video we are going to talk about The Vanguard Faris. a unit most known for their hard hitting javelins.
0:00 INTRO
1:10 ARMOR
2:33 EQUIPMENT
4:09 DATA
5:09 PROS & CONS + SCORE
And remember, criticism and constructive feedback are always appreciated.
#guide #troops #units

[@liviubostan7229]

Faris is indeed very dangerous. Elite troops can be deleted in the fraction of a second. They can decimate the strongest armies! But then again they can also be complete doofuses and waste their javelins on one horsy archer or a recruit. Nothing bleeds my hearth when I see 10 javelins for one nomad or imperial recruit to miss all of them and them get shot by an arrow..

[@LyonExodus]

yep. even if their aim is largely better than what it used to be it's far from accurate. they can be wasteful with their javs but in the right scenario they can wreack havoc

[@MilitaryBuff]

This just in new update today Vanguard Faris now has a new helmet which provides good protection which it now shares with the palace guard. A downgrade for palace guard an upgrade for vanguard Faris. Unqid now cares about his Calvary!

[@domestostm4365]

very nice

[@Gitsmasher]

This cav is my favorite one, with more emphasis on speed than tankiness kinda remind me of 18th century cav... well done

[@savic101]

I’ve lost entire armies from mamluke + faris cav swarm, their speed is unmatched as their lances come from nowhere and one shot my men and my character + jereeds as well If the Aserai weren’t in a war for a while, it’s a guarantee you need at minimum 1.5x their troops to have an even match in an army, but also I’m not the best at the game lol

[@LyonExodus]

Even before 1.8. these guys were a pain to face. A good Aserai army was always going to be problematic to deal with now they are even more dangerous.

[@13floss]

They die fast tho

[@13floss]

All other elite cavaliers would wreck them and that’s include khans guard

[@LyonExodus]

@@13floss ever faced 200 Khan's in one battle? probably not right. that's why it's much more important to evaluate units on versatility and impact against low tiers. that's what most armies are made of, T4 and less. These guys serve that role better than some other noble line cavalry units. and nobady is saying they are better than Khan's just you wait until i cover that unit, it's disgusting.

[@Saladon89]

Faris are very weak. Very low survivability rate compared to other cavalries. I use mostly cataphracts and use them to attack flanks and most of the time this strategy needs troops with high armor because theres a chance horseman will get surrounded by enemy infantry. Once a faris gets surrounded, hes done, cataphracts has a higher chance of getting out.

[@mortache]

The Faris needs the most micromanagement. If you get rushed head on, many will die or get unhorsed. But if you "T bone" the enemy cavalry charge with your superior speed, you'll delete their cavalry instead. Plus I also let them hold their javelins and "race" the enemy cavalry from behind, and then tell them to release them. Otherwise its just wasted on the shields

[@seansheridan5141]

Yesssss

[@game_critic]

I'd like to see a remake of this check now that we're in 1.9. I'm noticing an improvement to horsemen AI and their lethality. Wondering if you noticed any changes, with the new horses etc?

[@LyonExodus]

Been working on that video for 7 hours straight. i am making progress, altough at snail pace. I hope to have it ready for tomorrow but there is a lot to do

[@Flesson19]

I never got them to work well for me, I was probably using them wrong

[@LyonExodus]

you tried them in 1.8? before i didn't get much use out of them either. a good troop if the enemy played defensively but if not "Hold Fire" was the way to go.

[@bluntlyhonest6803]

Their javelins really carry them, seeing 100 of these guys come at your troops and just hurl 500 of javelins at you and your army is a true terror.

[@Ch-ew9tm]

Will you also rate the Minor Faction troops?

[@LyonExodus]

I hope someone makes a mod that allows me to easily play around with all of the troops in the game. there used to be one but last time i checked it was very out of date. If not i'll try to mess with the XML files. I think it would be very informative to review all of the Bandits and some companions gear sets.

[@Ch-ew9tm]

@@LyonExodus isn’t there a Version of the Enhanced battle mod on the RBM page? I think it’s for version 1.72 tough.

[@LyonExodus]

@@Ch-ew9tm There is but the latest mod version is for 1.6. The RBM "fix" is for 1.7.2. i might try to see it that works on 1.8. anyway

[@dyonesios]

What about their efficiency against other cavalry? To me this is an anti cavalry unit. They always do pretty well against my horse archers.

[@LyonExodus]

have you seen cavalry fighting other cavalry? They stop their horse and start swinging swords. In other words, their performance would be close to what they do against infantry. No need to run another 4 hours of tests for that.

[@dyonesios]

@@LyonExodus ummm...ya. I'm literally asking if these guys skirmish against other cavalry or they just charge, and if they skirmish how effective is it

[@LyonExodus]

don't know. Cavalry Vs Cavalry is still quite bad even in the latest patches. A unit that can throw javelins would likely fair better against one that can't. But when it comes to testing player input must be taken away, the units needs to fight on their own. Once you get that data you know how they compare to others, then tactics can make them more effective. Like i said, running 4 hours of testings to find out how they might perform when the AI is like that it's not something i am interested in doing right now. With 1.9. i have to run tests on everything again, and that takes some days or weeks of work then i have to script, record and edit videos on my own. Even a small video like this takes 5 hours to finish. So, when you factor in having a life as well i don't have much time for tests that are likely not providing much information.

[@dyonesios]

No worries. I don't think a full test is necessary. I've been meaning to do some less rigorous testing in my own game, but I'm doing a RBM playthrough right now, so it wouldn't say much.

[@Tarkan__0]

And they dont have a noble troop feel to their aesthetic.I wish TW added a Mameluke/Gulham type cav to the game.

[@LyonExodus]

we do indeed need more camels in the game

[@Ch-ew9tm]

@@LyonExodus could’ve been easily added as a split for the Mameluke Cavalry t3. But sadly there is no heavy camel armor.

[@LyonExodus]

@@Ch-ew9tm That's the problem with camels. they didn't get armor in history and they won't get armor in the game. But i'd still ike to see more of them. since the Ghulams and Jawaals are rare

[@Ch-ew9tm]

@@LyonExodus there was camel armor in history tough the arabs did not use it. The sassanid persians used camel armor.

[@Eddison33]

Their helmet seems like an insult of some sort. They could have used an Aserai noble helmet that fits well an gives 46 (or 48) armor, but they gave a crappy one instead. This troop, however, is a straight 5/5 if you love micromanaging your troops as much as I do. If you don't let them fight great numbers of enemy infantry, they basically annihilate everything: archers, high-tier cavalry, horse archers, shieldless infantry.

[@TheFamilyMan862]

If you put them in loose formation while charging they shit on most army’s but running around them and poking them to death

[@MrMarkrura]

Those guys along with mamluks are most annoying enemies I ever face. Their pure speed build are freaking hard to catch up with other cavalry and in chaotic battle field, they with keep picking off your troop constantly. But if you in charge of army, make sure that all troop stay information Don't F1+F3. When those bastards charge at dense formation, hohoho boys they drop like a fly.

[@LyonExodus]

oh, they are nasty

[@Carl007Jr]

Arguably the worst tier 5 cavalry. They get one stack(5) of javelins, and a tiny shield. Shit armor as well. You need to carefully pick your perks to make them better, and they still absolutely suck. One of the worst one handed weapons. They are not good cavalry.