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Native Expansion
Native Expansion in a nutshell is just that - an extension of the original game, Mount & Blade (and now Warband). Whereas many mods strive to differentiate themselves by radically changing the game or its mechanics, NE is an attempt to take the same awesome gameplay experience which makes M&B so fun and put it on steroids, by adding missing features, fixing native bugs and extending gameplay further. You can liken it to us trying to follow directly in the M&B developer's footsteps. We improve factions troops and relations. Manage your kingdom like never before, send companions out on diplomatic missions, hire or defend yourself from assassins, wage war against the dreaded Dark Knights or subvert the nations of the world. New soldiers, new items, new quests and extensions of just about every gameplay mechanic await you.
First and foremost, our goal is for us and others to have fun. After that, our goal is to provide a rich gameplay experience that doesn't change what you'd expect from M&B, only makes it better. It's as simple as that. We're Native, but better. We're Warband, but better. We stand on the shoulders of giants and reach just a little bit higher.
Native Expansion: More better stuff.
Features
This feature list is quite long, and thus has been broken down into many different categories. Note, some of the content only applies to the latest beta series (called the 600 series). Also note, we often attempt, whenever possible, to provide the player with the ability to turn a feature on or off in the camp menu, in the event they want to revert to the Native style play. The full feature list would be hard to even document, so here are some of the highlights. At the bottom of the highlights is a large list of many features, large or small.
Rebalanced Kingdoms, Troops and Items
Every soldier and item in the game has been overhauled, with careful attention paid to game balance. We tried to add a lot of flavor into the mix, but balance was the goal at the end of the day. Each Kingdom has an entirely reworked troop tree (expanded below), built from the ground up with a standard formula to ensure that no 'super soldiers' sneak in and every faction has its own strengths and weaknesses. Here are some faction by faction details below:
The Six Kingdoms of Swadia and their Soldiers
* All factions now adhere to 1 of 2 standard troop trees, with a maximum of 5 upgrades needed to reach the end of the tree
* All factions are now either a generalist or a specialist in a particular field of Infantry, Archers and Cavalry
* All faction soldiers adhere to the strict leveling guideline, which ensures all soldiers could be realistically built by the player
* Specialist factions see higher level caps in their specialty and higher level elites
* Generalist factions have lower level caps, but have a more diverse troop tree and no weaknesses
The three specialist factions: Swadia, Vaegirs and Nord
* Swadia reigns supreme with their Heavy Cavalry, being the only faction with access to premium Warhorses and full-body armored Elites
* Swadia's focus on Cavalary leaves their ranged prowess weakened, leaving them as the faction with the poorest crossbow users and no archers
* They have the best access to heavy armors and heavy warhorses, including unique Swadian platemails and horses
* Crush your enemies with the stalwart Paladin and convert them to your cause with the Priest Heavy Cav, the latter of which uses exclusively blunt weapons
* Vaegir bow might is unmatched, being the only faction which maxes out the Power Draw skills and with access to elite bows
* Vaegir dedication to the bow leaves their Infantry much weakened, requiring them to rely on ranged support more
* They have exclusive access to the powerful Ivory Bows and Arrows
* Their lethality at range makes them an amazing siege force. Reign death from above with the Ivory Sentinel, guarded by the fierce Knyaz
* Nord fury in melee is frightening in the least, with equally-competent branches of One-handed and Two-handed Heavy Infantry
* Nord melee prowess, though unmatched, leaves little room for equestrian training - Nord Cavalry is severely weakened
* Even the lowliest Nord soldiers are ready for melee combat, and all are eager for blood
* Overrun the toughest defenses with the aggressive Einherjar and defend your castles from anything with the Valkyrie's shields.
The three generalist factions: Sarranid, Khergit, Rhodok
* Desert-tempered Sarranids strike a balance between prowess in skirmish combat and Cavalry, having the 2nd-best Heavy Cav
* The Sarranid's heavier reliance on skirmish weapons like Jarids leave their bow skills somewhat weakened
* Sarranid's wide variety of both Cav and Infantry leave them many options for conquering their enemies
* The well-equipped Zhayedan is the only Heavy cav which can stand up to Swadian Paladins, and the Spahbod Serden will hold his own against Nordic Einherjar
* Lightning-fast Khergits maintain superiority in ranged mounted combat, relying on speed and weapon variety
* Their focus on mounted combat leaves their soldiers at a disadvantage when on foot, though they compensate somewhat with their new Light Infantry, the Kharash
* Khergit Horses are the fastest in the game, making them great for fast-moving, fast-attacking skirmish forces
* Kite your slow-moving enemies with the supremely accurate Keshik or lightning-fast Guanren
* Rhodok soldiers stem from rebellious peasant roots, maintaining a diverse profile of infantry, cavalry and maintaining mastery of the Crossbow
* Rhodok soldiers suffer very few weaknesses, but their Crossbow users lack the mobility of archers and their Cavalry are only mid-range
* Rhodok are the only faction with access to mounted crossbow wielders, and their heavy infantry are skilled
* Penetrate the thickest armor with the elite Arbalestier and screen the enemy with the brutal Spear Knight
Mercenary War Bands and Bandits
* Mercenary War Bands wander the countryside, ambushing those they can or making themselves for hire for the cunning Lord
* Bandits are no more just an annoyance; be prepared for a stand up fight
* Many quests for bandits are planned for future releases[/spoiler]
The Dark Knight invasion
* An optional (default on) invasion of epic proportions await you to spice up the mid and end game.
* Prepare to face off against elite soldiers bent on conquering Calradia
* Will the Dark Knights prevail, or will the six kingdoms unite to fight off the threat they face?
Many new quests
* Dozens of new quests await you in NE, given out by a wide assortment of NPCs
* Help the Guildmaster track down cheese thieves
* Crash a wedding and be a hero to some, a villain to others
FEATURE LIST
(NOTE: Some of these feature descriptions might be slightly inaccurate due to changes in newer versions)
Troops
* Massive number of new and rebalanced troops - every tree has been redesigned from scratch
* Troops are now organised into three tiers. As a landless player, you will only have access to the Peasant Line of troops which you can recruit as normal from villages.
* When you eventually become a landowner, Noble troops are available to recruit in towns. All factions have their own Noble Troop lines. You can only recruit nobles from a faction you are member of
* If you choose to become a king or queen, you will have access to special Elite troops which can be obtained by sacking an enemy capital, or building your own recruitment centre in a captured city. Elite troops echo the strengths of their originating faction. You can also find these soldiers to rescue or capture and convert.
* New parties patrol the map. Fear the new Kingdom Patrols, led by elite troops, and the holy Crusaders, rugged Ivory Guards, massive Hordes, vicious Berserkers, noble Councilmen, and Sarranid Dervishes.
* Mercenary bands now roam the countryside. They're quite tough, but excellent source of loot and money for the experienced commander.
* Bandit troop numbers have been supplemented (parties are bigger).
* Lords have been boosted, and Kings made far stronger. They are extremely deadly on the field of battle.
* Faction monarchs are now often accompanied by contingents of elite guard. Even an experienced army may have a hard time with them.
Weapons and Armour
* Large number of new weapons and armour.
* Unique items can be gained from loyalty to your king, if you become a vassal.
* Special quest items can be gained from doing quests for other faction leaders.
* Kings have unique weapons.
* If you are a monarch of your own kingdom and you own a town with a blacksmith forge, there is a good chance the blacksmiths will decide to forge a crown for you.
* Lords can be looted after a battle. This means, in theory, it is possible to get the unique weapons off the kings if you manage to defeat them. A higher looting skill will improve your chances of this.
* Lots of new horses. Each faction has a specialty horse or two, generally allocated to Elite troops. All horses can be bought at the horse merchant.
* A new food type has been added called hardtack. It gives 0 morale boost, but it lasts a VERY long time. Wine and ale are now consumables.
* A new item - Whiskey – has been added which gives a +30 morale boost when in inventory, but reduces your pathfinding and spotting skills. This item can only be gained through a quest.
* If you are a vassal of an existing kingdom and you get a 50 or higher relation with them the monarch will reward you with a special item.
Dark Knight Invasion
* After a random time in game, a mysterious faction with incredibly powerful troops will invade Calradia from a random direction. At first, only the kingdoms closest to them will bother to fight, but after a while, as their foothold grows, all kingdoms will come to realize this threat for what it is. You can change when they will begin their invasion (including never) in the game settings menu (accessed by camping.)
On the Battlefield
* Death Cam - Many battles will now continue even after the player is knocked out. Hit the jump key to start moving the camera around the map to get a better look at what's happening. Use tab to leave the mission when you want to end it. Attack and defend change the height of the camera, and the forward, back, left, right keys control it's position and look angle. Hold shift to move faster. To order your troops in this mode, use Nackspace to call up the console.
* Troop Formation system has been implemented. See below for instructions.
* Troop Morale system has been tweaked. When a reinforcement wave arrives a fleeing army will rally and a commander's tactics and leadership skills will reduce the chances of their army fleeing in terror. This works for both the player and the AI, so be careful of monarch led armies, chances are they will never flee in terror. You can turn off the morale system from the camp menu and troops will never flee.
* Long term wounding has been added. If the player or a companion is knocked out in combat they will suffer a wound (-2) to one of their physical stats. The wound will heal, but it will take time. The player's wounds are listed in the player report, and the companion wounds are listed in the party morale report screen. The wounding system can be turned off from the game settings menu (accessed by camping.)
* Modified Shield Bash code has been implemented (Hold defend and click attack while a shield is in hand.)
* Spear Wall ability has been added. When on foot and with a spear type weapon equipped hit b to brace the weapon on the ground. Any cavalry charge against a braced spear will suffer horrible damage usually resulting in the death of the horse. While braced you cannot move, attack, or defend, doing so will release the brace. Troops that are also on foot and armed with a similar weapon will also periodically move into a spear wall stance if they have been given the Hold Position or Stand Your Ground orders. Damage from the spearwall is based on the speed of the horse. If the horse is going slow enough it will take no damage at all.
* On the battle map a white dot will mark the location of your inventory chest
* Similar factions can now group up in combat on the map screen. But only units that makes sense to fight. Passing villagers and caravans will not join most battles unless they are forced to.
* In field battles you can whistle for your horse. If you dismount and run around killing people hitting the 'm' key will cause your horse to come to you. Of course, if your horse is dead or you never had one to begin with then nothing will happen.
* There is a possibility (based on the lord's personality) that the player will be allowed to go after being defeated, rather than taken prisoner.
* When defeated, the player will be given a chance to make an escape based on their pathfinding skill
New Quests
* 20+ new quests. Talk to the guild master, lords, ladies and village elders to receive these quests. Also, there is a quest given by each faction leader which is rewarded with a unique new weapon. Talk to a king/queen when you reach level 10 to receive these quests. Be warned that these quests provide fairly stiff challenges.
Looting
* The Looting system has been completely rewritten from scratch. The looting skill is worth something now and you will notice this immediately. If you have 0 looting you will have a hard time getting enough loot to upkeep a decent sized army. If you have 10 looting then money will never be a problem for you again so long as you keep killing things. The party looting skill is still used for looting village, etc. However, only the player's skill is used to determine what loot is available to a player after a battle. The companions with looting skill have sold all the loot they found for more money for themselves. They are mercenaries, are they not? You can turn this off in the Camp menu and go back to the classic Native looting system if you want.
Politics
* Towns and castles owned by the player will now periodically gain and train troops into their garrison exactly the same as with NPC owned towns.
* Player owned kingdoms have the possibility of making peace with kingdoms they haven't angered too badly. But it'll cost them.
* If you have defeated an enemy kingdom and have lots of captured enemy lords on your hands you can either wait for their ransom or try to convince them to join your faction. To try to convince them you need to have them rotting in a town or castle's prison. Go visit them in the dungeon and give them your ultimatum. The higher your persuasion and the more they like you the better the chance of them joining you. However, if you're very persuasive and they really don't like you it may be difficult to actually get them to follow your orders once they've changed sides.
* You can ask for lands back from the lord. Be careful, he will either agree or he will take his land and leave for a different faction similar to when the player refuses to give up captured land. To ask for it back you must visit the lord in person. Such matters are best discussed in person, after all.
* Taking a castle or town in battle now causes a negative relation with the previous owner. This is to help balance how easy it is to recruit defeated faction lords.
* A travelling minstrel is appearing at a tavern near you. He'll sing a song commemorating your achievements, if you ask him nicely.
Intrigue
* As well as bandits, you now have to deal with Assassins as you climb the ranks. If you hold no fiefs, you will be beneath notice, but as you rise in rank and power, other lords will take notice, and hire assassins to hunt you down. A successful assassin attack will leave you debilitated and bedridden for a period of time, which may have serious repercussions if it happens at a critical point in the game.
* You too can order Assassin attacks, if you are ruler of a Kingdom. Speak to your Spymaster, who will give you options to either 'assassinate' a lord, or at