In my little experience I think it's fair to say that it's quite easy to get killed in Bladestorm. For me there's always a sort of "uncertainty" when engaging against enemy units, especially if I'm not using level 60+ horses. :rolleyes: Obviously to get the most enjoyment out of the game it make sense to at least master several combat aspects. I'm trying to have my mercenary go 100% and full level on horses, elephants, swords and halberds. Too bad I literally get killed with several blows when I use halberds. Why? They're on a much lower level than my horses and elephants. So the only way to get them levelled up in a harsh world, is:

1. follow allies who use horses. They are a real boon when you are tussling with the opponent and then your Knight/lancer friends knock them down, giving you a breathing space. I had one time when they stole my kill, but better that than dying. Horses also are able to scatter enemy units in chaos, unlike most infantry. This helps the halberds' offensive capability.

2. Offensive/defensive Pennons don't help if all your units are dead. Phoenix Ashes me, please.

3. Is it just me, or do I always find myself relying a lot more on the recruits I hire at the Tavern as opposed to switching in between teams in-game? It's probably one reason why I'm not good at so many other Books. However, say you recently acquired elephants, it's always good to bring some teams along to level them up, because sometimes you don't see any elephants in-game until you take over a base or something.

yeah, i find myself always buying more recruits, but i cant always get the rifles, some of the time theres just the hand cannons for me...but theyre still good :)

well, my strategy...when using rifles...get just in range of my enemies...and then just take them all out in a well aimed sniper shot...and if any survive...blast seems to finish the job :) but if im using any other units (rarely :rolleyes: ) i try to make sure im not coming up against a unit type that i would be weak against (press select to find out :) ) and just try not to take on far more than i can handle.

when using a low leveled book...i start off on the lower star rating levels...say around 3 or 5...but for every around 10 levels...go up a few more stars...untill your strong enough to take on everything :)

Lets see:
Spears
1. Javelin plus Mighty Arms sometimes then followed up with a Triple Thrust, pretty simple... :lol:

Horses
1. Charge, Ride by Slash or Accelerate, then run around followed by Charge, rinse and repeat...

Halberd
Mighty Arms, plus a Scythe... sometimes Leg Breaker... :mellow:

Sword
1. Mighty Arms with Sword Wave or Heavy Strike...

Simply put, my strategies are very direct though when I'm in Bladestorm, its a throw everything except Kitchen Sink Situation... :wacko:
If that fails, we still have alot of Javelins :P

I have saved the game before the final battle for the French with my horses/elephants mercenary (the first guy I ever made). I'm not going to finish the story yet, because firstly I feel sad that it's almost over already and I won't see the French characters anymore. :( Secondly, I started a female character (French-favouring as well), who I hope to specialize in things like longsword, twin swords, and bows... basically, less "out-there" but "classier" weapons.

My first lesson after getting slaughtered several times by sword-and-shields is that I think bowmen are really fun once you get the hang of it. Crazier still, like horses, they work well as a hit squad rampaging across the land because as long as they can do it sneakily, they can do just as much damage. They work well in teams, obviously. So this makes them a killer in most situations. Not to mention for some reason as long as you're on your toes, you don't get killed too easily by close-range fighters. What's the deal???

well, im guessing the deal your talking about is the horse thing? and how they can just run hell through foot soldiers? thats would be because of the unit advantages and disadvantages...horses are strong against most foot soldier units, but are weak against long spears, and ranged units, like bows and rifles, so those you need to avoid with the horses.

Of course if used well you can go well with them, you can do that with any unit, even the long spears, just take out little bits of the enemy at a time, or wait to bring your own allies with you, and you can take the enemy while theyre occupied ;)