Cavalry Mode Tacticsguide

[Kanade Tachibana]

Cavalry Mode Tacticsguide

Hey, after playing the Cavmode today, I think this guide could be helpful, as people going on cavmode often with not much experience.
I added a bit fundamental stuff, just to be sure.

Summary:
- Fundamental stuff
- Progression and Equipment
  - Progression
  - Horses
  - Polearms
- Refills
- Cading, healing, barreling, tomeing
  - Cading
  - Healing
  - Barreling
  - Tomeing
- Simple Tactics
  - Ranged
  - Melee
- Teamworkstuff
- Teamtactics



Fundamental stuff:

First step to join is to euqip extra stuff for it. You have to go to the charactertab on the website and then change from infantry to cavalry on the right side, direct under "Weapon Slots".
You can equip everything you can use as infantry, but have an extra slot for horses (you can buy horses at the marcetplace)

Second step is to level his mounted class. You should get some mounted xp with assist xp from other servers, as you are very ineffective at the beginning. Mounted classes dont cost classpoints, so you can level it next to your normal character without having to make decisions. With higher level you get better in riding, (horsearchery?) and you can use/buy better horses and lances.
Best low budget solution ist the Trained Rider, he needs only 250k exp (about 833k assist exp = about 166k gold) and with the Courser (100k gold) you have a very fast unit. Next Ridinglevel need 1500k exp, that means 5000k assist exp, what could be 1 million gold.


Progression and Equipment:

Progression:

Spoiler

Stable Hand 10k xp || Novice Rider  30k xp || Trained Rider 250k xp ||Adept Rider 1,500k xp || Master Horseman 3,000k xp

Riding +1                || Riding +1                  || Riding +1                    || Riding +1                    || Riding +2
                              || Horse archery +1      || Horse archery +1        || Horse archery +1        || Horse archery +2
Horse archery: 0    || Horse archery: 1        || Horse archery: 2          || Horse archery: 3        || Horse archery: 5
Riding: 2                || Riding: 3                  || Riding: 4                      || Riding: 5                    || Riding: 7

Horses:
Detailed information in Maroon´s Thread.

As ranged you should clearly use the fastest and the most manoeuvrable horse.
That means you have to decide yourself between the Courser (t2 and the fastest one) and the Light Jennet (t3 and the most manoeuvrable one)

If you have a meleerider you could use a fast horse too, but you have also the option to use one of the armored horses. As Trained Rider you have only one armored option, the Warhorse, but as Adept Rider you have the choice between a bit more armor/health/Riding-damage (Scaled Charger) or speed/manouevrability (Charger).

Polearms (WIP):

Usable on horseback:
Thunder Pike, Naval Glaive, Swadian Halberd, Eastern Glaive, Swadian Poleaxe, German Poleaxe, Snake Halberd, Hunting spear(also for couching)

Not usable:
Sarissa, Dragon Halberd, Snake Spear, Pike of Kings, Jormungandr, Dragon Spear, Mangler, Sun Pike

Refills:

The refill of health and ammo and the shrine are working normally.
New on this mode is the healthrefill for the horse. It looks like a water pan and you can use it like the normal refills.
Very important is the stable. There you can buy yourself a new horse, if your horse dies. It costs 25g per level and spawns you your equipped horse. The buying needs so much time as the normal refills.


Cading, healing, barreling, tomeing:

Cadeing:
Dont bring cades to the cavmode, they are useless, they burn down in the moment you place them.
Ammo Crates are placeable, so you can bring them as engineer in and place them. In the best case you place them spreaded over the map. But the fast refill is also useful next to the normal refill.

Healing:
You can bring them in and use them, like on normal servers, but as ranged better use the space for more arrows, or throwing spears.
If you are a melee, you should take medic boxes with you. Keep the radius of medic boxes in mind and only use it, when they are really needed, as there is no really safe refill in the middle of the wave.
(Field) Medic Boxes: 10m || (Master) Surgeon´s Kit: 25m

Barreling:
Barreling works in cavmode the same way as in the normal mode. Barrels dont damage horses.

Tomeing:
Tomeing works the same way as in the normal mode.
Try to spread the tomes good viewable over the map. Try not to drop other stuff on it, in emergencys you need to be able to get them easy. You can pick tomes, if you ride exactly over it, look down and spamm the "F"-Button.
Dont tome, while bots are running through the spawnarea, new spawned riders will have no chance to get away. Dont tome too early, cav is a kitingserver, so please try to tome, when you are last, or to be sure, when only 2 guys are alive, every other tome is wasted.
Little hint: When you died and got tomed in the middle of the wave, you wont be able to get your 4th slot filled with spears, or arrows till the end of the wave (preptime). So pick a tome, if nobody fast enemy is chasing you, so if it gets close to the wipe, you have a tome ready. And if you die the tome will be dropped on the ground again anyway. After the wave is over, you should drop it, to get space for more ammo.
If you dont need the 4th slot anyway(as infantry for example), you can carry a tome the whole run, for emergencys.


Simple Tactics:

Ranged:
Most important: Be disciplined! Be careful!
This is kiting mode, it will take longer than normal mode in any case. So, take your time, look every few shoots around and check if the area is clear, so you dont run in bots, or players.
Dont let bots come to near to you. Sure, when you are very close, you will make more hits, but is it worth, if you die fast? I see too many guys dieing so fast, because they play with minimum space to the bots, but something will go wrong, I can promise you. So, make sure, you survive!

Aim for the archers. Archers are the biggest threat for you and your team. Kill them fast, they dont have shields and not much energy.

Aim always for the horses. If every enemy is dismounted, the rest of the round will be very chilled. And also melee-players have then something to do.

If the enemies are dismounted, aim for the enemies with pikes, these are the biggest problem for melees.

If you are fighting against a few riders (not more than 10), make very little circles, this works the best and it is the less dangerous way. You are the human, you are the smart, you can change your speed in an intelligent way, so you will be much faster and safer than the bots. They will get slower and fast in an ineffective way and you can react to new situations or mistakes very fast. And the best is, you can shoot there horses from the side from a very little distance, so nearly every shoot hits the enemy. This even works with the wave 20 riders.

Be carefull with mixed (mounted and dismounted) mobs, dismounted bots change their direction faster, you will need here bigger circles, or arent allowed to be brainafk.
If you are unlucky and get too many mixed bots on you, then you will have to make large circles and even have to break out of your circle sometimes. Note in this connection the hints under the point "Teamwork"

If you get many dismounted bots on you, then try to make a circle and keep distance, shoot the bots with their shields down, or dont looking at you. Alternate tactic would be winning a bit distance and then stand still and shoot precisely on your mob. Stay disciplinned, get speed very early, dont wait too long, dont make a hit of the first bot necessary for your escape. Note in this connection the hints under the point "Teamwork"

If you have only a few dismounted bots behind you, make a very small circle, so small, that the bots start raising there weapons, now you can hit them. Dont get too close, dont get too greedy, dont risk anything!

And again, always look around and know what is in front of you, even when you are constantly shooting in the other direction!


Melee:

Lances are the most effective meleeweapon. Use it. With every class (except t5) you get access to a better Lance.

Aim first for the dismounted ranged bots. Your ranged teammembers cant kill them so effectivly like you.

Melees should aim for dismounted guys. Go on bots which are follwing a different player, so you are save from getting hit. Aim for the last bot in a mob, so you dont get stucked inside of the mob.



Teamworkstuff:

"Noli turbare circulos meos!" - ""Do not disturb my circles!"

This is the most important: The maps are huge. Use the space!
Get your bots and move away from your teammembers, dont try to make your circle next to the others in one corner of the map. Use the space! And use circles, dont run senseless over the map, or in one big circle which includes the whole map. Dont run with your bots in the area of other players, you will make them stack on you, or your bots.

If you killed all your own bots as ranged, you have 2 possibilities:
1. Get a few bots on you from another player. Get in and out fast, take the bots fast away and make your new circle at another place.
Note: You have to be the one looking out for the other player, you are disturbing his area, you know that you are comming, dont expect him to take care of your ways. So try to take a way you dont block him, or getting bots in front of him.
2. Stay a bit away and shoot in his mob, when you stand still you have your full ranged aim.

If you are a melee, try to get as less as many bots on you at the beginning of the wave and dont try to get rid of your bots while running into another players way, get rid of them in running them away, its more easy for other players to handle new bots on them, when they dont come as a horde from the other direction than the their own mob.
The same applies for every player, who is trying to refill.

If you are melee, or ranged, dont get into an area, where two players are fighting at the moment, doesnt matter what you plan to do. It will lead to more chaos and dead players. So only do the suggested stuff, if the aimed mob/player, is alone in his area.

When circling the bots always try to go in a counterclockwise direction. Archers and xbow men can only shoot effectively by rotating to the left (in fact can't rotate their aim to the right much at all).  With everyone circling in the same direction it keeps things consistent and makes it easier to predict what your allies and enemies will do.

Dont fight in the refill, or spawnarea anyway!


Teamtactics:

Shielders are very effective for exactly one thing. Getting the bots dismounted. Especially at the last wave there comes a bot, with an unkillable horse, so fast, that he will chasing your teammates down. Try to get as many bots as possible on you, then ride to a wall, or a corner and dismount. The bots will stack around you, you will continue shielding. After a short period of time, the bots will dismount to get you. You will die, no question, but you gave your team the ability to win the round. And next tome you are in again.

Good ranged teamtactic is, to make together one circle. but with two different mobs. Every player is following the other players mob and shoot them in the back. Dont do this without knowing, or asking the other guy about it. Make sure the other guy can handle this situation and trust you, that you can handle it too. If not, fight alone.



If you have suggestions, or criticism, feel free to post it below
Spelling- and grammarmistakes will be found and eliminated.

[Krex]

Me likes.

Teamtactics:
Shielders are very effective for exactly one thing. Getting the bots dismounted. Especially at the last wave there comes a bot, so fast, that he will chasing your teammates down. Try to get as many bots as possible on you, then ride to a wall, or a corner and dismount. The bots will stack around you, you will continue shielding. After a short period of time, the bots will dismount to get you. You will die, no question, but you gave your team the ability to win the round. And next tome you are in again.

Good ranged teamtactics is, to make together one circle. but with two different mobs. Every player is following the other players mob and shoot them in the back. Dont do this without knowing, or asking the other guy about it. Make sure the other guy can handle this situation and trust you, that you can handle it too. If not, fight alone.

Didnt even think of that,will definetly try to use it^^

[Winter]

Thank you for this fantastic guide.  Stickied.

[Maroon]

A few additions:
- Although you can't bring barricades, you can bring ammo crates as an engineer. So if you're an engineer, but you don't have a Barrel, bring a Small/Big Ammo Crate.
- Barrel damage scales down over range since 0.7.0, which is far more noticeable on cav mode. I've seen wave 12 bots take 3 barrels from what seemed to me as decent range (+- 10 meters), so calculating the amount of barrels isn't really a thing anymore.
- The first mounted class after Trained Rider needs 250k mounted exp, not 1.5m.

[Deer]

[Image: counter-clockwise-300x296.jpg]

[Kanade Tachibana]

A few additions:
- Although you can't bring barricades, you can bring ammo crates as an engineer. So if you're an engineer, but you don't have a Barrel, bring a Small/Big Ammo Crate.
- Barrel damage scales down over range since 0.7.0, which is far more noticeable on cav mode. I've seen wave 12 bots take 3 barrels from what seemed to me as decent range (+- 10 meters), so calculating the amount of barrels isn't really a thing anymore.
- The first mounted class after Trained Rider needs 250k mounted exp, not 1.5m.

First two will be added now, but the third isnt right.

Trained Rider
Next Riding Level:
Mounted XP:1500000

But it was my mistake in the first place, I think Trained Rider costs 250k, not 200k how I wrote, I will edit it too.

Edit: Thank you for mentioning

[Haruka Otonashi]

You should add : NEVER DO CAV WITH (Lebernoob,Tarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrod,Wambo,Ephores,Perception) trust me they are a pain for all players in cav mod 

[Sargent Q]

Also as a Trained rider it is possible to get the light jennet.  Tsuki keeps telling me that that horse is the best horse for out running guys, because it has much better maneuverability than the Courser.

[Tsukiyomi]

Great guide so far.  Would like to add a couple of tips though. 

When circling the bots always try to go in a counterclockwise direction (refer to Deer's post above if this is unclear).  Archers and xbow men can only shoot effectively by rotating to the left (in fact can't rotate their aim to the right much at all).  With everyone circling in the same direction it keeps things consistent and makes it easier to predict what your allies and enemies will do.

Ranged should usually focus horses (dismounting enemies) then move on to killing bots without shields.  Pikemen are a great target and are one of the most dangerous bots for melee players to attack (your commandos will love you forever if you shoot all the pikemen )

Melee should usually focus on enemy ranged units, especially the non-mounted ones.  Once they are dealt with move to the units the ranged have dismounted (this is pretty consistent with what you've already said)

Barrels can be used to weaken some of the very high HP waves such as wave 16, 18, and 20.  It is not recommended to kill these waves with barrels as they all can drop some pretty nice loot.  Another nice tactic for barrels is using them to thin out some of the waves that spawn massive numbers of bots who don't actually drop much (waves 17 and 19 are prime examples)  One more note - barrels DO NOT have any effect on enemy horses, only the riders.

Medkits are VERY helpful, especially field medics and master surgeon kits.  Typically I find it best to have all of the infantry (commandos) to carry at least one med kit on them as they have no need for their 4th slot in most cases.  This leave them with a shield, 1h, 2h, and meds.  The huge range of MSK's combined with the 100% health for everyone in range makes them ideal and have saved many runs we've done.

Tomes.. What you've said about them so far is really spot on.  Now that support items don't despawn tomes can be spread around the map for easy access.  It should be noted, however, that tomes also will auto-drop if you are carrying one and happen to die.  Having a few team members (usually the ones who survive longest) carry a tome in their pocket can really make the difference in winning runs.  As with medkits it is usually good to have a commando carry a tome as their high armor tends to let them survive for longer if they are careful. 

In all, great guide so far.  Hopefully people will really learn from this.  It would be great to see more cav runs starting up with players who have some idea of what to do (or how to not get in the way )

[Kanade Tachibana]

Wow, thank you tsuki, I will add the stuff tomorrow, unfortunatly I have to get up early and I will hate myself if I dont get to sleep now^^

Edit: I couldnt sleep anyway, so I know added some stuff.
One hint I added completly how you wrote it.

About the medicstuff I want to discuss first. If you got hit, you will die, or survive, and when you survived, you can go and heal yourself, I dont see how healing should be important. Sure, it would be nice to get healed fast, but it isnt really essential.