The B.E.S.T. Combat Mod by LogRaam

Tested with BETA release v 1.2.0




The BEST (Blades Enhanced: Strikes & Tactics) Combat Mod improves certain aspects of fighting in Bannerlord, so that certain physical and material characteristics better influence the course of combat.

note: For those of you who may be offended by the word BEST, don't let this bit of humor fool you.  Rather, try the mod and judge for yourself.


I've been interested in fighting in video games for several years.  I hope to be able to contribute to Bannerlord, which already offers a solid experience of combat.  I believe I can bring some improvements to the game to make it more dynamic and, above all, even more enjoyable to play.


This mod offers an enhanced experience when combined with my JOUSTING mod.

If after trying out this mod you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know. I am very open to enhancing this mod for the better.

This mod is still in development and new features will be added in a near future.

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Gaming experience you will encounter up to now with this mod:

• During a cavalry charge, a portion of the cavalry might shatter upon impact with the enemy's blows.
• You can dismount a rider to attempt to take their horse.
• The more injured a rider is, the higher the likelihood they will fall from their horse when struck.
• It adds to the chaos of a battlefield where the wounded footmen falls to the ground and are finished off by enemies who are still able to fight.
  

..as well as other adjustments described below.
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Description
I'm undertaking this mod to adjust certain aspects of Bannerlord's combat that I feel are important.  While it's not really possible to make this game more "realistic", I believe it is possible to make it more realistic in its own context while maintaining a more rewarding gaming experience.  All in all, this mod should create unexpected situations that have the potential to turn the tide of battle.

This mod is currently under development and new features will be added shortly.  
Providing you with a quality mod will always be my priority.

Please, read the feature list below to understand the general idea behind this mod.



Features list

VERSION 1.4.0
DONE- Add fatigue or a form of weakness for seriously wounded footmen fighters.
DONE - Apply different staggering effect on footmen if target health is low.
With this update, foot soldiers can be knocked to the ground when they receive a solid blow. If a fighter is seriously injured, they will fall more frequently. This feature adds to the chaos of a battlefield where the wounded fall to the ground and are finished off by enemies who are still able to fight.


VERSION 1.3.0
DONE - Take into account if attacker is on horse or on foot
This feature multiplies the effect of inertia on a given strike when the attacker is on horseback. The calculation takes into account 
 the speed of the strike to increase the chances of dismounting another rider. The value is a multiplier; for example, 2 doubles the inertia force, and 3 triples it.


VERSION 1.2.0
DONE - Reduce dismount chance if attacker is a peasant
As suggested in the comments by AlphyKimIp, I have added an option that reduces the chances of dismounting the rider when the attacker is not trained in warfare. Typically, peasants will receive this penalty. Additionally, I have disabled the activation of logs in the info window during combat by default. To reactivate this function, you only need to enable it again in the options file.


VERSION 1.1.0
DONE - Make this mod fully configurable
This is where the mod gets more interesting. All options and formulas are configurable through an options file provided in the mod's directory. Now you can enable, disable, or modify the mod at all levels by adjusting the values in the options file. You can modify the options during gameplay; you don't need to exit your session to make changes. Just switch to your desktop (Windows: ALT+TAB) and modify the options file with your preferred editor (personally, I use VS Code).

For modders, you can provide your customized options file for the BEST mod, and BEST will support it and adjust to the new options automatically.



[...]






VERSION 1.0.0
DONE - In order to balance the forces between cavalry and infantry, every time a cavalryman receives a blow, there's a chance he'll be unhorsed. 
SIMPLE DESCRIPTION: Based on probability, a horse rider may be dismounted by a hit from an attacker (rider or footman).
The probability takes into account various factors, such as the rider's armor (type, material, ...), the type of blow delivered (type of weapon, force of blow, angle, ...), as well as the physical characteristics of the two combatants involved (health, musculature, gender, ...).  The details of the probability calculation don't really matter compared to the gameplay experience, but if you're interested, I invite you to use dnSpy to view the mod's source code, as I'll probably be adjusting some of the details as I test the mod's gaming experience further; with dnSpy you'll always be up to date on the details of the formula.  Now, you don't need to see the formula to enjoy this mod.

Here is the list of factors taken into account:
- rider's armor characteristics;
- attacker's weapon class;
- strike type;
- damage type;
- targeted body part;
- weight comparison between victim and attacker;
- health comparison;
- physical build;
- current rider's guard;
- critical blow;
- attacker's gender;
- quality of execution from the attacker;
- weapon inertia.

Other effects may be added in future updates of this mod, please follow (track) this mod on Nexus to take advantage of new features when they become available.

Detailed explanation:


Evaluate impact dismount chance for strike against armor
This estimate takes into account the type of armor material affected by the blow, the type of weapon used, how the weapon was used to deliver the blow, and the type of damage the weapon does to the armor.  Certain combinations will be more effective than others in disabling a rider.  For example, a blow from a spear in a rider's groin while he is charging on horseback is more likely to cause him to fall than a blow to the arm.

Evaluate strike effect on body part
This estimate take into account the way the attacker strike at the target, the type of damage and the body part of the victim.  As an example, a cut to the abdomen have a low potential to unhorse a rider, pierce on the other hand have a moderate impact.  The values may change from versions as the mod get optimized in time so if you are interested to the detail of a specific version, please use dnSpy and look at the source code.

Evaluate dismount chance for targeted body part
This estimate is added to the others and considers only the part of the body targeted by the blow.  Typically, a blow to the head has a higher disorientation potential than a shoulder.

Evaluate dismount chance when attacker is heavier
A comparison between the aggressor's and the victim's weight is made and can help to bring the victim down.

Evaluate dismount chance when attacker is healthier
When the rider is severely injured (hit points lower than the aggressor), an assessment is conducted to determine if the victim will be dislodged by the inflicted blow. The greater the difference, the more likely the knockback effect will occur.

Evaluate dismount chance when attacker is stronger
The evaluation involves comparing the physical strength between the victim and the aggressor. If the aggressor is physically stronger, there will be a higher likelihood of the victim being dismounted from their horse. The mod uses the "Build" physical characteristic to perform its calculation.

Evaluate dismount chance when victim did not raise his guard
The mod posits that if the rider hasn't attempted to protect themselves with their shield, they are not well-prepared to withstand the blow. As a result, they are more likely to be destabilized and fall off their horse.

Evaluate dismount chance when blow is critical
Self-explanatory, if the strike is critical, the rider will have a higher likelihood of being shaken and falling off the horse.  For this feature I used the Vanilla eval method blow.IsBlowCrit(victimMaxHitPoints).

Evaluate dismount chance if attacker is a woman
Alright, a sensitive subject here for some, but this mod applies a penalty when the aggressor is a woman. This is explained by science, which demonstrates that, on average, a man has greater strength than a woman due to hormones and other factors. However, it's entirely possible for a woman to be stronger than a man, and the mod takes this scenario into account with the evaluation based on physical strength. At least, this evaluation ensures that, on average, a woman will face slightly more difficulty in dismounting a rider.

Evaluate dismount chance when thrusting tip hit on target
A thrust well executed have a slightly better chance to dismount the victim.

Apply inertia strength on overall evaluation
The inertia of the strike delivered by the aggressor is taken into account to influence the overall outcome. Naturally, the stronger the inertia, the greater the chances of destabilizing the rider. The mod utilizes the game's basic inertia calculation.


Roadmap

NEXT - Add dismount chance if rider receive several blows in a short laps of time (even if by peasants)
NEXT - Add the option to change the resistance value against arrows and bolts
TODO - More features coming soon... 


Compatibility with other mods

This mod is compatible with all weapons and armor, whether vanilla or modded.
This mod partially replaces a rider's unhorsing mechanism.  It could therefore interfere with other mods that change this behavior.


This mod works well with my other mods:
Jousting Tournament
Battle Loot