Question about Combat and Accuracy!!

[kevinfakarhai]

I've been trying to properly get into this game for a week now. I love the grounded elements and how the game plays so slowly but with a great deal of pressure placed on me to be efficient and prepared.

What I can't stand is the sheer inconsistency of the combat mechanics. Example: Playing full rando start. Get some middling axe skills 45%~ and a Fine Woodsmans from trading starter gear and go hunting for some reds. Find two, poorly equipped but so am I. I drop both in 7 rounds after first blood with proper spacing and back peddling. Bleed, and retreat, and repeat. Go for the killing stroke (Edge to Necks) let them bleed, and score some nice gear for use and trade. Never got a scratch. The problem comes after that character died.

I roll a Warrior Woman. Proper Amazonian Archer, maxed all stats but Int and Touch. I go Red hunting. Find two, and with my master bow and spear skills (85/90) miss two of my three >20 tile distance shots with my shortbow. I go for the unarmored head of the uninjured one when he closes aiming with a fine spear. I counter and attack and get 6 consecutive misses/ glancing blows. 3 to body, 3 to head and none connect. He meanwhile lands several hits going through my counters every time with a basic handaxe. The second guy closes and I die.

Both times I had proper rest, less than -8% Encumbrance Penalty, and average protection. Can someone tell me why this happened like this? Every time I roll a combat character I never see a big difference in how they preform. I still miss 4 of 5 bow shots with short bows on all of them. Is there some mechanic besides Penalties and tiredness that effect combat accuracy? I understand getting killed because the other guy gets a lucky hit on my neck but for the past 4 characters I set myself up to win and the attacks just don't land.

I want to like this game and I know the combat isn't supposed to be much more than dice rolls but I'm getting frustrated. If I die I want it to be my fault and not because my shots on elks miss every time and I starve.

[JEB Davis]

1. Counter attacking is dangerous because you're ignoring the enemy's attack. Try blocking/parrying.
2. Range >20 is long for a shortbow so I'm not surprised those missed. Shortbow is not an accurate bow either.

You have no way to know the skills of your enemies, so probably the 1st char's enemies were poor, while the woman's were highly skilled.

Keep plugging. Over time and many char's the combat seems okay for me.

[Tom H]

Your skills can be at least partially nullified by the Njerps unknown DODGE skill. The only info you can reliably judge about an enemy is his armor if you view it before combat.

 After the first one, every enemy next to you lowers YOUR skill by 10%. And, never let one get behind you. That's an automatic hit, just as it would be if you hit/shoot them from their rear.

 The short bow is just about as bad as bows come. Only the juniper bow, and then crude bows, are worse. Don't count on it at long range.

I've had a character ripped to shreds by a Njerp using only a knife. I've hit Njerps with a half-dozen arrows and still, they advanced on me for melee. I have one-shot-killed many others. However, I'm never sanguine about facing any enemy, man, or beast. It's unpredictable, even after you've done all you can to improve your odds because so much about your enemy is unknown.   

[PALU]

UrW combat is deadly and unpredictable: it only takes a single lucky shot to kill, and the combatant who draws the first blood usually ends up being the one who lives. Also, as mentioned, NPC skill varies hugely, so some are pushovers, while some are overcome only by cheesy tactics (or lots of luck).

Maximum armor protection helps a great deal in reducing or negating the effect of enemy hits, but it also reduces your skill and increases the rate of fatigue accumulation, so you need to find a balance.

Note that aiming is makes it even harder to hit a target, so you need to decide whether you want to go for a lucky blow to an unprotected head, or trying to get at least some hits in that would whittle away at the enemy's health.

[JP_Finn]

I wouldn’t go for head shot at 20tiles (that’s 40m or over 130 feet), not with longbow, hunting bow or northern bow. Body/Torso at that range. When Njerp closes in, shoot their legs, if you want to backpeddle, once you get decent hit on legs, they have to crawl after you. Makes them into pincushion.
Facing 2 Njerpez alone without dog(s) or companions of your own is very risky. From getting flanked to just a 10pt skill penalty/each opponent after 1st.

When you look at the enemies, it’s not only hauberk or cuirass you need to pay attention to. Basic linen shirt with overcoat and cloak can make it difficult to get more than minor hits.

[StefanPravda]

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