As you navigate the intricate world of A Clash of Kings (ACOK) Mod 7.1, strategic character and companion development is crucial for victory. This guide provides insights on optimizing your character’s stats and equipping your companions for maximum effectiveness.
Your Character: Strength, Charisma, and Trainer
Initially, focus on building a formidable character.
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Strength: Prioritize Strength, aiming for 30. Max out Strike damage at 10.
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Shield: Allocate points to Shield (around 3) to effectively use the best shields available.
Reinforced Heraldric Steel Heater Shield -
Charisma: Boost Charisma to 12 or 15 and Leadership to reduce army upkeep costs and increase party size. Invest in Prisoner Management to hold more captives.
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Agility & Intelligence: Gradually increase Agility and Intelligence to approximately 12. This investment improves Athletics, Weapon Master, and Trainer skills.
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Random Events: Be patient. Agility and Intelligence can be gained from random events. Embrace risky scenarios (in-game, not in reality) such as balancing after a stumble for agility or facing bears for intelligence.
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Trainer Skill: The Trainer skill is invaluable as your character’s higher level allows for more efficient training of troops.
Your Companions: Archers and Melee Fighters
Optimize your companions based on their roles.
Archers:
- Key Companions: Titus, Roderick, Lyneria, and Garrett are excellent choices for archers.
- Stats: Maximize damage output by reaching 30 Strength and 10 Power Draw.
- Equipment: Equip them with superior bows. The masterwork dragonbone bow with a large bag of bogekin arrows (available in Essos) is ideal, but a longbow with extra arrows is a good starting point.
- Mobility: Do not equip them with horses.
Melee Fighters:
- Stats: Prioritize Strength (30), Strike (10), and Shield (3). Increase Riding to at least 3 (or 5). Invest in Weapon Master (3/5). Allocate points to Agility and specialize in looting/foraging/agility traits.
- Two-Handed Weapon: Aim for a two-handed axe or, ideally, a two-handed mace for significant damage (44b damage!).
- One-Handed Weapon: Equip them with an arming sword or, preferably, a Heavy War Mace.
- Shield: Any mounted shield will do, but the Reinforced Heraldric Steel Heater Shield offers optimal stats.
- Horse: Begin with a Palfrey and eventually upgrade to a Champion Plated Warhorse.
- Armor: Start with chainmail, mail gauntlets/boots, and a mid-30s helmet. The best armor setup includes a pig-faced helm, plate gauntlets/boots, and plated chainmail. Delay investing heavily in full plate armor for companions.
Non-Combat Companions: Intelligence and Skills
Assign non-combat roles strategically.
- Brynden: Focus on Intelligence and all medical abilities.
- Arratos: Develop Intelligence and Engineer skills (though Engineer might not be immediately useful). Aim for 30 Intelligence, Engineer, and then other intelligence-based skills.
- Maron: Prioritize Intelligence, Path-finding, and Tactics. Consider additional skills later.
- Berenger: Maximize Charisma (30) and Trade (10) above all else.
- Saathos & Serol: Recruit later and specialize in Persuasion.
Brynden is crucial for ACOK SOM (School of Medicine), while Maron and Arratos can cover additional skills beyond their primary roles. Path-finding and Tactics are essential for battlefield advantages and evasion. High tactics lead to fewer enemies on the field and more of your troops. While Maron and Arratos can both focus on Tactics and Path-finding, ensure one of them covers other intelligence skills like Tracking. Saathos and Serol might have compatibility issues with other companions, but ample wealth in later chapters allows you to manage their loyalty through bribes.
Army Composition: Knights and Arrow Fodder
Balance your army with elite units and support troops.
- Elite: Recruit approximately 20 Heavy Reachman knights.
- Support: Maintain a force of at least 80 additional troops for arrow fodder and replacements. A larger army reduces the number of enemies faced per wave.
Conclusion: A Balanced Approach
Success in A Clash of Kings 7.1 hinges on a balanced strategy. Equip your character with heavy armor, a strong horse, and focus on melee damage, adding leadership and inventory management. Outfit your companions as heavy melee cavalry on a budget, emphasizing damage output and agility skills. For archers, Power Draw is key. With strategic decisions, you can achieve victory in A Clash of Kings.
