This guide provides insights into efficiently managing your character, companions, and army to conquer Westeros in A Clash of Kings (ACOK) mod. We’ll focus on maximizing your potential and strategically spending your money.
As you progress in the game, leveling up yourself, your companions, and your army is crucial. Here’s a breakdown of how to best allocate your stats and resources:
Your Character: Strength and Strategy
Prioritize Strength to 30. Max out Strike damage at 10. Increase Shield skill to 3 to equip the best shields available.
Next, focus on Charisma to 12 or 15 and Leadership to reduce army upkeep costs. Investing in Prisoner Management is also beneficial for generating income from captured enemies.
Agility and Intelligence are also important, aiming for around 12 in each for Athletics, Weapon Master, and Trainer skills.
- Agility and Intelligence Alternatives: Random in-game events can boost these stats. Encountering a bear (in-game, of course!) and escaping will increase intelligence. Recovering your balance after a trip will improve agility.
Waiting for these events is an option, however, increased intelligence helps you level up faster. Adding a few points to intelligence after you max strength can be valuable.
Trainer is an essential skill. Because your character will always be the highest level, you can train troops more effectively than anyone else.
Your Companions: Archers and Warriors
Archers: The best archer companions are Titus, Roderick, Lyneria, and Garrett. Maximize their damage output by increasing Strength to 30 and Power Draw to 10. Equip them with the best bows you can find (Masterwork Dragonbone Bow with a Large Bag of Bodkin Arrows from Essos is ideal, but a Longbow and extra arrows are a great start). Keep your archers on foot, no horses for them.
Melee Fighters:
- Stats: Strength to 30, Strike to 10, Shield to 3, Riding to 3 (or 5), Weapon Master to 3 (or 5). Specialize in Looting/Foraging/Agility traits.
- Equipment:
- Two-Handed Weapon: Aim for a two-handed mace (44c damage!). An axe is a good starting point.
- One-Handed Weapon: The Heavy War Mace (the unusual Essos weapon that does piercing damage) is best. An arming sword works as a solid backup.
- Shield: A Reinforced Heraldric Steel Heater Shield (the cooler-looking version) is optimal. Any shield usable while mounted is a solid start.
- Horse: A Champion Plated Warhorse is the best, although realistically it will take a long time to obtain it. A Palfrey will do for the early game.
- Armor: Plate gauntlets/boots and plated chainmail are your end goals. Don’t invest heavily in Full Plate early on. Aim for chainmail, mail gauntlets/boots, and a mid-30s helmet (like the open-faced sallet) as a good starting point.
Non-Combat Companions: Intelligence and Skills
- Brynden: Focus on Intelligence and all medical abilities. He will be busy with the ACOK School of Medicine (ACOK SOM).
- Arratos: Prioritize Intelligence, and then Engineer. Engineer won’t matter for a while so focus on reaching Intelligence 30 first.
- Maron: Focus on Intelligence, Path-finding, and Tactics.
- Berenger: A trader. Prioritize 30 Charisma and 10 Trade before anything else.
- Saathos & Serol: Focus on Persuasion. Recruit them later on. Note: Saathos and Serol don’t play well with other companions.
Path-finding and tactics are critical for battles and escaping dangerous armies. More tactics means more of your soldiers and fewer enemies on the field at once. It’s perfectly acceptable to have both Maron and Arratos invest in Path-finding and Tactics. Make sure that at least one of them covers the other intelligence skills like tracking. By Chapter 11, you’ll have accumulated enough wealth to be able to bribe them to stay with you if you really want them.
Your Army: Knights and Numbers
Your army should consist of 20 Heavy Reachman knights and over 80 other troops. These additional troops are arrow fodder/replacements. A larger army will lead to fewer enemies per wave in battles.
Final Thoughts
Prioritize heavy armor (the heaviest available), a heavy horse, maximizing melee damage, and wielding a steel shield for your main character. Investing some points in leadership and inventory management are also advisable. Equip your companions as heavy melee cavalry on a budget, and focus on maximizing their damage output. Assign 1-2 companions with Agility-based party skills. Archers should get Power Draw instead of Power Strike. Companion archers with 10 Power Draw and Masterwork Dragonbone Bows can be devastating.
By following this “A Clash Of Kings Mod Money Guide,” you’ll be well-equipped to conquer Westeros.
