There is actually a better way to power train companions with looters than just sending them to attack. Put them in a unit slot, but fully retreat your army, then select companions and have them follow you. Retreating the army changes the balance of power in the battle, so the looters don't retreat as quickly. Following allows the companions to get a better hit rate by kiting the looters at slower speeds, and you can direct their attention towards small groups of looters who fleeing the battle early. This will also guarantee that they can safely fight the big 100+ looter parties by themselves, which is when they really start to rack up skill points quickly.

I think this is the first time someone has chosen this topic, well done.

I didn't even know that there was such a thing as learning cap, this is invaluable information!

Awesome video. Thank you. I always seem to forget about the Companions

Great guide, nice touch those time stamps. Thanks for sharing. *Have fun & stay safe.*

Very well done, more videos I watch more i respect the quality of your content, goes really deep into the mechanics of the game, also very interesting infos, at moment best MB2 channel

Awesome videos man, I appreciate the work/research you put in to help all of us out ! I learn something new every video

Great explanation 🤟🤟

This video is a great update from the other.... well done my friend! The only observation is that fighting with death on is always danger.. a good medicine skill will reduce the chance. The tournament is slower but safer.

Thanks Flesson!

Very well done. You get a Gold star. ;)

I admit I always recruit a Aserai Scholar if they are avaiable early game... it is too much medicine to let go in the beggining, but the rest I try to use you method!

kek. i literally hang up for a minute at 04:35. cause here is the difference in how the math goes, i think, in different countries. cause i would put the formula this way (focusx30)+((attribute-1)x10)= cap anyway. companions that you hire to lead parties are temporary measures, younger siblings of MC and offsprings of MC are way, waaaaaay better party leaders than any companion we can hire. what companion can achieve in 18+ years or family members will achieve in 2. What still grinds me is how badly clan members gain combat skills if they are not in your party. Also, it is a good aspect to remember that with auto-calc clan members will only gain exp for the weapons that they have in their 1st slot. Kinda silly, i hope TW will change that.

I prefer lower levels and seeing companions advance, even if they never reach the fighting skill of some of the high level ones. The problem with these is they level extremely slow and are kinda stuck with the attributes, focus points and thus caps they start with. Just using companions to fight you add one troop to hundreds, even if top tier troop with super expensive gear. If you pick a lower level and use them as (horse) archer they only need a little fighting skill, they live longer and you can customise the non-fighting skill. All companions should learn some smithing and stewardship for easy leveling. You only need one ranged skill (I like bow most). you might switch between crossbow or thrown if control happens to be high for extra leveling, but don't waste focus points on them. You don't need polearm skill to do nice damage on horseback and you don't need any melee skill anyway if you keep them out of combat. One handed with shield makes sense, but I prefer just a long glaive or so on them as back up, so they can have bow and two quivers (piercing or stacked bodkin). Some skills do have nice perks now. As attributes are similar to a set of three (half) focus points (you only need one or two of), they are often wasted. I like endurance and Int is always good as it allows higher stewardship. Both for easy leveling and for bigger parties. Int also increases medicine, which is the most essential skill, and engineering. As having a backup surgeon is a good idea, you could have several medics and switch them to steward and engineer. (medicine doesn't seem to help if they lead their own parties, not sure). I think family members are nice to train socially. I always ignored scouting and roguery as they are not essential but they might be very nice to have.

Thanks for the update! Very helpful! I have a question: I'm playing 1.5.9 now and caravan leaders don't train stewardship. Is it one of the changes in 1.5.10 along with that family members can now run a caravan as well?

14:11 this training is a little bit dangerous without giving a good armor to the companion, i have bad luck doing this training on ironman mode, my companion killed by mountain bandit :D I think leaving companion on a town is way safer ,they sometimes join some tournament at that town + charm skill too

Lol just found this as I was curious in this new Ironman I'm doing

Governors should get a variety of skills. Steward makes sense, as they keep the citizens fed. Engineering as you stated, since they are started Building Projects. But just as they feed the people, they take care of the other needs of people as well. This includes Medicine and Trade. They are a Leader, so Leadership makes since. You'd think Charm, as they have to constantly speak with others and engage with them. And if we want to warm up a little and stretch, we could say Tactics as they are responsible for defending the Town (even if that responsibility is them telling a General to go defend the Town).

Sadly they still don't get engineering when building as a governor

DId they remove the Leader of the Masses policy that one would just give a plus 5 party size for each city you personally own.

Party roles and character stats are completely useless in this game. In the early and mid game hire companions for 2 purposes: 1) make caravans 2) lead parties. In the late game, when you have your own kingdom you should have a ton of money and focus on bribing other clans to join your faction. At this stage your own party is usually so OP with just you as a leader, that can win any battle 1 vs 1, for larger battles you need armies and for that it's better to use other lords.

Can you do a troop teir list? What's your favourite for each role

Maybe do an update? Anyhow looters are great for training anyone. I like to send my rookie troops after them

Those poor looters, RIP lol

How do you put your companions on horses? And how do you give them better equipment? I didnt figure it out yet, pls help me.

so anyway to get around the fog or war nerf they did hate not being able to see age, or skills of the companion or anyone for that matter before i go to them.

How do you enter your companions into a tournament?

How are you supposed to group our companions now? Its been patched away....

Oh god this sucks they really need to make this a more simple system

First lol