Mount&Blade/Proficiencies

One-handed weapons
Basic swords, axes and maces are in this category. This is the most usual weapon type, since it allows the player/unit to use a shield, and are very fast weapons. Defence and swiftness of course has to come for a cost, so the drawback to this weapon type is that the relative range and damage is less than comparatively larger weapons (such as two-handed weapons and some polearms).

Two-handed weapons
Two handed weapons deal more damage than one-handed weapons, but are generally slower. While on horseback all weapons are used with only one hand, so two-handed weapons suffer a 25% penalty to speed and damage when used from horseback. You also cannot use a shield despite having a hand free.

The Bastard Sword is a special type of two-handed weapon; as indicated in its pop-up it can be wielded either way. By putting away your shield you can switch to two-handed, and vice versa. When on foot it allows you to have the two-handed advantage against melee foes by wielding it with both hands while still leaving you the option of using a shield when under fire from ranged troops.

Polearms
On foot, polearms require some special tactics and as such are often misunderstood. When wielded in two hands, they can do incredible damage with the thrust attack and decent blunt damage with the whacking attacks. The thrust attack does piercing damage, as well, which is more effective against armor than normal. If you want to use a shield with spears, you will need to sacrifice power and the whack attacks. A spear and shield deals great damage from great range, and being able to protect yourself with a shield at the same time is excellent for supporting your troops. For fights when you don't have troops to fall back on, however, it's usually best to use it two-handed.

There are also slashing type polearms like glaives. At close range these are rather slow and weak, but deal incredible cutting damage at range and are an excellent choice of weapon.

On horseback, the thrust attack for most polearms is decent if you aim it correctly. The primary use of polearms on horseback is "couching" them. By galloping and not clicking the mouse button the lance will "couch" into your character's armpit; in this state the tip deals impressive damage even if you are unskilled and the polearm cracked. Increasing polearm skill will increase damage and tip aiming accuracy, but to increase damage most significantly you will need to find a better weapon. In most cases, however, a solid hit will kill an enemy in one hit.

Once you have a good number of points into this skill (weapon speed isn't an issue if you use it on horseback to couch) damage and range become the most important factors.

See Arena for more.

Archery
The following bows exist in the game, listed in order of most damage:
 * Hunting Bow
 * Short Bow
 * Nomad Bow
 * Khergit Bow
 * Long Bow
 * Strong Bow
 * War Bow

Like other ranged weapons, bows can be cracked (reducing damage) or bent (reducing accuracy).

Advantages

 * Shoots quickly.
 * Can shoot and reload while moving.
 * All bows can be used on horseback.
 * Damage increases and arc decreases with the Power Draw skill.

Disadvantages

 * Requires higher skill to become accurate, especially on horseback.
 * Defenseless unless you carry a shield and second weapon.
 * Shots arc at long ranges.

See ../Ranged/ for more.

Crossbows
The following crossbows exist in the game, listed in order of most damage:
 * Hunting Crossbow
 * Light Crossbow
 * Crossbow
 * Heavy Crossbow
 * Siege Crossbow

Like other ranged weapons, crossbows can be cracked (reducing damage) or bent (reducing accuracy).

Advantages

 * Deals good damage even with low skill.
 * Very accurate (99%) even with low skill.
 * Very long range.
 * Shots don't arc as much making long-range shots easier.

Disadvantages

 * Slow reload.
 * Cannot reload while moving on foot.
 * Only Light and Hunting Crossbows can be reloaded on horseback.
 * Damage dealt is strictly limited by the crossbow, so you need to get a better one to deal more damage.

Throwing
Throwing weapons are the hardest to properly use. They have the worst accuracy, lowest range, and highest arc of all ranged weapons. Throwing weapons, unlike other ranged weapons, can be used while holding a shield so you can throw something between blocks. They're also fast and immediately have maximum accuracy so there's no need to wait a long time for the aiming reticule to decrease in size. Many throwing weapons though have low damage but their power skill has the second highest boost so they're potentially very dangerous. They can also be thrown very rapidly. They give you an effective ranged weapon without having to spend two inventory slots (a launcher and ammo with crossbows/bows) and without having to sacrifice a shield.

There are a number of throwing weapons, given below in order of increasing damage and decreasing ammo count:

Stones
These are plentiful (though hard to actually obtain) with around 25 shots, with almost no noticeable arcing. They deal a small amount of damage, but it is blunt type damage so even enemies in heavy armor will be injured. If nothing else, the limited arc and high number of projectiles make them good practice for other ranged weapons.

Throwing Knives/Throwing Daggers
These come in smaller quantities than stones (less than 20), with an increased arc. But the damage is also increased, and of the cutting type. Because the player is always equipped with these when sneaking into enemy towns, learning to use these can be very helpful, as they can dispatch guards more quickly than the staff.

Javelins/Jarids
These are spears which are thrown at the enemy. The ammo count is very low (7-8), 1 point in power throw is required to use javelins (2 for jarids), and the weapon has an arc that makes it difficult to use past short range. They deal piercing damage however, which makes them a powerful weapon against heavily armored opponents. They also deal bonus damage against shields. Both have "heavy" and "balanced" varieties, both of which deal more damage, but the heavy version requires another point of power throw to use and is slower, while the balanced version is faster than the standard form of the weapon.

Throwing Axes
Similar to javelins, these weapons trade a low ammo count (7-8) and short effective range for impressive power. Unlike javelins they deal cutting damage and are thus best suited for enemies in lighter armor. They also require 1 point in power throw to be used. They also deal bonus damage against shields, similar to the javelin and other axe weapons. As with the javelins, there are heavy and balanced forms of throwing axes.

Advantages

 * The different projectiles cover all damage types.
 * Effective against melee enemies without shields, outranging them while being faster to fire than a bow or crossbow.

Disadvantages

 * The lower power projectiles may take many hits to kill an enemy, while the more powerful ones are limited in number.
 * Can easily be countered by board shields.
 * The projectiles with cutting damage are less effective against armored enemies.
 * Limited effective range, generally shorter than that of a bow.

Firearms
This special type has been included from Mount&Blade 0.730 and onwards. Firearms have completely different handling from bows or crossbows. This skill is only available in mods, not all of which have it enabled. Unlike bows, the aiming reticule does not widen if held for too long and the aiming reticule when held is firmly placed.

The only firearm that is already in native is the flintlock pistol. However, it isn't available without cheating.

Some mods convert bows and crossbows into additional firearm categories. Refer to the mod's manual or forum for specifics.

Firearms reload even more slowly then crossbows on average but in some mods such as 1866, you can have several rounds in the weapon, allowing you to make several attacks before reloading.