Mordhau Characters

I still haven't gotten enough of Mordhau, and as I'm nearing a hundred classes (based off of a combination of media and personal inspiration) I figured that I should put together a gallery. So here they are, all categorized, good god.

I'll keep up earlier versions of characters so progress can be charted, and so I can laugh at how bad they looked compared to the new ones.

Note: I'll upload these in batches so I don't lose too much time writing my reviews, expect perhaps five or so a day (or every other day) until they're all up, then updates will be more sporadic.

Misc Characters:

Jalbert: My own self-insert among my classes, and the very first character I ever made. He's gone through many versions, but I'm pretty happy with how he looks right now. I found heavy armor too slow, so I chose to wear all medium (and I can also see my face too) and with the added protection of a shield it offsets my perfectly average speed. I only chose to carry an axe because I love them, and I picked up a medic bag because I like to be helpful. I tried going for a paladin look but looks like that only brought me closer to a cleric.

Petrius: Insert of my friend, he's built for speed and power, essentially being a Russian roulette of a class. Provided he's able to score a kill or two, bloodlust gives him a ton of sustainability, and a basic ranged option with bandages gives him a bit of options. I love playing him and the super-aggressive strategy he leans towards, it's a nice contrast to my more cautious playstyle.

Jakob: My favorite character by a good margin, this class really doesn't have any weak points except for his armor. Great speed, a short bow (my best ranged weapon), a good sword, and bandages. What more could I ask for in an archer class?

Mordred: I love bear traps, and while he's not my first trapper class, he remains pretty versatile with high speed, a spear, and a bear trap. I somehow gave him a vagabond look which I'm a fan of, maybe I should change the metal color or make it rougher to further the idea.

Alex: I generally like to make 'good' characters, but I decided a bit ago that I'd make some sort of a villain-type character, like a big bad. The boots could be better, but by and large I like his silhouette, especially with the messer, a sword made for chopping and hacking.

Jacobius: The first of my rogue characters, I semi-based his look off of my roommate. Even though he's supposed to be a sneaky type, I generally find myself playing him as some sort of a harasser/flanking character. Huntsman makes him unusually strong against archers and throwing knives (which he carries two stack of) are effective against naked maul users.

Tristan: I'm still trying to decide whether this guy is a bow or melee class, but regardless he's pretty dang reliable either way. He has enough armor to be useful in a big fight (and ward of enemy archers), and his bastard sword is a solid choice in a melee. Versatility defined.

Halvar: My attempt at a caveman, probably my first meme class. He really sucks, but as long as he's able to third-party opponents he's able to be useful as a distraction. Throwing rocks like a jackass is great for throwing people off and grabbing attention, and no armor means that he's great at running for his life.

Aegeus: My attempt at something vaguely Greek-looking, sort of like a Medieval hoplite. There's not much out there to help, so this was mostly personal inspiration, I'll probably change him up a bit more. He's pretty damn slow, but his shield and spear definitely help him be a good tank or defender.

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Historical Troops

Bela: Based off of the illustration for the Magyar civilization in Age of Empires II and the product of a month in Prague. I can't vouch for his accuracy, but he's at least my attempt/interpretation of a Hungarian/Bohemian knight. I was also able to give him the Lion of Prague, so there's that too.

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Vermintide:

Markus Kruber: Definitely the roughest of the bunch I've made, and he deserve more especially since he's my favorite character of the Ubersreik Five, er, Four (doesn't matter). No idea why he has the heavy bevor, and I'll need to get him the landsknecht pants and feather cap to complete the look (not to mention a misspelled class name). Heavy work in progress visually, but he's not bad in-game.

Bardin Goreksson: Everyone's favorite dwarf explorer, ranger, and bard, Bardin was one of the first characters I made, and he's due for a remake, since I just realized that he needs some work. His loadout is actually pretty interesting gameplay-wise. Relying primarily on his crossbow, he can throw down a smoke bomb (an old ranger trick...) in order to make cover for him to reload, escape, or ambush foes with his axe in the middle of melees. Unexpectedly pretty fun.

Age of Empires:

The Militia Line:

The Militia: Honestly this guy might be the worst character I've ever made in this game (somehow bloodlust can't even save him). He's a dude with a mace, pretty quick, but little armor or other options to help him in a fight. At least there's the amusement of knowing how stupid you look sprinting into melees swinging your mace like a hooligan...

The Man-At-Arms: The second tier of the milita line, he's much better in a fight than the lowly militia, though much of this is definitely due to the fact that he has a good chunk of armor. I love using the Veteran cuirass too much, but it was the only way to get that crude look that I was looking for.

The Longswordsman: The third tier in the line, he's superior to the crude man-at-arms, but in my experience he's about even, perhaps a bit worse. This is definitely due to the compromises I had to make in order for his appearance to match his Age of Empires II look, but oh well.

Two-handed Swordsman: The fourth rung, this is where things take a definite turn for the visually appealing. I only wish that there was an option for the bascinet that didn't look like something Ned Kelly made. I named him after my brother's Human paladin in WoW.

Champion: The final upgrade of the milita line, champions were some of the most prominent units in my Age of Empires armies (mostly due to playing Goths a majority of the time). He's probably one of my favorites among my AOE characters to look at, though that's probably because he looks badass. I named him after Henry of Skalitz to represent him at the end of his journey, though I'll make an official one for him at some point.

The Spearman Line:

The Spearman: Garbage-tier trash unit (meaning you throw droves of these at the enemy when you run out of gold) in the actual game, not bad at all in Mordhau, he's also probably one of the more successful AOE unit creations. He's a soldier from a cruder, more dangerous age, so his equipment reflects that.

 The Pikeman: Okay, calling him a pikeman is a little rich, especially given that he's using a bardiche, but this was the closest weapon to the one he uses in the game, though a bill could work too. He's probably my favorite of the three.

The Halberdier: Oh God, I really don't like this guy, I just get irrationally angry just looking at him and I don't know why. He was definitely the hardest of the three to make because there's not many cosmetics that fit his look in the game. Hopefully they'll rectify this soon, I'd love to see a beautiful halberdier soon. Also one of the few classes that I don't have a perk in.

The Archer Line:

Archer: The first tier of the archer line, the archer generally sucks, having low armor and health. However, since I'm pretty great with bows this turns into his strength, being a fast-moving harrier of foes. The medium armor also gives him a bit of leeway if he's in close quarters too.  

The Crossbowman: Ironically less armored in one of the vulnerable areas that counts for the huntsman perk, Chris has more armor and a better sword to reflect his better-trained status over the lowly archer. A very solid class with no gimmicks.

The Arbalest: Despite being the champion-level unit in the archer line, my arbalest is something of a side-grade, trading better armor for a slightly worse sword. He's not perfect though, since I don't have a plume for his helmet and there isn't an actual arbalest in the game, but I'm a big fan of his look.

The Skirmisher Line:

The Skirmisher: Spearman equivalent to archers in Age of Empires II, a trash unit. Definitely a class that I have a lot of trouble doing well with in practice given his low armor and no melee weapons (to reflect his minimum range in-game. The update that allowed you to throw targe shields did give him an extra weapon to use, though not anything game-changing.

Elite Skirmisher: Upgrade to the skirmisher unit, still a trash unit, but now with more armor and a more protective shield. In gameplay though he's more useful after using all of his javelins and can shift to any role after that, but he remains very reliant on teammates being by him. 

Cavalry Archer Line:

Cavalry Archer: What can I say, he's an archer who rides horses when he can. He carries a recurve bow for quick shots and to aid in his hit-and-run playstyle that admittedly is more of an annoyance than a serious threat. He also carries an axe because cavalry did indeed use axes. Only trouble with him is that other players really hate people who use bows on horseback, go figure.

 

Heavy Cavalry Archer: Probably my best example of a clear progression in equipment (though it's only a visual change), the heavy cavalry archer essentially has the same playstyle as the standard archer except that I try to be a bit more aggressive with him.

The Light Cavalry Line:

Scout Cavalry: His name really says everything you need to know about his role on the field, he's more of a support soldier, and the medic bag reflects this, so he's not entirely useless in a fight, but he's more useful sneaking to objectives and assisting people.

Light Cavalry: More heavily armored than the scout cavalry, the light cavalry still relies primarily on his speed to get him through battles. Keeping in line with the original purpose of the line, he also well suited for reconnaissance and sneaking thanks to the rat perk, but let's be honest, who actually scouts in this game?

The Hussar: Confusingly sharing a very similar name to the Magyar unique unit, the hussar in my load out shares the same load out as the light cavalry, but with more armor, allowing him to be a more durable and versatile choice in standard team fights when dismounted. There's no hussar wings here, but he'll probably go through another version or two before being done.

The Knight Line:

The Knight: Coming straight out of the Dark Ages into the Medeival Era, the knight was something of a departure from the old Roman way of conducting war, transforming European warfare and capturing the imagination of millions. In-game it's sort of slow and not really worth using unless you play a cavalry or knight civilization, but here he's pretty dependable with decent armor and alright weapons, nothing to write home about though. No idea why I gave him a smoke bomb either.

The Cavalier: Representing a knight from a later period, the cavalier represents not only a later period, but the game implies that he's a higher-ranked knight, so I guess that makes sense. He no longer has a kite shield, but now he has slightly more armor and a versatile bastard sword, so he has more tools despite lacking a smoke bomb, or at least that's the idea.

The Paladin: The highest rung of the knight line, the first 'paladins' were the twelve most esteemed knights in Charlegmane's court, with the most most notable appearance being "The Song of Roland" (a paladin). Essentially they're the embodiment of knighthood, a goal to aspire to, and to reflect this he has the finest (heaviest) armor and a chivalrous soul (the friendly perk). In execution he's essentially the same as the cavalier, but oh well, a guy can dream.

Unique Units:

Cataphract (Byzantines): The unique unit of the Byzantine civilization, the cataphract is a heavily-armored mounted unit that acts as anti-infantry with a trample attack. This is reflected by carrying a short-spear (which aids in charging on horseback) and a falchion (a sword made for chopping and hacking). Has the colors of the Byzantines

Woad Raider (Celts): The unique unit for the Celts (even though their presence in the Imperial Age makes no sense given their ancient origins), the woad raider is built for speed and raiding. To reflect this he carries weapons and perks that enable him to do the maximum damage to buildings and siege equipment. Bloodlust also enables him to be played aggressively and to disengage with ease. Has the colors of the modern Scottish flag.

Throwing Axeman (Franks): Named after the legendary barbarian king, the throwing axeman is a strange unit in the base game, but I've found him to be among my favorite of these unit recreations due to his jack-of-all-trades build. He has middling armor, middling speed, a strong weapon (with bonuses to structures), and options against archers, everything a person needs. Has the colors of the old French flag, though I'll probably change the color of his shoulders at some point.

Berserk (Vikings): The unique unit of the Vikings, the berserk is essentially a faster champion with regenerating health. While I couldn't quite show that in his equipment, I could give him the regenerating health feature with bloodlust, and the less armor gives him more speed. Rush also gives him a speed boost whenever he kills someone so there's that too. 2/3 ain't bad in my book. He's in the blue and yellow of the modern Swedish flag (as can be seen on his targe).

Teutonic Knight (Teutons): The unique unit of the Teutons (essentially the Germans), the teutonic knight is perhaps the slowest unit in Age of Empires II but also one of the strongest. To reflect this he's in 3-3-3 armor and carries a bastard sword one-handed (like in the game) with a few perks to aid in survivability. His colors are of the modern German flag, though his yellow and red could be darker.

The Huscarl (Goths): My favorite unit in the base game, Huscarls are only slightly worse than champions in the imperial age, but build and move faster with the second-highest pierce armor and a larger anti-building bonus. I can't give him resistance to arrows, but I was able to specialize him towards wrecking structures with the wrecker perk and a fire bomb. He works better with other players near, which coincidentally plays into the Goth playstyle of overwhelming the enemy with sheer numbers of infantry. I used a flag of the Ostrogoths to color him and gave him a germanic name to reflect the origin of the Goths.

The Tarkan (Huns): Riding out of the wilderness in the twilight of the Roman Empire, tarkans seemed to represent one thing: destruction and pillaging. Likewise their unique unit is especially good at destroying buildings (and being mounted is an added bonus), and outside of being mounted I'm pretty well able to make the unit in Mordhau with a focus on destroying structures with some armor to boot.

The Conquistador (Spanish): Pretty inaccurate to the game since he lacks a firearm, I tried to make the Spanish mounted hand cannoneer true to their spirit of "adventure" by giving him the same armor, but with a rapier, cleaver (for well-documented war crimes), and medic bag.

The Condetierro (Italians): Quite literally a mercenary, they're noticeable because they are one of the few units in the game to have a bonus against gunpowder units, and having an Italian player on your team allows them to be built at teammates' barracks. I'm pretty upset though because in order for him to be 'truly' accurate, he'll need a plumed helmet and a big round shield. He's a dependable class though.

Genoese Crossbowman (Italians): Another strange unit, the Genoese crossbowman in-game counters cavalry and is beefier than essentially every other foot archer, allowing them to tank an onager direct hit. Likewise he has a big shield (though I may trade it for a kite shield at some point), crossbow, and an arming sword, so he can stick it out in melee for a bit longer than most archers. Good for defense, and I love the new mustaches, he kinda looks like Mario.

Misc. Units:

The Villager: The builder unit of every Age of Empires game, to be honest I don't know where I was going with this guy or why he has two hammers, but his whole deal is that he builds the various blueprints on the map. He really sucks in melee, but he seems to be a good distraction and really brings in the points. Surprisingly fun to play.

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Age of Empires III:

Rodelaro: An infantry unit unique to the Spanish, the rodelaro is basically a fast heavy infantry unit with a buckler and sword. I gave him some rocks to give him a few more options. I've had a surprising amount of success with him despite being designed for more appearance than viability.

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Dark Souls:

Elite Knight: I can't really call him a knight of Astora (since he'd have to be Oscar then), and it irritates me to no end that I can't get anything to cover his neck while still having the collar. He is somewhat generic in terms of equipment to be honest, but he is one of the few 3-3-3 loadouts I have, so I guess that's his special feature. I tried to make his equipment look worn and beat-up, but unfortunately for several pieces I have to settle for just a lighter shade of the original color.

Knight of Faraam: The ultimate in appearance over function, Jael is my biggest WIP of my load outs, and I'll be the first to admit that his appearance and gear looks both ugly and somewhat nonsensical. Hopefully better-looking possibilities will enter the picture soon because I'm not a fan. If there was only a way to make fabric look more ragged...

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Literary Characters:

Odysseus: A journey ten years in the making, Odysseus was (and remains) one of my favorite characters from fiction, and with the addition of fire arrows finally got me thinking. True, liberties are taken with accuracy (I'll probably delete the sleeves when I have the opportunity), but he was never really one for the noble approach. He also has absolutely no armor so I often find him playing a support role. 

A Song of Ice and Fire:

Beric Dondarrion: Unfortunately I was unable to really achieve either the show or book's appearance of him well (and there's no balding hair), but I was able to give him a very scarred and patched up look. Unfortunately there's no resurrection mechanic, but being resurrected by R'hlorr would give some strange benefit I'd imagine.

Eddard Stark (young): Surprisingly one of the more accurate visually characters from ASOIAF that I've tried to make. The beast-slayer's blade for the great sword (to make Ice) and the coat of plates (that actually look pretty accurate to the show (with a bit of leeway) really make this for me. Unfortunately there's no wolf sigil so I had to make do with a pug. Ugh.

Robert Baratheon (young): Yeah, there's no stag helms in this game, and outside of the color scheme he really only has the maul going for him (he's supposed to use this one-handed). At least he has the 'fury' perk so he can live up to the house words. I'll probably redo him at some point.

Gendry: Yeah, we haven't gotten to that point in the books, but I love the Baratheon Bro Team so I went ahead and made him anyway. He's basically show Gendry (with the evening star) if they didn't have him in stupid furs for the whole night, though he's still bundled up. I might change his evening star's coloring around a bit and give him a new helmet but otherwise I'm pretty happy with him. He's also not bad in a fight, though the evening star isn't very strong in my opinion.

Tormund Giantsbane: Super-agressive and nimble, I get the most use out of Tormund when there's a lot of changes in elevation in the field, as it allows him to ambush and easily escape other players (since he has shit for armor anyway). Firebombs and throwing axes are always satisfying to use, but maybe I should have given him a falchion since that looks closer to the sword we see in the show. I chose the arming sword due to the crude look.

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Town Guard:

Captain: He's pretty close to the same character as the Conditierro, but I don't really care since the latter came before the former. He's pretty much baseline reliable front-line fighter with good armor, a shield, and a bandage. He's supposed to look captain-like but his helmet looks like he fished it out of the dump. Oh well.

Guard: This was the first among the town guards I made, with a big gap between them. Man, time hasn't been kind to him, he has too much color, and the aesthetic just feels very random. As much as I like the chain coat this was not the time for it. He's not bad gameplay-wise, only in terms of looks.

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Poor Man's Asian Mercenaries:

Steppe Hunter: A skirmisher by nature, the very low armor gives him a lot of speed and mobility, and the ammo of the short bow reduces the dependency on resupply boxes. Furthermore, the bear trap allows him to cover an entry point or ward off an area. The cleaver is for butchering animals, but useful in a pinch.