Introduction
The way I like to see it is that whatever you think would happen in real life would happen in the Mount & Blade Warband 1257 AD Mod. You may think that in real life arrows would hurt like hell if you were unarmoured, but would bounce off thick plates of metal armour like a dustball. The truth is that is exactly what it is like in 1257 AD.
Polearms
Polearms in 1257 AD are a beautiful thing. They are primarily cavalry weapons, meaning that they are almost useless in close quarters infantry battles. Typically most users of the polearm, specifically the lance, use couched attacks most frequently. I was just like this, until I discovered the wonder of simply clicking the mouse button while charging alongside an opponent. Not only does this increase the range drastically, but it is also ten times faster and delivers a decent amount of damage. What I am trying to say is that polearms should be used intelligently - you should know when to couch and when to stab. If you are facing unarmored peasant enemies (fures, Orientiis etc.) then the best idea would be to stab the enemies while moving at a fast speed to maximize damage. You should be able to dispatch them in one hit easily. If you are facing professional armored soldiers like knights then obviously you should couch them without thinking twice. Simply go into full charge and stab the enemy with a powerful couched attack and they should drop dead in one hit, maybe two. As a final word on polearms, never ever attack from the left side. Your character is right handed so he has to pass his weapon in front of his body which reduces the range and feels very clunky to aim.
Swords
Swords, the bread and butter of every medieval battle. As you may know, in 1257 AD good swords are hard to come by but when bought they are more than worth the price. Swords deal a high amount of both piercing and cutting damage with each swing and stab. They are durable, practical instruments of war and can be used both on horseback and in the heat of battle on foot. No instructions are needed, simply swing and stab. Swords are a fast way to rack up kills as they are incredibly quick to reset back to 'firing' position and they have a decent range too. There is not much else to say about swords except that they do not perform well against armored enemies because it is difficult to pull off consecutive stab attacks rapidly. If you do master this, however, you would be unstoppable on the battlefield.
Bows
Ah, now for change of scenery. Ranged combat in 1257 AD is just as you would imagine in real life. You could be standing a mile away, and then all of a sudden a hailstorm of arrows would come raining down upon you. Your unarmored peasant comrades would drop dead within seconds as the arrows would easily penetrate their thin clothes. On the contrary, however, the knights in shining plated armor would stand proud, unscathed by the apparent rain of death. In 1257 AD arrows are cheap killers. If you are like me and you always carry a bow with you into battle then good on you. I like to ride up on top of a hill and watch the enemy approach the foot of it. Then I draw my bow and fire shot after shot at them, each one hitting its mark. You don't need eagle eye accuracy to be effective with a bow, you simply needed to have a rhythmical system of draw, fire, draw, fire, draw, fire and so on. One arrow is enough to dispatch any unarmored foe, so my advice is to use them - a lot.
Crossbows
Where bows fail crossbows succeed. Like I said previously, bows are weapons capable of inflicting a huge number of casualties only when your victims are unarmored. Make no mistake, however, arrows will glance off plate armor dealing 0 damage if you try to shoot at a knight. Crossbows however, are capable of inflicting a fair amount of damage on a knight, though not as much as you would like. Although it is tempting, never use crossbows against unarmored opponents when a bow is available. Crossbows have a great look to them and they feel powerful when fired, but their slow reload time and cumbersomeness make the weapon only useful against people who deserve it. Hunting crossbows and light crossbows are a waste of time. They can be fired from horseback but they are nothing compared to their siege and arbalest brethren which are capable of dealing a tremendous amount of damage. Some cases may arise where you may not be able to deal adequate damage to a mounted knight. In this case, ride alongside the enemy horse then fire a bolt into the horse's head. When done correctly it should result in instantaneous death and the opposing rider will helplessly tumble to the ground.
Throwing
No. Just no. Never use these things.
Apparently javelins are capable of inflicting 'uber damage' when used correctly. If this is the case these weapons could be potential life savers when things turn sour. Their only major drawback is their limited number, but if you carry many javelins in your inventory you could repeatedly visit your inventory chest at the start of a battle to stock up on some javelins.
Apparently javelins are capable of inflicting 'uber damage' when used correctly. If this is the case these weapons could be potential life savers when things turn sour. Their only major drawback is their limited number, but if you carry many javelins in your inventory you could repeatedly visit your inventory chest at the start of a battle to stock up on some javelins.
Conclusion
To conclude I will not be dramatic as that would be a waste of time. My loadout is a simple bow and arrow coupled with a Counter Point Balanced Sword Type XIIA or something like that plus a decent shield. Obviously I would advise you to use this loadout as it has been tried and tested in the heat of battle upon horseback and on two feet. The sword is capable of quickly dispatching all types of enemies and the bow can be used to quickly kill annoying horses (especially enemy lancers' horses) and give you time to escape. They are also useful for firing at ridiculously long ranges because they actually have a very high chance to hit the enemy and possibly kill someone. My advice? Bows and swords are the way to go.