With the long-awaited Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord now firmly out of early access, players are starting to explore and conquer their way through this new era of Calradian history. It may feel familiar to fans who played Mount & Blade: Warband, which was released all the way back in 2010, and to which Bannerlord is a prequel, and it’s easy to see why.
The medieval sandbox premise is similar in both games, but with 12 years of development and 2½ years of early access of Bannerlord, what’s new in the latest entry into the Mount & Blade franchise? We’ve got fans covered with this handy list.
10 Find Randomly Generated Companions
In Warband, the same companions would turn up every single game, with the same stats, equipment, and names as when they were recruited in the previous campaign. While it was fun putting together the best party composition and recruiting the most skilled companions, the same mix of heroes soon became repetitive.
Bannerlord fixes this by creating a whole bunch of new ‘wanderers’ every game. Each wanderer has a randomly generated name, and a nickname that signifies their skills (e.g. ‘The Tracker’ has 100 scouting). This makes every new game unique and makes it easier for players to find their perfect companions.
9 Deploy Captains To Lead Formations
Bannerlord gives army leaders the ability to delegate leadership of different formations to trusted companions or lords to hold the infantry line together, direct the fire of the archers, or lead the cavalry in a charge. Captain perks give bonuses to the formation, such as increasing morale or granting extra health to their troops.
The leader of the army still has ultimate control over all formations, which prevents a chaotic free-for-all breaking out and upholds the importance of tactics, but the Captain feature is nevertheless a fun and useful addition.
8 Experience The Most Expansive Calradia Yet
Bannerlord’s map is truly huge compared to past games, spanning over double the size of Warband’s play area. Bannerlord is also home to 53 large towns compared to Warband’s much smaller 22, and 8 kingdoms instead of its predecessor’s 6 (although admittedly 3 of those new kingdoms share the same culture).
Either way, the Mount & Blade franchise has never offered a more extensive and detailed sandbox world for players to lose themselves in, allowing for a variety of different playstyles and characters to be explored.
7 Play Politics With Kingdom Decisions
Infamous for limited political options, Warband granted the lords of the realm little to no say in the running of the kingdom. Now, vassals are an integral part of ruling effectively, and can even subvert the authority of the monarch.
Kingdom decisions allow for lords to propose and vote on a series of policies that can have wide-ranging impacts, from implementing new taxes, declaring war and making peace with neighboring kingdoms, and even voting for a new faction leader. It adds a substantial layer of depth and scheming to kingdom politics and diplomacy.
6 Create A Lasting Legacy
Warband’s sandbox was filled with hundreds of unkillable, never-aging lords and NPCs, who would survive no matter how many times they took an axe to the face. With the new birth and death system in Bannerlord, players and NPCs are now able to die, unlocking a whole bunch of new and exciting options.
Clan members die in battle or of old age, passing the torch to a new generation, and players can marry a spouse and have kids, ultimately choosing an heir once they themselves die. Alternatively, fans with a bloodthirst can execute enemy lords, and go on a murderous rampage if they so desire. Players are free to shape the future of Calradia how they see fit.
5 Embark On A Story-Driven Campaign
A first in the Mount & Blade series, Bannerlord features a campaign mode that involves the player collecting pieces of a legendary artifact called the Dragon Banner. There are a number of missions the player can undertake, including rescuing their younger siblings who have been captured by a bandit.
Eventually, players will have to decide what to do with the Dragon Banner and must commit to choosing a side in the conflict plaguing Calradia. If their faction becomes too powerful, they will find themselves the target of a wide-ranging conspiracy designed to destroy them. While the campaign may be relatively simple, it’s still an interesting addition that adds deeply to the lore.
4 Deal With Rebellions
While Warband had the various lords and citizens of the kingdom blindly following their monarch into the fray (with at most the occasional lord defection), Bannerlord takes an entirely different approach. With the introduction of different cultures and a loyalty system to the game, towns can now rebel against their owner.
Rebellions add an entirely new clan to the world, with four lords and control of the town in question. This can be seriously bad news for kingdoms already under strain, and a perfect opportunity for outside predators to take some free land. Whatever the outcome, it requires some forethought when planning future conquests.
3 Propel Your Clan To Greatness
The renown system from Warband returns in Bannerlord, but this time instead of being tied to one character, it functions for the entire clan. There are six clan tiers, and each added tier unlocks greater capacity for companions and workshops, as well as making the clan eligible to become mercenaries, become a vassal, and start a kingdom.
It helps simulate a rise to power even better than Warband did, with a slow but rewarding climb from being a nobody to the ruler of Calradia. With the added birth mechanic, it may even take multiple generations to complete the journey. Interestingly enough, the game hints at a few examples of this in work, with the Banu Sarran clan and Khergit clan (vassals in Bannerlord) ultimately assuming control of their respective factions and becoming the Sarranid and Khergit factions by the time of Warband.
2 Level Skills By Practice
In Warband, skill points were granted whenever a player leveled up, to be spent at their discretion. Bannerlord instead deals with leveling a different way – the more a player performs a certain skill, the more that skill will increase. It’s similar to the proficiency mechanic in Warband but applied to every skill in the game.
This makes leveling a much more natural, smooth, and immersive process. Focus on a certain skill and it will naturally increase, allowing players to pick from an abundance of dynamic and impactful skill points. All in all, it’s a much more involved process than before.
1 Lead Armies Of Thousands
Similar to the marshal feature of Warband, Bannerlord allows players to combine forces in an army to lay siege to a castle or fend off the enemy. The army system is much more cohesive than before, with multiple parties combining into one strong military force, rewarding the player for cooperating with and supporting their allies.
Of course, opposing armies sometimes clash, resulting in battles on a scale that Mount & Blade has never seen before. It allows for enormous battles between thousands of troops, hundreds from both sides on the field at the same time. Safe to say, Mount & Blade is at its best while in the middle of a sprawling medieval clash of epic proportions, a moment that Bannerlord excels in delivering.
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is available now on Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.