Mount Blade II: Bannerlord...

Bannerlord includes eight major factions or kingdoms,[6] each composed of several clans and competing minor factions with their own goals. The Calradic Empire, based on Greece, Rome, and Byzantium, once owned a massive amount of Calradia, but has since been weakened by invasions from other peoples and the onset of a three-way civil war. The Northern Calradic faction believes that the senate should choose the emperor, the Southern Calradic faction believes that the widow of the most recent emperor should become the empress, and the Western Calradic faction believes that the military should choose the emperor. The Calradic factions all use a balance of heavy cavalry (including cataphracts), spearmen, and archers.[16] The Vlandians are a feudal people that specialize in heavy cavalry; they are based on western European medieval kingdoms, particularly the Normans, Vandals and Goths.[17] The Sturgians, located in the northern forests, specialize in infantry and are primarily inspired by the Vikings and Rus'.[18] The Aserai of the southern desert are adept at both cavalry and infantry tactics and are based on the pre-Islamic Arabs.[19] The Khuzaits, a nomadic people who inhabit the eastern steppe and specialize in mounted archery, are based upon the Huns, Pannonian Avars, Göktürks, Kipchaks, Khazars and Mongols.[20] The Battanians inhabit the central woodlands of Calradia and are based on the Celts; they specialize in ambushes and guerilla warfare.[21]

Mount Blade II: Bannerlord...

Weapon crafting is a new feature. As the player crafts new weapons and smelts down ones they find, they have a chance to discover unique parts that can then be applied to new weapons, changing their statistics and appearance. As an example, sword parts that can be discovered are blades, cross-guards, hilts and pommels.[1] This process requires resources which can be expensive to purchase, but smelting and refining can be leveraged to gain the needed materials from loot the player finds.

I was there when TaleWorlds boldly released Mount & Blade with an appreciable amount of troops, and I was there when the game was iterated upon by the developers and transformed by modders. Now, I am here to review Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.

Initially, the battles suffer from the same issue as the rest of the game. Early on, all you fight are mobs of looters and bandits, who will only ever charge you en-masse and don't present a real threat unless you are heavily outnumbered. There really isn't any strategy required to defeat them. The late-game battles however are a huge step-up. Knowing how to use different units is essential, and to the game's credit, every unit type has a role to play and feels well-balanced. Archers can be devastating if your troops are caught in the open, but a cavalry charge will tear straight through them. On the other hand, some well-positioned spearmen can stop a mounted assault in its tracks.

AI can leave a little to be desired when things get truly chaotic, but for the most part, it does a good job. AI armies will employ actual tactics, such as using wooded areas to mask an approach, or trying to split your party up by drawing you out with mounted archers. They only occasionally act irrationally or in ways that run counter to their interests, such as when small groups of peasants armed with sticks, who you're trying to protect, run off ahead of your elite, heavily armed veteran warriors.

The biggest waste of time in Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is waiting for one's lord character to heal back up to fighting shape in the event that they're defeated in battle. For that matter, conserving the health of the player character is paramount to keeping a smooth gameplay flow.

It just so happens that fighting in melee during field battles is counterproductive to this flow. Because like in the campaign map, the enemy AI will swarm players in the digital mosh pit and gang upon the commanders. Sure, it might be tempting to jump into the fray upon seeing this cinematic clash for the first time, but it's a lot safer and smarter to just use the bow while mounted. The troops won't mind having a practical coward as a commander.

Increasing an army's speed on the map can result in less wasted time and supplies. This can be done by buying horses for the army. More mounts mean more speed and the army will move as fast as a mounted regiment. One horse for each soldier should yield this kind of result. 041b061a72