Beginner’s Guide for Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord

The start of Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord can be challenging, especially for new players. This guide provides tips for the first few hours of the game, helping you to get soldiers and increase your inventory load.

The open-world of Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord can be overwhelming for beginners, especially those who haven’t played Warband or other games in the series. To make your first hours with the game more enjoyable, we have prepared 10 starting tips. This page offers tips for the basic gameplay elements and teaches you how to play Bannerlord. Below, you can find all the tips for combat, recruiting soldiers, managing your party, and upgrading your weapons and soldiers.

• Choose the best culture
• Practice combat in the tutorial
• Save frequently
• Use a shield
• Recruit soldiers
• Remember about food
• Complete missions
• Get better weapons
• Soldiers and horses increase inventory capacity
• Get companions

Choose the best culture

The culture you choose during character creation is permanent, so choose wisely.

This decision is crucial, and you need to plan it carefully. You cannot change your culture once you have selected it, making it the most important choice when creating a character. We have detailed all the cultures on the “Which one is the best culture?” page.

Which culture is best for beginners? In our opinion, the Sturgians are the best. Inexperienced players should focus on infantry, and this culture makes recruiting and upgrading soldiers cheaper. Infantry units are also the easiest to manage as they don’t require proper positioning during battle (unlike ranged units) and don’t need additional costs after advancing to a higher level (creating cavalry requires having horses of a given level in your inventory).

You can find all the information about character creation, development, and skills on the separate page – “Character creation and development.”

Practice combat in the tutorial

Completing the combat tutorial will teach you about weapons and combat in Bannerlord.

After creating your character, make sure to complete the combat training tutorial. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about the combat system in Bannerlord. The tutorial covers everything from directing your attacks and blocking your opponents’ strikes to all types of combat, including sword, shield, spear, bow, crossbow, and horseback.

If you want to learn how to fight effectively, siege castles and towns, defend castles, or command your units, check out our chapter dedicated to combat in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord.

Save frequently

Frequent saving is essential to avoid frustration and setbacks in the game.

Once you have completed your training and started playing the game, remember to save the game as often as possible. Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord is an unpredictable game, and you never know when you might be attacked by a stronger party or fail a mission, which can negatively affect your relationship with the contractor. Hence, it is always advisable to have a save file you can go back to.

Use a Shield

Shields can be helpful in blocking attacks and are especially useful for novice players. If your character did not start the game with a shield, visit the nearest city and purchase a basic shield with a few dozen pieces of gold. Shields increase your chances of survival on the battlefield and are easier to use for blocking than weapons. They also provide protection from enemy fire.

Recruit Soldiers

Soldiers can be recruited in towns and villages. To start recruiting soldiers, switch to campaign map mode and use the 1,000 pieces of gold you receive at the beginning to create a party of about 20 units. With a team like this, you can easily defeat small groups of bandits. To get soldiers, visit a town or village and select the “Recruit troops” option. You will see units that are ready to join your party in the new window.

You can find more information on getting soldiers on the “How to recruit soldiers?” page.

Remember Food

You must provide food for your units. When recruiting soldiers, remember to feed them as well. You can buy food from traders or get it from defeated enemies. Without food, the morale of your party will decline, leading to desertion. Providing various types of food will improve morale and improve the Steward ability, which determines the maximum number of people in your party.

To make your party bigger, check out “How to increase party size?”

Complete Missions

Missions can help you earn money and improve relationships with quest givers. There are several types of missions in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord, such as escorting a caravan, taking out nearby bandits, or finding a spy. Missions can be started in towns or villages. Characters with a blue exclamation mark on their portrait have a job for you.

To learn how to find a spy, check out “How to find a spy?”

Upgrade Your Weapons

It’s important to upgrade your weapons regularly. Defeating groups of Sea raiders and Mountain bandits can provide better equipment than starting weapons. With about twenty basic soldiers, you can easily take on several groups of opponents. You can also purchase better weapons or armor, but it requires a lot of gold.

To learn how to earn more money, check out “How to earn money?”

Increasing Inventory Capacity with Soldiers and Horses

To check your current inventory capacity, go to the equipment menu.

Your inventory capacity determines the number of items you can carry, with each item having a specific weight. Once you exceed the maximum load, your unit will move slower on the map. However, it is easy to increase your inventory capacity by adding more soldiers to your squad or keeping horses in your equipment, as they also increase the load capacity.

Recruiting Companions

You can find potential companions in taverns.

Companions in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord can be very helpful in various situations. Their skills can affect your party, such as a companion with a developed Medicine skill treating the entire squad. They can also assist you in battles and replace you in missions, allowing for more quests to be completed. It is recommended to have at least one companion, and you can find potential companions in taverns. Simply talk to them and pay them to join your party.

For more information on recruiting companions, please visit the “How to Recruit Companions?” page.

FAQ

1. What is Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord?

Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord is an action role-playing game developed and published by TaleWorlds Entertainment. It is the sequel to the 2008 game, Mount and Blade. The game is set in a medieval inspired world where the player assumes the role of a warrior, who must rise through the ranks of the nobility to become a powerful lord or lady. The game features a sandbox-style gameplay, where the player is free to explore the world, take on quests, and engage in battles.

2. What are the basic gameplay mechanics of Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord?

The gameplay of Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord is divided into two main parts: the strategic map and the battle map. On the strategic map, the player can move around, recruit soldiers, and engage in diplomacy with other factions. The battle map is where the action takes place, and the player must command their troops to defeat the enemy. The game also features a complex economy system, where the player can trade goods and invest in businesses to make a profit.

3. How do I create a character in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord?

When starting a new game in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord, the player is presented with a character creation screen. Here, the player can customize their character’s appearance, skills, and background. The player can choose their character’s culture, which will affect their starting equipment and relations with other factions. It’s important to choose a character background that complements the player’s playstyle, as it will affect the starting skills and equipment.

4. What tips do you have for new players in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord?

Some tips for new players in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord include: focusing on building up a strong army, investing in businesses to make a profit, completing quests for rewards and experience, and engaging in diplomacy with other factions to form alliances and improve relations. It’s also important to keep an eye on the player’s character’s skills and equipment, and to upgrade them as the game progresses. Finally, don’t be afraid to experiment with different playstyles and tactics to find what works best for the player.