Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord: Creating and Developing Your Character

In Bannerlord, character development has a significant impact on both the hero and the entire party. At the start of the campaign mode, players must customize their character’s appearance, skills, and origin story. As experience is gained, skills and attributes can be improved. This guide covers everything you need to know about character creation and development in Bannerlord.

• All Skills
• Character Creation
• All Cultures
• Leveling Up
• Attributes
• Focus Point
• Perks

All Skills

Before starting the game, it’s essential to examine the skills in Bannerlord and decide which to improve when creating the hero. The table below shows all skills, related attributes, and how to develop them:

Skill	Attribute	Development
One Handed	Vigor	Attacking with one-handed weapons and using a shield
Two Handed	Vigor	Attacking with a two-handed weapon
Polearms	Vigor	Attacking with polearms
Bow	Control	Shooting opponents with a bow
Crossbow	Control	Shooting opponents with a crossbow
Throwing	Control	Hitting opponents with throwing weapons
Riding	Endurance	Riding in campaign and combat mode
Athletics	Endurance	Walking on foot in combat and campaign mode
Smithing	Endurance	Crafting equipment, converting gear into crafting materials
Scouting	Cunning	Traveling in unfavorable areas (snow, forests, mountains), and finding hideouts
Tactics	Cunning	Commanding troops during combat, winning battles where outnumbered
Roguery	Cunning	Bribery, attacking towns, villages, and caravans, controlling bandit units
Charm	Social	Improving relationships with characters, trading
Leadership	Social	Having a large army and maintaining high morale
Trade	Social	Trading with profit, controlling caravans
Steward	Intelligence	Developing locations, maintaining high morale by providing diverse food
Medicine	Intelligence	Treating soldiers in towns
Engineering	Intelligence	Constructing and utilizing siege equipment

Creating a Character

In Mount and Blade 2, you have the ability to customize your character’s appearance and abilities when you create them.

When creating your hero, you can use the robust editor to modify their facial features, hair style, and beard. However, these visual choices only have a superficial impact on gameplay. To truly influence the game, you must develop your character’s skills and abilities. You must decide whether to focus on enhancing your character’s combat skills or improving their ability to lead a group of soldiers. During character creation, you will also select your character’s culture and background, which will determine their initial skillset.

Choosing a character’s culture is the most crucial decision, since it cannot be changed later in the game. When creating a character, you can also select their abilities and see the bonuses that each option provides. To aid in your decision-making process, refer to the table above to learn about all of the available skills. The way a skill is developed will provide insight into its purpose. However, selecting skill bonuses is less important than choosing a culture, as you can develop skills as you progress through the game.

List of Cultures

Culture	Effect
Vlandians	Bonuses: 5% more reputation earned from battles, 15% more income from mercenary work, a 10% production bonus for villages connected to castles. Penalty: Recruiting lords into your army costs 20% more reputation.
Sturgians	Bonuses: 25% less cost to recruit and upgrade infantry units, armies lose 20% less cohesion daily. Penalty: 20% greater penalty to relationship resulting from kingdom decisions.
Empire	Bonuses: 20% less pay for the garrison, gain 25% more influence while in the army. Penalty: 20% smaller farm increase.
Aserai	Bonuses: 30% less cost to create caravans, 10% smaller penalty to trade, no movement speed penalty in the desert. Penalty: 5% increase in daily wage for units in your party.
Khuzaits	Bonuses: 10% less cost to recruit and upgrade mounted units, 25% bonus for breeding horses, mules, cows, and sheep in villages ruled by Khuzait rulers. Penalty: 20% less income from taxes in towns.
Battanians	Bonuses: 50% less penalty to movement speed and 15% bonus to range of sight in forests, cities ruled by Battanian rulers receive +1 to volunteer growth. Penalty: 10% more time to finish building town projects in districts.

If you are uncertain about which culture to choose, refer to our guide’s separate page: Which culture is the best?

Advancing your character

Character development in this game involves three main elements. Experience can be earned by defeating enemies, winning battles, or completing missions. Once enough experience is accumulated, the hero advances to the next level. By improving attributes, assigning focus points, and choosing perks, the hero gains skill points that can be invested in specific abilities. This allows players to upgrade weapon skills or other abilities, regardless of their previous choices. As players reach higher levels and add more skill points to their attributes, they gain access to better equipment.

Attributes and Skills

Attributes such as Vigor, Control, and Intelligence can help players develop skills that are associated with those attributes. A list of all attributes and their corresponding skills can be found in the table at the beginning of this page. Players receive an attribute point every three experience levels, and investing a point in a particular attribute will make the related skills develop faster.

Focus Points

Another way to improve characters is by using Focus Points. Players receive one Focus Point for every new experience level they reach. Allocating a point to a specific skill will help that skill develop faster.

Perks

Each skill has several perks that offer various bonuses, such as increased damage, better trade revenue, or a larger party size. Players can choose new perks every 25 skill levels, starting with the first perk at level 25 and continuing every 25 levels thereafter.

FAQ

What are the options for character creation in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord?

In Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord, players have a range of options when it comes to creating their character. They can choose their gender, culture, and background, which will affect their starting skills and equipment. Additionally, players can customize their character’s appearance, including their face, hair, and clothing. Once the character is created, players can begin developing their skills in a range of areas, such as combat, trade, and persuasion.

How does character development work in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord?

Character development in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord is based on a skill system. As players engage in activities such as fighting battles, trading goods, and completing quests, they earn experience points which can be used to level up their skills. There are a range of skills available, including combat, trade, and social skills like persuasion. As players level up their skills, they unlock new abilities and perks, which can make them more effective in combat or more successful in business.

What are the most important skills to develop in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord?

The most important skills to develop in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord will depend on the player’s preferred playstyle. For example, players who enjoy combat will want to focus on skills like one-handed weapons, archery, and athletics, which will make them more effective in battle. Players who prefer a more diplomatic approach may want to focus on social skills like persuasion and charm, which will help them negotiate with NPCs and build alliances. Ultimately, the key to success in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord is to develop a well-rounded set of skills that allow players to adapt to any situation they encounter.