VonStephen Messner
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Whether you're a series veteran or a new player, this guide will help you choose the right difficulty setting.

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In Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord, choosing the difficulty is not as easy as setting it to Normal and moving on. Instead of a global option, Bannerlord splits the difficulty setting into a few different areas that you can tweak. For example, it's possible to reduce the challenge of your political systems and still maintain extremely deadly melee combat. However, since Bannerlord uses a strange naming convention for its difficulty setting, choosing the right option can be a little confusing for you at first. We are here to help.
Choosing your difficulty at the start of a new campaign will require you to play through seven different settings, each affecting a different part of the game such as: B. how easy you can recruit characters. Each of these five settings has three options:very easy, simple and realistic.
Difficulty options can be changed at any time by accessing the campaign options menu.
Given those names, you might think that "Realistic" equates to Normal difficulty, but it's harder. General,only veterans and masochists should play on realistic difficulty. But let's go through each setting one by one and explain how they work.
If you want to get started right away
New players:
- Damage taken to friendly troops: Realistic
- Friendlies damage suffered: realistic
- Damage taken by the player: basic
- Recruitment Difficulty: Easy
- Map Movement Speed: Easy
- Enable Death: Enabled
- Automatic granting of benefits to clan members: Enabled
Veterans:
- Damage taken to friendly troops: Realistic
- Friendlies damage suffered: realistic
- Damage taken by the player: realistic
- Recruitment Difficulty: Realistic
- Map Movement Speed: Realistic
- Enable Death: Enabled
- Automatic granting of benefits to clan members: Enabled
Friendly troops took damage.
This setting determines how much damage your allied units take in battle, but excludes your own character. Therefore,I recommend setting this to realisticregardless of whether you are a new player or a veteran. This means your own troops and the enemy troops are on par during combat, which shouldn't be a problem if you're smart and always try to have the biggest army or the best equipped soldiers.
This option requires you to understand the intricate command system of Bannerlord's units. In Realistic you have to give orders to your different units so that they are always in an advantageous position, while in the lower difficulties you can only order them to attack and above all forget them.
Friendlies suffered damage
This option controls how much damage your allies take in battle. To be clear, these are not the troops under your control, but any additional computer controlled soldiers who may join you in battle. Again, I recommend setting this to realistic regardless of your Bannerlord experience, as it means allied soldiers and the enemies they fight are on relatively flat ground. And since you're not commanding these units anyway, you don't have to worry about micromanaging them to keep them alive.
Damage taken by the player
This option controls how much damage your character takes and is the most notable difficulty option to play with. To define this as realistic, you'll need to be adept at Bannerlord's signature combat in order to survive, as even the weakest bandit can kill him with just a few hits.Only veterans should set this option to realistic., as it requires impeccable timing to beat most AI opponents. And God help you if you're outnumbered.
For new players, there's no shame in calling this too easy until you're comfortable with combat. I personally prefer to define it as simple. This gives me a small advantage in single combat, but I still need to command my troops effectively to win big battles.
recruitment difficulties
In order to recruit more troops from the settlements you visit, you must curry favor with the notable NPCs that live there. That's where this option comes in, as it determines how much the characters will like you before you can recruit their best soldiers to your cause.
This option doesn't impact your campaign as much as the first three, but it's important.If you want to spend less time kissing ass and more time kicking ass, I recommend setting it to easy.. This allows you to recruit troops faster and spend time fighting. But if you want a more authentic experience, be realistic.
Movement speed of the map
Much like recruitment difficulty, map movement speed subtly changes how fast you can move around the world map. You see, your speed is determined by a variety of factors such as: B. the quality and quantity of your horses, the level of your inventory and even the morale of your troops. This option adjusts how much each of them affects your speed. like recruitment,Downloading this option is great for those who want to focus on fighting and less on management.But if you want a more authentic experience, be realistic.
activate death
I strongly recommend everyone to play with Enable Death, as it brings an excellent level of realism to Bannerlord. When enabled, named NPCs (called heroes) can now be killed, including kings, emperors, and yes, even you. This creates opportunities for dramatic shifts in the political landscape as characters meet their untimely demise and nations are thrown into chaos. If you want to play a campaign with real consequences for your actions, Enable Death is the way to go.
To put it bluntly, you will be able to die. If you have an heir, start playing as him and your campaign will continue. If you don't, it's most likely game over. The good news is that the risk of this happening is minimal in the beginning. Most of the bandits and other criminals you fight prefer to keep you alive so they can extort you for cash or sell you into slavery. So losing in battle rarely means it's really game over.
Automatic granting of benefits to clan members
This is less of a difficulty option and more of a comfort option. Once you start building a clan, you will start managing the progression of non-main characters. It's a bit like playing a party-based RPG, except your party can get itSeries SeriesGreat. This option takes some micromanagement off of that task by automatically assigning perks, although I haven't had time to explore how it assigns those points yet. Otherwise, you'll have to individually choose what benefits your followers have, which can be a bit daunting.
Check this again if you want to focus less on the management aspect of Bannerlord and more on killing things. But as with all these options, you can always change them if you feel overwhelmed or, on the contrary, want more control over your clan.
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Stephen Messner
With over 7 years of experience in feature-rich reporting, Steven's mission is to capture the fascinating ways games interact with our lives. Whether it's colossal in-game wars in an MMO or truck drivers turning to gaming to protect themselves from the loneliness of the open road, Steven seeks to bring to light the greatest PC gaming stories the have ever been told. His love for PC games started at a very young age. With no money to spend, he spent a whole day looking at the progress bar on a 25MB download of the Heroes of Might and Magic 2 demo, which he played for at least a hundred hours. It was a good show.
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FAQs
What difficulty should I choose in Bannerlord? ›
If you want to get started right away
Player Received Damage: Easy. Recruitment Difficulty: Easy. Map Movement Speed: Easy. Enable Death: On.
It's still quite an unforgiving medieval sim with a steep learning curve. That's why some Bannerlord tips are still very much warranted in 2022 and beyond. There are too many mistakes to commit, and new players are bound to commit a lot of them. Heck, even veteran players are still not infallible to such mistakes.
How realistic is Mount and Blade? ›Not at all, its historically engaging for the gang of 16 - 21 year old's who think history is a bunch of big battles and large armies in matching armor, when in reality, history is simply just not that, history is as little about kings and kingdoms as Mount and Blade Warband is about the average Calradian peasant.
How do you get the best start in Bannerlord? ›- Choose your skill focus early. ...
- Hone your skills regularly with Focus Points and perks. ...
- Practice makes perfect: use tutorials and training areas. ...
- Essential combat tips. ...
- Make time for your most important relationship: your horse. ...
- Don't neglect your troops! ...
- Save often. ...
- Pause for planning.
However, horses themselves also slow you down, so filling your inventory with horses will result in a negative effect.
Do horses make you faster Bannerlord? ›Having many extra speed-type horses in your inventory can greatly increase your movement speed, and your goal should be to have as many horses as you have party members. This benefit also applies to cavalry units as they ride speed-type horses.
How long does it take to beat Bannerlord? ›Single-Player | Polled | Average |
---|---|---|
Main Story | 15 | 38h 47m |
Main + Extras | 8 | 54h 1m |
Completionist | 5 | 102h 19m |
All PlayStyles | 28 | 54h 29m |
Both the original Mount & Blade and Warband are 500h+ games for a single play-through. The game is quite grindy. For a long time in the beginning you should keep your number of troupes LOW in order to save money while you get levels and gear.
Is it harder to play as a woman in Mount and Blade Warband? ›From my experience playing the game, playing as a female character could be considered the "Hard Mode" within Mount and Blade: Warband. It's less of a disadvantage and more of a way to give a challenge. Overall, it's more of a way to make the game much more difficult than it is as a male character. Save this answer.
What era is Bannerlord in? ›Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is set on the fictional continent of Calradia, 210 years before Mount & Blade: Warband, during the decline of the Calradic Empire and the formation of the predecessors of the factions that appear in Warband.
What is the best kingdom to join Bannerlord? ›
- 8 Southern Empire.
- 7 Northern Empire.
- 6 Sturgia.
- 5 Western Empire.
- 4 Battania.
- 3 Khuzait.
- 2 Vlandia.
- 1 Aserai.
All three Vigor Skills (One-Handed, Two-Handed, and Polearm) are the most important skills to level up, especially in the early game.
When should I start a kingdom in Bannerlord? ›To establish a new kingdom in Bannerlord, your clan tier will need to be at least 4. You can still conquer a town before reaching that tier, but you won't be able to name and govern the territories properly.
What is the weakest faction in Warband? ›The weakest faction in terms of how easy they are to siege would probably be the Khergits or Sarranids, as both tend to rely on horses, which have no place in sieges. They also seem to have much lighter armor.
What is the strongest weapon in Bannerlord? ›- 1 Two-Handed Sword - Thamaskene Steel Two Hander. ...
- 2 One-Handed Sword - Engraved Backsword. ...
- 3 Axe - Heavy Executioner Axe. ...
- 4 Polearm - Warrazor. ...
- 5 Bow - Noble Bow. ...
- 6 Crossbow - Bound Crossbow. ...
- 7 Shield - Tall Heater Shield. ...
- 8 Throwing - Triangular Throwing Spear.
With 5600 prosperity, Ortysia is the highest prosperity city in the game.
Are axes better than swords Bannerlord? ›Axes are only good against shields from what I can tell. In theory your anti armour weapon would be a mace but I don't know if they have that implemented. Otherwise yes, a sword is better as it's faster, longer and has more attacking options (thrust/stab). Sword is good vs cloth.
What is the coolest armor in Bannerlord? ›The best armor to use in the late game of Bannerlord is the Mastercrafted Southern Scale over Chain Hauberk. When it comes to stats, it offers the best overall armor on all the major body parts it needs to protect: 51 Body Armor. 25 Leg Armor.
What is the max troop size in Bannerlord? ›Even if you had Clan tier 4, and a total of 120 party troops limit, with a high-level quartermaster you can increase your Bannerlord party size by more than 50%. An end-game party with a Clan tier 5 and a quartermaster with Steward level 300 will have a party troop size limit of 220 troops.
How slow should you go past horses? ›Always pass wide and slowly. When you see a horse on a road, you should slow down to a maximum of 10 mph. Be patient, do not sound your horn or rev your engine. When safe to do so, pass wide and slow, allowing at least 2 metres of space.
Do horses dislike being rode? ›
Most horses seem to enjoy companionship and attention from their riders, but some may find being ridden uncomfortable and even scary. It is up to the individual horse to decide whether they like it. There are things you can do as a rider to help your horse feel more comfortable while being ridden.
How many horses should I have in my inventory Warband? ›How many horses are useful will depend on how much weight you typically carry. Between three and ten is about right depending on the size of your inventory and how much stuff you tend to carry. The first threee or so will give the most benefit with diminishing returns after that.
Does horse armor increase speed? ›In minecraft armour does not affect the player or a mob's speed, the diffrence in speed is because of the random NBT tag the horse has for the speed. Compared to the player's walking speed, the maximum speed ranges from merely 25% faster to 337.5% times faster.
Does Weight Affect horse speed Bannerlord? ›Edit: Weight has no affect on horse speed.
Do having horses in your inventory increase speed mount and blade? ›Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. Horses in inventory increase map speed? Yea/No? Horses, yes.
Does Bannerlord campaign end? ›The game's campaign is open world and open ended, but that doesn't mean there aren't quests and story missions to go on and complete.
Can you marry more than once in Bannerlord? ›While you can flirt with everyone, you can only marry one partner. This means you cannot marry Rhagaea - leader of the Southern Empire, but you could marry her daughter and heir-apparent Ira. The BEST women to marry in Bannerlord!
What happens when your character dies of old age in Bannerlord? ›If no eligible family member exists when you die, a message that says “You are not a part of this anymore” will appear, and you can only watch the world as it goes on without you. If you reach this point, you will either have to load an older save file or start anew with a fresh and young character.
What is the sharpest blade grind? ›Hollow-ground knives are some of the sharpest knives available. This grind uses a bevel that curves inward until the two sides meet in a razor-sharp edge.
Can you become king mount and blade? ›Becoming the King
In order to become king/queen, you must found your own kingdom, by capturing a fief while unaligned, rebelling as a Vassal when a fief is denied to you, or getting your husband/wife to help you start one.
What is the best unit in Mount and Blade? ›
- 1 Shield Infantry – Imperial Legionary.
- 2 Archer – Battanian Fian Champion. ...
- 3 Cavalry – Vlandian Banner Knight. ...
- 4 Horse Archer – Khuzait Khan's Guard. ...
- 5 Polearm Infantry – Imperial Elite Menavliaton. ...
On top of her excellent personality, Liena is also the best party leader or governor you can marry. She still has decent combat capabilities, but with 160 skill in leadership and tactics, and 140 in steward, she can lead strong parties on her own.
What is the minimum right to rule Warband? ›10 as basic, 30 is suggested for start kingdom to not be attacked by all. beside companion mission you get 10 for peace treaty, 5 for convince lord to join you. It is maxed at 99.
Can you have baby in Warband? ›No, the children are only mentioned during dialogue options with your wife.
What is Calradia based on? ›The Calradian Empire, based off of Rome and Byzantium, once owned virtually all of Calradia, but has since been weakened by invasions from other peoples and the onset of a three-way civil war.
When should I go to war in Bannerlord? ›Normal vassals usually like to declare war when your faction is strong and prosperous. It also matters if the opposing faction is at war with someone else or weakened when the vote starts. If the vote doesn't go your way, you can use some extra influence to sway the people your way.
Who are the Swadians based on? ›The Swadians are based on the historical English or Franco-Germanic Empires of the early Middle-Ages, and are led by King Harlaus. The Swadians are nation built on heavy combat.
Which kingdom should I choose in Bannerlord? ›Calradic Empire (S rank)
The Empire troops are the best overall troops in Bannerlord, as they can field amazing archers, infantry troops, and cavalry. If you ever have to make a versatile army, the Empire factions are the best location for that. Another beautiful thing about starting in the Empire is the civil war.
- 6 Leadership.
- 7 Tactics. ...
- 8 Bow. ...
- 9 One-Handed. ...
- 10 Polearm. ...
- 11 Riding. ...
- 12 Charm. ...
- 13 Medicine. ...
Grain is likely the most common and most ubiquitous resource in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord, making it the most profitable and the smoothest trade route to set up.
What is the weakest kingdom in Mount and Blade Warband? ›
The weakest faction in terms of how easy they are to siege would probably be the Khergits or Sarranids, as both tend to rely on horses, which have no place in sieges. They also seem to have much lighter armor.
Which culture is best in Mount and Blade Bannerlord? ›- 6 Aserai.
- 5 Vlandians.
- 4 Sturgians.
- 3 Khuzaits.
- 2 Empire.
- 1 Battanians.
The best policy if you are the ruler of the kingdom is Royal Guard. With this policy, you can increase your party size by 60. This is one of the most powerful effects in the game, as number superiority in Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord battles can go a long way.
Can you have multiple wives in Mount and Blade? ›While you can flirt with everyone, you can only marry one partner. This means you cannot marry Rhagaea - leader of the Southern Empire, but you could marry her daughter and heir-apparent Ira.
What is the highest right to rule Warband? ›Note that Right to Rule has no impact on whether or not other factions declare war on you in Warband. It is a common mistaken belief that it does. However the internal script that decides to declare war does not check this variable. Right to rule can reach a maximum of 99.
What are the most important skills in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord? ›All three Vigor Skills (One-Handed, Two-Handed, and Polearm) are the most important skills to level up, especially in the early game.
Can you max out all skills in Bannerlord? ›currently the skills max at 1023 although it is impossible to reach the level other than cheating only possible to reach it by getting a single high xp chunk (trading for a lot of profit at once or raiding a village after you "sold" them all your stuff), since the skill cap with 10 attribute points and 5 focus points ...
What is the max hero level in Bannerlord? ›TLDR: It is level 30-31 depending on smithing perks, although you're very unlikely to max out every skill to get there.
What are the best towns to own in Bannerlord? ›- 1 Ortysia – Western Empire.
- 2 Sanala – Aserai. ...
- 3 Epicrotea – Northern Empire. ...
- 4 Vostrum – Southern Empire. ...
- 5 Marunath - Battania. ...
- 6 Baltakhand - Khuzait. ...
- 7 Revyl – Sturgia. ...
- 8 Askar – Aserai. ...
Bannerlord best workshops
We've found the best workshops are Pottery Shops and Wood Workshops. For Pottery Shops, you'll want to look for cities with bound villages producing clay – we suggest Marunath and Pen Cannoc, where you can expect an income of around 300-400 denars.