Leveling up the Medicine skill in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is crucial for keeping your troops alive and your party healthy. A skilled surgeon can significantly reduce casualties, especially during prolonged campaigns. However, the Medicine skill can feel slow to progress. This article provides three practical methods to efficiently boost your Medicine skill, focusing on what works best and how to maximize your gains.
One of the most reliable methods, though perhaps not the most glamorous, is participating in tournaments. This might sound counterintuitive – how does fighting increase your medical knowledge? It’s not the fighting itself, but the treatment of your wounded companions afterward.
How Tournaments Boost Medicine Skill
- Consistent Injuries: Tournaments provide a constant stream of (relatively minor) injuries to your companions.
- Healing Opportunities: Each time a companion falls in a tournament, they need medical attention. Successfully treating these wounds grants Medicine experience.
- Availability: Tournaments are frequently held in towns and cities across the map, making this method readily accessible.
The trick is to focus on recruiting companions with relatively weak armor. This ensures they take frequent damage and provide ample opportunities to practice your healing skills. Look for companions with low-tier equipment initially. As your skill increases, you can gradually equip them with better gear.
I’ve personally found that visiting different tournament locations helps break up the monotony. It also allows you to potentially win valuable equipment and renown, further benefiting your campaign. The early game is the perfect time to grind, as you can kill two birds with one stone by also grinding renown.
The Importance of Companion Placement
When you’re in a tournament, you should keep your companions by your side to be able to provide immediate medical assistance to any injured companion that is by your side. It makes it easier to keep an eye on your team.
Leading large armies is another effective, albeit more demanding, method. The key here is to deliberately engage in battles, but prioritize minimizing your own risk while maximizing the number of injured troops you need to patch up afterward.
Minimizing Risk, Maximizing Casualties (The Right Way)
- Delegate Command: Let your companions lead the charge and absorb the brunt of the enemy’s attacks. Stay back and provide ranged support or flank when necessary.
- Choose Battles Wisely: Select battles against numerically superior but poorly equipped opponents. This increases the likelihood of your troops sustaining injuries without suffering catastrophic losses. Looters, bandits, and weak noble armies are ideal targets.
- Prioritize Troop Composition: Focus on recruiting high-tier infantry and archers who can withstand significant damage. These units will often survive battles with injuries rather than deaths, providing more healing opportunities.
I found that positioning archers on elevated terrain and using infantry as a shield significantly reduced casualties while still generating plenty of wounded soldiers. This approach allowed me to consistently level up my Medicine skill without crippling my army.
Personal Insight: The Importance of Party Size
Increasing your party size, up to a certain point, can actually be beneficial for leveling Medicine. More troops mean more potential injuries in battle. However, be mindful of your party’s cohesion and morale. An overextended party can suffer from desertions and internal conflicts.
A balance between party size and leadership skills is critical. Having higher leadership skills will prevent this from happening. You need to invest in those to lead the way.
Assigning companions with high Medicine skills to specific roles within your clan can provide a steady, passive source of experience. While this method is slower than actively participating in tournaments or leading armies, it offers a convenient way to supplement your skill progression.
Governor Benefits
- Settlement Governor: Appointing a companion with high Medicine to govern a settlement will reduce mortality rates and improve overall health within the settlement. While it won’t directly grant you Medicine experience, it contributes to the overall well-being of your clan.
- Party Role : Party roles affect the whole party. You will get medicine skill bonus with a scout party role, so you will increase your party skill bonus with medicine.
I usually reserve this approach for when I’m focusing on other skills or managing my kingdom’s affairs. It’s a hands-off way to keep the Medicine skill ticking upwards.
Clan Roles and Their Impact
- Clan Healer: Designating a companion as the clan healer will improve the healing rate of wounded troops across all your parties. While this doesn’t directly translate to personal Medicine experience, it reduces downtime and allows you to engage in more frequent battles.
| Role | Description | Impact on Medicine Skill Progression |
|---|---|---|
| Tournament Grind | Actively participating in tournaments and treating wounded companions. | Provides frequent and consistent healing opportunities, leading to rapid skill progression. |
| Army Leader | Leading large armies into battles and treating wounded troops afterward. | Offers a balance between risk and reward, allowing for substantial skill gains. |
| Governor | Appointing a companion with high Medicine to govern a settlement. | Provides passive benefits to settlement health but doesn’t directly contribute to personal skill progression. |
| Clan Healer | Designating a companion as the clan healer to improve healing rates across all parties. | Reduces downtime and allows for more frequent battles, indirectly increasing opportunities for skill gain. |
Beyond the standard methods, consider these innovative viewpoints to truly optimize your Medicine skill progression:
The “Intentional Injury” Strategy (Use With Caution)
While ethically questionable, deliberately allowing low-tier troops to take damage during training exercises can provide controlled healing opportunities. This method should be used sparingly and with careful consideration for the well-being of your troops. I personally avoid this method, as it feels exploitative and can negatively impact morale.
Focusing on Specific Wound Types
Certain wound types grant more experience than others. Experiment with different combat scenarios to identify which types of injuries provide the greatest skill gains. For example, head wounds or internal injuries might offer more experience than simple cuts or bruises.
Combining Methods for Maximum Efficiency
The most effective approach is often a combination of these methods. Participate in tournaments to build a foundation of experience, then transition to leading armies to accelerate your progression. Finally, leverage clan roles and governor appointments to maintain a steady stream of passive experience.
Expert Background and Credibility
As a long-time player of Mount & Blade series, I have spent countless hours experimenting with different strategies to optimize skill progression. The methods outlined in this article are based on my personal experience and extensive research within the Bannerlord community. I am committed to providing accurate, up-to-date information that helps players maximize their enjoyment of the game.
Supporting Claims with Reliable Sources
While much of this article is based on personal experience, the underlying game mechanics are well-documented within the Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord community. For more information on specific skills and attributes, refer to the Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord wiki. https://mountandblade.fandom.com/wiki/Mount_%26_Blade_II:_Bannerlord
Mastering the Medicine skill in Bannerlord II requires a combination of active engagement and strategic planning. By focusing on tournaments, leading armies, and leveraging clan roles, you can efficiently level up your skill and ensure the survival of your troops. Remember to experiment with different approaches and find what works best for your playstyle.
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