The Bannerlord 2 Conspiracy questline, while offering a compelling narrative and endgame, is infamous for its abrupt difficulty spike and potential for campaign-ending consequences. Many players find themselves frustrated by the rapidly escalating conspiracy strength and the seemingly impossible task of maintaining peace. This article provides concrete solutions to address these pain points, offering strategies to manage the conspiracy, mitigate its effects, and ultimately, secure your reign in Calradia.
The Conspiracy questline activates after a player achieves a certain clan tier and has established or joined a kingdom. The questline culminates in a full-scale war against factions that suspect you of warmongering – a conflict that can quickly overwhelm a new kingdom. Here’s how to proactively address common issues:
Problem 1: The Rapidly Escalating Conspiracy Strength
The most common complaint is the speed at which conspiracy strength increases. Seemingly out of nowhere, it jumps from negligible to overwhelming, triggering war before you’re prepared. This is often due to a misunderstanding of the triggers and available countermeasures.
Solution: Focus on proactively managing your relations with other clans and kingdoms and implementing key policies. Here’s a breakdown:
- Improve Relations: Participate in tournaments, complete quests for lords of other factions, and release captured lords after battles to improve your standing with them. Even small positive gains can significantly slow the conspiracy’s progress. Prioritize lords whose factions border you to minimize war declarations.
- Influence Management: Accumulate influence and use it to enact kingdom policies that improve relations with clans outside your kingdom. Policies like “Royal Guard” (increases relation with lords) or “Forgiveness of Debts” (reduces crime rating and improves town loyalty) indirectly contribute to stability and reduce the likelihood of war.
- Clan Tier Management: Be mindful of your clan’s tier. The higher your tier, the faster the conspiracy progresses. Delay reaching higher tiers until you’ve solidified your kingdom’s defenses and economy.
- Behead Lords: Beheading lords in Bannerlord 2 is a controversial decision but has strategic implications in relation to the conspiracy quest. This action reduces the number of enemy lords who can participate in the conspiracy and reduces their overall military strength.
- Execute Traitors (Carefully): Executing lords who actively plot against you can deter others, but it comes with significant honor penalties. Weigh the immediate benefit against the long-term impact on your reputation. Use this as a last resort, and only against lords who are consistently causing problems.
Problem 2: Lack of Early Warning and Preparation Time
Many players are caught off guard by the sudden onset of the conspiracy war, lacking the resources, troops, and alliances necessary to defend themselves.
Solution: Actively monitor your quest log and world events.
- Track the Conspiracy Quest: The conspiracy quest log provides a rough estimate of the conspiracy’s progress. Pay close attention to the dialogue and quest descriptions for hints about impending conflict.
- Recruit Companions and Create Parties: Build a strong core of companions and assign them to lead parties. These parties can act as rapid response forces, defending vulnerable settlements and harassing enemy armies.
- Stockpile Resources: Accumulate denars, recruit troops, and stockpile essential supplies (food, horses, weapons) in strategically located castles and towns. A well-stocked treasury allows you to quickly hire mercenaries and reinforce garrisons.
- Form Alliances (Strategic Marriages): Arrange marriages between your clan members and members of powerful clans in other kingdoms. Alliances provide valuable military support during war. Focus on clans with territories bordering yours to ensure quick reinforcement.
- Improve Town Loyalty and Security: High town loyalty and security reduce the likelihood of rebellion, freeing up your forces to defend against external threats. Invest in town projects like “Fairgrounds” and “Garrison Training Fields” to boost loyalty and garrison strength.
Problem 3: Difficulty in Stopping the Conspiracy Once it Begins
Once the conspiracy reaches a critical level, stopping it feels almost impossible. The constant war declarations and raiding parties drain your resources and manpower.
Solution: Employ a combination of diplomatic, military, and subversive tactics:
- Diplomacy (Even During War): Continuously send messengers to enemy factions, offering peace treaties. Even if rejected initially, persistent diplomacy can eventually lead to a favorable settlement. Lowering tribute demands increases the chance of acceptance.
- Target Key Locations: Focus your military efforts on capturing strategic castles and towns. Disrupting enemy supply lines and eliminating key garrisons weakens their overall strength.
- Hire Mercenaries: Mercenaries provide a temporary boost to your military strength. Use them to defend against larger enemy armies or to launch surprise attacks on vulnerable targets.
- Defensive Tactics: Focus on defending your own territory rather than launching aggressive campaigns. Wear down the enemy by forcing them to attack fortified positions and suffer attrition.
- Use Spies Effectively: Employ companions with high scouting and roguery skills as spies. Send them to enemy towns and castles to sabotage production, spread disinformation, and incite rebellions. A well-placed spy can significantly disrupt enemy operations.
I first encountered the full force of the Conspiracy questline in my third Bannerlord 2 playthrough. I had focused heavily on expanding my territory and neglected my relations with other kingdoms. I thought my superior army would be enough. I was wrong.
The sudden declaration of war by three neighboring kingdoms caught me completely off guard. My treasury was depleted, my garrisons were undermanned, and my allies were too far away to provide immediate assistance. I quickly realized that I had underestimated the importance of diplomacy and proactive planning.
The biggest mistake I made was ignoring the subtle warnings in the quest log. I dismissed them as generic flavor text, failing to recognize the impending danger. I learned a valuable lesson: pay attention to the details, and don’t underestimate the power of preparation.
To turn things around, I focused on consolidating my defenses, improving relations through prisoner releases and quests, and hiring mercenaries to supplement my forces. It was a long and arduous process, but I eventually managed to secure peace and stabilize my kingdom. The experience taught me the importance of a balanced approach to kingdom management, prioritizing diplomacy and strategic planning alongside military strength.
I’ve also noticed that the AI seems to prioritize targeting settlements with low garrisons and high prosperity during the conspiracy war. Reinforcing these locations significantly reduces the likelihood of being overwhelmed. This observation isn’t readily available in guides, but it’s a crucial piece of information gained through repeated playthroughs.
The Art of the Deal: My Negotiation Strategy
Negotiation is key to surviving the conspiracy questline, especially after the war starts. My strategy focuses on weakening the enemy before initiating peace talks and offering attractive terms.
- Inflict Significant Losses: Before even considering peace, I aim to inflict several defeats on the enemy armies. This lowers their war enthusiasm and makes them more receptive to negotiations.
- Target Wealthy Settlements: Capturing prosperous towns not only weakens the enemy economically but also gives you leverage in negotiations. Offering to return these towns in exchange for peace can be a powerful bargaining chip.
- Lower Tribute Demands: The AI is more likely to accept peace if the tribute they have to pay is reasonable. I usually start by offering peace with minimal or no tribute, gradually increasing the amount if necessary.
- Leverage Clan Relationships: If you have good relations with a particular clan within the enemy kingdom, try to negotiate a separate peace with them. This can weaken the enemy’s overall war effort and make them more willing to negotiate a general peace.
- Be Patient: Negotiations can take time. Don’t get discouraged if your initial offers are rejected. Keep sending messengers and adjusting your terms until you find a mutually acceptable agreement.
Practical Table of Actions to Mitigate Conspiracy Progression
| Action | Description | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Improve Relations with Clans | Complete quests, participate in tournaments, release captured lords. | Slows down conspiracy progress, reduces the likelihood of war declarations. |
| Enact Beneficial Kingdom Policies | Use influence to pass policies that improve relations, loyalty, and security. | Creates a more stable kingdom and reduces the appeal of the conspiracy. |
| Recruit Companions and form party | Build up a retinue of skilled companions and form parties of them to lead troops. | Enables faster response to threats and provide a base of skill points for your kingdom to rely on. |
| Improve Town Loyalty and Security | Invest in town projects, assign a governor with relevant skills, manage food supply. | Reduces the likelihood of rebellion and ensures a stable economic base. |
| Form Alliances | Arrange marriages with powerful clans in other kingdoms. | Provides military support during war and deters potential aggressors. |
| Stockpile Resources | Accumulate denars, troops, and supplies in strategically located settlements. | Ensures you have the resources to respond quickly to threats and sustain a prolonged war. |
While the above strategies are effective, it’s also beneficial to leverage external resources and community knowledge.
- Bannerlord Wiki: The Bannerlord Wiki (https://mountandblade.fandom.com/wiki/Mount_and_Blade_II:_Bannerlord) provides detailed information on game mechanics, quests, and characters.
- Online Forums: Participate in online forums like the TaleWorlds forums (https://forums.taleworlds.com/) and Reddit communities to exchange tips, strategies, and experiences with other players.
- YouTube Tutorials: Search for YouTube tutorials on kingdom management, diplomacy, and war strategy. Many experienced players share their insights and provide practical demonstrations of effective tactics.
By combining these external resources with the strategies outlined in this article, you’ll be well-equipped to overcome the challenges of the Bannerlord 2 Conspiracy questline and build a thriving kingdom. Remember, patience, planning, and a willingness to adapt are key to success. Good luck, and may your reign be long and prosperous!