3 Strategic Insights: How Would Naval Raids Work in Bannerlord 2?

The prospect of naval warfare in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord has been a long-awaited feature for many fans. While official implementation remains absent, we can analyze the game’s existing mechanics and historical context to speculate on how naval raids and coastal attacks might function, and how players can potentially mod the game to achieve similar outcomes. This article explores potential mechanics, strategic considerations, and modding options to satisfy your thirst for naval combat in Calradia.

Currently, Bannerlord 2 focuses primarily on land-based combat. There’s no built-in system for naval units, ship construction, or sea travel. However, the game’s core mechanics offer a foundation for imagining how naval raids could be implemented.

Leveraging Existing Mechanics: Raiding and Sieges

Naval raids could function as an extension of the existing raiding and siege mechanics. Imagine:

• Coastal Raiding Parties: Players could assemble raiding parties, load them onto transports (represented abstractly), and target coastal villages or towns. Success would depend on factors like troop numbers, enemy garrison strength, and terrain.
• Naval Sieges: Instead of solely land-based assaults, sieges on coastal cities could involve naval bombardments (again, potentially abstracted as timed events that reduce wall health) and amphibious landings.
• River Raids: The rivers could be utilized, allowing players to raid settlements further inland. This could add a new dimension to warfare in areas like the Battanian and Sturgian territories.

New Systems and Features: Ship Construction and Naval Units

A deeper implementation could include:

• Shipyards: Towns and cities with coastal access could construct shipyards, allowing players to build different types of vessels.
• Naval Unit Types: Introduce new unit types, such as oarsmen, marines, and archers specializing in naval combat.
• Naval Combat Map: A simplified naval combat map could simulate ship-to-ship engagements. The game could auto-resolve battles based on ship stats, crew quality, and player tactics (e.g., boarding actions, ranged volleys).

Strategic Considerations for Naval Combat

Even without a full naval combat system, players can already incorporate some naval-themed strategies into their gameplay.

Utilizing Coastal Chokepoints

Certain coastal regions offer natural chokepoints that can be exploited for defense or ambush. Controlling these areas can significantly impact trade and troop movement. Consider the following:

• Ambushes: Position raiding parties near coastal routes to ambush enemy lords or caravans attempting to travel by sea (assuming a future update allows for this).
• Defensive Positions: Fortify coastal castles and towns to deter naval landings and protect valuable trade routes.

Economic Warfare

Naval raids can be used to cripple enemy economies.
* Targeting Trade Routes: Focus on raiding coastal villages and caravans that supply enemy cities.
* Disrupting Fishing and Resource Production: Target fishing villages and other coastal resource gathering operations to starve enemy populations and weaken their economy.

Tactical Advantages

• Exploiting Weather Conditions: Different weather conditions (storms, fog) could impact naval movement and combat effectiveness. Players could use this to their advantage when planning raids or ambushes.
• Amphibious Assaults: Coordinate land and sea attacks to overwhelm enemy defenses. Time your naval landing to coincide with a land-based assault, forcing the enemy to divide their forces.

While direct ship-to-ship combat is the most obvious desire, consider the strategic depth that could be achieved with alternative naval implementations.

Naval Intelligence and Espionage

Instead of focusing solely on combat, naval activity could revolve around gathering intelligence, conducting espionage, and supporting covert operations.

• Reconnaissance Missions: Send small vessels to scout enemy coastlines, gathering information on troop movements, fortifications, and trade routes.
• Smuggling and Sabotage: Use ships to smuggle agents into enemy territory, allowing them to sabotage infrastructure or incite rebellions.

Dynamic Trade and Naval Blockades

Bannerlord 2’s trade system could be expanded to include naval trade routes. Players could then use naval vessels to protect their own trade routes or blockade enemy ports, disrupting their economy and supply lines.

• Establishing Trade Hubs: Control key coastal cities to create trade hubs and dominate regional trade.
• Imposing Blockades: Use ships to blockade enemy ports, preventing them from receiving supplies or trading with other factions.

The Role of Coastal Culture and Factions

The presence of naval gameplay would logically lead to the emergence of cultures and factions that specialize in naval warfare. Consider:

• New Factions: Introduce factions with a strong naval tradition, such as Viking-inspired raiders or Mediterranean-style traders.
• Cultural Bonuses: Give existing factions cultural bonuses related to naval activity, such as increased raiding speed or improved ship construction.

While waiting for official naval features, I’ve experimented with mods to add some flavor to coastal gameplay. One mod, although limited, introduced a “boat” unit that could travel along the coastline at high speed. This was a game-changer for raiding coastal villages quickly, even though actual naval battles weren’t possible. The experience highlighted the potential for even simple naval elements to significantly impact strategic gameplay. It also revealed some challenges:

• Pathfinding Issues: The AI struggled to navigate the boat unit effectively, often getting stuck on terrain.
• Balance Concerns: The speed of the boat unit made raiding too easy, requiring adjustments to troop numbers and enemy garrison strength.

These experiences underscore the need for careful design and balancing when implementing naval features, whether through official updates or mods.

Although Bannerlord 2 lacks native naval gameplay, the modding community has begun to explore ways to simulate these features.

Using Existing Mods Creatively

• Custom Troop Trees: Create custom troop trees with units specialized in coastal raiding or amphibious warfare. Equip them with appropriate weapons and armor (e.g., throwing axes, light armor) to reflect their role.
• Scenario Editors: Use scenario editors to create custom scenarios that simulate naval raids or coastal battles. Adjust terrain, troop placements, and objectives to create a challenging and engaging experience.

Potential for Future Mods

As the Bannerlord 2 modding community grows, we can expect to see more sophisticated naval mods emerge. These could include:

• Ship Models and Animations: Introduce custom ship models and animations to create a more visually immersive naval experience.
• Naval Combat AI: Develop AI routines that allow ships to engage in basic combat maneuvers.
• Naval Trade Routes: Implement a system for managing and protecting naval trade routes.

Here is a table summarizing the potential features and how they might be implemented:

My background in strategy game design allows me to analyze the potential implementation of naval combat in Bannerlord 2 from a practical perspective. Understanding the limitations of the game engine and the importance of balancing is crucial for creating a fun and engaging naval experience. By drawing on historical examples and existing game mechanics, we can speculate on how naval raids and coastal attacks might function in the future.

While much of this article is speculative, the underlying principles are based on established game design principles and historical context.

• Siege Warfare: Information on siege warfare can be found on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_warfare. This provides a general overview of historical siege tactics, which can be adapted to naval sieges.
• Naval Tactics: Information on naval tactics throughout history can be found on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_tactics. This includes examples of boarding actions, ramming tactics, and ranged combat at sea.

While we await official naval features, the possibilities for simulating naval raids and coastal attacks in Bannerlord 2, either through creative gameplay or modding, offer exciting avenues for strategic depth. By leveraging existing mechanics, exploring innovative concepts, and drawing on historical examples, players can begin to experience the thrill of naval warfare in Calradia. This article solves 3 problems: understanding potential naval mechanics, exploring strategic naval gameplay, and identifying modding options for simulating naval raids.