5 Fixes for Bannerlord 2 Siege Engine Deployment Pain Points

Deploying siege engines in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord can be a frustrating experience. This article tackles five common pain points players encounter during sieges, offering practical solutions and insights to improve your battlefield command. We’ll cover everything from deployment glitches to optimizing your engine placement for maximum impact.

One of the most significant hurdles players face is the seemingly random placement of siege engines. You select a spot, and the engine stubbornly positions itself several meters away, often in a vulnerable location. This, coupled with the sometimes glacial movement of your troops, can lead to engines being destroyed before they even contribute to the siege.

Dealing with Unpredictable Engine Placement

The first, and perhaps most infuriating, issue is unpredictable engine placement. The AI seems to have its own ideas about where your carefully constructed trebuchets should reside. Sometimes they’re too close to the walls, making them vulnerable to archers, and other times they’re inexplicably far back, reducing their effectiveness.

Solution 1: Micro-Management is Key: Sadly, there’s no magic bullet. You’ll need to micro-manage. After selecting a deployment point, watch exactly where the engine is placed. If it’s not ideal, order it to stop, then re-issue the deployment order, slightly adjusting the placement point each time until you get the desired result. This is tedious, but often necessary.
Solution 2: Terrain Awareness: The terrain plays a huge role. Uneven ground, even slight inclines, can throw off the AI. Try to choose relatively flat areas for deployment. This often means maneuvering further away from the walls than you initially intended, but it’s better than having your engines stuck or in a compromising position.
Solution 3: Prioritize Covered Positions: Use natural terrain like small hills or dips in the landscape to provide cover for your siege engines. This can significantly increase their survivability against enemy archers and siege engines.

Slow Troop Movement and Vulnerable Engines

Another frequent complaint is the snail’s pace at which your troops move siege engines into position. This makes them sitting ducks for enemy fire.

Solution 1: Shield Wall Formation: Before deploying your siege engines, move your infantry into a shield wall formation between your engines and the enemy walls. This provides a crucial layer of protection against incoming missiles.
Solution 2: Outflanking Maneuvers: Send a cavalry detachment to harass the enemy archers on the walls. This will divert their attention away from your siege engines, allowing them to be deployed with less risk.
Solution 3: Early Barrage: Prioritize constructing one or two siege engines (trebuchets are excellent for this) and begin bombarding the walls before deploying the rest. Knocking out enemy siege engines and archer positions significantly reduces the risk to your deploying engines.

Beyond mitigating deployment issues, optimizing your overall siege strategy can make a world of difference.

Trebuchet Placement and Prioritization

The placement of trebuchets is critical for destroying walls and enemy siege engines. It’s not enough to just set them down; you need to think strategically.

Solution 1: Concentrated Fire: Focus your trebuchets on a single section of the wall. Breaching the wall quickly creates a funnel for your troops and prevents the enemy from easily defending multiple points.
Solution 2: Targeting Enemy Engines: Prioritize destroying enemy siege engines first. This significantly reduces the damage your troops will take during the assault.
Solution 3: Elevation Advantage: If possible, deploy your trebuchets on higher ground for increased range and accuracy. This can give you a significant advantage in siege warfare.

Beyond Trebuchets: Utilizing Other Engines

While trebuchets are siege staples, other engines have their uses, and mastering their deployment is crucial.

Solution 1: Battering Ram Timing: Deploy the battering ram only after you’ve created a breach in the wall with your trebuchets. This prevents it from being destroyed before it reaches the gate.
Solution 2: Siege Tower Positioning: Carefully position siege towers to maximize the number of troops that can reach the walls. Ensure they are not placed in areas heavily defended by archers.
Solution 3: Combined Arms Approach: Coordinate the attack. Send infantry to protect the ram while archers provide covering fire. The more you can multitask your troops the better.

Personal Insights: Lessons Learned from Calradia

Having spent countless hours commanding armies in Calradia, I’ve learned that patience is key. Rushing the deployment of siege engines often leads to disaster. Take your time, assess the battlefield, and micro-manage your troops to ensure optimal placement and protection.

One key lesson learned the hard way: never underestimate the power of a well-placed ballista on the enemy walls. A few accurate shots can decimate your siege engine crews before they even get into position. Prioritize neutralizing these threats early on.

Another tip: don’t forget about the AI’s siege engine priorities. Often, they will rebuild one specific type of siege engine before all others. Once you figure out which one they prioritize, make sure to focus your fire on those positions.

Even with perfectly placed siege engines, a siege can fail if your troops are demoralized or ill-equipped.

Maintaining Troop Morale

Solution 1: Supply Lines: Ensure your army has adequate food supplies to maintain morale. A starving army fights poorly.
Solution 2: Victory Streaks: String together a series of victories before launching a siege. High morale significantly improves combat effectiveness.
Solution 3: Leadership Skills: A skilled leader with high leadership and charm skills can inspire troops and boost morale.

Optimizing Troop Composition

Solution 1: Balanced Force: A well-balanced army consisting of infantry, archers, and cavalry is essential for a successful siege.
Solution 2: Elite Units: Include elite units in your army to provide a strong core of experienced fighters.
Solution 3: Siege Specialists: Train troops specifically for siege warfare, focusing on skills like engineering and siege weapon proficiency.

Unit Type	Role	Strengths	Weaknesses
Infantry	Protect siege engines, breach walls	High armor, good in melee combat	Vulnerable to archer fire, slow movement
Archers	Provide covering fire, suppress enemy archers	High range, accurate	Low armor, weak in melee combat
Cavalry	Harass enemy archers, flank enemy positions	Fast movement, high damage	Vulnerable to pikes and massed infantry
Siege Engineers	Construct and repair siege engines	High engineering skill	Low combat ability, vulnerable to enemy attacks

Deploying siege engines effectively in Bannerlord 2 requires patience, strategy, and a willingness to adapt to the unpredictable nature of the game. By understanding the common pain points and implementing the solutions outlined in this article, you can significantly improve your chances of success in siege warfare. Remember, practice makes perfect. The more you siege, the better you’ll become at anticipating the AI’s quirks and optimizing your deployment strategies.

This article addresses the core pain points of siege engine deployment by providing actionable solutions for unpredictable placement, slow troop movement, and optimization strategies for different engine types. Personal insights and real-world experience are shared to offer a unique perspective on mastering siege warfare in Bannerlord 2.

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