Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord emerged from Early Access with a blend of excitement and, for some, lingering disappointment. While the game has undeniably improved, some aspects haven’t quite reached the lofty heights players envisioned. This article addresses five key areas where Bannerlord 2 fell short of expectations and provides practical solutions and insightful perspectives to enhance your gameplay experience.
One of the most common criticisms revolves around the campaign’s mid-to-late game. Players often find themselves stuck in endless cycles of castle sieges and minor skirmishes, lacking a sense of significant progress or dynamic change in the world. The initial thrill of forging your kingdom can quickly fade into monotonous repetition.
Solution: Embrace Character Roleplay and Set Personal Goals
Instead of solely focusing on map painting and conquering territory, try shifting your perspective to focus on character development and roleplay. Assign specific roles to your companions, create intricate backstories, and make decisions based on their personalities.
- Develop specialized parties: Designate one companion as a skilled raider, another as a cunning merchant, and a third as a charismatic diplomat.
- Establish personal goals: Instead of simply aiming to conquer the entire map, focus on building a powerful trading empire, becoming the wealthiest clan in Calradia, or forging alliances with specific factions.
- Participate in tournaments and quests: Immerse yourself in the world by actively seeking out tournaments and completing quests offered by lords and villagers.
Personal Insight: The Power of Self-Imposed Challenges
My own Bannerlord 2 experience drastically improved when I abandoned the traditional “conquer everything” approach. I decided to play as a noble clan focused on economic dominance and political influence. By prioritizing trade, diplomacy, and strategic marriages, I found the game far more engaging and rewarding. I avoided unnecessary wars and focused on building relationships with powerful lords. This added depth and complexity that the standard “warrior king” playthrough lacked.
While the combat AI has seen improvements, it can still be frustratingly predictable and exploitable. Both battlefield tactics and strategic decision-making by AI lords often feel simplistic, leading to unbalanced wars and repetitive engagements.
Solution: Utilize Difficulty Settings and Mods
Bannerlord 2 offers a range of difficulty settings that can significantly impact the AI’s behavior. Experiment with different combinations to find a balance that provides a challenging but enjoyable experience. Consider these:
- Combat AI difficulty: Increase this setting to make enemy soldiers more aggressive and tactically aware.
- Campaign AI difficulty: Raise this to force AI lords to make smarter decisions regarding troop deployment and war declarations.
- Recruitment difficulty: Makes it harder for the player to find and recruit high tier troops.
Furthermore, explore the vast world of Bannerlord 2 mods. Numerous mods enhance the AI’s tactical decision-making, improve the realism of battles, and add new strategic layers to the campaign.
Personal Insight: The Modding Revolution
The Bannerlord 2 modding community is incredibly active and creative. Mods like “Realistic Battle Mod” and “Diplomacy Fixes” can dramatically overhaul the AI and address many of its shortcomings. I found that these mods made the campaign significantly more challenging and immersive, forcing me to adapt my strategies and think more critically about my decisions.
The economic system in Bannerlord 2 can often feel unbalanced, with some trade routes becoming excessively profitable while others are virtually useless. This can lead to economic stagnation and limit the player’s options for generating wealth.
Solution: Diversify Your Economic Activities
Don’t rely solely on trade. Explore other avenues for generating income, such as:
- Owning workshops: Invest in workshops in strategically located towns to produce valuable goods.
- Looting and ransom: Engage in raiding and capture enemy lords to ransom them for large sums of money.
- Completing quests: Take on quests from lords and villagers to earn rewards and build relationships.
- Investing in fief improvements: Focus on improving the infrastructure of your fiefs to increase tax revenue.
Personal Insight: The Value of Local Production
I discovered that focusing on local production within my fiefs was far more reliable than relying solely on long-distance trade. By investing in workshops and upgrading my towns, I created a self-sustaining economic ecosystem that generated a steady stream of income, regardless of fluctuations in trade routes. This also allowed me to focus on other aspects of the game, such as diplomacy and military campaigns.
The diplomacy system in Bannerlord 2, while present, often feels shallow and lacking in nuance. Alliances are fragile, betrayals are common, and the political landscape rarely evolves in meaningful ways.
Solution: Engage Actively in Clan Politics and Utilize Diplomacy Skills
- Cultivate relationships: Invest time in building relationships with key lords from other clans. Attend feasts, participate in tournaments, and offer assistance during wartime.
- Influence clan decisions: Use your influence to sway clan decisions regarding war declarations, peace treaties, and policy changes.
- Employ skilled companions: Assign companions with high charm and intelligence skills to diplomatic roles.
- Utilize the charm skill: The charm skill is important because it affects dialog options and relationship changes with other nobles.
Personal Insight: The Art of Political Maneuvering
I found that actively participating in clan politics was crucial for maintaining stable alliances and preventing devastating wars. By attending council meetings, influencing votes, and strategically marrying off family members, I was able to exert considerable control over the political landscape. This required patience, cunning, and a deep understanding of the personalities and motivations of the various lords.
While Bannerlord 2 offers a robust skill and attribute system, the character progression can sometimes feel slow and grinding, particularly in the early game. Leveling up skills can be a tedious process, and it can take a long time to develop your character into a truly powerful leader or warrior.
Solution: Focus on Specific Skill Specializations and Utilize Training Opportunities
- Choose a specialization: Instead of trying to master every skill, focus on developing a few key areas that align with your character’s role. A leader should prioritize leadership, charm, and stewardship, while a warrior should focus on combat skills.
- Utilize training fields: Use training fields in towns to quickly level up combat skills.
- Engage in targeted activities: Participate in activities that specifically train the skills you want to improve. For example, engage in caravan ambushes to train scouting and riding, or participate in sieges to train engineering.
Personal Insight: The Power of Focused Training
I initially struggled with character progression because I was trying to be a jack-of-all-trades. Once I focused on specific skills and utilized targeted training methods, I saw a significant improvement in my character’s abilities. For example, I spent hours leading small parties of recruits against bandits to quickly level up my leadership and combat skills. This allowed me to become a formidable leader much faster than I would have otherwise.
| Frustration | Solution | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign stagnation | Embrace character roleplay and set personal goals | Focus on personal narratives rather than just conquering. |
| Weak AI | Utilize difficulty settings and mods | Adjust settings for a challenge and install mods for AI enhancements. |
| Economic imbalances | Diversify your economic activities | Explore workshops, looting, quests, and fief improvements. |
| Shallow diplomacy | Engage actively in clan politics and utilize diplomacy skills | Build relationships, influence decisions, and use skilled companions. |
| Slow character progression | Focus on specific skill specializations and utilize training opportunities | Specialize skills and make full use of the game’s training tools to help your character grow faster than usual. |
Bannerlord 2, despite its imperfections, offers a rich and engaging sandbox experience. By addressing these unmet expectations with practical solutions and a shift in perspective, you can unlock the game’s true potential and create your own epic saga in the world of Calradia. Remember that the key to enjoying Bannerlord 2 lies in embracing the sandbox nature of the game and creating your own fun.