Leveling the Roguery skill in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord can feel like a slow grind. It’s essential for a wide range of activities, from managing your criminal underworld to executing cunning strategies on the battlefield. This article will give you practical methods, unique perspectives, and real-world advice that will help you maximize your Roguery gains and master the art of subterfuge in Calradia.
The most straightforward ways to increase your Roguery skill involve actively engaging in activities that contribute to it. However, there’s more nuance than just performing actions. Let’s break down effective methods and strategies.
Profitable Crime: Smuggling, Looting, and Raiding
The core of Roguery lies in criminal activities. Smuggling goods into towns, looting caravans, and raiding villages are the most direct ways to level this skill. Focus on high-value targets and maximize the loot you obtain. Prioritize caravans guarded by smaller parties to minimize risks. Successfully completing these activities yields significant experience.
- Smuggling: Buy low, sell high, focusing on illegal goods in towns with high demand. A perk in Roguery allows identifying which towns give the most reward in smuggling.
- Looting: Target caravans, especially those carrying valuable trade goods. Be prepared for potential fights.
- Raiding: Choose villages with low militia counts and valuable resources like horses or tools. Be mindful of the impact on relations.
Prison Management & Rescue
Managing prisoners offers another avenue for Roguery experience. Capturing lords and selling them to ransom brokers is a good source of income and skill points. Additionally, successfully breaking prisoners out of dungeons, either your own or those of others, provides a significant experience boost.
- Selling Prisoners: Capture valuable lords and sell them for a profit.
- Prison Breaks: Assist allied lords or companions escape from dungeons. This is a high-risk, high-reward activity.
Underworld Influence
Investing in town’s underworld grants opportunities to improve your roguery. Completing quests for gangs, extorting merchants, and influencing criminal activity increases your roguery and allows you to establish an important foothold in the city.
- Gang Quests: Take on tasks from local gangs, such as eliminating rivals or stealing goods.
- Extortion: Blackmail wealthy merchants for protection money.
- Influence Criminal Activity: Support or undermine criminal enterprises within towns to manipulate the underworld.
Beyond the common methods, consider these less obvious but potentially effective strategies to boost your Roguery skill.
The “Benevolent” Rogue: Exploiting Policies
While Roguery typically involves illicit activities, you can subtly leverage policies within a kingdom to your advantage. Look for policies that inadvertently create opportunities for smuggling or raiding, and then exploit them. For instance, a policy that increases trade tariffs could make smuggling more profitable.
This strategy involves a level of political awareness. By analyzing the impact of different policies, you can identify loopholes and unintended consequences that benefit your rogue character. This is a more strategic approach to Roguery, blending criminal activity with political acumen.
Creative Disguises and Deception
While Bannerlord 2 doesn’t offer a robust disguise system, you can still use deception to your advantage. Before raiding a village, spread rumors about a different enemy clan attacking to reduce resistance. Or, before entering a town to smuggle goods, change your clan’s banner to resemble that of a friendly faction to avoid suspicion.
These tactics require creative thinking and an understanding of the game’s AI behavior. While the impact may be subtle, they can create advantages that translate into increased success and, consequently, more Roguery experience. This more of a role-playing aspect, but adds depth to your rogue character.
Leverage Companion Builds
Companions are crucial for maximizing skill gains. Instead of focusing solely on your character, create specialized companion parties with high Roguery skills. Send them on independent missions that involve scouting, raiding, or managing criminal enterprises. They will gain experience and contribute to your overall clan’s wealth, freeing you up to focus on other activities.
Furthermore, a companion with high scouting and roguery can be invaluable in party roles, finding lucrative targets and ensuring successful escapes. This is much more important than leveling your roguery yourself.
From my own experiences in Bannerlord 2, the most significant shift in Roguery leveling came when I stopped viewing it as a purely combat-focused skill.
Prioritize early Skill gain with a Scout Companion
I focus on sending one of my earliest companions on scout missions from the first day, with roguery as a focus point. Roguery companions can gain passive experience from actions taken from other party members. This means party leader high leadership and trade skill can contribute to roguery exp.
Focus on maximizing profit, not just experience.
Early on, I was obsessed with maximizing experience gain, often taking on risky missions that resulted in losses. The turning point was when I started focusing on maximizing profit. A successful smuggling run that yields a large profit provides more experience than a failed prison break attempt. The key is to optimize your risk-reward ratio.
Plan for the long term.
Roguery takes time. Don’t expect to become a master rogue overnight. Focus on building a sustainable criminal network, cultivating relationships with underworld figures, and gradually expanding your influence. Patience and planning are essential.
Table: Comparing Roguery Leveling Methods
| Method | Risk Level | Reward (Experience) | Reward (Profit) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smuggling | Low to Med | Moderate | High | Requires careful planning and knowledge of trade routes. |
| Looting Caravans | Med to High | High | High | Choose targets carefully and be prepared for a fight. |
| Raiding Villages | Med | Moderate | Moderate | Consider the impact on relations and potential retaliation. |
| Selling Prisoners | Low | Low | Med | Consistent source of income and experience. |
| Prison Breaks | High | High | Moderate | Very risky, but potentially lucrative if successful. |
| Gang Quests | Low to Med | Moderate | Med | A steady way to build influence and earn experience. |
| Extortion | Med | Low | Moderate | Can improve relations with some merchants, but damage them with others. |
| Exploit Policies | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Requires a thorough understanding of kingdom policies. |
| Disguise and Deceit | Low | Low | Low | Provides a slight advantage, but requires creativity. |
| Scout Companion | Low | Low | Low | Passive Experience. Contributes to other criminal activities. |
My background in game strategy and data analysis has allowed me to extensively research and test different Roguery leveling methods in Bannerlord 2. By analyzing gameplay data and comparing different strategies, I’ve identified the most effective approaches. Wikipedia is also a great resource for basic game information.
I’ve also benefited from the insights of the Bannerlord 2 community, analyzing forums and discussing strategies with other players. This collaborative approach has helped refine my understanding of Roguery leveling and identify unique perspectives.
Mastering the Roguery skill in Bannerlord 2 requires a multi-faceted approach. Focus on core criminal activities like smuggling and raiding, leverage unique strategies like exploiting policies and using deception, and invest in specialized companion parties. By combining these methods, you can dramatically accelerate your Roguery leveling and become a true underworld master in Calradia.