This article cuts through the noise and delivers practical methods to acquire swift and agile steeds in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord 2. We’ll explore specific horse breeds, trading strategies, and even delve into factors often overlooked, ensuring you ride into battle on the best possible mount. This article focuses on practical advice, and personal experience to equip you with knowledge that directly improves your Bannerlord experience.
Understanding which stats are most crucial for both speed and maneuverability is paramount. It’s not just about top speed; agility in combat is equally vital. Look beyond the obvious stats displayed in the trading screen.
- Speed: Dictates how fast the horse moves across the battlefield. A higher speed allows for quicker charges, faster retreats, and easier flanking maneuvers.
- Maneuver: Represents the horse’s turning radius and overall agility. High maneuverability is crucial for dodging attacks, navigating crowded battlefields, and executing tight turns during mounted combat.
- Charge Damage: Impacts the damage dealt when initiating a charge. While not directly related to speed or maneuverability, a good charge damage stat complements these attributes for devastating cavalry tactics.
- Health: Determines how much damage a horse can sustain before becoming lamed or killed. A sturdy horse is essential for prolonged engagements.
It’s important to consider that certain horses will have higher agility than others based on breed alone.
Knowing which breeds to prioritize is half the battle. Here’s a breakdown of some top contenders, combining in-game data with practical experience:
- Aserai Horse: Renowned for their exceptional speed and decent maneuverability, Aserai horses are a solid choice for hit-and-run tactics. They are readily available in the Aserai desert regions.
- Sturgian War Horse: While not as inherently fast as the Aserai horse, the Sturgian War Horse offers a good balance of speed, maneuverability, and health. This makes them suitable for sustained combat roles.
- Battanian Charger: Battanian Chargers, bred in the forests of Battania, are known for their high maneuverability and decent speed. They excel in wooded terrain and are perfect for flanking maneuvers.
- Thoroughbred: Often overlooked, the Thoroughbred, a more expensive breed, can provide a noticeable boost in both speed and maneuverability compared to common horses.
When judging horses by their breeds prioritize horses from the Aserai and Battanian regions if your tactics rely on speed and agility
Knowing the right locations to scout is critical for saving time and maximizing your chances of finding superior mounts.
- Aserai Territories: Focus on towns and villages within the Aserai Sultanate. Consistently check their markets for Aserai Horses and their variants.
- Battanian Lands: Explore the settlements nestled within the Battanian forests. Keep an eye out for Battanian Chargers, often traded by local villagers.
- Imperial Cities: Larger Imperial cities sometimes offer a wider variety of horses, including rarer breeds like Thoroughbreds. However, prices tend to be higher.
- Horse Traders: Periodically, horse traders will appear in towns and villages. These merchants often stock specialized horses, making them a valuable resource for finding specific breeds.
When exploring markets, remember to refresh the inventory by waiting in the town for a day or two. This allows new horses to be traded into the settlement.
The Auction House, added in a later Bannerlord 2 update, is a potential goldmine for acquiring high-quality horses. However, success here requires a strategic approach.
- Regularly Check Listings: The Auction House inventory changes frequently, so consistent monitoring is crucial.
- Learn Market Prices: Before bidding, research the average price of desired horse breeds in regular markets. This prevents overspending on Auction House purchases.
- Sniping Auctions: In the final moments of an auction, place a last-second bid to potentially secure a horse at a bargain price. Be aware that other players may employ the same tactic.
Winning an Auction depends on knowing when to strike, so stay informed and strike decisively.
While you can’t directly upgrade a horse’s stats, your character’s riding skill significantly impacts their performance.
- Increase Riding Skill: Invest attribute points into Cunning and focus on raising your Riding skill. A higher Riding skill improves horse speed, maneuverability, and control.
- Perks Matter: Select Riding perks that further enhance horse speed, maneuverability, and combat abilities.
- Practice Makes Perfect: Engage in mounted combat regularly to level up your Riding skill passively.
A skilled rider can make even a mediocre horse perform exceptionally well, so don’t neglect your character’s riding abilities.
Bannerlord 2 doesn’t always reveal a horse’s full potential. Look beyond the base stats when evaluating a potential purchase. Certain traits, visible only after acquiring the horse, can significantly impact its performance. Things like courage and temperament are key to a horse’s overall value.
One way to identify is to buy a large number of horses and have your party ride them for a while. They will get experience, and you will be able to tell which ones are better than others. This is only applicable if you are looking for a mount for your troops as well as yourself.
Aserai Horses, Sturgian War Horses, and Thoroughbreds don’t come cheap. Efficient money-making strategies are essential for affording these superior steeds.
- Trade Runs: Establish lucrative trade routes between towns, buying low and selling high. Focus on goods with high-profit margins.
- Workshops: Invest in workshops in thriving towns to generate a steady income stream.
- Tournaments: Participate in tournaments to win valuable prizes, including horses and weapons that can be sold for profit.
- Looting: Engage in battles and loot defeated enemies for valuable items to sell.
- Smithing: Level up your Smithing skill and craft valuable weapons to sell to town merchants.
A well-diversified economy ensures a steady flow of denars, allowing you to consistently upgrade your horse collection.
While not immediately impactful, breeding horses can create a sustainable supply of high-quality mounts for your clan.
- Acquire Breeding Stock: Purchase mares and stallions with desirable traits from various regions.
- Improve Infrastructure: Build or capture settlements with high prosperity and good infrastructure to support horse breeding.
- Patience is Key: Horse breeding takes time. It may take several in-game years to develop a consistent supply of quality mounts.
Breeding might not be a quick fix, but it provides a long-term solution for ensuring a steady supply of fast and agile horses.
Finding horses with good speed and maneuverability in Bannerlord 2 is a multi-faceted process. It involves understanding key stats, knowing the right breeds and locations, mastering trading and auction strategies, and developing your character’s riding skill. By implementing these methods, you can assemble a stable of exceptional horses, giving you a significant advantage on the battlefield. This article solves 3 problems:
1. How to find horses with good speed and maneuverability
2. What horse breeds should you focus on?
3. How to make money to buy high-quality horses.
FAQ