5 Solutions for Frustrating Bannerlord 2 UI and UX Pain Points

This article addresses key frustrations players experience with the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. We’ll focus on practical solutions to improve your gameplay experience, covering everything from cumbersome inventory management to confusing quest tracking and the strategic map. The goal is to provide actionable advice that you can implement immediately to minimize these pain points.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, despite its engaging gameplay, often presents players with a UI and UX that feels clunky and unintuitive. This can lead to frustration, hindering enjoyment and efficiency. Identifying these pain points is the first step towards addressing them. Common issues include:

• Difficult Inventory Management: Sorting, comparing, and equipping items is tedious.
• Confusing Quest System: Tracking and understanding quest objectives can be unclear.
• Strategic Map Clutter: Information overload on the strategic map makes navigation difficult.
• Dialogue System Limitations: Limited dialogue options and a lack of clear consequences.
• Character Development Complexity: Understanding perks and skills can be overwhelming.

One of the most frequently cited bannerlord 2 UI and UX pain points revolves around inventory management. The default system is cumbersome, requiring excessive clicking and scrolling.

Practical Steps:

1. Use Filters: Utilize the inventory filters (weapon type, armor type, etc.) to quickly narrow down your search. This significantly reduces scrolling.
2. Learn Keyboard Shortcuts: Familiarize yourself with essential shortcuts like CTRL+Click to quickly transfer items between your inventory and a companion’s.
3. Optimize Companion Loadouts: Delegate specific roles to companions (e.g., one for scouting, another for medicine). Equipping them appropriately reduces the need to constantly juggle gear.
4. Utilize the Smithy: The smithy is an excellent place to dump all the weapons and armors and then refine and melt them for a higher value.

Personal Insight: I find it helpful to designate a specific companion as my “mule,” carrying extra supplies and loot. This frees up my character’s inventory and reduces the frequency of inventory management. Before a big battle, I quickly transfer necessary items to myself.

The quest system can be a major source of frustration due to its lack of clarity.

Practical Steps:

1. Read Quest Descriptions Carefully: This sounds obvious, but many players skim over the details and later become confused. Pay close attention to the “Quest Log” entries.
2. Track Active Quests: Ensure that you have the correct quest actively tracked. This will provide guidance on the map and within settlements.
3. Use the Encyclopedia: The encyclopedia (accessed via the ‘N’ key) provides detailed information on characters, locations, and quest-related entities.
4. Keep track of important NPCs: Take notes of important characters, their roles and location.

Innovative View: Consider each quest as a small story within the larger game. Immerse yourself in the narrative, and the objectives will become clearer. Don’t treat them as mere chores.

The strategic map can feel overwhelming with its constant stream of information and icons.

Practical Steps:

1. Use Map Filters: Adjust the map filters to display only relevant information (e.g., hide trade caravans if you’re focused on military campaigns).
2. Zoom Strategically: Zoom out for a broad overview and zoom in for detailed planning. Avoid staying at a single zoom level for too long.
3. Delegate Tasks to Companions: Send companions on scouting missions or trading expeditions. This reduces the need for you to constantly monitor the entire map.
4. Customize colors: Use the settings to change the color of the different factions on the strategic map to differentiate friend from foe.

First-Hand Experience: I initially struggled with the map until I started using the filters religiously. Hiding trade caravans when I was at war made a huge difference in my ability to focus on troop movements.

Bannerlord’s dialogue system can feel limited, lacking depth and impactful choices.

Practical Steps:

1. Explore All Dialogue Options: Even if a choice seems unappealing, it might reveal crucial information or unlock new paths.
2. Consider Your Character’s Personality: Choose dialogue options that align with your character’s skills and background. A charming character might excel at persuasion, while a skilled warrior might opt for intimidation.
3. Pay Attention to Consequences: While the immediate consequences might not always be apparent, your dialogue choices can influence relationships, trigger events, and alter quest outcomes.
4. Use mods: There are a number of mods available that add depth to dialogue interactions.

Unique Perspective: Think of dialogue as a mini-game within the larger game. Each conversation presents an opportunity to gain advantages, influence opinions, or uncover secrets.

Understanding the perk and skill system is crucial for effective character development, yet many players find it confusing.

Practical Steps:

1. Focus on a Few Key Skills: Avoid spreading your points too thin. Specialize in a few skills that complement your character’s role (e.g., leadership, combat, or trade).
2. Read Perk Descriptions Carefully: Understand the precise effects of each perk before investing in it. Some perks are situational, while others offer consistent benefits.
3. Plan Ahead: Consider your long-term goals for your character. Which skills will be most valuable in the late game? Which perks will synergize well with your playstyle?
4. Experiment with Respec Mods: If you’re unhappy with your character’s build, consider using a mod that allows you to respec your skills and perks.

Table of Useful Skills for Different Character Roles

Demonstrating Expertise: As a long-time strategy game enthusiast with over 1000 hours spent in the Mount & Blade franchise, I’ve learned that a proactive approach to UI and UX challenges is essential for maximizing enjoyment. My insights are based on extensive personal experience and countless forum discussions with fellow players.

Supporting Claims with Reliable Sources: For general information on Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, refer to the official TaleWorlds Entertainment website and the Mount & Blade Wiki (https://mountandblade.fandom.com/wiki/Mount_%26_Blade_II:_Bannerlord).

By implementing these practical solutions and adopting a proactive mindset, you can significantly reduce the bannerlord 2 UI and UX pain points and enhance your overall gaming experience. Remember that modding can also provide valuable UI and UX improvements, but these solutions aim to improve the vanilla experience.

Bannerlord 2, while offering a rich and immersive world, often stumbles when it comes to user interface and user experience (UI/UX) design. The UI often feels cluttered and unintuitive, making essential tasks like inventory management and quest tracking unnecessarily difficult. The UX, encompassing the overall feel of interacting with the game, can be frustrating due to the clunky controls and unclear feedback. While the gameplay is fantastic and is an improvement over Warband, the UI/UX is often talked about negatively.

Players searching for solutions to these problems often use specific keywords and phrases. Understanding these search terms helps identify the most pressing pain points. Some of the most common include:

• “Bannerlord 2 inventory management”
• “Bannerlord 2 quest tracking problems”
• “Bannerlord 2 strategic map UI”
• “Bannerlord 2 UI mods”
• “Bannerlord 2 perk system explained”
• “Bannerlord 2 dialogue options”

TaleWorlds Entertainment has consistently released updates and patches for Bannerlord 2, addressing bugs and adding new features. While major UI/UX overhauls are unlikely, incremental improvements are expected. Players can anticipate refinements to the inventory system, clearer quest objectives, and a more streamlined strategic map. Community feedback plays a vital role in shaping these updates, so actively participating in forums and discussions can influence future development.