Starting your adventure in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord can feel overwhelming. With a vast skill tree and numerous stats, knowing where to invest your early skill points is crucial for establishing a powerful character and thriving in Calradia. This article breaks down the essential skills to prioritize in the early game, offering practical advice and unique insights to help you build a solid foundation for long-term success. We’ll cover combat prowess, economic development, and leadership abilities, ensuring you’re well-equipped to face any challenge. This article solves 3 problems: Early game survival, resource management, and character build optimization.
Weapon Skills: Choosing Your Early Game Specialization
Combat is unavoidable in Bannerlord, making weapon skills a top priority. Instead of spreading your points thin, focus on mastering one or two weapon types early on. This allows you to unlock perks faster and become a formidable force in battle. Consider these options:
* **One-Handed:** A versatile choice, effective on horseback and on foot. It’s great for beginners because it’s balanced and forgiving. * **Two-Handed:** Deals significant damage but requires precise timing. Ideal if you prefer a more aggressive playstyle. * **Polearm:** Excellent for horseback combat and controlling the battlefield. It allows you to maintain distance and strike quickly. * **Bow:** Devastating at range, but requires good aim and positioning. A strong choice if you prefer a more strategic approach.Personally, I always lean towards **One-Handed and Riding early on**. The increased maneuverability on horseback, combined with a reliable sword, allows for safe scouting and engaging smaller bandit parties. This is a great way to build renown and earn some early cash. Plus, having a decent Riding skill helps you escape from overwhelming odds, which is invaluable in the early game.
Athletics: The Underrated Lifesaver
While it might not seem as glamorous as swinging a sword, Athletics is incredibly important for survival. It increases your movement speed on foot, allowing you to outrun enemies, maneuver in combat, and escape from tight situations. **A few early points in Athletics can make a significant difference in your survivability**, especially when you’re starting with low-tier gear and facing tougher opponents.
A little-known benefit is its impact on tournament performance. In the early game, tournaments are a fantastic source of income and equipment. Higher Athletics can give you the edge you need to win, providing a crucial boost to your early economy. It’s also useful when you need to get around towns and cities quickly, saving you valuable time.
Riding: Master of the Saddle
As previously mentioned, Riding is essential. Not only does it enhance your combat effectiveness on horseback, but it also increases your party’s map speed. This allows you to travel faster, catch fleeing enemies, and escape from larger forces. **Investing in Riding early ensures you’re always one step ahead**.
Beyond the battlefield, Riding also affects your ability to find better horses. Higher Riding skill unlocks access to more powerful steeds, which further increases your map speed and combat prowess. This creates a positive feedback loop, allowing you to snowball your advantages.
Steward: Maximizing Your Early Finances
Steward is arguably the most important economic skill in Bannerlord. It directly affects your party size, food consumption, and settlement prosperity. **Prioritizing Steward early allows you to field a larger and more effective force**, while also keeping your expenses under control. This is critical for building a sustainable economy and expanding your influence.
One of the biggest mistakes new players make is neglecting Steward. They focus solely on combat skills, only to find themselves constantly broke and struggling to maintain their troops. By investing in Steward, you can offset the costs of your army, allowing you to focus on more important things like recruiting better troops and upgrading your equipment. Experiment with different governor perks early to find which suit your playstyle best.
Trade: The Path to Riches
While it might not be as immediately impactful as Steward, Trade is crucial for long-term wealth accumulation. It allows you to buy low and sell high, exploiting market fluctuations and generating significant profits. **Investing in Trade early gives you a head start in building your economic empire**.
My personal strategy involves focusing on Trade alongside Steward. I use my early earnings from combat and tournaments to invest in caravans and workshops, which generate passive income. I then use that income to further expand my trading network, creating a self-sustaining cycle of wealth creation.
Medicine: Keeping Your Troops Alive
The Medicine skill reduces the number of troops that die in battle and increases the speed at which they recover from injuries. **In the early game, when every soldier counts, minimizing casualties is paramount.** A few points in Medicine can save you a fortune in recruitment costs and prevent your army from being depleted by attrition.
Furthermore, a higher Medicine skill reduces the risk of your companions dying in battle. Losing a valuable companion early on can be a major setback, so investing in Medicine is a wise precaution.
Leadership: Command and Control
Leadership directly impacts your party size limit, morale, and influence gain. **Investing in Leadership early allows you to command larger armies**, maintain high morale, and exert greater influence in Calradia. This is crucial for building a powerful clan and eventually establishing your own kingdom.
A high Leadership skill also unlocks access to powerful perks that can significantly enhance your army’s effectiveness. These perks can provide bonuses to troop training, recruitment, and even combat performance. Leadership makes your troops better, more loyal, and cheaper to maintain in the long run.
Charm: The Art of Persuasion
Charm is the skill of persuasion. It’s used to negotiate peace treaties, recruit lords to your cause, and resolve disputes peacefully. **While not as immediately impactful as Leadership, Charm is essential for building relationships and expanding your influence through diplomacy.**
I often find that a well-placed Charm skill can save me from costly wars or allow me to secure valuable alliances. It also makes it easier to recruit companions and lords to my party, which can significantly boost my overall power.
Tactics: Winning Battles Before They Begin
The Tactics skill affects your ability to automatically resolve battles and influence the outcome of sieges. **Investing in Tactics early allows you to win battles without directly participating**, which can be invaluable when facing overwhelming odds or when you want to conserve your troops.
A higher Tactics skill also unlocks access to powerful perks that can give you an edge in combat. These perks can provide bonuses to troop formations, flanking maneuvers, and even morale.
From my experience, **the optimal early game build balances combat prowess with economic sustainability**. Don’t neglect skills like Steward and Trade in your rush to become a master swordsman. A strong economy is the foundation of any successful campaign.
Also, don’t be afraid to experiment. Bannerlord is a complex game, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Try different builds, explore different regions, and find what works best for your playstyle. The most important thing is to have fun and learn from your mistakes.
| Skill | Priority | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon Skill (One-Handed, Two-Handed, Polearm, Bow) | High | Essential for combat survivability and early game income. |
| Riding | High | Increases map speed, combat effectiveness on horseback, and access to better horses. |
| Steward | High | Maximizes party size, reduces food consumption, and improves settlement prosperity. |
| Athletics | Medium | Increases movement speed, improving survivability and tournament performance. |
| Trade | Medium | Allows you to generate passive income through caravans and workshops. |
| Leadership | Medium | Increases party size limit and morale. |
| Medicine | Low to Medium | Reduces troop casualties and improves recovery speed. |
| Charm | Low | Helpful for diplomacy and recruiting lords. |
| Tactics | Low | Allows you to automatically resolve battles. |
As a long-time player of the Mount & Blade series, with hundreds of hours spent in Bannerlord, I’ve developed a deep understanding of the game’s mechanics and strategies. This article is based on my personal experiences and observations, as well as information gathered from reputable sources such as the Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord wiki (https://mountandblade.fandom.com/wiki/Mount_%26_Blade_II:_Bannerlord) and community discussions.
What is the most important skill to focus on at the start of Bannerlord 2?
Steward is arguably the most important skill to focus on early in Bannerlord 2. It directly impacts your party size, food consumption, and settlement prosperity. This allows you to field a larger and more effective force, while also keeping your expenses under control.
What weapon skill should I prioritize in Bannerlord 2 early game?
The best weapon skill to prioritize depends on your playstyle, but One-Handed is a versatile choice for beginners due to its balance. Two-Handed offers high damage, Polearms excel on horseback, and Bows are effective at range. Focus on mastering one or two types early on.
How important is Athletics in Bannerlord 2 early game?
Athletics is often underrated but very important for early game survival. It increases your movement speed on foot, allowing you to outrun enemies, maneuver in combat, and escape dangerous situations. It can also improve your performance in tournaments.
Why should I invest in Riding early in Bannerlord 2?
Riding is essential because it enhances your combat effectiveness on horseback, increases your party’s map speed, and unlocks access to better horses. This allows you to travel faster, catch fleeing enemies, and escape from larger forces.