This article delves into the world of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord mods that address travel speed, offering practical solutions and unique insights to enhance your gameplay experience. We’ll explore specific mods, their functionalities, and how they can reshape your strategic approach to the game.
Many players find the default travel speed in Bannerlord II to be too fast, diminishing the sense of scale and strategic decision-making on the world map. A faster pace reduces the importance of logistical planning, making it easier to outrun enemies and reach destinations without careful consideration. Mods that slow down travel can reintroduce a strategic layer to the game. This allows for more meaningful choices regarding party composition, equipment, and route planning.
Here are some highly recommended mods to adjust travel speed and add realism to Bannerlord II:
- Realistic Weather: This mod introduces realistic weather patterns that directly impact travel speed and visibility. Rain, snow, and fog will slow your party down, forcing you to plan your journeys carefully. Realistic Weather can be found on Nexus Mods.
- Bannerlord Tweaks: Offers a range of customizable settings, including the ability to adjust world map speed. This provides a granular level of control, allowing you to fine-tune the game to your preferred pace. It is a very popular option for tweaking a wide range of game settings.
- Improved Garrisons: While not directly related to travel speed, this mod enhances garrison management. This indirectly slows the game down by making sieges and defending territories more challenging and time-consuming, reducing the player’s ability to rapidly expand. Improved Garrisons also can be found on Nexus Mods.
- Calradia Expanded Kingdoms: This mod overhauls the world map and faction relationships. The increased scale of the map naturally leads to longer travel times, even before considering any direct speed adjustments. It is a more immersive overall experience.
These mods will require the Bannerlord Mod Launcher to properly function. You can usually find instructions for how to use it on the mod pages.
Installing mods for Bannerlord II generally involves these steps:
- Download the Mod: Obtain the desired mod from a reputable source like Nexus Mods (https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord).
- Extract the Files: Unzip the downloaded archive, typically using a program like 7-Zip.
- Locate the Modules Folder: Navigate to your Bannerlord II installation directory and find the “Modules” folder. This folder is located in the main game directory, which is often found in your Steam library folder, for example:
. - Place the Mod Folder: Copy the extracted mod folder into the “Modules” folder. Ensure that you are copying the folder that contains the mod’s .dll files and other assets, not just the top-level archive folder.
- Launch the Game with the Mod Launcher: Open the Bannerlord II launcher. Before starting the game, you should see a “Mods” section where you can enable the installed mods. Check the boxes next to the mods you want to activate.
- Load Order (Important): Pay attention to the load order of your mods. Some mods may require to be loaded before or after others to function correctly. Consult the mod’s description page for specific load order instructions. Use the arrows to arrange the load order. Typically, core mods should be loaded before gameplay-altering mods.
- Start the Game: Launch Bannerlord II. The changes introduced by the mods should now be active in your game.
Optimizing Travel Speed Settings
Tweaking the config files directly can be a good way to customize the experience.
Dive into Configuration Files
Several mods, like “Bannerlord Tweaks,” allow you to adjust travel speed directly through their configuration files. This offers fine-grained control over the game’s mechanics. These files are usually or files, located within the mod’s folder in the “Modules” directory. Using a text editor like Notepad++, you can modify variables related to map speed, party movement, and other factors. Always back up the config file before making changes, in case you need to revert to the original settings.
Understanding the Impact of Different Settings
Different factors affect travel speed, including:
- Party Size: Larger parties are generally slower.
- Terrain: Mountains, forests, and swamps significantly reduce speed.
- Weather: Rain, snow, and fog impact movement.
- Party Skills: Scout and Engineer skills can mitigate speed penalties.
- Pack Animals: Carrying capacity affects speed; too many goods will slow you down.
In my experience, the key to enjoying a slower travel pace in Bannerlord II is finding the right balance. I found that drastically reducing the base map speed resulted in tedious and frustrating gameplay, especially in the early game. It is important to gradually adjust the speed to avoid extremes.
Unique Insights
One unexpected benefit of slower travel is that it forces you to engage more with the world. You’re more likely to encounter enemy patrols, bandit hideouts, and other points of interest that you might otherwise miss. This can lead to more emergent gameplay and a richer experience. I also found myself spending more time managing my party’s inventory and equipment, which added a layer of depth to the game that was previously lacking.
The Importance of Scouting
When travel is slower, the Scouting skill becomes incredibly valuable. A high scouting skill allows you to spot enemies from a greater distance, giving you time to prepare for an engagement or avoid a confrontation altogether. This can be a game-changer in the early game when you’re vulnerable and outnumbered.
Slower travel dramatically reshapes the strategic landscape of Bannerlord II.
Logistical Planning
With reduced travel speeds, logistical planning becomes paramount. Players must carefully consider supply lines, garrison management, and the location of their armies. Moving large forces across the map requires careful coordination and timing. This adds a new layer of strategic depth to the game.
Defensive Advantages
Slower travel provides a significant advantage to defenders. Armies can no longer quickly blitz across the map, making it easier to defend territories and react to enemy incursions. This can lead to longer, more drawn-out wars, where attrition and resource management become key factors.
Faction Dynamics
Changes in travel speed can drastically alter faction dynamics. Factions with geographically dispersed territories may struggle to defend their holdings, while those with more concentrated power bases may become more dominant. This can lead to unexpected shifts in the balance of power and create new strategic opportunities for players.
Consider alternatives to direct speed reduction. Perhaps the player could also look at using faster methods of travel, like boats.
Boats are Underutilized
I believe that the boat travel system is underutilized. By improving the system, the player would not feel the need to lower the overall speed.
Factions on the Coast
If you play as a faction near the coast, the boats should be a viable option to move quickly.
Based on my experience, I recommend starting with “Bannerlord Tweaks” to gently reduce the global movement speed, then adding “Realistic Weather” for more natural impediments to travel. These two mods will give you a good base for your own playstyle.
Slowing down travel in Bannerlord II can significantly enhance the strategic depth and realism of the game. By using the mods and techniques outlined in this article, you can tailor your gameplay experience to your preferences and create a more immersive and challenging world. As a content creator with hundreds of hours spent in Calradia, I believe these adjustments can breathe new life into the game.
Here are some frequently asked questions related to travel speed in Bannerlord II and modding:
What is the default map speed in Bannerlord 2?
The default map speed in Bannerlord II is set to allow relatively quick movement across the game world. This is designed to keep the pace of the game flowing, allowing players to engage in battles, manage their territories, and complete quests without excessive delays.
How do I make Bannerlord less grindy?
Slowing down travel is one way to make Bannerlord less grindy. It changes the nature of the grind. However, other things to consider are adjusting renown and influence gains, reducing tournament frequency, and using mods to enhance crafting and resource gathering.
How do you travel faster in Bannerlord?
While this article focuses on slowing down travel, there are ways to move faster in the base game. Increasing your Scouting skill, reducing your party size, using horses, and avoiding encumbrance will all increase your travel speed.
Do mods disable achievements in Bannerlord 2?
Bannerlord II does not automatically disable achievements when mods are enabled. However, some mods may interfere with achievement tracking, or introduce changes that make achievements easier or impossible to obtain. Check the description of any mod you install to see if it affects achievements.