The COMPLETE Beginners Guide to Bannerlord

Summary

This video is a beginner's guide to Mountain Blade II: Bannerlord, offering essential tips on character creation, early survival, and money-making strategies. The narrator walks through key aspects like choosing a race that aligns with your kingdom, upgrading your character’s skills, and building a small army. Strategies for earning money include participating in tournaments, completing quests, and looting bandits. The guide also covers companion roles and army composition, providing insights into how to manage and grow your warband, leading to greater success in conquering the land of Calradia.

Takeaways

• 😀 Focus on character creation: Choose a race that matches the culture of the kingdom you want to build. This helps with skills, but feel free to experiment with different builds.
• 😀💡 Don't pour all points into combat: Spend some attribute points on leadership, trade, tactics, and stewardship to improve other vital skills.
• 😀🛡️ Select your focus points wisely: Focus points directly influence skill progression speed, so allocate them based on the type of character you want to develop.
• 😀⚔️ Mastering combat: Practice different builds like sword-and-shield or horse archer to see which fits your playstyle. Don't be afraid to experiment with various weapons.
• 😀🏰 Surviving the world: Start with a small crew of 7-15 men to avoid being overwhelmed by hostile groups, and recruit low-tier troops from villages or taverns.
• 😀💰 Money-making tip: Tournaments are an excellent way to earn money, renown, and prizes while minimizing the risk to your troops. Betting on yourself can increase rewards but is risky.
• 😀🔍 Reputation matters: Completing quests for lords helps build reputation, which is crucial for late-game interactions and alliances.
• 😀👨‍🌾 Looting bandits: Fight hostile groups and loot them for cash and gear. You can sell unwanted items or smelt them for more money.
• 😀💡 Combining methods for efficiency: Use a mix of tournaments, quests, and looting to make money. For example, compete in tournaments, complete a quest, and attack bandits on the way.
• 😀👥 Companions are key: Hire companions for roles like scout, surgeon, quartermaster, and engineer. They provide essential support and can become valuable members of your army.
• 😀⚔️ Army composition: Balance your army with infantry, cavalry, and archers. Infantry hold the line, cavalry provide shock value, and archers support from a distance. A good ratio is 50% infantry, 30% cavalry, and 20% archers.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video described in the script?

The video serves as a beginner’s guide for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, explaining how to create a character, build a party, make money, manage companions, and succeed in battles.

Why is choosing a race during character creation important?

Choosing a race determines your character’s starting culture, which can influence your kingdom’s future culture and grant skill bonuses aligned with that culture’s strengths.

What is the difference between attribute points and focus points in Bannerlord?

Attribute points increase the learning limit and rate for groups of related skills, while focus points boost the learning rate and limit for a specific skill within that group.

What are some recommended early-game strategies to survive in the open world of Calradia?

New players should recruit 7–15 troops from villages or towns, avoid traveling alone, fight small bandit groups for experience, and sell loot to maintain finances.

What are the three primary methods mentioned for earning money early in the game?

The video highlights tournaments, quests for lords or landowners, and looting bandits as the three main ways to earn money at the start of the game.

How do tournaments help players besides offering money?

Tournaments provide renown, valuable prizes, and combat experience without risking death or imprisonment, making them a great way to practice combat and gain early prestige.

What are companions and why are they important?

Companions are recruitable characters with unique skills and backgrounds who can fill essential roles such as surgeon, scout, quartermaster, and engineer, improving the party’s efficiency and survival.

What are the four key companion roles and their benefits?

The roles are Surgeon (increases soldier survival and healing), Scout (improves map visibility and speed), Quartermaster (increases party size limit), and Engineer (enhances siege performance).

How is army composition generally divided in Bannerlord?

Armies are typically composed of infantry (the main line for holding enemies), archers (for ranged attacks), and cavalry (for flanking and high mobility attacks). A balanced ratio suggested is 50% infantry, 20% archers, and 30% cavalry.

What basic battle tactics does the video recommend for controlling units?

The creator suggests using infantry to hold enemy attention while cavalry and archers flank and attack from the sides. Commands like F1–F4 control movement, following, and engagement modes for each unit group.

How do the 'Charge' and 'Engage' commands differ in battles?

‘Charge’ orders troops to attack recklessly and as fast as possible, while ‘Engage’ makes them approach tactically, using their best weapons and maintaining effective range.

What is a practical tip mentioned for setting up infantry formations?

Using the ‘Shield Wall’ formation helps reduce incoming ranged damage and strengthens the defensive line, allowing archers and cavalry to attack more safely from other angles.

How can players expand the number of companions in their party?

Players can increase their clan tier, as each new tier adds an extra companion slot, up to a maximum of eight companions.

What is the recommended way to combine activities for efficient progression?

Players should chain tournaments, quests, and bandit fights together while traveling between towns—earning money, renown, and loot simultaneously for faster progression.

What are the main strengths of each faction mentioned in the video?

Sturgians have strong infantry, Battanians specialize in archers, and Vlandians or Khuzaits possess powerful cavalry units.