Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, developed and published by TaleWorlds Entertainment, is a strategy/action RPG about building a character, recruiting troops, trading, fighting real-time battles, growing a clan, and eventually joining or challenging Calradia’s kingdoms.
Content warning: Bannerlord is rated Mature 17+ on PlayStation Store and includes medieval violence, blood, online interaction, in-game purchases, alcohol use, and moderate crude language. This guide keeps combat discussion non-graphic.
This guide focuses on base-game campaign fundamentals. It avoids exact workshop returns, caravan profits, troop rankings, kingdom math, mod recommendations, and War Sails naval advice because those details can change by patch and platform.
A note on difficulty: Bannerlord gives you a lot of freedom early, and that freedom can punish bad risks. Treat the first hours as survival, income, recruiting, and clan growth rather than a rush to rule a kingdom.
Essential Tips
1. Recruit Before You Wander
A solo hero is easy prey on the campaign map.
Visit nearby villages and towns, hire a small core of troops, and keep replacing losses. Early numbers make looters, bandits, and simple quests less dangerous, and better relations with local notables can improve your long-term recruiting options.
2. Learn On Small Fights First
Looters and weaker bandits are practice, not the whole game.
Use manageable fights to learn movement, blocking, ranged timing, cavalry control, and basic orders. Do not jump straight into noble parties or large warbands just because your first few fights went well.
3. Turn Battles Into Cash
Loot and prisoners are part of your early economy.
After fights, sell unwanted equipment and ransom captives in towns. Keep enough food and useful gear, but do not carry low-value clutter so long that it slows your next income run.
4. Use Quests For More Than Denars
Settlement quests can pay money, build relations, and support renown or morale.
Quest outcomes vary, so read the objective before accepting. Early on, favor work you can complete without sacrificing your best troops or getting trapped far from safe towns.
5. Build Renown Before Big Politics
Renown is the bridge from roaming captain to political actor.
Battles, tournaments, hideouts, and other successful actions help grow your clan. As clan options open up, you can consider mercenary work, vassalage, more parties, more companions, and later kingdom ambitions.
6. Hire Companions For Jobs, Not Just Damage
Companions are named specialists who can cover gaps in your party.
Use the encyclopedia and taverns to look for wanderers. A companion can support party skills, lead a party once your clan can support it, handle some quests with assigned troops, or become a stronger fighter with better gear.
7. Assign Party Roles Deliberately
Scout, Engineer, Quartermaster, and Surgeon roles shape how the party performs.
If you leave every role on your character, your own skills carry the party. If a companion is better suited to a role, assign them and let their strengths cover your weak spots.
8. Treat Workshops And Caravans As Variable Income
Business income depends on the campaign, town, war state, and patch.
Workshops are bought in towns and managed through the clan screen, while caravans are more exposed to campaign danger. Use them to support wages, but do not assume any workshop type, town, or caravan route is guaranteed profit forever.
9. Spend Influence With A Purpose
Influence matters once you are tied to kingdom warfare.
Influence can support army creation, cohesion, votes, and kingdom actions. Save it for decisions that actually help your campaign instead of spending it on every available vote or army call.
10. Keep Mods And DLC Separate From Your First Plan
Bannerlord has official modding support, but compatibility changes with versions.
Learn the base game first, then add mods or War Sails systems after checking compatibility, load order, save impact, and current patch notes. A broken mod setup can confuse normal campaign learning.
Combat Tips
- Choose the field when you can: Campaign-map position, terrain, and party speed can decide whether a fight is favorable before the battle starts.
- Do not charge every unit at once: Hold fragile troops back, move ranged units into useful positions, and commit melee troops when the enemy is close enough.
- Protect recruits: New troops need survivable fights before they become dependable soldiers.
- Use your character as a force multiplier: Pick off exposed enemies, disrupt ranged units, and avoid getting knocked out early.
- Watch morale and food between fights: A tired, hungry, unpaid party is weaker than its headcount suggests.
- Ransom prisoners before they escape: Captives are only money if you reach a town or tavern district in time.
- Avoid lord parties too early: Noble armies can erase the troops you spent hours training.
- Check exact troop advice before specializing: Unit stats, equipment, and balance can change, so keep early advice broad until you know your current version.
Resource Management
- Denars: Prioritize wages, food, horses, replacement troops, and practical gear before luxury equipment.
- Food: Keep enough supply to finish your route without emergency detours.
- Troops: Upgrade survivors, but keep wages in line with your income.
- Companions: Use them for roles, quests, parties, and skill coverage instead of treating them as ordinary soldiers.
- Renown: Build it through steady wins before expecting larger political options.
- Influence: Save it for army and kingdom decisions that matter.
- Workshops: Buy only when you can afford the investment and still pay your party.
- Prisoners: Sell or recruit deliberately; do not let prisoner speed penalties and escape risk waste your gains.
Hidden Mechanics
| Mechanic | What It Changes | How to Use It |
|---|---|---|
| Clan tier | Party size, companion count, party count, workshop limit, and political options | Build renown before expecting vassal or kingdom-level choices |
| Party roles | Scouting, siege support, party size, and healing | Assign companions when their skills beat yours |
| Notable relations | Recruitment access and local quest value | Complete suitable village and town quests instead of only farming battles |
| Influence | Army creation, cohesion, votes, and kingdom actions | Spend it on specific goals, not every prompt |
| Workshops | Passive business income tied to town context | Treat returns as variable and patch-sensitive |
| Caravans | Trade income exposed to campaign danger | Use only when losing the companion and investment would not cripple you |
| Prisoners | Extra cash or later recruitment options | Ransom early captives before they escape |
| Mod loadout | Save stability, balance, UI, and systems | Check current compatibility before adding or updating mods |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Do not travel alone for long - Small hostile parties can capture you and reset your momentum.
- Do not promote every troop immediately - Wages can outgrow your income before your army can earn them back.
- Do not fight nobles before your party is ready - One bad battle can wipe out your trained soldiers.
- Do not ignore village and town quests - Relations and local access matter over the whole campaign.
- Do not buy a workshop with your last savings - You still need food, wages, and replacement troops.
- Do not leave companion roles unused - Unassigned specialists waste skills your party could be using.
- Do not spend influence casually - Save it for army and kingdom moves that match your plan.
- Do not start kingdom ambitions on hope alone - You need money, troops, allies, and defensible holdings.
Summary
| Category | Top Tip |
|---|---|
| Early Game | Recruit, fight manageable enemies, and sell loot before chasing politics |
| Money | Mix quests, loot, prisoners, tournaments, armies, workshops, and trade carefully |
| Troops | Keep quality, wages, food, and replacement flow in balance |
| Clan Growth | Use renown and companions to unlock larger options steadily |
| Kingdoms | Save influence and delay kingdom plans until your base is stable |
| Patch Scope | Treat economy, troops, kingdoms, platforms, mods, and War Sails details as version-sensitive |
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8 checked for this guideEvery factual claim in this guide was checked against at least two independent sources before publication. These are the references used for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.
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