After being announced in 2012, Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord released (albeit in early access) on March 30, 2020. With 200,000 concurrent players, it turned out to be the biggest Steam launch of the year. And rightly so because it combines action RPG elements with strategy sim, making it one of the best medieval-themed games of recent times.
Bannerlord is set 210 years prior to Mount & Blade: Warband and features Calradia, a fictional continent. In the game, you will face a multitude of challenges which make surviving quite difficult. Want to know how to survive and live longer in the game? Don’t worry, the tips shown in this Mount and Blade 2 Survival Guide will help you out.
Survival Guide for Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord
Here are some of the best tips to survive in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord, especially if you are a newcomer in the world of Mount and Blade.
Realistic mode is quite realistic
Yes, you read that right. If you choose the realistic difficulty, chances are that things will be quite tough for you, especially if you are a beginner. The realistic mode will cause damage and impact on you just like it would in real life, so if you don’t want to be disheartened due to constant failure early on, don’t select this setting. Once you play and get the hang of it, you can change your current setting from ‘very easy’ or ‘easy’ to realistic. This will give you a more challenging world but, by then, you will be ready to take on the tough challenge.
Explore new regions
Don’t think twice about exploring and moving to new areas if things have gone wrong in your current area. But do think twice about which area you are relocating to because every region has its own faction, choices of combat styles, weapons, armor, economy strength and more. So make sure to take this into consideration while moving to a new kingdom for a fresh start.
Get gold from tournaments
Just like you need money to survive in real life, you need money to buy weapons, armor and more in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord. Being broke sucks, even in the game. But there’s a great way to earn some gold and that’s by taking part in tournaments and, well, winning them. You can join tournaments wherever possible and get your hands on some gold to earn a quick buck. This will also boost your reputation and enable you to start a clan, so that’s another plus. With this money, you can buy a lot of items that will be very useful to you in the game. If you do decide to enter tournaments on realistic mode, you need to be really good at combat.
Travel with 20 to 25 soldiers
It’s essential to have at least 20 to 25 soldiers around you when you are traveling, for your safety. If someone attacks you and you don’t have enough protection, you will be caught or killed, so be aware of that. Having this amount of soldiers around you will at least ensure that you have time to protect yourself and survive for longer in the game. So, keep recruiting people until you reach a number that is enough to keep you alive initially.
Get your hands on a shield
If you are a newcomer who wants to live longer in the game, a shield will do the trick. That’s because other weapons who deal higher damage also need higher level of expertise of using them. You will get used to such higher level weapons gradually, but if you are starting out, a shield will help you block attacks and survive. The shields aren’t unbreakable though, so keep that in mind during combat.
Have enough food with you
The food available in your inventory is what you and your company will eat. So don’t let anyone go hungry – always have enough food supply. If you manage to feed your army quality food, it will boost their morale and you will get better output from them. It’s important to always keep a tab on how much food is available and how long will they last. If you don’t feed your army well, you might lose their loyalty.
Think before you accept quests
For beginners, it is crucial to understand which quest to accept and which to reject. You have to devise a proper strategy, figure out how to go about it and then start your quest. If you fail to do that and end up accepting every quest from an NPC, you might end up being a total failure in the game. Even small decisions like this can lead to dire consequences, so choose carefully. You don’t want to get into trouble just because someone wanted you to transport something from point A to point B. Choose your battles carefully.
Keep an eye on opponent speeds
This tactic will help you determine if you will survive or not. You need to judge if you are faster or slower than your enemies which in turn will impact your fate in the game. Sometimes, you might just have to escape instead of taking them on head on. These decisions have to be made quickly so you need to master it for the survival of you and your party.
So these were some of the best survival tips for Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord which will help anyone who is starting out in the game and still learning the ropes of it. As you keep playing, you will get better and thrive, not just survive.