Well, looks like I was living under a rock, had no idea we are even close to release, and now its OUT? Oh dear, yupeee!
Mount&Blade II: Bannerlord
- Thread starter Caramel Clown
- Start date
So far biggest complaint (apart from some bugs/crashes/et cetera, hard to know if this is a serious issue or just the expected) seems the removal of auto-blocking, making combat pretty non-casual for now.
disgusted noise
This took me a bit by surprise I must admit, though with a shield it doesn’t seem to matter too much as long as you’ve got it towards the person attacking you.
Even just doing the novice opponent in the tutorial section I was thinking combat has been given a whack with the difficulty stick. Be interested to see if more options come in during the early access period to bring it more in-line with Warband.
You have a 1 out of 4 chance to block. That was my take on it. In Napo MP it was 1 out of 2 against other line infantry with the overhead being potentially OHK - that's what was a good call to block. Unless they got in your back and did the spin to win.
Or stand in a line. Between objects.
Best way to find out if it's your thing is to pick up a M&B Warband copy on sale. It's currently 75% off on Humble Store according to isthereanydeal. Bannerlord will essentially be the same game just more of it and more up to date. Note that owning Warband means 10% off on Bannerlord, so that fiver you'd spent testing would essentially be free.
So far, things that are good are really good. And things that are bad need very urgent fixing or further development. As a M&B fan for over a decade I'm happy that I finally get a chance to play it, and I love it. But it's a tough love. There's still lots of work required.
I love the updated combat, directional blocking is great, horse riding feels ten times better now. AI during combat is vastly improved. Especially cavalry, that doesn't just get stuck inside infantry ranks like idiots and die doing nothing. Ranged units are perhaps too good right now, having sniper accuracy and very good damage. Both of those improvements combined make horse archers very dangerous. Money is too easy to come by. Raiding villages makes no sense. Crafting system should've not been in early access apparently, but it's there. And it is utterly pointless as of now. Global map AI is poor. Just like it was in warband, but with it's own quirks. There are still many missing features. Kingdom management, relationships and politics are too basic for what they should be. You still can't make your own faction it seems like.
I could go on about many great and not so great things about it. If you're M&B fan - you will still love it, if not - maybe hold on for now. Let it mature. Once most glaring issues get ironed out it will be one hell of a game. Not to mention the mod support.
I love the updated combat, directional blocking is great, horse riding feels ten times better now. AI during combat is vastly improved. Especially cavalry, that doesn't just get stuck inside infantry ranks like idiots and die doing nothing. Ranged units are perhaps too good right now, having sniper accuracy and very good damage. Both of those improvements combined make horse archers very dangerous. Money is too easy to come by. Raiding villages makes no sense. Crafting system should've not been in early access apparently, but it's there. And it is utterly pointless as of now. Global map AI is poor. Just like it was in warband, but with it's own quirks. There are still many missing features. Kingdom management, relationships and politics are too basic for what they should be. You still can't make your own faction it seems like.
I could go on about many great and not so great things about it. If you're M&B fan - you will still love it, if not - maybe hold on for now. Let it mature. Once most glaring issues get ironed out it will be one hell of a game. Not to mention the mod support.
Last edited:
What do you mean you can't make your own faction? Unless I misunderstand you you could could create your own kingdom in warband, no?
Warband yes. I heard it's possible in Bannerlord, too.
Yes. In Warband you could create your own faction. Currently that functionality is missing from Bannerlord. It is obviously coming, but it's not here. You can be a vassal, but you can't be a ruler.
I see. 
I think I'll hold on for now. It seems to be very much in alpha, but I am sure it'll work out great over the coming year!
I think I'll hold on for now. It seems to be very much in alpha, but I am sure it'll work out great over the coming year!I would definitely recommend to wait a little bit if you are not sure. I could sing praise to it being a very old fanboy of the series, but it would be unfair. There is still lots of work to be done on this game, and I'm sure they'll do it.
This launch was a stupendous success, studio has lots of funds now. Game peaked at 170,000 players on it's first day. And that's just on Steam. Hopefully it translates into good effort in the future on the side of the developers.
This launch was a stupendous success, studio has lots of funds now. Game peaked at 170,000 players on it's first day. And that's just on Steam. Hopefully it translates into good effort in the future on the side of the developers.
Aye, I’m putting this back on the shelf for a few months - I’ve been happy with what I’ve seen so far but want to enjoy a more finished version.
The devs have a good history of supporting the earlier games and coupled with the big sales numbers I’m sure Bannerlord has a healthy future in front of it.
And then the modders will cometh
I like what I see so far. It's obviously Early Access, and has a way to go, but seems to be going in a good direction.
I wouldn't recommend buying it for someone who's entirely new to M&B just yet, though. Grab Warband when it's on sale, and if you like it, you'll like this one later too: if you won't, then you won't like Bannerlord either.
Until it's finished, there's plenty to do with Warband too - especially with all the mods made for it.
One thing confuses me though. Most NPCs I meet seem to default to a slightly odd expression, one that's half-grimacing. Is that a bug, or are they actually meant to look that way?
I wouldn't recommend buying it for someone who's entirely new to M&B just yet, though. Grab Warband when it's on sale, and if you like it, you'll like this one later too: if you won't, then you won't like Bannerlord either.
Until it's finished, there's plenty to do with Warband too - especially with all the mods made for it.
One thing confuses me though. Most NPCs I meet seem to default to a slightly odd expression, one that's half-grimacing. Is that a bug, or are they actually meant to look that way?
Yeah, the moment I saw its early access I hold my purchase. Call me negative nancy but its gonna stay in early access fore a year or so at least, such a standards now a day for game development.
I'm loving it, warband was pretty much my favourite game and this is more of the same but updated.
It's rough around the edges though, and combat is defintely harder, I'm getting used to it now though.
I could say wait for full release, but there was no way I was going to wait.
Incidentally, did the first game actually invent the current early access model? way back in 2004. I actually bought it in 2006.
I can't remember anything doing it before them.
It's rough around the edges though, and combat is defintely harder, I'm getting used to it now though.
I could say wait for full release, but there was no way I was going to wait.
Incidentally, did the first game actually invent the current early access model? way back in 2004. I actually bought it in 2006.
I can't remember anything doing it before them.