Looking to dominate the battlefield in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord?
Discover the essential combat skills that will elevate your character to a formidable warrior.
10. Bow
With a bow, you will be at a great advantage, choosing to master this the bow skill is viable if you are a player that enjoys fighting from afar.
Being able to hit your enemy from a distance is essential in a medieval battlefield. You can take out many foes within a few shots.
If your build is meant to be on the sieges. This is where the bow excels. It will help you when besieging a castle, but it shines when it comes to defending yours. The Bow is meant to be used heavily in sieges.
Bow and Crossbow are the same for me. You should take advantage of positions, if you are not good at it, your bow skills will definitely be useless.
Reasons to choose the Bow skill:
Abuse this skill on sieges. The bow skill will be a lifesaver when you are besieged or vice versa.
Safer way to confront an enemy. From a distance, the enemy shall either run or try to catch up. Both are bad choices for them.
For commanders. If you like your battles to be fought for you, then the bow skill will give you a chance to survive if the enemies get behind your lines.
9. One handed.
Mastery of fighting with one handed weapons either with a shield or without.
One handed is solid. You will not deal as much damage, but you will definitely be safer. You can use a mace, a sword, an axe, or a javelin. Whatever pleases you.
You have a lot of options to fight faster. Shields are recommended. I myself, am a big fan of one handed swords as I love to roleplay as a Spanish count from the 1600s. This skill is meant for people that love to dance around and hit many enemies at once. A berserker build.
I myself would choose swords with one sharp side, like falchions. This skill is a safe bet. You will know that you will be safe. Plus, building distance with it seems easier than with a Two handed weapon.
Reasons to choose the One handed Skill.
A swordmaster. If you are looking to be a good attacker and a good defender, this skill will reward you.
Variety of weapons. Maces, axes, swords, etcetera.
Variety of combat styles. You want to be a sweet musketeer? You can. A berserker? Go ahead!
8. Two handed.
Fight with two handed weapons and crush your enemies with decapitations and abuses of corpses!
Why is this skill good?
Easy! This skill offers a variety of combat styles as well. Really good perks indeed! Not as good as one handed, but the damage and thrust feels natural in me. The skill is suitable for people that like to fight many foes at once and come out alive while being struck several times.
Try to use axes. I myself will have too many kills with an axe, so I try to fight with swords. Also, never let your enemies get too close, otherwise you will suffer the cons of using two handed weapons…
Reasons to choose this skill:
Unbreakable! With a two handed weapon, your enemies will be shaken.
Too much damage! With a few hits, your foes will be on the floor by seconds.
You can break enemy lines. I have seen how players open gaps in the enemy lines.
7) Riding
Riding horses to battle will keep you safe from most infantry units.
I actually like riding, you can be incredibly potent on a horse starting out in your campaign and survive most encounters if you are cautious.
I myself would use a horse only when I am starting a playthrough, I do not use them once my armies get large or I start having more and more influence in the world of Calradia. This is because horses become useless when you have a high riding skill but no other combat skill to complement it.
Please ensure that you either focus on Two handed or One handed when using horses. Going into combat without knowing how to fight on a horse is just a waste of your time.
Reasons to choose Riding:
You are going to be overwhelmed. When you start, most of the people will hunt you down, a good riding skill can keep you alive.
Having a way to save yourself. If you are encircled or trapped or your army is defeated, a horse will take you out of that horrible place.
Variety of horses. Honestly, people just choose the fastest and strongest horse out there, but not me. I have four five horses for each fighting style.
6) Athletics.
Athletics will help your cardio, your movement and your health.
Either you want to swing an axe or use your one handed skills, Athletics is an excellent choice. Its perks are mostly OP.
It definitely earns its place in the 6th place. Athletics will help you forget about the awful movement at the start of the game and when it is maxed out, you will actually enjoy combat (If you of course don’t experience the most annoying bug of the game, the Swings and blunt attacks not being recognized by the game)
I suggest that you focus on Athletics and max it out as soon as possible. At the start of the game and in the late game, Athletics will single handedly bring good omens to your battlefield. Especially on sieges, where you will be able to get out of corners fast enough.
Reasons to choose Athletics:
Swing and hit faster. With athletics, your swings will be faster and they will deal more damage.
Fast movement. Not only your arms will be affected, but walking will not feel like a simulator anymore.
Durable. You will not tire so easily and your stance will not break so fast.
Stunning. Stunning your enemies will be easier and will happen often.
5) Charm
Relate to NPCs more often and succeed at socialising.
Charm is an essential skill in Bannerlord as it brings you the chance to ally with people.
If you are planning on joining a kingdom, becoming a vassal, marrying someone of high status, having friends rescue you during a siege, then charm will be a must have. Otherwise, if your playthrough will be total conquest… It will be useless.
I do recommend, if you are using charm, to have some quarrel with the lords. Take advantage of the drama between kingdoms and choose the kingdom you are going to endorse.
Reasons to choose Charm.
You want to marry someone powerful. Choosing charm can bring you free troops without the need to visit every town in every corner of Calradia.
Become a vassal. You are looking to get and give respect. Charm is the choice.
Running a kingdom. You do not want to be a useless ruler, right?
4) Leadership.
Leading is what makes you enter the big leagues in Bannerlord. Getting to the end game with this skill will make life easier.
Leadership is a needed skill. Its perks are great, in fact overpowered. But leadership lacks morale, as this part of the game isn’t that important at all. With this, your army will love fighting and dread going back home.
The leadership skill allows you to have stronger and larger armies. Having better quality troops is also a good perk of this skill. Whenever you are ready to create the largest army of the game, you should expect to require a lot of perks of this Skill.
Reasons to choose Leadership:
Better quality troops. They will be easier to find and recruit.
Passively level up troops. With this skill, you will be able to train your troops, necessary for early gameplays.
Well trained captains. Your companions will become excellent General if you choose to give them their own armies.
3) Steward.
Stewards is a skill that will make you understand the different aspects of ruling a Kingdom.
When you have your first castle or town, you will need to make sure this skill is levelled up. The output and the management of your towns will be improved with this skill.
Overall, this perk is needed for every playthrough, especially when you want to conquer the whole world. The skill allows you to manage regions and have more help when at war.
Reasons to choose Steward.
Increased taxes (more revenue). With this skill, money will come easy once you are maxed out.
Less food consumption. With the steward skill, your troops will not feel like you are leading a pack of Hyenas.
Farming simulator. No more woes from the lack of food.
2) Medicine.
Medicine in Bannerlord will heal your armies and companions.
Level this skill the moment you can start doing it. This will save you time and energy in waiting for the healing to complete. This feat is great for combat because it will heal your armies at a rate that will make you get back to battle.
Medicine is the most important skill for me. I am one that enjoys fighting anytime I can. I never send my troops. My advice is to focus on this skill early.
Reasons to choose Medicine.
Less spending on recruitment. You will not lose as many troops.
More health. Your health will not deplete as fast.
Companions healing faster. Your companions will be ready to go back to battle in two to three days.
1) Smithing.
A character's Smithing skill influences their stamina, increases the chance to forge weapons with positive modifiers and decreases the chance for negative ones.
In my opinion, Smithing is hands down the most important combat skill, not only for you but for your companions. With smithing, your weapons will be stronger, faster and will deal more damage.
The smithing skill will give you money if you focus on selling your forged items. For combat, the weapons you choose will be OP.
Reasons to choose Smithing:
Profitable. Selling your crafted weapons will be enough to get you to the golden road of riches.
High damage. With your crafted weapons, damage and thrust will be better than a random weapon sold at a market.
Endless possibilities. You will be able to make different weapons with different parts.
