Thanks so much for watching the video! I have a ton of guides linked in the playlist below as well as some choice videos if you're looking for a build for your first character! ⚔ Guides Playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLDLBnN-W_m2llVMhpmV8ngVQ2VOoi_mdQ.html 🏹 Beginner's Build: ua-cam.com/video/gEymMMRwFsI/v-deo.html ⚔ Vlandian Knight: ua-cam.com/video/TL6tkbRSPs8/v-deo.html
Small tip: Noble units are recruited from villages that are attached to castles. Those villages can have normal units too, but generally it is village attached to castle: noble line. Village attached to town and the town itself: normal line.
@@Grauer1510 I looked it up after I was in a voicecall with a friend a couple of months ago. I was like: "what the heck is the point of castles except for costing money." The answer is Noble troops xD
@Kanata also maintaining control of the castles literally gives you control of the villages. Comes in nice when the enemy can't recruit from them without raiding
Another tip: Join factions that are in a war with the faction you eventually want to join. Like he mentioned releasing nobles gives you major favor for the various families, it helps immensely if you spend the early game being a merc against your preferred faction. Doing so will essentially give you free towns and cities from the nobility because they will all like you so much once you eventually want to permanently join up. Plus, if you have high charm, releasing nobles gives absurd XP towards charm
to be fair, just having high charm for huge influence gain in end game, allows you to use your influence to get their clan to support you as well. This way in every election they are very likely to support you for the towns and castles.
Sturgia for RP, it feels amazing to be a part of 400 man shield wall. With headphones. Really trying to land a hit when surrounded by troops. Vlandia if you are into the knight stuff. Empire if you want flexible army. Khuzait if you want to win every single battle, just F1 and F2 to make 300 horse archers follow you, put best armour on horse and ride circles around enemy. Battania for RP guy as well, you will simply feel like you are celtic warrior.
Khans gaurds are absolutely ridiculous. I routinely massacre armies of 500-600 with a party of 200 khans gaurds. I rarely get double digit causalities aswell. Easy mode
@@eldeebcampeador Dope axe wielding Mamluke Palace Guards. I guess maybe early Muslims? The Empire is based seemingly off of the Byzantines, so it seems right to me.
@@furimindusties5736 Well early Muslims did fight with axes as well. I don't know it was like 2 handed axes but there are evidences that early Muslims have used axes in their battle gear.
Battania because I love the aesthetics, I love the lake in the middle and the mountains giving it a certain sense of place. Our faction has been left alone, even taking a city and a castle. For over a year, we are at peace whilst the rest of the world is plunged in wars. Our towns are prosperous, hearthland is safe and the clans are slowly growing in influence and size. Haven't spotted a hideout in over two years anywhere in Battania.
This is all well and good, but I have been brutally carving a glorious story of conquest in the southern empire and have become an established nobleman to rival the Empress herself in roughly 6 years, fighting in many wars and killing many rebellions in Aserai and Khuzait lands recently acquired. Selectively appointing the right people to heal and grow the land plunged into such disarray. True sons of Calradia only let their sword arms rest when all the enemy lie dead. You must take up the axe, or be branded a coward and a fool!
In terms of terrain, Aserai definitely have it best, those two chokepoints on either side of their empire do a great job of narrowing down their defensive battles and makes it easy for them to focus their armies. If you start an independent kingdom it's a really good location to start taking over first as you're far away from other kingdoms and less likely to be piled on by multiple kingdoms at once.
Their Veteran Infantry is surprisingly strong too.Javelins did most of the work and they just clean up the rest.If only the Mameluke Palace Guard had faster axes......
I love the Empire's troop roster the best just for how well rounded it is. Other factions do specific things better but focus on those things almost to the exclusion of everything else, but the Empire can do basically everything well enough, whilst being armoured to the gills. Do you like really good heavy cav? Got them. Horse archers? Got those too. Do you prefer bows or crossbows? Got both! Decent sword and board infantry, decent polearm infantry. You could say it's a case of jack of all trades and master of none, and that's true, but I think it makes them incredibly flexible.
And that's why they got clapped so hard.Sturgians will definitely crash into their lines with heroic line breakers and heavy axemens that certainly shreds everything.Battanian archers and Vlandian crossbowmans could unleash unrelenting volleys and break legionaries if given enough time.Vlandian Knights and Sturgian Druzhinniks,oh boy,I don't even want to talk about how damned infantries are going to get clapped by couched lances.And sure enough,Mameluke Palace Guards do just as fine,with Vanguard Faris and Horse Raiders peppering javelins.Khan's Guards?Get absolutely outclassed,Bucellaris.
@@vietnguyenhoang5795 Well yeah, when each faction plays to their strengths they can be world beaters, but my point is that the Empire, whilst it can't really go toe to toe with the others in a straight fight in their preferred specialisation (Empire infantry getting shredded by Sturgian lunatics, Archers getting out-shot by Battanian Fians), you shouldn't TRY to fight how they want you to, and it has all the tools to fight those enemies in ways that don't play to their strengths. Instead of taking out an infantry army and sending them into suicidal fisticuffs with the northmen, cycle-charge the Sturgians with cataphracts and run rings around them with horse archers and watch the finest melee infantry in the game die by a thousand cuts, unable to do much about it. Likewise, don't take a pure horse archer army out and expect to steamroll the Khuzaits. All the kingdoms in this game have great troop lines and they can all be used to beat everyone else if used right, but the others all specialise far more in a certain play style. I'm not saying the Empire's the best (And if that's what it sounded like I was saying, I do apologise), just that they're my favourite because they can do everything decently. Like Sparty said in this video, it's not about the best kingdom to join (Because there isn't one - the best, most unstoppable army is one built of the best units from every kingdom), it's about finding the one that you enjoy the most :D
@@vietnguyenhoang5795 So basically you need the best units of the other kingdoms, nice logic overall no factions is stronger than the others most shine in one area, the empire is equally spread on all sides, it's that simple no need to talk about how this unit is better than that unit and this beats that and that beat's that, it's just dumb.
I think one of the most important thngs about the Aseri troop tree is that the aseri footman and aseri infanty use blunt weapons so they are perfect for taking into hideouts to get prisoners for the manual labourer quests
@@jason200912 that changes 180 degrees when you download Realistic Battle Mod. Maces and blunt weapons become vital to dealing damage to any armored units, ontop of the mod just making damage and combat more realistic in general like the name suggests. Aserai infantry troops become top of A tier bottom of S tier because of their Maces. The only thing holding them back is the athletics and one handed skill (plus or minus shield effectiveness), which makes their Noble line, the Faris incredibly dangerous. I've seen a group of 12 Veteran Faris in RBM not take a single loss in a 150+ vs 150+ battle while getting over 15 kills between the lot of them, on horseback, skirmishing, dismounting, joining the frontline. Ontop of the mentioned Jareed javelins that decimate anyone anywhere at any time, with or without the RBM
In my playthrough. Battania got whopped pretty badly. Being attacked by sturgians in the north and the vlandians in the west at the same time. Then after they negotiate a treaty after losing a third of their territory. The western empire declared war and took marunath. So they left with two towns and no castles......
It’s hard for the player to hold a siege all at once in Battania, but they have a tendency to get rolled by other npc factions early game because they’re small, and their greatest weaknesses are a lot of the other factions greatest strengths. Their greatest strengths are Fians, and their falx. One of which is nowhere near as good as they used to be, and the other is only really good until they get hit by a charge of heavy cav from any direction but directly in front of them.
@@TheBronf in my game they are whooping the shizz out of everyone, they have taken towns and castles from almost everyone, the only faction that has not got to war was the kuzits
Since im mainly trading, hunting bandits and creating workshops and caravans, Battania was the best in my last few playthroughs. I could make great workshops there and sell some of the wares with caravans to cities, keeping the prices in battania stable. I also like being a mercenary from time to time. Influence floating into money is a great new addition since a few patches and I enjoy it a lot.
@@vietnguyenhoang5795 its a good thing Battania has the easiest access to strong archers available.....there are loads of villages stocked together that can recruit noble units.
If you capture nobles instead of releasing them, you can donate them to cities as prisoners. This way you can farm huge amounts of charm+relation with specific lords. So it always depends what you want to achieve.
I almost always find myself going Battanian because I admire the fact they're the only non-Empire central faction. They seem the most "underdog" out of all of them and I always join their cause. Also Seonon uses my initials so its like my name is already on it lol
Battania forever in my opinion, I’m in love with their aesthetic and I’m currently running a Battanian mercenary route, including writing a story about Culharn The Foe-Seeker, travelling with his mercenary band of Fianns, travelling the world before finally returning to Battania to become a vassal to King Caladog.
A short note on the Sturgian Veteran Bowman that most people do not think about it, their bows are weaker yes... but they are one of the faster bows to shoot and those bows are also one of the most accurate bows, and don't forget they have 2 quivers of arrows. This adds up to them being very deadly once the enemies are getting closer to your infantry, killing of enemies very rapidly even when they are in shorter numbers. They also carry an axe which is quite good against both armor and enemy shields. I gladly hear others opinions on the subject incase I missed something.
Although it saddens me that powerful Slavic bows were sacrificed for balance (because if the Sturgs had good bows like the IRL, it would be an OP faction) - but the current archers suit me quite well. (although they could have given them better arrows, as for me - at least tier 2) And I agree with your arguments, I’ll just add that they are one of the best (if not the best) archers in terms of armor (among ordinary troop branches, of course - Fian champions are beyond competition), which allows them to endure significantly more damage than other archers. (yes, some archers have shields, but they shoot without shields, so I don’t take that into account) And also their ability to stand up for themselves in close combat - how many times have I watched how some unlucky horseman tries to break into a group of my Sturgian archers - and how quickly he gets axes from all sides. For archers, they are surprisingly aggressive and strong in close combat. But still, what I like most is their infantry - the heavy spearman from the regular troop tree, which is armored only a few points less than the most armored unit in the game - this makes me happy.
Personally, I give the advantage to Vlandia and Khuzait for the sheer versatility of their standard troop tree, giving you easy access to solid ranged units, infantry units, and cavalry units (and for Khuzaits, horse archers) that all get decently good pretty early in their progression. Finding recruits from the noble line (or else going to other cultures) certainly isn’t difficult, but it can be extremely inconvenient, so Sturgia and the Empire requiring that if you want cavalry is a mark against them for me (Battania an even bigger one, because as awesome as the Fians are, you don’t have archers otherwise). And the Aserai, besides that rather excruciating geography that’s both blessing and curse, just take too long for their units to come into their own. So anytime you suffer a defeat, you’re spending a LOT of time training units back up to an effective army again.
I find the often repeated stereotype that the khuzait have trouble in sieges to be a false one. True, their main strength is in field battles and their general lack of armor can make the head on collisions found in sieges taxing. But, people always seem to forget that between the horse archers, regular archers, and the khans guard something like 3/4 of your army is gonna have a bow which makes them really strong on offense and defense
Also worth pointing out the currently shock troops are OP. Specifically the battanian falxman (not the veteran falxman) which at tier 4 performs at similar levels to Sturgia and Empire tier 5s.
Played thousands of hours of older M&B titles but just gradually drifted away and had not played any for many years. Have not played Bannerlord about 230 hours or so and feel like I have enough of a basic grip on the game to actually make my current playthrough my "beat vanilla on Bannerlord difficulty with Ironman mode" (and no cheats obviously . . . and grace and charm . . .). But despite all that time playing the game, I kinda needed this sort of birds-eye-view type of overview of the kingdoms. It confirms much of what I had gathered and clarifies a few things I had got not quite right!
I love the struggle of Battania, just trying to withstand attacks from every direction and preserve the land you start with, and reclaim the Battanian land that Valandia and the empire start with. Also love the natural defence Battania has with the mountains and choke points. Having to attack and pick off smaller armies, to avoid a full on battle with a 1000 - 2000 stack army.
Personally, I'd try to have two of each type of unit captain - 2 Infantry, 2 Foot Archers, 2 Melee Cavalry, and 2 Horse Archers. Reason is simple - Melee Captain 1 - Focuses on 1-Handed Weapon and Throwing units. Melee Captain 2 - Focuses on 2-Handed Weapon and Polearm units. Foot Archer Captain 1 - 2-Handed Weapon and Bows Foot Archer Captain 2 - 1-Handed Weapons and Crossbows Melee Cavalry Captain 1 - 1-Handed and Throwing Melee Cavalry Captain 2 - 2-Handed and Polearms Horse Archer Captain 1 - Bow and 2-Handed Weapons and/or Polearms Horse Archer Captain 2 - Crossbow and 1-Handed (and Polearms) Of course, since things won't be nice and neat, it helps if there's a certain amount of cross-training to help out troops that use weapons other than what the Captain is set up to do. Tournaments helps out there. Watch your companions when they are going to be in a match, and they'll level up - at least to what they can level up to.
all castle villages have noble line troops. you get them from no other place. at the start of the game there is 2 noble line notables and 1 standard line notable for recruitment at each castle village.
I agree that Empire is for the Big Brain playthrough where you want to take over everything starting with the other Empire pretenders. I was hoping you would weigh in as to which of the three is the best to back in the imperial civil war, especially if you are playing another culture.
Personal preference in my opinion. Really it’s choosing how you’d want your empire to be 1- Ruled by birthright and dynasty (Southern Empire) 2- Ruled by military generals in a time of civil war and constant threats (Western Empire) 3- Ruled by the senate of elected officials which are the people who elect the Emperor into their lifetime job, Very similar to Rome at its peak. (Northern Empire) If I only got one choice I’d go Northern Empire but in truth they are all the same outcome. No king but an empire of senators and bureaucrats.
@@INFJ-ThaneTr southern is definitely my last pick dynasty just doesn’t matter when there’s a civil war at the doorstep. Western in my eyes is number 2 but they aren’t my first choice because military dictatorships don’t always end well for the average man. That being said yeah they are way more efficient at stopping a civil war because they are generals compared to my preferred senate. In the end they most likely will just meld together again and whoever wins the civil war will choose the next emperor and it’ll slowly go back to what it was before if not destroyed by a kingdom and then a hundred years later the cycle will repeat. Or of course my usual played method wait for a rebellion in an imperial city and then declare myself emperor because of the sudden lack in empire control 😂
@@INFJ-ThaneTr really? Because right now Western Empire are being obliterated by the South for me🤣, not just that, my last playthrough they got destroyed by the Battanians... they only win when I want them to lmao
@@INFJ-ThaneTr I've done a total of 5 play through over 2 years (rookie number to some but anyway) Western Empire has only conquered once, Southern Empire twice, Vlandians once and Battanians once. Honestly whoever I want to conquer Calradia, will succeed in their conquest. I've seen videos of timelapses and I think I have seen the Southern Empire smash the Western Empire so many times, to me it seems like the North and South kind of swoop in on the West. Though I have seen maybe 1 timelapse where Western Empire has won.
@@INFJ-ThaneTr regardless, 5 play throughs and Western Empire only won one time and that was because I allowed them to🤣🤣 , Valandians destroy Western Empire everytime like they're nothing🤣
The Vlandian Voulgiers are also noteworthy. They can beat most other infantry units in a straight fight. Their downside is that they're absolute glass cannons due to their comparatively low armour which means you generally suffer a lot of casualties with them.
In the original M&B I liked playing the mounted archer because it was powerful but also relatively difficult to play effectively if you want to move and shoot at the same time.
Great video. I try not to generalize things, but the way I like to think of each Kingdoms's military: Vlandia: Strong Shock Cav, other units average Battania: Strong Ground units, weak Horse units Sturgia: Strong Infantry, weak Range units Khuzait: Strong Horse Archer, other units average Aserai: All rounder, lightly armored Empire: All rounder, heavily armored
I chose Battanians in my first campaign play through, it's tough man but if you got those Battanian Fians and place them on a decent terrain they will rip into any army with arrows.
I gotta say, the Aserai troop tree all around just kicks ass. They are so versatile while also being skilled at those roles. I think they are the best army in the game. On top of Aserai footman being great prisoner takers.
Vlandia: Best at fighting in sieges on either side, good map position, armies are very easy and cheap to replace Battania: Fian champion, easy access to smithing smithing Aserai: Solid balanced armies, extremely easy to make money, good map position Khuzait: Khans guard, good map position Empire: Indestructible cav ball, indestructible infantry blob, a lot of cities of the same cultire And then, there's Sturgia...
Khuzait dismounted are pretty good. I love playing them but dismounting enough for a shield wall if I need it. Or for defending villages. I also think they based on Turkish steppe nomads…because they have the title Beg once they have a fief, if I remember correctly.
@@fire_viper08khuzaits are based on original turkic tribes that came to Anatolia and into Byzantine Empire from the east. Before inbreeding with locals and becoming dark and greko-syriac looking, they looked literally like Mongols. Check it out on google. Turks today think they were dark and looked the same, oh no man. Mongol look alikes. But turks reject this narative because of Ataturk, they tried to Europeanize themselves to appear closer to Europe, so they reject this crazy proximity to Mongolians when it comes to haplogroups. Originally they were called Gokturks, and came from Turan Valley near Mongolia, hence the name. And a fun fact, TaleWorlds is a turkish based company.
I always enjoy the game when i reach north of 100 Khans Guards in my army, and usually i play as freelancer and conquer the map creating my own empire.
In my current 1.0 run, I've got Vlandia reduced to four of it's original towns in the west, but somehow they took two cities from Khuzait after a rebellion and one city from the Aserai which was part of a war. Battania and the Aserai are the current major powers going into the second year of the game.
I love everything about vlandia except the sergeants. In my opinion they are mid tier and my personal play style is heavy on infantry. I also almost always make an empire character for exactly the reason you stated towards the end. Most of the map is empire so no loyalty loss. Really enjoyed the video and looking forward to the next one.
A small details that I've noticed nobody talks about is if u actually think about it every kingdom fights differently to. Which is a detail i think is so cool. Like the empire are hands down the most annoying to fight because they always attack your villages where the asri won't. Also the asri usually charge straight into the fight 99% of the time where the western empire always use formations and tactics which can make them tough to beat. The sturgia forces usually 100% of the time run into the woods and do like gorilla tactics making it hard for your horses to attack. I think its cool it makes every enemy feel unique in a way.
That feeling when the notification saying "Khuzait has declared war on you" pops up.... Ughhhhhh lol. They are my least favorite faction to fight. I usually either join them or join a faction farrrrrr away. Great video! I've played this game for a very long time, and I still learned a couple things I had no idea about. Keep up the great work
Amazing video. I was expecting just a listing of best, wasn't expecting the gameplay tips. Including mercenary stuff. I usually try to become vassal asap. I will follow your advice and play the field first so to speak next time 👍🏼
Thank you for this guide! I've been playing this game for quite a while now, but this really helped me to understand the different kingdoms. Well done!
I play only Sturgia since game was playable. I disagree them being defensive - had times they declare 2 wars right after each other while already at war with someone, which is why they use to lose land quickly. Also, no matter how good infantry might be heavy cav will just wipe it off the battle field. Just go full druzhnik, other units are good only for 2 things - castle defense and support while training noble units.
I just do Khuzait’s for RP Plus it’s fun basically becoming the Ottomans but the Empire is more fun as easy expansion paths and also it’s pretty much monocultural
I disagree with the Banner knight vs Cataphract, I have found that the Cataphract wins almost every evenly matched fight vs the Knights probably due to better armor and longer polearms they are weaker on foot during siege battles though As for favorite faction Western Empire due to it's central location (a bit iffy though due to having a lot of neighbors)
Short answer is the Empire. Best all around troops, and they are the largest kingdom meaning you have less conflict of culture, and a simplified composition. That being said, end game you do want to buff your existing units with a bit of min-max to save on time and solider count. That means buff your horse archer regiment with Khuzit (Khan's Guard), Foot archers from Battania (Fian Champion), Heavy Infantry and Cavalry from Empire (Legionary & Cataphracts). There are specialists for specific tactics or situations: Banner Knights have less armor than Cataphracts but do more damage with a charge meaning they will quickly wrap up weaker cavalry. Battanian Oathsworn are actually the best infantry to go against Cavalry as they have spears that can brace, but unlike PIkemen, they still have shields, and throwing weapons, despite not being as effective in melee combat with other infantry. Sturgian Heavy Axemen destroy infantry and are the best in sieges, but suffer against Cavalry. For shock troops: Imperial Menavliaton are good at fighting horses, but Aserai Palace Guards excel at killing infantry. Vlandian Sharpshooters are the best archers for a siege, as their armor and accuracy make up for their slow rate of fire especially since these sieges are prolonged battles. They also make for a ridiculously amazing shield wall against archers. Their board shields allow them to be the best unit to creep towards the enemy as they can soak up all the enemy projectiles as a shield wall then when the enemy charges or run out of projectiles you go to line formation and openfire and this devastates their frontline. More importantly here are the only units that I would never recommend for any situation: Vlandian Pikemen, Aserai heavy cavalry (Faris), Battanian Cavalry, Sturgian Archers & light Cavalry (Raiders) , Khuzit infantry, and heavy cavalry (They just don't compare well to other factions). There are no bad imperial units, some are just better than others though. Their infantry and heavy Cavalry are very hard to beat without good tactics. Personally in the open field, I add some javelin throwers with my sharpshooters (Crossbow units with shields) in a long thin/shield wall, and my shocktroops and foot archers in loose formation right behind the shield wall with with two square formations of heavy infantry on each flank. My Cavalry stays in the rear, and will either wait to outflank the enemy infantry or to cut off the enemy cavalry when they attempt to retreat. I've won huge battles with almost no casualties using these tactic. When you put shock troops directly on the flanks they do kill infantry by circumventing the sides but often take alot of damage from archers as they are exposed. By having them charge behind a shieldwall of sharpshooters and javelin throwers is they rip apart the enemy shield wall, which is already weakened by your javelins/crossbow bolts while still being safe from enemy projectiles thanks to hiding behind the shield wall and due to proximity are safe from archers. They can also protect your main army from Cavalry with the reach and projectiles to pick off Cavalry especially when you use your Cavalry to cut off their retreat. Squares of heavy infantry are incredibly durable blocking enemy arrows stopping enemy cavalry, and by positing them on the enemy flanks causes the infantry to scatter and panic.
Wow such a great help! I just started playing bannerlord like 6 hours ago in a span of a few days and i feel so lost. Watched other guide or tip but it only raises more questions!
I just recently came to a point in my last playthrough were for the first time ever some faction leaders asked ME to join THEM. Never had this before, felt kinda cool.
Lol I had this happen when I didn't know how to become a vassal I was a merc way to long and they were just like hey I saw you steam rolled battania for how bout you join us lol
I'm amused that you didn't even talk about Battania at the end when wrapping up. I wish they weren't so small and easily crushed by the other AIs (unless that's been fixed, I haven't played in a few months). It makes me sad because I absolutely love gathering a force of Fianns and arrow storming enemy forces to death.
Battania's downfall isn't really about size, it's about map position. The AI factions will target settlements near their borders when they declare war, and Battania shares a border with Vlandia, Sturgia, Southern and Northern empires, and sometimes even Aserai if they've pushed far enough north. So Battania just ends up surrounded by enemies and gets picked apart over time. It makes sense lorewise since the only real trace of them left by the Warband timeline is the Forest Bandits wandering around.
@@moriims in all of my playthroughs, ever since beta was realeased battania has either stayed a similar size to it's start or taken over all of vlandia and the west of sturgia. I've never seen them crumble haha
@@jackyoulation8012 I've only got one playthrough in the release version so far, but in it Battania took Charas and Sargot from Vlandia in the first year then Ocs Hall and Rovalt. Battania is not losing wars in this run.
Been playing since 2020 as roleplay player and khuzait are the most fun for me. Horse archer army and you become gengish khan second is vlandia because the aestetic of the army.
I go with Vlandia with Swadian armory and iron arm, and use a cavalry-favored army. Take some battanian land and start grinding Fian champs, quick way to get a dangerously strong army. Also, I like Vlandia as a foothold due to it only being vulnerable on the eastern front, and also rarely having to deal with obnoxious Khuzait horse archer armies for awhile 😂 (I suppose the mod is technically cheating, but regardless- native vlandian BKs are fantastic cavalry units)
just started bannerlord 3 days ago, maybe 20 hrs total this is the best piece of content I've seen so far - very impressive & respectable knowledge bruh
I just love the sound it makes when you have like anywhere upwards of 50 sharpshooters, and they fire on things. Or the sound massed cavalry charges makes while going anywhere :D . Unforunately i always tend to go for mostly cav based parties due to the world map speed. Nothing else. I *hate* not being able to catch anything....
Hahahaha my first big battle as an Battanian king was against Vlandia and I had to reload it 10 times before finding a way to defeat their knight's charge. It was like being in braveheart. Having larger battle size solved my problem.
fun fact: battania actually has one of the best shock infantry. im not talking about the veteran falxman. but instead the regular falxman. the tier 4 battanian falxman is actually much stronger than the tier 5 battanian veteran falxman. and that is because the flaxman uses a 2-handed falx while the veteran uses a romphalia. the romphalia actually causes the tier 5 to deal less damage because of its HUGE swing, often getting caught on friendly units or hitting another enemy on the side before it reaches the sweet spot. this actually makes the tier 5 veteran falxman to be THE Worst shock infantry in the game. the tier 4 falxman can actually go toe to toe with any tier 5 shock infantry in the game and come out as the victor most of the time.
Thanks for the video. The kingdoms are all in line with medeterranian/ Middle east area( i know I spelled it wrong). The vlandians are the Norman/Lombards of southern Ital, The Aserai the turks and Arabs, The vaegir asre the Kievan Rus with Scandanvain Mercs, the Khuzaits could be turkic and mongol tribes who invaded the area during the 12th century, the Empire is the Byzantine Empire, only the battanians don't fit they are like medieval irish or celts.. Anyways Thanks for the video, Hope you will have time to do a story playthrough of the game would love to see Calard ride again:) regards, Paras
I might be wrong but I think the battanians are supposed to be based on the Batavi culture of the Rhine valley considering the blending of germanic and celtic cultural themes.
Personally i find the Sturgian infantry with the Heavy Axemen and Spears, Great solid and fairly uniform front line in terms of their armor and shields making them fairly well suited to dealing with just about any army the game can throw at the player, the axe men are great for chewing through opposing sheilds and the spears making short work of of incoming cav especially in sheild wall. I will support them with Fian Champians as a range unit due to their good bow skill, range and ammo capacity, though the Vilandian Sharpshooters are worth consideration. For heavy cav i love the Banner Knites because they are probly the easiest cav unit to level
After being through every beta, every change and participating on the forums for over 2 years i'm sad to say that the late midgame or late game content is sorely lacking. Especially in peacetime, because all focus went obviously to waging war. I hope this will change somewhat in the future, because the rpg elements and content are boring after one playthrough.
Same amount of hours. My solution would be they should have created twice the amount of kingdoms that are smaller so war and expansions would be constant
@@jedeo299 On PC there are mods that accomplish this very well. Calradia Expanded and Calradia Kingdoms (they go together) do add a lot of new kingdoms, towns, castles and people to fight. Not sure when it will be "1.0 ready" though.
@Jedeo I definitely like this idea. Several more kingdoms would make things a lot more interesting. As it is now I feel like wars tend to be just giant slog fests. Would rather have smaller kingdoms so that diplomacy ends up more interesting
I love how you called the khuzait the riders of Rohan build since I made my character named Rohir and just so happened to make him a Calvary character and also just so happened to be an influential kuzhait vassal (first playthrough so I really didn't know what I was doing)
Best thing to conquer the world as Battania is to wage war with Sturgia/Vlandia and take battles on small lords,then take all their cavalry(infantry for Sturgia and sharpshooters for Vlandia)then it should be rather easy to take them on as the rest are mostly rubbish/decent tier.
In my opinion... Vlandia, Battania, Khuzait and the Empire are all top tier factions with differing strengths and weaknesses. They are either the best at what they do or have several all around good units. Late game vlandia knights and crossbows aren't going to lose to much. A Battania Deathball of Fian champions is basically unstoppable even outnumbered, Khuzaits can be incredibly effective early on in any non seige battle, and the empire can basically win any prolonged fight massing Imperial legionaries and cataphracts (or with palatine archers during sieges) Aserai (the last time I played them) just don't feel fun to play unless you are setting up a trading empire. They don't really have a "deathball" unit and will struggle in most straight up engagements. Most any way you play them, there is another faction which essentially can do the same but better (which then makes you wonder why you are playing them at all). They aren't as bad as at the start of the alpha/beta but I don't really think they carved out a niche in combat that made them all that unique. Strugia used to suck to play because their best units were clearly heavy infantry which when death balled up would just get slaughtered by certain enemy army compositions essentially making them a less versatile or effective empire. Now at least they have heavy infantry that has more survivability and can be death balled to a degree, however I still feel they have versatility issues and (at least with my last playthrough of them) still felt the need to incorporate other factions units to round out my army.
Started my first playthrough with the empire and preemptively ending it to start another because Rhagea constantly decides to start wars 24/7(so I didn’t really have time to actually do things I.e recruit for companions etc) and also the fact that she rarely if even gives me fiefs even though my relationship with her is 100 and I matured her daughter…. So I said F it and started a second a second playthrough with vlandia and it’s crazy how coordinated and well positioned they are compared to everyone else, about 5 hours in and they’ve already taken 2 towns and 3 castles. They first attacked Battania destroyed them leaving them with a mere 4 towns left(they didn’t even have much to land to begin with) and then moved on the to the Asari and took a town in which was sitting on their border. Really considering not becoming a vassal and do mercenary work for random kingdoms due to the fact that it’s going a bit faster than I want it to be and pushing them back along side the neighboring kingdom just to slow it down a little.
Bro I just started playing this thanks to game pass and I really can’t stop playing. This video was great. Very informative definitely getting a sub .. thanks Brodie
There is still a bug that after you leave mercenary contract then become a vassal to someone else you get no special equipment or troops like you should.
So a brutal thing to do is train your HI captains for throwing as well as two handed, I believe. Attaching him to units of Heavy axemen means that apposing shield walls suffer a few accidents
Only thing I wish they added to game: Naval invasions/combat. Imagine how that would shake up the game, making the sea actually have an impact aside from "Impassable wall that causes chokepoints.
Tony Soprano definitely called somebody a mamaluke at some point - which i find out is italian slang for someone who does something stupid - and gets its origins from a term mamluke which apparently means slave.
When I create my own kingdom I always get frontline infantry and shock cav from the imperials, archers from battania, horse archers from kuzait, and shock troops from sturgia
I need to play this again, I played the shit out of it when it first released until i nearly ran out of things to do. It’s probably a whole new game by now.
all you really need in your army are Fian Champions and Elite Cataphracts. split both into 2 groups. Pepper your enemy from 2 angles and defend them with your cataphracts, or use to cataphracts to expose their infantry to more arrows. I think a dismounted Elite Cataphract will beat the Vlandian sergeant
This is the exact video I was looking for, I really needed a breakdown of the units like this, thank you! Also got to say, I watched all your CK3 tip vids when it dropped on console and am now doing the same with Bannerlord thank you dude, seriously so helpful, keep up the excellent work
In my playthrough the asori got forgotten about for a very long time and became the richest strongest faction by far. Only faction giving me issued at this point as I have taken most of the east and north of the map
Also Empire has the most settlements of their culture, and while the player can offset their cultural difference penalties with companion governors of the local culture, your ai allies will not, so the Empire factions suffer less rebellions when reunifying the empire, which imo offsets their downsides of being surrounded.
I really don't think that skill levels do nearly as much as the innate gear that each unit is using. Cataphracts are incredible heavy cav because their horses have insane armor. It's very rare to see one get dehorsed in combat. Vlandian cav except banner knights don't wear shoulder armor. That's a lot of body and arm armor that they they are lacking, which means they are going to take more casualties than other cavs that do utilize that slot. I think the best way to metric how good a unit is, is to pay attention to how many casualties they take vs how many they inflict battle to battle. My favorite units are Druz Champs, Elite Cataphracts, and Heavy Mamaluke Cav Archers because those three have the best K/D ratios over the many many battles that I've monitored.
I'm still on the Battania part, but I completely agree, I've now gotta reinstall bannerlord 2 just so I can play on foot with Fian's again. Battania is my favorite faction for that unit as well as their skirmishers, and Falxes. Though I obvious can never deny the fun of Khuzait horse archer cheese.
Imperials are my absolute favourite, my comp is usually Imperial legionaries + Battanian fians + whatever I might need (usually Kuzait horse archers or Sturgian linebreakers)
"Vlandia and Sturgia fight alot" that tracks from my experience so far as a vlandian since console release... "Sturgia is much mire competitive now after patches etc" sturgia barely even exists anymore...
I only use cavalry that can function on foot. Often times my cavalry are dismounted when they're charging the rear of enemy infantry lines, usually while the enemy infantry is engaging my infantry. If they go down in this case, theres somewhat of a chance they'll be flung into the middle of my infantry line, where they can then act as a solid infantry unit. Also, cavalry that can double as good infantry are great for sieges. I don't like redundant units during sieges
Y'all check out my dude Stat if you want more in depth details about the units. He does a bunch of tests with the units vs each other. It's not usually entertaining, but you learn some little details about the game you aren't told anywhere. Basically, if you like numbers and Bannerlord haha.
im in my first campaign rn with the Battanians. only cuz of their archers xD, but ive got an army with a cap of 520 troops with all the T6 units and then legionairs, voulgiers, oathsworn and menavliatons and doing really well. its just us against khuzaits because ive defeated the empire conspiracy and eliminated sturgia and vlandia. its basically Battania against Khuzait and Aseria on the sidelines sometimes jumping in.
I started as Battanian due to movement bonus in forests but I dislike their city aesthetics. They feel like Iron Age settlements instead of middle age towns. Still slowly I started to feel a little Battanian in myself after controlling half of Battania.
I like to typically ransom and watch noble houses vanish, generally though I do that to the annoying rebel factions only, I never see a reason to annoy a rebel by ransoming them or lugging them around, sure you can sell them for alot but it is usually nothing compared to what they can provide later or in other ways.
Thanks so much for watching the video! I have a ton of guides linked in the playlist below as well as some choice videos if you're looking for a build for your first character!
⚔ Guides Playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLDLBnN-W_m2llVMhpmV8ngVQ2VOoi_mdQ.html
🏹 Beginner's Build: ua-cam.com/video/gEymMMRwFsI/v-deo.html
⚔ Vlandian Knight: ua-cam.com/video/TL6tkbRSPs8/v-deo.html
Hype GREAT 👍 FACTS GO 🍵❣️⌨️⌨️🤔But #MERCENARY Wit Out #HONOUR Can Be SUS‼️
Small tip: Noble units are recruited from villages that are attached to castles. Those villages can have normal units too, but generally it is village attached to castle: noble line. Village attached to town and the town itself: normal line.
Nice, first time i hear about this in all the years of Bannerlord 😮
Never paid attention to and thought the noble spawns are just random 🤣
@@Grauer1510 I looked it up after I was in a voicecall with a friend a couple of months ago. I was like: "what the heck is the point of castles except for costing money."
The answer is Noble troops xD
@Kanata also maintaining control of the castles literally gives you control of the villages. Comes in nice when the enemy can't recruit from them without raiding
@@zacharyjackson1829 you can recruit from enemy villages tho. Well, I suppose the AI doesnt, thats true
that’s actually awesome! thank you
Another tip: Join factions that are in a war with the faction you eventually want to join. Like he mentioned releasing nobles gives you major favor for the various families, it helps immensely if you spend the early game being a merc against your preferred faction. Doing so will essentially give you free towns and cities from the nobility because they will all like you so much once you eventually want to permanently join up.
Plus, if you have high charm, releasing nobles gives absurd XP towards charm
This is really smart. Thanks for sharing.
@@leoros3995 OOf I chose the wrong side with battaia anyway.
Interesting strategy. I'll give it a try, thanks for sharing.
to be fair, just having high charm for huge influence gain in end game, allows you to use your influence to get their clan to support you as well. This way in every election they are very likely to support you for the towns and castles.
Charming tip, cheers
Sturgia for RP, it feels amazing to be a part of 400 man shield wall. With headphones. Really trying to land a hit when surrounded by troops. Vlandia if you are into the knight stuff. Empire if you want flexible army. Khuzait if you want to win every single battle, just F1 and F2 to make 300 horse archers follow you, put best armour on horse and ride circles around enemy. Battania for RP guy as well, you will simply feel like you are celtic warrior.
Khans gaurds are absolutely ridiculous. I routinely massacre armies of 500-600 with a party of 200 khans gaurds. I rarely get double digit causalities aswell. Easy mode
And the Aserai?
@@eldeebcampeador Dope axe wielding Mamluke Palace Guards.
I guess maybe early Muslims? The Empire is based seemingly off of the Byzantines, so it seems right to me.
@@furimindusties5736 Well early Muslims did fight with axes as well. I don't know it was like 2 handed axes but there are evidences that early Muslims have used axes in their battle gear.
@@furimindusties5736 muslims aren't a race btw
Battania because I love the aesthetics, I love the lake in the middle and the mountains giving it a certain sense of place. Our faction has been left alone, even taking a city and a castle. For over a year, we are at peace whilst the rest of the world is plunged in wars. Our towns are prosperous, hearthland is safe and the clans are slowly growing in influence and size. Haven't spotted a hideout in over two years anywhere in Battania.
This is all well and good, but I have been brutally carving a glorious story of conquest in the southern empire and have become an established nobleman to rival the Empress herself in roughly 6 years, fighting in many wars and killing many rebellions in Aserai and Khuzait lands recently acquired. Selectively appointing the right people to heal and grow the land plunged into such disarray. True sons of Calradia only let their sword arms rest when all the enemy lie dead. You must take up the axe, or be branded a coward and a fool!
@@Ordealux but did u get laid?
@@Tenacious54X Yeah, although, she died after the second child. Got me a better wife the second time though, gonna try for a boy this time :D
forest bandits are free units and they are insanely overpowered, why would you genocide them
My battania keeps declaring war, take one city or castle, then makes peace immediately after 😂
In terms of terrain, Aserai definitely have it best, those two chokepoints on either side of their empire do a great job of narrowing down their defensive battles and makes it easy for them to focus their armies. If you start an independent kingdom it's a really good location to start taking over first as you're far away from other kingdoms and less likely to be piled on by multiple kingdoms at once.
I do the same thing basically it deffiently gives a tactical advantage early on
Their Veteran Infantry is surprisingly strong too.Javelins did most of the work and they just clean up the rest.If only the Mameluke Palace Guard had faster axes......
It's kind of terrible for the AI. They March armies though the empire lands if at war battalions. Why they declared on battalions is a????.
It is good for defending their motherland but makes it difficult for them to expand out from there pretty much at all.
Finally someone who knows what is the best
I love the Empire's troop roster the best just for how well rounded it is. Other factions do specific things better but focus on those things almost to the exclusion of everything else, but the Empire can do basically everything well enough, whilst being armoured to the gills. Do you like really good heavy cav? Got them. Horse archers? Got those too. Do you prefer bows or crossbows? Got both! Decent sword and board infantry, decent polearm infantry. You could say it's a case of jack of all trades and master of none, and that's true, but I think it makes them incredibly flexible.
Definitely master of infantry tho
And that's why they got clapped so hard.Sturgians will definitely crash into their lines with heroic line breakers and heavy axemens that certainly shreds everything.Battanian archers and Vlandian crossbowmans could unleash unrelenting volleys and break legionaries if given enough time.Vlandian Knights and Sturgian Druzhinniks,oh boy,I don't even want to talk about how damned infantries are going to get clapped by couched lances.And sure enough,Mameluke Palace Guards do just as fine,with Vanguard Faris and Horse Raiders peppering javelins.Khan's Guards?Get absolutely outclassed,Bucellaris.
@@vietnguyenhoang5795 they didnt get clapped so hard tho. The game is pretty balanced
@@vietnguyenhoang5795 Well yeah, when each faction plays to their strengths they can be world beaters, but my point is that the Empire, whilst it can't really go toe to toe with the others in a straight fight in their preferred specialisation (Empire infantry getting shredded by Sturgian lunatics, Archers getting out-shot by Battanian Fians), you shouldn't TRY to fight how they want you to, and it has all the tools to fight those enemies in ways that don't play to their strengths. Instead of taking out an infantry army and sending them into suicidal fisticuffs with the northmen, cycle-charge the Sturgians with cataphracts and run rings around them with horse archers and watch the finest melee infantry in the game die by a thousand cuts, unable to do much about it. Likewise, don't take a pure horse archer army out and expect to steamroll the Khuzaits.
All the kingdoms in this game have great troop lines and they can all be used to beat everyone else if used right, but the others all specialise far more in a certain play style. I'm not saying the Empire's the best (And if that's what it sounded like I was saying, I do apologise), just that they're my favourite because they can do everything decently. Like Sparty said in this video, it's not about the best kingdom to join (Because there isn't one - the best, most unstoppable army is one built of the best units from every kingdom), it's about finding the one that you enjoy the most :D
@@vietnguyenhoang5795 So basically you need the best units of the other kingdoms, nice logic overall no factions is stronger than the others most shine in one area, the empire is equally spread on all sides, it's that simple no need to talk about how this unit is better than that unit and this beats that and that beat's that, it's just dumb.
I think one of the most important thngs about the Aseri troop tree is that the aseri footman and aseri infanty use blunt weapons so they are perfect for taking into hideouts to get prisoners for the manual labourer quests
Facts
Yeah you can get a shit ton of gold selling prisoners like that or filling out the workers requests as you mentioned
Aserai have the worst units in the game statistically in k/d
@@jason200912 that changes 180 degrees when you download Realistic Battle Mod. Maces and blunt weapons become vital to dealing damage to any armored units, ontop of the mod just making damage and combat more realistic in general like the name suggests. Aserai infantry troops become top of A tier bottom of S tier because of their Maces. The only thing holding them back is the athletics and one handed skill (plus or minus shield effectiveness), which makes their Noble line, the Faris incredibly dangerous. I've seen a group of 12 Veteran Faris in RBM not take a single loss in a 150+ vs 150+ battle while getting over 15 kills between the lot of them, on horseback, skirmishing, dismounting, joining the frontline. Ontop of the mentioned Jareed javelins that decimate anyone anywhere at any time, with or without the RBM
Battania is so small that it's really hard to siege down a castle because every settlement is hours away from each other
In my playthrough. Battania got whopped pretty badly. Being attacked by sturgians in the north and the vlandians in the west at the same time. Then after they negotiate a treaty after losing a third of their territory. The western empire declared war and took marunath. So they left with two towns and no castles......
every game i start if i dont join battania they get wiped out first every time. they are not a strong faction.
It’s hard for the player to hold a siege all at once in Battania, but they have a tendency to get rolled by other npc factions early game because they’re small, and their greatest weaknesses are a lot of the other factions greatest strengths. Their greatest strengths are Fians, and their falx. One of which is nowhere near as good as they used to be, and the other is only really good until they get hit by a charge of heavy cav from any direction but directly in front of them.
@@kekinshtein4912the problem here is that fian champions need shield walls to buy time. And battania doesnt have amazing shield infantry
@@TheBronf in my game they are whooping the shizz out of everyone, they have taken towns and castles from almost everyone, the only faction that has not got to war was the kuzits
I go for either Vlandia or Battania basically every time, love their aesthetics and troops the most.
Vlandia keeps utterly destroying Battania.
Since im mainly trading, hunting bandits and creating workshops and caravans, Battania was the best in my last few playthroughs.
I could make great workshops there and sell some of the wares with caravans to cities, keeping the prices in battania stable.
I also like being a mercenary from time to time. Influence floating into money is a great new addition since a few patches and I enjoy it a lot.
That is,if you don't have war.Sturgians always declares war on either Vlandia,or Battania.If there's no archers in your formation,you are doomed
@@vietnguyenhoang5795 its a good thing Battania has the easiest access to strong archers available.....there are loads of villages stocked together that can recruit noble units.
Aww!
Sounds adorable
If you capture nobles instead of releasing them, you can donate them to cities as prisoners. This way you can farm huge amounts of charm+relation with specific lords.
So it always depends what you want to achieve.
I almost always find myself going Battanian because I admire the fact they're the only non-Empire central faction. They seem the most "underdog" out of all of them and I always join their cause. Also Seonon uses my initials so its like my name is already on it lol
Battania forever in my opinion, I’m in love with their aesthetic and I’m currently running a Battanian mercenary route, including writing a story about Culharn The Foe-Seeker, travelling with his mercenary band of Fianns, travelling the world before finally returning to Battania to become a vassal to King Caladog.
A short note on the Sturgian Veteran Bowman that most people do not think about it, their bows are weaker yes... but they are one of the faster bows to shoot and those bows are also one of the most accurate bows, and don't forget they have 2 quivers of arrows.
This adds up to them being very deadly once the enemies are getting closer to your infantry, killing of enemies very rapidly even when they are in shorter numbers.
They also carry an axe which is quite good against both armor and enemy shields.
I gladly hear others opinions on the subject incase I missed something.
Although it saddens me that powerful Slavic bows were sacrificed for balance (because if the Sturgs had good bows like the IRL, it would be an OP faction) - but the current archers suit me quite well. (although they could have given them better arrows, as for me - at least tier 2)
And I agree with your arguments, I’ll just add that they are one of the best (if not the best) archers in terms of armor (among ordinary troop branches, of course - Fian champions are beyond competition), which allows them to endure significantly more damage than other archers. (yes, some archers have shields, but they shoot without shields, so I don’t take that into account)
And also their ability to stand up for themselves in close combat - how many times have I watched how some unlucky horseman tries to break into a group of my Sturgian archers - and how quickly he gets axes from all sides. For archers, they are surprisingly aggressive and strong in close combat.
But still, what I like most is their infantry - the heavy spearman from the regular troop tree, which is armored only a few points less than the most armored unit in the game - this makes me happy.
pure gold. everyone of these videos are improving my gameplay experience. I owe you one.
Personally, I give the advantage to Vlandia and Khuzait for the sheer versatility of their standard troop tree, giving you easy access to solid ranged units, infantry units, and cavalry units (and for Khuzaits, horse archers) that all get decently good pretty early in their progression. Finding recruits from the noble line (or else going to other cultures) certainly isn’t difficult, but it can be extremely inconvenient, so Sturgia and the Empire requiring that if you want cavalry is a mark against them for me (Battania an even bigger one, because as awesome as the Fians are, you don’t have archers otherwise). And the Aserai, besides that rather excruciating geography that’s both blessing and curse, just take too long for their units to come into their own. So anytime you suffer a defeat, you’re spending a LOT of time training units back up to an effective army again.
I find the often repeated stereotype that the khuzait have trouble in sieges to be a false one. True, their main strength is in field battles and their general lack of armor can make the head on collisions found in sieges taxing. But, people always seem to forget that between the horse archers, regular archers, and the khans guard something like 3/4 of your army is gonna have a bow which makes them really strong on offense and defense
I've conquered Calradia twice with the Khuzaits, they're a very good army to run with.
The only problems for the khuzait are their shieldwalls because the shields are small
There's few better feelings than getting a huge information dump about a game you're super into at the moment. You make great videos for that!
Also worth pointing out the currently shock troops are OP. Specifically the battanian falxman (not the veteran falxman) which at tier 4 performs at similar levels to Sturgia and Empire tier 5s.
Played thousands of hours of older M&B titles but just gradually drifted away and had not played any for many years. Have not played Bannerlord about 230 hours or so and feel like I have enough of a basic grip on the game to actually make my current playthrough my "beat vanilla on Bannerlord difficulty with Ironman mode" (and no cheats obviously . . . and grace and charm . . .). But despite all that time playing the game, I kinda needed this sort of birds-eye-view type of overview of the kingdoms. It confirms much of what I had gathered and clarifies a few things I had got not quite right!
Khuzaits are by far the best faction/culture in the game for me. Their Horse Archers are arguably the best units to have in an open field battle.
I love the struggle of Battania, just trying to withstand attacks from every direction and preserve the land you start with, and reclaim the Battanian land that Valandia and the empire start with.
Also love the natural defence Battania has with the mountains and choke points. Having to attack and pick off smaller armies, to avoid a full on battle with a 1000 - 2000 stack army.
Personally, I'd try to have two of each type of unit captain - 2 Infantry, 2 Foot Archers, 2 Melee Cavalry, and 2 Horse Archers. Reason is simple -
Melee Captain 1 - Focuses on 1-Handed Weapon and Throwing units.
Melee Captain 2 - Focuses on 2-Handed Weapon and Polearm units.
Foot Archer Captain 1 - 2-Handed Weapon and Bows
Foot Archer Captain 2 - 1-Handed Weapons and Crossbows
Melee Cavalry Captain 1 - 1-Handed and Throwing
Melee Cavalry Captain 2 - 2-Handed and Polearms
Horse Archer Captain 1 - Bow and 2-Handed Weapons and/or Polearms
Horse Archer Captain 2 - Crossbow and 1-Handed (and Polearms)
Of course, since things won't be nice and neat, it helps if there's a certain amount of cross-training to help out troops that use weapons other than what the Captain is set up to do. Tournaments helps out there. Watch your companions when they are going to be in a match, and they'll level up - at least to what they can level up to.
all castle villages have noble line troops. you get them from no other place. at the start of the game there is 2 noble line notables and 1 standard line notable for recruitment at each castle village.
I agree that Empire is for the Big Brain playthrough where you want to take over everything starting with the other Empire pretenders. I was hoping you would weigh in as to which of the three is the best to back in the imperial civil war, especially if you are playing another culture.
Personal preference in my opinion.
Really it’s choosing how you’d want your empire to be
1- Ruled by birthright and dynasty (Southern Empire)
2- Ruled by military generals in a time of civil war and constant threats (Western Empire)
3- Ruled by the senate of elected officials which are the people who elect the Emperor into their lifetime job, Very similar to Rome at its peak. (Northern Empire)
If I only got one choice I’d go Northern Empire but in truth they are all the same outcome. No king but an empire of senators and bureaucrats.
@@INFJ-ThaneTr southern is definitely my last pick dynasty just doesn’t matter when there’s a civil war at the doorstep. Western in my eyes is number 2 but they aren’t my first choice because military dictatorships don’t always end well for the average man. That being said yeah they are way more efficient at stopping a civil war because they are generals compared to my preferred senate.
In the end they most likely will just meld together again and whoever wins the civil war will choose the next emperor and it’ll slowly go back to what it was before if not destroyed by a kingdom and then a hundred years later the cycle will repeat.
Or of course my usual played method wait for a rebellion in an imperial city and then declare myself emperor because of the sudden lack in empire control 😂
@@INFJ-ThaneTr really? Because right now Western Empire are being obliterated by the South for me🤣, not just that, my last playthrough they got destroyed by the Battanians... they only win when I want them to lmao
@@INFJ-ThaneTr I've done a total of 5 play through over 2 years (rookie number to some but anyway) Western Empire has only conquered once, Southern Empire twice, Vlandians once and Battanians once. Honestly whoever I want to conquer Calradia, will succeed in their conquest. I've seen videos of timelapses and I think I have seen the Southern Empire smash the Western Empire so many times, to me it seems like the North and South kind of swoop in on the West. Though I have seen maybe 1 timelapse where Western Empire has won.
@@INFJ-ThaneTr regardless, 5 play throughs and Western Empire only won one time and that was because I allowed them to🤣🤣 , Valandians destroy Western Empire everytime like they're nothing🤣
The Vlandian Voulgiers are also noteworthy. They can beat most other infantry units in a straight fight. Their downside is that they're absolute glass cannons due to their comparatively low armour which means you generally suffer a lot of casualties with them.
In the original M&B I liked playing the mounted archer because it was powerful but also relatively difficult to play effectively if you want to move and shoot at the same time.
Great video. I try not to generalize things, but the way I like to think of each Kingdoms's military:
Vlandia: Strong Shock Cav, other units average
Battania: Strong Ground units, weak Horse units
Sturgia: Strong Infantry, weak Range units
Khuzait: Strong Horse Archer, other units average
Aserai: All rounder, lightly armored
Empire: All rounder, heavily armored
I chose Battanians in my first campaign play through, it's tough man but if you got those Battanian Fians and place them on a decent terrain they will rip into any army with arrows.
Never be afraid to join a "weak kingdom" for RP theme and fun playthrough. It's NOT Dark Souls.
I gotta say, the Aserai troop tree all around just kicks ass. They are so versatile while also being skilled at those roles. I think they are the best army in the game. On top of Aserai footman being great prisoner takers.
Vlandia: Best at fighting in sieges on either side, good map position, armies are very easy and cheap to replace
Battania: Fian champion, easy access to smithing smithing
Aserai: Solid balanced armies, extremely easy to make money, good map position
Khuzait: Khans guard, good map position
Empire: Indestructible cav ball, indestructible infantry blob, a lot of cities of the same cultire
And then, there's Sturgia...
Im Waiting for the navy update, sturgia would get 10x more fun
Never coming@@leiladekwatro3147
Khuzait dismounted are pretty good. I love playing them but dismounting enough for a shield wall if I need it. Or for defending villages. I also think they based on Turkish steppe nomads…because they have the title Beg once they have a fief, if I remember correctly.
They are more like the Mongols if you compare them with the Mongolian empire
@@fire_viper08khuzaits are based on original turkic tribes that came to Anatolia and into Byzantine Empire from the east. Before inbreeding with locals and becoming dark and greko-syriac looking, they looked literally like Mongols. Check it out on google. Turks today think they were dark and looked the same, oh no man. Mongol look alikes. But turks reject this narative because of Ataturk, they tried to Europeanize themselves to appear closer to Europe, so they reject this crazy proximity to Mongolians when it comes to haplogroups. Originally they were called Gokturks, and came from Turan Valley near Mongolia, hence the name. And a fun fact, TaleWorlds is a turkish based company.
@@fire_viper08 The developers are Turk thats why they added khuzaits
I always enjoy the game when i reach north of 100 Khans Guards in my army, and usually i play as freelancer and conquer the map creating my own empire.
In my current 1.0 run, I've got Vlandia reduced to four of it's original towns in the west, but somehow they took two cities from Khuzait after a rebellion and one city from the Aserai which was part of a war. Battania and the Aserai are the current major powers going into the second year of the game.
I love everything about vlandia except the sergeants. In my opinion they are mid tier and my personal play style is heavy on infantry. I also almost always make an empire character for exactly the reason you stated towards the end. Most of the map is empire so no loyalty loss. Really enjoyed the video and looking forward to the next one.
I choose to play as Battanian for the OP speed through forest buff. Plus I always always want to take Battania for myself.
A small details that I've noticed nobody talks about is if u actually think about it every kingdom fights differently to. Which is a detail i think is so cool. Like the empire are hands down the most annoying to fight because they always attack your villages where the asri won't. Also the asri usually charge straight into the fight 99% of the time where the western empire always use formations and tactics which can make them tough to beat. The sturgia forces usually 100% of the time run into the woods and do like gorilla tactics making it hard for your horses to attack. I think its cool it makes every enemy feel unique in a way.
Guerilla
On console you hit O then move it down then click X
I always go with Battania. I just love backing up underdogs!
That feeling when the notification saying "Khuzait has declared war on you" pops up.... Ughhhhhh lol. They are my least favorite faction to fight. I usually either join them or join a faction farrrrrr away.
Great video! I've played this game for a very long time, and I still learned a couple things I had no idea about. Keep up the great work
Amazing video. I was expecting just a listing of best, wasn't expecting the gameplay tips. Including mercenary stuff. I usually try to become vassal asap. I will follow your advice and play the field first so to speak next time 👍🏼
Thank you for this guide! I've been playing this game for quite a while now, but this really helped me to understand the different kingdoms. Well done!
This is officially the “Please ignore the sound in the background” channel for me
I play only Sturgia since game was playable. I disagree them being defensive - had times they declare 2 wars right after each other while already at war with someone, which is why they use to lose land quickly. Also, no matter how good infantry might be heavy cav will just wipe it off the battle field. Just go full druzhnik, other units are good only for 2 things - castle defense and support while training noble units.
I just do Khuzait’s for RP Plus it’s fun basically becoming the Ottomans but the Empire is more fun as easy expansion paths and also it’s pretty much monocultural
I disagree with the Banner knight vs Cataphract, I have found that the Cataphract wins almost every evenly matched fight vs the Knights probably due to better armor and longer polearms they are weaker on foot during siege battles though
As for favorite faction Western Empire due to it's central location (a bit iffy though due to having a lot of neighbors)
Short answer is the Empire. Best all around troops, and they are the largest kingdom meaning you have less conflict of culture, and a simplified composition.
That being said, end game you do want to buff your existing units with a bit of min-max to save on time and solider count. That means buff your horse archer regiment with Khuzit (Khan's Guard), Foot archers from Battania (Fian Champion), Heavy Infantry and Cavalry from Empire (Legionary & Cataphracts). There are specialists for specific tactics or situations: Banner Knights have less armor than Cataphracts but do more damage with a charge meaning they will quickly wrap up weaker cavalry. Battanian Oathsworn are actually the best infantry to go against Cavalry as they have spears that can brace, but unlike PIkemen, they still have shields, and throwing weapons, despite not being as effective in melee combat with other infantry. Sturgian Heavy Axemen destroy infantry and are the best in sieges, but suffer against Cavalry. For shock troops: Imperial Menavliaton are good at fighting horses, but Aserai Palace Guards excel at killing infantry. Vlandian Sharpshooters are the best archers for a siege, as their armor and accuracy make up for their slow rate of fire especially since these sieges are prolonged battles. They also make for a ridiculously amazing shield wall against archers. Their board shields allow them to be the best unit to creep towards the enemy as they can soak up all the enemy projectiles as a shield wall then when the enemy charges or run out of projectiles you go to line formation and openfire and this devastates their frontline.
More importantly here are the only units that I would never recommend for any situation: Vlandian Pikemen, Aserai heavy cavalry (Faris), Battanian Cavalry, Sturgian Archers & light Cavalry (Raiders) , Khuzit infantry, and heavy cavalry (They just don't compare well to other factions). There are no bad imperial units, some are just better than others though. Their infantry and heavy Cavalry are very hard to beat without good tactics.
Personally in the open field, I add some javelin throwers with my sharpshooters (Crossbow units with shields) in a long thin/shield wall, and my shocktroops and foot archers in loose formation right behind the shield wall with with two square formations of heavy infantry on each flank. My Cavalry stays in the rear, and will either wait to outflank the enemy infantry or to cut off the enemy cavalry when they attempt to retreat. I've won huge battles with almost no casualties using these tactic. When you put shock troops directly on the flanks they do kill infantry by circumventing the sides but often take alot of damage from archers as they are exposed. By having them charge behind a shieldwall of sharpshooters and javelin throwers is they rip apart the enemy shield wall, which is already weakened by your javelins/crossbow bolts while still being safe from enemy projectiles thanks to hiding behind the shield wall and due to proximity are safe from archers. They can also protect your main army from Cavalry with the reach and projectiles to pick off Cavalry especially when you use your Cavalry to cut off their retreat. Squares of heavy infantry are incredibly durable blocking enemy arrows stopping enemy cavalry, and by positing them on the enemy flanks causes the infantry to scatter and panic.
Wow such a great help! I just started playing bannerlord like 6 hours ago in a span of a few days and i feel so lost. Watched other guide or tip but it only raises more questions!
I just recently came to a point in my last playthrough were for the first time ever some faction leaders asked ME to join THEM. Never had this before, felt kinda cool.
Lol I had this happen when I didn't know how to become a vassal I was a merc way to long and they were just like hey I saw you steam rolled battania for how bout you join us lol
I'm amused that you didn't even talk about Battania at the end when wrapping up. I wish they weren't so small and easily crushed by the other AIs (unless that's been fixed, I haven't played in a few months). It makes me sad because I absolutely love gathering a force of Fianns and arrow storming enemy forces to death.
Battania's downfall isn't really about size, it's about map position. The AI factions will target settlements near their borders when they declare war, and Battania shares a border with Vlandia, Sturgia, Southern and Northern empires, and sometimes even Aserai if they've pushed far enough north.
So Battania just ends up surrounded by enemies and gets picked apart over time. It makes sense lorewise since the only real trace of them left by the Warband timeline is the Forest Bandits wandering around.
@@moriims in all of my playthroughs, ever since beta was realeased battania has either stayed a similar size to it's start or taken over all of vlandia and the west of sturgia. I've never seen them crumble haha
@@jackyoulation8012 I've only got one playthrough in the release version so far, but in it Battania took Charas and Sargot from Vlandia in the first year then Ocs Hall and Rovalt. Battania is not losing wars in this run.
Been playing since 2020 as roleplay player and khuzait are the most fun for me. Horse archer army and you become gengish khan second is vlandia because the aestetic of the army.
I go with Vlandia with Swadian armory and iron arm, and use a cavalry-favored army. Take some battanian land and start grinding Fian champs, quick way to get a dangerously strong army. Also, I like Vlandia as a foothold due to it only being vulnerable on the eastern front, and also rarely having to deal with obnoxious Khuzait horse archer armies for awhile 😂
(I suppose the mod is technically cheating, but regardless- native vlandian BKs are fantastic cavalry units)
The position is definitely one of the best. As a vassal you can easily get some very safe fiefs from fighting Battania and Sturgia.
I'm so happy you've grown to be a main bannerlord channel I watch always great info and tips!
Best kingdom is your own created kingdom.
Just getting into Bannerlord, this video is fantastic, really helped me a ton. Many thanks 👍
just started bannerlord 3 days ago, maybe 20 hrs total
this is the best piece of content I've seen so far - very impressive & respectable knowledge bruh
I just love the sound it makes when you have like anywhere upwards of 50 sharpshooters, and they fire on things. Or the sound massed cavalry charges makes while going anywhere :D .
Unforunately i always tend to go for mostly cav based parties due to the world map speed. Nothing else. I *hate* not being able to catch anything....
what if you just get horses for your footsoldiers?
@@udozocklein6023 its not the same. It just lowers the debuff somewhat.
@@IIIJG52 i see. well, i get that. it's rly annoying when u try to chase someone with 0,1 speed difference^^
Elaborate coverage
P.s. and play Battania if words "freedom", "brave heart" and "sherwood" resonate with you more than usual :D
Hahahaha my first big battle as an Battanian king was against Vlandia and I had to reload it 10 times before finding a way to defeat their knight's charge. It was like being in braveheart. Having larger battle size solved my problem.
fun fact: battania actually has one of the best shock infantry. im not talking about the veteran falxman. but instead the regular falxman. the tier 4 battanian falxman is actually much stronger than the tier 5 battanian veteran falxman. and that is because the flaxman uses a 2-handed falx while the veteran uses a romphalia. the romphalia actually causes the tier 5 to deal less damage because of its HUGE swing, often getting caught on friendly units or hitting another enemy on the side before it reaches the sweet spot. this actually makes the tier 5 veteran falxman to be THE Worst shock infantry in the game. the tier 4 falxman can actually go toe to toe with any tier 5 shock infantry in the game and come out as the victor most of the time.
if you have 100 khans guard and 100 Fian Champs, you can decimate an enemy army that is 3x's your size on the field.
I beat 687 imperials with 160 fians like an hour ago and got the against all odds achievement I'm still feeling myself
Vlandia has always been my go-to.
Thanks for the video. The kingdoms are all in line with medeterranian/ Middle east area( i know I spelled it wrong). The vlandians are the Norman/Lombards of southern Ital, The Aserai the turks and Arabs, The vaegir asre the Kievan Rus with Scandanvain Mercs, the Khuzaits could be turkic and mongol tribes who invaded the area during the 12th century, the Empire is the Byzantine Empire, only the battanians don't fit they are like medieval irish or celts.. Anyways Thanks for the video, Hope you will have time to do a story playthrough of the game would love to see Calard ride again:) regards, Paras
it's clearly europe, the asian steppe and the middle east
I might be wrong but I think the battanians are supposed to be based on the Batavi culture of the Rhine valley considering the blending of germanic and celtic cultural themes.
Battanians are like the picts I think.
Personally i find the Sturgian infantry with the Heavy Axemen and Spears, Great solid and fairly uniform front line in terms of their armor and shields making them fairly well suited to dealing with just about any army the game can throw at the player, the axe men are great for chewing through opposing sheilds and the spears making short work of of incoming cav especially in sheild wall. I will support them with Fian Champians as a range unit due to their good bow skill, range and ammo capacity, though the Vilandian Sharpshooters are worth consideration. For heavy cav i love the Banner Knites because they are probly the easiest cav unit to level
After being through every beta, every change and participating on the forums for over 2 years i'm sad to say that the late midgame or late game content is sorely lacking. Especially in peacetime, because all focus went obviously to waging war. I hope this will change somewhat in the future, because the rpg elements and content are boring after one playthrough.
Same amount of hours. My solution would be they should have created twice the amount of kingdoms that are smaller so war and expansions would be constant
@@jedeo299 On PC there are mods that accomplish this very well. Calradia Expanded and Calradia Kingdoms (they go together) do add a lot of new kingdoms, towns, castles and people to fight. Not sure when it will be "1.0 ready" though.
@Jedeo I definitely like this idea. Several more kingdoms would make things a lot more interesting. As it is now I feel like wars tend to be just giant slog fests. Would rather have smaller kingdoms so that diplomacy ends up more interesting
We need crusader kings style events and some mechanics giving purpose and challenges besides warfare
@@favorius Purpose outside of battles. Yes.
I love how you called the khuzait the riders of Rohan build since I made my character named Rohir and just so happened to make him a Calvary character and also just so happened to be an influential kuzhait vassal (first playthrough so I really didn't know what I was doing)
Best thing to conquer the world as Battania is to wage war with Sturgia/Vlandia and take battles on small lords,then take all their cavalry(infantry for Sturgia and sharpshooters for Vlandia)then it should be rather easy to take them on as the rest are mostly rubbish/decent tier.
Excellent analysis!
Appreciate the thoroughness, learned a lot, despite having hundreds of hours in the game
In my opinion... Vlandia, Battania, Khuzait and the Empire are all top tier factions with differing strengths and weaknesses. They are either the best at what they do or have several all around good units.
Late game vlandia knights and crossbows aren't going to lose to much. A Battania Deathball of Fian champions is basically unstoppable even outnumbered, Khuzaits can be incredibly effective early on in any non seige battle, and the empire can basically win any prolonged fight massing Imperial legionaries and cataphracts (or with palatine archers during sieges)
Aserai (the last time I played them) just don't feel fun to play unless you are setting up a trading empire. They don't really have a "deathball" unit and will struggle in most straight up engagements. Most any way you play them, there is another faction which essentially can do the same but better (which then makes you wonder why you are playing them at all). They aren't as bad as at the start of the alpha/beta but I don't really think they carved out a niche in combat that made them all that unique.
Strugia used to suck to play because their best units were clearly heavy infantry which when death balled up would just get slaughtered by certain enemy army compositions essentially making them a less versatile or effective empire. Now at least they have heavy infantry that has more survivability and can be death balled to a degree, however I still feel they have versatility issues and (at least with my last playthrough of them) still felt the need to incorporate other factions units to round out my army.
Started my first playthrough with the empire and preemptively ending it to start another because Rhagea constantly decides to start wars 24/7(so I didn’t really have time to actually do things I.e recruit for companions etc) and also the fact that she rarely if even gives me fiefs even though my relationship with her is 100 and I matured her daughter…. So I said F it and started a second a second playthrough with vlandia and it’s crazy how coordinated and well positioned they are compared to everyone else, about 5 hours in and they’ve already taken 2 towns and 3 castles. They first attacked Battania destroyed them leaving them with a mere 4 towns left(they didn’t even have much to land to begin with) and then moved on the to the Asari and took a town in which was sitting on their border.
Really considering not becoming a vassal and do mercenary work for random kingdoms due to the fact that it’s going a bit faster than I want it to be and pushing them back along side the neighboring kingdom just to slow it down a little.
I just started my first playthrough and have been using elite cataphracts legionaries and fian champions
22:26 what are you doing steppe bow?
Credit to you. Very well made video. Clicked off if it but something drew me back. Love it. Thanks for making it
And thank you for watching it my dude :) very high praise there
Bro I just started playing this thanks to game pass and I really can’t stop playing. This video was great. Very informative definitely getting a sub .. thanks Brodie
There is still a bug that after you leave mercenary contract then become a vassal to someone else you get no special equipment or troops like you should.
So a brutal thing to do is train your HI captains for throwing as well as two handed, I believe. Attaching him to units of Heavy axemen means that apposing shield walls suffer a few accidents
Only thing I wish they added to game: Naval invasions/combat. Imagine how that would shake up the game, making the sea actually have an impact aside from "Impassable wall that causes chokepoints.
Tony Soprano definitely called somebody a mamaluke at some point - which i find out is italian slang for someone who does something stupid - and gets its origins from a term mamluke which apparently means slave.
Vlandian derthert is proto harlaus tho, so good Luck trying to get a castle if you decide to join vlandia
When I create my own kingdom I always get frontline infantry and shock cav from the imperials, archers from battania, horse archers from kuzait, and shock troops from sturgia
I need to play this again, I played the shit out of it when it first released until i nearly ran out of things to do. It’s probably a whole new game by now.
all you really need in your army are Fian Champions and Elite Cataphracts. split both into 2 groups. Pepper your enemy from 2 angles and defend them with your cataphracts, or use to cataphracts to expose their infantry to more arrows. I think a dismounted Elite Cataphract will beat the Vlandian sergeant
This is the exact video I was looking for, I really needed a breakdown of the units like this, thank you!
Also got to say, I watched all your CK3 tip vids when it dropped on console and am now doing the same with Bannerlord thank you dude, seriously so helpful, keep up the excellent work
In my playthrough the asori got forgotten about for a very long time and became the richest strongest faction by far. Only faction giving me issued at this point as I have taken most of the east and north of the map
Also Empire has the most settlements of their culture, and while the player can offset their cultural difference penalties with companion governors of the local culture, your ai allies will not, so the Empire factions suffer less rebellions when reunifying the empire, which imo offsets their downsides of being surrounded.
I’m brand new to the game and jumped right into the southern empire, dare I say, it’s fun and hard would recommend
I really don't think that skill levels do nearly as much as the innate gear that each unit is using. Cataphracts are incredible heavy cav because their horses have insane armor. It's very rare to see one get dehorsed in combat. Vlandian cav except banner knights don't wear shoulder armor. That's a lot of body and arm armor that they they are lacking, which means they are going to take more casualties than other cavs that do utilize that slot. I think the best way to metric how good a unit is, is to pay attention to how many casualties they take vs how many they inflict battle to battle. My favorite units are Druz Champs, Elite Cataphracts, and Heavy Mamaluke Cav Archers because those three have the best K/D ratios over the many many battles that I've monitored.
I'm still on the Battania part, but I completely agree, I've now gotta reinstall bannerlord 2 just so I can play on foot with Fian's again. Battania is my favorite faction for that unit as well as their skirmishers, and Falxes. Though I obvious can never deny the fun of Khuzait horse archer cheese.
Imperials are my absolute favourite, my comp is usually Imperial legionaries + Battanian fians + whatever I might need (usually Kuzait horse archers or Sturgian linebreakers)
2nd best archers are actually dismounted khans guard if i recall correctly. just wanted to add. very informative video thank you
"Vlandia and Sturgia fight alot" that tracks from my experience so far as a vlandian since console release...
"Sturgia is much mire competitive now after patches etc" sturgia barely even exists anymore...
I only use cavalry that can function on foot. Often times my cavalry are dismounted when they're charging the rear of enemy infantry lines, usually while the enemy infantry is engaging my infantry. If they go down in this case, theres somewhat of a chance they'll be flung into the middle of my infantry line, where they can then act as a solid infantry unit.
Also, cavalry that can double as good infantry are great for sieges. I don't like redundant units during sieges
Y'all check out my dude Stat if you want more in depth details about the units. He does a bunch of tests with the units vs each other. It's not usually entertaining, but you learn some little details about the game you aren't told anywhere. Basically, if you like numbers and Bannerlord haha.
100%!!!
im in my first campaign rn with the Battanians. only cuz of their archers xD, but ive got an army with a cap of 520 troops with all the T6 units and then legionairs, voulgiers, oathsworn and menavliatons and doing really well. its just us against khuzaits because ive defeated the empire conspiracy and eliminated sturgia and vlandia. its basically Battania against Khuzait and Aseria on the sidelines sometimes jumping in.
I started as Battanian due to movement bonus in forests but I dislike their city aesthetics. They feel like Iron Age settlements instead of middle age towns. Still slowly I started to feel a little Battanian in myself after controlling half of Battania.
Top 3 best infantry units
1: Sturgian Heavy Axeman
2: Sturgian Heavy Axeman
3: Sturgian Heavy Axeman
Vlandia is objectively the best because they are the progenitors of the Rhodoks
Rhodoks rule.
I like to typically ransom and watch noble houses vanish, generally though I do that to the annoying rebel factions only, I never see a reason to annoy a rebel by ransoming them or lugging them around, sure you can sell them for alot but it is usually nothing compared to what they can provide later or in other ways.
Great video! Thank you so much 🙏