The Current State of Mount and Blade II Bannerlord: New Features

What is the current state of Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord after 2 years since launch? Here’s our battle report of every new feature added to the game since the beginning of the early access. From rebellions to new systems, we can say that the second installment of the series is shaping up to be an immersive medieval sandbox.

Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord was one of the most anticipated games of the last decade. The previous title in the series launched back in 2009. Although it was a timeless game that offered an amazing sandbox experience, the anticipation for a sequel had been growing since TaleWorlds Entertainment’s announcement in 2012.

Fortunately, the long-awaited game arrived in the middle of the pandemic. And it has been in the early access process since it opened its doors back on March 30, 2020. TaleWorld’s second mainline installment in the franchise has received numerous patches and gained lots of new features in the last two years. It is also rated Mostly Positive thanks to more than 140,000 reviews on Steam.

What’s New in Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord?

That being said, the game has still not reached a version ready for the full release. While we do not know the exact release date of the full version, we believe that it will be a lot better than its current state.

Even though it is still in early access, M&B II: Bannerlord feels and plays like a full game with all of its new patches and systems. From major changes to minor improvements, we listed all the new additions in early access.

Better Enemy AI

The enemy AI is one of the most improved elements of the game. Enemies in the game went from not being able to use a siege ladder to making smart tactics during a massive war.

Thanks to the polished and improved AI, sieges and plain battles are a lot more immersive. You will often see groups of units getting into various formations when they are outnumbered. All these major improvements and small changes definitely made the battle experience better.

Improvements in Fief Management

The management system is now a bit more diverse thanks to the new additions. The new patches improved garrison management and made it more realistic as well. So holding a fief secure and prosperous is a lot more difficult. Thanks to the factors like loyalty and security it is also possible for the settlement to start a riot. When loyalty is below 5, you might have a rebellion on your hands.

Battle Terrain System

There is no doubt that the Battle Terrain system is one of the most important additions to the game. Battle Terrain allows the game to match the spawn positions of attacking and defending parties to the coordinations on the campaign map. Meaning that the location and the scenery of the battle will not be a generic scene. 

Before this update, the game would simply load a battle map that partially reflects your location on the campaign map. This did not only damage immersion but also made the game feel more repetitive. Thanks to the Battle Terrain system, your location on the campaign map is directly depicted when you enter the battle. 

Order of Battle System

With this new feature, the players can now deploy their troops in a strategic manner and divide them into formations. It is also possible for them to combine different troops based on their equipment. All of these can be set through sliders and filters, making the game feel like a solid strategy title. It is one of the best things in the current state of Bannerlord.

New Armor and Weapons

New patches expanded the gear inventory of the game as well. The latest patches added new weapons and armor like Ornate Legionary Scale Mail and Decorated Legionary Mail. The devs also updated the current stats of the existing gear to make them more realistic.

Performance

TaleWorlds optimized the game’s overall performance with the 1.7.0 patch. Bannerlord works a lot more stable when it comes to computations and the random number generator. Most players reported that their frame rates went up after the latest patches. Thanks to the optimized codes and fixed memory leaks, the game is mostly free of stuttering and FPS drops.

Minor Changes

There have been a ton of minor changes that improved the user interface. Here are some of them.

• The movement speed of a certain party is now visible. This change helps the user to compare the party’s speed with their own.
• Players can now disable the battle UI through the Hide Battle UI option to increase the level of immersion.
• The Save and Load screen visuals give information on the hero’s HP alongside a modules section.
• The in-game tabs and menus like the Kingdom, Diplomacy, and Clan are vastly improved. They now offer info on the hero’s current status.
• Bugs in quest markers, Encyclopedia options, war logs and various other in-game tabs are fixed.

What is the current version of Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord?

As of May 2022, the current version of the game is e1.7.1. And beta hotfix was released back on April 19, 2022. The game receives new patches each month so the new update should drop soon.

How close is MB2: Bannerlord to full release?

The earlier date for the full release of Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord was in the second quarter of 2022. Now that we are in the target timeline, Bannerlord should be out of the early access period anytime soon. Though the developers can also delay the full release date. In that case, Bannerlord should reach its complete state before 2022 ends. We believe that the game is closer to the full release than it ever was.

Well, here are some of the most significant new features in the game. If you are wondering about the current state of Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord, it is safe to say that this is a good time to jump right in.