Okay.
I love this game.
I only played about half an hour of Warband, but I love love love Bannerlord.
Just bought a new graphics card and PSU just for this game.
Already sunk 74 hours into the campaign in less than a week.
Posted about how great it is on Facebook.
Told my friends to buy it.
Made an account here just to post this.
Whole nine yards.
This is the best early access game I have ever played period. I'm thrilled. The game pushes all my buttons: the RPG and unit skill/inventory management, the RTS, the medieval feel, the open world, the city management, the awesome combat and intuitive parry system, it's like all my favorite games rolled into one. I only wish I could tweak the inventory of my soldiers beyond my companions, but I realize that may be asking too much. And I do wish there was some low-mid fantasy elements - I want a unit of wizards and clerics dangit, maybe Dwarven and Elven factions if I'm feeling spicy - but that's just me and my taste and heck that'd make it a pretty different game so not really a real complaint. Kudos and well done. I already paid for it but when the full game comes out I'd buy it again if I had to.
However some criticisms:
Spearmen/Pikemen/etc. BADLY need reworking. They're near-useless. Most of the time they keep their polearms on their backs and roll in with their shortswords and no shield. We badly badly badly need a spearwall formation option. We have a shield wall, but no spear wall. Hell even if the shield wall formation allowed spearmen to support people with shields in front of them it'd be better but as it is now the AI does nearly nothing with them. I worked hard to build up a battalion of voulgiers and pikemen to support my archers and they do not help nearly as much as even lower-tier units with shields.
What we need is for units with polearms but no shields to be able to set stationary spears in a two-deep spearwall against charging units, especially cavalry. Similar to couched lances for charging cavalry. But as it is now spearmen don't even target horses in melee, shieldless units get wrecked by archers and throwing weapons, and there's really there's no reason not to have every unit you have carry shields.
While we're on the subject, cavalry could use some love too. Cavalry charges aren't nearly as devastating as they really should be. They don't charge in any kind of formation half the time, and I don't even think they couch spears properly. We need at least tier 5 and up cavalry to be able to charge in a wedge and mow through dudes, UNLESS they have spears.
Medieval combat was a rock>paper>scissors of cavalry>archer>pike and right now the game is just "shields in front of a ****-ton of arrows for everyone!" Which gets repetitive fast. Never boring, but repetitive.
Those are the big ones. I'm posting this specifically as a single-player issue because after in-game - especially early-game - weeks of investing in a modern pike battalion, to see them be totally ineffectual is DOUBLY frustrating and represents wasted time and effort and money.
Couple other suggestions/thoughts:
It's REAL hard to claim your first territories beyond the mission when you have to have a small army, and when you do it's completely impossible for vy for peace when your power and wallet is still so pathetically weak. Then again, perhaps that's the point.
Flaming arrows maybe? Ditches of pitch perhaps? Fire is already in the game after all so I'm hoping I'm not asking too much.
Smithing is wonderful, love it, but I'd really love to be able to smith armor or shields.
And I'd love to have more reason to walk around the cities beyond looking for the Family Feud quest. The fast travel is great but sometimes - at least when you first enter the city - you need to have a reason to walk around your beautiful maps. Maybe you should only be able to fast-travel to someone or someplace once you've been there once/met the person?
And shields feel a little too essential. Even besides the aforementioned two-handed spear issue. I love a two-handed sword, but I feel like I can't afford to use one since shields are so necessary in certain situations. Perhaps dropping/putting away your shield can let you use bastard swords two handed? As it is now they still use a one-handed animation even with your shield on your back.
Since axes get a shield damage bonus, maces need similar. Either for heavy armor or shields if that's not codable or something.
And long as I'm getting greedy, maybe a corps-a-corps system or sword binds or grapples or something. Ok I know I'm getting greedy now, I'll stop.
But I cannot stress enough how much I adore this game. Make a few fixes and maybe give the modding community six months to dig their claws into it and this is easily going to crack my top 5 games of all time.
Can't wait for more. ...And for my graphics card to arrive.
EDIT: I now realize I in no way looked at the formatting guidelines before posting this and I am sorry. I came here looking for a like early access feedback email and didn't think of this as a forum.
I love this game.
I only played about half an hour of Warband, but I love love love Bannerlord.
Just bought a new graphics card and PSU just for this game.
Already sunk 74 hours into the campaign in less than a week.
Posted about how great it is on Facebook.
Told my friends to buy it.
Made an account here just to post this.
Whole nine yards.
This is the best early access game I have ever played period. I'm thrilled. The game pushes all my buttons: the RPG and unit skill/inventory management, the RTS, the medieval feel, the open world, the city management, the awesome combat and intuitive parry system, it's like all my favorite games rolled into one. I only wish I could tweak the inventory of my soldiers beyond my companions, but I realize that may be asking too much. And I do wish there was some low-mid fantasy elements - I want a unit of wizards and clerics dangit, maybe Dwarven and Elven factions if I'm feeling spicy - but that's just me and my taste and heck that'd make it a pretty different game so not really a real complaint. Kudos and well done. I already paid for it but when the full game comes out I'd buy it again if I had to.
However some criticisms:
Spearmen/Pikemen/etc. BADLY need reworking. They're near-useless. Most of the time they keep their polearms on their backs and roll in with their shortswords and no shield. We badly badly badly need a spearwall formation option. We have a shield wall, but no spear wall. Hell even if the shield wall formation allowed spearmen to support people with shields in front of them it'd be better but as it is now the AI does nearly nothing with them. I worked hard to build up a battalion of voulgiers and pikemen to support my archers and they do not help nearly as much as even lower-tier units with shields.
What we need is for units with polearms but no shields to be able to set stationary spears in a two-deep spearwall against charging units, especially cavalry. Similar to couched lances for charging cavalry. But as it is now spearmen don't even target horses in melee, shieldless units get wrecked by archers and throwing weapons, and there's really there's no reason not to have every unit you have carry shields.
While we're on the subject, cavalry could use some love too. Cavalry charges aren't nearly as devastating as they really should be. They don't charge in any kind of formation half the time, and I don't even think they couch spears properly. We need at least tier 5 and up cavalry to be able to charge in a wedge and mow through dudes, UNLESS they have spears.
Medieval combat was a rock>paper>scissors of cavalry>archer>pike and right now the game is just "shields in front of a ****-ton of arrows for everyone!" Which gets repetitive fast. Never boring, but repetitive.
Those are the big ones. I'm posting this specifically as a single-player issue because after in-game - especially early-game - weeks of investing in a modern pike battalion, to see them be totally ineffectual is DOUBLY frustrating and represents wasted time and effort and money.
Couple other suggestions/thoughts:
It's REAL hard to claim your first territories beyond the mission when you have to have a small army, and when you do it's completely impossible for vy for peace when your power and wallet is still so pathetically weak. Then again, perhaps that's the point.
Flaming arrows maybe? Ditches of pitch perhaps? Fire is already in the game after all so I'm hoping I'm not asking too much.
Smithing is wonderful, love it, but I'd really love to be able to smith armor or shields.
And I'd love to have more reason to walk around the cities beyond looking for the Family Feud quest. The fast travel is great but sometimes - at least when you first enter the city - you need to have a reason to walk around your beautiful maps. Maybe you should only be able to fast-travel to someone or someplace once you've been there once/met the person?
And shields feel a little too essential. Even besides the aforementioned two-handed spear issue. I love a two-handed sword, but I feel like I can't afford to use one since shields are so necessary in certain situations. Perhaps dropping/putting away your shield can let you use bastard swords two handed? As it is now they still use a one-handed animation even with your shield on your back.
Since axes get a shield damage bonus, maces need similar. Either for heavy armor or shields if that's not codable or something.
And long as I'm getting greedy, maybe a corps-a-corps system or sword binds or grapples or something. Ok I know I'm getting greedy now, I'll stop.
But I cannot stress enough how much I adore this game. Make a few fixes and maybe give the modding community six months to dig their claws into it and this is easily going to crack my top 5 games of all time.
Can't wait for more. ...And for my graphics card to arrive.
EDIT: I now realize I in no way looked at the formatting guidelines before posting this and I am sorry. I came here looking for a like early access feedback email and didn't think of this as a forum.
Last edited: