At the risk of stating the obvious: a lengthy absence from the game is wholesome for your perspective on Bannerlord. Having only intermittently dabbled with the game for close to 6 months, 1.6.0 presented for me a (modestly) fresh re-entry point to experience its most recent changes. On balance, I've loved the improvements to the campaign, and hope the devs are aware: whenever they see vitriol for their game, it is not because Bannerlord is objectively bad (it really, really isn't), but only because it has so much potential... Arguably more potential than any single player game I've ever played.
After 2 full playthroughs on the 1.6.0 ruleset (the first as Merc->Vassal->split to form own Kingdom->conquer whole map as King, the second as Merc clan preserving the world's integrity forever), I have a few observations to share on the state of the game.
1. Snowballing: Kudos to the dev team, you've done a great job here. It is no longer the case that any one faction will consistently rule the roost (*cough* Khuzait *cough*). As an ambitious vassal vying for independent kingship someday (one of the most common 'paths' chosen in Mount&Blade games, I think), the player no longer feels pressed for time. It used to be the case that you needed to quickly assert yourself on the map and blockade a snowballing power before it could reach an undefeatable (or at the least, monumentally tiring to fight) critical mass. Calradia now evolves at a more reasonable timescale.
This isn't to say that snowballing doesn't occur. Eventually some factions shrink into oblivion - and past a certain point, are incapable of making a comeback. One could argue that by that point (typically 25 years into a playthrough), that run is in its endgame, with 3-4 superpowers left duking it out for supremacy. I would counter though that for a game that involves dynasties and political marriages as core mechanics, it's a shame that playthroughs become politically uninteresting at the 25-year mark, just as the player's offspring are about to enter the fray. I'd be curious to know how many of the superactive players of Bannerlord have done multi-generational playthroughs... I'd wager, not many. Even with 1.6.0 (+ prior patches) fixes to snowballing, too many kingdoms have fallen by the time your first child is ready to take up arms.
2. Diplomacy: The state of diplomacy in Bannerlord remains anemic, with Alliances and Non-Aggression Pacts missing. That said, given the small number of factions in game and the modest size of the map, Alliances/NAPs run a high risk of re-introducing snowballing (I suspect most player Kingdoms do exactly that: pay high tribute to one neighbour for peace, a Non-Aggression Pact of sorts, so you can focus on completely smashing another. War on 2+ fronts is how AI factions lose). The game needs any new diplomatic features to focus on helping the weak make a comeback, not enabling the strong to snowball faster.
In my King playthrough, I lamented my inability to help Vlandia, Sturgia, the Southern Empire and the Northern Empire get back on their feet. A few possible solutions for the 'endless playthrough':
Aserai:
[Pro] Caravans are 30% cheaper to build. 10% less trade penalty. -> Caravans are 30% cheaper to build and move 25% faster on the map. Workshops you own produce 50% more goods. 20% less trade penalty.
Battania:
[Pro] 50% less speed penalty and 15% sight range bonus in forests -> 30% less speed penalty and 15% sight range bonus in forests.
Empire:
[Pro] 20% less garrison troop wages -> 25% more income from all fiefs.
Khuzait:
[Pro] Recruiting and upgrading mounted troops is 10% cheaper -> Recruiting and upgrading mounted troops is 25% cheaper. Upkeep of mounted troops in your party is reduced by 35%.
Sturgia:
[Pro] Recruiting and upgrading infantry troops is 25% cheaper -> Recruiting and upgrading infantry troops is 50% cheaper. Upkeep of infantry troops in your party is reduced by 50%.
Vlandia:
[Pro] 5% more renown from battles. 15% more income while serving as a mercenary -> 10% more renown and influence from battles. 50% more income while serving as a mercenary.
Each of these aims to make a particular playstyle dramatically more appealing, and broaden the field for what it means to 'play Bannerlord'. As a personal example: I've been playing as a Vlandian Mercenary lately (Clan Tier 5), and have gotten to the stage where my Clan can hotswap to whatever faction is starting to lose ground, help turn the tables for them and earn several hundred thousand denar in Influence fees and loot. Better yet, delivering captive Lords to your faction's Towns/Castles gives you tons of Relationship with that Town/Castle's owner (not sure when they added this?) on top of an adequate amount of Influence (with the Vlandian Cultural Bonus, almost as much money as using the ransom broker). So you become, in effect, a celebrated Mercenary Warlord, earning riches and the respect of your allies. There ought to be an exciting Trader life like that, an Imperial Overlord life, a Golden Horde life, an Infantry Captain life, etc. all enabled by these Cultural Bonuses and targeted additions to the skill trees. I for one would love to see an accessible Steward or Leadership perk that would allow Mercenaries to form Clan-only armies and more meaningfully reshape the map for their wealthy benefactors!
If some of these suggested bonuses seem too extreme, they could also be designed to scale with Clan Tier, capping out at the values above for Clan Tier 6. Also worth remembering that the Crossbow 250 Perk "Picked shots" reduces Upkeep for Tier 4+ ranged troops by 50%, so the code already exists to enable cheap, powerful ranged parties.
My apologies for the length of this post. I've been genuinely excited about revisiting Bannerlord in 1.6.0, and on balance very happy with the changes. The gaming industry is prey to a sea of negativity lately, some deserved but honestly some not. If you've gotten triple-digit (or for some perhaps, quadruple-digit!) hours of entertainment out of a single title... it's worth acknowledging the monumental achievement that game represents. Keep calm and carry on, Taleworlds.
After 2 full playthroughs on the 1.6.0 ruleset (the first as Merc->Vassal->split to form own Kingdom->conquer whole map as King, the second as Merc clan preserving the world's integrity forever), I have a few observations to share on the state of the game.
1. Snowballing: Kudos to the dev team, you've done a great job here. It is no longer the case that any one faction will consistently rule the roost (*cough* Khuzait *cough*). As an ambitious vassal vying for independent kingship someday (one of the most common 'paths' chosen in Mount&Blade games, I think), the player no longer feels pressed for time. It used to be the case that you needed to quickly assert yourself on the map and blockade a snowballing power before it could reach an undefeatable (or at the least, monumentally tiring to fight) critical mass. Calradia now evolves at a more reasonable timescale.
This isn't to say that snowballing doesn't occur. Eventually some factions shrink into oblivion - and past a certain point, are incapable of making a comeback. One could argue that by that point (typically 25 years into a playthrough), that run is in its endgame, with 3-4 superpowers left duking it out for supremacy. I would counter though that for a game that involves dynasties and political marriages as core mechanics, it's a shame that playthroughs become politically uninteresting at the 25-year mark, just as the player's offspring are about to enter the fray. I'd be curious to know how many of the superactive players of Bannerlord have done multi-generational playthroughs... I'd wager, not many. Even with 1.6.0 (+ prior patches) fixes to snowballing, too many kingdoms have fallen by the time your first child is ready to take up arms.
2. Diplomacy: The state of diplomacy in Bannerlord remains anemic, with Alliances and Non-Aggression Pacts missing. That said, given the small number of factions in game and the modest size of the map, Alliances/NAPs run a high risk of re-introducing snowballing (I suspect most player Kingdoms do exactly that: pay high tribute to one neighbour for peace, a Non-Aggression Pact of sorts, so you can focus on completely smashing another. War on 2+ fronts is how AI factions lose). The game needs any new diplomatic features to focus on helping the weak make a comeback, not enabling the strong to snowball faster.
In my King playthrough, I lamented my inability to help Vlandia, Sturgia, the Southern Empire and the Northern Empire get back on their feet. A few possible solutions for the 'endless playthrough':
- Grant fief to another Kingdom: Perhaps ownership of a fief does not make any sense, culturally or geographically, for your Kingdom. You offer it to another ruler, in exchange for denar, or improved relations with their entire faction, or the promise of truce for X days (stacking). This would allow the lategame 'King' playthrough to engage in proxy wars, creating buffer states out of defunct ones, while also being fairly simple to implement (upon voting whom to grant a fief to, you'd have another option to grant it to another Kingdom, probably at a higher cost of Influence).
- Liberate: Similar to the option above but simpler: the fief is returned to its original Culture/Owner, in exchange for improved relations with their entire faction.
- Take a defeated Kingdom under your wing as a Protectorate: If a Kingdom has 1 fief or less, it would become amenable to becoming a Protectorate. Such Kingdoms can be granted fiefs by their Protector, and are forbidden from declaring War on their Protector (except as part of a Kingdom vote for a War of Independence). Admittedly, this third option would require more thorough development work.
Aserai:
[Pro] Caravans are 30% cheaper to build. 10% less trade penalty. -> Caravans are 30% cheaper to build and move 25% faster on the map. Workshops you own produce 50% more goods. 20% less trade penalty.
Battania:
[Pro] 50% less speed penalty and 15% sight range bonus in forests -> 30% less speed penalty and 15% sight range bonus in forests.
Empire:
[Pro] 20% less garrison troop wages -> 25% more income from all fiefs.
Khuzait:
[Pro] Recruiting and upgrading mounted troops is 10% cheaper -> Recruiting and upgrading mounted troops is 25% cheaper. Upkeep of mounted troops in your party is reduced by 35%.
Sturgia:
[Pro] Recruiting and upgrading infantry troops is 25% cheaper -> Recruiting and upgrading infantry troops is 50% cheaper. Upkeep of infantry troops in your party is reduced by 50%.
Vlandia:
[Pro] 5% more renown from battles. 15% more income while serving as a mercenary -> 10% more renown and influence from battles. 50% more income while serving as a mercenary.
Each of these aims to make a particular playstyle dramatically more appealing, and broaden the field for what it means to 'play Bannerlord'. As a personal example: I've been playing as a Vlandian Mercenary lately (Clan Tier 5), and have gotten to the stage where my Clan can hotswap to whatever faction is starting to lose ground, help turn the tables for them and earn several hundred thousand denar in Influence fees and loot. Better yet, delivering captive Lords to your faction's Towns/Castles gives you tons of Relationship with that Town/Castle's owner (not sure when they added this?) on top of an adequate amount of Influence (with the Vlandian Cultural Bonus, almost as much money as using the ransom broker). So you become, in effect, a celebrated Mercenary Warlord, earning riches and the respect of your allies. There ought to be an exciting Trader life like that, an Imperial Overlord life, a Golden Horde life, an Infantry Captain life, etc. all enabled by these Cultural Bonuses and targeted additions to the skill trees. I for one would love to see an accessible Steward or Leadership perk that would allow Mercenaries to form Clan-only armies and more meaningfully reshape the map for their wealthy benefactors!
If some of these suggested bonuses seem too extreme, they could also be designed to scale with Clan Tier, capping out at the values above for Clan Tier 6. Also worth remembering that the Crossbow 250 Perk "Picked shots" reduces Upkeep for Tier 4+ ranged troops by 50%, so the code already exists to enable cheap, powerful ranged parties.
My apologies for the length of this post. I've been genuinely excited about revisiting Bannerlord in 1.6.0, and on balance very happy with the changes. The gaming industry is prey to a sea of negativity lately, some deserved but honestly some not. If you've gotten triple-digit (or for some perhaps, quadruple-digit!) hours of entertainment out of a single title... it's worth acknowledging the monumental achievement that game represents. Keep calm and carry on, Taleworlds.
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