When was the last time you fought a battle in the campaign where it was all tier 5/6 troops vs tier 5/6 troops? Likely never, and for me personally I've never experienced this in 350+ hours of Bannerlord. So why is it all the tier lists compare max rank troops vs max rank troops? Maybe at some point mid/late game you can end up with a majority arrangement of high rank troops, but the AI will always have a diverse arrangement of r1/2/3/4/... troops. The reason this is relevant when considering where a faction's strengths lay is because troops of different cultures gain armour/weapon upgrades inconsistently and disproportionately.
A good example of this are Sturgian archers. While their equipment might be inferior to other cultures at max rank, from hunter -> archer they gain northern chainmail armour whereas their counterpart archers from other factions are still rocking gambisons or leather with very poor protection around hands/feet in particular. This is true of Sturgia in general, their troops at max rank have weaker armour than almost all their counterparts (especially berserkers with their nakedness and shock troopers with their cloth scarfs) but their low-mid rank troops are very well protected.
I like to bring up Sturgia in the above example because by many people's appraisal they are the weakest faction, usually the first to be eliminated in a campaign. This is important because I see changes to their troop tree being the most common suggestion when it shouldn't be and developer focus/public attention should be on other issues. Sturgian troops are not the problem. The real issues for the northern kingdom are the low prosperity of all their towns, the fact that their entire territory is slowed by the snow (including villagers and caravans) and especially the fact that there is never enough blood for Raganvad.
A good example of this are Sturgian archers. While their equipment might be inferior to other cultures at max rank, from hunter -> archer they gain northern chainmail armour whereas their counterpart archers from other factions are still rocking gambisons or leather with very poor protection around hands/feet in particular. This is true of Sturgia in general, their troops at max rank have weaker armour than almost all their counterparts (especially berserkers with their nakedness and shock troopers with their cloth scarfs) but their low-mid rank troops are very well protected.
I like to bring up Sturgia in the above example because by many people's appraisal they are the weakest faction, usually the first to be eliminated in a campaign. This is important because I see changes to their troop tree being the most common suggestion when it shouldn't be and developer focus/public attention should be on other issues. Sturgian troops are not the problem. The real issues for the northern kingdom are the low prosperity of all their towns, the fact that their entire territory is slowed by the snow (including villagers and caravans) and especially the fact that there is never enough blood for Raganvad.
