Bannerlord :The Good, The Bad and The Average

[Lorcalus]

Hello everyone.
I wanted to give my take on the current state of game mechanics and directions they are taking. Since this is Early Access I disregarded balance and bugs and only focused on the mechanics in game.
Fell free to post your views on the core mechanics. Would like to see how others see the design, and what bothers them curently and what others hope for certain core mechanics to become. , Hopefully this thread becomes nice overview of the game mechanics.

The Good

• Fief system; Great design. Linking villages with castles/cities makes it more immersible and logical. Very medieval feel. Upgrades seem OK. Militias are great. Hope governor systtem is expanded with more positions (eg. master at arms etc.)
• Battles; There are certain things that need to be adjusted but otherwise there is nothing better than clashing you army against the enemy. Personaly i hoped they would last longer.
• Perks; and leveling; I like it. Leveling feel more logical and immersive. Needs only balancing and adding missing ones. The only hope is that they add option to start game with true sandox with free distribution of starting levels.
• Sieges; Preparations and siege engines are great. Siege itself feels immersive and an achievement. From my view there are still a lot of problems but not design wise. Mechanic has most balance, bugs and AI pathing issues currently.
• Trade; Player caravans are nice additions. Core trade loop seems great. Only hope is to add more regionally unique resources and workshops.

The Bad

• Kingdom management; Absolutelly terrible.No differentiations between kingdoms. No marshal to lead your kingdom forces. Policies are nice but should be a supplement to complex law system that defines kingdoms. No special interactions with clans. A good hierarchy system(like count>Duke>King) is a requirement for good kingdom system and possible feuds and rebellions. Voting right should be based on kingdom laws.
• Quests; Absolutelly terrible. No variance. Quests shouldnt only be reactive based. There should be also skill based quests and repetable kind of quest. Main questline is not particularly interesting. Hoped that a lot of different things should be included in quests like neutral locations, boardgames etc.
• Diplomacy; Practically nonexistent. There are some basic things but no stances. No predifined relations betwen factions.
• Factions; No variation betwen them. No unique decisions or playing mechanics. The only difference is a buff you get for culture.

The Average

• Campaign map; Graphics wise the map is great. Problem is that when you use map that much it becomes boring and stale without anything to supplement the core fighting/sieging/traveling system. Adding some ruins you can visit would add greatly to the gamemplay. Scattering some neutral taverns around map or adding some other neutral sites would make the game more interesting. Also adding roads (even if not functional) and some fields and oases wouldnt hurt. THese additions would also give the player some rest from constant fighting and add a dash of exploration to game.
• Smithing; Idea of smithing your weapon is great but otherwise mechanic is lacking in every other way. There is no way to get custom Weapon otherwise. No smithing NPC to act as quest giver or for crafting weapons for player. Learning parts is to random. No way to buy parts you need instead of grinding everything.
• Clans; Mix of too much different concepts. No difference betwen factions in terms of Clans. Hierarchy system is to basic and mixed with clan system. Vassalage needs to be more differentiated from clan hierarchy.
• Influence; I think its a good system for controling and keeping army together but otherwise not working. Influence should be differentiated from voting system and found more organic and immersive way. Influence costs should more differentiated when controling higher tier clan armies.
• Workshop; Missed oportunity in current state. No restrictions in terms which workshops are available in certain cities. Designating workshop to anything you want really doesnt work in terms of immersion. Hoped cities would have districts with each district having uniques type of workshop and certain unique workshops in different regional cities.
• Bandit Hideouts; Vast improvement compared to Warband. Attacking hideouts is quite good. Otherwise there is really no other thing to do. No options to establish your own rading party. No option for creating your base. THere is no permanent unique hideouts that anyone can occupy.
• Minor factions; Hoped this would be more immersive and important to the game. No special quests connected to them. Hiring them shouldnt be like hiring mercenaries. Minors should have reputation bar that unlock certain interactions at certain tresholds.

Overally the game is quite good. If this would be my first dip into MnB series i would give the game 9/10. But an objective grade would be 7/10. Crashing your troops into the enemy is still thrilling. Definetlly worth the money (even in current state).
Feel free to comment.


P.S: Some time ago i made huges list of suggesstions about all the main core mechanics. If anyone wants to see it (Its a long read) :Link

 

[froggyluv]

Campaign map

Functional roads with real bonus and penalties would totally change the game for the better. As it is the world map has no sense of semblance - that is, parties are just buzzing around the world map like 1985 Sprites bouncing and reacting with invisible magnetic energy and impeccable foresight. In this world, caravans arent predictable by taking known travelways -thereby making ambush impossible. They would also use pathways that offered more security. You cannot really "Plan" anything on the world map as you inevitably will be chasing it until it hits some world map barrier after a manic 40 day chase in which it will be cornered and forced to fight.

There is zero semblance of real world travelways, strategy or tactics used on these world maps.

 

[Hans 77]

Campaign map; Graphics wise the map is great. Problem is that when you use map that much it becomes boring and stale without anything to supplement the core fighting/sieging/traveling system. Adding some ruins you can visit would add greatly to the gamemplay. Scattering some neutral taverns around map or adding some other neutral sites would make the game more interesting. Also adding roads (even if not functional) and some fields and oases wouldnt hurt. THese additions would also give the player some rest from constant fighting and add a dash of exploration to game.

Great suggestion.

Adding some unique sites would be huge for enhancing immersion and adding to the "feel" of Calradia.

It would be nice seeing a couple taverns dotted here and there along the main thoroughfares.They could be a source of new companions, quests, items, gossip, unique music and entertainment, or maybe even illicit underground arena fights.

Crumbled ruins serve as the skeletal remains of an age long past, and an adventurous hero could find treasure -or trouble, if they delve deep enough into them.

Things like kurgans (burial mounds) on the steppes, standing stone circles nestled deep within primordial forests, famous battlefields, and other sacred/important locations could be places where the player can learn more about Calradian lore and pick up special quests.

I'd like to see oases the player can interact with in desert portion of the map. A hub for merchants and nomads, they could be a place where the player can purchase rare or exquisite items, buy camels/horses/livestock, recruit some units, find work, or even get into a little bit of roguery.

Other stuff like lumber/mining camps, farms, and pastures are also a nice way of giving the player a firsthand look at Calradian life other than the battlefield.


As long as all of these things are interactive and offer the player something to do, they could add a lot of immersion to the Bannerlord experience.

 

[black_bulldog]

Perks; and leveling; I like it. Leveling feel more logical and immersive. Needs only balancing and adding missing ones. The only hope is that they add option to start game with true sandox with free distribution of starting levels.

Leveling is horrible without a doubt the most punishing I've ever seen in any rpg I've played. Your skills level slower as you go up. That's fine, but your character level is determined by skill leveling and character level slows as you level too. You get to the point where it's not possible to level your character anymore because skills have zero growth and you can't progress.
I'm fine with making it more difficult to level skills or more difficult to level you character but a zero growth in an open world game, especially so low at around 24-25 is just assine. Theoretically you can only get a few skills up to max level but in reality the skill growth is so slow for some skills you may never see it happen. Have you ever tried maxing out athletics? I've played a character with 10 in endurance and max points asap for atheltics after about 650 days I was at 165 in athletics. In addition if you spread yourself out too thin by including a few other skills as minor skills you're only hurting your main skills progression and sabotage your character growth. It's counter-intuitive and completely frustrating I hope TW fixes this **** because if they don't I'll be looking for a mod to do something about it.

 

[Lorcalus]

Leveling is horrible without a doubt the most punishing I've ever seen in any rpg I've played. Your skills level slower as you go up. That's fine, but your character level is determined by skill leveling and character level slows as you level too. You get to the point where it's not possible to level your character anymore because skills have zero growth and you can't progress.
I'm fine with making it more difficult to level skills or more difficult to level you character but a zero growth in an open world game, especially so low at around 24-25 is just assine. Theoretically you can only get a few skills up to max level but in reality the skill growth is so slow for some skills you may never see it happen. Have you ever tried maxing out athletics? I've played a character with 10 in endurance and max points asap for atheltics after about 650 days I was at 165 in athletics. In addition if you spread yourself out too thin by including a few other skills as minor skills you're only hurting your main skills progression and sabotage your character growth. It's counter-intuitive and completely frustrating I hope TW fixes this **** because if they don't I'll be looking for a mod to do something about it.

I agree with you view on this but i think that is more balance issue than mechanic wise. I disregarded balance since its EA and probably being under revision internaly (i hope). Strictly looking as a game mechanic it feels more immersive/logical to level through skills than the classic system of leveling in most of rpg games thus a good design.

 

[Sparticulous]

We also need highway men who will challenge you to duels or try to press a toll on pass bys. With a mission to clear out highway men

 

[black_bulldog]

I agree with you view on this but i think that is more balance issue than mechanic wise. I disregarded balance since its EA and probably being under revision internaly (i hope). Strictly looking as a game mechanic it feels more immersive/logical to level through skills than the classic system of leveling in most of rpg games thus a good design.

It's a catch 22 situation. To level up your character you need to get obtain skill points, but to obtain those skill points you have to level. Leveling becomes harder and harder not only to level up skills but to character levels. It becomes impossible after awhile to move the bar because skills bottom out. Oh and god forbid you don't focus in on 2-3 skills because you'll really screw yourself because you won't be able to move 4-5 additional skills up to where they can even progress. Leveling up skills that you don't want to level actually hurts your progression overall because it slows down the character's growth as you level. It's nonsensical and whoever designed it must not have thought out the ramifications of the system or they just didn't care because they thought it was a good system.

 

[thefinn]

A little disappointed there's no "army builder" where you can define your own troop tree.

 

[chaseh]

Agree on most things, but you actually can get a smithing companion and let him build things for you. Just click on your portrait in the smithing screen and it will give you the option to have your companions smith. I really miss the predictable caravans, ambushing Sarranid caravans to the south of Halmar was how I paid for my kingdom mid-game

 

[HugoTheFrenchMan]

To me having am Marshals be the only Ines leading armies is terrible in warband Sieges we're Bland especially since you're King never have you marshal and the ai that was marshal hardly did anything and a Duke and Count system wouldnt really work

 

[relam10]

Nice points. Tbh is kinda sad to read this posts, becouse I realize how awesome could be this game with few changes. Hope Tw add atleast 10-15% of what community want, just with that this game would be a 10/10.

I hope Tw change it mind and make this a deep and immersive game instead a simple fast pace rpg action.

 

[Wolfmensch007]

Nice points. Tbh is kinda sad to read this posts, becouse I realize how awesome could be this game with few changes. Hope Tw add atleast 10-15% of what community want, just with that this game would be a 10/10.

I hope Tw change it mind and make this a deep and immersive game instead a simple fast pace rpg action.

https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php?threads/cod-bannerlord-yes-or-no.429670/

 

[Lorcalus]

Nice points. Tbh is kinda sad to read this posts, becouse I realize how awesome could be this game with few changes. Hope Tw add atleast 10-15% of what community want, just with that this game would be a 10/10.

I hope Tw change it mind and make this a deep and immersive game instead a simple fast pace rpg action.

I totally get you. I fell like that myself. The only thing we (as playerbase) can do is post suggestions and initiate discussions and hope they see it and say wow, that needs to be part of the game.

 

[dutch81]

Whatever TW doesn’t add some modder will, so keep the ideas flowing there are more people paying attention than you might think. Warband was a great game, but the mods available for it made it even better ... I have no doubt the same will be true in Bannerlord.

 

[Fryskar]

Having to doot intp the leveling horn too.
It just feels wrong.
If you want to become a master in a skill, you got to carefully plan on what you spend your points so you can even get far enough in your intended career.

Like to become a skilled doctor, you got to level 1h weapons, riding, rougery and so on.

You ofc can just play the game, but if you don't do a lot planning (skills, marriage, companions, kingdom choice) you quickly end in a dead end and got to restart.
Its not even about fights, food or money.

 

[LouisVanGaal]

We also need highway men who will challenge you to duels or try to press a toll on pass bys. With a mission to clear out highway men

We used to have that previous games, especially in Viking Conquest. Lords whom you have a poor relationship should occasionally employ hitmen to attack you in villages. There could be a feature in which a Lord would send a Champion to fight you in a city or in a village to regain the Lord's honor.

Crumbled ruins serve as the skeletal remains of an age long past, and an adventurous hero could find treasure -or trouble, if they delve deep enough into them.

Things like kurgans (burial mounds) on the steppes, standing stone circles nestled deep within primordial forests, famous battlefields, and other sacred/important locations could be places where the player can learn more about Calradian lore and pick up special quests.

Viking Conquest also had Monasteries and Pagan Prayer Sites. I understand that it was made by a totally different company but there was no plan to integrate what had already been done before still baffles me.