How to win?

[Doofus]

I'm a little curious. Generally I play games and like to learn as I go. If its a multiplayer game I like to start with someone who knows the game & gives me tips, but for singleplayer I just start with whatever tutorial and learn from there. But...I have a problem with Bannerlord....

First, I guess I should say that I play to pretty much own the whole world with whatever faction I make/join. Alternatively, I could simply look at it as a goal of have everyone at the world at peace...more or less permanently, although I suspect this isn't realistic. I don't use mods. I pretty much want to play the game as intended and I look at playing mods as not playing the game properly (I realize thats sort of a flawed assumption). I play at easy level. When i first started I tried it at easiest level, but that felt like I was beating up babies. So for quite some time I've played at easy level. I'll also mention that I like to play in a style where I feel I'm playing myself, just in a different universe/setting/whatever. So I don't execute lords (although I'm tempted sometimes). I'm not a homicidal maniac and I don't want to play one.

Based on the above, my problem is this...I can't win. I can take over about 1/2 the world, in one game I got maybe 2/3rds of it. But I see no way to actually win the game. At some point, if you are successful, you will have every faction warring you. And if you make peace with a faction, that peace won't last very long. If I could defeat factions and have them disappear into history, then I think I could win, but having dead factions constantly raiding my villages and pretending siege things they can't hope to take is just too much of a problem. I can't respond to their nuisance attacks when I have 5 real wars going. I can't focus on destroying one faction so that I can then turn my attention to a different one when there's no hope of actually destroying the faction. The lords in my faction can 'kind of' help when they aren't part of my army by sieging other things or defending stuff, but they aren't reliable and more often than not they won't follow through on a siege because they ran out of food or decided a different target was better just when they got to where they could have taken the town they were besieging.

Someone tell me. What am I missing? What is the method that gets you to actually win the game, without using mods and without becoming a homicidal maniac?

 

[Agroplode]

If you cant beat them, buy them.

Get the perks that allow you to barter Towns and Castles and get lots of money and buy the Lords too.

 

[Doofus]

Warbandit, I guess the problem is after a while some lords just hate you because you've been warring them so often and you pretty much can't buy them. They won't agree to even consider it. The game is better in that respect that it was maybe 6 months ago or so, but I still feel there are lords you just can't buy. I assume you have 'won' the game before? What's it like when you win? Do you own the world with 6 factions acting like terrorists all over the world? Curious.

 

[Apocal]

Based on the above, my problem is this...I can't win. I can take over about 1/2 the world, in one game I got maybe 2/3rds of it. But I see no way to actually win the game. At some point, if you are successful, you will have every faction warring you. And if you make peace with a faction, that peace won't last very long.

Pay tribute. Exorbiant amounts, hand over fist. I once had no less than four kingdoms I was throwing out 5000 denars daily just to keep them off my nuts while I pounded the sixth into dust. Then I went to war with them, one by one, to both clear the tribute and curb their power. Some of them had other wars going on and started paying me. Others just white peaced out when they had enough of seeing me and the squad in their interior, burning **** down.

If I could defeat factions and have them disappear into history, then I think I could win, but having dead factions constantly raiding my villages and pretending siege things they can't hope to take is just too much of a problem. I can't respond to their nuisance attacks when I have 5 real wars going. I can't focus on destroying one faction so that I can then turn my attention to a different one when there's no hope of actually destroying the faction. The lords in my faction can 'kind of' help when they aren't part of my army by sieging other things or defending stuff, but they aren't reliable and more often than not they won't follow through on a siege because they ran out of food or decided a different target was better just when they got to where they could have taken the town they were besieging.

Someone tell me. What am I missing? What is the method that gets you to actually win the game, without using mods and without becoming a homicidal maniac?

Recruiting more clans, to be honest. That's the endgame -- setting things up so you can recruit as many clans as possible, as quickly as possible, once you decide to take down the top the faction. At first they'll be somewhat weak and fairly poor, but once you start clearing off tribute payments and giving them fiefs, they'll start to show up with decent parties to armies. Once your armies start to show up with a numerical advantage, your win rate will go way up and they'll begin to have a qualitative advantage as well.

With your clan's parties, you can create a personal army to raise hell in the enemy backfield, well away from the border. It will draw off a lot of parties and armies that would be hassling your armies or sieging your fiefs. Feel free to engage or ignore them, just remember that the goal isn't to fight them for fighting's sake but to act in support of your operational goal (taking settlements). It might take more than one war. You might have to "cycle-off" the tribute payments by fighting other factions for awhile in case your vassals become too poor (they pay tribute alongside you). But you constantly want to have an eye towards conquering fiefs from one faction in particular and recruiting clans wherever you can find them.

Eventually, you'll turn a corner and there won't be any viable combination of factions that can stop you from conquering them in turn.

 

[KingEroc1st]

Someone tell me. What am I missing? What is the method that gets you to actually win the game, without using mods and without becoming a homicidal maniac?

i don't think there's a de facto win condition. the most you can do is own every fief in the world by your own clan.

 

[Ananda_The_Destroyer]

I don't think it is intended to win exactly. I don't think you even get a little pat on the back message like you do in warband, unless it's added and I missed it.

Here's two boring awful ways to win.

1: Keen sight and mounted patrol on your main character, now you can hold prisoners in you party FOREVER, so as a solo clan just beat up the whole faction (in fun sized chunks) and then casually siege and take all thier land, then let them go and make peace then do it again to the next faction.
Why it sucks: AFter the first faction it becomes very boring and taking care or more and more fief gets really boring too. You can do it, but it sucks.

2: Get vassals, get more vassals, wait in town and let vassals do stuff. I call it the "**** it" method. It can work as a fallow up to number 1 too, after you get a big faction sized area, start getting fiefs and returning castles to election and what not, then just expand, de-fief lords, recruit de-fiefed lords and eventually you have so many that they can just run the show...and they WILL.
Why it sucks: They vote for war everywhere.... but it's okay because they handle it more or less. Yeah it doesn't feel like your faction, but it is, so oh well.

 

[Agroplode]

There has been some great discussion about the recruitment of Lords in the Beta patch 1.6.0 thread. To many to list here, look for Lords and the Developer answers.

 

[bonerstorm]

Someone tell me. What am I missing? What is the method that gets you to actually win the game, without using mods and without becoming a homicidal maniac?

Sorry bro. The short answer is that the game is busted and nowhere is that more visible than in lategame. OK... maybe it's more visibly busted in siege combat. But busted is busted. "Winning" at this game is like winning a wrestling match with a giant pile of rusty nails.

Even shorter answer:

 

[Aurex]

Sorry bro. The short answer is that the game is busted and nowhere is that more visible than in lategame. OK... maybe it's more visibly busted in siege combat. But busted is busted. "Winning" at this game is like winning a wrestling match with a giant pile of rusty nails.

Even shorter answer:

I swear to God I was thinking about this scene when I was reading the first post.

 

[Lord Grindelvald]

I'm trying to "win" in my unmodded current playthrough by following the questline. I've never actually finished it, so I wonder: Isn't that how you win? Doing whatever that Listitiatiana says you should do and unite/conquer the Empire?

 

[bonerstorm]

I'm trying to "win" in my unmodded current playthrough by following the questline. I've never actually finished it, so I wonder: Isn't that how you win? Doing whatever that Listitiatiana says you should do and unite/conquer the Empire?

Idk if this even counts as spoilers but the last time I "finished" it:

Spoiler: SPOILIES?

The first mission is beating the other Empire factions in combat enough for them to BTFO. Then you or your faction leader are theoretically the uncontested Emperor of Calradia. The other Empire factions still exist and can still declare war on you, but they're not hard-coded to do so constantly.

After that, the conspiracy sets three of the other factions at war with you simultaneously and you "win" by inflicting enough damage on each one for them to BTFO. The other Empire factions still exist and can still declare war on you, but they're not hard-coded to do so constantly.

In other words, the "reward" for "finishing" the game is that the game stops actively punishing you for playing it. Basically sandbox style. That's it.

It's kind of ****ing insulting to be honest.

 

[froggyluv]

Labeling the game "Sandbox" has for all proposes absolved the Game Makers of needing to provide a coherent storyline or ending.

 

[bonerstorm]

Labeling the game "Sandbox" has for all proposes absolved the Game Makers of needing to provide a coherent storyline or ending.

Player: So I went from being a lone starving schlub to reassembling the Dragon Banner of Calradia and conquering a dozen fiefs singlehandedly. I've never been defeated in battle. I married my only sister to your son to cement an alliance between our houses - our relationship could not possibly be any better and you despise your current liege, who is weak and selfish.

If you join me, we will rule the world together and your rewards shall be beyond imagining. If you defy me, I will take everything you own by force as is my destiny as the True Son of Calradia.

I am literally on my way to siege your fief right now at the head of a massive army.

Lord: OK sure but could you give me like 3 million denars first?

 

[Lord Grindelvald]

Idk if this even counts as spoilers but the last time I "finished" it:

Spoiler: SPOILIES?

The first mission is beating the other Empire factions in combat enough for them to BTFO. Then you or your faction leader are theoretically the uncontested Emperor of Calradia. The other Empire factions still exist and can still declare war on you, but they're not hard-coded to do so constantly.

After that, the conspiracy sets three of the other factions at war with you simultaneously and you "win" by inflicting enough damage on each one for them to BTFO. The other Empire factions still exist and can still declare war on you, but they're not hard-coded to do so constantly.

In other words, the "reward" for "finishing" the game is that the game stops actively punishing you for playing it. Basically sandbox style. That's it.

It's kind of ****ing insulting to be honest.

Thanks... That’s a bit of a bummer...