Banner lord needs a good Co-op mode in it. I really got to thinking about this after playing a bunch of Fire & Sword's Captain Co-op mode. But Bannerlord should really have a co-op mode in it, and a far better one at that.
It can really be a ton of fun to get a good team together and able to beat pretty much anything the enemy might throw at you. But it's not a perfect mode. There's a modded server called Dynamic Squads that adds a lot of improvements and some cool things for the mode, but it too isn't perfect. I think I'll just list the pros and cons of both the vanilla and the Dynamic Squads mod.
Vanilla pros
Troops are reliably stable: Pikemen are pikemen, cavalry are cavalry, and ranged guy are ranged guys. They're pretty straightforward and you can rely on them to do their jobs.
Vanilla cons
Not all factions are created equal: Not every faction does super great on every map. Factions like the Polish with their pike infantry do pretty well on most maps, but others like the Crimean Khanate are kinda screwed on a lot of maps.
The Squad limit of 6: While it doesn't stop your team from working together or fighting pretty effectively, it can take away the scale of the battle.
Maps are a little too basic and simple: Some of the maps are too simple or basic. The best option on many of them is to just hold up in a building or ruins
Dynamic Squads pros
Maps are all different and unique: The maps on this modded server are really great, and I highly recommend that anyone who owns Fire & Sword should check out the server, even if just for the cool maps. Each one really feels like its own thing and feel like a lot of work went into making them.
The squad size is much larger: This can really make it feel like battles and not just big skirmishes. And it can be pretty fun to get like 30 guys under your command and you choose to work together and work out how to defend yourselves.
Some of the troops are more unique: Some troops like the Tsardom Pistoleers actually have pistols rather than just being mace men, but it's not perfect, but I'll get to that in just a sec.
Dynamic Squads cons
The number of players effects the numbers per squad: For some stupid reason, the server can have 30 players on it, and that can really screw things up at times. Especially when you have so many troops holding one flank, only to have like 6 or 8 of them just disappear when a couple of people get on the server.
Some of the troops are buggy and don't work properly: Some troops, such as Polish pikemen don't always use their pikes, some of them just use their swords, which can really screw things over when you're facing a bunch of elite enemy cav.
I think they could do a few fairly simple things to make a future co-op mode far more effective. Things like
Limit it to no more than 16 players per game and 10 or 12 troops per players squad. That way you could still get a good challenge, without completely sacrificing the scale of the battle.
More varied and unique maps. Not just having a bunch of super basic maps. And that should really go for all modes in the game, not just co-op.
Another thing that could possibly work really well is have the troops copy your loadout depending on what you pick. Meaning if you pick infantry, your infantry troops will copy your weapons, that kind of thing.
That or have there be a variety of troops per faction and not just tier 1 to 4 troops. That could work especially well if they're going with the Warband factions in Bannerlord. Things like Nord Berserkers and such faction specific troops could give just picking troops more life to it instead of just having 3 kinds of troops to pick from.
It can really be a ton of fun to get a good team together and able to beat pretty much anything the enemy might throw at you. But it's not a perfect mode. There's a modded server called Dynamic Squads that adds a lot of improvements and some cool things for the mode, but it too isn't perfect. I think I'll just list the pros and cons of both the vanilla and the Dynamic Squads mod.
Vanilla pros
Troops are reliably stable: Pikemen are pikemen, cavalry are cavalry, and ranged guy are ranged guys. They're pretty straightforward and you can rely on them to do their jobs.
Vanilla cons
Not all factions are created equal: Not every faction does super great on every map. Factions like the Polish with their pike infantry do pretty well on most maps, but others like the Crimean Khanate are kinda screwed on a lot of maps.
The Squad limit of 6: While it doesn't stop your team from working together or fighting pretty effectively, it can take away the scale of the battle.
Maps are a little too basic and simple: Some of the maps are too simple or basic. The best option on many of them is to just hold up in a building or ruins
Dynamic Squads pros
Maps are all different and unique: The maps on this modded server are really great, and I highly recommend that anyone who owns Fire & Sword should check out the server, even if just for the cool maps. Each one really feels like its own thing and feel like a lot of work went into making them.
The squad size is much larger: This can really make it feel like battles and not just big skirmishes. And it can be pretty fun to get like 30 guys under your command and you choose to work together and work out how to defend yourselves.
Some of the troops are more unique: Some troops like the Tsardom Pistoleers actually have pistols rather than just being mace men, but it's not perfect, but I'll get to that in just a sec.
Dynamic Squads cons
The number of players effects the numbers per squad: For some stupid reason, the server can have 30 players on it, and that can really screw things up at times. Especially when you have so many troops holding one flank, only to have like 6 or 8 of them just disappear when a couple of people get on the server.
Some of the troops are buggy and don't work properly: Some troops, such as Polish pikemen don't always use their pikes, some of them just use their swords, which can really screw things over when you're facing a bunch of elite enemy cav.
I think they could do a few fairly simple things to make a future co-op mode far more effective. Things like
Limit it to no more than 16 players per game and 10 or 12 troops per players squad. That way you could still get a good challenge, without completely sacrificing the scale of the battle.
More varied and unique maps. Not just having a bunch of super basic maps. And that should really go for all modes in the game, not just co-op.
Another thing that could possibly work really well is have the troops copy your loadout depending on what you pick. Meaning if you pick infantry, your infantry troops will copy your weapons, that kind of thing.
That or have there be a variety of troops per faction and not just tier 1 to 4 troops. That could work especially well if they're going with the Warband factions in Bannerlord. Things like Nord Berserkers and such faction specific troops could give just picking troops more life to it instead of just having 3 kinds of troops to pick from.
ARMOUR MESSENGER INCOMING 
