CBeetle
Recruit
-- For those who are checking out the forums and are still on the fence (Also posted on steam page) --
Alright, lets go. This is my Review of Bannerlord Early Access.
Lets start off by saying, this review is focused on MULTIPLAYER. As we all know deep down, that is why 70% of us wanted this game to come out
We are all warband heads that have been waiting 8 years for bannerlord. I am currently sitting at 44 wins, and 16 losses, with 338 kills and 220 deaths and 30 hours played, IN MULTIPLAYER. (Sorry, I didnt come for the singleplayer mode Though it is also great!)
First and foremost. This game is great. There are some early access issues, such as bugs and the occasional disconnect, but they are not nearly as bad as some other people are saying. I have yet to experience a crazy long load screen, or a full on game crash like some people are complaining about.
I play on an i7700 with a 1070 gfx with 16gb ram. Which is a pretty decent pc. I can play the game on maximum graphics, while streaming, and get a steady 80 frames. When not streaming I can push 100 frames, though it will drop between 100 and 80 depending on what I am looking at. I also live in Hawaii, so playing on the East Coast (YUCK) servers gives me about 130 ping, but this latency actually doesnt seem to affect my ability to get 10+ kills in a skirmish mode at all. So all in all, optimization and frame quality in this game are good.
Con 1: Long waiting times for certain game modes. Especially when you are with a group. I have waited upwards 40 minutes to find a Skirmish mode. I believe this is due to there not being enough servers to support the amount of people trying to play, as the servers open up for a group, then close and refresh for the next group. Or at least, that is how it was explained to me. This 40 minute wait is unusual, but it has occurred. NORMALLY, it takes about 5 minutes to find a skirmish mode. There are also custom server browsers to pick but they are usually TDM and Siege, but you can get into them fairly quickly.
Con 2 : HORSES - These horses are WAY too powerful at the moment. I have 1700 hours of Warband multiplayer experience with the NA Competitive community playing as an infantry who runs with a spear and ---I know how to fight a damn horse---.
So before you go saying, "use a pike, a spear".. yes, I know, and I can probably deal with a horse better than you can..
That being said. Horses have way too much HP at the moment, and the way stopping them works seemingly based on a damage threshold makes it very difficult to deal with them. I have literal video of me stopping a horse, and my other 5 team members ALL STABBING IT with their spears, and it just runs away. No way in hell would that have worked in warband, and it's something that really needs tweaking in bannerlord. They seem to have about 200 hp, but you are not going to get a 50hp slap unless the thing is moving (due to the multiplier). You are more likely to hit 20-30 hp on the horse once it has been stopped, which means it is free to start running away again. 6 people stabbing a horse 1 time for 30 damage is not going to kill it. And if the horse is armored, it really isnt going to cut it. This is a problem.
On the topic of horses, the damage multiplier for a horsemen who is going less than 10m/s seems to be very high. They can go from a full stop, to moving, to doing 200+ damage on a thrust on you. Seems wonky? Especially if you hit them with a pike or spear while they do this, and you do maybe 50 damage to them.. It definitely needs to be looked at.
It's not so much a problem of being able to fight the horse, as it is the horse has too much hp, and the damage you can do to them vs what they to you (when YOU are in the position of advantage) makes it frustrating.
What I wish for : Being able choose your own gear. This is something that was central to Warband and allowed people to make their character unique on the battlefield. I for one, had a very specific choice for each faction for the armor I wanted to wear, and I never ever ever ever wore a damn helmet. I wish I could take helmets off in bannerlord. I made my characters face for a reason, right? This is more of a preference thing, and isnt a gameplay thing, but it would be nice to have this customization back in the game. Here's hoping that changes as time goes on.
-- I also wish there was a way to hide the text chat. With the release there is a large amount of players who think it's cool to spam racial slurs and whatnot in the chat and being stupidly toxic. I'm sure those players will all disappear in the coming months, and they tend to be short sighted and well, absolute hot trash at the game, but it'd be nice to ignore them. There is a mute function, but sorting through that can be a pain if you're on a gamemode like siege where there is 100 people in the server. --
That's it really. Those 2 things are the only things that stand out to me as Cons that could use a looking at. Lets get on with the good things!
Pro 1 : Graphics! Oh my lanta, this game is beautiful. The scenery is fantastic and the detail is delicious. The character models look amazing, and everything about the aesthetic I am in love with. Truly what I wanted back from when I saw the first videos of the game oh so long ago.
Pro 2 : Combat. Thank GOD they didnt change the fundamentals of combat coming off Warband. They added to them! The combat feels great to use and very satisfying when you are able to fend of 2-3 attackers who are swinging wildly at you, but you beat them because you actually know what you are doing. Skill is key in this game. And if you take time to learn the combat, you will feel like a god. At first I found the whole shield directional blocking to be a bit strange, but i've come to love it. It makes it so shields are not as powerful as they were in warband, and you have more opportunity to get past your enemies defense. (Seriously, people complaining about shields being OP in bannerlord, like, what?) Mind you, there are some things that still need tweaking, namely damage multipliers and how attacks sometimes bounce when they feel like they should swing through or connect solidly, but this is EA, and I'm positive these kinks will be worked out. If you are worried the combat was going to change from warband, do not fear, the beloved style is still there, and improved.
Pro 3 : Gamemodes. I love the idea of the gamemodes. Captain is an interesting gamemode that combines the singleplayer style of large combat with the multiplayer vibe. Feels alot like that game Tiger Knight, where you control a horde of units and you attack other hordes of units. Interesting choice, but it seems to be popular with people who enjoy singleplayer. Skirmish is where it is at, in my opinion, as it is most like how scrimmages were in the competitive scene of warband. If you were part of that community, you will love the 6v6 style of play. I wish it were a 9v9, but 6v6 will do. Siege is hectic as ever and there are a lot of toys you get to play with, without needed to download a ton of mods or maps from a custom browser list (looking at you GK). They are built into the game. I'll say, tossing a rock from a tower and watching it fall onto someone's head for an insta kill is quite satisfying.
Pro 4 : Archery has had a huge improvement, feeling less random with where the arrow flies. I'm sure some of the sure shots are having a field day right now. Archers are even more lethal in this game then they ever were in Warband.
Pro 5 : Armor. Armor actually means something in Bannerlord. If you choose to run in full plate with a sword and shield, you are a literal tank. Sometimes it feels like maybe you are a bit TOO tanky, but i'm sure that will get slapped with the balance hammer, but actually wearing armor means something other than just having a higher health pool. It also weighs you down, so you move slower than that pesky cloth wearing two hander who is trying to kite you. So there is that trade off. It's a nice addition that make choosing your class more strategic.
Pro 6 : Classes. I'd say I both enjoy and don't enjoy the class system. One the one hand, I'd like to have the customization I did in Warband when it comes to picking my load out, on the other hand, with the way the money system works, it makes sense to have classes that get stronger the more money you throw at them. The cheap class is going to have a semi weak weapon and armor, but the speed to run around and loot the deal to become a fast moving threat. And the expensive classes are going to be a juggernaut until someone better than you are comes and kicks your ass, or you catch a lance/arrow to the back of the head. I'd say the classes are a Pro overall however, and interesting mechanic to take into account when playing in multiplayer. I think some of them need a tweak, as each faction has their own strengths, but with the current weapons, everything is fairly balanced. There are factions that are definitely stronger than others though.
Pro 7 : Kill tracker, no longer a fan created program, its actually part of the game. You can see how good / bad you are!
There are a few other things that come to mind, such as the combat speed seemingly being set to the equivalent of the SLOW setting in Warband, but i'm sure that'll change in the future. Player owned servers will end up being a thing eventually. More maps will be a thing. More servers will be a thing. Some balancing things that need looking at. Many of the things I see people crying over in other reviews stand out to me as them not really understanding that this game is EARLY ACCESS, which means it is NOT THE FULL GAME. Things will flesh out as the year goes on, and for what Bannerlord is currently, if you are a fan of Warband, or new to this genre, I am sure you will love the game. I definitely do. I highly recommend this game.
Alright, lets go. This is my Review of Bannerlord Early Access.
Lets start off by saying, this review is focused on MULTIPLAYER. As we all know deep down, that is why 70% of us wanted this game to come out
We are all warband heads that have been waiting 8 years for bannerlord. I am currently sitting at 44 wins, and 16 losses, with 338 kills and 220 deaths and 30 hours played, IN MULTIPLAYER. (Sorry, I didnt come for the singleplayer mode Though it is also great!)First and foremost. This game is great. There are some early access issues, such as bugs and the occasional disconnect, but they are not nearly as bad as some other people are saying. I have yet to experience a crazy long load screen, or a full on game crash like some people are complaining about.
I play on an i7700 with a 1070 gfx with 16gb ram. Which is a pretty decent pc. I can play the game on maximum graphics, while streaming, and get a steady 80 frames. When not streaming I can push 100 frames, though it will drop between 100 and 80 depending on what I am looking at. I also live in Hawaii, so playing on the East Coast (YUCK) servers gives me about 130 ping, but this latency actually doesnt seem to affect my ability to get 10+ kills in a skirmish mode at all. So all in all, optimization and frame quality in this game are good.
Con 1: Long waiting times for certain game modes. Especially when you are with a group. I have waited upwards 40 minutes to find a Skirmish mode. I believe this is due to there not being enough servers to support the amount of people trying to play, as the servers open up for a group, then close and refresh for the next group. Or at least, that is how it was explained to me. This 40 minute wait is unusual, but it has occurred. NORMALLY, it takes about 5 minutes to find a skirmish mode. There are also custom server browsers to pick but they are usually TDM and Siege, but you can get into them fairly quickly.
Con 2 : HORSES - These horses are WAY too powerful at the moment. I have 1700 hours of Warband multiplayer experience with the NA Competitive community playing as an infantry who runs with a spear and ---I know how to fight a damn horse---.
So before you go saying, "use a pike, a spear".. yes, I know, and I can probably deal with a horse better than you can..
That being said. Horses have way too much HP at the moment, and the way stopping them works seemingly based on a damage threshold makes it very difficult to deal with them. I have literal video of me stopping a horse, and my other 5 team members ALL STABBING IT with their spears, and it just runs away. No way in hell would that have worked in warband, and it's something that really needs tweaking in bannerlord. They seem to have about 200 hp, but you are not going to get a 50hp slap unless the thing is moving (due to the multiplier). You are more likely to hit 20-30 hp on the horse once it has been stopped, which means it is free to start running away again. 6 people stabbing a horse 1 time for 30 damage is not going to kill it. And if the horse is armored, it really isnt going to cut it. This is a problem.
On the topic of horses, the damage multiplier for a horsemen who is going less than 10m/s seems to be very high. They can go from a full stop, to moving, to doing 200+ damage on a thrust on you. Seems wonky? Especially if you hit them with a pike or spear while they do this, and you do maybe 50 damage to them.. It definitely needs to be looked at.
It's not so much a problem of being able to fight the horse, as it is the horse has too much hp, and the damage you can do to them vs what they to you (when YOU are in the position of advantage) makes it frustrating.
What I wish for : Being able choose your own gear. This is something that was central to Warband and allowed people to make their character unique on the battlefield. I for one, had a very specific choice for each faction for the armor I wanted to wear, and I never ever ever ever wore a damn helmet. I wish I could take helmets off in bannerlord. I made my characters face for a reason, right? This is more of a preference thing, and isnt a gameplay thing, but it would be nice to have this customization back in the game. Here's hoping that changes as time goes on.
-- I also wish there was a way to hide the text chat. With the release there is a large amount of players who think it's cool to spam racial slurs and whatnot in the chat and being stupidly toxic. I'm sure those players will all disappear in the coming months, and they tend to be short sighted and well, absolute hot trash at the game, but it'd be nice to ignore them. There is a mute function, but sorting through that can be a pain if you're on a gamemode like siege where there is 100 people in the server. --
That's it really. Those 2 things are the only things that stand out to me as Cons that could use a looking at. Lets get on with the good things!
Pro 1 : Graphics! Oh my lanta, this game is beautiful. The scenery is fantastic and the detail is delicious. The character models look amazing, and everything about the aesthetic I am in love with. Truly what I wanted back from when I saw the first videos of the game oh so long ago.
Pro 2 : Combat. Thank GOD they didnt change the fundamentals of combat coming off Warband. They added to them! The combat feels great to use and very satisfying when you are able to fend of 2-3 attackers who are swinging wildly at you, but you beat them because you actually know what you are doing. Skill is key in this game. And if you take time to learn the combat, you will feel like a god. At first I found the whole shield directional blocking to be a bit strange, but i've come to love it. It makes it so shields are not as powerful as they were in warband, and you have more opportunity to get past your enemies defense. (Seriously, people complaining about shields being OP in bannerlord, like, what?) Mind you, there are some things that still need tweaking, namely damage multipliers and how attacks sometimes bounce when they feel like they should swing through or connect solidly, but this is EA, and I'm positive these kinks will be worked out. If you are worried the combat was going to change from warband, do not fear, the beloved style is still there, and improved.
Pro 3 : Gamemodes. I love the idea of the gamemodes. Captain is an interesting gamemode that combines the singleplayer style of large combat with the multiplayer vibe. Feels alot like that game Tiger Knight, where you control a horde of units and you attack other hordes of units. Interesting choice, but it seems to be popular with people who enjoy singleplayer. Skirmish is where it is at, in my opinion, as it is most like how scrimmages were in the competitive scene of warband. If you were part of that community, you will love the 6v6 style of play. I wish it were a 9v9, but 6v6 will do. Siege is hectic as ever and there are a lot of toys you get to play with, without needed to download a ton of mods or maps from a custom browser list (looking at you GK). They are built into the game. I'll say, tossing a rock from a tower and watching it fall onto someone's head for an insta kill is quite satisfying.
Pro 4 : Archery has had a huge improvement, feeling less random with where the arrow flies. I'm sure some of the sure shots are having a field day right now. Archers are even more lethal in this game then they ever were in Warband.
Pro 5 : Armor. Armor actually means something in Bannerlord. If you choose to run in full plate with a sword and shield, you are a literal tank. Sometimes it feels like maybe you are a bit TOO tanky, but i'm sure that will get slapped with the balance hammer, but actually wearing armor means something other than just having a higher health pool. It also weighs you down, so you move slower than that pesky cloth wearing two hander who is trying to kite you. So there is that trade off. It's a nice addition that make choosing your class more strategic.
Pro 6 : Classes. I'd say I both enjoy and don't enjoy the class system. One the one hand, I'd like to have the customization I did in Warband when it comes to picking my load out, on the other hand, with the way the money system works, it makes sense to have classes that get stronger the more money you throw at them. The cheap class is going to have a semi weak weapon and armor, but the speed to run around and loot the deal to become a fast moving threat. And the expensive classes are going to be a juggernaut until someone better than you are comes and kicks your ass, or you catch a lance/arrow to the back of the head. I'd say the classes are a Pro overall however, and interesting mechanic to take into account when playing in multiplayer. I think some of them need a tweak, as each faction has their own strengths, but with the current weapons, everything is fairly balanced. There are factions that are definitely stronger than others though.
Pro 7 : Kill tracker, no longer a fan created program, its actually part of the game. You can see how good / bad you are!
There are a few other things that come to mind, such as the combat speed seemingly being set to the equivalent of the SLOW setting in Warband, but i'm sure that'll change in the future. Player owned servers will end up being a thing eventually. More maps will be a thing. More servers will be a thing. Some balancing things that need looking at. Many of the things I see people crying over in other reviews stand out to me as them not really understanding that this game is EARLY ACCESS, which means it is NOT THE FULL GAME. Things will flesh out as the year goes on, and for what Bannerlord is currently, if you are a fan of Warband, or new to this genre, I am sure you will love the game. I definitely do. I highly recommend this game.
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