Should Bastard Swords return?

[flashn00b]

Because Bannerlord is in Early Access, everything in the game has been subject to balance changes over the years, and i think it's fair to say that the game has had its fair share of casualties of war:

Vlandian Bastard Sword
Originally shared between the Imperial Legionary and Vlandian Sergeant. Bastard Sword on Sergeant got replaced with the Noble Great Sword formerly on the Volgier, though the Legionary doesn't have a two-handed replacement.

Falx
Technically still in the game, but has gotten a slight speed nerf, and can no longer be one-handed

Heavy Falx
Originally on the Fiann. Got replaced with the Noble Two-handed Sword which had a godawful 74 swing speed when one-handed, but that later got patched out similarly to the Falx's one-handed stance.

Battanian Bastard Sword
See Imperial Legionary, since the Oathsworn didn't get a replacement weapon.

Bastard Axe
Honorable mention since it was originally on the Varyag before being replaced by the Noble Axe. Bastard Axe is still in the game, albeit as a weapon upgrade for the Druzhnik.

These weapons have come to mind after playing a bit of Swadia in Warband, and couldn't help but remember that these weapons are now all but lost or altered, and while I can understand why some of these weapons are gone, I think some units have lost a bit of their personality as a result of bastard swords being removed. Which brings me to the question about whether or not the removed bastard weapons could be re-added into the game in a meaningful manner. Because while they don't have nearly as much range as dedicated two-handed weapons, they are just as fast when two-handed while their one-handed usage provides more reach than dedicated 1h weapons like the Long Spatha and Vlandian Longsword, although they're noticeably slower.

I'm probably forgetting other bastard weapons too that aren't the Khuzait Glaives or Cataphract's Battle Axe.

 

[cruzader79]

YES, and with working switch mode

 

[flashn00b]

I guess if i'm to give my own personal opinion on the matter regarding bastard swords, I think the following could work:

Legionary
Just give him back the Vlandian Bastard Sword. Just straight up make it a thing for him again, cuz I feel like there's too much discouragement from picking the more expensive Empire classes in non-Captain modes. Having a two-hand/one-hand weapon might make the legionary seem like he's worth the punishment if you die as him.

Savage
I think the best way to go about this would be to backtrack on the Rhomphalia buffs (revert it to e1.6.something or something like that), and make that the weapon that Improved Armor is attached to, with a bastard Falx being the perk weapon.
-Rhomphalia speed and damage reverted to an earlier version
-Falx replaced with Rhomphalia
-Rhomphalia replaced with Falx
--Speed increased from 97 to 102
--Can be one-handed again

Basically, the slower but larger weapon would be the thing attached to Improved Armor, with the armor downgrade now allowing you to carry an insanely fast two-handed weapon at the expense of being extremely fragile. Yeah, two whole points of armor isn't much, but I feel like being even less armored than an Imperial Recruit while also having one of the best two-handed weapons in the game (while also not being too shabby one-handed) could allow for a risk/reward playstyle, where the risk is "You die almost instantly" but I think that's a fair price to pay for a very high potential for power increase (bastard sword/stolen shield/stolen javelins is a force to be reckoned with, just an FYI)

Other bastard weapons
I'm not too sure how the Bastard Axe could be re-incorporated into the Varyag with the game's current balancing, since TaleWorlds seems to want the Bastard Axe to be a way for the Druzhnik to defend himself if his horse dies due to the slow nature of most one-handed cavalry weapons. At the same time, I can see why they don't want the Fiann to have the Heavy Falx, and the Noble Two-handed Sword's one-handed feature's not worth bringing back anyways. x:

 

[Jesus__is__Lord]

bastard swords are kinda op; but i think all cavalry should have them bc they have long reach but can be super fast in 2 handed mode(bc u need a fast weapon when your dismounted and have slow movement speed)

 

[Poddicus]

Bastard swords are unironically fun to use

Just nerf the damage or speed

 

[flashn00b]

Bastard swords are unironically fun to use

Just nerf the damage or speed

Maybe just the damage, cuz speed's the main advantage that Bastard Swords had over the larger and harder hitting two-handers. Also see my suggestion on tying bastard swords on Battania to having basically no armor whatsoever. x:

i think all cavalry should have them bc they have long reach but can be super fast in 2 handed mode(bc u need a fast weapon when your dismounted and have slow movement speed)

Knight could definitely benefit from this, seeing that he's currently the worst heavy cavalry unit in the game, not counting the Cataphract's "forfeit spawning if you die as this unit" downside.