What do you guys think about Influence?

Gameplay wise, do you think that it is something good to have?

  • Yes

    Votes: 17 36.2%
  • No

    Votes: 10 21.3%
  • The way of earning influence should be changed

    Votes: 20 42.6%

  • Total voters
    47
  • Poll closed .

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When first announced in one of TW devblogs, I thought it would be a good mechanic. But as soon as I started to play, this influence system feels off for me. Simply because, when I farm sufficient amount of looters, I am able to order around other clan members of the faction I am in. I mean how can killing lots of looters give me the power to order a ruling clan member who is the part of the faction maybe for centuries while I am just a new guy. On top of that, I am just so special that no one in the kingdom have a right to order me around. They can't summon me to their armies. I know, it would be annoying to be summoned but giving player a tool to avoid that summon would solve the issue. I know I talking about army mechanic here but influence system and army mechanic are somethings very intertwined with each other.

If you are satisfied with influence, please explain why.
If you are not satisfied with influence but you think that it is redeemable, please explain how.
If you are not satisfied with influence and you think it must be scrapped from the game, what would replace it?
 
They could make influence collecting a good peace time thing by adding a political aspect to the game like bribery helping nobles, feasts, Marriage , crime, assassinations and the like would make the game a whole of a lot more intresting and less bland
 
Agreed, the player character being in many ways so special really does hurt the influence system and obviously is immersive breaking. Off the top of my head, other lords will very rarely propose votings for adding new/removing existing policies, won't propose a fief to be given to other clan, as you noted won't enlist the player to their army(but when getting enlisted themselves will never object and always join) and so on.

These could be improved in ways the game already does in some places - lords decide not to join your army due to clan relations or their personal traits, player and their clan parties also gets drafted into an army, if refused lose relations, influence etc. If a clan has low relations with another or is entirely unpopular in the faction, they might propose to give away their fief to someone else. Policies could also be proposed more often, with a clan's culture, leader's traits and overall things like that dictating which policy will be brought up for voting.

Maybe more ways of getting influence, especially ones that AI clans will be able to use? Clans could set a priority for their parties to acquire influence if they were low on it for enough time. And of course more exciting things to spend influence on would be nice to have, but I'm probably going too far into the "ideas for mods" area already. Some of my ideas would be clan upgrades(or faction ones), settlement upgrades, unique gear to act as endgame influence-sink, other lords also having companions in their parties and faction leaders could create a clan out of a companion, just like the player can
 
@TheDesertRex Helping nobles, feats and marriage could be a way of earning influence but there is one thing wrong about this is that influence within the faction is universal. Helping a clan whose tier is 3 or 4 is one thing while helping ruling clan is another. The amount of influence we gain with respect to the tier of clan we are helping could solve the issue. But one thing for certain that killing looters is a responsibility of a noble. We should not gain influence by it. There is already incentive to kill looters like gaining exp for your soldiers and some loot.

@nozhkeech What I think about armies is that being a marshal should come back to the game. For example, as soon as the faction we are in declares war or other faction declares war on us, there could be a voting for deciding who should be a marshal or marshals like when taking a castle or town. After that marshal or marshals should not spend influence to gather army while other lord should decide whether they join the army or not, or when to leave the army based on the traits, their relation with the marshal or if their castles or towns are under attack and the army they are in is not responding that threat.
 
It's alright, but could be better. As of now there's not enough influence drain in the game, both for AI and you, especially for the ruling clan. If you just play normally, everyone will have a ton of influence and you can't do politics properly thanks to that. There are ways to drain policy, but it's not fun enough and grindy. It's a bit too costly for you too, when compared to the influence you will drain from others. It's not fun and very gamey.

Say you want to propose a policy. It's just a one-off vote and done. If all of the AI in the kingdom disagrees with that policy for whatever reason, you can't sway them. You spend 100 influence to propose it, and they will spend like 20 or 50 each to vote against it. Another reason is that there's no way to prepare "a side" before proposing something. Say you hate this one clan and want to take a fief off them. Nobody, ever, would support the proposal, so that feature is useless. You can't be like, hey leader of clan B, what do you think about that castle? Yeah, don't you think you should own it? We fought hard in that siege and that loser clan A got it instead. How about I make the proposal? Would you support me? Then you can use influence and/or bribe for the persuasion.

In Warband it was tedious, but you had more time and ways to manipulate the voting. In Bannerlord you have 48 hours for every vote and no way to talk NPCs into your argument, either by walking to them or by whatever medieval Internet they use for the voting.
 
In game, Influence is largely a mechanic to quantify martial prowess. As in, you fight more, you get more.

But I think the thread is correct, in the real world you don't gain influence through fighting, you gain it through all the non-fighting stuff you do between fights: Making friends, doing favours, and within the contexts of kingdoms, delivering justice, and providing for your supporters and out-providing your rivals.

Thus in game it should be a generosity mechanic.

I think we're too far down the development pathway now. But If I was to go back and do it again, I think there should be an overlap or merging between influence and relations. Relations should be the metric through which we are able to assemble armies. You should be able to earn relations through doing positive acts towards nobles or their lands - and that might include clearing their looters or donating them prisoners or troops or funding their city improvements or marriage or such like.

Sure you can add in a few good relations points with the king for winning battles in their name, but this is a faux-feudal system, so inter-noble relations should be the foundation of your ability to call on them to fight with you.
 
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I mean how can killing lots of looters give me the power to order a ruling clan member who is the part of the faction maybe for centuries while I am just a new guy.
Because it's a type of currency or points that symbolizes influence but actually isn't exactly influence. An actual influence wouldn't be spent but would allow you to sway others along with some other mechanic like bribes or threats, but could drop down based on some events. Anyways, it's points for doing good thing, you do good things now you can boss around some lords!

If you are not satisfied with influence but you think that it is redeemable, please explain how.
I think it's mostly fine but we should be able to use it more ways and spend more of it to obtain a result! I think being able to make clans with 500 influence is a big step in the right direction! There could also be other abilities to work with it, such as also bribing or using relation to get someone to vote with/for you or do some action (can be done in warband). We could maybe spend it to do something like put on a festival for +relations/loyalty or have a recruitment drive to obtain special recruits (from non-local types) or...well lots of stuff you could think of!

It's currency, you get it by doing stuff, you spend it to do stuff, I think it's mostly okay but could use more stuff to do with it. And I would like to use more of it then 100 at a time if I really want something!
 
Because it's a type of currency or points that symbolizes influence but actually isn't exactly influence.
What I am saying is if this currency can be gained by simply killing looters, lords should not acknowledge it.
I mean,
+Hey Mesui, come to my army
-Who do you think you are new boy? Do you think that you can summon me?
+Yes, I just killed 30 parties of looters.
-Hmm, okay then.

This does not make any sense to me.
 
What I am saying is if this currency can be gained by simply killing looters, lords should not acknowledge it.
I mean,
+Hey Mesui, come to my army
-Who do you think you are new boy? Do you think that you can summon me?
+Yes, I just killed 30 parties of looters.
-Hmm, okay then.

This does not make any sense to me.
Hey Mesui how many looters did you kill? Oh none? Hey Mesui how many villages do you own, who's villagers you depend on for revenue and recruits, of which would be impeded by the looters that I killed and you didn't, oh like 5 or more! Yeah that's me, I beat all those looters so you villagers could travel in safty!

I carry the factions I bury the factions.
 
Its a really good concept but in the end its just mana points
Pretty much this. Lots, perhaps even most, games add two or more forms of currency, so it is hardly groundbreaking.

On the other aspect. I dont really have a problem with the fact you can earn some influence through killing looters. It wouldnt be my first choice for grinding influence anyway.
 
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I think that instead of influence, we should be able to improve our importance in a realm with our exploits in battles, in tournaments or because of your position in the faction. For example, imagine you are the number one in tournaments win, it should give you influence not in "mana points", but in something that is not tangible. At the moment, influence is a currency. We need something that is not quantifiable with numbers. The fame that would spread into calradia because of your exploits in the game.
 
I think that instead of influence, we should be able to improve our importance in a realm with our exploits in battles, in tournaments or because of your position in the faction. For example, imagine you are the number one in tournaments win, it should give you influence not in "mana points", but in something that is not tangible. At the moment, influence is a currency. We need something that is not quantifiable with numbers. The fame that would spread into calradia because of your exploits in the game.
You essentially already have this in the game in the form of personal traits and clan tier. Clan tier is even, by and large, gained through the same process as influence.

It is still a game, the only real difference between quantifiable/non-quantifiable is whether the game lets you track it easily or not.
 
You essentially already have this in the game in the form of personal traits and clan tier. Clan tier is even, by and large, gained through the same process as influence.

It is still a game, the only real difference between quantifiable/non-quantifiable is whether the game lets you track it easily or not.
Clan tier does not allow you to do much things, it's just a level up system that allow the clan to unlock certain functionality of the game. That is why it feels artificial.
 
Clan tier does not allow you to do much things, it's just a level up system that allow the clan to unlock certain functionality of the game. That is why it feels artificial.
Thats just it. What can you actually do?

1) give a static bonus to something
2) make it a currency you can spend on something
3) give some bonus to a RNG based mechanism.
4) cant really think of others

Two out of these are already in use.
 
Thats just it. What can you actually do?

1) give a static bonus to something
2) make it a currency you can spend on something
3) give some bonus to a RNG based mechanism.
4) cant really think of others

Two out of these are already in use.
Maybe add additional interdependent parameters. For example, if you want to convoke a noble to form an army, the noble should be able to refuse if you do not have a good relationship with him.

I mean, we just need to add something to make influence not look just like a currency. At the moment, it's like money, if you have it, you can spend it and nothing will prevent you to do so. Influence needs to be more special.
 
Maybe add additional interdependent parameters. For example, if you want to convoke a noble to form an army, the noble should be able to refuse if you do not have a good relationship with him.

I mean, we just need to add something to make influence not look just like a currency. At the moment, it's like money, if you have it, you can spend it and nothing will prevent you to do so. Influence needs to be more special.
Then you are just back to warband. That is how it worked there. Make some friends and you can conjure up armies at will. You are just replacing influence with relationship instead.
 
No, you would need both influence and relation.
Given that I was best friends with the lords of 4,5 factions by day 200; I could no doubt live with that:smile:

But seriously. I dont really think it will fundamentally change anything.You already have plenty of incentives to make friends and zero incentives not to.
 
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