It’s time for another in-depth look at one of the most highly-anticipated PC games in recent memory, as TaleWorlds has just released another developer diary for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.
For this iteration, we’ll be taking a look at a very underrated mode in Mount & Blade, which makes a revamped and improved return in Bannerlord. While the single-player and sandbox campaigns for the original game were legendary, the multiplayer is quite the treat as well, which pits players against each other in a variety of modes.
The multiplayer in Mount & Blade, in particular Warband, was governed by a class system, which is a selection of predefined loadouts that you can choose from before spawning in any kind of match. This class system makes a return in Bannerlord, where it is divided into three distinct categories: infantry, ranged, and cavalry.
Like every other multiplayer game mode, each class in this system has a different level of viability depending on a number of aspects, and each comes with its own sets of strengths and weaknesses. Of course, this means that no particular class is effective across all kinds of scenarios. However, you’ll still find that one or two of these may be a bit stronger and better equipped, but they do come with a higher cost.
To balance this out, a new change coming to Bannerlord is the perk system, which allows some disadvantaged players to change their loadout slightly and either tailor their class choice more towards their play style or counter an enemy class entirely.
Carried over from Warband is the money system, which works like the original Star Wars Battlefront titles. At the start of each round, you’ll have access to the starting classes. You get points for helping your team win, which you can then spend towards stronger classes. These points, however, are also used for respawns when applicable, so it’s up to you to carefully manage how you balance these points out effectively in order to win.
These changed were effectively made to put the multiplayer’s focus squarely on player skill and cooperation, rather than the existing equipment or loadout. I feel like TaleWorlds has struck quite a nice balance with this revamped system, and I’m looking forward to hearing more as the beta for the multiplayer fast approaches.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord will be released on PC at a still unspecified time.
