Summary
- Choosing a good culture in Mount and Blade 2 is crucial, as each has unique bonuses and weaknesses that impact gameplay.
- Aserai excels in desert travel and defense, Sturgians focus on infantry strength, and Vlandians shine as mercenaries.
- Khuzait boasts fast cavalry units, Empire excels at garrison management, and Battanians thrive in forest environments.
In Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord, veteran fans and new players alike are jumping into Calradia to tackle everything the game has to offer. While stockpiling butter and capturing castles, players must face many important decisions, such as who to marry and which troops to focus on.
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The most important decision in Mount and Blade 2 is choosing which culture to play. With six different Bannerlord cultures, each with unique advantages and disadvantages, many are dying to know which one is the strongest.
Updated on February 24, 2025, by Mati Kent-Nye: Picking which culture to begin their adventure in is one of the most important decisions players will make when beginning their Bannerlord campaign. Every culture boasts different strengths and weaknesses, so it's important that players know what they want to achieve in their playthrough before delving into the game. For example, a playthrough focused on managing castles and towns should choose the same culture as the fiefs they plan to conquer, as this avoids the -3 to loyalty penalty from having fiefs of a different culture.
6 Aserai
Taking Over The World One Trade At A Time
- Caravans are 30% cheaper.
- 10% reduction in trade penalty.
- No movement penalty when traveling in the desert.
The Aserai are desert nomads famed for riding camels with great skill. As one might expect, they suffer no movement penalty when traveling in deserts. For players who want to head into battle, Aserai armies are pretty evenly split, offering a good number of quality infantry, archers, and cavalry units. These soldiers are adaptable, with no glaring weaknesses, though they are not as specialized as other cultures. Aserai characters must also pay more daily wages to their troops, significantly increasing the cost of maintaining armies.
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When it comes to defending their own territory, however, the Aserai kingdom is one of the strongest in the game. Their lands are spread out but only have two entry points. With only two other kingdoms to worry about and a speed boost helping them outmaneuver other armies, they are a force to be reckoned with on their home turf.
5 Sturgians
Impenetrable Shield Walls
- Recruiting and upgrading infantry troops is 25% cheaper.
- Armies lose 25% less cohesion per day.
- 20% more relationship penalty from kingdom decisions.
Based on the Kievan Rus and the Vikings, this is the culture for players who enjoy the idea of strong infantry troops pillaging and looting across the continent. Recruiting and upgrading infantry is cheaper, and armies are more cohesive. These advantages stay relevant throughout the game, helping players save money and allowing them to create massive armies. Their Heroic Line Breakers and Spearmen are also some of the best infantry in the game. If players are looking for an aggressive playstyle and love the idea of being in the thick of it, they should look no further.
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Sturgian players may struggle to establish their kingdom because their land is stretched thinly and covered in dense forests, making it difficult for players to defend their lands. Sturgian troops are also heavy infantry-focused, which means that they can easily be picked apart by cavalry such as the Vlandians or the horse archer hordes of the Khuzaits. To counter this, players will want to learn how to use proper infantry formations and prioritize siege warfare where their Sturgian shield walls can easily carry them to victory.
4 Vlandians
The Simple Life Of A Mercenary
- 5% more renown from battles.
- 15% more income as mercenaries.
- 10% production bonus for villages that are bound to castles.
Vlandians make excellent mercenaries and sellswords. They gain more renown from battles, which improves their clan progression, and once their clan reaches tier one, they can serve a lord as a mercenary. This makes for a good source of money, influence, and experience during the early-game, especially for new players. Vlandians also have excellent troops, boasting some of the game's best crossbowmen and cavalry.
Unfortunately, many of these bonuses become less valuable as the game goes on. Vlandians must also pay extra influence when recruiting lords and so make for poor leaders if the goal is to conquer the entire map. They do, however, offer new players a fantastic start to the game while providing the simplistic charm of being a simple mercenary free of the pressures of protecting their kingdom.
3 Khuzaits
Speed And Range Are A Deadly Combination
- Mounted units are 10% cheaper to recruit and upgrade.
- 25% production bonus for horses, mules, cows, and sheep in their villages.
- 20% less tax from their towns.
Players wishing to take full advantage of the power of cavalry should create a Khuzait character. Not only does this give them access to lancers and horse archers earlier than any other culture, but it also makes mounted units cheaper to recruit and upgrade. As these armies are usually mainly cavalry, they can also move around the map faster. Their armies are also strong in sieges thanks to their powerful archers.
Although the only downside to playing as a Khuzait is that they get less tax from towns, this can be pretty costly, as towns are a great source of income later in the game. The Khuzhait territory is also spread relatively thinly, with many neighboring factions. The strength of these troops does, however, more than make up for these weaknesses.
2 Empire
Overall Just Good At Everything
- Pay 25% less wages to troops in garrisons.
- 25% more influence when in an army.
- 20% penalty to village growth.
Players who choose the Empire as their culture pay lower wages and gain more influence while in an army. These features are powerful later in the game, as players can maintain much stronger garrisons in castles and better control their kingdom. Garrisons become one of the most expensive parts of owning a fief, so effectively keeping 25% more troops for the same price is extremely useful for defending territory. The Empire is a perfect pick for those looking to capture and retain territory as their troops, such as the Imperial Elite Cataphract and Imperial Legionary, are incredibly well-equipped.
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Empire characters do, however, suffer a growth penalty to villages, hindering garrison and army growth as players struggle to produce enough food to feed them. The Empire's territory is also located in the center of the map, meaning that each faction is almost always at war, sometimes with multiple other factions. These factors can make a playthrough difficult, especially at the start, but with proper management, the Empire culture is extremely strong.
1 Battanians
Turn Any Forest Into A Home
- Move 50% faster and see 15% better when in forests.
- Towns gain +1 to militia production.
- 10% slower build time.
A Battanian character is at home in the woodlands, able to see further and move faster than other cultures while in forests. In Calradia, forests are everywhere, making this a valuable feature. As a Battanian, players can take their time killing enemy troops from a distance with their legendary Battanian Fian Champion archers, helping to minimize casualties. Starting as this culture also gives players some freedom, as they will be well-placed for a smithing or trading playthrough.
The penalties this culture suffers are not too troubling, either. A slightly slower build time is never going to decide the fate of a player's kingdom. Fighting as this faction can, however, be difficult, because it does not start with many fiefdoms and often loses some to neighboring factions. With the player controlling an army of Battanian Fians, however, this problem quickly disappears. Picking Battania as a culture is a safe decision, as it grants powerful bonuses to the player's army.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 76 /100 Critics Rec: 67%
- Released
- October 25, 2022
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- TaleWorlds Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- TaleWorlds Entertainment
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Mount And Blade
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Strategy
