Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord – Battlefield tactics, armies, and troop formations

Previously, we’ve talked about the top-tier units as well as skills and perks that you can level-up in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. In this guide, we discuss their practical application during battles via tactics/commands, formations, and the creation of armies.

Note: This guide is intended for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord‘s early access stage. For more information, check out our Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord guides and features hub.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord – Battle tactics, armies, and tips

Army creation and cohesion

Your initial army might not seem much early on in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, so your goal is to increase your party’s size via your clan rank and the Steward skill. Fast forward, and you should be able to field hundreds of troops once you’re a vassal or, even better, as a ruler of your own kingdom.

Anyway, being a vassal or a ruler allows you to attach new armies to yours by spending a bit of influence (seen above). Don’t forget that assembling armies and keeping morale high also boosts your Leadership skill. The other vassal lords you don’t select, meanwhile, will form their own armies or parties. Unfortunately, you won’t have a lot of control over what the AI does.

Note: It’s possible to bring dozens of generals with you, but more parties attached lead to faster cohesion decay. Once cohesion reaches zero, the other parties will be disbanded. Try to find the right balance between enlisting multiple parties versus using a smaller squad.

Unit groupings

When it comes to your units, they have default groupings corresponding to a number on your keyboard: (1) infantry, (2) archers, (3) melee cavalry, (4) horse archers, (5) skirmishers, and so on. The zero key (0) selects all your units. You can customize these groupings though it can be tedious. You’ll need to go to your party screen, click on each unit, and, one by one, pick the group you want that unit to be in.

Battlefield commands and formations

F1 (Movement) – select a group, then press F1 followed by the corresponding key to order your units:

• F1 – units will move to a position (left-click) without breaking their formation; it’s a bit like an RTS game.
• F2 – soldiers will follow you around; very useful if you specify cavalry to do it.
• F3 – everyone will charge the enemy; great for killing routing units.
• F4 – advance a few paces.
• F5 – fall back a few paces.
• F6 – make units stop completely.
• F7 – selected groups will retreat from the battlefield.

F3 (Formations) – select a group, then press F3 to have your units assemble in formations. Shield wall is good for your tough melee units, whereas archers forming a line behind them is viable. The skein or wedge formation is advantageous for melee cavalry and the loose formation is fine for horse archers and skirmishers.

In any case, the AI can be read easily enough in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. When the opposing army vastly outnumbers you or you greatly outnumber it, it’ll likely charge without care. If the balance of power is almost equal, it’ll deploy in a defensive formation (seen below).

A good idea is to have melee infantry and archers advance cautiously while you tell your companions and melee/ranged cavalry to follow you. Infantry units will pin down enemy troops while you attack their flanks. If you’re winning a battle, though, just get everyone to charge and mow down hostiles.

Note: Alternatively, you can just select all units (“zero/0”) and press F6 to delegate all troop actions to the AI.

Additional tidbits and more skills

The battles you fight will help increase your other skills in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord:

• Captured enemy lords can be released to increase relations and your Charm skill.
• Or, you could make them your prisoner and, together with other captured soldiers, ransom them to increase Roguery.
• If you have a lot of wounded units, assign yourself as your clan’s surgeon via the Clan panel (L) and rest in a settlement. Keep healing wounded units to boost your Medicine skill.
• The Tactics skill can be increased as you keep auto-resolving fights. While troops also level-up quickly via auto-resolve, you can suffer unnecessary losses (seen below).
• Lastly, the Engineering skill is increased solely via sieges, so head over to our siege warfare guide if you need help.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is available now via Steam’s early access program. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.