Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord has been in development for ages. Finally, we can say that we know when it will hit Early Access!
The recently released Early Access trailer puts the date in March 2020. It’s not an actual release, but getting some Bannerlord in is better than nothing. The trailer shows off all the cool stuff we can expect in the game:
Well, OK, the trailer isn’t that clear, but you can already see that Bannerlord will feature all the hits of the series: cavalry charges, sieges, and massed archers. I can’t wait to get back to sniping defenders while my troops rush the walls on the ramps that have replaced all the ladders in Calradia.
More Bannerlord stuff, more!
Generally speaking, TaleWorlds has been very good this summer, treating fans to a lot of footage and details of the upcoming game. For example, the sieges in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord will be a lot more interactive. You will have siege camps, stages of the siege, and siege engines. Each phase will have different mechanics, while siege engines will require some finesse in their deployment. Sounds somewhat more involved than the original’s siege method of “wait on the world map until the enemy summons reinforcements/AI decides to attack.” Being able to actually collapse walls will be grand!
Multiplayer has also seen a revamp. The closed beta footage we saw looks like great fun; it’s a skirmish with about 10 warriors per side, full of jump-slashes and close-range archery duels. Apparently, Bannerlord will give no less information about your hits than the predecessor. Multiplayer classes have been rebalanced, being separated roughly into ranged, melee, and cavalry. As a player, you will have points to spend on buying classes (and not just load-outs), with the option to individualize them a bit with the choice of main weapon and a perk. In some modes, your points will also act as a respawn pool as well.
I, for one, can’t wait to get back to engaging in Medieval shenanigans in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. I just hope they massively improve the cattle-rustling mechanics!
Published: Aug 20, 2019 10:31 am