Mount and Blade ll has been in early access on steam for a few years now. It will soon get its full release on Xbox and Playstation later in October this year. It offers a massive open world of warring factions and gives you the freedom to do as you choose.

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You're able to work your way up in an existing faction or create your own and try to rise up in the world. Early on, you're only able to lead a small army, and joining a preexisting faction is your best bet at surviving. Here are all the factions you should either aim to join or fear war against.

6 Sturgia

Strugian Army Led By Leader on Horseback

Sturgia is the most northern faction, resembling Vikings. Sturgia offers some solid troop options but nothing very strong and will quickly lose their effectiveness in large open wars. Their limited area only allows for a few cities and castles, and they struggle to amass larger armies for a prolonged campaign into enemy territories.

Their individual troops are good for small raiding parties and are the vanguard of your front lines. Ranged combat and cavalry units excel in Bannerlord, and Sturgia offers limited and weak options for both, leaving them with mostly infinity-based armies.

5 Battania

Battanian With Bear Pelt On Horse

Battania is a forest-dwelling faction than excels in moving in forested areas. This bonus makes them very effective when defending their homeland, but they prove weak when invading other factions' territories. Battania is also surrounded by four other factions, having them at constant war with their neighbors and with little time to recover.

They have access to a few strong troops and one of the best archery units in the game. While their highest-tier troops are strong, they are hard to come by and don't make up most of the army. Their lower-tier units are weak and, even with high numbers, aren't sufficient for offensive attacks.

4 Aserai

Aserai Army on Horseback

Aserai is the desert fairing faction to the south. They offer a strong economy, which helps them properly fund any war they get into. They specialize in ranged units and mounted archers. The bulk of their units is strong against the equal-tier units of other factions.

The Aserai suffer in their upper-tier units and location on the map. Their strongest units are easily beaten by other top-tier units, making prolonged war difficult against strong factions. Their location also has them bottlenecked on both sides, making expansion in either direction difficult.

3 Empire

Bannerlord 2 Imperial Army With Banners

The Empire begins the game split up into three different factions. They are mostly similar and can eventually be brought together through campaign missions. Bringing them together gives them the numbers to fight any enemy, and even separating any single faction is a strong option.

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The base unit for the empire is very upgradeable and can be promoted to be a very strong infinity unit. Their cavalry and archery units are well-rounded, making the bulk of an Empire army strong enough to fight most other factions.

2 Khuzait

Bannerlord 2 Cavalry Army Charging Through Desert

The horse lord army to the east, spanning over a wide area of open fields. The Khuzait offer the strongest cavalry units in the game and are much easier to get than other factions. Khuzait armies will have the highest percentage of cavalry units, and with mounted archers, make quick work of any army on an open field.

The Khuzait have many starting cities and settlements, giving them a strong economy and high troop count. Their basic unit is quickly upgraded to cavalry and upgraded into incredibly strong mounted units. Having a mostly mounted army also offers them a high movement speed on the map, and they can easily catch up to fleeing armies.

1 Valandia

Bannerlord 2 Player Leading An Army

The Valandians are in the far east of the world map. They specialize in speared infantry and crossbowmen. These crossbowmen are the strongest ranged units in the game that have a higher range, accuracy, and damage than any other ranged unit.

Between crossbows and spears, the Valandians can break any army before they charge in for melee combat or break a cavalry charge and turn the tide. Much of the Valandian empire is protected behind their frontline castles, offering a lot of safe lands to amass an army in or prepare for a campaign.

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