Mount and Blade 2 has a total of 6 factions, each with its own basic units that can be upgraded and promoted to a different tier. There are also mercenary units and bandits, resulting in tons of different unit types and army compositions.
Units come in 4 forms: infantry, archery, cavalry, or mounted archery units. Each faction specializes in different powerful top-tier units, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. While many units do have counters, other units are so strong they are sometimes almost impossible to counter.
Updated By Joshua Leeds On January 30th, 2023: The world of Bannerlord is massive, with dozens of troops to choose from for your party that can quickly reach the hundreds. So, we've added five more units in this article that'll expand your choices.
15 Battanian Veteran Falxman
These Battanian troops come with a very useful polearm and shield, making them excellent at holding their ground against any enemy. Their polearm stat is also very high, furthering their effectiveness and perfectly countering cavalry units.
As is a selling point with most Battanian units, these Falxman have to throw axes and high stats to throw them accurately. These axes deal great amounts of damage and help make this unit incredibly useful in a siege as they throw axes at nearby archers as they approach the wall.
14 Sturgian Druzhinik Champion
While the Sturgians are not known for their cavalry units, a few Sturgian Druzhinik Champions can help complement their brutal melee orient infantry. These units come with a powerful polearm to dominate in charge and a one-handed sword in case they slow down or fall off their horse.
Sturgians are known for their incredibly robust shield, which is beyond powerful on horseback. These units rarely succumb to volleys of arrows and can quickly see your enemy firing through all their arrows with only a little trade-off.
13 Aserai Vanguard Faris
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These units come with a relatively powerful one-handed sword that dominates close combat and a decently powerful shied that compliments their higher armor. These units come with a polearm, but it is not as effective as other cavalry units and will often see them losing battles against another cavalry.
These units also come with a total of 5 javelins, which can be used to perform strafing runs on your enemies' infantry while still having them be melee-oriented cavalry. While they are limited to only five throws, they can deal substantial damage each.
12 Imperial Buccellarii
The Empire is not known for having large groups of mounted archers, but their Imperial Bucellariis make up for this. They have light armor and not the best bow and arrow, but they have a high enough skill to still be deadly.
While the Empire dominates with their infantry units, these mounted archers are great supports and thin out enemy numbers to further dominate battles. While these are ranged-focused units, they come with a surprisingly powerful sword and high skill.
11 Aserai Master Archers
Most factions have a ranged unit that is incredibly powerful, and these master archers are the pinnacle of any Aserai army. These archers fire at a staggeringly fast rate with great accuracy. They are also heavily armored and can outlive other archer lines in prolonged ranged battles.
They have a very high bow stat and a solid one-handed sword should they need to jump into melee. Their arrows also deal high damage, and these archers are easily one of the best-ranged units your can get.
10 Imperial Legionary
With three different factions in the Empire, there were many settlements and cities that provided Imperial Recruits. These basic units are easily accessible, and after being promoted a few times, they become an Imperial Legionary. They also have a few pilas used to throw at close range at charging infantry units.
The Imperial Legionary comes with a good one-handed sword and polearm. This makes them versatile in fighting infantry units or breaking a cavalry charge with their polearms. They also have strong armor, making them difficult to kill, and enough of them make for an incredibly strong front line.
9 Strugian Heroic Line Breaker
The Strugians, as a whole, specialize in a quick and effective raiding party, much like their Viking inspiration. The Strugian Heroic Line Breaker truly matches their name, running in fast to deal very high amounts of damage with their two-handed axe.
This unit does suffer from low armor and is quickly finished off in prolonged combat. Their quick athletics help them enter combat and provide quick results weakening the enemy's front line, but only for a few intense battles.
8 Valandian Sergeant
The Sergeant is a very strong melee unit with heavy armor. Most heavily armored units move a bit slower, but the Sergeant is able to keep pace with some lightly armored units. With their heavy armor, the Sergeant is able to survive on a brutal front line.
They have strong one-handed and polearm skills, matching perfectly with their solid damage mace and Spear. The Sergeant also has a very strong shield, protecting them from most damage and almost making their armor obsolete.
7 Khuzait Drakhan
While the Khuzait has multiple strong cavalry units, their Drakhan also happens to be the perfect counters to cavalry. They have a very strong polearm ability and heavy armor, making them the perfect counter to stop and eliminate cavalry charges.
The Drakhan also have a strong one-handed weapon and skill, making them incredibly powerful for a top-tier unit. Khuzait infantry units are usually weak, but eventually reaching the final tier is more than worthwhile.
6 Aserai Mameluke Palace Guard
The Aserai Mameluke Palace Guard is a great elite infantry unit that does high damage and can move through a battle quickly. They have a high movement speed despite their armor, which is much higher than the average elite soldier.
They have a strong two-handed axe that does wide sweeping damage and has a two-handed skill of 130. These units also have a Southern Throwing Axe, giving them a bit of range but a high-damage attack for enemies at a close range.
5 Valandian Voulgier
The Voulgier is one of Valandia's strongest units. Having a very strong polearm and two-handed stat makes this unit perfect for either taking care of cavalry or numerous enemies. The voulgier uses a voulge, hence the name.
This weapon works as a great polearm or wide-sweeping axe. The Voulgier also has a throwing axe that has a low range but high damage. The throwing axe isn't a reliable ranged attack but is a great opener for a charging infantry line.
4 Imperial Elite Cataphract
The Empire isn't known for its vast cavalry armies, but the Cataphract is one of the best cavalry units you can find. While you may not have that many in your army, just a few of these do incredibly high damage against any enemy.
They have incredibly high stats and armor along with strong weapons to do high damage. They are good at everything; even if their horse is lost, they are a strong infantry unit. Their high armor allows them to survive arrows through a charge to the enemy.
3 Battanian Fian Champion
The Battanians don't have many strong units to offer, but they do succeed greatly with the Battanian Fian Champion. This is the strongest bow-using unit in the game, with a 260 bow skill. These archers have a very powerful bow and two stacks of strong arrows.
These archers are able to fire numerous arrows accurately. With their range, many ranged units will run out of arrows and becomes obsolete, but the Champion's number of arrows makes them efficient well longer than your enemies' archers. The Champion also has a relatively strong melee weapon should the enemy eventually reach your archer line.
2 Khuzait Khan's Guard
A Khuzait army is full of cavalry-based units. While they can fit in all tier levels, the Khuzait is an incredibly strong tier six unit. They have both a melee weapon and a ranged weapon, allowing them to be good for strafe runs or straight charges.
They do incredibly high amounts of damage for either weapon. They and the horses they carry have strong armors, giving them very high survivability. Their glaive is perfect for charges and always hold their ground if they lose their horse.
1 Valandian Sharpshooter
Ranged units are the best ground units you can ask for. The Valandian Sharpshooter not only has a very high Crossbow ability but also has the best crossbow in the game. Their incredible range and accuracy help wear down the enemy before they reach you.
Getting a large number of these units in your army can make most battles over before the melee combat starts. These units also have large and strong shields, protecting them from enemy ranged attacks and strengthening their survivability when engaged in melee.