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Mount&Blade: Warband is a stand-alone expansion pack for its predecessor, the action role-playing video game Mount&Blade. The game was developed by TaleWorlds and was published by Paradox Interactive on March 30, 2010.[1]

Paradox Interactive gave publishing rights back to TaleWorlds as of January 31, 2014. Warband is the first stand-alone expansion for Mount&Blade and was first announced in January 2009.[2]

Mount&Blade: Warband was released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in September 2016.

A prequel in terms of game lore, called Mount&Blade II: Bannerlord, released in Early Access in April 2020. It is the latest game in this series.

As Warband is an expansion of the original game, there were many improvements made.

New Faction[]

  • The expansion includes a new desert-dwelling faction named the Sarranid Sultanate.
    • The Overland map has been completely rearranged to accommodate the new faction.
  • You can also properly create your own kingdom and rule over vassals as can any other kingdom's leader.
  • The vassals of the default kingdoms no longer have the title of Lord, and their titles change depending on the faction they belong to. The only deviation from this are player made factions, where its vassals will retain the old title of Lord.

Other New Features[]

  • Bandit Camps
  • New character movement and swordplay animations.
  • New character horseback swordplay mechanics--added the ability to change the side of a held slash.
  • New character fighting mechanics and animations--added the ability to kick. This drops a player block, will damage through enemy blocks, and adds blunt damage.
  • Added a new couched lance mechanic, most importantly being time-limited couches.
  • Added automatic shield blocking of some missiles even when shield is not explicitly held up.
  • Added chamber blocking - attacking at the right time in the right direction will parry an incoming attack and deliver an attack.
  • Horses now have a linear physical presence that makes it impossible to turn on the spot if objects are in the way. To compensate, horsemen AI is greatly improved.
  • Balanced parties (the bigger your party, the bigger the parties of roaming bandits become).
  • Command and found your own kingdom, recruit lords from companions and other factions, and take over Calradia.
  • Prisoner ransom is now differentiated. Skilled prisoners will price more, while brigands and recruits price less (Galley slave merchant in Tihr will buy them for same price of 50 denars regardless of rank).
  • Buy Land for a Productive Enterprise: talk to a guildmaster to set up a business that produces goods from raw materials, e.g. a bakery to make bread from grain.
  • More Quests.
  • The player and other vassals can get married.

Multiplayer[]

You can now fight against real players all over the world, on battles of 64 players max on official servers. Unofficial servers have supported as many as 250 players.

Multiplayer for Mount&Blade: Warband includes a lobby with LAN and internet capabilities and rooms with a maximum of 200 players. In-game you could choose classes below the maximum upgrade. For example you could choose from a Swadian Infantry, Swadian Crossbowman, or a Swadian Man-at-Arms. You can also customize your in-game character with the money that you get from killing other players. The amount of money that you start with is decided by the host.

Balance Changes[]

The game also received a few balance changes. This is most noticeable in that there is more food available of more types and it generally gives higher morale boosts than in Mount&Blade. The game also sizes bandit parties relative to the player's party size, so if you have 40 troops you'll be more likely to encounter bandit parties of 30-35 troops.

Mods[]

Warband, like its predecessor, was designed with modding in mind, with even the normal game being a module. As a result, many mods providing new opportunities, settings, characters, dialogue, objects, etc. were constructed by the fans.

Trial Version[]

All Mount&Blade games can also be downloaded as a "try before you buy" trial version from TaleWorlds' website or the Steam store for free.

The trial version allows you to play the single-player game until you reach level 7 at which time it automatically saves your character and quits. After purchasing and entering a serial key, the limit will be unlocked and you may resume playing with the same character and access the multi-player servers. You will not need to download the game again.

Within the trial version, one can amass a large amount of experience with the game. This is the period in which a player learns about the game's mechanics and fighting. Eventually the character will understand in-game politics and begin to choose different pathways in character creation to boost their chances of being a vassal. Several players who still rely on the trial version of the game can easily become vassals of their chosen faction due to their experience with the game.

Steam Achievements[]

When you buy Mount&Blade: Warband (but not the original Mount&Blade) on Steam you may earn achievements.

Downloadable Content[]

  • Napoleonic Wars is a multiplayer-only DLC.
  • Viking Conquest is a new DLC that features a storyline campaign, new multiplayer modes, as well as the usual sandbox mode.

Reception[]

Mount & Blade: Warband receives "mixed or average" reviews on Metacritic getting a metascore of 67/100 on PS4[3] and 59/100 on Xbox One.[4] However its PC version received "generally favorable" reviews holding a metascore of 78/100.[5] As of December 2020, it has Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on the Steam store.

Notes and References[]

External link[]

Gallery[]

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