Mate, you are an absolute pleasure to have found, your guides and info is so concise and well organized. I just started playing this game and to be blunt I suffer from severe Decision anxiety and was finding it hard to just play the game even though I really love the game. Thanks to you I feel like I understand the game at least a bit, and that lessens the indecision so I really hope you keep making more bannerlord vids!! You've more than earned my sub
On paper your reasoning seems good. I don't know if that is how they really behave in combat though. I've watched a lot of videos of shield infantry combat runs with different numbers, to see that just stats are not enough. A lot of the troops also have multiple loadouts and not all are best. For example the Spearmen you mentioned are very weak although on paper they are good. Legionaries, Aserai infantry and Vlandian Seargeants outperform them severely in almost any area. Edit: I just watched your other video for shield infantry. Your conclusion there just proves you need to test them out. I don't know the etiquette on sharing other video links in comments so I won't but if you look for it, you will see what I'm talking about. I would recommend you do some combat runs to test them out. You can test them against each other at first, and also maybe against different other types of troops, depending on what they're meant to kill. At least against cav, but I think maybe against shield infantry as well? I would also recommend running more than one battle as there is some random to each fight. If you have the patience, I think 10 battles would give the most accurate results. I think also at least 100 troops, 200 would be even better as morale could affect the result otherwise. Would be nice to see an in-depth analysis to see how they perform in all these areas. It would be nice if Sturgia would get at least one troop that shines in a sea of low tiered and mediocre units otherwise. Batania would be worse without the Fians but as it is, I think Sturgia has worst troops with Aserai probably the best average
Head over to my other channel Knightly Plays (same profile pic just blue) I have just finished up an Aserai only play through and we are currently doing an infantry only play through. I have racked up close to 2000 hours in this game and in that time I have used every type of infantry extensively. But this is my opinion based on my experience and the raw numbers. Happy to have your input though brother, thank you 😁
@@KnightlyGuides-yy8xl Sounds good about the aserai only playthrough. I keep wanting to do one myself as they seem the most balanced after empire but less vanilla. I'll give it a watch, see how it went. Regarding the troops, I can understand how some troops feel better than others and fit a playstyle more. I was talking about concrete data from actual 250 vs 250 infantry troops fighting each other (10 times). For example the mace you were disparaging from Legionaries in the other video, is actually the best weapon against highly armored troops as blunt kind of ignores armor. So they will always massacre their infantry equivalents. But performs worse against low tiered troops. Of course in real battles, where you combine a lot of different types of troops, maybe you don't care about the ones that can kill the most, maybe you want most chaos, or best defense/shield so that the other troops can deal the damage. I kind of never use for example shock infantry as I've never found a need for it. Unfortunately bannerlord AI is bad enough to not need any tactics too sophisticated. I also kind of think Fian Champions are best 2 handed fighters so they are archers + shock troops in a pinch. Maybe a video where each troop type role is explained and where they shine, what weaknesses they have would be good. With some examples/clips from battles where they satisfied that role.
Sounds like good ideas mate, after I am done with the breakdowns I will do a tactics series. I tend to stay away from the pitched fight analysis as you quite rightly point out that is not how fights are in the game. Thats why I started the Knightly Plays channel so I could showcase troops doing what they are best at. Check out episdode 31 of my infantry horde playthrough here th-cam.com/video/aQ-MC4BL5ME/w-d-xo.html, the last 20 mins was a good example of how I use my infantry.
YA the problem is when you F1 F3 the Strugians are terrible. You need to use real commands and they out proform every other unite. Sturgia is not an army to F1 F3!
Very nice vid !! Love to see these vids about units comparisons and all, even tho its been a hot minute since ive played vanilla. I love having my own custom army way too much ! Sometimes i spend hours playing around with armor models just to make epic looking armies or hyper realistic ones xD
It is very delightful to see new bannerlord content creater in 2024, it's been years since someone does a ranking on troops, very detailed troop stats and equipments. Bannerlord matchup is often situational and circumstanced, like the other comment mentioned, it is in a guides' best interest to do actual custom battle tests, eliminating elements and variables, collect and compare data, and then finally reach a conclusion based on observation. I personally favors Empire Elite Menavliaton, and following are my reasons. From my oberservation and(biased) opinion, sturgion heroic Linebreaker(SHL), battanion veteran falxman(BVF), Mamluke Palace Gurad(MPG) and vlandian voulgier(VV) suffers heavily due to their throwing axes. The throwing axes does little damage compare to their melee but breaks their formation on charge which cause units in the back not engaging in melee dishing out real damage with their two handed weapon. This draw back is especially painful against enemy cavalry where BVF kept trying to land their shots instead of using their Rhomphaia which can dismount riders. In this regard Empire elite Menavliaton(EEM) doesn't suffer due to their throwing weapon Pilum only has one shot, which they gets rid of quickly and engage melee in tight formation. Years ago when game reached 1.0, they actually fixed the issure with long weapons, AI with long range weapon actually backs off to use their advantage, BVF and EEM now output heaps of DPS against high tier, their killing potential is even better than SHL. However due to how the damage is calculated in bannerlord(literal subtration by armor points) all units except SHL and EEM(MPG is a coinflip for their best helment but worst body armor) has way lower durability than their t5 counterpart Which results in much more damage delivered, this is especially aparent against lower tier troops where SHL and EEM absolutly mops the floor but others takes significantly more casualty. Another thing to consider is troop availbility, i am personally very found of bandit recruit for late game, chase down a big group and force them to join you and voila, magical recruits. Empire Looters and battanian bushwackers lead to Legionary/EEM and fian champions, their spawn location is central, and often surronded by forest, with battanion origion you can chase them down even with a big army, grabbing fresh blood on the fly. Vlandian Hillmen and Sea raiders are also easy to chase down, but their upgrade route is left to be desired. Asrei Nomads and Khuzait Steppe bandits are too fast for an army to chase, their spawn location is also quiet remote, but their upgrade tree is very good, both Vangard Faris and Khan's guard are S tier cavalry.
Thank you I have around 2k hours in this game now so I am just trying to share some of know knowledge and experience. I stay away from the whole "Here are 500 Elite Menavliaton's facing off against 500 line breakers" style of troop testing as it means absolutely nothing. That is not a situation you are going to be in ever so there isn’t much point in doing that. I use my extensive playtesting in castle sieges, castle defences and open battlefields in all environments to make my suggestions. For an example yes the spacing was fixed for polearm troops but when they are in a wall fight and its shoulder to shoulder or in a big melee clash they still run into the pole arm chambering issue. The palace guard and Line Breaker do not. In relation to the throwing weapons my infantry are always on hold fire so it doesn’t make a difference to me. Imperial Elite Menavliaton is a solid pick, as I said in the video none of them are BAD outside of the battanian offering so at that point its what is easier to get and personal taste. You give a good writeup on the bandit recruitment I did that in my infantry only playthrough and abused mass recruiting sea raiders as a quick and cheap way to refill my troops. I think it definitely has legs as a strategy. Thanks for commenting its nice to talk to a deeper thought around strategy 🤍
Appreciate the tips and tricks. I favor the Sturgian shock infantey with Battanian archers... Cav is a free for all lol whoever I can get I deploy 🐎🛡️⚔️
It’s worth pointing out that there is a little bit of situational quality to shock troops. Heroic line breakers are anti infantry shockers whereas they struggle to unhorse riders. If you’re looking for shock troops to go full horse meat factory, the menavlioton is possibly the choice as anyone who likes to cavalry charge imperial infantry can attest. It’s a shame about the veteran falxman. Like most of battanian troops, geared to a fighting style that rarely occurs and is almost never worth it. I believe the way they were meant to be used was to unhorse riders in loose formation. Problem is that most scattered battle strategies suck and get stomped into the ground. Battania just needs to have their troop lines reworked.
@ Tbf the mounted skirmisher and wildling are pretty strong I’ve been playing a lot of battania only recently and an even split of wildlings mounted skirmishers and fians is a very very strong army
The Khans guard or the Battanian Fian are both T6 troops and will keep up with any on this list but they are horse archers and archers respectively. You can use them as shock troops the point of this video was to show how the troops actually meant for this role stack up against each other.
number look good, I saw guides by strat gaming back in the day that did extensive 200v200 testing of all infantry, organized into sections like shock and shield. Maybe there have been buffs/nerfs since then but his objective testing concluded imperial menavlions were the best
it looked like the manavlions had highest kda into every shock infantry and every shield infantry. Do you think the unit ai plays the difference between stat numbers and actual experience? Or something else
I love Strat and his guides are amazing. However I disagree with using the whole 200 v 200 as an effective method of testing. I have almost 1.5k hours in this game and never once has a situation close to that emerged. Battles are complex and are fought in varying sizes across varying terrain, on walls, in villages. Running 400 troops at each other in an open field to see who kills the quickest is IN MY OPINION a dud test. Don't get me wrong it would take me a hour to record slap a thumbnail on it and get thousands of views but no one would be any wiser for the effort.
My other channel knightly plays (same profile pic just blue) I did a whole Aserai troop only run and the palace guard is an absolute unit. I am currently doing an infantry only run. I have close to 2k hours in this game and have always gone back to the line breaker I have always found them to be the better troop. The low armour on the PG leaves them vulnerable to arrows.
Thanks for the sub, fell free to offer suggestions as we progress through the series. I usually run them for around 8 weeks before starting something new. The palace guards are a wicked unit and on pure looks the 100% look the best and they do have the best and most consistent weapon
You are not wrong, the Fian Champion has higher 2h skill than all the shock infantry, comparable armour to a Line Breaker and a decent 2h weapon. I will cover them in the archer comparison.
Most of the T6 units are like that, the Fian, Faris, Catapract, Banner Knight, Khans Guard and Druzhinnik chapion all have insane skills and really high armour
Mate, you are an absolute pleasure to have found, your guides and info is so concise and well organized.
I just started playing this game and to be blunt I suffer from severe Decision anxiety and was finding it hard to just play the game even though I really love the game.
Thanks to you I feel like I understand the game at least a bit, and that lessens the indecision so I really hope you keep making more bannerlord vids!! You've more than earned my sub
I am glad it gave you some direction. The game is very lacking in its explanations and a lot of the mechanics are not explained at all.
Very good and concise. Thank you for this.
Glad it was helpful!
you make great content man, love watching your channel👍
Thanks brother I appreciate that 😁
All I know is that when my character goes down in battle, 9/10 times is a fucking Imperial Menavliaton responsible.
For me it's the vlandian crossbow troops. They always manage to hit me in the head while at full gallop on horseback 🤣
It’s those bandits for me😢
On paper your reasoning seems good. I don't know if that is how they really behave in combat though.
I've watched a lot of videos of shield infantry combat runs with different numbers, to see that just stats are not enough. A lot of the troops also have multiple loadouts and not all are best.
For example the Spearmen you mentioned are very weak although on paper they are good. Legionaries, Aserai infantry and Vlandian Seargeants outperform them severely in almost any area.
Edit: I just watched your other video for shield infantry. Your conclusion there just proves you need to test them out. I don't know the etiquette on sharing other video links in comments so I won't but if you look for it, you will see what I'm talking about.
I would recommend you do some combat runs to test them out. You can test them against each other at first, and also maybe against different other types of troops, depending on what they're meant to kill. At least against cav, but I think maybe against shield infantry as well? I would also recommend running more than one battle as there is some random to each fight. If you have the patience, I think 10 battles would give the most accurate results. I think also at least 100 troops, 200 would be even better as morale could affect the result otherwise.
Would be nice to see an in-depth analysis to see how they perform in all these areas.
It would be nice if Sturgia would get at least one troop that shines in a sea of low tiered and mediocre units otherwise. Batania would be worse without the Fians but as it is, I think Sturgia has worst troops with Aserai probably the best average
Head over to my other channel Knightly Plays (same profile pic just blue) I have just finished up an Aserai only play through and we are currently doing an infantry only play through. I have racked up close to 2000 hours in this game and in that time I have used every type of infantry extensively. But this is my opinion based on my experience and the raw numbers. Happy to have your input though brother, thank you 😁
@@KnightlyGuides-yy8xl Sounds good about the aserai only playthrough. I keep wanting to do one myself as they seem the most balanced after empire but less vanilla. I'll give it a watch, see how it went.
Regarding the troops, I can understand how some troops feel better than others and fit a playstyle more. I was talking about concrete data from actual 250 vs 250 infantry troops fighting each other (10 times). For example the mace you were disparaging from Legionaries in the other video, is actually the best weapon against highly armored troops as blunt kind of ignores armor. So they will always massacre their infantry equivalents. But performs worse against low tiered troops.
Of course in real battles, where you combine a lot of different types of troops, maybe you don't care about the ones that can kill the most, maybe you want most chaos, or best defense/shield so that the other troops can deal the damage.
I kind of never use for example shock infantry as I've never found a need for it. Unfortunately bannerlord AI is bad enough to not need any tactics too sophisticated. I also kind of think Fian Champions are best 2 handed fighters so they are archers + shock troops in a pinch.
Maybe a video where each troop type role is explained and where they shine, what weaknesses they have would be good. With some examples/clips from battles where they satisfied that role.
Sounds like good ideas mate, after I am done with the breakdowns I will do a tactics series. I tend to stay away from the pitched fight analysis as you quite rightly point out that is not how fights are in the game. Thats why I started the Knightly Plays channel so I could showcase troops doing what they are best at. Check out episdode 31 of my infantry horde playthrough here th-cam.com/video/aQ-MC4BL5ME/w-d-xo.html, the last 20 mins was a good example of how I use my infantry.
YA the problem is when you F1 F3 the Strugians are terrible. You need to use real commands and they out proform every other unite. Sturgia is not an army to F1 F3!
Very nice vid !! Love to see these vids about units comparisons and all, even tho its been a hot minute since ive played vanilla. I love having my own custom army way too much ! Sometimes i spend hours playing around with armor models just to make epic looking armies or hyper realistic ones xD
lol that sounds cool, there is a mod called Vlandian Steel that gives all the Vlandians new armour and its epic
@@KnightlyGuides-yy8xl yea i use the armor set from that mod. I combine that one with swadian armory for best results
It is very delightful to see new bannerlord content creater in 2024, it's been years since someone does a ranking on troops, very detailed troop stats and equipments.
Bannerlord matchup is often situational and circumstanced, like the other comment mentioned, it is in a guides' best interest to do actual custom battle tests, eliminating elements and variables, collect and compare data, and then finally reach a conclusion based on observation.
I personally favors Empire Elite Menavliaton, and following are my reasons.
From my oberservation and(biased) opinion, sturgion heroic Linebreaker(SHL), battanion veteran falxman(BVF), Mamluke Palace Gurad(MPG) and vlandian voulgier(VV) suffers heavily due to their throwing axes.
The throwing axes does little damage compare to their melee but breaks their formation on charge which cause units in the back not engaging in melee dishing out real damage with their two handed weapon.
This draw back is especially painful against enemy cavalry where BVF kept trying to land their shots instead of using their Rhomphaia which can dismount riders.
In this regard Empire elite Menavliaton(EEM) doesn't suffer due to their throwing weapon Pilum only has one shot, which they gets rid of quickly and engage melee in tight formation.
Years ago when game reached 1.0, they actually fixed the issure with long weapons, AI with long range weapon actually backs off to use their advantage, BVF and EEM now output heaps of DPS against high tier, their killing potential is even better than SHL.
However due to how the damage is calculated in bannerlord(literal subtration by armor points) all units except SHL and EEM(MPG is a coinflip for their best helment but worst body armor) has way lower durability than their t5 counterpart
Which results in much more damage delivered, this is especially aparent against lower tier troops where SHL and EEM absolutly mops the floor but others takes significantly more casualty.
Another thing to consider is troop availbility, i am personally very found of bandit recruit for late game, chase down a big group and force them to join you and voila, magical recruits.
Empire Looters and battanian bushwackers lead to Legionary/EEM and fian champions, their spawn location is central, and often surronded by forest, with battanion origion you can chase them down even with a big army, grabbing fresh blood on the fly.
Vlandian Hillmen and Sea raiders are also easy to chase down, but their upgrade route is left to be desired.
Asrei Nomads and Khuzait Steppe bandits are too fast for an army to chase, their spawn location is also quiet remote, but their upgrade tree is very good, both Vangard Faris and Khan's guard are S tier cavalry.
Thank you I have around 2k hours in this game now so I am just trying to share some of know knowledge and experience.
I stay away from the whole "Here are 500 Elite Menavliaton's facing off against 500 line breakers" style of troop testing as it means absolutely nothing. That is not a situation you are going to be in ever so there isn’t much point in doing that. I use my extensive playtesting in castle sieges, castle defences and open battlefields in all environments to make my suggestions. For an example yes the spacing was fixed for polearm troops but when they are in a wall fight and its shoulder to shoulder or in a big melee clash they still run into the pole arm chambering issue. The palace guard and Line Breaker do not. In relation to the throwing weapons my infantry are always on hold fire so it doesn’t make a difference to me.
Imperial Elite Menavliaton is a solid pick, as I said in the video none of them are BAD outside of the battanian offering so at that point its what is easier to get and personal taste.
You give a good writeup on the bandit recruitment I did that in my infantry only playthrough and abused mass recruiting sea raiders as a quick and cheap way to refill my troops. I think it definitely has legs as a strategy.
Thanks for commenting its nice to talk to a deeper thought around strategy 🤍
Appreciate the tips and tricks. I favor the Sturgian shock infantey with Battanian archers... Cav is a free for all lol whoever I can get I deploy 🐎🛡️⚔️
Sounds good to me! Except Battanian Cav they suck soo bad
I recommend usomg shock infantry
separately, put them behind your cav if on defense or flank around the shielwalls
Great advice 👍
Very good and detailed video, thanks alot!
You are more than welcome I am glad you enjoyed it 😁
@@KnightlyGuides-yy8xl Will you make a video for cavalry and archers?
It’s worth pointing out that there is a little bit of situational quality to shock troops. Heroic line breakers are anti infantry shockers whereas they struggle to unhorse riders. If you’re looking for shock troops to go full horse meat factory, the menavlioton is possibly the choice as anyone who likes to cavalry charge imperial infantry can attest.
It’s a shame about the veteran falxman. Like most of battanian troops, geared to a fighting style that rarely occurs and is almost never worth it. I believe the way they were meant to be used was to unhorse riders in loose formation. Problem is that most scattered battle strategies suck and get stomped into the ground. Battania just needs to have their troop lines reworked.
Astute observation, Battania got screwed on the troop front. But then they got the fain...
@ Tbf the mounted skirmisher and wildling are pretty strong I’ve been playing a lot of battania only recently and an even split of wildlings mounted skirmishers and fians is a very very strong army
Neat ❤
You're Neat!
❤❤❤ great content
Thank you so much! 🤍
What are 2 top Cavalry in the game? (Exclude Khan)
Isn't the dismounted khan's guards the best?
The Khans guard or the Battanian Fian are both T6 troops and will keep up with any on this list but they are horse archers and archers respectively. You can use them as shock troops the point of this video was to show how the troops actually meant for this role stack up against each other.
The Battanians should have a 2h sword troop at top tear.
Giving them a scythe is just an insult to Celtic culture.
dismounted khans guard that is all
Khans Guard are deadly no matter what! 😂
Dismounted KG’s are a top tier ranged AND shock troop lol.
number look good, I saw guides by strat gaming back in the day that did extensive 200v200 testing of all infantry, organized into sections like shock and shield. Maybe there have been buffs/nerfs since then but his objective testing concluded imperial menavlions were the best
it looked like the manavlions had highest kda into every shock infantry and every shield infantry. Do you think the unit ai plays the difference between stat numbers and actual experience? Or something else
I love Strat and his guides are amazing. However I disagree with using the whole 200 v 200 as an effective method of testing. I have almost 1.5k hours in this game and never once has a situation close to that emerged. Battles are complex and are fought in varying sizes across varying terrain, on walls, in villages. Running 400 troops at each other in an open field to see who kills the quickest is IN MY OPINION a dud test. Don't get me wrong it would take me a hour to record slap a thumbnail on it and get thousands of views but no one would be any wiser for the effort.
I think rather than statistics u should try Test on battlefield
With my knowledge Mamluke Palace guards outclasses everyone
My other channel knightly plays (same profile pic just blue) I did a whole Aserai troop only run and the palace guard is an absolute unit. I am currently doing an infantry only run. I have close to 2k hours in this game and have always gone back to the line breaker I have always found them to be the better troop. The low armour on the PG leaves them vulnerable to arrows.
@@KnightlyGuides-yy8xl already subscribed and watching crusader series 👍
I still prefer Mamluke Palace guards need a little bit of micro manage but once they get struck in its absolute massacre
Thanks for the sub, fell free to offer suggestions as we progress through the series. I usually run them for around 8 weeks before starting something new. The palace guards are a wicked unit and on pure looks the 100% look the best and they do have the best and most consistent weapon
not all shocks are the same. polearms kill 2-handers.
In a field maybe, on a wall or in the thick of battle I would take a big dude with a big axe any day.
i dont even see these troops in the skill tree bruh
They are there bud this is all from the base game. Press "N" to open encyclopedia and look at the troops
Funnily enough the best shock infantry is Fian champions which are archer class 😂😂
You are not wrong, the Fian Champion has higher 2h skill than all the shock infantry, comparable armour to a Line Breaker and a decent 2h weapon. I will cover them in the archer comparison.
I'm surprised that when the khuzait khan's guard are dismounted, they change from horse archers to shock troops
Most of the T6 units are like that, the Fian, Faris, Catapract, Banner Knight, Khans Guard and Druzhinnik chapion all have insane skills and really high armour