has a lot to offer in terms of combat and general gameplay. It’s filled with features that people like, most notably the ability to recruit a diverse army of seasoned troops. That’s why we’re covering some of the best troops in Bannerlord.
There are different races and ethnicities in Calradia (official map). This is mainly why we see so many empires and kingdoms all across the world, and it directly affects the type of military units you can recruit into your group.
Before we begin covering the best troops, let’s quickly list all of the cultures in Bannerlord that produce troops. This will help you identify which kingdom or culture a certain unit belongs to:
- Aserai
- Battania
- Khuzait
- Sturgia
- Empire
- Vlandia
With that out of the way, let’s see which troops are the best and why they carry such legendary reputations.
Imperial Legionary
Legionary troops can be found in territories that have Imperial roots. These are the lands of the Northern, Southern, and Western Empires. Legionary units are objectively the best infantry units when it comes to both defensive and offensive combat.
They sport Fortified Kit Shields with Pilas and wear top-of-the-line Imperial Lamellar Plate Armor. Legionaries are capable of absorbing a lot of damage upfront, which then allows them to dish the same amount back to their opponents at just the right time.
A squad of shield-walled Legionaries is going to make quick work of most other infantry types in the game.
Lastly, if you want Legionaries in your group, make sure to pick up Imperial Recruits, as they can later be promoted into Imperial Legionaries via Trained and Veteran Imperial Infantrymen.
Battanian Fian Champion
Fian Champions come from the Kingdom of Battania, and are considered the best troops in Bannerlord.
The best and most efficient way to make use of Fian Champions is to place them on high ground overlooking incoming armies. Their ability to rapidly fire arrows at large distances hinders approaching enemy units, and there’s little to be done against them. Fian Champions also have fine two-handed swords that they can utilize in dire situations.
Due to the fact that Fian Champions are sixth-tier noble troops, training and promoting them from ‘Highborn Youth‘ troops can take a while and will undoubtedly be an expensive endeavor. Furthermore, they do have a weakness: horse archers. If not protected, Fian Champions are very vulnerable to horse archers and cavalry charges.
Albeit unconventional, people also use Fian Champions as siege units. They’re really effective at defending and besieging a fort, as they make quick work of defending or attacking units.
Khuzait Khan’s Guard
The Khuzait pride themselves on their archery skills and Khuzait Khan’s Guards are some of the best troops in Bannerlord.
Khan’s Guards ride into battle with recurve bows and glaives, but the glaive doesn’t see much use if they’re controlled properly.
The reason why they are so popular is because of their ability to dish out damage without taking any in the process and shred unaware infantry units.
Similarly to the Fian Champions, Khuzait Khan’s Guards are sixth-tier noble troops, and they derive from the ‘Khuzait Noble’s Son‘ unit. Noble’s Son troops can be recruited from any village or city in Khuzait territory, and training them into Khan’s Guards will take a lot of time and money.
They are weaker without their bows and arrows. But, they can still compete with some other noble troops. This mostly applies to other infantry noble troops, Fian Champions will always be their biggest threat on the battlefield.
Sturgian Heroic Line Breaker
Sturgia’s Heroic Line Breakers bring two-handed axes, war swords, and throwing axes. They make for very good shock infantry troops, as they can wear down enemy formations pretty quickly.
Sturgian Line Breakers also benefit from unorganized and confused armies. Meaning that it’s best to send them into the fray once your cavalry breaks an opposing formation. However, the one thing that does hinder them is shields. Imperial Legionaries in particular are a viable counter to any sort of shock infantry troops.
Another positive note about Line Breakers is the fact that they’re only fifth-tier troops. All of this makes them expendable, and in this case, that’s beneficial. Fatality rates are high when it comes to shock infantry troops, which is why you need to be able to train them quickly.
Imperial Elite Cataphract
Melee Shock Cavalry units are an important part of every army, and that’s why people want to know what the best cavalry units are. Objectively, Imperial Elite Cataphracts hold that position as of now. They’re the best melee cavalry units that Imperial culture has to offer, and they absolutely dominate the battlefield.
Imperial Elite Cataphracts specialize in tearing into enemy formations so that your infantry and archers can do what they have to. Not only that, but Elite Cataphracts also swoop in with their lances, which nearly always guarantees them a kill. If you have a huge group of Elite Cataphracts, you’re definitely going to daze a large formation.
Promoting and training them will be the hardest part, as they’re a sixth-tier cavalry unit. Nevertheless, cavalry units won’t die as much as shock infantry units due to their horses and top-tier armor. The best part about acquiring these is that their starting counterpart can be found all across Imperial territories.
Aserai Mameluke Palace Guard
Mameluke Palace Guard hails from the kingdom of Aserai and takes on the role of shock infantry. As you might’ve guessed, they act similarly to other shock infantry units.
Shock infantry units are great when paired with other troop types, and the same applies to Mameluke Palace Guards. It’s the job of the shock cavalry, archers, and regular infantry to support shock infantry in their attempt to finish off dazed soldiers.
They sport an executioner’s axe alongside throwing axes, which is standard gear for elite shock infantry. Moreover, they’re only a fifth-tier shock troop. This allows us to train and promote them quicker, which is going to be vital due to their notorious fatality rate in battle.
Vlandian Sharpshooters
These Sharpshooters are a cheaper alternative to Fian Champions. Their starter counterparts (Vlandian Recruit) can be found all across the kingdom of Vlandia. They don’t require a lot of training, making it easy to work your way up to their Sharpshooter variant.
Training Battanian Highborn Youth units into Fian Champions is a lot of work and requires quite a lot of dedication. On the other hand, Vlandia’s Sharpshooters perform about the same in battle, yet they’re only fifth-tier troops.
The only real difference between the two is how melee ambushes are handled, and the number of arrows that they have. Vlandia’s Sharpshooters are worse at handling surprise attacks and carry only 20 crossbow bolts at a time. We’ll let you decide who runs out of rounds faster.
Now you know what the best troops in Bannerlord are. If you’re interested, there’s so much more to learn about Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord:
How to Increase Party Speed in Bannerlord | How to Shield Bash in Bannerlord | How to Create a Kingdom in Bannerlord
