[Discussion] My thoughts on Bannerlord so far

So far, Bannerlord has been awesome, with a few hiccups. After watching some old Warband footage, I can see how much the AI has been updated, how smooth the combat has become, improved level design, etc.

Pros:

• Graphics are great on Ultra, especially compared to Warband
• The game runs very smoothly
• The combat has been belt-sanded and is very fluid now
• The AI is much improved over Warband
• Horse movement is leaps and bounds better than Warband
• Archery is so much better and satisfying
• Level design is good
• Captain mode is great, Skirmish is okay, and Deathmatch is great
• Updated UI is much better

Cons:

• Faction/class balancing is quite bad
• Hitboxes don't seem super consistent
• Picking up weapons is a HUGE hassle
• Weapon balancing is okay at best

Personally, I think that the class and faction balancing is the main issue right now. I find myself getting disappointed when I get chosen for some factions (Khuzait, Sturgia) and very excited for others (Battania, Aserai). I have played as Vlandia maybe one time, so I actually have close to no experience with them. Anyway, this might be due to my personal preference, but I don't think that the Khuzaits have enough going for them. Their horse archers are pretty good, but in Captain mode, you only get 6(?) of them, so it's not enough to balance the lower level troops who just get absolutely wrecked by better infantry. Sturgia is alright, but I find them to be way outpaced in battle, both in terms of mobility and with weapons. Their weapons should do more against shields and are too slow to fight against the quick swords of other factions. Battania has some great infantry, and I think that, if you can get close enough, their long, curved swords are super dangerous because they're fast, have range, and do good damage if you know how to use them. Aserai seem to have really good archers. The Veteran class in particular is well-armored, has good bows, and is well-equipped enough in melee to actually do some damage before they're taken out by actual melee classes. Additionally, the maces that the Aserai have seem to be super quick and can out-swing a lot of other weapons. Overall, I don't think that there's a specific faction that's bad per se, but rather that some are much better equipped for more circumstances than the other. (And I know that they all have their strengths and weaknesses because of the cultural stuff, but I think the problem still persists.) Another thing is that hitboxes don't seem to be super consistent and I find that the consistency in distance of weapon strikes is a big problem. Picking up weapons continues through the series as a super annoying issue. This time, TaleWorlds has made the weapons highlightable when you look at them. (Awesome tip: if you hold ALT, it highlights nearby weapons, teammates, and objectives on the map). Still even with the highlighting, if you're trying to pick up a spear, good luck. That bitch is so skinny that it could walk down a catwalk wearing designer clothes. I got killed in a fight because I was trying to highlight the spear so I could get some more melee range. Finally, the weapons really could use some more balancing. In comparable melee builds, you have some classes with insanely strong swords and axes, while other classes get the equivalent of a wood club. Some swords are so short, that by the time you get into range (with no shield, because a some classes don't even have the option), you're already dead from someone else's longer sword, axe, or spear.

Also if someone wants a key I have an extra one, PM me.

Submitted November 03, 2019 at 11:47PM by Howlett_ https://ift.tt/2C8KPyb