A guide in which you will find the best ways to level up the main character
Compared to the previous Mount & Blade and its expansions, Bannerlord uses a more complex skill system. You can pump 18 different skills, each of which, moreover, consists of several perks. Therefore, in order to unlock as many of the best bonuses as possible, it is important to learn how to develop your character correctly.
One-handed weapon
The skill of wielding one-handed weapons directly affects the speed of swinging the sword and the damage it does. As you progress through the tree of this skill, you will unlock various perks that increase damage, shield strength, and other characteristics. To pump this skill, you must deal damage or kill with a one-handed weapon.
If you want to quickly pump your skill, I suggest tracking down small groups of robbers. Order your army to stand still, and go on the attack yourself. Raiders and pirates shouldn’t be a problem. You can handle them yourself. The main thing is not to attack the bandits’ hideouts alone.
Two-handed weapon
With the skill of wielding two-handed weapons, things are about the same as with one-handed. This refers to any large weapon that requires both hands to operate. To pump, kill or damage the enemy. Proceed in the same way as with the one-handed one: look for small enemy groups of weak robbers and attack them alone.
Polearms
There are many polearms. This includes, for example, spades that allow the player to deal damage to several soldiers or horses at once with one swing. The skill of using this weapon is associated with the use of one-handed and two-handed copies (and the like). Since the real ways to pump the skill are associated with battles in the open field, I again advise you to look for groups of marauders and weak robbers and kill them while the rest of your party is watching from afar. You can also pump this skill in a siege, just being behind the line of your troops and attacking opponents due to a large range of defeat.
Onion
One of the easiest (to level up) combat skills. You get experience points to increase your skill by hitting opponents with arrows. Thus, fighting skills are very simple. However, in the case of a bow, you will gain a lot more experience if you take an accurate shot from a long distance. Therefore, while the enemy is running at you, make a few shots. At the same time, try to aim exactly at the head.
Instead of attacking a bunch of low-level marauders, as was the case above, the best way to level up the skill is to take a bow and three stacks of arrows with you for the siege. Order your troops to stay away, and go to one of the wooden barriers by the walls and attack enemy archers. After you have killed all the archers, you can shoot melee fighters who are protecting the wall from using ladders.
When you run out of arrows, just order your warriors to take the weakened wall. Once they do, climb the walls and look for barrels of arrows. They will instantly replenish the ammunition in each quiver, and you can shoot the remaining defenders of the castle. Thus, siege is the best option for leveling up your ranged weapon skills.
Crossbow
Like bows, crossbows are easiest to pump during a siege. Take maximum bolts with you and shoot at enemies from behind wooden fences. Repeat the previous steps, ordering your troops to capture the weakened wall, and find new bolts on top. Note that today there are few crossbows in the game, and judging by the tree of this skill, their mechanics have not yet been fully implemented.
Throwing weapons
Throwing skill directly affects accuracy and damage when using thrown weapons. Like crossbows, this direction does not seem to be fully disclosed. There is no choice in the perk tree, and in the game you will not be able to find enough throwing weapons. However, there is a great way to quickly level up your skill. I suggest filling all four inventory slots with the highest damage throwing weapons, finding a group of marauders or robbers and destroying them alone. Just hold on to your horse, slowly move away from the enemies and continue to throw spears, hatchets and so on at them.
Riding
Horse riding is a useful skill that many tend to ignore for some reason. How well you handle the horse depends on it. By pumping this skill, you increase the speed of movement on the warhorse and its maneuverability. And you do this simply by moving around the world map on horseback or fighting on horseback. An easy way to upgrade your skill is to hold the A and W keys during a siege (when attacking). Order your troops to stay away from the walls so they don’t get hit, and then just move around in a circle on horseback. Be sure to save yourself before doing such a trick, as you could be accidentally hit or knocked off your horse. Enemy units must remain inside the castle, so you will have enough free time to learn how to ride.
Athletics
Athletics affects only the speed of movement of the character. Apart from that, it gives little. There are several useful perks in the skill tree, but if you are not going to complete the game by walking, then this skill is generally useless. Yes, weak athletics will prove themselves in sieges and arena battles (during tournaments), since you will literally move like a slug. To increase the level of athleticism, fight without a horse (in the arena or under siege) or move around the map. The last method is the easiest, but hardly the best. In general, if you want to pump athleticism, then stop using the horse.
Forging
The way to improve this skill is simple but time consuming. Until you increase it to the desired values, weeks will pass, the map will have time to change several times, some factions will disappear, and so on. That is, you should not get carried away exclusively with them. You can increase the ability by crafting new or smelting old weapons, or by refining materials. Since blacksmithing requires stamina, and you have to wait for it to recover, then pumping should be approached wisely. In terms of stamina consumption, the most experience points can be gained from recycling materials. Therefore, first engage in this procedure, and after that proceed to the melting down of the weapon. One of the best strategies is to visit the city after the next battle, taking all the loot with you. Smelt high-tier weapons and recycle the best materials.
Intelligence service
Reconnaissance is a skill required by any unit. If there is a companion in your group that you assigned to the role of a scout, then your character will not receive any experience points for pumping this skill. Therefore, if you want to increase the level of intelligence of the main character, then he will have to be assigned to this role.
Once you do this, just travel around the map. You will gain experience by finding bandits’ hideouts, trails or navigating difficult terrain. A great option is to simply travel across the map through forests and mountains in order to simultaneously pump up your riding skill with exploration. You can at least move back and forth through the selected difficult terrain!
Tactics
This skill in Bannerlord works in much the same way as in Warband. It affects your chances of winning a battle. Quite easy to pump, but there are few ways, and they take a lot of time. Perhaps the quickest option is to simulate battles. Find low level marauders and just order your army to attack them. If you have a large enough squad, you can simulate battles even against lords or militias by raiding villages. But remember that in this case, you will not receive normal combat experience.
You will gain experience for pumping this skill, winning battles, the chances of success in which are far from your favor. If you are a good commander (or playing on an easy difficulty level), you can try to defeat an army of 100 soldiers by controlling your 50 peasants. The experience gain will be incredible! Another way to upgrade the skill (probably the worst one) is to escape from the battle, leaving the troops behind. You will be credited with experience, but it will not be great. It is necessary to leave troops only in those cases when it is really necessary.
Fraud
There are several easy ways. The main one has to do with the fact that in Bannerlord you have to fight constantly. Some enemies will die, others will flee, and others will be captured by you. Find the nearest town, follow to it and sell the prisoners. In addition to money, you will receive experience points for this skill. A huge increase in robbery can be obtained after the battle with the army of the enemy lord.
You can also upgrade the skill by raiding caravans. But it is advisable to do this after you join a culture or create your own kingdom: attack the caravans of the enemy faction. Remember that a raid on any caravan immediately starts a war with this faction, so you should not go into such an adventure without support.
Another way to upgrade your skill is to hire rogue units, including marauders and sea raiders. Hire these units, and then if you don’t want to use them, simply exclude them from the squad. It can also infiltrate enemy cities or bribe guards, but these are more risky and therefore highly discouraged processes.
Charm
Charm can be trained throughout the game. Just complete the side quests that various non-playable NPCs give out, thereby improving your relationship with them. If you are a vassal of a faction, you can take part in the voting. But it will take influence to vote. Remember that every choice you make increases your relationship with one character, but worsens it with another. The more influence you spend, the higher the increase in charisma.
You can also increase your skill through barter. But there are not many situations in Bannerlord where an exchange can be used. Hiring lords to your faction, getting married or declaring a truce are just about the only times when the barter window is activated. Perhaps the function will be expanded in the future.
Leadership
Leadership directly affects garrison morale and size. You will pump leadership simply by keeping your squad morale high. One of the easiest ways to do this is to buy a variety of foods. That is, avoid situations when your army feeds only on grain. Especially closer to the middle of the game, you will have enough money to buy 30-50 units of different food. They also increase the morale of winning battles, so here’s another reason why you shouldn’t lose in battle.
Also, the skill increases when you collect and lead armies. Use your companions to create separate squads. This is done on the “Clan” tab. Then you can form an army from them – a group consisting of your squad and the squads of all companions. This will greatly enhance your leadership skills.
Trade (Market)
Trading is another skill that can be easily upgraded. Move between two cities located nearby, buy cheaper goods in one city and sell them in another, but more expensive. It is important to get at least some profit! When trade between cities stops, find two other settlements and repeat the steps.
Steward
As a rule, this skill is pumped faster than others. At the beginning of the game in your squad, the quartermaster role will be empty. So assign yourself to it. After that, you will receive experience points for the “Steward” skill, simply by taking care of the availability of a variety of food (which means that the skill can be pumped in parallel to leadership) and being in the settlements belonging to your clan. There are no other ways to quickly level up a skill. Just remember: if you go into a siege, be sure to take with you as much of a variety of provisions as possible. So you can increase the level of three skills at once – “Steward”, “Leadership” and “Engineering” (read below).
Medicine
This skill can be easily increased if no one is assigned to the medic role in your squad. If no one is assigned to this role, then all responsibilities fall on the main character. And you will get experience for it. To pump it, you need to help with the recovery of wounded units while in your settlement.
Hire regular recruits and recruits. Attack the robbers, separate the recruits from your army and order them to attack the enemies (let the rest of the army stand on the sidelines). If you’re lucky, most of the recruits will survive but will be injured. After that, go to your nearest settlement and just wait for the troops to recover. Repeat the steps.
Engineering
This is probably the most difficult skill to level up. You can only use it towards the middle of the game when sieges become available. The only way to improve Engineering is to use siege weapons in sieges or build defenses when they attack you. The longer the siege lasts, the more experience you get. Therefore, the ideal solution is to destroy most of the cities of the enemy army. When the faction has only one castle left, buy more food and go into siege. You will be able to personally control its duration. Collect siege weapons and wait until enough time has passed. Then, when you enter the battle, leave the regular troops alone and instead control trebuchets, catapults and / or ballistas. If you are on the defensive side, then use ballistae to defend the castle
