Do you still know Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord? The game that TaleWorlds Entertainment announced a while ago and is still being developed? The developers have given insights into the siege mechanics of the game in a devlog. Both the possibilities of defense and attack are explained in more detail.
Fortresses and sieges played a major role in the first part of Mount & Blade. As a defender you position your troops - and yourself - on the walls and try to repel the attacking troops with arrow fire - all while arrows and rocks are flying around your ears.
In order to understand the game mechanics, we would like to briefly summarize what the purpose of sieges was in the Middle Ages and what is today - in a different form - still is. The attackers surrounded the fortress in which the defenders holed up. Thus, all ways to supply the fortress with food and other important supplies were cut off. So you tried to starve the defenders, weaken them or put yourself in a better negotiating position. Castles often had hidden sideline gates so that they could continue to operate in such a situation.
How to defend your castle
- As already mentioned, they holed up and hoped for reinforcements.
- You lead your army out of the castle into the open field and dare to attack.
- With an attack try to cut a path through the opposing troops, to flee and to give up a castle (for the time being).
- It is possible to negotiate with the enemy, maybe he will withdraw for gold or the life of someone important.
- It is also possible that an ally is besieged and calls you as reinforcements. You can then stab the enemy in the back and attack with your allies from two sides.
- Through the just mentioned gates one could attack the enemy’s supply units with small “commando units” in order to disrupt his supply.
What options the attacker has
In Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord you have a medieval range of siege weapons as the attacker. Starting with simple ladders and battering rams to catapults and tribocks. The siege weapons were already featured in an older dev blog. It was mentioned there that the establishment of siege weapons costs time and resources and it is important to consider whether you need them for the attack.
Some of the siege weapons can also be used by defenders. The Bastille, for example, can be equipped with incendiary ammunition and, thanks to its long range, can shut down enemy catapults or tribocks.
Mount & Blade is a medieval sandbox game that contains elements of role and strategy games. You play your own character, including the background story from the third-person perspective and can, for example, aim for a career as a great ruler, spread fear as a notorious bandit or earn a golden nose as a trader. The game is currently in closed beta, so we hope not to have to wait too long to fight our first virtual siege battles ourselves.
Here you can find the full length of the devlog: https://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Blog/117
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