Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is the latest in a series of action-adventure games with strategy elements about leading an army into battle and expanding one’s control of the territory. That said, the series is probably most known for its modding scene, and in particular for the total conversion mods that bring the games out of their faux-medieval setting and into a completely different genre.
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Some famous total conversion mods for the old Mount & Blade: Warband include Warsword Conquest, based on Warhammer Fantasy (which still receives the occasional update), and L’Aigle, a Napoleonic Wars most known for its massive online battles. While Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord doesn’t have quite as many total conversion mods, it’s worth remembering that this is a relatively new game, and modders don’t like redoing much of their work every time the game receives an update.
7 Eagle Rising – Dawn of an Empire
Ancient Roman Faction And Other Empires
Eagle Rising is a total conversion mod that brings factions from the classical era to Calradia, the fictional setting of Mount & Blade. Alternatively, though this can make the mod more finicky, players can use the popular Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord mod Lemmy’s Europe Map for a more grounded setting.
The new factions of Eagle Rising include the Roman Empire, the Dacians, The Scythian Kingdom, the Celts, Carthage, and a vague Germanic faction. That said, historical accuracy definitely takes a backseat to the fun factor in Eagle Rising. But that’s not always bad: some of the most beloved video games with historical settings, like classic strategy series Civilization and Age of Empires, have a similar approach.
6 Realm Of Thrones
Game Of Thrones Characters, Factions, And Dragons
Realm of Thrones, as the name implies, is the mod that brings the world of Westeros into Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord. Unlike similar mods, Realm of Thrones doesn’t just add factions and recognizable characters but actually changes the world. This mod comes packaged with a massive map of Westeros and the nearby continent.
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Perhaps the most impressive achievement of Realm of Thrones is its functioning dragons. Granted, they don’t always look entirely functional. Flight, in particular, seems to be an issue as the beasts flap their wings at the speed of a hummingbird; they fly so low that their arms keep touching the ground. But a dragon is a dragon, nonetheless. Weird movements aside, it certainly adds a lot to the game.
5 The Land Of Sika
Original Fantasy Setting With A New Campaign
Being the work of fans, total conversion mods tend to be about things those fans love, be it an existing book series, another video game, or a time period. That’s certainly the case for Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, with its Roman Empire and Star Wars total conversions. The Land of Sika, an original setting with unique factions, a new map, and a dedicated storyline, is one of the very few exceptions.
The Land of Sika is a fantasy hero story, and the focus of the game shifts to represent this change. The world is now populated with special sites the player must visit to learn more about the world. There are dungeons where only the player character is allowed. There is even a crafting system, clearly inspired by recent trends in single-player action RPGs.
4 Separatist Crisis
Star Wars Factions And Units
- Mod Author: SeparatistCrisis
- Mod Link: NexusMods
Separatist Crisis is an ambitious mod. As with every project of its size that is more or less forced to be developed under everyone’s watch, the initial phases can be a bit awkward. Unfortunately, that’s still the case for this Star Wars total conversion mod, but hopefully, the project will start looking more at home once new maps are introduced.
For now, Separatist Crisis can’t help but look and play like an unfinished mod. Sending a clone army to attack a group of droids in a field in pastoral Central Europe somehow doesn’t feel like Star Wars. Meanwhile, setting siege to a castle while every unit is equipped with blasters doesn’t make sense at all.
3 Realms Forgotten
Original Fantasy Setting World Map And Factions
Realms Forgotten is the second most popular total conversion mod for Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, with an original setting and world. It currently features seven new factions, each equipped with a unique advantage in combat. And since it’s a fantasy setting with quite a bit of lore behind it, the mod comes with a new world.
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Realms Forgotten also comes with an expanded character creation menu, customized to reflect the inhabitants of the new setting. And since this mod is set in a fantasy world, players can look forward to acquiring magical items, fighting special encounters against roaming monsters, and recruiting legendary heroes into their army.
2 The Old Realms
Warhammer Fantasy World Map, Factions, And Magic
The Old Realms is a total conversion mod that attempts to bring the world of Games Workshop’s Warhammer Fantasy to Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord. While the developers of this mod describe their work as early access, the project is well on its way to becoming the most feature-filled total conversion mod for the game.
At the time of writing, the current build, Knights and Saints, includes a custom-made campaign map, many Empire factions, the Vampire Courts, magic that can be used in combat, and a partial implementation of artillery. The team plans to add more factions, expand the world map, and fill the mod with iconic characters from Warhammer Fantasy.
1 Napoleonic Warfare Open-Source
Muskets And Factions From The Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Warfare Open-Source isn’t quite as developed as other total conversion mods. However, it should still be mentioned because of the popularity of mods set during the Napoleonic Wars for older Mount & Blade games, especially L’Aigle for Mount & Blade: Warband.
While Napoleonic Warfare Open-Source isn’t quite ready for a full campaign and doesn’t plan on adding a multiplayer mode, its open-source nature means that implementing those changes is in the hands of other modders. Meanwhile, Sword & Musket is a similar upcoming mod for Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord with a focus on multiplayer, but playing it is quite a bit harder, as it is only available on specific servers during specific hours.
Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord
- Released
- October 25, 2022
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG , Strategy
