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General Overview
Mount and blade warband is an open sandbox RPG with some strategy elements thrown in. So what does this cocktail get us? A very underrated game that is actually quite fun. These gameplay mechanics work quite well together thanks to TaleWorlds Entertainment. While the game is old the modding community remains strong and keeps this game as a great chill/grind game for fun. As well the massive army and battles are quite unique and fun.
RPG elements
Warband has many RPG elements some of which are good and some not so much. The goods include character development and the kingdom development. For characters you can spec into a certain weapon type using weapon proficiency points ex. You could spec into a bow and there are many skills that help each style. Like power draw helps with bows and power strike with melee, and you can grind for the best gear. The kingdom element is while kind of shallow and still quite fun. You can't just assume the crown of your own kingdom. You have to work for it and go through the tiers, gain favor from lords and raise your right to rule. The not so good part is the diplomacy. What do i mean by that? The interaction and stuff with other lords is boring, plain and shallow. Though overall the RPG elements are ok.
The Bread and Butter
Arguably the best part of warband is the army management, growth, and battles. You get to personally recruit soldiers from across Calradia (the in game map) from many different factions. If you want great infantry go with the nords whose huscarls will punch through any enemy infantry in the battle. Want beastly knights, the Kingdom of Swadia can help with that. though be careful as your troops need food and money which you will have to provide for your entire army, so don't overstretch too early in the beginning. As well you'll want to protect your men as they have to level up like you to get to their godly forms.
Your kingdom
Using your beefed up army you can conquer the map. Sieging at entire castles and towns and crushing your enemies and bringing them to the peace table. Or you can continue to beat them down while they are weak. Now you can't do this all along so that's where defectrion comes in. enemies lords will leave their faction for yours if you prove your worth, and help you in your conquest.
Mods
The modding community for warband is the main reason it still is alive today.
People will dedicate tons of their time to make an entire new form of the game. If medieval vanilla isn't your thing there are not only star wars, WWI, and Napoleonic mods just to name a few. There are also mods that fix some of the more boring parts of vanilla like diplomacy mods. These mods are low quality and either these are very detailed and intricate mods that offer a ton of replay value for any gamer.
Future
The future for the mount and blade series looks bright as a new game is coming at the end of march which looks extremely exciting and I can guarantee the great modding community will be present there as well taking the game to a new level.
Conclusion
Mount and blade is an exciting fun game and a great cheap pickup. If you like it a lot you can get ready for the next game as well.