A new Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord Development Update has been released, revealing two cool new pieces of content: the Battle Terrain System and Multiplayer Duel Mode.
Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord is a game where you can explore a fictional medieval land. This is a very open-ended game, giving you the opportunity to serve as a mercenary, join one of the game's many factions, or cut out on your own and attempt the conquer the whole land as an independent kingdom.
Now, a brand new Development Update has shown off some pretty cool new features — give the Development Update video below a watch to see them in motion!
The latest game from TaleWorlds Entertainment is still very much in earlier access, refining its existing features and adding new ones. As with many Early Access games, TaleWorlds expected it to have a full release roughly one year after its March 30, 2020, debut on Steam, but we may very well see that date delayed.
Either way, the team at TaleWorlds has been cranking out a constant flow of new content for players to enjoy. This latest Development Update has shown off two substantial new additions, the first of which is the Battle Terrain System.
Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord Battle Terrain System Will Add Tons of Variety
Longtime Mount and Blade players know that battles take place on a handful of handcrafted maps. Bannerlord works much the same — encountering an enemy on the overworld map while in a Plains biome will consequently transport you to the associated Plains map for the battle. This means that you could have a battle in different places around the world and ultimately end up fighting on the exact same map.
The new Battle Terrain System changes this entirely by dividing the world into regions and giving each region its own, unique map. The debut of this feature will mean the end of the older system that uses the same map for several portions of the world.
"With the new system, the world map has been divided into regions, with each region being connected to its own specific scene," read the Development Update post on Steam. "The system also takes into account the location and direction of the parties within the region and uses this to determine where each side will spawn in the battle. This update aims to give you a more immersive and strategic experience that allows you to take the terrain into account when planning your battles."
This new feature is still in development, though — odds are, we won't likely see it for a few weeks at the minimum while TaleWorlds tweaks all of the underlying systems.
Fight Your Friends in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord's Multiplayer Duel Mode
The other major addition in the latest Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord Development Update is "Multiplayer Duel Mode," a new way to fight your friends in single combat.
Duel Servers will be home to a brand-new map that is tailor-made for one-on-one combat. All players on the server will be able to roam around in a common area. You can challenge another player to a duel by walking up to them and pressing "F." Should they accept, the game will automatically transport you to one of several arenas on the map that are appropriate for your respective equipment.
Finding good gear in Bannerlord can prove to be a challenge, but that won't be an issue here; dueling players can simply select any of the currently-existing content in the game for their loadout whether or not they've unlocked it in their single-player game.
This particular system is in "the final stages of internal testing;" TaleWorlds says that it will arrive with the next major update. These aren't the only other new additions, mind; be sure to read the latest Development Update to learn more about Pillaging, new helmets, the Sandbox mode, and more! You can start your adventure in Calradia today by buying Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord for PC via Steam at the price of $49.99 or your regional equivalent.
What do you think of the changes coming to Bannerlord's battle maps? What other major changes do you think the game needs before it leaves Steam Early Acces? Let us know in the comments below!
