Taleworlds Entertainment has been rather quiet as of late but turns out it had big plans in the works for its medieval fantasy warfare game Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, a full-fledged expansion DLC titled War Sails.
The expansion does pretty much what it says on the tin adding naval warfare to the game, but that’s far from all. We’re getting a new Viking-inspired faction aptly named “Nords” who will populate a new region that will be added to the world map alongside coastal waters and open seas.
The naval warfare system will feature realistic wind and water physics, and combat will include ramming, boarding from multiple points in a ship, and ranged attacks.
Soldiers can be thrown overboard, oars can be shattered, and buoyancy can be compromised, while arrows and projectiles can tear sails and compromise mobility.
The dynamic weather system will include sea storms and trade winds, and the new naval system will bring big changes to trade, warfare, and diplomacy. Even sieges interact with the new systems, allowing fleets to blockade ports.
There will be a whopping 18 ship types and they can be customized with siege engines, cargo holds, sails, rams, and more. It’s even possible to capture ships and enemy figureheads during naval battles.
Character customization will be expanded with Nord-style hairstyles, beards, and tattoos, while your characters will be able to learn three new nautical skills, on top of plenty of new weapons to enjoy.
Mariner soldiers will be added to the Troop trees and companions with naval backgrounds will become available. There’s also a story-driven new questline that pitches the player against a pirate confederacy to learn the ropes of naval warfare.
The expansion will launch on June 17, 2025, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
New changes are also coming to the base games with a major update slated to be released alongside the expansion. Some of these features were part of another DLC that unfortunately did not meet Talewords’ quality standards and has been canceled.
That being said, instead of scrapping the work, the developer is including some of it in the base game for free, including a new stealth system that will allow players to infiltrate dungeons and hideouts, rescue prisoners, and kill enemies without being discovered.
The trait system will be improved to allow better development of characters, alongside random events that will appear during our adventures. Town and castle projects will be rebalanced and new ones will be added, and new choices regarding the passage of time and the cycle of life will be implemented.
The new parley feature will allow us to talk to enemies from a distance without immediately sparking conflict.
A Character Import & Export feature is being worked on, and changes to combat are being made, including new weapons like slings, better spear bracing with improved targeting, smoother animations, and spearmen using their spears by default.
AI is being improved as well, and changes that will help out modders are in the works.
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is currently available for PC via Steam, GoG.com, and Epic Games Store, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
