Mount & Blade: Warband
Mount & Blade: Warband

Recruiting Troops

Build your army in Mount & Blade: Warband. Learn effective troop recruitment tactics from villages, taverns, and even prisoners to conquer Calradia.

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Recruiting Troops

Building a formidable army is paramount to your success in Calradia. Without a strong contingent of loyal soldiers, you'll quickly fall prey to bandits, rival lords, and even the occasional wolf pack. This section will detail the most effective methods for expanding your forces.

Recruiting from Villages

The most common and accessible method for troop recruitment is visiting villages. Each village, regardless of its faction, will offer a small number of recruits for a modest fee.

  • Locating Villages: Open your world map (default key: M) and look for the small cluster of huts icon. Hovering over them will display the village name.
  • Initiating Recruitment:
    1. Travel to a village.
    2. Upon arrival, select the option "Enter the village."
    3. Speak to the "Village Elder."
    4. Choose the dialogue option "I need to recruit some men."
    5. The elder will present you with a list of available recruits and their cost. The number of recruits available depends on your "Renown" and your "Relation" with that village.
    6. Select the desired number of recruits and confirm your purchase.
  • Tips for Village Recruitment:
    • Reputation Matters: A higher "Relation" with a village (achieved by completing quests for the elder, defending it from bandits, or having high "Honor") will increase the number of recruits offered and sometimes even reduce their cost.
    • Faction Diversity: Different factions' villages will provide different base troop types. For example, Swadian villages offer "Swadian Recruits" who can be upgraded into heavy cavalry, while Vaegir villages offer "Vaegir Recruits" who excel as archers. Plan your recruitment based on your desired army composition.
    • Recruit Often: Villages refresh their recruit pool over time. Make regular rounds to villages you have good relations with to maintain a steady influx of new soldiers.

Recruiting from Towns and Castles

While villages provide basic recruits, towns and castles can offer more advanced, albeit more expensive, troops. These locations are particularly useful for filling gaps in your army with specialized units.

  • Locating Towns and Castles: On the world map, towns are represented by larger city icons, and castles by fortress icons.
  • Initiating Recruitment:
    1. Travel to a town or castle.
    2. Select "Enter the town/castle."
    3. Navigate to the "Guild Master" in a town or the "Castellan" in a castle.
    4. Choose the dialogue option related to recruiting soldiers.
    5. You will be presented with a selection of higher-tier troops, often including "Mercenary Cavalry," "Mercenary Crossbowmen," or "Man-at-Arms" type units. These units are generally more powerful than fresh village recruits but come at a significantly higher price and upkeep.
  • Tips for Town/Castle Recruitment:
    • Cost-Benefit Analysis: Weigh the higher cost of these troops against their immediate combat effectiveness. They can be invaluable for quickly bolstering your army with experienced fighters.
    • Limited Availability: The number and type of mercenary troops available in towns and castles can vary and are often limited. Check back periodically.
    • Faction-Neutral: Mercenary troops are generally faction-neutral, meaning they won't impact your standing with any particular kingdom.

Rescuing Prisoners

A less conventional but often rewarding method of recruitment is freeing prisoners from enemy lords or bandit camps. These individuals, once rescued, may offer to join your party.

  • How to Rescue:
    1. Defeat an enemy lord's party or clear a bandit hideout.
    2. After the battle, you will have the option to "Rescue prisoners."
    3. Any rescued prisoners will appear in your party screen. Some may immediately join, while others might require a small persuasion check or simply refuse.
  • Benefits: Rescued prisoners often come as higher-tier units, saving you the time and cost of training them from basic recruits.
  • Considerations: The quality and quantity of rescued prisoners are entirely random.

Companions and Heroes

While not "troops" in the traditional sense, recruiting unique "Companions" (also known as "Heroes") is a crucial aspect of building your party. These individuals have unique skills and can be invaluable assets.

  • Locating Companions: Companions can be found in taverns across Calradia. Each tavern usually has one or two potential companions waiting.
  • Recruiting Companions:
    1. Enter a town and select "Go to the tavern."
    2. Speak to the various individuals sitting around. Companions will have unique names (e.g., "Marnid," "Borcha," "Ymira").
    3. Engage them in conversation. They will often have a personal story or a specific reason for wanting to join you.
    4. Agree to their terms, which usually involves a one-time payment.
  • Managing Companions:
    • Skill Distribution: Companions have their own attributes and skills. You can equip them with gear and assign skill points as they level up, making them specialized fighters, healers, or strategists.
    • Party Morale: Be mindful of companion interactions. Some companions have conflicting personalities and will argue, potentially lowering party morale.
    • Leadership Roles: Companions can be assigned specific roles within your party, such as "Quartermaster," "Surgeon," or "Scout," providing valuable bonuses to your party's capabilities.