Best Faction Character Culture in Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord

Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord Character Culture or starting faction is the faction you choose to belong to at the beginning of the game, and every one of them has their special buff that they give you. So, naturally, people are wondering what’s the best Bannerlord character culture to choose at the start? Which faction bonus is the best? Well, we’re gonna try and answer those questions in our Best Faction Character Culture in Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord guide; we hope you’ll find it useful.

What Faction to Choose in Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord – Best Character Culture

The best faction, or character culture, for you to choose in Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord depends on two factors: your role-playing preferences, and purely practical bonuses. The three best are arguably Vlandians, Empire, and Aserai, with Vlandians more or less leading the pack. Before we dive into details, however, there’s one thing we have to mention. No matter which character culture you choose, you’ll start the campaign in the same place. You can also pledge your allegiance to any faction; you have no obligation to stick with the one you choose at the start.

Now, there are six different factions you can choose at the start of Bannerlord. Each of them comes with a special buff, specific to that culture. Here’s a list of factions, as well as which bonuses they offer.

• Vlandians – 20% more upgrade XP to troops from battles.
• Sturgians – 20% less speed penalty from snow.
• Empire – 20% construction speed bonus to town projects, wall repairs and siege engines.
• Aserai – Caravans are 30% cheaper to build. 10% less trade penalty.
• Khuzaits – 10% extra speed bonus for horsemen on campaign map.
• Battanians – Forests give 10% less speed penalty to parties.

Two of these bonuses, the ones from Battanians and Sturgians, are very contextual. Yes, they give you better mobility in their respective areas, but that won’t necessarily amount to much. It’s a little too situation-specific to recommend, in our opinion.

The buff you get from Khuzaits is better, especially if you want to focus on cavalry. That extra speed bonus to horsemen is going to give you a huge advantage. Of course, if you’re not planning on spamming the cavalry, then it might be less useful to you. If, on the other hand, you want to role-play a Mongol horde, it’s gonna come in extremely handy.

Now we come to the three cultures we think might be the best; Vlandians, Empire, and Aserai. The Aserai’s bonus is fantastic for making a whole lot of money as a merchant, and reinvesting it into troops, or whatever else you might need. Of course, if you’re not very merchant-minded, they might not be of much use to you.

The Empire, conversely, is fantastic for the late game with their bonus. Those buffs on town projects, wall repairs and siege engines lets you conquer territories more efficiently. So, when it comes to conquest, this is absolutely fantastic. Which, you know, one is to expect from a faction called The Empire.

Last, but definitely not least, we’ve got the Vlandians. Their bonus works great throughout the whole game, from early to late. Every time you get into battle, your troops get 20% extra Xp. What more could you possibly want from life? True, it’s a pretty vanilla buff, but it works.

So, in summation, we’d say that the Vlandians are the best faction to choose in Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord, with Empire and Aserai right behind. Overall, though, the best choice of character culture in Bannerlord is up to you and your preferences. You have the list above; choose whatever fits your role-play and gameplay styles best. I mean, all six factions offer some pretty good buffs, so it’s impossible to truly single one out.