Securing the allegiance of existing clans is crucial for expanding and solidifying your kingdom in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. This process involves navigating clan relations, understanding their motivations, and employing strategies to make your kingdom the most appealing choice.
Assessing Potential Clans
Before initiating recruitment, carefully evaluate potential clan candidates. Access the encyclopedia using 'N' and navigate to the 'Clans' section. Examine the following factors:
Clan Tier: Higher tier clans contribute more troops and influence. Aim for at least Tier 3 clans for significant impact.
Clan Wealth: Wealthier clans can maintain larger and better-equipped warbands. This information can be gleaned from observing their holdings and troop quality.
Clan Culture: Cultural compatibility with your kingdom can minimize cultural penalties and improve overall stability.
Clan Relations: Review the clan's relationships with other factions, particularly those you are at war with or have strained relations with. Negative relations with your enemies are preferable.
Clan Leader Personality: Observe the clan leader's traits. Honorable and just leaders may be more reliable allies than cruel or unscrupulous ones.
Improving Relations
Positive relations are paramount for successful recruitment. Employ the following methods to improve your standing with target clans:
Completing Quests: Fulfilling quests offered by clan members significantly improves relations. Prioritize quests with relation bonuses.
Releasing Captured Lords: Releasing lords from the target clan after battle grants a substantial relation boost.
Supporting their Policies: When a clan supports a proposal within a kingdom that you are already part of, and you support it as well, you will get a positive relation with them.
Gifting Denars: Directly gifting denars can improve relations, although the effect is less pronounced than other methods.
The Recruitment Process
Once you've identified a suitable clan and improved relations, initiate the recruitment process. This primarily involves direct conversation with the clan leader.
Dialogue Options: When interacting with the clan leader, select dialogue options that emphasize the benefits of joining your kingdom. Highlight the opportunities for fief ownership, influence within the kingdom, and protection from enemies.
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Several factors influence a clan's decision to join your kingdom:
Kingdom Strength: A strong kingdom with numerous fiefs and powerful armies is more attractive than a weak one.
Proximity to Fiefs: If the clan owns a fief, its proximity to your kingdom's borders significantly increases the likelihood of them joining.
Personal Relations: High personal relations with the clan leader are crucial. A relation score of at least 20 is generally recommended.
Kingdom Policies: Kingdom policies influence clan happiness and loyalty. Choose policies that benefit your clans and avoid policies that negatively impact them.
Factors Affecting Recruitment Costs
Recruiting a clan typically involves a financial transaction. The cost varies depending on several factors:
Clan Tier: Higher tier clans demand a larger sum.
Clan Wealth: Wealthier clans are more expensive to recruit.
Clan Size: The number of family members in a clan has an impact on price.
Kingdom Prosperity: If your Kingdom is powerful and prospering, clans will be more willing to join for less money.
Current Wars: Avoid attempting to recruit a clan when your kingdom is deeply entrenched in multiple wars.
Clan Leader Traits: Some traits such as being Greedy will increase the price, while other such as being Generous will lower it.
Managing Clan Loyalty
After recruitment, maintaining clan loyalty is vital. Several factors influence clan loyalty:
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Fief Ownership: Granting fiefs to newly recruited clans is essential. Prioritize fiefs that are culturally aligned with the clan.
Kingdom Decisions: Involve clans in kingdom decisions and consider their opinions. Listen to their council.
Protection: Provide military support to protect their fiefs from enemy raids and sieges.
Regular Interaction: Regularly interact with clan leaders to maintain positive relations and address any concerns.
Kingdom Policies: Pay attention to kingdom policies, as certain policies will have a negative impact on Clan loyalty, especially after joining a kingdom with different values.
Potential Challenges
Recruiting and managing clans is not without challenges:
Defection: Clans may defect if their loyalty drops too low due to poor management, excessive war exhaustion, or other negative factors.
Power Imbalance: Recruiting too many powerful clans can create a power imbalance within your kingdom, leading to internal conflicts.
Financial Strain: Paying recruitment fees can strain your kingdom's treasury, especially when recruiting multiple clans simultaneously.
Strategic Considerations
Employ the following strategic considerations to maximize the effectiveness of your clan recruitment efforts:
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Target Clans Strategically: Focus on recruiting clans in strategically important locations, such as border regions or areas with valuable resources.
Diversify Clan Cultures: While cultural compatibility is important, diversifying clan cultures can provide access to unique troop types and skills.
Balance Power: Avoid granting too much power to a single clan. Distribute fiefs and positions of authority among multiple clans to maintain balance.
Plan for the Future: Recruit clans with long-term potential. Consider their family size, potential for growth, and strategic value.
Dealing with Refusal
Not every recruitment attempt will be successful. If a clan leader refuses to join your kingdom, don't be discouraged. Continue to improve relations and revisit the offer at a later time. Alternatively, consider focusing on other potential recruits.
Sometimes, simply waiting for circumstances to change will open new doors to potential clan recruits. For example, if they are at war, waiting until peace is established or they lost all of their land before approaching them can change their mind.
Troubleshooting Failed Recruitments
If you are experiencing difficulty recruiting clans, consider the following troubleshooting steps:
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Verify Relations: Ensure that your relations with the clan leader are sufficiently high. A relation score below 20 may result in rejection.
Assess Kingdom Strength: Evaluate the overall strength and stability of your kingdom. A weak kingdom is less attractive to potential recruits.
Review Kingdom Policies: Ensure that your kingdom policies are not negatively impacting clan happiness or loyalty.
Check Fief Availability: Ensure that you have sufficient fiefs to offer to newly recruited clans.
Key Takeaways
Successfully recruiting clans to your kingdom in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord requires a multifaceted approach involving careful assessment, relationship building, strategic planning, and effective management. By focusing on improving relations, understanding clan motivations, and creating a stable and prosperous kingdom, you can significantly enhance your faction's strength and dominance on the Calradic continent.
Key Considerations:
Prioritize improving relations with target clans before initiating recruitment.
Assess the clan's tier, wealth, culture, and relations with other factions.
Offer attractive incentives, such as fief ownership and protection.
Manage clan loyalty effectively to prevent defection.
Strategically target clans in important locations.
