The highly anticipated release of Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord has finally arrived. Although playable in its beta phase for the past few months for those lucky enough to get an invite, the game officially launched in Early Access on March 30.
It's a big moment for the Mount and Blade: Warband community, who have been patiently (and sometimes eagerly) waiting to experience the game's prequel since it was first announced in 2012. And if there's any joylessness in the release of Bannerlord, it is only found in the nostalgic sadness of turning the page to a new chapter.
Why the community is making Mount and Blade: Warband still playable 10 years later
It will be a long time before the number of players on Warband servers is close to zero, and as players leave they will no doubt migrate to Bannerlord, finding new ways to enjoy the game through events, mods, etc.
Still, it's time to reflect on what has made Mount and Blade: Warband such a special game for a decade, and it all comes down to the creative and passionate gaming community.
Warband brought players together in a common interest - and it wasn't gambling
The Mount and Blade series might not be for everyone, but that's one of the things that makes it so great. Games like Fortnite or Rocket League may have strong and enduring communities, but they're not likely to bring people together under a common passion outside of gaming.
Although many Warband players may consider themselves avid gamers, it is rarely the love of the game that brings these players together. Instead, it's an interest in history that runs through the Warband community, and this is perhaps most exemplified by the release of the Napoleon Wars DLC.
This add-on content is set outside of the medieval period and places players in the Napoleonic era, fighting with muskets rather than crossbows, while wearing period uniforms.
It's far from the only example of franchise history, however, with mods like The Deluge, Anno Domini 1257, Bellum Imperii and more all becoming popular downloads that transport players to new eras of history, be it ancient Rome or 17th century Europe.
Modder's creativity extended the game's longevity
And we're not just talking about a few mods here. The mod database for Warband is huge, and it has a lot to do with the historical passions of the community leading to a huge team of modders. Each puts their own light on the game, reflecting their particular era of historical interest.
This dedicated and extensive community of modders has created various historical scenarios for single player campaigns and multiplayer servers. If players are bored with the vanilla game or just want to experience the game in a different way, there are plenty of options.
Even 10 years after the game was released, new mods and updates are still being released for Mount and Blade: Warband. Not only does this help foster a community of video game history buffs, but it also extends the replayability of the game. This creative community of modders has undoubtedly led to the game retaining its popularity for so many years.
Multiplayer events with real co-op
One mod, in particular, that has contributed to this is the Full Invasion mod, the latest release being Full Invasion: Osiris. In this mod, players fight against waves of invading armies from various factions, from the Greek States to the Hordes of Mordor.
This is a mod that perfectly showcases another special feature of the Mount and Blade: Warband community: cooperation between players. In many multiplayer games, servers descend into chaos as players struggle to keep any cooperative efforts cohesive. Like the barbarians, it's every man for himself.
In many mods and game modes, Warband players operate collectively, with coordination and precision more akin to a Greek phalanx than a barbarian horde.
And of course, you will find chaos in Warband; every game has it. But when cooperation is needed, players tend to band together more often than not. In a case like battling hordes of robots in Full Invasion, this tends to happen naturally, with players building shield walls and setting fallback positions.
In the Napoleonic Wars DLC, this happens through structured events called line battles, where regiments are formed and fight using the rules of XNUMXth and XNUMXth century warfare, maneuvering and firing into tightly packed lines of battle. classified, all for a unique opportunity to live. a historical fantasy.
Simply put, players group together in a way you don't often see in the gaming world.
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The release of Bannerlord is unlikely to mark the demise of the strong and passionate Warband community. In fact, it will hopefully be the opposite. But we must recognize that as good of a game as Warband, it has thrived for 10 years thanks to the creativity and passion of its players.
If that same community follows the release of Bannerlord, we could be in for another decade of such a memorable game.
