Troop commands in Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord

Taking control and leading your troops into combat in Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord is a fundamental skill every good commander needs to understand. If you want to become a better tactician and acquire more leadership with your character, you need to take on stronger armies and lead your troops against them. A great way to optimize them during every encounter is to use troop commands. You can bring up these troop commands by clicking the F1 to F7 keys on your keyboard.

When you want to do any of the commands in the game, you can view them by clicking any of the F1 to F7 keys. Doing so clicks the respective command, and you have several different commands underneath it. With a few simple clicks, you can order your army to charge forward, retreat, or enter a new formation. Here’s how you enter all of those commands:

• F1: Movement
  • F1: To position
  • F2: Follow Me
  • F3: Charge
  • F4: Advance
  • F5: Fallback
  • F6: Stop
  • F7: Retreat
  • F9: Return
• F2: Facing
  • F1: Face direction
  • F2: Face enemy
  • F9: Return
• F3: Form
  • F1: Line
  • F2: Shield wall
  • F3: Loose
  • F4: Circle
  • F5: Square
  • F6: Skein
  • F7: Column
  • F8: Scatter
  • F9: Return
• F4: Fire
  • Clicking it toggles between “Fire at will” and “Hold fire”.
• F5: Horse
  • Clicking it toggles between having your troops mount and dismounting their horses.
• F6: Command
  • Clicking it toggles between delegating your command to your troop’s AI where they decide the best course of action, and listening to your commands.
• F7: Transfer
  • Clicking it breaks down where you want to transfer specific units on the battlefield. For example, you could want to transfer all mounted troops to a particular location, and then transfer all ranged troops behind them. You can better break them out and have diverse troops everywhere.

You can view these commands by clicking any of the F1 to F9 keys while playing. Every time you click F9 while in one of these menus, you can automatically return to the main troop command options. For those who would prefer to have your leader in combat, but not determine the tactics of your troops, turning the F6: Command key one will have your troop’s AI takeover, and they will openly attack, or retreat, against the enemy.