What are the troop trees in Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord?

Troop trees determine the quality of soldier you purchase from an individual in a town in Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord. The higher rank and nobility of the person you’re speaking to, the better troops they can provide you, which means they will cost a higher price. Those who are in small villages can only offer you recruits, whereas those who have some influence in the world have the potential to provide you with archers or polearm fighters.

There are several different troop trees available for you to find in Bannerlord. Many of them are associated with various factions, meaning you need to go to different parts of the map to locate them. Not every location will have them. They’re broken up to different parts of the world, so if you’re looking for a particular faction to lean toward, or you want a specific troop type, you will need to venture toward that faction’s side of the map, or find a city aligned with it, to find the troops you want to add to your army.

You can always look up the type of troops you can recruit in the game’s encyclopedia, and you may want to do it to get an idea of what type of troops you want to branch out toward when you near the larger armies of the game. There are a great number of specialized troops in the game, and some of them only evolve into stronger troops at a significantly lower rate or don’t have an expansive tree. They may only have one line of troop upgrades, which stacks up to being two. Some have four different trees, starting at a recruit, and later becoming a veteran warrior.

Here are the troop trees for each of the available factions in the game:

Vlandian

• Vlandian:
• Vlandian Recruit:
  • Flandian Footman
    • Vlandian Infantry
      • Vlandian Light Cavalry > Vlandian Vanguard
      • Vlandian Swordsman > Vlandian Sergeant
    • Vlandian Spearman > Vlandian Billman
      • Vlandian Volugier or Vlandian Pikeman
  • Vlandian Levy Crossbowman >Vlandian Crossbowman > Valndian Hardened Crossbowman > Vlandian Sharpshooter

Sturgian

• Sturgian
• Sturgian Recruit
  • Sturgian Woodsman
    • Sturgian Hunter > Sturgian Archer > Sturgian Veteran Bowman
    • Sturgian Brigand > Sturgian Hardened Brigand > Sturgian Horse Raider
  • Sturgian Warrior > Sturgian Soldier
    • Sturgian Spearman
      • Sturgian Shock Trooper
      • Sturgian Veteran Warrior
    • Sturgian Berserker > Sturgian Ulfhednar

Khuzait

• Khyzait Nomad
  • Khuzait Footman
    • Khuzait Spearman > Khuyzait Spear Infantry > Khuzait Darkhan
    • Khuzait Hunter > Khauzait Archer > Khuzait Marksman
  • Khuzait Tribal Warrior
    • Khuzait Horseman > Khuzait Lancer > Khuzait Heavy Lancer
    • Khuzait Raider > Khuzait Horse Archer > Khuzait Heavy Horse Archer

Imperial

• Imperial Recruit
  • Imperial Archer > Imperial Trained Archer
    • Imperial Veteran Archer
      • Imperial Palatine Guard
      • Imperial Bucellarii
    • Imperial Crossbowman Imperial Sergeant Crossbowman
  • Imperial Infantryman > Imperial Trained Infantryman
    • Imperial Menavliation > Imperial Elite Menavliation
    • Imperial Veteran Infantryman > Imperial Legionary

Battanian

• Battanian Volunteer
  • Battanian Wood Runner
    • Battanian Skirmisher > Battanian Veteran Skirmisher
      • Battanian Wildling
      • Battanian Mounted Skirmisher
    • Battanian Raider > Battanian Flaxman > BAttanian Veteran Falxman
  • Battanian Clan Warrior
    • Battanian Scout > Battanian Horseman
    • Battanian Trained Warrior > Battanian Picked Warrior > Battanian Trained Spearman

Aserai

• Aserai Recruit > Aserai Tribesman
  • Aserai Footman > Aserai Infantry > Aserai Veteran Infantry
  • Aseraiu Skirmisher > Aserai Archer >Aseria Master Archer

These are not all of the smaller specialized troops in the game. These break down the more generic ones you’re bound to find while exploring Bannerlord and you start expanding your army. You want a diverse set of troops at your command, so make sure to find the ones that fit together, and pick from the recruits that can continue to grow as they travel with you. Plan out your army wisely, and investigate more, specialized troops you find through the game’s encyclopedia.