You're standing outside the walls of Ortysia. Your party is starving. You’ve got thirty high-tier Cataphracts who are about five minutes away from deserting because you ran out of grain, and for some reason, the Western Empire just declared war on you. You need answers. Fast. You alt-tab, pull up the mount and blade 2 wiki, and realize you're looking at a massive wall of data that might or might not be updated for the latest v1.2.x patch.
It's a mess. A glorious, community-driven mess.
Bannerlord is a game of spreadsheets disguised as a medieval combat simulator. If you don't understand the underlying math of troop wages, or how the "prosperity" stat of a town actually affects the local blacksmith's ability to produce high-end pugios, you’re basically just swinging a stick in the dark. The wiki is the only thing standing between you and a very short career as a looter’s snack. But here’s the thing: not all pages are created equal.
The struggle with the Mount and Blade 2 Wiki data
The biggest hurdle isn't finding information. It's finding current information. TaleWorlds loves to tweak the economy. One month, caravans are an infinite money printer; the next, they're getting intercepted by three guys with rocks and a dream before they even leave the city gates.
Because the game spent so long in Early Access, the mount and blade 2 wiki often hosts a mix of legacy data and "current" stats. You’ll be looking at a page for the Khuzait Khan's Guard, thinking they have a certain armor value, only to realize that stat was nerfed two years ago. Honestly, it’s frustrating. You have to look at the "Version" tag on the page or, better yet, check the recent history tab to see if someone has touched the entry since the most recent major update.
Why the Encyclopedia is your real best friend
While the web-based wiki is great for long-term planning—like deciding which culture has the best starting bonuses—most people forget the "internal" wiki. The in-game Encyclopedia (shortcut 'N') is technically the most accurate mount and blade 2 wiki you’ll ever find because it pulls data directly from your specific save file.
If you want to know where a specific noble is, the web wiki can't help you. It’ll tell you that Rhagaea is the head of the Southern Empire, sure. But it won't tell you she was last seen near Lycaron two days ago. Use the online wiki for the mechanics—how marriage chances are calculated or the exact XP requirements for leveling Medicine—but use the in-game one for the logistics.
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Let's talk about the Fandom vs. the Unofficial Wiki. Usually, the Fandom site is what pops up first on Google. It's got the most traffic. It’s got the most eyes on it. But sometimes, the specialized community wikis or even the Reddit megathreads have deeper dives into the "hidden" stats, like how "Hardwood" prices are influenced by the number of charcoal burners in a nearby village.
The Troop Tree Rabbit Hole
Most players spend 90% of their time on the troop pages. You’re looking for that perfect balance. You want the Battanian Fian Champions because everyone knows they're basically machine guns with bows. But the wiki helps you see the opportunity cost.
Look at the Tier 5 versus Tier 6 transitions. Sometimes, the wage jump isn't worth the marginal increase in Athletics or One-Handed skill. If you’re running a massive army of 300+ people, those extra 5 Denars per day per soldier add up. The mount and blade 2 wiki lets you compare these numbers side-by-side in a way the game’s UI just doesn't allow.
It’s about the hidden tags. Some troops have the "Civilian" tag, others have "Large Shield." You wouldn't know that a specific Vlandian Sergeant has a better chance of surviving a siege just by looking at his portrait in the party screen. You need the raw data.
Workshop math that actually works
Don't trust the "average profit" numbers you see in old forum posts. Seriously. Workshops are the most volatile part of the Bannerlord experience. If you’re using the wiki to decide between a Brewery or a Silversmith, you have to look at the "Inputs and Outputs" section.
A Brewery in Sanala is usually a gold mine. Why? Because Sanala is surrounded by villages that produce grain. The wiki explains the logic:
- Low input cost (Grain) + High demand (Prosperous city) = Profit.
- High input cost (buying Iron Ore from across the map) = Bankruptcy.
It sounds simple. It rarely is. If a war breaks out and those grain-producing villages get looted, your profit drops to zero. No wiki can predict a war, but it can tell you which villages are tied to which trade hubs, which is crucial for long-term stability.
Modding and the Wiki's Role
If you're using mods like Open Source Armory or Realistic Battle Mod (RBM), the vanilla mount and blade 2 wiki becomes a bit of a relic. RBM completely changes how armor is calculated. In vanilla, a high-tier chest piece makes you a tank. In RBM, if you aren't wearing a gambeson underneath, you're still in trouble.
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Many players find themselves jumping between the official wiki and the Nexus Mods "Articles" section. If you’re a power user, that's where the real "wiki" lives. You’re looking for the XML values. You’re looking at how the game handles "collision" for arrows.
Nuance in Marriage and Diplomacy
One of the most searched topics on the wiki is how to actually get someone to marry you without spending 50,000 Denars. The wiki lays out the personality traits (brave, cruel, honest, etc.) and how they interact with your own.
If you have the "Deviant" trait and you're trying to woo a "Honest" lady, the wiki will tell you the success probability is dismal. You’re basically wasting your time. It also details the "Critical Success" triggers in the dialogue mini-game. Pro tip: Having a high Charm skill isn't just a suggestion; it’s a requirement if you don't want to save-scum every conversation.
What people get wrong about the economy
There's a common misconception that the wiki is a "how-to" guide. It’s not. It’s an "is" guide. It tells you what things are.
People complain that the wiki "lied" about how much money a caravan makes. It didn't lie. The caravan leader's "Scouting" and "Trade" skills are variables that the wiki can't account for in your specific game. If you hire a "Spicevendor" companion, they’ll do better than a "Coalbitter." The wiki lists these companion suffixes (the "of the Wastes," "the Fish," etc.) and what their base stats are. Using that list is the difference between a caravan that pays for itself in a week and one that gets captured by Steppe Bandits in three hours.
Practical Steps for your next playthrough
To get the most out of your time in Calradia, stop treating the wiki as a static book and start treating it as a reference manual for your specific problems.
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- Verify the patch version at the top of any wiki page you're reading. If it's more than two major patches old, take the numbers with a grain of salt.
- Cross-reference companion suffixes. Before you enter a tavern, search the wiki for the specific "Last Name" of the companions available. It will tell you their starting skills so you don't waste 1,000 Denars hiring a scout who can't actually track.
- Analyze the 'Required Input' for Workshops. Before buying a shop, check the wiki for what that shop actually needs to run. Then, look at the map to see if the nearby villages (the ones with lines pointing to the city) actually produce that resource.
- Study the Armor "Coverage" stats. Not all Tier 6 armor is equal. Some look heavy but leave the "Arm" or "Leg" hitboxes exposed. The wiki usually breaks down which pieces offer the most comprehensive protection.
- Use the "Kingdom" pages to check the initial strength of factions. If you’re planning on starting your own kingdom, you want to pick on the weakest link, not the Vlandians who start with half the map's cavalry.
Check the "Culture" page one more time before you hit 'Create Character.' That 10% speed bonus in forests for Battanians might seem small, but when you're being chased by a 400-man army, it's the only thing that matters.