This guide outlines an exploit that allows you to conquer Caladria as an autonomous Lord. AI cannot counter this.

Context

My problem was that once you declared your kingdom, all other factions would declare war on it.

Even if your kingdom has a lot of Lords, you won’t have the ability to declare a truce without them paying a tribute.

This is apparently what the devs intended. It is unrealistic to beat them to submission, which I find very absurd. In the middle ages, capturing a monarch often won wars. It can be awkward to receive a request from a faction of your party for 20k as a tribute, even though you have all their fiefs and have killed all their armies.

All factions attacking you at once will make it difficult to win without paying off most of them 20k each. Without the execution mod, you can’t execute all of them.

The Villages you will be able to own will be grateful for your efforts. For example, the Vladians are masters at invading villages and plundering them.

The exploit

I discovered a way to conquer all fiefs without AI. Here’s how it works:

1. Money

As many workshops and caravans, as you can use as possible. You can also win tournaments and bet in taverns to make as much as possible.

Unfortunately, vanilla won’t have much income as workshops don’t have much revenue. I recommend installing mods to increase profit to avoid this from getting too grindy.

Betting earns you 500 Denars per time and winning tournaments nets you around 1k. Workshops cost between 27k and 200 and yield a profit of 0 to 200.

1b. Optional – Trade Skill 300

Get the latest perk to allow you to buy settlements, and increase your skills in Trade to 300.

Although this is not necessary, it will make your life easier. Most Lords are so stupid they will let you buy their fiefs if you’re an independent Lord.

You must ensure you are not a Vassal, Mercenary, or Mercenary. Otherwise, you won’t be able to keep or buy your fiefs.

2. Level up, create follower armies

Recruit as many troops as possible. To increase your army cap, followers, workshops, and leadership skills, upgrade your Leadership and Steward skills.

If you don’t have a mod to remove the army cap, you can increase the size of your army by having followers lead armies. This is a problem because you are not a Kingdom and cannot create an army for your followers to do whatever they wish. They will depend on their Steward Level, keep the enemy occupied at the most.

2b. Optional – Buy Fiefs

Maximize your trade and buy as many fiefs as possible. Most fiefs can be purchased with 2 Million Denars.

However, some lords won’t sell you their fief. If this happens, make sure you check all fiefs they have. Although I don’t know what causes this behavior, I have observed that they sometimes allow you to sell certain fiefs. It was 1/3 of the lords who were against diplomatic resolution.

These Lords won’t let you buy that fief, no matter how much money you have. The only way to get them is to invade. It is interesting to note that you can buy a fief conquered and ruled by another Lord. This is because most lords come from another culture and if they invade, they suckat manage their fief, which decreases prosperity and loyalty, so they will be happy selling it to you.

The ability to own fiefs will increase your income and make you unstoppable. It will take some time to generate enough Denars every week, but it will soon become much faster. You will soon be able to replace your losses easily once this happens.

3. Wait for rebellions, then take the rebels’ fiefs.

Similar to 2b, if your wait is long enough, you’ll receive a notification that rebels are rising against Lord XYZ. This happens when another culture invades fiefs or when factions fight one another.

This is a great opportunity to start, as invading those fiefs will not declare war on a country but only the rebels you fight. They are just a clan. You can easily defeat them if you are quick.

Settlements are the money-maker in 1.8. Even one Town can make a difference. To prevent rebellions in the future, I recommend that you recruit a follower from that culture and make them the governor. This is something you should be aware of when you invade. This could happen if you aren’t skilled in Trade, Leadership, Stewardship, or Stewardship. You must act quickly or avoid it entirely.

4. Declare war, make a fief

Do not declare yourself a king; instead, be an independent Lord and declare war against one faction by going to the Lord of that faction and attacking him.

This is what I do best: attacking the Faction leader or influential leader in my first attack.

If you have enough troops, focus on the key Town and declare war on any lords who leave that town. Then, take control of the town by laying siege to it.

A castle is a castle if you are weak. They are often only 300 troops.

Be ready for all factions to attack you.

While you are laying siege, 800 to 1400 unit armies might intercept. It might be a good idea to wait until the other faction engages or is laying siege before you invade. This will give you enough time to retaliate.

Your human intelligence is the key to your success. If you are quick enough, the AI cannot attack you as fast as you can take the fief and declare war on them. Refer to point 6.

5. Stop Counter-Attack by Capturing Lords

All lords should be held prisoner, and they must not be released.

Be careful when selling your prisoners. I had sold lords accidentally when I didn’t select them to be sold. You can choose prisoners you want to keep, just like other items.

Don’t allow the lords to live in your fiefs. They will be more likely than you think to escape. The lords are cheating, as they spawn an army immediately. They will attack you again, especially after you have taken their fief.

Every lord they have, they lose armies that can fight back. Executing them is a permanent solution, which will weaken the kingdom and balance your conquest with each new war waged war.

6. Declare Peace, keep your fiefs

Once you have taken as many fiefs as possible before the faction crushes them, go to a Lord you are holding prisoner and ask him for a piece.

You will get the fief you just won back for around 20k Denars. You can now recover your losses as no faction can declare war on you, nor can the faction fight you back. This exponentially increases your power until you are unstoppable. You can simply walk through any faction that has 2 fiefs.

You will become exponentially stronger, and your faction will be less likely to declare war. There is no cooling-off period so you can declare war immediately. Remember that they will recover all of their losses once you say peace. So be ready to face them again.

Executing them will result in a permanent nerv, and they will not return.

7. Rinse and Repeat.

You are an independent Lord, and no faction can declare war against you. However, you can attack them as much as you like.

This allows you to attack your terms when and where you are ready. Your conquest becomes easier with every settlement you take.

If you survive the first attack and keep the lords (alive, some will escape. The kingdom won’t be in a position to counter you. You can conquer any fief you wish, even starving them out. You must ensure you have enough food.

Be aware of the other factions, as they may declare war on the one you invade if they become weaker. You can get the perk to buying fiefs. This will allow you to relax and let the other factions do all the work.

8. The prosperity of conquered settlements

Your settlements will thrive because you can’t invade them unless you declare war.

This will increase your security and loyalty and make you super wealthy. The only problem is that you will need to take your time.

The good news is that you can declare your kingdom whenever you feel ready. This allows you to strategically defend your flanks and prevent multi-front attacks by claiming all of Vladia, Battania, and parts of Western Empire.

If you invade all castles, the kingdoms you have conquered will join you. You can execute the faction ruler if you have a mod that prevents you from getting too much hatred. If you want to remain vanilla, you could declare war on the ruler and capture him.

9. Profit.

You are independent, there is no counter. The AI won’t see what you do. If you have the money and skill, they will happily make peace with you or sell your fiefs.

 

This is all about Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord – How to conquer all of Caladria as an independent Lord; I hope you enjoy reading the Guide! If you feel like we should add more information or we forget/mistake, please let us know via commenting below, and thanks! See you soon!