What Culture is best to choose at the start of the game? This Mount & Blade II Bannerlord Culture Guide breaks down the different choices of Culture you are able to select for your main characters background. When you first begin a single-player campaign in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, you must create your own character. One of the first choices put before you is your characters cultural background.
The information is all available in-game but in case you’re looking up what to do ahead of time, we’ve got a breakdown of each Culture below. Each Culture has a different character background, providing a layer of depth and history to your character.
- Vlandians – 20% more upgrade XP to troops from battles
- Sturgians – 20% less speed penalty from snow
- Empire – 20% construction speed bonus to town projects, wall repairs, and siege engines
- Aserai – Caravans are 30% cheaper to build, 10% less trade penalty
- Khuzaits – 10% extra speed bonus for horsemen on campaign map
- Battanians – Forests give 10% less speed penalty to parties
That is the basic of the Culture system in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, however, there is more to see here than a simple improvement at the start. After you select your Culture and customize your characters appearance, a new option becomes available, choosing your Family.
The Family you chose plays a huge role in the early development and progression of your character. It determines your base skills and stats, which can make the start of the game much smoother if you choose skills that suit your personal play style. Each Family option is determined by the Culture you have selected. Furthermore, there are several choices later in character creation focused on your upbringing that are different depending on your Family & Culture choices. There’s a massive variety of options.
If you want more details on that, check out our full Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord character creation guide for details.
