Peace time Suggestions

[19Peej]

Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord is one of my favourite games. However, while I find much to love about the game, there is a recurring issue that many players, including myself, have encountered: the lack of meaningful activities during times of peace.
Throughout my campaign, I often find myself waiting in my castle. Caravan provide a steady income stream, we need something where the game's world comes alive even when conflicts have subsided.
The ability to make impactful decisions, such as allocating resources, managing infrastructure, fiefs, and implementing policies that do more than add number values, would provide a sense of purpose and immersion during peacetime. It would transform the otherwise stagnant moments into opportunities for growth and development. Instead of sitting and waiting for automatic growth and time to pass until the next war.

Feasts, previously added managment, anything could be added to add something else to do while waiting during peace.
Maybe I am alone on this, and I could be. But it feels very boring if I am not constantly fighting. We need more peace-time activities added.

[Clovis Sangrail]

Originally posted by Jeep91:

But it feels very boring if I am not constantly fighting.

Battle fanboi needs constant conflict to stay interested.

[19Peej]

Originally posted by Clovis Sangrail:

Originally posted by Jeep91:

But it feels very boring if I am not constantly fighting.

Battle fanboi needs constant conflict to stay interested.

No... You missed the ENTIRE point of my post? What are you on about?

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Jeep91:

..We need more peace-time activities added.

A common complaint with no really easy solutions.

The easiest activity to engage in at that point is managing fiefs, building up additions/etc, maybe getting caravans going or creating some good Companion-led squads... if you like those mechanics. Take a look at expenses, balance out garrisons, your regular forces, etc.

Focusing on ensuring your lineage's survival is a task, too. Make sure you're married and have kids or at least some on the way.

Make your own fun by engaging with Tournaments if you wish. They're pretty shallow, much less than what they should be, but you can afford the time to go hunt them down during peacetime.

Other than that, there's not much to do. Maybe clear out bandit lairs? Blacksmithing? (ugh)

Edit:Add - One thing the game lacks is "relationships."

During development and before Early Access, a suggestion arose for TW to include some internal politics in factions that the player could maneuver through and participate in.

In Warband, one could "sort of" do this by gaining positive reputations with Lords and manipulating them into voting for the player to gain certain fiefs. Marrying into a large family sometimes seemed to improve this ability as well. But, players wanted... more. While something like Crusader Kings sorts of policy/interactions was suggested, the realistic expectation was just for "something" resembling internal factions and political affiliations that could spice up roleplaying just a bit more than the mechanics Warband already had in it. TW was pretty adamant that they wanted nothing of the sort and, somewhat sadly, this design philosophy seems to be persistent. TW doesn't want to deal with such intra-faction mechanics.

That's a shame, really, as it'd give the player some meaningful activities to pursue during both peace and war. IF the player could win favor by throwing a party, visiting Lords and the like, maybe doing some high-level sorts of questing and such, it'd breathe a little more life into NPCs and add value to those interactions.

At best, I guess we have Marriages and Gifts and that's about it, really. Though, it doesn't seem to influence the things the player would find valuable.

Then again, considering that the ending of the end-game play is... grindy in the extreme, it may not be advisable to add more mechanics that could make that take even longer. I dunno, maybe some mod will prove that fear unwarranted.

[AfLIcTeD]

You have peace time?

[Teralitha]

There are things to do.

[Aluminum Elite Master]

My main gripe with M&B, Warband, and M&B2 is that they all get really, really close to being a sort of live-action Crusader Kings experience, but the relationships and diplomacy area is really threadbare. And it's not like it would take too much additional work to make that area shine... a solid DLC could open up some basic additional ways to interact with the NPCs more (outside of just battle). Someone else even already wrote basically the same thing higher up on the thread.

One thing I'd say about managing your own clan/faction/kingdom politics: internal faction management could be a pain unless done really, really well. If it's too easy, it becomes a whack-a-mole nuisance that just keeps pulling you out of what you are trying to accomplish... if it's too hard, it becomes a more important element than the combat itself. While I'd love to see a lot of inter-faction stuff added a la CK2, I'd be hesitant to add too much intra-faction squabbling with your own dynasty members.

EDIT: One quick other note... have to say, totally agree with blacksmithing being wildly unfun in this. It's a fetch quest for ingredients, then use the skill, then make some okay-ish items. It's like if I took Skyrim and removed the super-powered armor types and made the UI less immersive, lol.

[galadon3]

While on theory I agree that there could be a bit more peacetime activities, the game would actually need to give you peace-times. I am on a run now (not in beta) and after starting my own kingdom I had veeery limited amounts of peace time and since I became the biggest power on the map if I ever am not at war that lasts at best some days.
In fact traveling around to get my sons married when they came of age actually cost me retaking a city and a castle afterwards because they where taken while I wasn't in the field with an army. (I guess when the actual beta comes out and kingdoms disband when loosing the last fief that might get a bit more relaxed or I so hope).

[Hark]

Originally posted by Clovis Sangrail:

Originally posted by Jeep91:

But it feels very boring if I am not constantly fighting.

Battle fanboi needs constant conflict to stay interested.

But of irony there. Clovis needs constant posting to stay interested. Like brug... you posted 16 times today about M&B2.