There are multiple approaches to combat in Mount And Blade 2: Bannerlord, and they all can offer unique experiences. You can create a character that charges in alongside your cavalry, be a part of a hardy shield wall, or take calculated and accurate shots with your bow. These are all just some of the ways to approach combat. But the most challenging one is perhaps to wield an intimidating two-handed weapon.
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Without the safety of a shield to block most incoming blows, you need fast reflexes and awareness to perform well in battle. With the right choices in the skill's perk tree, you can have an easier time mastering the two-handed combat in Bannerlord.
Updated March 22nd, 2023 by Nima Dabirian: Two-handed weapons are one of the most difficult weapon types to master in Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, and choosing the best perks can go a long way in easing the process for newer players. With the recent changes to perks in the latest patch for the game, It's easier to understand what each perk do and decide which ones suit your play style best.
8 Wood Chopper
Perk | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
Strong Grip | Increases weapon skills for your troops. | Handling bonus is difficult to utilize by new players. |
Wood Chopper | Increased damage to shields by the character and troops in their formation. | Only strong for shock infantry troops. |
The first perk choice in this skill tree is between Strong Grip and Wood Chopper. Strong Grip increases the handling of your two-handed weapons, and Wood Chopper increases your damage against shields.
With the slower speed of two-handed weapons, handling is not as essential as it is for one-handed weapons. Wood Chopper's damage increase against shields can synergize very well with other perks later in this tree, making you and your troops smash through the opposing army's shield walls like, well, a wood chopper.
7 Head Basher
Perk | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
Head Basher | Incredible perk in the late game. | Slow swing speed of maces and axes. |
Strong against high-tier troops. | ||
On The Edge | Small bonus to swing speed to swords for the character and troops. | Damage output decreases against heavily armored troops. |
The next choice you face in this tree is between stronger axes and maces, or faster swords. Head Basher gives a decent improvement to our axes and maces' damage, as well as the damage done by your troops, and On The Edge increases the speed of your swords and your troop's attacks.
Your preference in weapon type should be the deciding factor, but looking only at numbers, maces' increased damage against heavily armored troops makes Head Basher perform better in the late game.
6 Show Of Strength
Perk | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
Baptised In Blood | Huge bonus to experience gain for your melee troops. | The experience gained relies on the character's performance in battle. |
Show of Strength | Chance of knocking down enemies with heavy attacks. | Less useful in large-scale battles. |
Reduces recruitment cost for infantry. |
The third set of perks in the two-handed skill tree is Baptised in Blood and Show of Strength. The former increases the experience gained by your troops each time you get a kill with a two-handed weapon, and the latter increases the chance of you knocking enemies down with your weapons.
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Baptized in Blood is statistically a fine choice, but Show of Strength is a lot more fun in action. Knocking your opponents down with a hard blow and then easily finishing the job can be really satisfying. The cheaper recruitment of infantry is also a nice benefit that can stack with the Sturgian culture bonus.
5 Shield Breaker
Perk | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
Beast Slayer | Greatly increases damage to mounts by the character and infantry. | Polearms perform better at this task. |
Shield Breaker | Increased damage against shields by the character and infantry. | Leaves your army vulnerable against cavalry heavy armies such as Khuzaits. |
Stacks with other similar perks in the tow handed tree. |
Shock troops with heavy weapons are the best counter to cavalry and shielded troops, and the next perk choice depends on which you value most. Beast Slayer increases your damage and your troops' damage against mounts, and Shield Breaker increases your damage against shields.
While stopping mounts before they charge your lines can be crucial in the heat of battle, realistically the polearm skill tree can be much more effective in that task. With the stacking bonuses against shields in the two-handed tree, Shield Breaker is a more synergistic choice.
4 Confidence
Perk | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
Berserker | High damage output at lower health. | Encourages riskier play style. |
Great Governor perk for reducing costs | ||
Confidence | Medium damage output at high health. | Less useful governor perk. |
Difficult to keep health high enough while using two-handed weapons. |
Berserker and Confidence are both fun and effective perks. Berserker increases your damage when you are below half health, and Confidence does it while you are above 90 percent.
Berserker can be a fun choice with high risk and higher reward, but since staying alive in large battles should be your first priority, Confidence should be more consistent in the long run. With late-game armor and careful engagements, it's easier to maintain high health than it is to survive with less than half of your hit points.
3 Hope
Perk | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
Hope | Increases party size limit. | Friendly troops' battle morale rarely becomes impactful. |
Terror | With enough kills, you can make the enemies flee. | Prisoner limit is less useful than Party size. |
The sixth perk in the two-pronged tree is a singular choice, so skipping to the next perks, you need to choose between Hope and Terror. The first benefit of Terror can be effective, since you reduce the morale of enemy troops with each of your kills, making them more likely to retreat.
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But the secondary benefit of Hope increases your party size by five. That alone can make this a superior perk as increasing your party size limit is extremely valuable, but the increase in your friendly troops' battle morale is also helpful when the enemy outnumbers you.
2 Thick Hide
Perk | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
Reckless Charge | Slightly increases movement speed. | The speed bonus on foot is too small for the perk to impact damage output. |
Thick Hide | An incredible perk that increases character and all troops' hit points. | Requires similar perks from other skill trees to have a noticeable difference. |
In the next perk choice, Reckless Charge increases your speed damage bonus of two-handed weapons, but only on foot. With the way that on-foot combat works, the speed bonus of weapons is not as effective as it is while mounted.
Thick Hide, though, is a great perk to increase the durability of you and your troops. If you stack this perk with similar perks from one-handed, athletics, and medicine trees, you can have some tanky troops in your party.
1 Vandal
Perk | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
Blade Master | Direct increase in weapon damage. | Not impactful enough against heavily armored troops. |
Increases troops' attack speed. | ||
Vandal | Highly effective against heavily armored troops. | Secondary effect is only useful in siege battles. |
The final perk choice in the two-handed skill tree is between Blade Master and Vandal. This choice depends on your weapon choice and your previous picks at the tree. If you have gone the sword path, then the Blade Master's damage increase can help you overcome heavily armored enemies a bit easier.
But if you have chosen to stick with axes and maces, Vandal increases the armor penetration of those weapons even further. The secondary benefit of Vandal is also a great boost in offensive siege battles, as well as the stacking benefits of your army against opposing shields.
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