Taking a city in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord feels fantastic right up until you discover that its population would quite like you to leave.
Preferably immediately.
Settlement loyalty is one of the more important parts of managing a growing kingdom. Low loyalty can cripple construction, reduce the value of a settlement and, once things become bad enough, put the town at risk of rebellion. The particularly awkward bit is that recently conquered settlements are often exactly the ones where your loyalty problems are worst.
The good news is that loyalty is fairly predictable once you understand what is affecting it. You do not need to throw troops and denars at every unhappy town. Culture, governors, security, food, projects and kingdom policies all contribute, and a few sensible decisions can turn a potential rebellion into a stable fief.
Here is how to increase loyalty quickly, what to prioritise after conquering a town, and which apparently sensible decisions can actually make things worse.
Why Loyalty Matters in Bannerlord
Loyalty runs from 0 to 100 and affects far more than whether the locals approve of your charming new regime.
Poor loyalty can seriously interfere with settlement development. Most importantly, when loyalty falls below 25, the settlement enters dangerous territory and can potentially rebel. Current game mechanics give settlements below this threshold a daily rebellion risk, although other conditions also influence whether a rebellion can actually occur.
Low loyalty also hurts the economic and developmental side of your fief. At sufficiently poor levels it can heavily reduce tax income and construction effectiveness.
In practical terms:
| Loyalty | What I would do |
|---|---|
| Below 25 | Treat it as an emergency |
| 25 to 40 | Stabilise before worrying about expansion |
| 40 to 50 | Usually manageable, but watch daily change |
| 50+ | Healthy territory |
| 75+ | Excellent, although natural loyalty drift makes very high values harder to maintain |
There is also a natural balancing mechanic at work. Loyalty tends to drift towards 50, meaning desperately unhappy settlements receive some natural upward pressure while extremely loyal ones receive downward pressure.
So don’t obsess over reaching 100. You are running a medieval kingdom, not trying to achieve a five-star customer satisfaction rating.
The Fastest Way to Increase Loyalty
If I have just received a troublesome settlement, my immediate priority is normally:
Stop construction → activate Festivals and Games → appoint a culturally appropriate governor → fix food and security → build Fairgrounds once the settlement is stable.
That sequence deals with the immediate problem before moving into longer-term management.
Best loyalty sources at a glance
| Method | Loyalty effect | Priority |
| Festivals and Games | +3 daily base bonus | Very high |
| Fairgrounds | Up to +1.5 daily base bonus | High |
| Same-culture governor | +1 daily | High |
| Different-culture governor | -1 daily | Avoid |
| Different owner culture | -3 daily | Major problem |
| Forgiveness of Debts policy | +2 daily | Excellent |
| Tribunes of the People | +1 daily | Excellent |
| High security | Up to +1 daily | Useful |
| Relevant governor perks | Several possible bonuses | Useful |
Several of these can be stacked, which is the real secret to stabilising difficult settlements.
Use Festivals and Games Immediately
This is the emergency button.
Go into the settlement management screen and select Festivals and Games as the continuous project. Its base effect provides +3 loyalty per day, making it one of the strongest straightforward tools available for recovering a struggling settlement.
There is an important catch.
Continuous projects operate when you are not actively constructing another building. If you queue an expensive upgrade while desperately relying on Festivals and Games to hold your town together, you can remove the very bonus keeping the settlement stable.
This catches people out because constructing a Fairgrounds sounds like the obvious solution to low loyalty. It is a good solution eventually. It might not be the right solution right now.
If your loyalty is collapsing, cancel or pause the construction queue and run Festivals and Games first.
A shiny new building is considerably less impressive when rebels own it.
Appoint a Governor From the Settlement’s Culture
Culture is one of the biggest reasons newly conquered settlements become difficult.
If the clan owning the settlement belongs to a different culture, there is a substantial -3 daily loyalty penalty. You cannot simply remove that penalty by appointing a governor.
What you can do is avoid making the situation worse.
A governor matching the settlement’s culture provides +1 loyalty per day. A governor from a different culture imposes -1 loyalty per day.
That creates a potentially two-point swing between a good and bad appointment.
For example, if you are Vlandian and have just acquired a Battanian town, look through your companions and family members for someone of Battanian culture.
The character with the biggest Steward number is not automatically your best choice.
Governor priority
When loyalty is already poor, I would generally prioritise:
- Matching settlement culture
- Loyalty-enhancing perks
- Useful Steward skills
- Security bonuses
- Construction bonuses once the crisis is over
This is one of those rare occasions in Bannerlord where giving a relative a government job can actually improve things.
Understand the Owner Culture Penalty
This deserves its own section because it explains why some settlements seem determined to hate you regardless of what you build.
If your clan culture differs from the settlement culture, you receive a -3 loyalty modifier.
That is substantial.
A same-culture governor helps compensate for it, but does not erase it entirely. This means conquered foreign territory often needs several positive loyalty effects operating simultaneously.
You might therefore have something resembling:
| Modifier | Daily loyalty |
| Different owner culture | -3 |
| Same-culture governor | +1 |
| Festivals and Games | +3 |
| Other effects | Variable |
Suddenly the problem looks much less mysterious.
This is why hovering over the loyalty figure and checking the individual modifiers is more useful than blindly changing buildings.
Build Fairgrounds for Long-Term Loyalty
Once your loyalty has recovered enough that construction can function properly, Fairgrounds should become one of your priorities.
Fairgrounds provide a permanent daily loyalty bonus, increasing as the building is upgraded. At maximum base level the bonus reaches +1.5 loyalty per day, before certain perk effects are considered.
The sensible progression is therefore:
Stabilise with Festivals and Games first, then construct Fairgrounds when loyalty allows it.
Trying to build your way out of a loyalty crisis while construction efficiency has collapsed can become painfully slow.
I have made this mistake. You stare at the construction screen waiting for the Fairgrounds that will solve your loyalty problem, while low loyalty is making the Fairgrounds take forever to build.
Beautiful.
Increase Security
Security also contributes directly to loyalty.
When security rises above 50 it begins producing a positive loyalty modifier, reaching up to +1 daily loyalty at 100 security. Low security works in the opposite direction and can impose a penalty of up to -2 loyalty per day.
That makes security particularly important because it can create a nasty feedback problem in recently conquered territory.
To improve security:
- Maintain a capable garrison
- Prevent nearby villages from being repeatedly raided
- Deal with hostile parties around the settlement
- Clear nearby bandit activity
- Resolve settlement and village issues where practical
Don’t go completely mad with the garrison, though. Hundreds of elite troops can turn a profitable town into an extremely secure financial disaster.
Use enough troops to improve stability and defence without casually incinerating your treasury.
Keep the Settlement Fed
Food is easy to overlook because it does not look as dramatic as a rebellion warning.
It matters.
A starving settlement suffers a loyalty penalty. Prolonged starvation can make the situation worse.
Check the settlement’s food change rather than simply looking at the amount currently stored.
If food is declining:
- Protect bound villages from raids
- Deal with hostile armies disrupting the area
- Keep village production functioning
- Avoid maintaining an unnecessarily enormous garrison
- Allow the local economy time to recover after a siege
- Sell food into the town market when you need a short-term intervention
Dumping grain into the market is not a magical permanent fix, but it can help a recently conquered settlement survive while its villages and trade recover.
Sieges are particularly destructive here. You can capture a prosperous town and discover that you have inherited something economically closer to a smoking crater.
Use Kingdom Policies to Raise Loyalty
Kingdom policies can transform settlement management, particularly if your realm controls territory belonging to several cultures.
Two of the strongest are:
Forgiveness of Debts
Provides +2 settlement loyalty per day.
Tribunes of the People
Provides +1 settlement loyalty per day.
There are other policies capable of influencing loyalty, including Trial by Jury, Grazing Rights, Citizenship and Imperial Towns under the appropriate circumstances.
Policies do come with trade-offs. Some affect taxes, influence or other kingdom mechanics, so don’t vote for everything containing the word “loyalty” without checking the consequences.
If you rule your own kingdom, though, loyalty-friendly policies can make expansion into foreign territory dramatically easier.
If you are merely a vassal, welcome to politics. Start gathering influence.
Check Governor Perks
Governor perks are another layer worth exploiting, particularly when you have companions or family members specifically developed for governing.
Current loyalty-related governor perks include bonuses from skills such as Bow, Riding, Athletics, Leadership and Medicine. Combined, governor perks can provide a surprisingly large daily loyalty improvement.
Useful loyalty perks include:
| Perk | Skill | Loyalty bonus |
| Well Strapped | Riding | +0.5 |
| Heroic Leader | Leadership | +1 |
| Discipline | Bow | +1 |
| Durable | Athletics | +1 |
| Physician of People | Medicine | +1 |
This is why I like developing a few companions as dedicated governors rather than treating every companion as another mobile collection of cavalry.
A properly built governor can quietly become one of the most useful characters in your clan.
Resolve Local Issues
Look at the settlement and its bound villages for unresolved quests.
Some local issues apply negative loyalty modifiers, including problems involving deserters, grain shortages, poachers and other disturbances.
Individually, these penalties may look minor.
That doesn’t mean they are irrelevant.
When your town is already sitting at negative daily loyalty because of culture, security and post-conquest problems, another half point in the wrong direction can be irritatingly important.
If a settlement refuses to stabilise despite your governor and projects looking correct, check its active issues.
Watch Your Notables
Relations with settlement notables can also influence loyalty.
Notables who become supporters of your clan can provide positive loyalty effects, while supporters of enemy clans can hurt it.
This makes local relationships more useful than they initially appear.
Helping notables, completing quests and developing long-term relationships with influential people around your territory can gradually strengthen your position.
Basically, medieval government eventually becomes networking.
Terrifyingly realistic.
The Best Order After Conquering a City
Immediately after capturing a town, I use a fairly simple routine.
First, inspect loyalty and its daily change. Hover over the value and find out exactly what is causing the problem.
Second, pause construction if loyalty is falling badly. Switch the continuous project to Festivals and Games.
Third, appoint a governor of the settlement’s culture if you have one available.
Fourth, check food and security. A starving town with terrible security needs more than a festival.
Fifth, resolve nearby issues and protect the villages.
Sixth, allow loyalty to recover towards a safer level.
Finally, start constructing Fairgrounds and other permanent improvements.
It isn’t glamorous, but it works considerably better than immediately ordering level-three walls while the population prepares pitchforks.
Why Your Loyalty Is Still Falling
If you have already selected Festivals and Games and loyalty remains negative, inspect every modifier.
The usual culprits are:
| Problem | What to do |
| Different owner culture | Offset it with other loyalty bonuses |
| Wrong-culture governor | Replace them |
| No governor | Find a culturally suitable companion |
| Low security | Strengthen the garrison and stabilise the region |
| Starvation | Restore food supply and protect villages |
| Active construction | Pause it so Festivals and Games can operate |
| Harmful kingdom policies | Review kingdom policy effects |
| Local issues | Complete relevant quests |
| Recent conquest | Give the settlement time to stabilise |
There usually isn’t one magic fix. Settlement management works by stacking enough positive modifiers to overcome the negative ones.
Can Castles Rebel in Bannerlord?
The rebellion mechanic players normally worry about applies to towns, rather than castles rebelling and creating their own rebel clan.
Castles still use loyalty, however, and poor loyalty can hurt their effectiveness and development.
So you should still manage castle loyalty. You just don’t need to stare at every unhappy castle expecting it to declare the Independent Republic of Somewhere You Forgot You Owned.
How to Prevent Rebellions
The magic number to remember is 25 loyalty.
Below that level, a town can face a daily chance of rebellion.
If a settlement approaches that threshold:
- Stop non-essential construction
- Activate Festivals and Games
- Install a same-culture governor
- Increase security
- Check food stocks
- Resolve local issues
- Review kingdom policies
- Remain nearby until the situation improves
Don’t disappear across Calradia on a six-month campaign when your newly conquered town is sitting at 18 loyalty and wondering whether monarchy was such a good idea.
Best Long-Term Loyalty Strategy
Once the immediate crisis has passed, the goal changes from emergency management to making the settlement largely self-sufficient.
I aim for a combination of:
- Upgraded Fairgrounds
- A suitable permanent governor
- Healthy security
- Stable food production
- Protected villages
- Useful kingdom policies
- Good relationships with local notables
At that point, you can usually stop babysitting the settlement.
And that is really the objective. A well-managed fief should fund your wars, provide troops and strengthen your kingdom without demanding your attention every few days.
You have neighbouring kingdoms to invade. There is paperwork to delegate.
Bannerlord Loyalty FAQ
What is the fastest way to increase loyalty in Bannerlord?
For an unstable settlement, Festivals and Games is usually the fastest repeatable intervention because its continuous project provides a substantial daily loyalty bonus. Combine it with a same-culture governor and improved security.
Why does settlement culture reduce my loyalty?
If the owning clan has a different culture from the settlement, the settlement receives a significant daily loyalty penalty. This is one of the main reasons foreign conquests are harder to govern.
Does a same-culture governor remove the culture penalty?
No. A same-culture governor provides a positive loyalty modifier, but the owner’s different-culture penalty remains. The governor helps compensate for it rather than cancelling it.
Should I build Fairgrounds or use Festivals and Games?
If loyalty is dangerously low, use Festivals and Games first. Once the settlement has stabilised enough for construction to proceed efficiently, build and upgrade Fairgrounds for a permanent loyalty bonus.
What loyalty level causes rebellion?
Once town loyalty drops below 25, rebellion becomes a serious possibility. Treat anything approaching that level as an immediate management problem.
Does security increase loyalty?
Yes. Security above 50 can contribute positively to loyalty, while poor security can impose a negative modifier.
Can food affect loyalty?
Yes. Starvation produces a loyalty penalty, so protecting villages and maintaining a functioning food economy is important after conquest.
Takeaway
Loyalty looks annoyingly complicated when you first start acquiring cities, mostly because Bannerlord throws half a dozen modifiers at you and politely leaves you to work out why everyone hates you.
Once you understand those modifiers, it becomes much easier.
For a newly conquered town, I wouldn’t immediately chase prosperity or ambitious construction projects. Get loyalty under control first. Festivals and Games buys you breathing room, a culturally appropriate governor reduces the pressure, security and food deal with underlying instability, and Fairgrounds provide the longer-term solution.
The most important habit is simply checking daily loyalty change, not the current loyalty number. A town sitting at 45 and gaining loyalty is healthier than one sitting at 65 while losing five points every day.
Conquering Calradia is the easy bit.
Apparently the real endgame is competent local government.
