In Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, every warlord eventually learns that infantry are both your greatest strength and your biggest liability. They’re the ones who hold the line, take the arrows, and get the least credit when things go right. But when you pick the right soldiers, your army can go from ragtag militia to an unstoppable wall of iron and noise.
Below, I’ve ranked every major infantry unit from the most questionable recruits to the absolute apex of medieval mayhem. Expect honest appraisals, field-tested opinions, and a little humour for those moments when your “elite” troops forget how to block.
D-Tier Infantry
Khuzait Spearman
They exist, and that’s their main achievement.
- Armour: Poor.
- Weapons: Spears and small shields.
- Tactics: Technically designed for anti-cavalry roles, but rarely live long enough to prove it.
- Weakness: Everything that moves.
Verdict: Use them if you’ve run out of horses and hope.
Imperial Menavliaton
Looks fierce, dies fast.
- Armour: Reasonable, but not enough.
- Weapons: Long polearms, no shields.
- Tactics: Good behind a shield wall, disastrous without one.
- Weakness: Archers, cavalry, small dogs, take your pick.
Verdict: A strong weapon trapped in a weak concept.
C-Tier Infantry
Battanian Veteran Falxman
Pure chaos with a blade that’s too cool for its own good.
- Armour: Weak.
- Weapons: Falx, devastating if it connects.
- Tactics: Works best flanking or ambushing. Never front-line.
- Weakness: Any ranged unit with eyes.
Verdict: Brilliantly violent, catastrophically fragile.
Sturgian Warrior Son
Cheap enthusiasm, low survivability.
- Armour: Light to medium.
- Weapons: Two-handed axes and swords.
- Tactics: Useful for harassing but not holding.
- Weakness: Fatigue, arrows, and general existence.
Verdict: Great early on, but you’ll soon want something that actually lives past the first charge.
B-Tier Infantry
Aserai Veteran Infantryman
A surprisingly sturdy desert fighter with solid all-round stats.
- Armour: Moderate, with fair protection.
- Weapons: Swords, spears, and throwing weapons.
- Tactics: Excellent at softening up enemies before engaging.
- Weakness: Struggles against heavily armoured foes.
Verdict: Not elite, but perfectly capable. Like that friend who’s always decent at every video game.
Khuzait Darkhan
A rare display of discipline from a cavalry-heavy culture.
- Armour: Fairly decent.
- Weapons: Axes, maces, and decent shields.
- Tactics: Good for defending flanks or supporting your ranged line.
- Weakness: Melee skill doesn’t scale well into late game.
Verdict: A balanced but unremarkable fighter. Fine, but forgettable.
A-Tier Infantry
Vlandian Sergeant
Medieval professionalism at its finest.
- Armour: Heavy plate, excellent protection.
- Weapons: Maces, swords, and sometimes polearms.
- Tactics: Works beautifully in disciplined shield walls.
- Weakness: Slightly rigid against fast-moving enemies.
Verdict: Dependable and tough, though they lack the savage flair of northern or imperial counterparts.
Battanian Oathsworn
The forest’s answer to a siege tower, strong, proud, and slightly terrifying.
- Armour: Heavy but still mobile.
- Weapons: Massive shields and sharp blades.
- Tactics: Brilliant in rough terrain or ambushes.
- Weakness: Slow in open field chases.
Verdict: Tough, earthy, and loyal. The kind of warrior you want next to you when it all goes wrong.
S-Tier Infantry
Sturgian Heroic Line Breaker
If “overkill” were a class, this would be it.
- Armour: Strong, but not invincible.
- Weapons: Two-handed axes and swords.
- Tactics: Wait until the enemy’s busy, then send these lunatics in. They’ll chew through shield walls like it’s a buffet.
- Weakness: Arrows. So many arrows.
Verdict: Visually terrifying and brutally effective when unleashed correctly.
Imperial Legionary
The gold standard of infantry, reliable, disciplined, and almost unfairly good.
- Armour: Outstanding.
- Weapons: Long swords, large shields, and the occasional pilum.
- Tactics: Best in dense formations. The ultimate defensive core.
- Weakness: Slow movement and cavalry flanking.
Verdict: The perfect soldier. If the Romans had Wi-Fi, this is who they’d recruit online.
The SevenSwords Takeaway…
Your cavalry might steal the headlines, but it’s the steady thud of shields and steel that decides who goes home.
Whether you prefer the disciplined might of Imperial Legionaries or the berserker chaos of Sturgian Line Breakers, the best infantry are the ones that fit your strategy. Just remember: even the strongest warriors need formation, leadership, and the occasional breather between being pincushioned by Battanian Fians.
So next time you’re raising your banners, give your footsoldiers some love. They’re the ones doing the dirty work while you sit on a horse pretending to “command”.
