Army & Influence Management

Leading an army in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is the defining moment where you transition from a wandering adventurer to a true warlord. However, the difference between a conquering legion and a starving mob often comes down to one thing: Influence.

This guide covers how to assemble, maintain, and lead armies without bankrupting your clan’s political power.

Leading a massive host across Calradia requires more than just food; it requires political capital.

The Cost of Command

Creating an army requires you to be in a Kingdom (either as a Vassal or Ruler). Once you have the legal right, you can open the Kingdom menu (K) or the Army button (bottom right flags) to start calling parties.

Influence Costs

Calling a party to your army costs Influence. The amount depends on:

1. Party Strength: Larger parties cost more.

2. Clan Relations: Parties from clans that like you cost less to summon.

3. Distance: Parties further away may cost more to summon (time factor).

The Army Management screen shows you exactly how much influence each lord costs to summon.

Pro Tip: You can summon your own clan’s parties for 0 Influence. This is the most efficient way to form a mid-sized army early in the game. See Clan Management for how to set up additional parties.

Cohesion Mechanics

Once formed, an army is held together by Cohesion. This starts at 100 and decays daily. If it hits 0, the army disbands instantly.

Cohesion Decay

• Size Factor: Larger armies lose cohesion faster.

• Policies: Certain Kingdom Policies can reduce cohesion decay.

• Starvation: Lack of food accelerates morale and cohesion loss.

Monitor your Cohesion bar in the top right. You can click it to boost cohesion using Influence.

Boosting Cohesion

You can spend Influence to boost cohesion back up (+10).

• It is generally cheaper to boost cohesion frequently than to let it drop low and try to recover.

• Warning: If you run out of Influence, you cannot boost cohesion, and your army will fall apart.

Marching Orders & Supply Lines

An army marches at the speed of its slowest party. This often makes armies lumbering targets.

Food Management

An army consumes a massive amount of food.

• Parties bring their own food, but they will run out.

• If a party in your army runs out of food, they will start eating your food.

• If you run out, the army starves, wounded troops die, and healthy troops desert.

Always buy grain in bulk before a campaign. For more details on logistics, check our Food, Morale & Wages Management guide.

Siege Coordination

Sieges are where Influence is drained the fastest. Building a camp, constructing engines, and waiting for walls to breach can take weeks.

• Calculate the cost: Ensure you have a buffer of 100+ Influence after forming the army to maintain it during a siege.

• Cohesion refresh: Boost cohesion to 100 before starting the siege assault to avoid disbanding mid-battle.

• See Siege Warfare & Engineering for tactical tips.

Disbanding Strategies

Knowing when to quit is a skill.

• Disband in Friendly Territory: If you disband in enemy lands, the individual lords will scatter and likely be picked off by enemy patrols.

• Save Influence: If a war is cooling down, disband immediately. There is no point paying daily cohesion/influence costs for an army standing idle.

• Relations: Disbanding an army leaves lords to find their own way home. Ensure they have high health and food so they don't hate you for abandoning them.

For broader strategies on war, refer to War & Diplomacy Management.