Gaining Influence in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

Influence is the lifeblood of politics in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. While Denars pay for your troops and food, Influence pays for your power, authority, and ability to shape the kingdom. Without it, you cannot propose policies, assemble armies, or secure fiefs.

Influence is the key to ruling Calradia.

This guide covers how to farm influence actively and passively, and how to spend it efficiently.

What is Influence?

Influence represents your clan's political capital within a kingdom. It is primarily used for:

• Creating Armies: Calling other lords to your banner costs influence, and maintaining cohesion costs daily influence.

• Voting: Spending influence to support or oppose decisions (war, peace, policies, fief ownership).

• Proposing Decisions: Initiating a vote costs a significant chunk of influence (usually 50-200).

Active Influence Farming

If you are low on influence, you need to get out into the field. These methods require active gameplay.

Winning battles against the odds is the fastest active way to gain influence.

1. Winning Battles

The most direct source of influence is combat. However, the amount you gain depends on the odds.

• Even Fight: Moderate influence.

• Outnumbered: Massive influence gain. Defeating an army of 500 with a party of 150 will net you huge rewards.

• Stomping Looters: Negligible influence.

2. Donating Prisoners (The Best Method)

After a battle, you will often have more prisoners than you can recruit or carry.

• Go to a Town or Castle owned by another clan in your kingdom.

• Enter the Dungeon.

• Select "Donate Prisoners".

• Yield: You gain influence for every prisoner donated. High-tier lords and troops give significantly more influence.

Tip: Do not ransom lords at the tavern if you need influence. Donate them to a dungeon!

3. Donating Troops to Garrisons

Similar to prisoners, you can donate friendly troops to the garrison of an ally's settlement. This gives influence based on the XP value of the troops. This is useful if you have a lot of low-tier recruits you want to offload to train better ones.

Passive Influence Farming

As you progress, you want to generate influence while you sleep (or wait in town).

Policies are the engine of your influence economy.

1. Kingdom Policies

Policies are the single most powerful tool for influence. If you are a vassal or ruler, push for these:

• Council of the Commons: +1 Influence per notable in your settlements. This is overpowered. A single town can generate 10-20 influence per day.

• Sacred Majesty: Ruler clan gains +3 influence/day. (Great if you are King).

• Senate: Tier 3+ clans gain +0.5 influence/day.

• Forgiveness of Debts: settlement loyalty +2, production -5%. (Good for stability, which indirectly helps).

Check our Kingdom Policies & Laws guide for a full tier list.

2. Buildings

In your towns, build the Forum. At level 3, it provides +1 influence per day. It's small, but it adds up across multiple fiefs.

3. Clan Roles & Perks

• Charm Skill: This is the dedicated "politics" skill. Perks like Immortal Charm allow you to gain influence passively or refund influence spent on voting. See our Charm Skill Guide for more.

• Promoting Companions: If you have policies that reward clan leaders, creating parties led by your companions (turning them into vassals later, or just independent parties in your army) can help, though they mostly consume influence to form armies.

Spending Influence Wisely

It is easy to burn 1000 influence in a single bad voting session.

1. Don't Vote on Everything

You do not need to vote on every castle ownership or policy change. If the outcome doesn't affect you, abstain. Saving influence is often better than spending 50 to slightly annoy a rival.

2. Army Management

Leading an army is the biggest influence sink.

• Cohesion: As an army marches, cohesion drops. Boosting it costs influence.

• Tip: Only form an army when you have a specific target (Siege or Battle). Disband it immediately after to save influence.

• Check out Army Cohesion and Influence Use for details.

3. Mercenary Work

If you are a mercenary (not a vassal), your influence is automatically converted into Denars. This is how mercenaries get paid. See Mercenary Work & Vassalage.

Summary

• Early Game: Fight battles and donate prisoners to ally dungeons.

• Mid Game: Pass Council of the Commons policy.

• Late Game: Manage your armies efficiently to avoid draining your pool.

For more on managing your clan's rise to power, read our Clan Management and Starting Your Own Kingdom guides.