Bannerlord II’s War Sails DLC Is Out Now: Naval Battles, a New Map, and the Nord Kingdom
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord’s highly anticipated War Sails expansion has officially launched, introducing full naval warfare, ship ownership, and extensive new exploration opportunities across a standalone world map.
🎮 Pricing and Launch Discount
War Sails is available across all modern platforms, with a 10% launch discount for the first two weeks.
Here are the global prices after currency conversion from Turkish Lira (TL → USD):
- Xbox: ~$35.00
- PlayStation: ~$33.50
- Epic Games Store: ~$10.80
- Steam: $12.49
- TaleWorlds Store (Steam key): ~$15.50
War Sails is not launching on Game Pass, and there’s no confirmation yet on whether it will be added later.
🛠 Requirements and Platform Notes
- Size: PC version is roughly 33 GB; console versions are smaller.
- Steam Deck: Not “Verified” at launch, but fully playable.
- Preload / Pre-order: Not supported.
- Xbox PC App: The DLC will also be available through the Windows Xbox App.
🚢 Gameplay: Ships, Crew, Naval Combat
War Sails expands Bannerlord’s land-focused sandbox with fully integrated naval mechanics.
Ship Ownership and Costs
- Light ships: 12,000 denars
- Heavy ships: 150,000 denars
- Certain perks reduce purchase prices.
Without owning a ship, players cannot travel between ports.
Morale, Food, and Sea Hazards
- Low morale does not cause troops to desert at sea, but lack of food will injure them.
- The player character can swim indefinitely; troops’ stamina depends on armor weight and unit quality.
Losing Your Ship
If you capture an enemy ship but your own vessel sinks:
- You still win the battle,
- But you’ll drift toward land unless you claim a ship from the loot.
Reinforcements
- Each battle supports up to 8 ships at once.
- Larger ships may deploy additional soldiers beyond deck capacity.
Siege Weapons and Skills
- Using ballistae increases both Engineering and the new Mariner skill.
Custom Naval Battles
Responding to community demand, custom naval encounters are fully supported:
- Choose factions, ships, unit counts, upgrades, and more.
🌍 A New World Map and the Nord Kingdom
War Sails features a completely separate world map from the base game.
Key Geographic Additions
- Nordvyg: A harsh northern region dense with forests and rugged terrain.
- Beinland Island: Focused on whale oil and walrus ivory trade.
- Jumne River Zone: Central to northern trade routes and raiding paths.
- Removed Aserai–Empire islands: These do not appear in the War Sails version of the map.
- Perassic Sea access: Two major land bridges were removed to open new sea routes.
Nord Kingdom
Includes:
- 4 cities
- 10 castles (subject to balance tuning)
- Most northern villages specialize in fish rather than grain.
- The economy supports new goods such as whale oil and walrus ivory.
🚧 Naval Blockades, Armies, and AI Logic
Coastal settlements under siege automatically trigger naval blockades if the besieging faction owns ships.
During a blockade:
- Enemy fleets may attempt to break through.
- Winning keeps the blockade active; losing ends both the siege and the blockade.
- Players can attempt to reinforce a besieged city by slipping past enemy lines.
AI Behavior
AI now:
- Buys ships based on party size to maintain a balanced fleet.
- Chooses routes by comparing land vs. sea travel time.
- Accounts for durability and storm risk when traveling by sea.
Storms
- Storms strike unpredictably, but darkening clouds and thunder offer brief warnings.
- The Boatswain skill reduces storm damage.
⚓ Port Management and Ship Summoning
Players can:
- Buy, repair, and upgrade ships,
- Assign ships to clan members,
- Summon nearby ships—though travel time scales with distance.
Captured cities do not remove ships from the port; they simply become temporarily inaccessible.
💱 Economic Adjustments
War Sails updates Bannerlord’s tariff revenue system:
- Previously capped at ~2%, tariffs can now reach an average of 30%,
- And over 60% in major trade hubs.
This significantly increases the importance of trade routes and city specialization.
🧩 Modding and Tools
- TaleWorlds is considering moving to a more recent version of .NET.
- The new XML Editor is fully compatible with War Sails.