In Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, like any RPG, the amount of money you acquire is one of the most prominent markers of success. It’s not just for keeping score, though. The biggest drain on your nest egg will be your Warband since those troops require daily wages to remain loyal. As they get more powerful, their rates increase, so you’ll need some way to offset this with trade.
This Bannerlord trading guide is to help you get started in the business of making money through trade in Bannerlord. As a primer for the straightforward way to level your trade skill, make smart moves and keep your coffers full.
The fastest way to level trade in Bannerlord
Of course, leveling your trade skill will lead to consistently better returns on all your deals. The trade penalty–the reduction in how much a merchant will pay for an item. Compared to how much it’s worth–will continue to go down as the trade skill goes up. Like any trade mechanic in real life or in video games, the goal of trading in Bannerlord should always be to buy low and sell high. This is the fastest way to level up trade skills in Bannerlord.
In the early stages, this might require you to take risks with your account. Also, banking on the fact it will raise your trade skill and pay off in the long run. After you’ve moved around Calradia for a while, you’ll start to notice typical item prices. Then, you’ll recognize when they’re being sold at clearance prices. The smart thing to do when you notice these instances is to spend all of your money. After that, buy as much of that item as you can carry and worry about making it back later.
For example, if you’ve visited a dozen cities’ markets and gathered that wood sells for 14-20 denars. And you stumble upon one village that has 300 wood selling at 3 denars a piece, you should take this risk and buy as much as you can carry (perhaps more, if you’re willing to move slowly for a big payoff)l. Even if circumstances prevent you from reaching a far settlement to maximize these profits. In that case, chances are the nearest city will still yield a good amount of profit, and you’ll see your trade skill going up 3-5 points at a time.
We recommend investing in pack animals early. Included a sale item and a way to help you carry all those extra goods when you see a deal that can’t be ignored. This might seem a tough decision early in the game when you have less than 1,000 denars to your name. And a few mouths to feed, but it’s the type of risk-reward decision that will set you up for a much easier time later.
It is wise to spend some time in the first in-game months. Also, traveling the world and getting a feel for the pricing. You’ll get a sense that certain goods are cheaper in certain regions. Because of the climate and geography–e.g. fish will always be a bargain in a village or town that’s on the water, so you know you can buy a ton of them. And then travel to a landlocked city that’s not close to the water and make a fortune.
Trade routes in Bannerlord are too exhaustive. To list here since there are so many different goods that can be used for high profits from one city to the next. However, you can approach trade with a general idea of which regions will have the best types of items and where to investigate places to sell them once you’ve stocked up. We’ve provided an overview of these routes below, to give you an idea of how you can create your own specific routes:
- The Khuzaits, being an analog of the Mongolian kingdoms of old, are known for their horsemen. So it shouldn’t be surprising they’re also the most prolific horse breeders in the game. The easternmost cities in their kingdom–e.g. Odakh, Akalat, Baltakhand, and Ortongard–will have pack animals for 30 denars. That can be sold in the empire and the far north for as much as 180.
- The Battanians are known for their love of the forests, which makes sense since their lands are full of trees. This makes Battanian cities the ideal place to buy wood. Places near Seonon and Marunath have heavily-forested villages nearby. Which means you can pick up 200 pieces of wood for 3 denars a piece, then travel to a nearby kingdom like the Northern Empire or Vlandia and sell them for 30 plus.
- In a continuing theme, the Empire cities are known for their luxury. So it makes sense that these cities would be the best places to trade luxury items like wine and jewels that can be taken to the outlying cities and sold for high profit. This creates a circular route between the aforementioned Khuzait cities. Where you’d drop off luxury goods at those easternmost cities and use the profits to buy more livestock. In order to sell when you return to the Empire’s lands.
- As mentioned, it pays to stop at cities and villages that sit on the water to buy fish in bulk. Similar to Battanian wood, you can find fish in some of the Aserai cities for 3-5 denars. And then travel inward in either direction to sell them for 20-30. There’s little risk in buying 500 fish and selling them for less than the ideal rate when you’re completing these routes quicker than traveling across the map and losing money to daily wages.
Part of the fun of Bannerlord is discovering your own trade routes, though. Since the economy of each city will change according to supply. The scarcity of one item will suddenly become abundant and make the item cheaper. It takes the game a while to reset to its typical rates, a few months in-game time. So, try to move around the map. Especially with different routes and avoid using the same places too soon.
