Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord companions: where to find them and why you need them

All the companion stats

Guide by Dave Irwin Former Guides Writer

Published on May 29, 2020

Recruiting people to your cause in Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord is key to achieving your goals, whatever they may be. The most valuable people in your army will be companions, who are people that can be assigned roles and who can be upgraded in similar ways to your player controlled character.

Recently, it was discovered that there was a bug that was blocking some companions from appearing. We've also seen a fair few changes to the stats, so if you want a full breakdown of all of the best companions available, then look no further.

Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord companions guide

Finding them in the first place is a challenge, but once you have them you'll likely want more specialised companions to fill out your army. This Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord companions guide lists the best companions, all the companion's stats, and how to recruit them.

Best Bannerlord companions
How to recruit companions in Bannerlord
All the Bannerlord companion stats
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord guide series

Companions are specialised units that take a slot in your army. They can be allocated to serve as a personal guard during battles or to accompany you into towns, but they can also be assigned to govern towns. Their stats can have a huge effect on what role they're best suited to within your army, whether it is as a soldier on the front line, or as a tactician or quartermaster.

Best Bannerlord companions

Some companions are just flat out better than others when it comes to certain skills and there are an awful lot of them. Thankfully on their Reddit post, "Escapeware" has put together details on companions and their stats (Cheers to the user "Rahlzel" for the tip-off). Here are the best companions in Bannerlord as of the time of writing:

One-Handed: "the Golden" (180)
Two-Handed: "Bloodaxe", "Coalbiter", "the She-Wolf", "the Swordsman" (200)
Polearm: "the Golden" (190)
Bow: "of the Wastes" (185)
Crossbow: "the Grizzled", "the Huntress", "the Spicevendor" (140)
Throwing: "the Golden" (150)
Riding: "the Golden" (170)
Athletics: "Ironbelly" (130)
Smithing: "the Smith" (60)
Scouting: "of the Wastes" (140)
Tactics: "the Falcon", "the Golden", "the Wanderer" (100)
Roguery: "the Prince" (140)
Leadership: N/A
Trade: "the Spicevendor" (100)
Steward: "the Spicevendor" (100)
Medicine: "the Scholar" (120)
Engineering: "the Engineer", "the Knowing", "the Wainwright" (80)

Several companions are really good at managing parties. Once you reach clan tier 2, you can create a new party for them to lead. Here are the best companions you can have lead parties.

"the Falcon": has Tactics skill of 100.
"the Prince": has Roguery skill of 140.
"the Surgeon": has Medicine skill of 80.
"the Engineer": has Engineering skill of 80.
"the Swift": has Steward skill of 80.
"the Swordsman": this companion is really good with weapon-related skills.
"the Shieldmaiden": this companion is really good with weapon-related skills.

The best two companions you can recruit to govern your towns or manage your caravans are "the Swift" and "the Spicevendor". You can also marry Sora and have her govern a town as her Steward skill is huge. Look at our Bannerlord marriage guide to learn how to marry her.

How to recruit companions in Bannerlord

It's not obvious how to get a companion for your army in Bannerlord, but once you know, it is rather simple. Simply head into a large town or settlement and click the option available to travel to the tavern. When inside, you'll find a bunch of NPCs to talk to. One of them will be named and it's usually something like "[Name] the [Label]".

Talking to them will give you an insight into their background, but you'll also get the option to ask them to join you. You'll need to settle their debts by paying some gold, but once you do, you'll have a new companion to join your entourage.

Assigning companions a role

Once recruited, companions can be upgraded in much the same way as you. Some actions can only be upgraded if set in a particular role, so if they are a Quartermaster, their Steward skill will increase.

To set a companion's role, go into the clans tab (K) and select the companion you wish to allocate a position. Then click on Clan Role and select the option.

Scout
Engineer
Quartermaster
Surgeon

All the Bannerlord companion stats

You can find out a little about the available companions by looking at the Encyclopedia by pressing the N key. Search for one of the label you seek and you should get an idea of where they are. Click the place name and the little circle on the Encyclopedia page to mark that companion's location on your map. Check often as companions do tend to move around the world map.

Not all of the companions are in the game, but more will be coming soon. To make it easier for you to know what you are searching for in the Encyclopedia, I've put together the list of all the current companion labels, all the base stats they have, and any other distinguishing features (such as their homeland).

We are displaying their stats shown in the Encyclopedia in the format below to avoid any confusion:

Vigor: One handed/Two handed/Polearm
Control: Bow/Crossbow/Throwing
Endurance: Riding/Athletics/Smithing
Cunning: Scouting/Tactics/Roguery
Social: Charm/Leadership/Trade
Intelligence: Steward/Medicine/Engineering

Overachievers

"the Wanderer" (Aserai)

Vigor: 120/0/130
Control: 0/0/110
Endurance: 130/0/0
Cunning: 80/100/0

"the Black" (Vlandian)

Vigor: 0/120/0
Control: 160/0/0
Endurance: 0/90/0
Cunning: 0/80/120

"the Swift"

Vigor: 0/90/0
Control: 135/0/0
Endurance: 0/70/0
Cunning: 0/0/100
Social: 0/0/80
Intelligence: 80/0/0

"Bitterdraught"

Vigor: 70/0/0
Control: 0/0/70
Endurance: 0/70/0
Cunning: 0/0/100
Social: 80/0/40
Intelligence: 40/60/0

"the Spicevendor"

Vigor: 0/120/0
Control: 0/140/0
Social: 0/0/100
Intelligence: 100/0/0

Wanderers

"the Shieldmaiden",

Vigor: 120/170/140
Endurance: 0/90/0

"the Wanderer" (Imperial)

Vigor: 100/0/110

"Breakskull"

Vigor: 120/170/140
Endurance: 0/90/0

"the Wronged" (Imperial)

Vigor: 90/0/0
Control: 0/120/0
Cunning: 0/0/40

the Wronged"(Vlandian)

Vigor: 90/90/90
Control: 65/110/0

the Wronged"(Battanian)

Vigor: 130/0/0
Control: 0/0/110
Endurance: 0/110/0

"Bloodaxe"

Vigor: 150/200/170
Endurance: 0/110/0
Cunning: 0/30/0

"the Black" (Imperial)

Vigor: 100/0/0
Control: 0/0/90
Endurance: 0/90/0
Cunning: 0/0/40

"the Red"

Vigor: 120/170/140
Endurance: 0/90/0

"Coalbiter"

Vigor: 150/200/170
Endurance: 0/110/0

Vigor: One handed/Two handed/Polearm
Control: Bow/Crossbow/Throwing
Endurance: Riding/Athletics/Smithing
Cunning: Scouting/Tactics/Roguery
Social: Charm/Leadership/Trade
Intelligence: Steward/Medicine/Engineering

"Ironbelly"

Vigor: 160/0/0
Control: 0/0/130
Endurance: 0/130/0
Cunning: 0/30/0

"the Hawk"

Vigor: 130/0/0
Control: 0/0/110
Endurance: 0/110/0

"the Grizzled"

Vigor: 120/0/0
Control: 0/140/0
Cunning: 0/30/0

"the Grey Falcon"

Vigor: 90/0/0
Control: 105/0/0
Endurance: 100/0/0
Cunning: 40/40/0

"of the Hills" (Imperial)

Vigor: 90/0/0
Control: 135/0/0
Endurance: 0/70/0
Cunning: 40/0/20

"the Fatherless"

Vigor: 90/0/0
Control: 105/0/0
Endurance: 100/0/0

"the She-Wolf"

Vigor: 150/200/170
Endurance: 0/110/0
Cunning: 0/20/0

"the Swordsman"

Vigor: 150/200/170
Endurance: 0/110/0

"the Bull"

Vigor: 120/170/140
Endurance: 0/90/0
Cunning: 0/40/0

"Barrelchest"

Vigor: 90/140/110
Endurance: 0/70/0

"Ironeye"

Vigor: 160/0/170
Cunning: 0/30/0

"the Boar"

Vigor: 160/0/170
Cunning: 0/30/0

"the Loud"

Vigor: 130/120/140
Endurance: 130/90/0
Cunning: 0/40/0

"Fairhair"

Vigor: 130/0/140

Tacticians

"the lucky"

Vigor: 90/0/0
Control: 105/0/0
Endurance: 100/0/0
Cunning: 0/60/0

"the Golden"

Vigor: 180/0/190
Control: 0/0/150
Endurance: 170/0/0
Cunning: 0/100/0

"the Falcon"

Vigor: 120/0/130
Control: 0/0/110
Endurance: 130/0/0
Cunning: 0/100/0

"the Silent"

Vigor: 130/120/140
Endurance: 130/90/0
Cunning: 0/60/0

"the Outcast"

Vigor: 90/0/0
Control: 105/0/0
Endurance: 100/0/0
Cunning: 0/60/0

Scouts

"Frostbeard"

Vigor: 0/90/0
Control: 135/0/0
Endurance: 0/70/0
Cunning: 80/0/0

"the fish"

Vigor: 100/0/0
Control: 0/0/90
Endurance: 0/90/0
Cunning: 60/0/0

"of the Wastes"

Vigor: 0/150/0
Control: 185/0/0
Endurance: 0/110/0
Cunning: 140/0/0

"of the Hills" (Vlandian)

Vigor: 90/0/0
Control: 0/120/0
Cunning: 120/0/0

"Horsethief" (Battanian)

Vigor: 120/0/130
Control: 0/0/110
Endurance: 130/0/0
Cunning: 100/0/0

"the Huntress"

Vigor: 120/0/0
Control: 0/140/0
Cunning: 100/0/0

"Blacktooth"

Vigor: 100/0/0
Control: 0/0/90
Endurance: 0/90/0
Cunning: 60/0/0

"Cowthief"

Vigor: 0/90/0
Control: 135/0/0
Endurance: 0/70/0
Cunning: 60/0/0

"the Alone"

Vigor: 0/90/0
Control: 135/0/0
Endurance: 0/70/0
Cunning: 60/0/0

"the Ragged"

Vigor: 0/90/0
Control: 135/0/0
Endurance: 0/70/0
Cunning: 60/0/0

"the Wanderer" (Battanian)

Vigor: 100/0/110
Cunning: 60/0/0

Healers

"the Healer"

Vigor: 70/0/0
Control: 0/0/70
Endurance: 0/70/0
Cunning: 40/0/0
Intelligence: 0/80/0

"Willowbark"

Vigor: 70/0/0
Control: 0/0/70
Endurance: 0/70/0
Cunning: 20/0/0
Intelligence: 0/60/0

"the Scholar" (Aserai)

Vigor: 100/0/0
Control: 0/0/90
Endurance: 0/90/0
Intelligence: 0/120/0

"the Surgeon"

Vigor: 70/0/0
Control: 0/0/70
Endurance: 0/90/0
Intelligence: 0/80/0

Rogue

"Longknife"

Vigor: 100/0/0
Control: 0/0/90
Endurance: 0/90/0
Cunning: 0/0/60

"the Robber"

Vigor: 100/0/0
Control: 0/0/90
Endurance: 0/90/0
Cunning: 0/0/60

"the Prince"

Vigor: 130/0/0
Control: 0/0/110
Endurance: 0/110/0
Cunning: 0/0/140

"the Hyena"

Vigor: 160/0/170
Cunning: 100

"the Leopardess"

Vigor: 100/0/0
Control: 0/0/90
Endurance: 0/90/0
Cunning: 0/0/100

"the Butcher"

Vigor: 130/0/0
Control: 0/0/110
Endurance: 0/110/0
Cunning: 0/0/60

"the Shark"

Vigor: 130/0/0
Control: 0/0/110
Endurance: 0/110/0
Cunning: 0/0/60

"the Mad"

Vigor: 100/0/0
Control: 0/0/90
Endurance: 0/90/0
Cunning: 0/0/60

"the Accursed"

Vigor: 90/0/0
Control: 135/0/0
Endurance: 0/70/0
Cunning: 0/0/60

Smiths

"the Smith"

Vigor: 90/140/110
Endurance: 0/70/60

Engineers

"the Wainwright"

Vigor: 60/0/0
Control: 0/0/70
Endurance: 90/0/0
Intelligence: 0/0/80

"the Engineer"

Vigor: 90/0/0
Control: 0/120/0
Intelligence: 0/0/80

"the Knowing"

Vigor: 60/0/0
Control: 0/100/0
Intelligence: 0/0/80

"the Scholar" (Imperial)

Vigor: 70/0/0
Control: 0/0/70
Endurance: 0/70/0
Intelligence: 0/0/60

Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord guide series

Thank you for reading our Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord companions guide. We hope that it has helped you in finding the companions you want in your army.

There are plenty more guides for the game, including details for character creation, as well as all the console commands and cheats you'll ever need. Here are some guides to get you started:

Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord guide: A list of tips and tricks to get started in Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord skills: A full list of skills and tips to build your character.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord PC requirements: Get the best performance out of Mount And Blade 2.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord bugs: Some tips to get Mount And Blade 2 to work properly and a list of known major issues.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord console: How to enable cheat mode and all the console commands.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord trade: Make lots of gold quickly through trading and caravans.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord smithing: How to forge weapons.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord quests: All the solutions to every quest in the game discovered so far.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord conspiracy: Everything we know about this bothersome quest.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord troops: How to recruit troops and organise them in battle.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord prisoners: Learn a quick way to make some money and recruit experienced soldiers.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord settlements: How to take over towns, manage them, and defend them.
Bannerlord workshop: How to use workshops to make your settlement thrive.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord combat: Learn how best to fight with each weapon type and on horseback.
Bannerlord marriage: How to get married and raise heirs to continue your conquest.
Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord siege: Learn how to conduct a siege against enemy settlements.
Best Bannerlord mods: Discover the best mods in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord.