This is probably my most anticipated game so this kind of detail may not mean much to some, but for people who have played a lot of M&B this stuff sounds so good. Weapons being differentiated more, combos, battles that use formations and more.

https://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/News/174

Key Battle Improvements

Battles are at the very core of the series and play better than ever in the latest instalment.

• Advanced Formations – Merge and split forces at your behest, with intuitive but powerful control over the movement, form and behavior of every unit! Order heavy infantry to hold together, shoulder-to-shoulder in a slowly advancing but near impenetrable shield wall; or launch your cavalry in lightning charges using the skein formation.

• Battlefield AI – AI commanders can execute complex tactics, utilizing the advanced formation options to present a formidable challenge. Their behavior is drawn from actual historical tacticians, for example Alexander the great, who used his superior cavalry forces to rout their counterparts in the opposing army, before delivering a crushing blow to the enemy’s main force. This not only creates the feeling of an authentic medieval battle but also proves effective in-game, as in reality.

• Sergeant System – Commanders now designate units to other lords in battle, including the player! Execute the orders issued by your commander throughout the fight, and use your own instincts to do your part and help secure victory on the field of battle. Lead the horse archers as they skirmish and harass the enemy to disrupt their lines before your allies finish them off, or take control of the cavalry and charge into the fray to devastate entire units at once!

Key Combat Updates

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord also features greatly updated combat, which builds on previous instalments in a number of ways while retaining its intuitive, direction-based core that made it so popular among players.

• Directional Shield Blocking and Shield Bash – These two features revitalize the sword & board gameplay, making it a more engaging experience than ever before! Blocking in the wrong direction will not necessarily get you killed but it will cause your shield to break faster, leaving you defenseless against missiles and vulnerable against multiple foes. Shield bashing, a highly requested feature, temporarily stuns your opponent and knocks them back, lowering their defenses and giving you room to breathe..
• Attack Chaining – Swings that complete their motion can now be chained into follow-up attacks which can catch your opponent off-guard after a miss. Unbalanced weapons such as hammers and axes also use the momentum of the first swing for a faster follow-up!
• Improved Animations and Combat Engine – Huge effort has gone into making Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord’s combat as fluid and visually appealing as possible. Damage dealt is now calculated with a great degree of physical depth, factoring in the weight distribution of every individual weapon. This means that whether you are executing a perfectly timed thrust while thundering towards a hapless archer on horseback or shooting an arrow across the battlefield to whittle down your opponent’s infantry forces before the melee, the game will understand all of the forces involved and produce consistent, realistic and satisfying results every time.

Some of these aspects are things that were modded in at some point (for example the Sergeant system they show and formations) but this stuff being in the core is a big upgrade and should allow even further modding. Also, they mention the UI and even if you liked the formation mods they can do so much better for control.

To me the big thing will be the overall battle AI. If they can manage to make the AI actually work tactically and feel different from nation to nation, commander to commander, I will be very impressed. From what they showed the AI commanding you seemed rather solid as far as what it was telling you to do.

Also, still not the most cutting edge game in a raw way but damn is it nice to see the improvements and some nice effects, like the look of the shifting sand.

The command menu in warband was an ugly mess, so I guess it's gonna be hard to not improve that. That they want to go even deeper with the physical aspects of the combat definitely sounds like the right decision.

This looks very cool, I'm ready for more MnB.

The formation stuff and attack chaining are the most exciting. Shield bashing should be fun too (and useful, the way enemies tend to rush you and hug your face). My favourite thing about the old games were playing around with groupings and timing out attack waves.

Gameplay looks great! Game's lookin pretty slick.

The combat looks good, but that was also always the best part of those games. The thing I am more excited about is the improvements they have done to everything in the overworld/management part of that game. Stuff like managing your army, getting and completing quests, managing your estates etc. was so terrible in the previous games. Mount and blade is a series I kinda love in spite of large swaths of it being really bad. If they could actually fulfill the ambitions they have had with previous games in Bannerlord that would be amazing.

@odinsmana: I completely agree. I think mods improved things quite a bit and from what they have showed, this one seems like a step forward there too. The depth they've showed to things like being able to set up criminal enterprises and also having wandering around the town physically seem worthwhile and meaningful are positive signs. We will have to see.

I really want more ways to engage with NPCs that can bring them life and character. I would love if you can have some sort of a feeling of relationship to enemy and allied lords alike. If the AI is good and varies by nation and commander that would be a great step in that direction.

I really hope this comes to consoles as well, I really enjoyed the first one on PS4 and would love to play the new one. But I suspect it would take quite a while for them to get around to porting it.