[Top 10] Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord Best Cavalry Units

Updated:

27 May 2020

Now, there’s obviously no type of unit that’s the best in an army, everything has their uses. Situations that suit an archer perfectly, are terrible for a swordsman. However, I doubt anyone would disagree that it’s hard to feel more powerful than when you have a strong cavalry at your side, thundering along the battlefield towards some poor, unsuspecting footmen. With that feeling in mind, I’m going to go through my choices for the top 10 best mounted units in Bannerlord.

10. Battanian Horseman

The Battanian’s are a forest people whose armies are primarily built around hitting their enemies quickly and being mobile. For this reason they definitely lack heavy cavalry but don’t let the Battanian Horseman’s more lightly armored appearance than most of the entries on this list deceive you, they are still a perfectly capable cavalry unit.

Strengths:

Has the longest lance on this list, giving it a strong advantage over other cavalry
Reasonably strong shield for closer combat

Details:

5th tier
Level: 26
Wage:12
One-Handed: 130
Two-Handed: 80
Polearm: 130
Bow: 60
Crossbow: 20
Throwing: 60
Riding: 130
Athletics: 80

9. Imperial Bucellarii

The Imperial Bucellarii is a horse archer that trades in speed for strength, favoring heavy armor on both the rider and horse to the lighter faster load-outs of most horse archers.

Strengths:

Heavily armored, making them more useful in scenarios where they cannot be mounted (sieges for example)
Fairly decent bow
Only non-noble cavalry available for the Imperial faction

Details:

5th tier
Level: 26
Wages: 12
One Handed: 130
Two Handed: 60
Polearm: 80
Bow: 130
Crossbow: 80
Throwing: 60
Riding: 120
Athletics: 130

8. Khuzait Heavy Horse Archer

No list of cavalry would be complete without at least a few mentions from the Mongol-inspired Khuzaits, and their first appearance is the Heavy Horse Archer. They are a strong, ranged cavalry that will wreak havoc on infantry and enemy cavalry to a lesser extent.

Strengths:

Strong bow with a good amount of arrows
Very solid for a non-noble unit

Details:

5th tier
Level: 26
Wages: 12
One-Handed: 130
Two-Handed: 60
Polearm: 80
Bow: 130
Crossbow: 20
Throwing: 60
Riding: 130
Athletics: 80

7.Sturgian Druzhinniik Champion

The first noble unit to make it onto my list is the Druzhinniik Champion. Mounted they represent a massive danger to all but the most elite units, and dismounted they are arguably even more dangerous. This is probably the most versatile unit on this list.

Strengths:

Strong dismounted performance makes them ideal for all situations, even sieges
Fast, maneuverable horse

Details:

6th tier Noble Unit
Level: 31
Wages: 20
One-Handed: 280
Two-Handed: 25
Polearm: 60
Bow: 220
Crossbow: 25
Throwing: 25
Riding: 220
Athletics: 60

6.Khuzait Heavy Lancer

The Khuzait Lancer is one of the best lance based horsemen in the game. The major advantage it has over most of the units that scored higher on this list is that it’s not a noble troop, meaning training a large number of them will only take time and effort, not blind chance. A non-noble cavalry that can hold its own against its noble counterparts is definitely something worth taking note of.

Strengths:

Third longest lance of any unit, giving them an edge over nearly all cavalry units
One of the strongest cavalry units to not be a noble troop

Details:

5th tier
Level: 26
Wages: 12
One-Handed: 160
Two-Handed: 50
Polearm: 160
Bow: 20
Crossbow: 20
Throwing: 20
Riding: 210
Athletics: 50

5. Aserai Vanguard Faris

The Vanguard Faris is a very powerful unit. With a couchable lance, a very fast horse, and a high riding skill, the Vanguard Faris is a terror on the battlefield. It’s speed though, as is usually the case is at the expense of horse hp. They are fast, but it won’t take a lot of damage to unhorse them if you can catch them.

Strengths:

Very fast cavalry
Couchable lance gives them a theoretical ability to do more damage than any other mounted unit
They carry javelins for ranged combat

Details:

6th tier noble unit
Level: 31
Wages: 20
One-Handed: 60
Two-Handed: 25
Polearm: 220
Bow: 60
Crossbow: 25
Throwing: 220
Riding: 280
Athletics: 25

4. Khuzait Khan’s Guard

The Khan’s Guard shines as one of the best horse archers. Though they don’t have the best horse or bow, they have such high skills with both that you will barely notice in practice. Also, they are honestly some of the coolest looking units in the entire game. Just look at those masks!

Strengths:

Very high bow and riding skills make them very deadly accurate and very fast
Strong mounted melee warriors when they have to be

Details:

6th tier noble unit
Level: 31
Wages: 20
One-Handed: 60
Two-Handed: 60
Polearm: 220
Bow: 280
Crossbow: 25
Throwing: 25
Riding: 220
Athletics: 25

3. Aserai Mameluke Heavy Cavalry

This is the best non-noble option. This badass has possibly the best bow in the game, is on a very fast horse, and is also a well-armored and capable melee unit both on and off it’s horse. If you had an army of just these guys, you’d probably win most battles you entered. Which makes it so amazing that they aren’t a noble unit.

Strengths:

Very strong bow
Fast horse, good melee skills and very good bow skills
Well armored

Details

5th tier unit
Level: 26
Wages: 12
One-Handed: 130
Two-Handed: 160
Polearm: 60
Bow: 130
Crossbow: 20
Throwing: 80
Riding: 130
Athletics: 80

2. Vlandian Banner Knight

If you close your eyes and try to imagine a heavy cavalry unit, and you live in the western world, chances are strong you will be imaging something fairly close to this one. With their plate armor and heavily armored horse, the Vlandian Banner Knight is every inch the medieval knight.

Strengths:

One of the most armored units in the game
Couchable lance, allowing for very large amounts of damage when charging at full speed

Details:

6th tier noble unit
Level: 31
Wages: 20
One-Handed: 220
Two-Handed: 60
Polearm: 280
Bow: 25
Crossbow: 25
Throwing: 25
Riding: 220
Athletics: 60

1. Imperial Elite Cataphract

This is it, not only the strongest cavalry unit in the game but arguably the strongest soldier in general in the game. The Elite Cataphract has it all, the second-longest lance in the game, the strongest armor, the strongest horse armor, and a horse with the most hp. This is a tank, and it will steamroll over nearly anything unfortunate to be in front of it. If you manage to get enough of these guys together to build a cavalry out of, you can be confident that almost no one will have a chance to stand in their way. More than for a few seconds anyway.

Strengths:

Strongest armor, strongest horse, and second-longest lance
Very deadly both on and off their horses, making them equally useful on battlefields and during sieges