Fans in the Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord modding community can win up to €12,000, or roughly $13,900, by creating new content for the RPG as part of TaleWorlds’ newly launched War Sails modding competition. TaleWorlds’ Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord combines a large medieval sandbox with trading, diplomacy, kingdom management, and massive real-time battles in which players can fight alongside the armies they command.
Mount & Blade 2 has developed an extensive modding community over the years, with TaleWorlds providing official tools for players who want to create their own additions to Calradia. Those tools recently expanded considerably for owners of War Sails, the game’s latest DLC. The expansion introduced naval travel and combat to Bannerlord, allowing players to command ships, fight fleet battles, and wage war across the seas. TaleWorlds subsequently released the War Sails Modding Kit, giving creators access to systems for building naval world maps and developing content around the expansion’s new mechanics. The studio is now providing an additional incentive for players to experiment with those tools through its biggest modding competition yet.
Mount & Blade 2 Is Giving Modders a Chance to Win Thousands
The official Mount & Blade 2: War Sails Modding Competition runs from August 14 through November 22, with the largest reward reserved for its Conversion Mod Contest. Both total and partial conversion mods are eligible, meaning entrants can create something like an entirely different setting or substantially transform Bannerlord as part of their entry. Projects are specifically encouraged to use War Sails‘ naval travel and battles while introducing new maritime gameplay ideas. The first-place creator can take home €12,000 (roughly $13,900), while TaleWorlds is offering additional prizes of €6,000 ($6,940) and €3,000 ($3,470) for runners-up and a separate €1,000 ($1,160) Community Vote winner.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
Perhaps most importantly, entrants don’t necessarily need to have a completed mod ready to play. TaleWorlds permits both released and unreleased projects, and an unfinished submission can still be judged on its concept, development plan, and presentation. Participants in the Conversion Mod Contest must upload a public YouTube showcase explaining their project, implemented features, current progress, and plans. Modders can submit as many as three entries, although only their highest-rated project will be considered for the final rankings. TaleWorlds permits teams as well, potentially opening the competition to some of the more ambitious Mount & Blade: 2 Bannerlord conversion mods currently in development.
Modders who aren’t interested in building a massive conversion mod still have other ways to compete, albeit with less prize money. Separate 3D Art and Scene Design contests each award €2,000 (about $2,310) for first place, €1,000 ($1,160) for second, and €500 ($580) for third, plus another €500 Community Vote prize. The former challenges creators to design original ships, while the latter focuses on coastal villages built around seaborne raids. That gives artists and level designers opportunities to contribute to Mount & Blade 2‘s naval combat without developing an entire campaign overhaul, offering a well-rounded look at the community’s different strengths.
Mod support has been particularly valuable for sandbox RPGs, where community creators are free to add factions, mechanics, locations, and even entirely new settings long after players exhaust the official content. TaleWorlds’ competition gives that process a substantial financial push while encouraging modders to experiment with systems introduced by War Sails, which is something fans don’t see every day. With roughly three months to create submissions and €30,000 in total prizes available, the competition could produce content that keeps Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord feeling fresh well beyond its official updates.
- Released
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October 25, 2022
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Violence
