Mount & Blade With Fire And Sword is a good game, not the best but it could have been better.
First of all, I can see what the developers were trying to do, but the execution was terrible. The Idea for the time period is cool and under represented, the location is Eastern Europe also known in this period as The Wild East or The Wild Step, the nations are great and with many different, unique and types of units. And the new unorthodox way to play the Mount & Blade franchise.
The Setting
The Setting is set in the middle of the 17th century. After the usual character creation, you're thrown into a tutorial that, as far as I know, is unskippable. Once that's over, you're dropped into Eastern Europe. To your west are the Swedes, to the north the Russians, to the south the Cossacks and Tatars, and to the southwest the Poles. From the very beginning, every nation is already at war with someone, making the world feel active from the start.
Recruitment
Now a logical thing is to start the game and immediately start recruiting some troops from the local villages, well its the only logical thing to do, gather the poor, pay them minimal wage and send them to their deaths until the ones who survive become veterans. Right?
This is where With Fire & Sword starts to separate itself from Warband. The first couple of villages might give you a handful of recruits, but after that you'll quickly realize the game practically forces you into hiring mercenaries. You can recruit them from taverns in towns and castles or from dedicated mercenary camps.
But thankfully they are not expensive.
The common universal tavern Mercs are pretty lame, they are noting like the ones from Warband, but the Mercs from the camps they are absolute UNITS. One feature I genuinely liked is that you can customize their equipment. Being able to play dress-up with your troops and tailor their gear is one of the few mechanics I think the game absolutely got right.
Of course, none of this comes cheap, which brings us to money.
Money
Money can be earn through fighting battles and selling the loot you got, which is not a bad way to start.
Completing quests for lords also pays well, and owning villages, castles, or towns provides a good chunk of change. But don't expect to become rich from taxes alone, though. With a full army of mercenary camp troops, your fiefs will mostly help you break even.
Trading has also been expanded. I'm not talking about buying cheese here and selling it there. I'm talking about trade caravans. You can hire caravans through the town mayor, load them with between 5 and 20 goods of the same type, and send them across the map for a massive profit. This is easily one of the best ways to make money during the early and mid game. I'd recommend escorting your caravans with around 20–30 soldiers to deal with bandits along the way.
The real money, however, comes from investing in the Merchant Guild. Personally, I'd wait until you have at least 10,000 thalers to invest. The returns are roughly 14% per week, increasing to around 20% if you own the town or castle where you invested. Just remember that not every settlement has a Merchant Guild available early on.
Battle field and Sieges
Now the battles are not better nor worse if that makes sense.
Gone is the classic F1 + F3 = Victory tactic. Here, army composition matters much more.
If you're infantry-heavy, you'll want to close the distance quickly while minimizing casualties. If you're relying on musketeers, finding high ground and protecting them with infantry becomes essential. If cavalry is your strength, then classic hammer-and-anvil tactics work very well.
One mechanic I actually enjoyed is the morale system.
Instead of every battle turning into a fight to the last man, troops can lose morale and rout. For example, if your musketeers thin out the enemy from long range, infantry or riflemen may flee. This creates opportunities to strike their stronger units before fresh reinforcements arrive.
It's a surprisingly nice addition that makes battles feel more tactical than Warband's.
Sieges are also enjoyable... most of the part.
There are still some frustrating issues. For example, during the Königsberg siege, the far-left ladder often becomes completely clogged with troops, making it impossible to climb the walls. There are a few buggy sieges like this throughout the game, although thankfully not all.
Defending a castle or town is also significantly easier than attacking one.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I don't think Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword is a bad game.
My biggest complaint is the story. I simply don't think a heavily scripted campaign fits a sandbox game like Mount & Blade, especially when it's this buggy. Expect to use multiple save slots. It feels like the game was released before it was fully polished. A few more months of bug fixing and refinement could have made a huge difference. Anyways is a 4/10 its aight.
