It took seven years, but as Fraser says, "Banner Road" was worth the wait. It's still in Early Access, but it's the wide-ranging update of "Warband" we've all been hoping for. It's several excellent games rolled into one, but it's by no means a finished product. Ambition in its scale and scope cannot distract from the bugs, junk, and intermittent crashes.

Predictably, the modders are there to help; Manulg's Just Let Me Play has completely removed the tutorial and main quest. I don't expect everyone to agree, but some of the main and tutorial quests may be a bit tedious if you are already familiar with the series. The only quests that remain after installing this mod are the following:

and above. However, since this mod removes the tutorial, it is not recommended for those new to Mount & Blade; it is only of value to veteran medieval players who properly appreciate the breadth and complexity of Calradia's rich setting, and who are willing to let the initial, almost bug-ridden rigidity of the Blow away and dive into this promising sandbox as quickly as possible.

Several players who have tried Just Let Me Play have also reported improved performance. The game runs better overall, and the loading screens seem to be shorter. This seems to be explained by the fact that the modder "stopped loading all quests". This should bring only modest performance gains, but every little bit helps.

The mod scene for this game is really just starting to warm up, but there are some exciting plans in the pipeline, including World of Warcraft and Game of Thones themed overhauls. XP multipliers, improved character creation, post-battle to cheer along with your soldiers after battle, and more, see our list of the best Bannerlord mods for tweaks you can download and use right now.