When you first begin in Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord, renown is something you need to start a clan, but from there, you will continually need to acquire more of it to expand your prowess and make a name for yourself. Renown is important to maintain, but it’s a slow process to give more to your character. What are some of the best ways to obtain renown?
Fighting looters and bandits
The most straightforward method is to continually attack and fight any looter or bandit gang you see wandering the area. Now, you don’t always want to go for the smaller numbers. For example, if you’re running around with an army of 30 to 40 troops and you attack a small looter gang comprised of five to 10 attackers, you won’t gain too much renown. You do earn a little, but not enough to matter.
You want to use smaller troops in your army to increase your renown. If you wander the lands with an army of 15 to 20 troops by your side, you receive more renown for attacking similarly sized looters, or by attacking larger groups than yours. You will need to ensure the troops under your command are strong, and you have a series of essential skills to assist them and turn the tides, but the chances are that a slightly larger group won’t stand a chance. Don’t wander around the game with the maximum number of troops under your command. Fight with a smaller force and reap the benefits.
Take part in tournaments
Some of the towns and castles you visit will have a tournament you can take part in where you engage in combat. For those who want to increase your renown this way, you want to make sure your character has suitable skills and equipment to do battle. You mostly want to focus on being good with a one-handed or two-handed weapon. A bow or crossbow will work fine for a little bit, and it won’t be useful if your opponent rushes you and is still alive. If you focus on polearms, you likely won’t last too long because it’s not the best in close-quarters combat. A sword and shield is probably your best choice, especially if you master the shield bash technique.
Becoming a mercenary for another faction
For those who have already created the first level of your clan, you have the chance to offer yourself as a mercenary to another faction. This is a great way to acquire new relations with a faction, earn some money, and you can gain some easy renown because of how significant the battles will be, especially if the faction is at war.
To become a mercenary, you want to find a notable figure in that faction. You can do this by wandering around the map and holding the Left-Alt button, showing the names of the wandering characters you see rushing around. If you see an icon with a specific name, rush toward them and ask them, “There is something I’d like to discuss.” From there, you now want to ask, “I would like to enter the service of,” and the end of the sentence should be whoever rules over that particular NPC. You want to offer your sword for them for the right sum.
When you do this, that faction should become green for you across the entire game, and any factions they’re fighting should become red. You can now freely attack looters, the enemy factions, and assist other allying factions in combat. Becoming a mercenary gives you more opportunities to earn renown outside of purely meeting looters or bandits in combat.
You want to engage in combat as often as possible if you want to increase renown. Keep your blade sharp and your arrows true if you want everyone to know your name.
