Your character cannot do everything alone in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord. Companions, the wandering heroes you recruit, fill the gaps: they scout ahead, patch up your wounded, expand your party, break down castle walls, and lead your armies.

Picking the right ones and knowing where to find them is one of the biggest quiet upgrades to any campaign. Here is what to look for and how to get them.

Short answer: Recruit companions from the taverns in towns. Use the Encyclopedia, go to Heroes and filter to Wanderers, to find and track specific ones. Their nickname hints at their skills, so match the wanderer to the role you need: a Surgeon for Medicine, a Scout for Scouting, a Steward for party size, an Engineer for sieges, and combat leaders to lead your troops.

How Companions Work

Companions, officially called wanderers, hang out in the taverns of major towns. You find one, talk to them, pay a hiring fee, and they join your party as a hero unit.

Once recruited, you can assign them a party role (scout, surgeon, quartermaster, engineer, and so on), send them to govern a fief, or even give them their own party to lead once your clan grows.

The clever trick is the Encyclopedia. Open it, go to Heroes, and filter to Wanderers. You get a searchable list of companions you can track down, which beats wandering tavern to tavern hoping the right one shows up.

Read the Nickname

Every wanderer has an epithet, like the Smith, the Swift, Willowbark, or Coalbiter, and that nickname is a strong hint at their starting skills. A little pattern recognition saves you a lot of time:

• Healer or Willowbark types make excellent surgeons, with high Medicine.
• Swift, Lucky, or Keeneye types tend toward Scouting and Tactics, perfect scouts.
• Shieldmaiden, Swords, or Bloody types are warriors, built to fight and lead troops.
• Smith or Coalbiter types come with Smithing, which feeds straight into making money.

The Roles Every Campaign Needs

At a minimum, a serious campaign wants one of each of these. Note that Steward, Medicine, and Engineering all scale off Intelligence, so favor high Intelligence companions for those seats.

• Surgeon (Medicine). Keeps your wounded from dying after battles. Grab one early, it saves your best troops.
• Scout (Scouting). Spots enemies, boosts map speed, and helps you avoid ambushes and pick your fights.
• Steward (Steward). Increases your party size and improves your economy, letting you field a bigger army.
• Engineer (Engineering). Speeds up siege construction, which is huge once you start taking castles.
• Combat captains. High combat skill companions you can hand a party to, so your clan fields multiple armies.

When to Prioritize What

Your needs shift as the campaign grows. Early on, a surgeon and a scout keep you alive and mobile. In the mid game, a steward and a combat leader or two let you punch above your weight. Late game, an engineer and strong Tactics and Leadership companions carry you through sieges and full scale wars.

Tips for Recruiting

• Check taverns in every town you pass and glance at the Encyclopedia to see who is out there.
• Do not overpay for combat alone. A companion's real value is often the support skill, not their sword arm.
• Keep a Smithing companion if you want to lean on crafting for income.
• Companions can die in battle, so protect your specialists and do not throw your surgeon into the front line.

FAQ

Where do you find companions in Bannerlord?

In the taverns of major towns. Walk into the tavern, find the wanderer, talk to them, and pay their fee to recruit them. Use the Encyclopedia, under Heroes filtered to Wanderers, to find and track specific ones.

How do I know what a companion is good at?

Their nickname is the tell. Healer and Willowbark types are surgeons, Swift and Lucky types are scouts and tacticians, warrior style names are combat leaders, and Smith types bring Smithing.

What companions do I need most?

At a minimum a surgeon, a scout, a steward, an engineer, and at least one combat captain. Surgeon and scout matter most early, engineer and leaders matter most late.

Which attribute matters for support companions?

Intelligence. It drives Steward, Medicine, and Engineering, so high Intelligence companions make the best surgeons, stewards, and engineers.

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