Mount & Blade: Warband

Mount & Blade: Warband

344 ratings
The Secrets of Warband
By alex
The Secrets of Warband is a short guide unveiling removed features and hidden secrets of Mount & Blade: Warband
   
Award
Favorite
Favorited
Unfavorite
Flintlock Pistol


The Flintlock Pistol is a hidden weapon unobtainable without cheating or editing the game.

The pistol is a very powerful weapon using Cartridges as ammunition, and relying on a now-removed weapon proficiency called Firearms. The Flintlock Pistol boasts high velocity and maintains a steady crosshair when aiming, setting it apart from bows. However, it's wildly innacurate, and its reload time is comparable to that of a crossbow. As with other ranged weapons, the pistol's accuracy diminishes when you're on the move or mounted on a horse.

In the original game, this pistol was never officially used. However, it later made a debut as a standard weapon in Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword.

Instructions on spawning it with cheats:

1. In the game launcher, click on "Configure."

2. Enable cheats.

3. Start the game and load your save.

4. Open the console by pressing Ctrl+~ (Tilde). Type in "cheatmenu" and enter.

5. Within the in-game Camp menu, select the Cheat menu option.

7. Navigate through the list of items until you locate the Flintlock Pistol. Don't forget to also buy Cartridges. If you're short on funds, you can spawn more money by pressing Ctrl+X.

8. To deactivate cheats, simply press '~' again and type in "nocheatmenu."
The "Strange Set"


The "Strange Set" is a samurai themed set of armor consisting of six parts: the Strange Helmet, Strange Armor, Strange Boots, Strange Short Sword (A Wakizashi), Strange Sword (A Katana), and the Strange Great Sword (A Nodachi). The set is very underpowered with terrible stats, but at least it looks cool.

The easiest way to obtain the set is to use the "Find Item" cheatmenu cheat. However, you can also find the items in-game with some extra effort.

Strange Armor & Strange Short Sword:

1. Go to the town of Rivacheg in Kingdom of Vaegirs.

2. Enter the streets, take the first left, and head past the armorer. Keep going until you spot a pile of hay on your right.

3. Inside of this pile of hay is a hidden chest. Go up and open it and retrieve the Strange Armor and Stange Short Sword.

The other items don't spawn in-game anymore, but you can reenable them by enabling the editor through the game launcher's settings menu and then heading in-game. Once you're back in-game, follow these instructions.

Strange Helmet & Strange Great Sword:

1. Go to Tihr.

2. Press Ctrl+E to open the editor. In the second box in the edit window, scroll until you find "chest_a" object. If the editor doesn't show properly, change the game to run in Windowed mode.

3. To move your camera, use the "W,A,S,D" keys. Press "E" to move up, and "C" to move down. Move your camera to an open spot in the scene and spawn the "chest_a" object. Then close the editor and save changes.

4. Open the chest and retrieve the Strange Helmet & Strange Great Sword.

5. Optionally, you can remove the box again by re-opening the game editor, right-clicking the chest, and hitting the Delete button on your keyboard. Then exit the editor and save changes again.

Strange Sword & Strange Boots:

1. Go to Jelkala.

2. Once again use the scene editor to spawn "chest_a" in an open spot.

3. Open the chest. This time it will contain the Strange Sword and Strange Boots.

Item stats:

Strange Armor - Strength: 7, Head Armor: 0, Body Armor: 38, Leg Armor: 19, Weight: 18.0, True Value: 1259.

Strange Helmet - Strength: 7, Head Armor: 44, Body Armor: 0, Leg Armor: 0, Weight: 2.0, True Value: 824.

Strange Boots - Strength: 0, Head Armor: 0, Body Armor: 0, Leg Armor: 21, Weight: 1.0, True Value: 465.

Strange Short Sword - Strength: 0, Speed: 108, Reach: 65, Swing: 25c, Thrust: 19p, Weight: 1.3, True Value: 321.

Strange Sword - Strength: 9, Speed: 108, Reach: 95, Swing: 32c, Thrust: 18p, Weight: 2.0, True Value: 679.

Strange Great Sword - Strength: 11, Speed: 92, Reach: 125, Swing: 38c, Thrust: 0, Weight: 3.5, True Value: 920.
The Dark Knights
The game used to have a Dark Knight enemy that wore the game's strongest armor - the Black Armor. This armor still exists in the game's files and can be obtained with cheats. Not much is known about these knights, other than their equipment - black armor, iron/mail greaves, guard helmet, and gauntlets.

They were removed from the game between version 0.800 to version 0.894.
Black Armor


The Black Armor, in terms of raw stats, stands as the strongest armor in the game, boasting 57 body armor and 18 leg armor. However, it was removed from the game along with the Dark Knight enemy in version 0.894 and can only be obtained through cheats.

The armor was seemingly never finished and shows buggy behavior in which the neckline doesn't align properly with the character's head. It was eventually reintroduced in Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword as an armor suited for the industrial age.
Undead & Ghouls


In an earlier version of Mount & Blade (around version 0.202), players could encounter undead and ghoul characters. These characters are not well-documented, but we can piece together some information about them. Visually, they looked similar to the ghouls found in the Fallout series - bare, skinless bodies.

The undead also had a faction that began spawning parties on the world map after progressing a certain quest. This faction was led by the necromancer Akhad Thell, whom the player could receive a quest to kill. There was also a quest involving King Harlaus, who met a dark fate and was resurrected as an undead king by Akhad Thell. The ghouls, though seemingly unaffiliated with the undead, also began appearing on the world map. Players also had the option to choose to play as a ghoul during character creation.

Even though they were ultimately removed from the game, proof of their existence can still be unearthed within the game's files. By opening bodymeshes.brf in the CommonRes folder (use the OpenBRF program), you can find the 3D models and textures of the undead character's body parts, (undead_body, undead_handL, and undead_handR). Remnants of the undead faction can also be found in factions.txt in the Modules/Native folder. The faction's troops can also be found in troops.txt (undead_walker, undead_horseman, undead_nomad, undead, hell_knight). The ghouls can also be found in troops.txt and factions.txt.

Mount & Blade gradually moved away from fantasy elements, opting for a more realistic and grounded setting, likely prompting the removal of undead and ghouls to align with the game's overall tone.

In conversation.txt, remnants of the dialogue from an undead quest can be found:

"Indeed $playername$. I have a rather important matter at hand. Only a trusted knight such as you may help me at this."

"It would be my honor to serve you milord."

"Then let me tell you about the problem. You see $playername$, the common folk have always been ignorant and superstitious. They tend to believe in every story they hear and follow every charlatan they see. Me? Of course as a man of noble birth I have had the benefits of education and I pride myself in being a firm believer of our holy church and a man of practical reason. However, lately I have been getting reports and complaints that go beyond simple tales of old women. Villagers and travellers say that they see unnatural things and that they are being attacked by these... creatures."

"Creatures?"

"Undead, to be exact. Of course I don't believe in any of this stupidity. The dead stay put, they do not rise again and loiter around, at least not until resurrection day. But still, I need to have these claims investigated. It may be more than the simple blabbering of a few idiots. These rumors, $playername$, well may be spread by our enemies."

"The vaegirs?"

"Of course. After all, they are the ones who would benefit from this. We can't let these rumors spread panic and despair among our people and army. Soldiers may start to think that God has abandoned our cause and is favoring our enemies. And an army without morale is destined to lose the war."

"And what do you want me to do sir?"

"I want you to investigate the source of these rumors and bring it to an end. Go there and hang everyone that talks about it if necessary. But I do not want to hear another word about undead rising in my county. Do you understand that?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. I trust you at this $playername$. Now go and make this nonsense come to an end."

"Indeed $playername. I have a rather important matter at hand. Only a trusted knight such as you may help me at this."

"It would be my honor to serve you milord."

"Good. I trust you at this $playername$. Now go and make this nonsense come to an end."

Other dialogues that seem to be related to the undead:

"Noble knight, please, you must help us. They are hunting us, they are going to kill us one by one. They come at night. Always at night. And they kill without mercy."

"Who is this you are talking about? What is hunting you? Stop blabbering you fool! You are not making any sense."

"The undead. The stench of the grave is still on them but they hunt and kill as if alive. They have come to take their toll on us. Please you must do something. You must save us from them."

"All right. I will do what I can."

"At night. They always come at night."

"The undead are coming for you. Run away. Save yourself while you can."

"Please you must help us. You must stay here and protect us."

A conversation with an undead character can also be found:

"What devil's work are you? Your decomposing flesh is infested with worms and your stench can make a dead horse throw up. You are clearly dead if there is a dead thing in this world. Yet you walk as if you are among the living..."

"Hear me mortals. For many years you have followed false kings... bastards and imposters who ruled without rightful authority. But soon the kingdoms you have built will crumble to dust. Mortals, rejoice... for the one and true king has finally arrived. And he is wise and he is ancient and he will smite the kingdoms of the world with rightful fury. And his order shall be just and his glory shall be great. He has come back to reign again and reign he will. And this time it is going to last forever..."

"You can talk. Your voice shakes my soul with terror. You are like a terrible nightmare... except you are real. If I had half the wits of a fool I would run away now.... I would run from this land that God has abandoned... But I won't. You may be an arrogant bastard to come back from the halls of the dead. But I am going to send you back there even if I have to drag you there all the bloody way myself."
The Town of Zendar
Zendar, once a neutral town nestled between the Kingdom of Nords and the Kingdom of Vaegirs, was the starting point for players in the early stages of the game. It was introduced in version 0.202, and remained in the game until version 0.950. Unlike other towns, clicking on Zendar on the world map didn't open a menu; players were automatically taken inside.

The town served as a tutorial area, teaching the player about gameplay features such as prisoner management and damage types. It also offered activities such as tournaments, training, and troop recruitment. Among its notable locations were the Four Ways Inn, Dhorak's Keep, and the Salt Mines, which have since been removed, along with the city itself.

According to the game's lore, Zendar had its fair share of problems, facing threats from factions like the River Pirates and Sea Raiders. The city was eventually razed to the ground by a horde of Sea Raiders, and its citizens fled to other kingdoms. Stavros, a playable character in the Custom Battle mode is originally from Zendar and worked as a town watchman under Constable Hareck until the city's destruction.

Despite its removal from the game, Zendar still exists within the game's files, specifically in "parties.txt," and it can, in theory, be re-implemented even in the latest version of Warband.
171 Comments
toromi7 14 Jan @ 4:52pm 
They need to re-add horse meat
Inferno_Ougi 23 Oct, 2023 @ 12:47pm 
this is epic
bob1886 8 Oct, 2022 @ 11:39pm 
@Pyroven eh, i kinda want taleworlds to do a (high) fantasy dlc
Pyroven 20 May, 2021 @ 7:59am 
I agree that undead should not really feature in the game, but it'd be cool to have an extremely rare undead quest or encounter. Similar to how the Amazons in Rome: Total War were hidden away and would only be found if you went looking for them.
Offline Gamer 28 Feb, 2021 @ 4:44pm 
Glad Taleworlds kept it real, all the fake stuff are reserved for the mods.
Dumelman 8 Dec, 2019 @ 12:59pm 
I feel that the Undead Quest should've stayed, just as an extremely rare quest. This game is Low Fantasy first and foremost, but having rare, subtle supernatural elements could make Calradia more interesting and mysterious.
Destoyer78901 3 Nov, 2019 @ 9:32am 
after 50 days in game the Dark Knights should have invaded
>[OPFOCA1OPARROWMARINERECON191]< 7 Jul, 2019 @ 9:12am 
Good thing they removed the Ghouls and Undead. I love Mount & Blade because because it isn't a fantasy game which uses generic ghouls, generic goblins/orcs, it is just simple and shows what medieval times could've been like and let's you feel it.
Jared9292 25 Jul, 2018 @ 8:24pm 
Shouldve made the dark knights like a big quest to follow up a story arc
Rλdzig 25 Feb, 2018 @ 8:07pm 
I want the undead and/or Ghouls to be a thing