In Mount and Blade: Bannerlord you are given a wide variety of weapons and tools to help you defeat your enemy in battle. Not only will you be commanding your armies, you can also engage in the fight directly using your weapons. If you don’t fancy taking an arrow to the body or a sword through the stomach you’d probably want to arm yourself with a shield.
Along with being not only a great defensive weapon, the shied also has a great action called a shield bash which can be used in combat. This guide will show you how to actually perform a shield bash in Mount and Blade: Bannerlord and show you how you can upgrade it as well.
How to Perform a Shield Bash in Bannerlord
In order to perform a shield bash it may come as no surprise that you will have to have a shield equipped first. To do this, open up the inventory screen by using the I hotkey and drag a shield to one of your weapon slots. Alternatively you can also do this directly from the Trade screen too.
Once you have a shield equipped you are able to perform a shield bash. To do this first hold the shield up in a blocking position by holding the Right Mouse Button. With the right mouse button held down, press the E key. Your character will then perform a shield bash straight ahead of them.
What is the Shield Bash Good For?
Why do you need to shield bash and is it actually a viable technique? Well, it can be! When you shield bash an enemy they will be temporarily unable to fight. Similar to the Kick technique, by shield bashing an enemy you are effectively stunning them for a short amount of time. It is a great technique for when they enemy is constantly blocking and you can’t seem to get a hit in. If you can land a shield bash they will be stunned and you will have your chance to strike!
That being said, shield bashing is not always the best technique to use. It is best performed when you are in one-on-one situations. Because you are using your shield as a weapon you are also leaving your character vulnerable to attacks when shield bashing. It is a good idea to wait until your enemy is quite close as well as shield bashing does not reach very far in front of you. Is you miss, expect you enemy to get the upper hand and land a strike. Tournaments are a great place to practice your shield blocking and it allow you to fight less enemies at a time.
The shield bash technique will also do a small amount of damage on each hit. It will generally do around 2 damage each hit which means you won’t just be relying on your shield to do the work. Stun the enemy with your shield then go for a strike with your one-handed weapon!
Perks Related to The Shield Bash
There is a perk that you can unlock in Bannerlord that will increase the usability of the shield bash as well. This perk will no only increase the damage of the shield bash but also increase the stun time. It is as follows:
- Basher (One Handed lvl 25) : Bashes deal 50% more damage and stun the enemy for longer
This is the only perk in the current version of the game (1.6.4) which relates to the shield bash. There is a possibility that more will be added as the game is updated but not more is known at this point in time.
