Grinding for Groschen: The 5 Richest Cities in Bannerlord
This is the definitive economic guide to powering up your prosperity and filling your coin purses to burstin‘ with denars in Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord. Saddle up, butterlords – we‘ve got some serious work to do!
After extensive in-game testing and trawling the forums, here are the top dough-raking cities in Calradia based on up-to-date prosperity scores:
Marunath (100 prosperity) – This Battanian regional capital is straight ballin‘ with lucrative hardwood resources from its surrounding ancient forests.
Ortysia (98 prosperity) – The Western Empire‘s largest city has profitable vineyards and massive grain farms supplying its sprawling population.
Pen Cannoc (95 prosperity) – Vlandia‘s prime port sees riches pouring in from salt, fish and iron trade. Natural bay defenses don‘t hurt either.
Sanala (91 prosperity) – Aserai‘s central hub boasts huge linen and date hauls. Its position on key trade routes doesn‘t exactly slow business either.
Vostrum (87 prosperity) – The Southern Empire‘s coastal jewel enjoys maritime merchant coin along with silk and spice hauls from the east.
Why These Cities are Money-Makers:
| City | Key Resources | Defensibility | Other Prosperity Factors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marunath | Hardwood | Mountain location | High militia counts |
| Ortysia | Grain farms, vineyards | Central trade location | Imperial faction bonus |
| Pen Cannoc | Salt, fish, iron | Bay fortress site | Rich surrounding villages |
| Sanala | Linen, dates | Desert position | Crossroad trade site |
| Vostrum | Maritime trade | Coastal city | Imperial faction bonus |
Let‘s break this down by faction:
Battania
Nestled within forested vales, Marunath and other Battanian cities enjoy rich forageables, game and timber from surrounding woods along with nearby mines. Selling this haul enables construction boosts.cThe presence of defender-favored forests and hills enables their marshals to focus on infrastructure over warmongering.
Per Redditor u/Joei160: "I took Marunath early and with 3 hardwood workshops never dropped below 97 prosperity even losing all villages in 2 wars."
Western Empire
The Empire‘s central plains offer efficient grain and grape agriculture, translated into beer, wine and bread. Their prime trading crossroads location also fills coffers through tariffs. As Redditor u/pyrhus626 says:
"Ortysia is crazy profitable. Farms feeding it beer and bread plus tariffs means after you build workshops even just moderate trading will have it printing money."
Vlandia
Access to major waterways allows Vlandian cities import exotic goods from afar while exporting local fish and salt abroad rather lucratively. The bay locations where cities like Pen Cannoc lie enables naval reinforcements.
According to Vlandian marshal u/Reason-and-rhyme: "Pen Cannoc bay has never been taken despite 4 wars on 2 fronts – those Vlandian crossbowmen on the water just shred."
Aserai
Dealing in linens and incense from surrounding oases as well as dates from fertile floodplains, the central trade hub of Sanala sees caravan traffic from an immense network of towns and villages.
Its central crossroad location also means the Palm Gate sees visiting peddlers from all Calradia. Per resident u/Al-Pharazon:
"You wouldn‘t believe the variety of goods passing through Sanala daily – silks from the Khuzait Khanate, furs from Sturgia, legion shields from the Empire. Half of Calradia‘s trade routes intersect at the Palm Gate bridge!"
Southern Empire
As the Empire‘s southern port, Vostrum enjoys vigorous maritime trade. In addition to Black Sea fishing and silk sold abroad, spices and other eastern luxuries flow through daily. Being an Imperial holding, they also benefit from advanced farming techniques, bringing grain and wine profits.
Hot tips for building up your settlements:
Constructing profitable workshops:
Match workshops to surrounding village resources for efficiency bonuses. Marunath‘s hardwood means woodshops, Sanala‘s linen means linen weavers. Also build where prerequisite raw materials are available – a tannery needs cattle farms nearby.
Recruiting solid governors:
Find companions with high Steward and Engineering skills to rule in your stead. Rank 8 quartermaster perks boost settlement income by 3% per skill level! Consider promoting family members as they‘re less likely to defect.
Developing surrounding villages:
Building grain farms, mills, and fisheries through notables boosts outputs to feed the city. Send Engineer-spec companions like Brother Bethos on missions to enhance infrastructure. Ensure the safety of surrounding villages from raiders to enable trade.
Establishing trade routes:
Purchase produce from nearby villages and sell at the city for profit thanks to lower village prices. Extended routes can run from Battanian Pottery villages down to Sanala. Just watch out for highwaymen!
Analyzing the Minor Factions:
Minor faction cities don‘t usually reach top tier prosperity due to instability, resources deficits and their less advanced societies.
However, both sides of the Aserai/Khuzait conflict have gems – Baltakhand sees fortunes flow from Khuzait horse trade while the mountain fortress Askar remains an impenetrable Aserai gold mine.
Among the more fragmented Sturgians and once-mighty Khergits, no real standouts exist prosperity-wise but hey – guess that‘s why they‘re minor factions!
In Conclusion:
If you‘re looking to get rich, set up in Marunath or Ortysia to benefit from their unbeatable locations and defenses. Become a big fish in their overflowing ponds of profits.
Build some solid workshops, assign a capable governor to rule in your name, and watch the denars flood in! Then once you‘ve acquired enough liquidity, go use those millions to raise an epic horde of hardened Huscarls and take over Calradia once and for all!
Just try not to drive that prosperity score into the ground once you start bleeding the place dry for armies and conquest like old twirly-stached Rhagaea, yeah? Leave some in the coffers for the rest of us entrepreneurs!
Alright friends, our job here is done – now saddle up and ride on out to claim the big bags of gold awaiting you in Bannerlord! See you on the fields of battle!
