Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord - 10 Best One-Handed Perks (2024)

Skills and perks in allows you to try out a variety of builds and role-play as different characters. You can create characters who excel in combat, leadership, strategy, trade, or many other options the game offers.

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The one-handed skill is one of the best and easiest combat skills, especially for new players, as you can pair your one-handed weapon with a shield for extra protection. Once you level up your one-handed skill, you can choose perks that give slight increases to the skill itself or other aspects of the game. You often face two options for each perk, and here are the ones that generally help your character the most.

Updated March 6, 2023 By Nima Dabirian:One of the biggest changes that the game has seen in patch 1.1, is the rewording and balancing of perks. All perks have clearer descriptions, helping players choose the best option for their playthrough, and certain perks have been completely reworked. The one-handed skill is one of the most reliable combat skills, and staying on top of these perk changes can make a considerable difference in your characters' performance in battle.

10 Wrapped Handles

The first perk choices in the one-handed tree are Basher and Wrapped Handles. Basher improves your shield bash and the defensive capabilities of your infantry if you are their captain. Shield bash does so little damage that increasing it by 50 percent is still not noticeable, and the second benefit can be relegated to a companion who acts as your infantry captain.

For personal use, the Wrapped Handles perk has a better effect on your combat skill. Better weapon handling allows for easier execution of advanced combat moves, such as momentum attacks and chamber blocking, and the secondary effects improve the one-handed capabilities of troops under your command.

9 To Be Blunt

The second one-handed perk ultimately comes down to preference. Swift Strike increases your speed with all weapons, and To Be Blunt increases your damage with axes and maces. The secondary benefit of those perks is for governors and thus not applicable to your character.

If you intend on using swords, Swift Strike is the best choice, and if you prefer axes and maces, To Be Blunt is the obvious choice. But if you want to min-max the combat capabilities of your character, maces are generally the best weapon type for late-game combat, as they ignore a decent percentage of enemies' armor.

8 Cavalry

The next perk choice, similar to the previous, depends on your play style. The first choice, Cavalry, improves your damage while mounted, and the second choice, Shield Bearer, improves your movement speed while on foot.

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It's generally a better idea to stay mounted in late-game larger combats, as with better mobility, you'll have an easier time commanding your troops across the battlefield, and you can get out of dangerous situations quickly.

7 Trainer

The fourth perk choice in the one-handed tree is an easy one. The first choice is Duelist, which increases your damage by 20 percent if you don't carry a shield, and doubles renown gained from tournaments. Even with the huge damage buff, not having a shield is too big of a drawback.

Trainer, on the other hand, increases your hit points, which is a valuable effect and can stack with other perks that make you more durable, and the secondary effect will improve the rate of upgrading your troops.

6 Shieldwall

The next perks in this skill tree have small benefits, but they can still benefit you in the long run. Arrow Catcher increases your shield size against projectiles and gives a small bonus to your troops' shield size. You are very unlikely to be hit by arrows while holding your shield, so this benefit is not as effective.

Shieldwall reduces the damage your shield takes if you are blocking in the wrong direction, and gives a larger bonus to your troops' shield size. Having more durability for your shield can be more impactful in long battles, and the second benefit is an improved version of the other perk at this level.

5 Military Tradition

The sixth choice in one-handed perks is a close one. Both Corps-a-corps and Military Traditions affect your troops' experience gain in different ways, and the best pick mostly comes down to your play style and the state of the game.

If you are constantly at war and go from battle to battle, then Corps-a-corps can give you more value. But Military Traditions, with its passive daily buff, is a more consistent and safer choice for most playthroughs.

4 Lead By Example

The next choice is an easy one. While the Stand United perk gives more battle morale if you are outnumbered, and it can be an important addition when you fight against larger numbers, its second benefit doesn't apply to the main character.

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Lead By Example increases battle morale in every situation by a lesser amount, but the second benefit also increases your troops' experience gain, which stacks with a few other perks in this tree, and lets you improve your infantry much faster.

The eighth perks in the one-handed tree have very different effects. Fleet of Foot increases the movement speed of you and your troops in combat, and Steel Core Shields improves the durability of your shields.

Shields in Bannerlord are already hard to destroy, especially if you've picked the Shieldwall perk at previous levels. So the Steel Core Shields perks might be going overboard and not have a noticeable effect. Increased movement speed can be much more impactful in most scenarios.

2 Unwavering Defense

While the Deadly Purpose perk at this level gives a considerable damage boost to yourself and your troops, Unwavering Defense has more potential in improving your army in the long run.

This perk gives you five hit points and ten more to your infantry troops. In combination with some athletics and medicine perks, you are able to increase the hit points of your character and your troops by a large amount, making them more durable and superior to most other armies.

1 Prestige

The last perk of the one-handed tree, like every other perk tree, is a singular one. But the last perk we get to choose is between Chink in the Armor, and Prestige. Chink in the Armor can be effective if you lean heavily on using maces, but Prestige's secondary effect is too good to ignore.

Prestige increases your damage against shields but also gives you a whopping +15 to your party size. Unless you are doing a special playthrough where you want to keep your party small, any perk that increases your party size is the best choice.

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