How to get renown fast in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

At the beginning of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, you’re essentially a nobody. No one knows who you are or what you’ve done. This is represented by renown, which you can collect to level up your clan tier and unlock some cool benefits. In this guide, we’ll show you some ways to earn it in Bannerlord.

How to earn renown quickly in Bannerlord

There are several routes open to you for gathering renown. Whether you want to engage in huge kingdom battles and sieges or settle down in a town and enjoy some tournaments, we’ll be covering a few different (and valid) ways to gain renown.

Join a kingdom

Joining a kingdom is one of the best ways to get renown in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. Once your clan level hits tier 1, you’ll be able to enroll with a kingdom as a mercenary, so long as they’re at war.

If you’re really feeling for a certain ruler of a specific kingdom, and your clan happens to be tier 2, you could become a vassal. This allows for yet more renown to be collected, as well as the potential for you to be handed a settlement or few. This further compounds your renown, influence and coin income.

Fight against tougher foes

Picking fights against looters is easy, but no one really cares if you beat down stone throwers (and nor should they). Taking on tougher foes is what will provide additional renown, especially if they are a considerable force compared to your own troops.

It’s all about numbers too. You’ll get far more renown for taking on a force that has 10 or more troops than you, compared to a smaller army. Think big, but don’t go all out and get destroyed by a force that’s simply way beyond your means to defeat. Joining a kingdom is great for this as it opens up huge battles.

Participate in tournaments

Tournaments are a neat way to earn some renown and coin, especially if you win. For each round you come out on top, you’ll bag some renown. There’s even an item available for the winner, which can sometimes be a weapon you previously made at the smithy and sold to a merchant.