How BUFFED was the Palatine Guard? Bannerlord Ranged Troop Units Guide

This is a 1.8. Bannerlord in Depth Analysis of the archer troop knows as Palatine Guard.
This video is part of a Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Playlist where we analyze each unit not only based on their equipment but also on statistics taken after intensive testings.
The Data will be trimmed down and showcased both throughout the video and at the end to allow the viewer to know as much as possible about the unit in question.
A score will also be provided at the end based on Lyon’s opinion, this score shouldn’t be taken as hard evidence, as different playstyles may impact the way viewers evaluate units.
In this here video we are going to talk about the Imperial Palatine Guard.
A unit that has for a long time being at the bottom of the barrel when it came to archers but that received some huge buffs after patch 1.8.
Units Guide Playlist: • How BAD is The Wildlin...
And remember, criticism and constructive feedback are always appreciated.

[@LyonExodus]

For anyone wandering What UNIT X is: It's the KHUZAIT MARKSMAN for this video. unfortunately i was never able to make a dedicated analysis of the Marksman as TW dropped 1.8.1. and 1.9. as i was wrapping up the Khuzaits. In the next few weeks i will bring the up to date performance of any archer troop as of 1.0.

[@blazezz1101]

The extra quiver really saves this unit from being near useless. What I like about the Palatine Guard is that the troop line starts specializing with the bow starting at tier 2 instead of tier 3 like most factions. This makes them easier to upgrade to since it's easier to minimize casualties with ranged troops than melee troops.

[@LyonExodus]

yes, the line is a big plus that i forgot to add to the Pro list. but i guess many players already know about it anyway

[@liviubostan7229]

They should give them their Palantine Helmets(46 head armour) and their old shoulderpads for 14 more body armour

[@noctusfury6918]

You're right. They should donate them to the Sword Sisters instead. 🤣

[@jabbott6748]

They needed the love they got in 1.8. Thanks for all your work sir.

[@LyonExodus]

Been a long time advocate for a buff of this unit so i am happy it finally got something while not becoming OP

[@ferdinandblack319]

Love the graphs for comparing armor and shooting potential. Really helped to understand the degree of difference between the units instead of just the ranking.

[@savic101]

Love those charts, your vids always continue to improve!

[@LyonExodus]

easy to make them better when the bar is low to begin with.

[@danielpirela1225]

Imperial Sergeant crossbowman. It is considered a "Legionary with a crossbow" -that was before the blunt damage nerf. But you should check it out

[@aryanwitheredone]

Taleworlds: Makes Cataphract & Palatine Helmet Also Taleworlds: Googled Helm For Cataphract & Roundkettle Over Mail For Palatine Guard A Good Idea

[@LyonExodus]

the old days of the Googled helmet. took them a few years to fix it

[@summedummkopf6963]

The Palatine guard used to wear the helmet when the game first came out. They were quite literally broken, they alone would kill pretty much anything. They received a heavy nerf at some point.

[@Zathien]

really liking it in my empire playthrough

[@jabbott6748]

They are a lot better now than they used to be.

[@SimonDubois52]

Adoro i tuoi video!

[@LyonExodus]

grazie tante Simon

[@SimonDubois52]

@@LyonExodus Non vedo l’ora di vedere il prossimo video 👍

[@owmyeyeseverythingissobright]

the kettle over mail made me like instantly

[@MilitaryBuff]

Palatine guard just received a big buff. They now have the Steppe War bow!!

[@BS-we3qe]

I would like to see a crossbow option for empire next for comparison please :D

[@LyonExodus]

be sure to vote on the poll in the community tab then. The sergeant is quite in a comfortable lead at the moment but you never know

[@takuoku2546]

is the bucelarri better than palantine guards when dismounted? also I think taleworlds needs to add teir5 archers a polarm. it's very uninteresting to see litterally every archer except for fians to have 1H swords.

[@LyonExodus]

i don't think the Bucs are better for the simple reason that their bow is worse and i think they have less arrows, might be wrong on the arrows. But they are a bit better in melee

[@user-cr4cj1fl8z]

At this point im actually considering the Fians as the best unit in the game overall. Like these dudes rank several miles ahead in the archer devision , can get high ranks in the infr devision so if i put them on a decent horse (they`ll probably rank top 3 in the HA devision) Like i imagine TW doing 90% of the Batanian roster when realizing they are mostly weak so to fix it they bred the Fian and said done. Actually i`ll try that HA Fian theory tomorrow with the MLW mod by copying their template and putting a t5 khuzait horse on them.

[@LyonExodus]

remember that a huge reason of why the Fians are good is their Longbow. if you can get them to use it on horseback they should be stupid. But i'd also try a mounted crossbowman with similar gear and stats, it might do even better if he had 60 shots

[@colhammer1]

Engagingly engaging in engagement.

[@orlandoactab3034]

with the khuzait khan's guard bow nerf, are aserai horse archers now the best?

[@LyonExodus]

not even close honestly. you have to remember the bow plays less of a role than the unit skill in bow. so the Khan's having about 2 times more skill than the Mamelukes is a big deal.

[@mortache]

Will you ever do bandit and minor faction troops?

[@LyonExodus]

the minor faction is a suggestion i want to cover in the future while for the bandits i will need a mod to help with that as the base game doesn't allow you to use them in customs.

[@Grombrindal]

It was the worst? It probably helped that I tend to spam archers

[@Jasta85]

You said it's not the best all round archer compared to standard tier 5 units. What archer is better than it at tier 5? The only comparable one I can think of would be Asari master archer but they are ranked lower in all categories. Or are you including crossbows as well?

[@Bzhydack]

It can be Fian. Not Fian Champion, who has tier 6, but one step below. Khuziat Marksman can also be high.

[@Jasta85]

@@Bzhydack When he said standard tier 5 I assumed that meant non-noble troops. Did Khuzait marksmen get a buff in the last year? I remember them being worse than asari tier 5 archers about a year ago (better in melee but worse in terms of shooting).

[@LyonExodus]

Not the Fian (T5) but the Marksman and the Sergeant Crossbowman are the last two left. if you can figure out which one is unit X and Y you might figure out who is the 5/5 among the two based on the previous videos.

[@Jasta85]

@@LyonExodus Marksman has to be unit Y, just checked their in game stats and yes, their bow skill and arrows are both worse than asari master archer while the bow is the same, so they should rank lower at range, so they couldn't be unit X. So guessing imperial crossbows edge out palatine guard as overall ranged due to them having better armor and melee weapons. Are they really that much better than sharpshooters at range though?

[@LyonExodus]

you sure about that? If the Marksman is unit Y then how do they have less shooting potential than most other archers?

[@henrycao7275]

I keep on seeing "unit x" on the graphs on multiple videos. What is that?

[@LyonExodus]

Unit X in this video is the Khuzait Marksman.

[@LyonExodus]

I was supposed to cover them at one point but TW dropped 1.8.1. and 1.9. as i was finishing the Khuzait, sorry for that. I will pin a comment that explain what unit X is for this video.

[@varpix5026]

whats unit will be next?

[@LyonExodus]

a Poll will be up in a few hours and it's going to be either the Sergeant Crossbowman or the Bucellari

[@jamiequaderer1425]

Hey Lyon, why did you stop streaming on Twitch?

[@LyonExodus]

At the time i wasn't having fun playing Bannerlord and i knew going into the summer without an AC would have made me crazy. I plan to go back to streaming in the future, but as of now, my time to make something out of these 2 years of streaming/video experience is running low and KZbin is currently providing more benefits to my personal life both on a professional and mental level. Currently i can take a few days off from working and relax between 1 video and another. While streaming i was on a constant 6 to 8 hours schedule almost each day that didn't really generate enough to keep the lights up. I got into the YT partner program just this month and i don't expect to make much (1€ a day currently), but for the near future it's the more stable and sane option to keep being a presence for the Bannerlord community. Also i want to get better gear, especially a microphone that doesn't pick up every single vibration, before going back to stream. I liked streaming but the combination of the summer and the very low return on invested time made it a burnout in the long term and as i said my time is running low and i genuinely want to keep posting and be active regularly, so i have to find a way to make it work or it's likely i'll have to become one of those guys who uploads once a month. i appreciate you for being one of the guys on stream. None of this would even be happening without the guys and girls that kept watching, making it feel like i was doing something of value instead of wasting time.

[@LyonExodus]

Also if you are looking for someone that plays bannerlord and stream have a check at Swally if you don't do already. he is a great and funny guy. he also has a YT channel that is in my channel recommended.

[@jauneork278]

okay. what's unit X? because it seems like the most well rounded archer that isn't the god of this game. aka the fian.

[@saledin-wd2gj]

I'm curious about Unit X and Y

[@BaskinTimi]

sargeant crossbowman and khuzait marksman

[@BaskinTimi]

Unit x is khuzait marksman and unit y is sargeant crossbowman

[@LyonExodus]

he is onto something

[@williampanagopoulos656]

Looking at the empire i almost feel that theyre backwards The palantine guard should be very average bowmen but tougher in melee Wheras the khuzait marksman should have gotten the steppe war bow. When i noticed that yeah the palantine guard have only one quiver I posited the idea that they get a really small shield Making them very average archers, But insted making them bow skirmishers...

[@LyonExodus]

altough i think the Empire should be the average faction of calradia due to their strength really being in the numbers rather than quality. The reason of why the Marksmen weren't given the Steppe War Bow is because they are already really good at what they do. Initially the Palatines were the tough archer with the melee upside, then they nerfed them, and now they have given them 1 extra quiver to rebalance them. Problem with the shield, is that the Sergeant Crossbowman already exist, and in my mind it would clash as a design choice. A unit like the Veteran Bowman might be a better choice for that solution. As the Palatine goes, i think we simply need more bows in the game so troops can have different styles of shooting. currently it's almost always a Steppe Recurve Bow or a Simple Short Bow. If i were to make the Palatine feel more unique i would give them some extra armor, a decent sidearm, 1 quiver of 30 shots and a bow with a very fast reload and decent DMG. making them DPS monster with a melee upside but unable to keep ground in longer fights. If i ever get around with modding that's probably going to be one of my first tries for them.

[@williampanagopoulos656]

@@LyonExodus to my mind the empire has struck me as being high in the armour department but average in dps The legionary The cataphract The menavliaton etc

[@ilayohana3150]

it cant handle pressure but fortunately thats what theres infantry for

[@LyonExodus]

or a row of crossbows

[@raptorbrotherhood766]

Palatine guard has to be one of the worst nerfed units in bannerlord, I remember back in the day 3 years ago deciding to choose them or fian champions was a genuine dilemma as you had the damage output from the fians or the sheer tankiness of the palatine guard as their armor was better than most tier 5 infantry of other factions, now they are merely a shadow of their former selves

[@maycontainnuts3127]

how it should be: -Fian Champion -Master Archer -Khuzait Marksman -Palatine Guard -Veteran Bowman how it is: -KHANS GUARD BABYYY 💪😎 -Fian Shock Infantry -Palatine Guard (because romans were known for their archery) -Khuzaitaboo Marksman -Veteran Bowman (just barely any better than master archers) -"Master" Archer

[@WestbrickFansGotNoBrains]

really shouldn't make them this strong. aserai and khuzait should have the 2-3 spot for best archer. not the empire.

[@demoulius1529]

The ckns foe this class are kijsa moot. Since if an archer is reached in melee aomething went horribly wronf to begin with 😂