Bannerlord Horse Archer Build: Khuzait Skills & Perks
Short answer: a Bannerlord horse archer is built on Bow and Riding, with perk milestones at skill 100, 150, 225 and 250. This guide was rewritten because the earlier version had wrong perk names and levels. The unit to build toward is the Khuzait Khan's Guard, the top of the Khuzait noble troop tree.
Applies to: stable PC build v1.4.8 as of October 31, 2026 (Steam announcement). Perk names and levels are listed only where bannerlorddb.com and gamerguides.com agree. Effect numbers come from gamerguides.com (last updated December 2022, no game version given), and troop numbers come from the volunteer-run Fandom wiki, which is not official. None of it has been verified in game, so read the in-game description before you pick a perk.
The build at a glance
| Item | Plan |
|---|---|
| Core skills | Bow (attribute: Control) and Riding (attribute: Endurance). Aim for 5 focus points in Bow and at least 3 in Riding (5 if you can spare them). |
| Perk milestones | Bow 100 Mounted Archery / Riding 100 Sagittarius / Riding 150 Horse Archer / Bow 225 Horse Master / Bow 250 Quick Draw |
| Troops to build | The Khuzait noble tree (Noble's Son, Qanqli, Torguud, Kheshig, Khan's Guard) |
| Culture | Khuzait fits best. Per the Fandom wiki its culture bonus makes recruiting and upgrading cavalry and horse archers 10% cheaper, at the cost of 20% less tax income from towns. |
Focus points and attributes
Focus points are spent per skill and attribute points per attribute, so "5 in Control and 5 in Endurance" mixes the two up. The formulas are explained in our focus point guide: one focus point adds 30 to the learning limit and 40 to the maximum level, and one attribute point adds 10 and 14 (maximum level = 4 + (attribute - 1) x 14 + focus points x 40).
Applied to the perk milestones:
- Bow 225 (Horse Master) needs a maximum level of at least 225. With 5 focus points and 3 attribute points the maximum is 232; with 4 focus points even 5 attribute points give only 220. Aim for 5 focus points in Bow.
- Bow 250 (Quick Draw) needs 5 focus points and 5 attribute points (maximum 260). With 4 attribute points the maximum is 246.
- Riding 150 (Horse Archer) is reachable with 3 focus points and 4 attribute points (166). With 2 focus points the maximum is only 126.
- Bow is in Control and Riding is in Endurance. Attribute points are shared by the three skills in a category, and Endurance also holds Athletics and Smithing.
Perks to take and the levels they unlock at
Most levels offer two perks and you can take only one (a few, such as Relief Force at Riding 125, have a single perk). The table lists only the perks that matter for a horse archer.
| Skill | Level | Perk | Effect (gamerguides) | Excludes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bow | 50 | Bodkin | Bow attacks ignore 10% of enemy armor | Nocking Point (bannerlorddb; gamerguides lists Ranger's Swiftness) |
| Bow | 75 | Rapid Fire | +25% bow reload speed | Quick Adjustments |
| Bow | 100 | Mounted Archery | Mounted accuracy penalty with a bow reduced by 30% | Merry Men |
| Riding | 100 | Sagittarius | Accuracy penalty while mounted reduced by 15% | Sweeping Wind |
| Bow | 125 | Strong Bows | +8% bow damage | Trainer |
| Riding | 150 | Horse Archer | +10% ranged damage while mounted | Mounted Warrior |
| Bow | 225 | Horse Master | All bows can be used on horseback | Deep Quivers |
| Bow | 250 | Quick Draw | Aiming with a bow is 25% faster | Ranger's Swiftness (bannerlorddb; gamerguides lists Salvo) |
The earlier version said Quick Draw was a level 75 perk, Horse Archer was a Bow perk at 100, and Bow Expert was a Riding perk at 125. None of that matches the sources, and no perk called Bow Expert could be confirmed. Mounted Archery and Sagittarius belong to different skills and both reduce the mounted accuracy penalty.
Growth plan
- Early game: raise Bow and Riding. Practise circling bandits without stopping your horse.
- Bow and Riding 100: take Mounted Archery and Sagittarius to cut the mounted accuracy penalty.
- Riding 150: take Horse Archer for mounted damage. You need at least 3 focus points in Riding by now.
- Late game: take Horse Master at Bow 225 to open up your bow choices, then aim for Quick Draw at 250.
The troops: the noble tree and the Khan's Guard
Every tier of the Khuzait noble tree is mounted (Fandom: "All tiers of noble troops possess horses").
| Tier | Troop | Wage/day | Cost to upgrade to next tier | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Khuzait Noble's Son | 3 | 25 denars | Recruited from Khuzait villages (rare) |
| 3 | Khuzait Qanqli | 5 | 50 denars + 1 war mount | Noble horse archer |
| 4 | Khuzait Torguud | 8 | 100 denars | Weak if bogged down in infantry lines |
| 5 | Khuzait Kheshig | 12-13 | 100 denars | Bow 160, Riding 130, Polearm 130 (v1.x.x); carries a glaive. The wage is 12 on bannerlorddb and 13 on the Fandom wiki |
| 6 | Khuzait Khan's Guard | 17 | - (top tier) | Bow 200, Riding 200, Polearm 200 (v1.3.13) |
Wages and upgrade costs are Fandom values, and the pages confirm different versions (skills are marked v1.3.13 or v1.x.x). The Khan's Guard carries a glaive, a Steppe Recurve Bow and Steppe Arrows, and rides a Karahan. The Fandom wiki rates them highly both as archers and in melee with the glaive. Their bow skill was cut from 260 to 200 in v1.3.8, so older guides that say 260 are out of date. You get them by upgrading Kheshig, or rarely from Khuzait villages. Kheshig can also come from bandit Raiders through the Leadership perk Veteran's Respect (gamerguides lists it at level 150).
A non-noble alternative is the Khuzait Heavy Horse Archer (tier 5, wage 13, armed with a Fine Steel Sabre). For comparisons with other cultures see our troop tier list and our Khan's Guard guide.
Using them in battle
- The Fandom wiki notes that, because of AI behaviour, the Kheshig's glaive is not suited to charging enemy formations and does not replace Khuzait Lancers. Use the Khan's Guard to whittle enemies down with arrows, and the glaive for close fights between horse archers.
- The wiki also says Khan's Guard can beat Vlandian Banner Knights and Imperial Elite Cataphracts in equal-numbers fights on even terrain even when ordered to hold fire. I have not reproduced this in game.
- Choose your own bow and arrows from what the market offers. With Horse Master (Bow 225) every bow can be used on horseback.
Corrections to the earlier version
This guide was rewritten on October 31, 2026. These claims from the earlier version did not match the sources and were removed or corrected:
- The "5 in Control, 5 in Endurance" focus point split, which mixed up attribute points and focus points.
- Perk names, levels and effects (Quick Draw, Horse Archer, Mounted Archer, Bow Expert).
- The Khuzait culture bonus described as +10% cavalry experience and a map speed bonus. The Fandom wiki says recruiting and upgrading cavalry and horse archers is 10% cheaper.
- Gear names without a source (Noble Bow, Piercing Arrows) and claims about auto-resolve and terrain.
Sources
- Steam announcement: WS v1.2.8 / BL v1.4.8
- Fandom: Khuzait Khan's Guard, Kheshig, Torguud, Qanqli, Heavy Horse Archer, Khuzait, Culture (culture bonuses) (volunteer-run wiki)
- gamerguides: Bow perks, Riding perks, Leadership perks (updated December 2022)
- bannerlorddb: Bow, Riding (cross-check of perk names and levels)
