Bannerlord Tier 6 Noble Troops Compared (v1.4.8)
Short answer: every tier 6 noble troop costs 17 denars a day, in all six cultures. Wages will not decide this for you. What separates them is role — the Battanian Fian Champion outranges everything on foot, and the Khuzait Khan's Guard is the only one that is genuinely good both mounted and dismounted. This article puts all six side by side using the official patch notes and the community wiki's numbers.
Which version this covers
The current stable build is v1.4.8, released 10 August 2026. This article was previously written against v1.4.5.
That said, none of v1.4.6, v1.4.7 or v1.4.8 changes tier 6 noble troops. The only troop line in those three patches is v1.4.6's "Fixed a bug that made Radagos' Raider troops too skilled." The cavalry mention in v1.4.7 is a multiplayer crash fix, not a balance change.
So a roster built in v1.4.5 is still current. The next thing that will force a rethink is v1.5.0, covered below.
All six tier 6 noble troops
These sit at the top of each culture's noble line. An earlier version of this article left out Aserai and Sturgia entirely while claiming to cover every culture — both have a tier 6 noble troop, and they are included here.
"Culture" here means the troop tree, not the political faction. Bannerlord starts with eight factions, but the Northern, Western and Southern Empires all share the same Imperial troop tree, which leaves six distinct lines to compare.
| Troop | Culture | Class | Wages | Upgrades from | Village recruitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battanian Fian Champion | Battania | Noble archer | 17 | Battanian Fian | Rare |
| Khuzait Khan's Guard | Khuzait | Noble horse archer | 17 | Khuzait Kheshig | Rare |
| Vlandian Banner Knight | Vlandia | Noble cavalry | 17 | Vlandian Champion | Rare |
| Imperial Elite Cataphract | Empire | Noble cavalry | 17 | Imperial Cataphract | Castle-bound villages only |
| Sturgian Druzhinnik Champion | Sturgia | Noble cavalry | 17 | Sturgian Druzhinnik | Rare |
| Aserai Vanguard Faris | Aserai | Noble cavalry | 17 | Aserai Veteran Faris | Rare |
Recruitment works two ways: upgrade from the tier 5 unit, or recruit directly from a village of that culture. Village spawns are rare for five of the six. The Imperial Elite Cataphract is the exception — the wiki lists it as castle-bound, so it only appears in villages tied to a castle. If you plan to field Imperial nobles in numbers, that difference matters.
Skill comparison
Do not trust the "260 bow" figure that circulates for the Fian Champion and the Khan's Guard. Patch v1.3.8 cut both from 260 to 200, and only the Fian Champion was raised back to 220 in v1.3.13. The Khan's Guard is still at 200.
The numbers below come from the community wiki. The last column is the version the wiki itself stamps on each page.
| Troop | 1H | 2H | Polearm | Bow | Throwing | Riding | Athletics | Wiki version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battanian Fian Champion | 90 | 220 | 50 | 220 | 40 | 60 | 170 | v1.3.13 |
| Khuzait Khan's Guard | 60 | 60 | 200 | 200 | 30 | 200 | 60 | v1.3.13 |
| Vlandian Banner Knight | 220 | 60 | 260 | 25 | 30 | 200 | 60 | v1.2.11 |
| Imperial Elite Cataphract | 200 | 60 | 260 | 60 | 45 | 200 | 60 | v1.3.14 |
| Sturgian Druzhinnik Champion | 200 | 60 | 170 | 65 | 90 | 170 | 140 | v1.3.13 |
| Aserai Vanguard Faris | 170 | 60 | 200 | 65 | 140 | 170 | 90 | v1.3.13 |
Two caveats. The Banner Knight's page is stamped v1.2.11 — roughly a year older than the other five. And while no v1.4.x patch note mentions noble troop skills, meaning these values should still hold in v1.4.8, it is worth checking the in-game encyclopedia before you commit to a build.
How we rank them
What follows is Game Rack's own assessment. TaleWorlds does not publish a ranking. All six are tier 6, and the gap is smaller than tier letters suggest. The question we are answering is narrow: if you could only field one of them, which would it be?
Top tier: Fian Champion and Khan's Guard
The Battanian Fian Champion is the only troop here with 220 in both bow and two-handed. Its athletics of 170 is also the highest of the six by a wide margin — the runner-up, the Druzhinnik Champion, sits at 140. For a unit you will be moving on foot, that shows up directly in how fast you can reposition. The wiki describes their bows as out-ranging most if not all archers in the game, and their two-handed swords as among the best in it.
The cost is riding 60: this is a foot unit and nothing else. Being a noble troop, numbers take time to build.
The Khuzait Khan's Guard runs 200 in bow, polearm and riding at once. The wiki states that in an equal-numbers fight on even terrain they consistently beat Banner Knights and Imperial Elite Cataphracts even when ordered to hold fire, and that dismounted they can trade with Imperial Legionaries and Sturgian Heroic Line Breakers in melee. On versatility alone they are the pick.
Their weakness is athletics 60. Dismounted, they are nowhere near as mobile as Fian Champions, and terrain that blocks horse archery takes away half of what they do.
Second tier: Banner Knight and Imperial Elite Cataphract
The Vlandian Banner Knight has polearm 260 and one-handed 220, so it handles both the lance charge and the fight that follows it. But athletics 60 means an unhorsed Banner Knight is slower than infantry — the wiki says so explicitly. Do not count on them walking out of a melee they were dropped into.
One correction worth flagging: the wiki's prose still claims Banner Knights are paid less than Elite Cataphracts. Both are 17 denars a day. That line appears to be out of date.
The Imperial Elite Cataphract has polearm 260 and one-handed 200. The difference from the Banner Knight is armour and shield: the wiki notes Banner Knights are less armoured in both body and horse, while carrying a shield that makes them somewhat less exposed to archer fire.
Charge to break something, take the Banner Knight. Charge to stay there, take the Cataphract.
Third tier: the specialists
The Sturgian Druzhinnik Champion is cavalry with athletics 140, throwing 90 and one-handed 200 — the only tier 6 cavalry you can realistically dismount and still use. Its upgrade line is unusual too: tiers 2 through 4 are noble infantry, and it only becomes cavalry at tier 5.
The Aserai Vanguard Faris has throwing 140, the highest of the six, on top of polearm 200 and one-handed 170. Softening a target with javelins before the charge is something no other culture's tier 6 does as well.
The tier 5 backbone
Noble troops alone do not make an army. These hold the line.
| Troop | Culture | Class | Wages | 1H | 2H | Polearm | Throwing | Riding | Athletics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial Legionary | Empire | Infantry | 12 | 130 | 80 | 130 | 80 | 20 | 130 |
| Sturgian Heroic Line Breaker | Sturgia | Infantry | not listed | 80 | 150 | 80 | 130 | 40 | 150 |
| Imperial Cataphract | Empire | Noble cavalry | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
The Imperial Cataphract and the Imperial Elite Cataphract are not the same troop. The first is tier 5 at 12 denars, the second is tier 6 at 17, and the first upgrades into the second. An earlier version of this article treated them as one unit.
The Sturgian Heroic Line Breaker's wage is not listed on the wiki, so no figure is given here.
What v1.4.5 changed for troop selection
The troops themselves did not move, but v1.4.5 (21 May 2026) changed the combat around them in ways that affect what you should field. From the official notes:
- The auto-resolve cavalry bonus was removed. Verbatim: "the default cavalry bonus in auto-resolve has been removed, reducing the disproportionate advantage of horse-heavy factions."
- Spears aim better against cavalry, and cavalry swings better. Verbatim: "spear troops have improved aiming against cavalry, and cavalry is better at timing and choosing swing directions."
- All two-handed maces can now knock enemies down.
The practical effect: horse-heavy rosters — Vlandia and Khuzait especially — get less out of auto-resolve than they used to, which raises the value of commanding the fight yourself. And because spear troops now aim better at cavalry, a frontal Banner Knight charge is a worse bet than it was.
Noble troop changes in the v1.5.0 beta
The beta patch notes published on 19 August 2026 contain two changes to tier 6 nobles. Neither is live in v1.4.8.
- "Improved the bow and arrows used by Khuzait Khan's Guard."
- "Replaced the Sturgian Druzhinnik Champion's horse with a Noble Horse."
Below tier 6, the Vlandian Pikeman gains one-handed and loses two-handed skill, and an Aserai Mamluke Regular bug that spawned an extra spear is fixed.
Both tier 6 changes are buffs, but beta content changes before release. Do not start mass-training either troop on the strength of these lines.
Full upgrade trees
Every noble line starts at tier 2 — there is no tier 1. The small numbers are wages in denars per day.
| Culture | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Tier 5 | Tier 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battania | Battanian Highborn Youth 3 | Battanian Highborn Warrior 5 | Battanian Hero 8 | Battanian Fian 12 | Battanian Fian Champion 17 |
| Khuzait | Khuzait Noble's Son 3 | Khuzait Qanqli 5 | Khuzait Torguud 8 | Khuzait Kheshig 13 | Khuzait Khan's Guard 17 |
| Vlandia | Vlandian Squire 3 | Vlandian Gallant 5 | Vlandian Knight 8 | Vlandian Champion 12 | Vlandian Banner Knight 17 |
| Empire | Imperial Vigla Recruit 3 | Imperial Equite 5 | Imperial Heavy Horseman 8 | Imperial Cataphract 12 | Imperial Elite Cataphract 17 |
| Sturgia | Sturgian Warrior Son 2 | Varyag 4 | Varyag Veteran 7 | Sturgian Druzhinnik 12 | Sturgian Druzhinnik Champion 17 |
| Aserai | Aserai Youth n/a | Aserai Tribal Horseman n/a | Aserai Faris 8 | Aserai Veteran Faris 12 | Aserai Vanguard Faris 17 |
The earlier version of this article had these wrong: Battania is five stages rather than four, Vlandia was missing Vlandian Champion, and the Empire was missing Imperial Cataphract. The Khuzait tier 3 is the Qanqli.
Note that two lines start on foot. Sturgia is noble infantry through tier 4, and the Empire's tier 2 Vigla Recruit is infantry before the line turns to cavalry at tier 3.
Bottom line
At v1.4.8 all six tier 6 nobles cost 17 denars a day, so pick on role, not price. Fian Champions for ranged fights and sieges. Khan's Guard for open-field battles you intend to micromanage. Banner Knights to break an infantry line head-on. Elite Cataphracts to push in and hold. Druzhinnik Champions if you want cavalry you can dismount, Vanguard Faris if you want javelins before the charge.
And troop balance has not moved since v1.4.5. Updating to v1.4.8 is no reason to rebuild your army. v1.5.0 might be.
Sources
- Patch Notes - WS v1.2.5 / BL v1.4.5 (21 May 2026, official)
- Patch Notes - WS v1.2.6 / BL v1.4.6 (11 June 2026, official)
- Patch Notes - WS v1.2.7 / BL v1.4.7 (8 July 2026, official)
- War Sails Modding Kit Release & Patch WS v1.2.8 / BL v1.4.8 (10 August 2026, official)
- Beta Patch Notes - WS v1.3.0 / BL v1.5.0 (19 August 2026, official beta)
- Battanian Fian Champion — Mount & Blade Wiki (fan-run, not an official wiki)
- Khuzait Khan's Guard — Mount & Blade Wiki (fan-run)
- Vlandian Banner Knight — Mount & Blade Wiki (fan-run)
- Imperial Elite Cataphract — Mount & Blade Wiki (fan-run)
- Sturgian Druzhinnik Champion — Mount & Blade Wiki (fan-run)
- Aserai Vanguard Faris — Mount & Blade Wiki (fan-run)
Wages and skill values come from the community wiki, which is fan-run and not maintained by TaleWorlds Entertainment. The version each page was checked against is given in the tables.
