Mount & Blade: Fire and Sword

The plot of the game is divided into three main lines ^[2] - Polish, Zaporizhzhya and Russian.

The Polish player will have to help the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth cope with the Swedish invasion known as the Flood , then crush the rebellion of Bohdan Khmelnytsky , and finally decide whether the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth will become the “ Republic of Three Peoples ” or the autocratic Polish monarchy .

By choosing the Russian line, the player will be able to take part in the uprising of Stepan Razin and even capture the Moscow throne, following the example of False Dmitry .

The Zaporizhzhya story is dedicated to the ancient family secret of the rulers of the lands of Little Russia to the Lithuanian princes Olgovich , which Lithuanian tycoon Radziwill , the Swedish king, and the Russian tsar will try to uncover, since the unraveled mystery of the Olgovichs is destined to become the greatest ruler of Europe.

Factions

The game has five faction states ^[3] :

• Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . At the beginning of the game of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the uprising Cossacks from Zaporozhye are threatening, which must be pacified. In addition, the Russian state should give the Poles the disputed territories they had seized, and Sweden, the northern strongest enemy and threat, should be destroyed.
• Moscow kingdom . In this game, it appears to the player as a country that has just passed through a series of social and economic reforms, after which, however, a whole range of political, economic and social problems remained unresolved. As a result, the internal state of the Moscow state at the beginning of the game is unstable and at times threatens to spill over into popular riots and uprisings.
• The army of Zaporizhzhya . The main task of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks at the beginning of the game is to create a strong sovereign state that could not be afraid of an enemy attack. This goal can be achieved in several ways - by teaming up with the Moscow state, returning to the Commonwealth or starting the war of independence.
• Crimean Khanate . The positions of the Crimean Khanate at the beginning of the game are very strong, and its role in Eastern European politics is one of the most important. However, the Tatars do not forget about the main enemy - the Cossacks, and in addition, they constantly conflict on the borders with the Moscow state.
• Kingdom of Sweden . The dominance of Sweden at sea determines its foreign policy at the beginning of the game: confrontation with the Moscow state in the Baltic region in order to completely cut it off from any access to the sea; the reduction of Poland’s influence in the Baltic with the possibility of subsequent conquest of the country and the occupation of the Polish throne by a representative of the Swedish dynasty; active play in the East European political theater, the search for temporary or permanent allies to implement the two above strategic plans.

Satellites

Satellites can be found in different taverns. Sometimes satellites require an advance, sometimes not. When hiring, they will tell the player their story, thanks to which they are now looking for a squad ready to take them to the service. All satellites have enemies. And only a few have friends.

• Firearms A firearm appeared in the game, which fully corresponds to the historical prototypes used by the Poles, Russians, Swedes and Crimean Tatars in the 17th century , in addition to technical indicators - accuracy and rate of fire are greatly overestimated, and the number of bullets is restored after the battle.
• The historicity of the game . Unlike the original game, Mount & Blade. Fire and sword ”tied to a specific historical era. In the game, buildings, clothes, armor, weapons, types of troops of the 17th century are reconstructed, and the character can meet with famous historical figures of that era.
• The opportunity to become the ruler of the state . As the plot develops, the character can become the king of the Moscow kingdom, thanks to the coup in the state, and begin to take part in managing it.
• Modified siege system . During the siege, the player is given the opportunity to destroy the walls of the besieged fortress or castle. Also, one of the innovations is the ability to poison water in the city, which will damage the garrison.
• Domestic policy . In any state, an uprising can begin, which can then develop into a civil war.

Weapons

The game has weapons inherent in the historical era:

• cold: broadswords , swords , sabers , scimitars , two-handed swords
• crushing: klevtsy , minting , maces , parnachi , batons
• chopping: axes , reeds , halberds
• pole: simple and cavalry peaks , spears , owls , braids , pitchforks
• firearm: carbines , muskets , pistols , self-propelled guns
• bows
• throwing daggers.

Any type of weapon can be used by both foot and equestrian fighters, however, varieties of the same weapons intended for foot or equestrian combat differ in characteristics: for example, carbines and pistols used by cavalry reload faster than infantry muskets, but have lower accuracy of the shot ^[2] .

Walk-cities also appeared in the game - during battles a player or a lord can build a ring from carts, to which large shields are quickly attached. This method of field shelter was widely used by Cossacks and Russian troops in the war against nomads ^[4] .

Troops ^[2]

The infantry in the game is divided into musketeers , the main firepower, pikemen who cover the shooters from the cavalry, and infantrymen in heavy armor, armed with two-handed swords and able to break the pique formation.

Cavalry is also divided into four types:

• light cavalry of Tatars and Cossacks armed with sabers,
• mounted arrows, including Tatar and Moscow mounted archers,
• dragoons and reitars, whose main weapons are pistols and carbines,
• heavy riders like the Polish winged hussars, who still use ram rams as the basis of tactics.

The game also contains mercenary troops that can be recruited in cities located on the territory of the player’s faction. They include such types of troops as:

• musketeers
• pikemen
• Reitars

Siege

The game has completely changed the siege system. The main difference from the original is the absence of siege towers, also added the possibility of undermining a wall with a mine and water poisoning in the city.

Kaback Fights

Unlike the original, the game eliminated the arena and tournaments. Now, if the player needs to fight and get money for this, he must go into the tavern (he is now in every city and in every fortress), find the “tavern visitor” and choose one of the three phrases when talking to him.

• Official site
• Developer Forum “Mount & Blade. Fire and Sword
• Official Forum Mount & Blade. Fire and Sword "on Snowball Studios
• “Mount & Blade. Fire and sword "on the site of the studio" Sich "
• Preview “On the Caribbean!” - a new project of the Sich studio