Two-handed sword

Bannerlord v1.4.8 · checked 2026-11-11 · updated 2026-11-12

This guide answers two questions for the two-handed sword: which piece moves which stat, and what the best design is for each goal when the highest piece tier you can use is 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. The formulas were read out of the game's own code: they were recovered from v1.4.6 and compared method by method against v1.4.8, where none of the compared methods changed (some could only be compared by their headers; Value and price has the details). Rows labelled "NavalDLC" give the best result with NavalDLC active, which adds pieces and changes which pieces each weapon type can use; they are listed only where they beat the base game. How smithing works in general is in the Crafting guide; slots, usages and an example recipe are in Weapon templates.

Usages and damage

The two-handed sword has four slots, blade, guard, handle and pommel, and up to three usages on the same item. All of them have both a swing and a thrust.

• Swing damage factor: 1.5 to 5.2, depending on the blade.
• Thrust damage factor: 0.8 to 4.2, depending on the blade.
• Swing drag: 1.17 per unit of reach in every usage.
• Damage type: cut, pierce or blunt, set by the blade.

The two-handed grip adds load but also more power and torque. In the example recipe the same pieces give the two-handed usage swing speed 108 and swing damage 71, the bastard grip 95 and 56.

A usage is only there if every piece you picked is allowed for it. The bastard grip allows fewer blades and handles than the two-handed usage, and the alternative bastard grip fewer blades.

Which piece drives which stat

• Blade: sets both damage factors and the damage type, adds length, and counts most for difficulty.
• Guard and handle: add weight and length. Weight far from your hands makes the sword harder to turn than weight near them.
• Pommel: adds weight but no length. The game counts it as if it sat past the blade tip when it works out how hard the sword is to turn, so a heavy pommel costs handling and swing speed far beyond its weight.
• Weight overall: swing and thrust strength grow with the weight, so a heavier sword usually hits harder. It also swings and thrusts slower, and strength grows with the square of the speed.
• Length overall: more length adds swing drag and turning weight, so a longer sword swings slower.

How far each goal goes

Best result in the two-handed usage with tier-1 pieces, then with tier-5 pieces:

• Swing damage: 84, up to 171 (187 with NavalDLC).
• Thrust damage: 50, up to 61 (75 with NavalDLC).
• Swing speed: 108, up to 118 from tier 3.
• Thrust speed: 102, up to 104 from tier 3 (106 with NavalDLC).
• Handling: 95, up to 100 from tier 3.
• Length: 112, up to 136.
• Weight (lightest): 1.07 kg, down to 0.83 from tier 3 (0.74 with NavalDLC).
• Value: 4,202, up to 142,668 (160,204 with NavalDLC).

In the bastard grip: swing damage 57 up to 104 (110 with NavalDLC), thrust damage 43 up to 52 (65 with NavalDLC), swing speed 95 up to 110, thrust speed 95 up to 98 (100 with NavalDLC), handling 95 up to 107 and length 112 up to 131. Weight and value are the same as in the two-handed usage. The alternative bastard grip has the same results as the bastard grip.

Best recipes by highest piece tier

Each row is the best design when no piece above that tier is allowed. A NavalDLC row is only listed where the result with NavalDLC active beats the base game.

One-handed sword (bastard grip) usage

All pieces at scale 100. Weight in kg.

Two-handed sword usage

All pieces at scale 100. Weight in kg.

One-handed sword (bastard grip, alternative) usage

All pieces at scale 100. Weight in kg.

Every recipe here has every piece at scale 100, its default size. Scaling changes a piece's weight and length; see Scaling a piece in the crafting guide. What the solver research found about scale is in Getting the best weapon from your pieces.

Worked example. Your best pieces are tier 3 and you fight two-handed. The best swing damage is 149 with blade cleaver_blade_4, guard aserai_guard_4, handle sturgian_grip_16 and pommel aserai_pommel_4. If you want to swing it in one hand, the bastard-grip table gives 86 with the same blade but aserai_guard_1, sturgian_grip_20 and aserai_pommel_1.

Practical tips

• Pick the table for the grip you fight with. The best designs differ: sturgian_grip_16 is in every two-handed swing-damage recipe from tier 2 but in no bastard-grip recipe.
• Swing damage grows with every tier. In two hands it climbs from 84 to 171.
• Speed and handling stop at tier 3 in the base game. Tier-4 and tier-5 pieces do not beat the tier-3 designs.
• NavalDLC's nord_sword_blade_11 tops damage and value. At tier 5 it gives the best swing damage, thrust damage and value in every usage.
• Thrust damage stays low. Even at tier 5 the best two-handed thrust is 61 in the base game.