Game Studio / Mod Guides / Gameplay
Loyalty Over Culture
Removes the negative loyalty penalty for cross-cultural settlement ownership while retaining same-culture bonuses.
Player guide
Install, configure, and troubleshoot Loyalty Over Culture.
Use the sections below for setup, requirements, settings, compatibility, removal, and troubleshooting.
Overview
Removes the negative loyalty penalty for different cultures
Description
This lightweight mod removes the harsh -3 loyalty penalty that occurs when you own a settlement with a different culture than your own. Now you can build a multi-cultural empire without constant rebellion problems!
How it works
Same Culture: Keeps the vanilla loyalty bonus (+1 to +3 depending on factors)
Different Culture: Removes the -3 penalty, making it 0 instead of negative
No more are you punished for conquering lands - you simply don't get the bonus. This makes empire-building much more viable and enjoyable while maintaining some strategic value to same-culture holdings.
Features
- Removes culture-based loyalty penalties from all settlements
- Works on both cities and castles (castles affect their bound villages)
- Keeps culture-based loyalty bonuses intact for same-culture settlements
- Extremely lightweight - single Harmony patch
- Designed to coexist with mods that do not replace settlement loyalty calculations
- Uses one focused calculation patch without a continuous background task
- Designed to be added to or removed from existing saves
- Applies to cultures and settlements that use Bannerlord's standard loyalty calculation
- No configuration needed - just install and play
Requirements
- Required:
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord v1.0.0 or higher
- Harmony mod
- Optional:
- Mod Configuration Menu (MCM / Bannerlord.MBOptionScreen) — adds in-game toggles to control which fiefs receive the buff
Installation
- Download and install Harmony if you haven't already
- Extract the WPS_LoyaltyOverCulture folder to your Bannerlord Modules folder:
- Mount & Blade II Bannerlord\Modules\
- Launch the game through the official launcher
- Enable "WPS Loyalty Over Culture" in the Singleplayer > Mods section
- Make sure it loads AFTER Harmony in the load order
- Start or continue your campaign
Vortex
Click "Mod Manager Download" on the Files tab
Let Vortex install the mod
Enable the mod in Vortex
Ensure Harmony is also enabled and loads before this mod
Launch game and enable in launcher
Load Order
- Native
- SandBoxCore
- SandBox
- StoryMode (Optional)
- Bannerlord.Harmony
- Bannerlord.MBOptionScreen (Optional - for MCM settings)
- WPS_LoyaltyOverCulture
- [Your other mods]
Compatibility
- Designed to work with mods that do not directly replace settlement loyalty calculations.
- Kingdom, economy, and overhaul mods may interact if they patch the same loyalty model; compare their features before combining them.
Technical Details
Uses a non-intrusive Harmony postfix patch on DefaultSettlementLoyaltyModel.CalculateLoyaltyChange. This means it runs after the base game calculates loyalty and simply neutralizes the culture penalty. It doesn't replace or prefix the method, ensuring maximum compatibility.
Uninstallation
- Recommended removal steps:
- Save your game
- Disable the mod in the launcher
- Delete the WPS_LoyaltyOverCulture folder from your Modules directory (optional)
- Note: Loyalty values will return to vanilla behavior after removal.
Known Issues
- Need help? Open the Nexus Mods Bugs tab and include the game version, mod version, complete load order, and the loyalty behavior you saw.
FAQ
Q: Will this work on existing saves?
A: It is designed for existing campaigns. Back up important saves before changing any mod list.
Q: Does this affect AI lords?
A: By default, yes — all settlements worldwide benefit. If you prefer a player-only experience you can use the optional MCM settings to restrict the buff to your own clan's fiefs or to your entire kingdom only.
Q: Will I still get bonuses for same-culture settlements?
A: Absolutely! The vanilla bonuses remain unchanged - only the penalty is removed.
Q: Is this cheating?
A: That's up to you! Many players find the vanilla culture penalty too harsh and unrealistic. This mod simply removes that frustration while keeping some strategic value to cultural diversity.
Q: Does this work with custom cultures from other mods?
A: It applies when a custom culture uses Bannerlord's standard settlement-loyalty calculation. Total conversions that replace that model may behave differently.
Credits
- Created for the Bannerlord community
- Uses Harmony by Andreas Pardeike
- Thanks to TaleWorlds for the modding support
Request support or a new idea
Having trouble with this release? Visit its Nexus page for downloads, bug reports, and player discussions. Have an idea for a new mod, feature, port, or compatibility update? Send WPS a gamer request.