The long-awaited first Mount and Blade 2 DLC sails through choppy waters as players claim it's overpriced

After a fairly substantial delay from June to November, the first Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord DLC, War Sails, has finally released. But the waters it permits players to wade through appear tepid, leading to a good chunk of fans of one of the best RPGs of the last few years feeling as if they've been left high and dry after a tiring wait for new content.

The arrival of the first Mount and Blade 2 DLC, War Sails, came after a very active push on the game's Steam news page. After all, it's the first big (paid) content drop since the game broke out of early access three years ago. In a concerted effort to drum up interest in the ambitious update, barely a week went by after news of the delay without a Community Tales post, a dev blog, a fresh trailer, or a Q and A being posted to the game's Steam News channel. It was a valiant effort to drum up interest in a paid update that would let players push their Nordic armies out to sea and into battles that might scratch the itch of enacting bloody revenge on the blue waves.

But the plan has seemingly not gone to, well… plan. Released on Wednesday November 26, the reaction to letting the new viking faction stuff themselves onto a legion of fancy rowboats has been 'mixed.' That's on the back of 93,000 'very positive' reviews for the base game. In the four days that have followed, the War Sails expansion has garnered over 1,000 reviews, landing it in the middling territory that signals a community divided on this long-awaited expansion.

So, what seems to be the problem, Bannerlord? It seems to largely boil down to a lack of actual content. Or the value of it, at least. Most user reviews claim the War Sails DLC is simply "overpriced," with many more suggesting it's only worth it on a sale. A common comment is that it doesn't add much more than modders have managed to splice into the base game for free. "I'd rather play any of the well-made mods than pay over 20 bucks for my ship to get stuck on top of another ship" is a fair comment from one disgruntled player.

But it's not all doom and gloom. On the positive side, one person hails the ship customization efforts as being "almost on par with smithing," and calls the Nord troops "fun to play with," while calling out the Nord Huscarl, a throwback to the original Mount and Blade, as broken (in a fun way) just like its predecessor. This particularly pleased player says it feels like "a whole new game," before rounding out their review with a hearty Scandinavian "Skol."

Basically, if you're not the type to rely on mods, or simply find them too tricky to deal with, the Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord War Sails DLC might still be worth a shot. "If you like Bannerlord enough to still be playing it, I don't see why you wouldn't like this," writes another positive punter, claiming "the expansion's pretty much exactly what's advertised." That being said, even the more positive comments call out the stealth system, so that might be a genuine cause for concern if you were hedging your bets on that particular new mechanic.

The Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord War Sails expansion is available for $22.49 or £18.89, with the price increasing to $24.99 or £20.99 after December 10. Given the consensus that it might only be worth a go at a discount, which it's already got, you might want to grab it now before you're expected to forfeit the price of a few pints of milk on top for the privilege of smashing one boat into another boat. Skol!