Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord's War Sails naval warfare expansion takes to the high seas in late November

Grab an oar and get ready for war

To the boats, sword stabby and arrow shooty folk! Well, to the boats as of November 26th, which is when Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord's War Sails expansion finally arrives. Until then, maybe practice climbing some rigging, hosting mainsails, or scrubbing a deck in preparation for the naval warfare the DLC's unleashing.

Or just do whatever you've been doing for the few months which've passed since the expansion's original June release date passed by. Developers TaleWorlds clearly needed more time to shift some coastal villagers around like pebbles on a war-torn beach.

Anyway, they've now penned in this fresh date and shown off a Southern Empire fleet battling with Aserai forces in the video above. That's a snippet of the custom naval battles mode in action, with fleets of different skiffs and sloops clashing while armed with some fresh weapons and tools.

You'll be able to command your gang of ships across river, coastal, and open sea-themed maps. There are 18 types of vessel to choose from, with each being upgradeable with additions or improvements of siege engines, sails, and rams. As someone who likes playing waterborne bumper cars, I'll be beefing up the latter the first chance I get. The likes of different tactics, ship setups, and dynamically changing weather'll need to be mastered in order to earn the title of admiral's admiral, rather than ending up a sunken salty seadog.

Or, should I say a sunken salty Sven, since the expansion's adding a viking-inspired faction. "Chart a course to the Northern Kingdom, home of the fearless Nords," TaleWorlds declare. "Trade, recruit, or fight in a land of jagged peaks and icy fjords. Will you join the North or take their riches?"

If that sounds a bit too dangerous right off the bat, you can sail around building up your fleet by acquiring new ships, upgrading ports, and blockading towns before you head up to the land of frozen beards.

The War Sails expansion will unfurl on November 26th at 8AM GMT, which is midnight PST, 3AM EST, and 9AM CET. You can wishlist it on Steam, and check out Sin's review of Bannerlord if you want an idea of what it had to offer at launch in 2022.