I played Chivalry 2 way back when it first launched, and I had a ton of fun with it. But the game has now been out for a year, and the Tenosian Invasion update just dropped. This is the game’s biggest update yet, and it adds a whole bunch of new stuff that makes for a good excuse to return to Chivalry 2.
I figured I’d give it a go and see what’s changed. So I’ve compiled a list of everything I noticed that’s new from the Tenosian Invasion update.
The Tenosian Faction
This update comes with a new faction to play as, the Tenosians. While it’s awesome to see the game continue to offer new playable factions, this is the feature that excites me the least. It would be different if this were an RTS game and adding a new faction offered a completely new playstyle, but factions in Chivalry 2 are mostly just cosmetic.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool that the game now has double the factions it had at launch (it launched with two and now has four). It’s just not the juiciest feature in this update. And let me tell you, there are some real Juicy Lucies here.
Mounted Combat
Mounted combat seems limited to the new maps, but it’s a total game-changer. It takes some time getting used to, but once you’ve put in a little time, you’ll be jousting fools like an absolute madman.
This can be activated in a few different ways. In Team Objective mode, you’ll occasionally see a prompt on the screen that lets you know the calvary is coming. If you’re quick enough, you can be one of the lucky few to snag a horse. In Team Deathmatch, on the other hand, spawning in on a horse is just something that can randomly happen.
However, if you find an unoccupied horse in battle, you can mount up. That means you can attempt to knock enemies off of their horse so you can steal it.
You generally start with a wooden lance, but that lance will eventually break, returning you to whatever your default weapon is.
Like I said, this takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s a lovely new feature that I hope continues to be expanded upon.
Desert (Team Deathmatch)
Desert is a TDM map that takes place, as the name implies, in the desert. It’s a nighttime map with a lot of ruined buildings and rows of palm trees. Keen-eyed players will notice that this map takes place outside of Baudwyn, a city that makes an appearance in another one of the new maps (more on that later).
The Charge of Wardenglade (Team Deathmatch)
The Charge of Wardenglade is another TDM map that’s set at night, but this one takes place on the misty fields of Wardenglade. Yes, this map is not technically new, as it’s basically The Battle of Wardenglade with horses.
The Breach of Baudwyn (Team Objective)
The Breach of Baudwyn begins in the sweaty sand dunes outside the village of Baudwyn. The attacking team must move a caravan into position, then set up siege wagons so they can get on top of the city wall. Once they’ve done that, they’ll need to destroy some siege weapons. They’ll need to take control of the market and the town hall, and then finally they’ll need to use bombards to destroy the bulwark.
The early phases of this map have a ton of open space, and that really gives the calvary room to horse around. I did notice that the game tends to crash a lot on this map — though I’m not sure if that was just a coincidence and the servers are struggling in general.
The Razing of Askendir (Team Objective)
The Razing of Askendir reminds me a little bit of the Naboo – Theed map from Star Wars Battlefront II. One team approaches in boats, then must destroy a lighthouse using explosives. After the lighthouse collapses, the attacking team must take a bridge, which is a really long straightaway. The next phase has the attackers knocking down pillars within the city walls, then the next one has them destroying artifacts, and the final phase has them setting a library on fire. These last three phases are where the Naboo similarities really come into play, as you have a long, straight city street leading up to a library (in Naboo, it would be the royal palace).
This map is super fun, with plenty of medieval-style urban combat. While I think the beginning phases are less fun than the later ones, they tend to move really quickly to get you to the good stuff.
Conclusion
Chivalry 2 was fantastic at launch, and now it’s even better. The brainless hack-and-smash first-person combat is still intact, only now there’s more content. The new maps are great — I especially like The Razing of Askendir — and mounted combat is a really appropriate new feature that adds a lot to these battlegrounds.
Of course, there are technically only two new maps, as Wardenglade isn’t new and Desert is just the first phase of Baudwyn. Plus, Askendir feels balanced toward the attacking side, while Baudwyn feels balanced toward the defenders — I’m not sure if this is just early-game meta as players are learning the objectives, or if there’s still some balancing needed.
Still, this update takes a game that was already amazing and only makes it better. All of this makes me excited to see what Chivalry 2‘s second year brings us, because it doesn’t seem like Torn Banner Studios is ready to slow down quite yet.
