Incline Battle Brothers + Beasts & Exploration, Warriors of the North and Blazing Deserts DLC Thread

[Modron]

Spoiler

[OPTIONAL] Step 1: Find the watermill and talk to the "old man" there. He will ask you to find the hilt of an ancient sword, and says his... son?... took it with him when he went to battle a monstrous beast.
Step 2: Find a circle of standing stones in a swamp. The person inside the stones will ask for 6 Unhold hides to create a lure for the Kraken.
Step 3: ??
Step 4: profit!

Full disclosure, I'm only on step 2 (just gathered materials, about to see what happens next, I will report back).

Spoiler

Step 3: Get 17 shimmering ashes or whatever they are called from the necrosavants (a bit of a lark since they aren't consumed on your next return to circle of stones). Step 4: is indeed the Kraken itself.

 

[Teut Busnet]

Keep in mind that after 'Step 3'

Spoiler

- wich is the delivery of only 5 Necro ashes - the fight starts. So prepare yourself before you enter 'Swamp Stonehenge'. There are tips on how to fight the Kraken on page 186 of this thread.

 

[Prime Junta]

I'm walking back my non-recommendation of Rotation.

At one point I was taking it for everybody, then I stopped and started taking other things instead. Now I decided to take it again, and yes it really is pretty bloody marvellous for risk-mitigation.

 

[Barbarian]

Even seemingly worthless traits such as "nine lives" and "steelbrow" are great when you realize how much they increase your bros life expectancy.

I try to squeeze nine lives in every build using medium or light armor(it basically makes sure you bro survives one extrahit - critical or not - and eliminates one-hit deaths for that bro early game) and take steelbrow when I don't plan on using a heavier helmet for that build.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Even seemingly worthless traits such as "nine lives" and "steelbrow" are great when you realize how much they increase your bros life expectancy.

I try to squeeze nine lives in every build using medium or light armor(it basically makes sure you bro survives one extrahit - critical or not - and eliminates one-hit deaths for that bro early game) and take steelbrow when I don't plan on using a heavier helmet for that build.

Steelbrow for all nimblebros.

 

[Tigranes]

A couple of my defensive guys - the ones that stand next to 3 lindwurm heads and shieldwall while everyone else polearms - go for Colossus, Nimble, Battleforged, Rotation, Shieldwall, Underdog. They can still get killed on a bad day, but most of the time they can stand in front of most things and chill out.

Rotation's great offensive benefit is the ability to not only line up your 2-hander abilities, but also make sure that you can mace-stun/daze every dangerous target, or get to have 2 or 3 dudes get a shot at killing that geist only accessible through 1 tile (e.g. forest ambush).

 

[Reinhardt]

killing that geist only accessible through 1 tile (e.g. forest ambush)

Who cares about geist. Now if it's alp we are talking about...

 

[Tigranes]

Geists matter if you're level 4 or something.

Alps are boring as shit and I've avoided fighting them entirely

 

[Reinhardt]

Alps are boring as shit and I've avoided fighting them entirely

(e.g. forest ambush)

Game is not always about what you want.

 

[Grunker]

Geists matter if you're level 4 or something.

Alps are boring as shit and I've avoided fighting them entirely

I hated alps even though I "solved" them after the first shitty catastrophy of an encounter. Then I found doggo. With doggo, you too can turn alp encounters into some of the fastest encounters in the game

EDIT: MEANT ALPS NOT GEISTS DOH

 

[Sarissofoi]

So I get some free time and continue playing the greedydevs map.
Get one great militia recruit and 2nd fight he is done - Traumatized.
Anyway it looks like devs balanced things and game is much more manageable on lower levels.

 

[Prime Junta]

Alps are boring as shit and I've avoided fighting them entirely

I'm forced to fight them in my current run. I need black paint for my helmets.

(This one got to a flying start. Found a decayed coat of plates in a spiderweb around day 20, then a unique armour around day 45, then a Zweihänder from a bandit chieftain, and a bunch of pretty good armour and a bill hook from a patrol who was after one of my bros. And then a really badass looking decayed full helm from a Fallen Hero to complete the look of my Death Knight.

Took some losses in the harder fights but nothing irreplaceable, and at least I'm not hauling around a bunch of cripples. Main problem now is that I have a bunch of crowns burning a hole in my pocket but no top-tier recruits to be found anywhere.)

 

[Whiskeyjack]

So I get some free time and continue playing the greedydevs map.
Get one great militia recruit and 2nd fight he is done - Traumatized.
Anyway it looks like devs balanced things and game is much more manageable on lower levels.

Traumatized isn't a game breaker for me on archers, but otherwise fuck it.

 

[vazha]

Also for a guy who seemingly has put celerity lvl time into the game, Sarissofoi seems to be quite mediocre at it. Havent lost a promising recruit since early playthroughs, ironmeme or otherwise.

 

[Grunker]

Also for a guy who seemingly has put celerity lvl time into the game, Sarissofoi seems to be quite mediocre at it. Havent lost a promising recruit since early playthroughs, ironmeme or otherwise.

How did you entirely eliminate the RNG? I don't claim to be a master at this game, but I can't imagine you can totally stop the volatility of the early game. Maybe through obvious cheese, but otherwise?

 

[Sarissofoi]

Also for a guy who seemingly has put celerity lvl time into the game, Sarissofoi seems to be quite mediocre at it. Havent lost a promising recruit since early playthroughs, ironmeme or otherwise.

I play with max 8 troops to check if delaying crisis work and check how scaling work in this scenario too.
All my recruits are expendable and to be killed or retired(to be replaced by better ones or keep level down)- I just forgot that this one is to be keep alive and put hi on the flank when e was overrun. Blessing of playing game rarely. I need reminders what I did and what i want to do. At this point I grind gold mostly.
TO be honest I never was that great in the game mostly because I refused to use 'improper' ways to play. Improper by me(if you wonder).
So I wasn't using Perfect Focus at the time.
I wasn't using dogs or Indomitable long time - still not to keen to use them. Still to this point didn't use Adrenaline single time. Big fan of using throw away or expendable troops - it must be effect playing the UFO Defence long time and swarming enemy with rookies. Its not a war game if I don't lose some troops. Blood tax must be paid.

 

[vazha]

Ugh cannot agree with all this blood tax thing. I m super paranoid about losing my precious bros that I ve reared up through so much blood and slaughter.
Grunker even in super early game, if you pick winnable fights early (which i totally do), giving your talented rookie a shield, spear and 2nd tile deployment means even marksmen will not target him. he ll get exp anyway and provide a valuable tactical cover when needed, no need to send him into the thick of the battle. Tasking him with flank patronage as Sarissofoi did is pretty much a guaranteed death. You get plenty of meatshields early on, why not sacrifice them for your would be champion?

 

[Sarissofoi]

overconfidence obviously - you are the one that mention DD so you should know how its go

Spoiler

also personally I blame Kraut RNG

 

[vota DC]

Also for a guy who seemingly has put celerity lvl time into the game, Sarissofoi seems to be quite mediocre at it. Havent lost a promising recruit since early playthroughs, ironmeme or otherwise.

How did you entirely eliminate the RNG? I don't claim to be a master at this game, but I can't imagine you can totally stop the volatility of the early game. Maybe through obvious cheese, but otherwise?

Older version could be easily modded to have level up rng eliminated with fixed values for each star. Or even the same values for all stars but that didn't make much sense.

 

[Eyestabber]

Also for a guy who seemingly has put celerity lvl time into the game, Sarissofoi seems to be quite mediocre at it. Havent lost a promising recruit since early playthroughs, ironmeme or otherwise.

How did you entirely eliminate the RNG? I don't claim to be a master at this game, but I can't imagine you can totally stop the volatility of the early game. Maybe through obvious cheese, but otherwise?

One doesn't really have to "cheese" in order to become consistent, one needs only to learn the "Core Elements of BB Strategy"™, which are IMO:

Missile superiority: the game seems to evaluate on every fight "do I have ranged superiority?" and will either rush or skirmish, according to the AI's evaluation of the problem. Ideally, you want to be rushed OR you want to beat the AI on a "archer war", and force it to rush you. Such consideration is ofc moot when one fights against enemies that always rush you, like the undead. In that case the logic is reverted: you need to worry about maximizing DPT after the "clash", instead of wondering "how do I force this enemy to rush me?". Your ideal scenario is an AI deciding "fuck, I need to rush this guy" while you fall back a bit and position your backlinners into a small cliff. Archer/polearm hybrids are highly desirable for that very reason. Another thing to note is that would-be-heavy troopers can start their carreers as "polearm" users. Eg: a would be 2H Hammerdude can start as a humble Polehammer backlinner. The DLC added a plethora of new possibilities, which is awesome.

Damage scaling: there is no "damage stat" in Battle Brothers, it all comes down to the weapon being used. Sure, you have the "drunkard" trait which gives 10%, but...yeah. Weapons. IMHO when one saves enough cash and has to decide "where do I improve now?" my tip is max tier weapon > heavy armor > "perfect" recruit (expensive backgrounds). Actually, backgrounds can easily become a sneaky trojan horse in your economy, since a sellsword can charge the same daily wage as two farmers of the same level, for a measly increase in DPT. So, again: FIRST make sure everyone can be equipped with max tier weapons (after having 12 dudes, ofc), THEN worry about protecting your favorite bros with above-150-armor and ONLY THEN start worrying about finding the "perfect" recruit. And because both armor and recruits can easily be lost, it stands to reason that WEAPONS are your most secure investment. Hunt down some bandit leaders, they usually come equipped with max-tier weapons (especially fighting axes). Flails also drop quite consistently early on.

Target prioritization: with experience comes the ability to glance at an enemy and tell whether he is a "soft" or a "hard" target and use whatever weapon is best suited for the job. Notice I'm not using these expressions as a measure of how "tough" an enemy is, but rather whether his "tankyness" comes from Armor (grey bar) OR HP (red bar). Swords and bows are gr8 against "soft" targets, while the hammer and the billhook are best suited against "hard" target. A target can be very "hard" at first and then very "soft", like the orc warriors, thus leading to the now popular "hammer-sword" strat. Keep in mind at all times the goal of maximizing DPT via proper priorization. Ordering a hammerdude to finish off a low hp bandit while a fresh, fully armored one sits beside him is an inexcusable mistake. I also love axes due to their "middle of the road" nature, being able to finish off armor AND deal serious damage behind it.

Understand utility: every single weapon in BB provides SOME form of utility. Know what's best on each situation. Beasts and zombies will usually try to swarm you, thus making AoE a lot more desirable than single target damage. Orc warriors have shields with a ton of HP + Shield mastery, thus rendering the Axe's shield break ability very fatigue-ineffective. Flails might be preferable. OTOH, most enemies have shitty round shields that get 1-shot by a Axe-spec'ed dude using a Fighting Axe. Take advantage of that knowledge to position your axebro in a way that he can break 2 shields in a single turn. Another tip: even tho undead don't have fatigue, maces remain VERY useful and allow you to stun and bypass frontliners and go straight for those nasty backlinners. Maces are also vital when dealing with Necrosavants.

Flexibility: as others have stated, rushing to spec a bro into a given role is actually a pretty bad idea. Try to keep your options open for as long as you can, and even after spec'ing, understand that adapting to the encounter > sticking to your "build". For instance, a heavy 2H Swordsman might want to go Kite-Shield-1H sword when fighting lots of goblins while a typical "footman" might want to ditch his shield and go 2H when dealing with orc warriors. My favorite "flexible" dude is the maceman. I never take "shield mastery" on my macebro and instead go either 1H or 2H, according to what lies ahead.

Guard your flanks: most of the time the enemy will have more units than your 12, thus leading to your dudes getting flanked. You must always have at the very least two "flank guards" with the Underdog perk. How you're going to guard your flanks depends on a lot of factors, but it mostly comes down to either a spearwalling footman, a riposting swordsman or a 2H AoE dude (mostly after the first crysis). Having a dude in decend armor with shield and spear is the very BASIC form of guarding flanks. You should also bear in mind that sooner or later the enemy WILL get a good position on your backlinners, thus making the "rotation" and "footwork" (pick one) perks a must-have, depending on the situation. Learn AI strat as well. Some enemies go straight for the flanking move (gobo wolfriders and necrosavants) while others only flank after brute-forcing your frontline (zombies and orcs).

Change your eco-game as you progress: very early on, trading seems like a great way to amass cash (and it is), but as the game progresses your merc upkeep can easily eat up all your trading profits and then some. Tool scarcity also ensures the "repair before sell" strat becomes a burden after most your dudes are wearing heavy armor (and demanding lots of tools after every fight). There simply aren't enough cheap (under 200) tools around to mantain the repairs, thus leading to unfortunate downtime. So IMO, from mid-game onwards you should focus on building reserves, rather than focusing on maximizing profits from sold loot/trade. Running out of tools/food and then being forced to buy from an overpriced settlement can and will render obsolete your carefully planned trading trips. Also, Fedex quests become a net-loss after a while, so only take them if you have a REASON to go to another side of the map. Once you have a full company, killing stuff close to the quest giving town is probably the "optimal" contract. Bandits and beasts FTW! Actually, mid-game is the point I start "farming" marauders whenever I see them (bring daggers!).

There is probably more, but that's all I can think of right now.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Ordering a hammerdude to finish off a low hp bandit while a fresh, fully armored one sits beside him is an inexcusable mistake.

Actually this might work as calculated risk, if there's change to crush enemy morale.

 

[Teut Busnet]

A fine list.

Personally, I prioritize getting armor to 210 (250 with attachment) with reinforced mail Hauberks for the frontline and mostly make do with whatever the bandits drop before I think about buying top tier weapons.

But in either case gear >>>> expensive Bros (especially early and midgame). Spending all your coins on expensive backgrounds is still a very common mistake.

 

[Jimmious]

Very cool list Eyestabber ! Let me comment on a couple of things though:

eep in mind at all times the goal of maximizing DPT via proper priorization. Ordering a hammerdude to finish off a low hp bandit while a fresh, fully armored one sits beside him is an inexcusable mistake. I also love axes due to their "middle of the road" nature, being able to finish off armor AND deal serious damage behind it.

Morale is very important though.. Some times finishing off a couple of crappy bandits can drop the morale of the rest of the enemies by 1-2 "flags" which can make a big difference. Plus you can fastly remove flanking maluses.

Orc warriors have shields with a ton of HP + Shield mastery, thus rendering the Axe's shield break ability very fatigue-ineffective.

My advice is to almost never destroy orc shields. Sure it helps you hit them but if they connect a hit with the dual-gripped tool of massacre they have in hand... Say bye-bye to your brother

 

[Eyestabber]

A fine list.

Personally, I prioritize getting armor to 210 (250 with attachment) with reinforced mail Hauberks for the frontline and mostly make do with whatever the bandits drop before I think about buying top tier weapons.

But in either case gear >>>> expensive Bros (especially early and midgame). Spending all your coins on expensive backgrounds is still a very common mistake.

Great early-to-mid investments IMO:

- Billhook: reliable damage output with low FAT usage. Gr8 against pretty much everything and not-very-common drop.
- Longaxe: reliable damage AND 1-shot (shield) potential that takes its sweet time until it becomes a drop. Buy at least one of these bad boys.
- Warbow: midgame investment, after you have a decent archer. Stick to the more common drop-bows before that, don't rush this one. Very rare drop and therefore worth buying.
- Heather shield: drastically increases your dude's survivability. Superior to kite early on, but gets phased out once shieldbreaking foes become too common.
- Fighting axe: 1-shot early game shields with the proper perk. 'nuff said. Becomes a common drop later on, but the very first must be bought IMO. Big power spike when compared to the Handaxe.
- Leather Lammerlar and studded leather armor (90 and 80 hp IRC): cost effective armor for your non-disposable dudes early on. Don't buy for everyone, this is merely a stepping stone to farm raider armors.
- Falchion/boar spear: your early game "vs everything" weapons.

Situational/decent ones:

- Mail Hauberk: first "srs bzns" armor you'll probably use. Add attachments and guard your flanks!
- Noble Sword: if you have some money floating AND you're covered on other areas, this one is a rare drop, so go for it. Ultimate weapon against beefy "soft" targets.
- Pike: cheaper than the billhook by a decent margin, tho not as useful and more common as a drop. I usually buy one of these.
- Wolf mantle: you'll probably have some direwolf skins, so go for it. +HP and terror chance with no drawback is a must.
- Expanded quivers: you'll learn to love them. At least 1 per "serious" (with a warbow) archer.
- Cheap food/tools/medicine: see a positive event that affects prices? Stock up! Also focus on building relationships with settlements that have workshop (tools) and herbalist groove (medicine)

Trap (bad) ones:

- Flails: They drop by the boatload, don't waste your money.
- Handaxe: Same as flails.
- Kite shields: same.
- Winged mace: they drop relatively early. Mace ability to stun and deal FAT damage is the same, regardless of tier, so investing into a winged mace is a piss-poor strategy. Stick to whatever you got from raiders. Maces are a case of brostat > weapon tier.
- Superexpensive armors: if you don't have 12 dudes with mid-to-high tier weapons already, going for ONE "hero-tier" armor is a very bad move. Again: weapons can be easily recovered from fallen bros, but armor is lost. Not to mention the added tool-cost of repairing a 200+ HP armor. Armor is a post-first-crisis concern, IMO.
- Hedge Knight/Swordmaster/Sellsword: already explained above.

Great investments for AFTER you've dealt with the first crisis (or is currently dealing with it):

- 2H weapon of choice (not talking about backrow weapons here)
- Scale Mail armor (240HP): expensive af, but has superior HP-to-weight ratio among the heavier variants of armor
- Armor attachments: buy and craft them for min-maxing purposes whenever you have the chance. Attachments don't generate all that often.
- Wound kit: new craftable that makes long campaigns a lot more viable. Going back to town in order to heal becomes way too expensive after a while, so the ability to heal wounds at temple-like efficiency while on the wilds is invaluable.

 

[Tigranes]

More or less agree with all of that. Billhooks also continue to be useful a fair way into midgame when you first start to take on schats, lindwurms, unholds, etc.

Post-DLC I've found myself putting axes on bros as a default, and switching into noble swords or hammers or even polearms depending on the enemy composition.