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

[Dr Skeleton]

Actually after playing for a while with the try out mod for the stars, I found it a bit too "cheaty". Basically you'd never get anyone before trying out and you'd never have to fight with kinda crappy guys against odds etc

Haven't tried it yet, maybe try outs should cost more then? Because right now it feels like a waste of money. Maybe for very expensive recruits to see if they have a very bad trait but they rarely do. Most often you just get to see nothing or 1 somewhat bad/good trait and that tells you basically nothing.

As for perks I usually go for pathfinder or colossus (nine lives if they have low base hp). Pathfinder does very little in some fights but when it matters, it matters a lot. Student on very good recruits I want to level up fast or in later game to catch up, but I skip it on most characters in early/mid game. Adrenaline is ok for polearm users because they have the fatigue to use it a lot, works for the 1st line too but I wouldn't take it early. Recovery is good but I usually get it later.

From the 2nd line, it's usually gifted but also good are dodge, quick hands (for the rare throwing/melee or archer/polearm hybrid), fortified mind on the sergeant/banner bearer. Bullseye on archers for sniping necromancers and such, but that I usually get later. I never take steel brow, I'd rather have colossus or nine lives.

3rd line - rotation is a life saver for all melee characters and sometimes to change position with an archer or piker than got tied in melee, so I get rotation on most 1st line characters. Backstabber is very good too, most of the time it's at least +5 and often 10 or 15, especially with polearms. Brawny for the battle forged characters but you don't need to get it early. Shield expert is ok for mediocre characters that make it to higher levels but even then I wouldn't take it on level 4. Maybe relentless for dodge builds but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[Grunker]

Since I stopped using polearms and just stack up on archers this game got a lot easier

 

[Jimmious]

Haven't tried it yet, maybe try outs should cost more then?

They do but still doesn't feel right. I guess I like the gamble a bit

 

[AwesomeButton]

Since I stopped using polearms and just stack up on archers this game got a lot easier

How many archers do you have?

I took a noble house mission yesterday, just to try it out. It was an "assist the siege" mission. With no warning, another faction's fortresses turn hostile, wtf? I have to undergo one moderately tough combat, followed by at least one more tough combat, wtf? And all this for 3500 gold, are they fucking kidding?

 

[Edija]

I had a situation while recording yesterday... I never saw an enemy marksman do it. One of my guys was almost dead but I managed to save him by killing the enemies that surrounded him and the only enemy that was left was the marksman. I let a dog out and the dog reaches him that turn, even bites him I think. I was relieved, foolishly thinking that he will change to a melee weapon immediately. No. He takes a crossbow shot, kills my guy, and then switches to his melee weapon. I'm still mad. I will never not be mad.

 

[Alienman]

Yeah, that happened to me too, thinking I was in the clear from instant head shot death, but no.

 

[Strange Fellow]

I took a noble house mission yesterday, just to try it out. It was an "assist the siege" mission. With no warning, another faction's fortresses turn hostile, wtf? I have to undergo one moderately tough combat, followed by at least one more tough combat, wtf? And all this for 3500 gold, are they fucking kidding?

I think the big battles are a lot of fun, and the loot you get is excellent. And of course the faction get pissed at you when you besiege one of their settlements, duh?

 

[AwesomeButton]

I took a noble house mission yesterday, just to try it out. It was an "assist the siege" mission. With no warning, another faction's fortresses turn hostile, wtf? I have to undergo one moderately tough combat, followed by at least one more tough combat, wtf? And all this for 3500 gold, are they fucking kidding?

I think the big battles are a lot of fun, and the loot you get is excellent. And of course the faction get pissed at you when you besiege one of their settlements, duh?

Of course? I am a mercenary, I take a contract, I'm not a side in the war, duh?

 

[Payd Shell]

I had a situation while recording yesterday... I never saw an enemy marksman do it. One of my guys was almost dead but I managed to save him by killing the enemies that surrounded him and the only enemy that was left was the marksman. I let a dog out and the dog reaches him that turn, even bites him I think. I was relieved, foolishly thinking that he will change to a melee weapon immediately. No. He takes a crossbow shot, kills my guy, and then switches to his melee weapon. I'm still mad. I will never not be mad.

Crossbowmen do that all the time to me. They fire a point-blank shot if they have one loaded.

I took a noble house mission yesterday, just to try it out. It was an "assist the siege" mission. With no warning, another faction's fortresses turn hostile, wtf? I have to undergo one moderately tough combat, followed by at least one more tough combat, wtf? And all this for 3500 gold, are they fucking kidding?

I think the big battles are a lot of fun, and the loot you get is excellent. And of course the faction get pissed at you when you besiege one of their settlements, duh?

Of course? I am a mercenary, I take a contract, I'm not a side in the war, duh?

Well nobles weren't known to be rational and reasonable. You killed their men and caused a shift in power that wasn't in their favor. If they lose a town thanks to you, they will be pissed no matter what your personal stance on the issue is. 'I did it for the money' was never a convincing stance tbqh

 

[Grunker]

Since I stopped using polearms and just stack up on archers this game got a lot easier

How many archers do you have?

I took a noble house mission yesterday, just to try it out. It was an "assist the siege" mission. With no warning, another faction's fortresses turn hostile, wtf? I have to undergo one moderately tough combat, followed by at least one more tough combat, wtf? And all this for 3500 gold, are they fucking kidding?

5, with one of them being a hybrid (can switch to polearms). But the main difference has been the early game where I beeline as many of them as possible. Even if you're not playing the Poacher-start (which is insane, btw), you can get 3 fairly fast. And it makes a massive difference.

 

[Grunker]

I took a noble house mission yesterday, just to try it out. It was an "assist the siege" mission. With no warning, another faction's fortresses turn hostile, wtf? I have to undergo one moderately tough combat, followed by at least one more tough combat, wtf? And all this for 3500 gold, are they fucking kidding?

I think the big battles are a lot of fun, and the loot you get is excellent. And of course the faction get pissed at you when you besiege one of their settlements, duh?

Of course? I am a mercenary, I take a contract, I'm not a side in the war, duh?

Which state in the entire world would forgive a private contractor for killing their citizens under the excuse "I'm just doing my job"..?

 

[AwesomeButton]

'I did it for the money' was never a convincing stance tbqh

That's a lame excuse.

I took a noble house mission yesterday, just to try it out. It was an "assist the siege" mission. With no warning, another faction's fortresses turn hostile, wtf? I have to undergo one moderately tough combat, followed by at least one more tough combat, wtf? And all this for 3500 gold, are they fucking kidding?

I think the big battles are a lot of fun, and the loot you get is excellent. And of course the faction get pissed at you when you besiege one of their settlements, duh?

Of course? I am a mercenary, I take a contract, I'm not a side in the war, duh?

Which state in the entire world would forgive a private contractor for killing their citizens under the excuse "I'm just doing my job"..?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landsknecht

The same state which wants to hire them against its enemies.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

I took a noble house mission yesterday, just to try it out. It was an "assist the siege" mission. With no warning, another faction's fortresses turn hostile, wtf? I have to undergo one moderately tough combat, followed by at least one more tough combat, wtf? And all this for 3500 gold, are they fucking kidding?

I think the big battles are a lot of fun, and the loot you get is excellent. And of course the faction get pissed at you when you besiege one of their settlements, duh?

Of course? I am a mercenary, I take a contract, I'm not a side in the war, duh?

Locals still won't be that forgiving when their relatives got shown little bit Madgeburg mercy.

 

[Modron]

Yeah relations degrade far too quickly, whether they be positive or negative, in Battle Brothers. Save city from Orc Siege then go away for 10 days "Who the fuck are you guys?". I think they I made this complaint early in the EA and they did adjust it to be slower but not enough in my opinion. I would prefer something like working with one house degrades a rival's opinion of you or something with a lowered degradation rate.

 

[Strange Fellow]

'I did it for the money' was never a convincing stance tbqh

That's a lame excuse.

I took a noble house mission yesterday, just to try it out. It was an "assist the siege" mission. With no warning, another faction's fortresses turn hostile, wtf? I have to undergo one moderately tough combat, followed by at least one more tough combat, wtf? And all this for 3500 gold, are they fucking kidding?

I think the big battles are a lot of fun, and the loot you get is excellent. And of course the faction get pissed at you when you besiege one of their settlements, duh?

Of course? I am a mercenary, I take a contract, I'm not a side in the war, duh?

Which state in the entire world would forgive a private contractor for killing their citizens under the excuse "I'm just doing my job"..?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landsknecht

The same state which wants to hire them against its enemies.

I may be misremembering, but don't you have to swear allegiance to the faction you choose to work for in the noble war crisis? Either way, it makes perfect sense to me that the faction whose castle you helped their enemies besiege in the middle of a war should be hostile to you for the duration of that war. After the crisis is resolved you're back to neutral again.

 

[AwesomeButton]

I may be misremembering, but don't you have to swear allegiance to the faction you choose to work for in the noble war crisis?

I don't think we were in a crisis. I picked the ambition "attract the attention of noble houses" which was the only option available the last time (I already had completed the battle standart, bring the group to 12, discover a lair or camp and destroy it, all those ambitions). Once I picked it, the previously locked missions in fortresses and forts became unlocked, so I just entered the nearest fort and picked its mission.

I expected something more sophisticated like for example in Corsairs or Mount and Blade - you attack a faction and you gradually gain infamy with it, but once I took that mission the door seemed to be shut.

 

[hivemind]

waah why are people i wage awar against hate me waaah

 

[Darth Canoli]

I struggle with picking the early perks myself, but invariably end up with Student, Pathfinder, Colossus and Rotation on most bros. Student is an obvious easy pick, and since B&E Colossus generally seems a smarter pick than Nine Lives - though sometimes I'll take that instead on someone with Frail or a Swordmaster. I get too attached to my bros to eschew defensive perks entirely. Steel Brow is great too but I tend to save it for the favourites and let any slightly less valuable bros take their chances without it.

What perk do you guys recommend at Level 5 for melee bros? I use a standard progression of Pathfinder --> Steel Brow --> Rotation in the beginning but nothing at the next tier really jumps out.

I was thinking about Dodge for more defense or Colossus for more HP since I will eventually transition everyone to 2H weapons, but just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something critical.

Dodge is really good for high initiative builds like fencers, which shine if you wait and then play "twice in a row" going through the enemy line but they're at risk before they get footwork.

In a game where everyone has 9 AP, pathfinder is the free AP perk along with berserker so they're mandatory for me for any 2H because they move a lot and destroy stuff.
Besides, it works on mountains, forest, swamps, snow, probably useful in half the fights or more, even in plain, you'll be climbing to get an advantage.

Adrenaline is nice to have on 2/3 2H bros because if you don't invest in initiative (except for fencers and archers), you'll need it to finish off dangerous enemies before they strike.

Also, Brawny+ Battleforged < Nimble and the points you save in fatigue can be allowed on health or defense but having both is good too.

My current party on day 130 after the first crisis
2 archers nimble / berserk / anticipation full ranged def, no melee def at all around 80 hp
1 cleaver shield guy with brawny + battleforged (having a whip as second weapon too)
2 guys with pike/hallberd and Nimble full offense as they're rarely in close combat or only to protect a wounded bro
1 fencer full offense + dodge and nimble (he's a beast, getting behind enemies lines and OS enemies archers or light armored/2H guys)
The rest is 2H mace/axes/swords/hammer 5 of them with nimble and full offense build with the anti-stun skill (forgot the name) and recover

Most of them have rotation but the archers and the fencer (footwork), colossus for anyone with a 2H weapon, also, my archers are on the frontline to gain some range and destroy threats faster.

My advice, just try your own and try various builds, i had more guys with shields on my previous runs, also, one shield/spear guy is useful early on before weapon specialization, then, you can specialize him in another weapon and dump the spear or keep him if you feel like it.

Mass destruction is the way, a dead enemy can't harm you.

 

[Darth Canoli]

I took a noble house mission yesterday, just to try it out. It was an "assist the siege" mission. With no warning, another faction's fortresses turn hostile, wtf? I have to undergo one moderately tough combat, followed by at least one more tough combat, wtf? And all this for 3500 gold, are they fucking kidding?

I expected something more sophisticated like for example in Corsairs or Mount and Blade - you attack a faction and you gradually gain infamy with it, but once I took that mission the door seemed to be shut.

It's a bit crude but it's going to be turn back to "normal" or cold when the war is over.

War is the most difficult crisis but the reward is greater because of the loot.

 

[Strange Fellow]

I expected something more sophisticated

That was your first mistake. You come to Battle Brothers, you get two things: battles, and brothers.

 

[AwesomeButton]

It makes little sense from a gamist perspective as well. I'm not losing markets throughout the whole map because of occasional rewards of about a thousand gold, after you take out the expenses to getting it.

 

[Tigranes]

I had a situation while recording yesterday... I never saw an enemy marksman do it. One of my guys was almost dead but I managed to save him by killing the enemies that surrounded him and the only enemy that was left was the marksman. I let a dog out and the dog reaches him that turn, even bites him I think. I was relieved, foolishly thinking that he will change to a melee weapon immediately. No. He takes a crossbow shot, kills my guy, and then switches to his melee weapon. I'm still mad. I will never not be mad.

Crossbow wielders can shoot even while engaged in melee, unlike bowyers. I seem to remember you could only shoot the guy in front of you, but maybe that's because that's all I ever used it for. E.g. a goblin closes in on my rear crossbowman, he shoots the bolt, quickhands to a polearm and sticks him again.

AwesomeButton you're thinking at a level of complexity BB considered early on in development but ultimately never got to. (It's a $10 small indie game after all.) It's there for the challenge and the loot, which is fine with me.

 

[Payd Shell]

>get mission to kill barbs in their camp
>some thralls
>they give me the option to fight their best fighter
>hf fighting against a chosen
Goodbye, Lone Wolf run. Missed two 80+ rolls and that was that. I mean, why am I fighting a chosen if the display says there are only thralls? A cheap gotcha moment imo.

 

[Murk]

Third run with lonewolf and I come across a half-dead man in the snow who wants to join, says he used to be a king's guard member. Cripple background with... 2 stars in melee, 3 stars in defenses, and really good starting stats (as far as a cripple) goes.

I am hoping there's some way to cure him and return his former glory -- so far he's bretty good but his shit fatigue is an issue.

The way I've been playing lonewolf is that I accept anyone who asks to join but do not actively recruit anyone, including other good background bros.

I am inadvertently larping as the Highlander, watching all my new friends die as I painfully trudge on to the next contract and/or orc camp to pillage.

I am liking the barbarian start too, mostly for an "evil" run where-in I raid the shit out of the northernmost house's cities.

 

[Tigranes]

My soft-ironman beginner econ veteran combat Lone Wolf party is doing swimmingly at Day 60. Weak settings, I know. But I never actually needed to reload, actually.

I do carry around a full contingent, 11 mostly cheap-ass recruits on the right side, and the lone wolf just lone-wolfs it on the left side, usually just fighting in his own world taking two or three enemies with him. As long as he's not totally overwhelmed, the LW's starting armour is so good - with Steel Brow he basically never takes damage to lower tier enemies. I'm sure that will soon change as I start to hit Unholds, necromancers, etc. more frequently.

Barb thralls literally fall like flies to arrows, so I'm looking forward to the next tier up once my renown is high enough. I think LW might mean it takes a bit more game days to build up renown.