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

[Jrpgfan]

Sometimes I used to do a challenge run with a single berserker to see where I could get without hiring anyone, but it's become a lot harder since they've nerfed rage and recover/adrenaline/indom had been nerfed in vanilla.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

You missed the Horvatii (RIP) arc of the Battle Brothers thread. I don't disagree with you. The truth is that if you're just "regularly playing" the game, yeah, you're gonna have a bad time on Expert/Expert/Ironman. That's because that difficulty is designed for people that meta-game the best set-ups to minimize their RNG, and cheese as many encounters and money-making schemes available. The people who min-max the ever living fuck out of every single brother (eventually). It's designed for those autistic ubermensch, not for the regular Steam Steve who thinks he can win by winging it and learning as he goes. If you just want to see everything the game has to offer (which I do recommend) then just play it on a lower difficulty and get some mods, then enjoy exploring.

Honestly I don't really know what your goal is. It seems like you just want to beat the hardest possible difficulty while simultaneously shitting on the min-max autists. It's like wanting to take a bath but pissing in the water.

Yeah, that's the impression that I get too. And I have no problem with that, except:

1. If you are one of those autist meta-gamers, and someone says this game cannot be regularly played on highest difficulty settings, take a chill pill. It really cannot. Just cause you read up every online guide, and min-maxed every little thing, that doesn't invalidate the point.

2. It is my humble opinion (you are allowed to disagree) that great game design would avoid this kind of thing. I am not a fan of munchkinism or meta-gaming, I would have just preferred highest difficulty settings to have made the game reasonably more difficult, but still doable without excessive number crunching and meta-information. Based on my experiences, this can be easily fixed by simply somewhat increasing the frequency of single skull contracts early on, and somewhat less bullshit like consecutive waves of attackers in early/mid stages. Everything else could stay the same (economic/combat difficulty, etc).

 

[Strange Fellow]

It is my humble opinion (you are allowed to disagree) that great game design would avoid this kind of thing. I am not a fan of munchkinism or meta-gaming, I would have just preferred highest difficulty settings to have made the game reasonably more difficult, but still doable without excessive number crunching and meta-information.

Why? To massage your ego? The difficulty setting you want is already there, it just happens to be called "Veteran" instead of "You Are the Smartest and Most Special Boy".

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

1) In very many games - see steam achievement stats - the % of people even trying to seriously play a game are very low, let alone finishing one at any difficulty. Does it mean most games are unplayable on most difficulties?

It's a bit different for a sandboxy game like BB, where a single playthrough is not really that long (a few days or less?), as opposed to say a 100+ hour RPG with a story. You have tons of people who have thousands of hours in BB. So that low percentage says something...

2. I AM doing an Expert/Ironman (veteran economy) run right now! I never once claimed i do E/E. However, yes it must be doable because i am VERY FAR from being great at the game.

Right, so you do NOT play at the highest difficulty, you defer to those that do, while they defer back to you, the end result being that I might be only the one here who does, yes?

3) This difficulty is not for everyone, we told you that more than once. You choose a difficulty that is hardest, most masochistic and for people who mastered the game or are bored. And you play it casually - yes you do, not even finishing once the game earlier on some less insane difficulty is a dead giveaway. And no, several years ago without any dlc doesn't count.

Umm, I told you already I finished on Veteran/Veteran/Ironman before, it was actually quite recently. So Expert/Ironman seems like a natural progression.

3) Would it help if the difficulty was called "unfair" or "impossible". "Veteran" was "challenging" and "beginner" - "normal"? Would it be more clear?

I would prefer: Beginner > Standard, Veteran > Hard, Expert > Imbalanced.

4) You still didn't even consider that something, anything can be less than good in how YOU play sometimes. At least from your post, it certainly looks like it.Yes i know, you finished Dark Souls, you must play all games like a pro, right?.

There is a lot of stuff wrong with how I play. But I take issue with the notion that you must play perfectly in order to be successful at some game. Great games let you play imperfectly in your own way, and still win, as long as you are good enough at some aspect of the game. Using the Dark Souls example, you can be terrible at strategizing and builds, but have great reflexes, and win by parrying/dodging everything real well, OR you can have terrible reflexes, and win by having a great shield/defense build. Same thing with BB, I really enjoyed it at Veteran/Ironman difficulty because I didn't need to know all the meta-information, and could still win using my regular game knowledge and common sense and so on. That's the difference between regular gameplay and autistic munchkinism, imho.

You still act like some teenager angry at the world in here, blaming the world of everything.

I am not angry at all, my dear friend Serus. In fact, I really like BB in general, even if I dislike the highest difficulty settings. But even if I hate a game, like say Shitmaker, this is all in good spirit. I didn't like what happened to my company, so I came here to rant, but don't take it so personally.

 

[Kaivokz]

the end result being that I might be only the one here who does, yes?

No.

That's the difference between regular gameplay and autistic munchkinism, imho.

If you aren’t autistic, what are you even doing here?

 

[Takamori]

Just for the sake of curiosity, no judgement implied Porky but which background you are using to play in this E/E IM playthrough?

 

[ColaWerewolf]

It is my humble opinion (you are allowed to disagree) that great game design would avoid this kind of thing.

It is my humble opinion (you are allowed to disagree) that more difficulty options is better than less difficulty options. As long as there's a difficulty option that's just right for you, more people are should be happy. This game is made by Germans, so of course they want to provide for the excel-spreadsheet community out there.

 

[ColaWerewolf]

You need to be at least this tall before you claim to be an E/E/I kinda guy. And that's a good thing.

Spoiler

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Just plain New Company. I only have Beast & Exploration DLC, and Beast Masters sounds OP.

 

[Takamori]

You should try the different backgrounds, they sound "OP" but their downside balance things out. For example Lone Wolf, you start with a single elite unit, but your headstart is basically some pennies to hire some really shitty units with no gear and you can't hire reserve so it means you have to stick with the units you have until the very end. So you have 12 bros only, have to be really careful with your picks and if you lose a bro you have to halt your war efforts in order to train the new guy.

Also I recommend getting both Warriors of the North and Blazing Deserts DLC, they really add content, as much it scale more the difficult you get much more from exploration, trade routes between south and north factions. Barbarians have their unique aggressive battles and so on.

 

[Serus]

PorkyThePaladin

It's a bit different for a sandboxy game like BB, where a single playthrough is not really that long (a few days or less?), as opposed to say a 100+ hour RPG with a story. You have tons of people who have thousands of hours in BB. So that low percentage says something...

What "tons of people"? Where did you get that information? What are you... talking about? Look at the stats of games similar to BB instead of inventing some "arguments" about nonexisting things that talk to you... Here, have it:
https://steamcommunity.com/stats/212680/achievements
Not a 100+ rpg at all. It must say something.... about BB, that it is like so many other games games and that most people abandon most games before really playing them.

Right, so you do NOT play at the highest difficulty, you defer to those that do, while they defer back to you, the end result being that I might be only the one here who does, yes?

No ? You've been told that. Also you've been told that it is a BAD idea to play at that settings. Repeatedly.
Also you were already explained that economy settings in the long run mostly make the game more grindy not much more difficult.

Umm, I told you already I finished on Veteran/Veteran/Ironman before, it was actually quite recently. So Expert/Ironman seems like a natural progression.

You said you played without any DLCs and that was my point. You didn't know what enemies await you (like hexe or alp as you wrote yourself in posts in this thread!) when you started a game on hardest of the hard difficulties. Ironman. And then you complained. A lot that you have trouble playing it like that. I wonder why...

I would prefer: Beginner > Standard, Veteran > Hard, Expert > Imbalanced

That's fair. I mean except make "imbalanced" -> "unfair", no one realistically call their own game imbalanced i think.

There is a lot of stuff wrong with how I play. But I take issue with the notion that you must play perfectly in order to be successful at some game. Great games let you play imperfectly in your own way, and still win, as long as you are good enough at some aspect of the game. Using the Dark Souls example, you can be terrible at strategizing and builds, but have great reflexes, and win by parrying/dodging everything real well, OR you can have terrible reflexes, and win by having a great shield/defense build. Same thing with BB, I really enjoyed it at Veteran/Ironman difficulty because I didn't need to know all the meta-information, and could still win using my regular game knowledge and common sense and so on. That's the difference between regular gameplay and autistic munchkinism, imho.

Wrong again. And you've been told that. You do not need to play perfectly at all. And yes i'm talking about expert + ironman + veteran economy. I make tons of errors, really. Saying that you need to play "perfectly" is nonsense. But E/E ironman IS the ultimate challenge. You don't need to be "perfect" but you need to know the game at that level. Yes that mean meta knowledge if you want to call it that way. Incidentally as most roguelikes work. If this is your problem, then ok, it is real. What can i say, it isn't a problem with the game but with your expectations solely.
And Dark Souls is a very different game in very different genre and appeal to casuals. Also i couldn't finish the first (only played) because my reflexes suck. But i'm NOT complaining that the game suck - my reflexes suck and i didn't learn the game enough to make a build for my poor reflexes - as you claim there are. Do i come and make rants about how DS difficulty is bad? How i should be able to finish it without learning it first? How it requires perfect play? NO. It would be insane. But you DO exactly this.

I am not angry at all, my dear friend Serus. In fact, I really like BB in general, even if I dislike the highest difficulty settings. But even if I hate a game, like say Shitmaker, this is all in good spirit. I didn't like what happened to my company, so I came here to rant, but don't take it so personally.

Well, you give a good performance then. Congratulations for being a good actor.

1. If you are one of those autist meta-gamers, and someone says this game cannot be regularly played on highest difficulty settings, take a chill pill. It really cannot. Just cause you read up every online guide, and min-maxed every little thing, that doesn't invalidate the point.

YOU cannot. That's a small but crucial difference. You don't need to min-max everything. You just need to play reasonably well AND know the game well. That can be learned without guides. If you don't believe me, if you think we a lying because making Porky look bad is our life goal then what i can say. It is disturbing.
Also look on YT if you really want to KNOW and not to BE RIGHT.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

To quote the great Crispy, you seem upset.

 

[ColaWerewolf]

I'd argue B/E/I is harder than E/E/I in the late game. Early game that's not the case, but once you pass the threshold where you've got good stated bros and great to legendary equipment, It makes it so that you get more valuable loot per encounter, making it easy to pay the by-now-substantial monthly fees and also get more varied named weapons sooner. I've never tried Beginner Combat but I'm sure that its benefits are negligible to inconsequential in the late game.

 

[agris]

If you're complaining about goblin wolfriders, wait until...

I don't have a problem with goblins. I have a problem with the goblins when they are riding wolves...

You can't even read what I am writing bre...
Please pay attention.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

If you're complaining about goblin wolfriders, wait until...

I don't have a problem with goblins. I have a problem with the goblins when they are riding wolves...

Cute. Now link his whole post, including the part I was replying to.

 

[agris]

You just described the stats and mechanics of goblin wolfriders

 

[Sweeper]

So something doesn't add up here. Only 5% or less can even do Beginner Ironman in this game, and yet here we have all these internet heroes who claim Expert/Expert/Ironman is totally doable (though none of them seem to be the ones doing it once you dig into the details). So what am I to deduce from this? Are some people full of shit, or do we have some uber autists here who maybe read online game guides and calculate all under the hood mechanics of the game for days before playing, and perhaps don't understand what "regularly playing" the game means? The mysteries of life...

Ah man, Porky bitching at game difficulty is my favorite part of the Codex.

would have just preferred highest difficulty settings to have made the game reasonably more difficult, but still doable without excessive number crunching and meta-information

So.... don't play on the hardest difficulty?
Problem solved.

 

[Serus]

To quote the great Crispy, you seem upset.

Nice ad hominem come back attempt. Almost on Expert/Expert level but unfortunately the RNG thwarted it. Try Veteran next time.


On a (slightly) more serious note, I am tired with "The Great Battle Brothers RNG Conspiracy: Porky's Edition" and its "Hardest Difficulty Is Too Hard for Me So It's Wrong" follow up. I am however not tired with playing BB (yet). I have for the first time a Noble War crisis. I had many greenskins, undead and one holy war crisis but the nobles were very pacifist in my games. Not anymore. And here come a... story i guess. I took a crisis assignment (2 skulls) to help a siege - as in, we are the part that is laying siege. Long story short i ended in a battle 21 vs 55. Isn't it customary that the besieged don't end up with almost 3:1 advantage, rather the opposite should be true*? Well the 9 allies gave their lives covering my easy retreat. I think what happened is either an uninvited party joined or my allies fought some battle before and barely won, only 9 survived.
Did i mention that i have the 5th crossbowman already? First almost got eaten by direwolves got traumatised then was eaten by hyenas. Talk about worst nightmare coming to life. Second and third ate crossbow bolts when levelling, i didn't show them enough fatherly attention i suppose. The last one didn't die. He still lives somewhere and drinks himself to death. Why? Because i fired some unimportant bro and didn't give him compensation money. Everyone was so happy that they barely noticed. Except my crossbowman who became a drunkard because of THAT. Drunkard is not bad for a melee char (10% damage and 5 resolve at a cost of 5 attack) but for a ranged is really bad (-10 ratt). Lesson boys and girls: don't be a jew cheapskate(?) when getting rid of unneeded bros.
If i already told that, sorry for my sclerosis.

*I'm vaguely remember from history some cases when the besieged army was larger than the one outside. However the composition of the armies were different and the one laying siege was of higher quality. But noble houses have similar armies.

 

[Takamori]

Noble crisis wiped my peasant militia. At least got the achievement of dying in battle, shit can get pretty wild with how many armies join the combat, if you manage to survive you will deck yourself in top tier gear. Northern raiders with their pillage buff makes this crisis a god send.

Currently I'm at day 670(?) in my Lone Wolf Campaign, leveling up a spear chucker adrenaline build and a new banner man. Got a nice wildman with a truckload of fatigue, 3 stars melee and 2 stars resolve. Gonna switch my previous bannerman with this new guy, I will be able to wear heavy armor and sustain berserk. The potion + training hall buff makes their leveling really fast

After that gonna fish for a Assassin Qatal Dagger Nimble Duelist build, thats gonna be a pain in the ass given I will have to camp fucking southern cities for it.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Nice ad hominem come back attempt.

Ad hominem is when you attack somebody verbally. I just said you seem upset. Likely because I am playing on Expert/Expert/Ironman, and you are still playing on Veteran.

 

[Reinhardt]

Power of magic is the best mod for BB

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

 

[Serus]

Nice try Porky.
Did you use the expression "I am playing" in the sense: "I was playing" for the, let's call it "humour", effect? Because if you really still do... oh my. Well, in that case, good playing and have fun. Let the RNG be with You!

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

No I mean it in the "I played on hardest difficulty settings for multiple playthroughs, well into it, including some past 100 days". I didn't say I completed them successfully.

 

[Serus]

I didn't ask you about completing or success of anything. Maybe i was unclear. Sorry for bothering you, drop it, we'll know soon enough.

 

[agris]

Nice ad hominem come back attempt.

Ad hominem is when you attack somebody verbally.

Dude... that’s not what ad hominem means. at some point, you gotta feel bad about losing. I’m wincing reading your posts - show some fucking spine and tuck your nuts up and run out of this thread man.