Battle Brothers - New Weapons & Tools

[HiddenX]

Here's dev blog #94 for Battle Brothers:

Dev Blog #94: New Weapons & Tools

Work is progressing well on the late game crises – all new contracts and twists are in the game now, and next up is implementing events and some remaining mechanics. So while we’re busy doing that, let’s take a look at some of the new weapons and tools that the upcoming update will bring to the table. Read on!


New Weapons

The upcoming update will bring a total of at least 13 new weapons to the game. While some are unique to the Ancient Dead and come with unique skills, others are there to fill the remaining gaps in progression.

Hooked Blade
An agricultural tool adapted for use in battle, the Hooked Blade is a mid-tier variant of the Billhook. We’re handing it out to bandit raiders as we speak, for two purposes: first, to smoothen the difficulty spike experienced when meeting them in the early game, and second, to smoothen the power spike when looting these in the early game. The Billhook is still sometimes wielded by your enemies, of course, but it’s more rare now, and more often found on well-equipped noble troops or other mercenaries.

Rondel Dagger
A long, quadrangular spike designed to pierce through weak points in armor, the Rondel Dagger is a high-tier variant of the existing dagger. It’s there to make daggers more viable as niche weapons later on, and it’s what named daggers are now based on in terms of stats. Note that the upcoming update will also bring a minor change to how the Puncture skill works!

Military Pick
An evolution of the classic pickaxe, the Military Pick has been adapted for use in combat to puncture the sturdiest of armors. It fills the gap between the low-tier Pickaxe and the high-tier Warhammer, and by being both more affordable and common than the latter, will give you the means to successfully engage heavily armored opponents, such as Orc Warriors, earlier in the game.

Heavy Crossbow
The heavy crossbow is the new high tier variant of the crossbow, and is effective even against heavily armored targets. It’s roughly equivalent to the high-tier Warbow, and should make the use of crossbows more viable later on in the game if you favor armor-piercing qualities and ease of use over range and rate of fire. Named crossbows are now also based on the Heavy Crossbow in terms of stats.


New Tools

The update won’t just add new weapons, but also several new tools and accessories. Some of these can be unlocked as rewards for fulfilling ambitions, while others can simply be bought at the right place.

Falcon
A trained falcon can be taken into battle similar to wardogs. It doesn’t fight, but can at any time be let loose to lift the fog of war in an area around you for the remainder of the current round. Useful, for example, when you’re ambushed in deep forest, or looking for that necromancer that keeps evading you.

Sergeant’s Sash
The Sergeant’s Sash can be earned by fulfilling a specific ambition, and it’s to be worn by your second-in-command in the accessory slot. Not only does it make him visually stand out, it also grants a bonus to the Resolve stat, which in turn synergizes with the ability to rally the men and raise their morale.

More information.

 

[Hastar]

Anyone here playing the EA? Are you happy with the way the game has been progressing? Are they getting close to release?

 

[Pladio]

Anyone here playing the EA? Are you happy with the way the game has been progressing? Are they getting close to release?

The game has been playable and bug free ever since I have had it.

I think it is a bit like how mount and blade was originally.

I haven't played the latest versions but when I played it, it was fun already.

No idea when it will be released but it seems every update has a lot to offer that's new so I think it's worth getting if you enjoy turn based combat.

There is (or was, when I played,) no real story, so if that's an issue you may want to wait.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hastar]

Sounds like the kind of game I would enjoy. Open world and turn based combat. I don't need much of a story and enjoy the strategy of battles and party building more.

 

[Darkheart]

Anyone here playing the EA? Are you happy with the way the game has been progressing?

Bought it a year ago and had much fun with it back then. Didn't play since then, because I wait for full release.
The more I read the better it sounds!

 

[They Live]

Anyone here playing the EA? Are you happy with the way the game has been progressing? Are they getting close to release?

i played 390 hours in Ea. I've seen many patches and i can say the devs deliver quality updates. Release should be q1/q2 17 (correct me if i'm wrong)

If you like turn based combat and sandbox games you will enjoy this game.

 

[RickTheWatch]

I bought it a long time ago as well but only messed around with it for a hour or so. Battle brothers is the only ea i have ever bought and played at all. It felt like a complete game back then, i cant imagine how good it is now! Im also waiting for the full release! Which is hopefully within the next few months..

 

[screeg]

Anyone here playing the EA? Are you happy with the way the game has been progressing? Are they getting close to release?

Tell you what: go to the Steam page and see if you can find a negative review.
This game is AMAZING!
And, on top of all the great stuff planned for the final release (which is some time in March I think), they're springing *surprise* items like the ones on this list that they never talked about!
I've put over 100 hours in and it continues to deliver. It's been a great game since the first publicly available beta and just keeps getting better.
Here's my one complaint: travel on the world map is unnecessarily slow. That is literally the only thing I don't like about it.

 

[Wenzil]

Most of the negative reviews seem to involve the RNG. Can anyone who has played the game speak to that? Overall, it looks pretty good to me.

And... I wish it was available on GoG.

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

Battle Brothers

 

[Hastar]

Well I think you all have convinced me on buying this game very soon. Thanks

 

[They Live]

Most of the negative reviews seem to involve the RNG. Can anyone who has played the game speak to that? Overall, it looks pretty good to me.

And… I wish it was available on GoG.

Basically people rage with rng as happened in other similar games like xcom.
Sometimes you have a high % and you miss, it's not the end of the world, early game could be a little bit harsh, you will lose some brothers eventually.

 

[fadedc]

I finally broke down and bought the game EA. I'm not sure that I really agree that it feels like a complete game quite yet, but I can definitely see plenty of potential. There is a massive update coming which will probably make it seem much more finished to me, but either way I'm definitely looking forward to the final release.

 

[Deleted User]

It's silly to rage over RNG, IMO, but that is the reality when RPGs and games use the system, unfortunately. With RNG, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes unlucky, but it all comes out in the wash and if you think it doesn't it's most likely just a psychological thing.

 

[SirJames]

I played a little bit at a friends place and my first impressions were that the world was very flat and empty with nothing to discover or interact with? No dungeons?

 

[ChienAboyeur]

Contempt for gameplay keeps showing: in this kind of products, the decision making process is all about giving oneself the highest percentage possible.
A miss at 95 % is a disaster.
Just as a success at 5%.
This destroys the purpose of elaborating solutions. Take any decision and luck will part.
Games are based on that principle. Except products like XCOM are not supposed to be that kind of games.

Basically people rage with rng as happened in other similar games like xcom.
Sometimes you have a high % and you miss, it's not the end of the world, early game could be a little bit harsh, you will lose some brothers eventually.

XCOM2 has seeded RNG, which might be worse. And it is the end of the world.

It's silly to rage over RNG, IMO, but that is the reality when RPGs and games use the system, unfortunately. With RNG, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes unlucky, but it all comes out in the wash and if you think it doesn't it's most likely just a psychological thing.

There is no reason for it to come out in the wash.

Contempt for gameplay keeps showing: in this kind of products, the decision making process is all about giving oneself the highest percentage possible.
A miss at 95 % is a disaster.
Just as a success at 5%.
This destroys the purpose of elaborating solutions. Take any decision and luck will part.
Games are based on that principle. Except products like XCOM are not supposed to be that kind of games.

 

[SirJames]

You mean a fixed seed that always gives the same numbers? All rng is seeded. Seems highly unlikely that this is the case.

 

[Deleted User]

Contempt for gameplay keeps showing: in this kind of products, the decision making process is all about giving oneself the highest percentage possible.
A miss at 95 % is a disaster.
Just as a success at 5%.
This destroys the purpose of elaborating solutions. Take any decision and luck will part.
Games are based on that principle. Except products like XCOM are not supposed to be that kind of games.

The decision making process is not just about the highest percentage in games like this. You have to weigh all options.

Lords of Xulima has RNG. Sometimes it works in your favor, sometimes it doesn't. What I mean by it all comes out in the wash is that if you play for a long enough time the seemingly helpful and seemingly hurtful will eventually even out psychologically. But the thing is, RNG is also life and death in the game at times. If you hit a 50/50 coin flip for a freeze attack, for example, then the Mage might get a turn and will be able to stun the enemy. Now another party member will get to attack before the enemy since they are stunned, and can do something else, etc. etc. So in this case, a lucky hit snowballed into a great effect. The opposite can happen as well, and on the hardest difficulty level this stuff matters and can mean the difference between winning or losing a battle. You have to take calculated risks literally all the time in the game, deciding which moves are worth risking, when to play it safe, always making tough decisions…

And it's not highest % at all because you have to often decide between a scenario like this:

Do I use a Shuriken to inflict bleeding damage? This will cause bleeding each turn for the duration of the battle…

OR

Do I use a scroll of Icy Touch? I can freeze the enemy so they don't attack (a Shuriken would cause Bleed, but the enemy would then get their turn and do a possibly devastating attack), but now I'm going to have to do more damage over the course of the battle in other ways.

OR

If I throw the Shuriken, it might miss (bad roll), wasting a valuable item, letting the enemy attack next and essentially could mean the death of a character or leading to the next tough decision.

THEN LATER

You're running low on everything. A Freezing Strike has a 62% chance of hitting. If it hits, it's very good damage and a solid freeze. If I use a scroll, it's 100% chance of hit but minimal damage and not that great of a freeze. So, you can roll the dice and risk it, possibly losing the battle or possibly winning it, try to play it safe, etc. etc.

It's really that excellent so far.

 

[screeg]

Complaints about RNG are bullshit, as per usual. The funniest thing is how people first show their "veteran" gaming status by talking about other games they've pwned, then show up and bitch about a game *everybody* loves and ask the devs to change it because it's too hard. *cough* sorry, I mean the RNG is unfair!

 

[rjshae]

The Universe uses a RNG, why shouldn't games? Suck it up.