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Welcome, guideoui.com visitors. Battle Brothers game guide focuses on Builds and Company Composition Guide. This guide is party composition with Warriors of the North and Beasts&Exploration DLC (v1.3.0.22). The guide will give you some tips, tricks, and advice on Builds and Company Compositions. While writing this instruction, we pick up many pieces of information from several sites for you. We hope that this guide will help you.

The absolute WORST part of Battlebrothers is the map seed system, and its inability to set basic rules such as ensuring there is at least one building of each important type. Another month, another prize draw in the We The Players competition exclusive to Nexus Mods users! Once again time for TokenGeek to announce the lucky winners of the Nintendo Switch Lite and 5x $50 Steam Gift Cards in October's draw. A Map Seed is a code for procedurally generated games like Battle Brothers or Minecraft, and these allow players to tailor or replay some particularly interesting encounters - and share them around! We've got a list of the best, most interesting, or most challenging Battle Brothers Map Seeds around just below.

An advanced guide sharing some good builds and party composition with Warriors of the North and Beasts&Exploration DLC (v1.3.0.22).

Builds and Company Composition Guide (v1.3.0.22)

This is an advanced guide sharing some good builds and company composition experience.

The goal is to build a company which can fight against any opponents with less risk and pain (including Kraken, Ijirok, Black Monolith and other the most dangerous opponents).

1. Company Composition Fundamental

In this section, a common battle company composition and several situational company compositions will be discussed

1.1. Common Company Composition

A common composition of 12 brothers fighting company is like 6 frontline and 6 backline.

All frontline brothers can bear both melee and range damage. Some or most of them are good at damaging. They consist of various two-handed melee weapon users, one-handed melee weapon users with or without shield.

All backline brothers can bear some range damage. Some of them can bear temporary melee damage. Most of them are good at damaging. Some of them use melee weapon, some of them use range weapon, some of them use both. They consist of 2 or 3 tiles melee weapon users, sergeant, archer, crossbow man, thrower.

In addition, it will be much helpful to have some brothers who can overwhelm, disarm, stun, daze, injury, fear, stagger, knock back, throw net and other powerful tricks.

Also, it will be much safer and convenient to have some or most brothers with rotation or footwork, some or most brothers can use indomitable.

In later sections, various builds will be discussed to achieve an all-around company.

1.2. Situational Company Composition

• for common opponents:
  Battle Brothers Wiki[battlebrothers.fandom.com]
• Chosen
  rotation, footwork, indomitable help a lot;
  overwhelm, injury, net help
• Witch Hut
  • 3 or more archers will help
• Ijirok
  • stagger, daze users will help a lot to bring down his speed thus allow brothers touch and hit him. Otherwise, he will keep jumping around and most of brothers will keep chasing without attack.
• Kraken
  • 12 high melee brothers with good mdef
• Black Monolith
  • 3-row formation with sergeant, ranger(optional) or other weak backline in middle is recommended. Thus, 10 frontline + 2 backline, or 6 frontline + 4 tough backline + 2 backline is recommended.
  • heavy armor two-handed users help a lot;
  • warscythe users with overwhelm and mushroom help;
  • whip users help with Necrosavant.

(PS: there is no need to keep conqueror’s armor intact, it will be given as loot even if his armor is destroyed, it’s special.)

2. Frontline

Frontline brothers will fight face to face with opponents and also tank them.
Thus they need to bear both melee and range damage.
They can also use various weapons to attack and do various powerful tricks.
In this section, both offense and defense will be mentioned, while mainly focus on the defense.
In later sections, some detailed frontline builds are discussed.

2.1. Offense:

Please see Battle Brothers Wiki Melee Weapons[battlebrothers.fandom.com].

In general, two-handed weapons are the most powerful weapons, can do huge amount of damage with AOE. One-handed weapon with offhand free and duelist can provide higher single target damage. One-handed weapon with shield can provide only average damage.

More details about offense and weapons will be mentioned in later detail builds.

2.2. Defense

Below are currently found feasible solutions to bear both melee and range damage:

2.2.1. Shield

• Requirements:
  shield, medium mdef(15+), high hp / fatigue
  light armor(120/95) / medium armor (200/200)
  Nimble / Battle Forged
  Bone Platings / various
  (better hp then go Nimble, better fatigue then go Battle Forged)
• Behavior:
  dodge or block well both melee and range attack, use light armor and hp pool / medium armor to absorb left damage.
• Examples:
  Shield user

2.2.2. Heavy Armor

• Requirements:
  high mdef(30+), high fatigue
  300/300 heavy armor
  Battle Forged
  Additional Fur Padding (Reduces damage ignoring armor by 33%)
• Behavior:
  dodge well melee attack, use heavy armor to absorb left damage;
  take range attack like a meat before touch opponent, use heavy armor to absorb all range damage, and use “Additional Fur Padding” to deal the damage ignoring armor from top rank crossbow.
• Examples:
  Two-handed melee weapon user
  One-handed melee weapon user

2.2.3. Dodge

• Requirements:
  high initiative(≈150, bring 15+ mdef and rdef during combat), high hp (80+), medium mdef(15+)
  120/95 light armor
  Nimble, Dodge, Relentless
  Bone Platings
• Behavior:
  dodge well both melee and range attack, use light armor and hp pool to absorb left damage.
• Examples:
  Fencing sword user

2.2.4. Adrenaline + Recover Cycle + Indomitable / Shieldwall / Spearwall / Riposte / etc

• Requirements:
  fatigue, as low as possible initiative(can be achieved by heavy armor and accumulative fatigue)
  Adrenaline, Recover, Indomitable / Shieldwall / Spearwall / Riposte / etc
• Usage:
  (here use Adrenaline + Recover + Indomitable to explain)
  Indomitable + Other Actions every turn, if total available fatigue is not enough to do both,
  then do Adrenaline + Recover or Recover + Adrenaline(for it to work, you need to go into Options, Gameplay, and Turn off “Auto-End Turns”).

An example:
E = Enemy
B = Brother

New Turn: E1-E2-B(0/91 fatigue, Great Sword AOE + Indomitable, 48/91 fatigue)-E3
New Turn: E1-E2-E3-B(33/91 fatigue, AOE + Indomitable, 81/91 fatigue)
New Turn: E1-E2-E3-B(66/91 fatigue, Adrenaline, 86/91 fatigue, Recover, 43/91 fatigue)
New Turn: B(28/91 fatigue, AOE + Indomitable, 76/91 fatigue)-E1-E2-E3
New Turn: E1-E2-E3-B(61/91 fatigue, Adrenaline, 81/91 fatigue, Recover, 40/91 fatigue)
New Turn: B(25/91 fatigue, AOE + Indomitable, 73/91 fatigue)-E1-E2-E3
New Turn: E1-E2-E3-B(58/91 fatigue, Adrenaline, 78/91 fatigue, Recover, 39/91 fatigue)
New Turn: B(24/91 fatigue, AOE + Indomitable, 72/91 fatigue)-E1(get hit, additional fatigue)-E2(get hit)-E3(get hit)
New Turn: E1(get hit)-E2(get hit)-E3(get hit)-B(76/91 fatigue,Recover, 38/91 fatigue, Adrenaline 58/91 fatigue)
New Turn: B(43/91 fatigue, AOE + Indomitable, 91/91 fatigue)-E1-E2-E3
New Turn: E1-E2-E3-B(76/91 fatigue, Recover, 38/91 fatigue, Adrenaline, 58/91 fatigue)
New Turn: B(43/91 fatigue, AOE + Indomitable, 91/91 fatigue)-E1-E2-E3
…
Loop

As above example, with 91 max fatigue, even in the worst case(start turn with 91/91 fatigue, get 15 back, thus 76/91 fatigue), it’s still possible to do an 23 fatigue AOE every two turns and keep constant indomitable.

The formula to calculate max fatigue needed to keep this loop is:
Max fatigue needed = 2*(Indomitable fatigue + Other Action fatigue) -5

A complete formula is:
Max fatigue needed = 2 * ( Adrenaline fatigue cost + Action A fatigue cost + Action B fatigue cost ) – 3 * Fatigue Recovery per turn

Below is some example with version 1.3:

Skill Combination	Max Fatigue needed without Iron Lung	Max Fatigue needed with Iron Lung
Indomitable	45	33
Indomitable + Great Sword AOE	91	79
Indomitable + Two-handed single hit	69	57
Indomitable + Shieldwall	85	73
Riposte	33	21
Riposte + Shieldwall	73	61
Spearwall	41	29
Spearwall + Shieldwall	81	69
Spearwall + Indomitable	91	79

• Limit:
  for some opponents like Chosen which can also use Adrenaline thus act before our brothers and also some opponents like fatigue Unhold or staggered opponents which can act after our brothers, this method will be invalid. While, in general, this method can be still useful to against most opponents.
• Exploit:
  In addition, it’s possible to use Quick hands exploit to further low the max fatigue needed.
  But it means every turn switching weapon once, can be a bit annoying and no fun.
  See details in
  Quick hands exploit still exists
  Adrenaline Junkie Company[battlebrothers.fandom.com].
• Behavior:
  with constant indomitable / shieldwall, both melee and range damage can be mitigated well;
  in addition, this can be combined with above methods.
• Examples:
  Dedicated Tank, Riposte Sword Master, Spear Man.

2.2.5. Other Suboptimal Solutions

• high mdef, high rdef
  it’s not easy to achieve due to attribute limit.
• high mdef, high hp, Nimble
  This is very vulnerable to range attack.
  Light armor will be striped very quickly by range attack and bare naked brother will be further weaken by poison, bleeding, range attack.
  If this method is used, holding a shield before touch opponents is recommended.

3. Shield User

• These are the most undemanding front builds.
  Thus they are the core of early company.
  Some of these builds can shine even in mid-late game.

3.1. Recruit:

• matk 70+(for early game) 85+(for mid-late game)
  mdef 15+
  fat 120+(for nimble), 130+(for battle forged)
  hp 80+(for nimble), 70(for battle forged)
  resolve 45

3.2. Level up:

• mdef
  fat
  matk
  hp
  resolve

3.3. Backgrounds:

• cheap or failed two-handed recruits
  Battle Brothers Wiki Character Backgrounds[battlebrothers.fandom.com]

3.4. Perk:

• Basic
  Recover (fatigue)
  Weapon Mastery (fatigue and additional benefits)
  Nimble / Battle Forged
• Recommended
  Colossus (≈15 hp, especially early game)
  Rotation (survive,offense,assist)
  Shield Expert (mdef, rdef, less shield damage intake,15% knock back chance)
  Under Dog (mdef)
  Brawny (≈15 fatigue, in case Battle Forged)
  Pathfinder (ap, fatigue)
  Berserk (ap, synergize well with recover)
  Killing Frenzy(damage)
  Gifted (3 matk, 3 medef, 4 hp/fat/res)
  Fortified Mind(≈10 res)
• Optional
  Student
  Fast Adaption ( early crap recruit or against shieldwall Ancient Dead)
  Indomitable (survive, avoid stun)
  Adrenaline (survive, offense, see above Adrenaline + Recover cycle part)
  Backstabber (matk)
  Taunt
  Fearsome(fear, with hammer)
  Dodge (only with -4 fatigue shield and Nimble)
  Relentless (only with -4 fatigue shield and Nimble)
  Overwhelm(only with -4 fatigue shield and Nimble)
  Lone Wolf(can be used for dedicated distracting tank build)
• Attractive but not recommended

3.5. Builds Examples:

• Early Crap:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-3&1-1&3-6&3-3
  Fast Adaption for a little more hit chance, also helps against shieldwall.
• Early Basic Nimble:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-3&1-8&3-6&3-3&5-4&6-3
• Early Basic Battle Forged:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-3&1-8&3-6&3-3&5-4&6-4&3-4
• Hammer:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-8&3-6&3-3&5-4&6-4&3-4&4-3&7-1&1-9&1-6&1-3
  Hammer ensure 10 hp damage which synergize well with fearsome(require at least 1 hp damage) and poison (require at least 6 hp damage). Also as hammer doesn’t benefit a lot from duelist (due to low base damage), to use this 10 hp feature, footman with shield is a good choice.
• Flail:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-8&1-6&1-9&3-6&6-4&5-4&6-1&4-2&3-3&7-3&3-4
  Flail can ignore shield defense bonus and also can do 100% chance headshot.
  The weak point is currently lack of powerful one-handed flail.
  But it’s still very powerful for begin-mid game.
• Sword – Constant Riposte – Adrenaline + Recover Cycle
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-3&1-8&3-6&3-3&5-4&6-4&3-4&4-6&1-7&7-4
  This one can keep constant Indomitable + Shieldwall (with 200/210 armor, -8 fatigue sword,-14 fatigue shield, 134 max fatigue is needed) or Riposte + Shieldwall (with above, 124 max fatigue).
• For Adrenaline + Recover Cycle details, see above Section.
  Thus, it can switch between super tank and tank with damage(one good usage of legendary sword Reproach of the Old Gods
• Spear – Constant Spearwall – Adrenaline + Recover Cycle
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-3&1-8&3-6&3-3&5-4&6-4&3-4&1-7&4-9&7-4
  This one is like above sword riposte one.
  It can keep constant spearwall (with 200/210 armor, -8 fatigue spear, -16 fatigue shield, 94 max fatigue is needed) or Indomitable + Shieldwall(138 max fatigue).
• Dagger – Injury, Loot
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-8&3-6&5-4&6-4&3-4&1-3&1-2&2-1&3-1&4-7
  Puncture can’t do critical hit;
  Puncture can’t benefit from double grip, thus bringing a goblin shield or heavier shield is good idea.
  In addition, due to puncture has -15% hit chance and 45 fatigue/per 3 hits (per turn), higher matk and fatigue are always better.

2.6. Equipment:

• for Battle Forged:
  200+ duration head;
  210+ duration body;
  Additional Fur Padding(against top rank crossbow and dagger puncture) / Bone Platings / Horn Plate / Light Padding Replacement / Lindwurm Scale Cloak;
  Weapon of choice.
• for Nimble:
  120 duration head;
  95 duration body;
  Bone Platings;
  Weapon of choice.
  Bandage.

3.6. Function:

• Tank and kill.

Note:

4. Two-handed Battle Forged Frontline

• Wearing the most heavy armor and wielding the most powerful two-handed weapon, they are the king of the battle fields.

4.1. Recruit:

• matk 85+
  mdef 30+
  fat 130+
  hp 70
  resolve 45-55

4.2. Level up:

• matk
  mdef
  fat
  hp
  resolve

4.3. Backgrounds:

• Whildman, farmhand, Lumberjack, Messenger, hedge knight, barbarian, brawler, squire,caravan hands, gravedigger, beast slayer, militia, etc.
  Battle Brothers Wiki Character Backgrounds[battlebrothers.fandom.com]

4.4. Perk:

• Basic
  Student (level up quickly, as this build only works with high level)
  Recover (fatigue)
  Weapon Mastery (fatigue and additional benefits, optional for Mace if second skill is not used so often)
  Under Dog (mdef)
  Battle Forged (survive)
  Berserk (ap, synergize well with recover)
• Recommended
  Pathfinder (ap, fatigue)
  Rotation (survive,offense,assist)
  Killing Frenzy(damage)
  Reach Advantage (mdef, optional for Mace)
  Brawny (≈15 fatigue)
  Colossus (≈15 hp)
  Gifted (3 matk, 3 medef, 4 hp/fat/res)
  Fortified Mind(≈10 res)
• Optional
  Indomitable (survive, avoid stun)
  Adrenaline (survive, offense, see above Adrenaline + Recover cycle part)
  Backstabber (matk)
  Crippling Strikes (injury)
  Executioner(damage)
• Attractive but not recommended

4.5. Builds Examples:

• Sword:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&3-6&4-6&5-4&5-1&6-1&6-4&7-3&3-4
  Hammer :
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&3-6&5-4&5-1&6-1&7-3&6-4&4-3&3-4
  Mace – Daze, Stun:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&3-6&5-4&6-1&7-3&6-4&4-1&1-7&7-4
  Axe:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&3-6&5-4&6-1&7-3&6-4&5-1&4-4&3-4
  Cleaver – Injury:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&3-6&5-4&6-1&6-4&5-1&4-5&1-2&2-1
  Cleaver / Whip – Disarm:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&3-6&5-4&6-1&6-4&5-1&4-5&2-7&3-4
• Equipment:
• 300 duration head;
  300 duration body;
  Additional Fur Padding(against top rank crossbow and dagger puncture) / Bone Platings / Horn Plate / Light Padding Replacement / Lindwurm Scale Cloak;
  Greatsword;
  Two-handed Hammer;
  Two-Handed Flanged Mace;
  Bardiche / Greataxe;
  Rusty Warblade (Barbarians) / named cleaver from Icy cave, Whip;

4.6. Function:

• Tank and kill.

4.7. Usage:

Note:

• These builds are also extremely demanding to recruit, gear and perk, thus they are only possible to use in mid-late game.
  The recruit is very precious, thus keeping them alive is the principle.
  A usual level up route is like:
  level 1-6: backline pikeman with medium armor;
  after battle forged: frontline with footman with shield and medium armor;
  after all defensive perks or even level 11: two-handed.

5. One-handed Battle Forged Frontline

• As the recruit requirement is almost the same as Two-handed Battle Forged Frontline, these two builds are a little conflict on recruit.

Compare to two-handed, pros and cons are:
pros:
better single target damage ignoring armor (with duelist perk, synergize well with mace/axe/cleaver);
more hits;

cons:
less defensive(lack of Reach Advantage, thus require better mdef recruit);
lack of AOE damage;

Some attractive builds are discussed below.

• Recruit:
• matk 85+
  mdef 40+
  fat 130+
  hp 70
  resolve 45-55
• Level up:
• matk
  mdef
  fat
  hp
  resolve
• Backgrounds:
• Whildman, farmhand, Lumberjack, Messenger, hedge knight, barbarian, brawler, squire,caravan hands, gravedigger, beast slayer, militia, etc.
  Battle Brothers Wiki Character Backgrounds[battlebrothers.fandom.com]
• Perk:
• Basic
  Recover (fatigue)
  Weapon Mastery (fatigue and additional benefits)
  Under Dog (mdef)
  Battle Forged (survive)
  Berserk (ap, synergize well with recover)
  Duelist (damage ignoring armor, synergize well with mace/axe/cleaver)
• Recommended
  Pathfinder (ap, fatigue)
  Rotation (survive,offense,assist)
  Killing Frenzy(damage)
  Brawny (≈15 fatigue)
  Colossus (≈15 hp)
  Gifted (3 matk, 3 medef, 4 hp/fat/res)
  Fortified Mind(≈10 res)
• Optional
  Student
  Indomitable (survive, avoid stun)
  Adrenaline (survive, offense, see above Adrenaline + Recover cycle part)
  Backstabber (matk)
  Crippling Strikes (injury)
  Executioner(damage)
  Fearsome(fear, with hammer)
• Attractive but not recommended
• Builds Examples:
• Cleaver:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-8&1-6&1-9&3-4&3-6&6-4&5-4&6-1&7-2&4-5&7-3
  Cleaver – Injury
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-8&1-6&1-9&3-6&6-4&5-4&6-1&7-2&4-5&1-2&2-1
  Heavy hit with orc cleaver (especially with named one), do the same armor damage as two-handed cleaver, more damage ignoring armor and can bleed on the first hit even on 300 armor.
  Very competitive.Cleaver + Whip – Disarm:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-8&1-6&1-9&3-4&3-6&6-4&5-4&6-1&7-2&4-5&2-7
  4 AP cleaver / whip hit, switch if needed, 5 AP disarm, synergize well;
  3 tiles whip also helps with geist and necroservants.

  Axe – Injury:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-8&1-6&1-9&3-6&6-4&5-4&6-1&7-2&4-4&6-2&1-2
  axe (50% additional damage to HP on a hit to the head);
  Duelist;
  Head Hunter;
  brute(15% additional head damage, -5 melee);
  juggler(+5% chance to hit the head) / killer on the run (+10% chance to hit the head).
  With above, a head chopper build can be attractive.

  Mace – Injury, Stun:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&5-4&3-6&7-2&1-2&2-1&6-1&4-1&3-4&6-4
  winged mace with duelist provides the highest damage ignoring armor among all one-handed weapons. it can injury opponent with max hp <262, but as remaining armor exists,
  injuring opponent with 200 remaing armor and 150 max hp is more feasible (yes, it’s like Chosen).

• Equipment:
• 300 duration head;
  300 duration body;
  Additional Fur Padding(against top rank crossbow and dagger puncture) / Bone Platings / Horn Plate / Light Padding Replacement / Lindwurm Scale Cloak;
  Weapon of choice.
• Function:
• Tank and kill.

6. One-handed Nimble Dodge Frontline

• Comparing to Battle Forge ones, these builds are generally less defensive due to light armor and extremely vulnerable with fix hp damage like bleed / Miasma, but tougher facing armor ignoring damage like crossbow bolt, dagger puncture(thus use them to chase ranger and anyone with dagger).

Recruit:

• matk 85+
  ini 150+
  mdef 25+
  hp 70+
  fat 100
  resolve 40

Level up:

• matk
  mdef
  ini/hp
  fat

Backgrounds:

• thief, etc.
  Battle Brothers Wiki Character Backgrounds[battlebrothers.fandom.com]

Perk:

• Basic
  Student
  Recover (fatigue)
  Dodge (benefit from high initiative, 15-20 additional mdef and rdef)
  Relentless (keep high current initiative, synergize with dodge,fencing sword lunge,overwhelm)
  Weapon Mastery (fatigue and additional benefits)
  Nimble (survive)
  Berserk (ap, synergize well with recover)
  duelist (more damage ignore armor, inflict estimated 15-25 more hp damage duration the first lunge hit, contribute well to kill low armor opponent in one lunge or lunge + slash)
• Recommended
  Pathfinder (ap, fatigue)
  Footwork (escape from heavy armor opponent or trouble)
  Killing frenzy (more damage, synergize with berserk)
  Colossus (≈15 hp)
  Gifted (3 matk, 3 medef, 4 hp/fat/res)
  Fortified Mind(≈10 res)
• Optional
  Lonewolf (≈13 matk, 8 mdef,3 rdef, but will disappear when staying with other brothers)
• Attractive but not recommendedUnderdog(this build is not designed to be surrounded,and conversely should escape from being surrounded or kill them quickly)

  Overwhelm(for a single opponent with 75 matk it brings -15 matk debuff. But after two hits weak opponent maybe already died while his stronger bodyguards around aren’t been hitted, thus no debuff left; on the other hand, to debuff strong opponent like orc warlord, it’s safer to use archer or backline Warscythe.)

Builds Examples:

• Fencing Sword – Flank low armor opponent:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&2-3&3-5&6-3&6-1&7-2&1-6&4-6&5-5&7-3
  Fencing sword is the most suitable weapon due to lunge which can get additional damage with high initiative. With goblin trinket, this build can be a goblin slayer killing and jumping.
• Equipment:
• 120 duration 5 fat head;
  95 duration 10 fat body;
  Bone Platings;
  fencing sword;
  goblin trinket in case;
  named items will help a lot;
  dagger/bandage/shield;

Function:

• Kill.

Usage:

• flank enemy aiming for low armor opponent,
  kill them in one or two hit and jump to next;
  when getting stuck by heavy armor opponent or in trouble or just mission completed,
  use lunge or footwork to escape;
  when fighting high armor opponents, aiming targets with armor striped by other bros.

Note:

7. Backline

• Backline brothers will usually fight 2 tiles or further away from opponents. Thus they need to bear mostly only range damage, but it will be helpful to have some of them with the capacity to bear temporary melee damage.They can also use various melee or range weapons to attack and do various powerful tricks.
  In this section, both offense and defense will be mentioned.
  In later sections, some detailed backline builds are discussed.
• Offense:

Please see Battle Brothers Wiki Weapons[battlebrothers.fandom.com].

There are fewer choices for backline, they are:

Melee:

• Two-tile Spear – Spetum
  no strong point is discovered currently, not recommended; spearwall has normal 1 tile.
• Two-tile Axe – Longaxe
  highest hp damage, shield damage
• Two-tile Hammer – PoleHammer
  highest armor damage
• Two-tile Polearm – Billhook
  high hp and armor damage
• Two-tile Polearm – Battle standard
  for seregant
• Two-tile Polearm – Jagged pike
  allow brother without mastery can attack only with 5 AP; additional bleeding
• Two-tile Polearm – Warscythe
  AOE

Range:

• Bow
• Crossbow
• Throwing weapons

Defense

• Please see above Frontline section first.Basically for backline defense, it’s a easier version of frontline.
  As most of backline only need to bear some range damage, medium or even low rdef + Nimble is already good enough. The bottom line is to take several hits and still can retreat and survive without injury.

  In addition, in order to have some of them with capacity to bear temporary melee damage, medium mdef + Indomitable is sufficient. This can be achieved by both 20+ mdef or 10+ mdef + Dodge.

• – Sergeant
• Specialized build for group resolve buff and pull panic brothers back to fight.

Recruit:

• res 90+
  matk 85+ (not must-have, but do help with break net/free ally/hit alp shadow)
  fat 120 (more is always better)
  hp 80
  mdef 10
  rdef 10

Level up:

• res
  matk
  fat
  hp
  mdef/rdef

Backgrounds:

• Any.
  Battle Brothers Wiki Character Backgrounds[battlebrothers.fandom.com]

Perk:

• Basic
  Student
  Recover (fatigue)
  Pathfinder (ap, fatigue, mobility)
  Fortified Mind (resolve)
  Rally the troops
  Nimble / Battle Forged
• Recommended
  Colossus (≈15 hp)
  Brawny (in case Battle Forged)
  Rotation
  Footwork (escape from trouble; combine with rotation to help ally escape)
  Indomitable (survive, possibly use Adrenaline + Recover cycle)
  Gifted (3 matk, 3 medef, 4 hp/fat/res)
  Anticipation ( in case high base rdef)
• Optional
  Adrenaline(for Adrenaline + Recover cycle to keep constant indomitable; assist)
• Attractive but not recommended

Builds Examples:

• Nimble Sergeant:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&2-4&3-7&3-6&6-3&7-4&1-3&5-5&1-7
  Battle Forged Sergeant:
  http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&2-4&3-7&3-6&7-4&1-3&5-5&6-4&3-4The Nimble one can have a little more fatigue, less risk of injury from crossbow, but more vulnerable in melee especially with bleeding and miasma.
  Both work fine.

Equipment:

• 120 duration 5 fat head / 200+ duration head;
  95 duration 10 fat body / 210+ duration body;
  Bone Platings / Additional Fur Padding(against top rank crossbow and dagger puncture) / Unhold Fur Cloak / Light Padding Replacement;
  Battle Stand;
  sergeant trinket;

Function:

• alive, rally, assist;

Usage:

Note:

8. Two-handed Nimble Backline

• These are the main backline builds. Most of these builds only require high matk to ensure damage high damage output. Thus these builds can use “failed Two-handed Battle Forged Frontline recruits”.Both Nimble and Battle Forged can be used. Nimble builds are better to against armor penetration damage but weaker in melee. Battle Forged onces are on contrast side. While both can work.

Recruit:

• matk 85+
  hp 80
  mdef 15
  fat 110(for nimble) / 125(for battle forged with 200/210 armor)
  resolve 40or (for high initiative Overwhelm + Relentless + Dodge + Nimble build)
  matk 85+
  ini 150+
  hp 80
  fat 110
  resolve 40

Level up:

• matk
  hp/mdef/fat
  resolveor (for high initiative Overwhelm + Relentless + Dodge build)
  matk
  ini
  hp/mdef
  fat
  resolve

Backgrounds:

• various.
  Battle Brothers Wiki Character Backgrounds[battlebrothers.fandom.com]

Perk:

• Basic
  Student
  Recover (fatigue)
  Weapon Mastery (fatigue and additional benefits)
  Nimble / Battle Forged (survive)
  Berserk (ap, synergize well with recover)
• Recommended
  Brawny (≈10-15 fatigue, in case of Battle Forged)
  Pathfinder (ap, fatigue)
  Dodge (benefit from high initiative, 15-20 additional mdef and rdef)
  Relentless (keep high current initiative, synergize with dodge,overwhelm)
  Overwhelm (Warscythe AOE can spread overwhelm debuff very well, like 0-6 stacks)
  Rotation
  Indomitable
  Backstabber(matk)
  Killing frenzy (more damage, synergize with berserk)
• Optional
  Colossus (≈15 hp)
  Gifted (3 matk, 3 medef, 4 hp/fat/res)
  Underdog
  Anticipation(rdef)
• Attractive but not recommended

Builds Examples:

Polearm:
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&3-6&6-3&7-3&6-1&7-4&1-3&4-8&3-1
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&3-6&7-3&6-1&7-4&4-8&3-1&3-4&6-4
Standard Nimble and battle Forged builds.

Polearm + whip:
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&2-7&4-8&4-5&6-3&6-1&7-3&7-4&3-6&1-6
can do 4 AP whip hit + 5AP polearm hit / disarm, whip 3-tile range helps a lot with geist, disarm works well with orc warlord with man splitter, necroservant and others except Black Monolith Conqueror, sigh…

Warscythe – Temporary Frontline

http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&4-8&3-6&6-3&7-3&6-1&5-1&7-4&1-3
it’s exactly a weak version of Two-handed Battle Forge Frontline for some failed recruits.

Warscythe – Overwhelm
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&4-8&3-6&6-3&6-1&2-3&3-5&5-2&7-4
This is the finest nimble backline so far. It can provide average AOE damage(can be better with mushroom), spread Overwhelm to opponents next frontline, have 25+ mdef and 15+rdef.
The only disadvantage is hp maybe be a little low (70+ is still easy to achieve) due to tight perk and attribute.

Warscythe + Whip – Overwhelm
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&2-7&4-8&4-5&6-3&6-1&5-2&3-5&7-3&2-3
This is an super versatile build, can do above all tricks, but really tight in perks.
Be cautious to use.

Suboptimal longaxe, polehammer builds:
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&3-6&6-3&7-3&6-1&7-4&1-3&1-2&3-1
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&3-6&6-3&7-3&6-1&7-4&1-3&4-3&3-1
Longaxe and polehammer are not polearm thus can’t benefit from -1 AP cost from polearm mastery. In addition to this, longaxe only provides a little more hp damage but does much less armor damage comparing to billhook. And polehammer provides more armor damage with 2nd skill much less hp damage. Thus, In general, these two are beaten by billhook and warscythe.
for some situational fight like Kraken, Two-handed Hammer Battle Forged Frontline brother can act as a temporary PoleHammer user.

Equipment:

120 duration 5 fat head / 200+ head;
95 duration 10 fat body / 210+ body;
Bone Platings;
Billhook, Warscythe;
dagger, bandage.

Function:

Kill, rescue others, assist.

Usage:

with Pathfinder + Polearm Mastery, these brothers can step 2 tiles then hit;
with Rotation + Indomitable, they can rescue others;

Note:

9. Archer

The most important and powerful ranger among all three types with longest fire range, 2-3 hits per turn, high damage, medium armor damage, medium damage ignoring armor.

Recruit:

ratk 85+
ini 150+ (not essential if go without Overwhelm, but archer with Overwhelm will help a lot)
hp 80
rdef 15
fat 100

Level up:

ratk
ini
hp/rdef
fat

Backgrounds:

Hunter>>>Others
Battle Brothers Wiki Character Backgrounds[battlebrothers.fandom.com]

Perk:

• Basic
  Student (archers shine on high level)
  Nimble (survive)
  Bow mastery (fatigue, range +1)
  Recover (fatigue)
  Berserk (ap, synergize with recover)
  Bullseye
• Recommended
  Pathfinder(ap, fatigue, go to high terrain quickly)
  Footwork (escape trouble)
  relentless(for overwhelm)
  Overwhelm (can be spread to multiple opponents, like 0-6)
  Killing frenzy (damage)
  Gifted ( 4 more ratk value a lot, and also other attributes)
• Optional
  Dodge(around 15 rdef/mdef)
  Colossus (hp)
  Anticipation(rdef)
  Crippling Strikes
  Executioner
• Attractive but not recommended

Builds Examples:

Archer – Overwhelm:
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&4-11&5-5&6-3&6-1&2-2&3-5&5-2&7-3
this is a balanced one.
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&4-11&5-5&6-3&6-1&2-2&3-5&5-2&2-3
this is for low rdef.

Archer – Injury:
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&4-11&5-5&6-3&6-1&2-2&7-3&1-2&2-1

Archer – Very Defensive:
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-6&4-11&5-5&6-3&6-1&2-2&7-3&1-3&3-2

Equipment:

120 duration 5 fat head;
95 duration 10 fat bodyy;
Bone Platings;
Wooden Stick;
bandage for others;

Function:

spread debuff to dangerous and high priority target like enemy ranger, warlord;
do damage and kill priority targets;

Usage:

Note:

10. Crossbow man

Due to closer fire range and base hit chance bonus, crossbow is easier to hit with low ratk. This make it a early-game transit weapon for archer.

Despite this, Crossbow mastery brings additional damage ignoring armor making it energize well with injury.

However, comparing to bow, crossbow is low in total damage, armor stripping and range.

Recruit:

ratk 85+
hp 80
rdef 15
fat 100

Level up:

ratk
hp/rdef
fat

Backgrounds:

Hunter>>>Others
Battle Brothers Wiki Character Backgrounds[battlebrothers.fandom.com]

Perk:

• Basic
  Student (archers shine on high level)
  Nimble (survive)
  Crossbow mastery (fatigue, +20% damage ignore armor to injury much more easily)
  Recover (fatigue)
  Berserk (ap, synergize with recover)
  Bullseye
• Recommended
  Crippling strikes (injury higher max hp and more easily)
  Executioner (+20%damage after injury)
  Pathfinder(ap, fatigue, go to high terrain quickly)
  Footwork (escape trouble)
  Killing frenzy (damage)
  Gifted ( 4 more ratk value a lot, and also other attributes)
• Optional
  Colossus (hp)
  Anticipation(rdef)
• Attractive but not recommended

Builds Examples:

Crossbow – Injury:
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&2-2&4-10&1-2&2-1&6-3&5-5&7-3&6-1&1-6
due to additional damage ignoring armor from crossbow mastery, crossbow synergize well with injury.

Equipment:

120 duration 5 fat head;
95 duration 10 fat body;
Bone Platings;
Heavy Crossbow +15% hit chance -12 fat,
Spiked Impaler knock back target, +10% hit chance -10 fat;
Wooden Stick;
bandage for others;

Function:

injury and kill;

Usage:

Note:

11. Thrower

Low ratk requirements make it’s early game friendly.
With barbarian throwing weapon, this build can make devastating damage within 2-3 tiles range.

Recruit:

ratk 85 (can hit well with low ratk, high ratk will benefit more crossbow)
hp 80
rdef 15
fat 100

Level up:

ratk
hp/rdef
fat

Backgrounds:

Any.
Battle Brothers Wiki Character Backgrounds[battlebrothers.fandom.com]

Perk:

• Basic
  Student
  Nimble (survive)
  Throwing mastery (fatigue, damage)
  Recover (fatigue)
  Berserk (ap, synergize with recover)
  duelist (+25% damage ignore armor to injury much more easily)
  quick hands (save 4 ap for every 16 ap)
• Recommended
  Crippling strikes (injury higher max hp and more easily)
  Executioner (+20%damage after injury)
  Footwork (escape trouble)
  Pathfinder(ap, fatigue, go to high terrain quickly)
  bags and belts(with it max 5*4 throwing + 14 crossbow bolt, other wise 5*2+14 or 5*3, or pack some other useful things like net)
• Optional
  Killing frenzy (damage)
  Gifted (more attributes)
  Colossus (hp)
  Anticipation(rdef)
  Bullseye(prefer to attack in 2-tiles thus it’s not really needed)
• Attractive but not recommended

Battle Brothers New Company Seed

Builds Examples:

Thrower – Injury:
http://tumult.cc/bb-calc.html?1-9&1-8&1-2&2-1&6-3&5-5&6-1&7-2&4-12&1-6&2-7
due to additional damage ignoring armor from duelist, throwing weapon synergize well with injury.
This 10 throwing weapons + 14 crossbow bolt build is usually enough for average battle.
First 1-2 turns as opponents are still far, usually use crossbow.
Then throw 10 axes, around turn 7, back to crossbow, at that time usually the battle is already under control.

Equipment:

120 duration 5 fat head;
95 duration 10 fat body;
Bone Platings;
Bundle of Heavy Javelins,
Bundle of Heavy Throwing Axes;
Heavy Crossbow +15% hit chance -12 fat,
Spiked Impaler knock back target, +10% hit chance -10 fat;
Wooden Stick;
bandage for others;

Function:

injury and kill;

Usage:

Note:

Company Composition Evolution

In this section, above all details builds will be considered and a company composition evolving example will be given.

Example:

A common company composition involving route will be like:

• 3 shield user frontline + 2 polearm backline
• 5 shield user frontline + 2 polearm backline +sergeant + 1 archer
• 6 shield user frontline + 3 polearm backline +sergeant + 2 archer
• 5 shield user frontline + 1 two-handed battle forged frontline+
  3 polearm backline +sergeant + 2 archer
• 4 shield user frontline + 2 two-handed battle forged frontline+
  3 polearm backline +sergeant + 2 archer
• 2 shield user frontline + 4 two-handed battle forged frontline+
  3 polearm backline +sergeant + 2 archer

Along the way, try to make the composition more diverse, such as have different weapons, different builds, so that the company is more versatile and has smaller possibility to get stuck by some opponents.

Battle Brothers Best Seeds

One powerful late-game company composition can be:
Frontline:
1 Two-handed Hammer BF (dagger, knock back, huge armor damage, AOE)
1 Two-handed Mace BF(daze, stun)
1 Two-handed Axe BF(shield damage,high single target damage, 2-tile AOE)
1 Two-handed Sword BF (high hp damage, AOE)
1 One-handed Cleaver BF with Whip (huge single target dmage,3-tile hit,disarm)
1 Shield user (tank, distract, riposte)

Backline:
1 Sergeant (Rally)
2 Archer (Overwhelm)
2 Polearm Nimble Backline(Overwhelm)
1 Polearm Nimble Backline(Whip)

Backup rosters:
other various interesting builds.

This is the ending of Battle Brothers Builds and Company Composition Guide (v1.3.0.22) guide. Hope it will help you. If there is wrong or you have suggestions, please let’s know and comment us. Have fun.

Similar Posts:

Builds Guide

First, some preliminary comments about recruiting and leveling.

a) Try out new recruits first and check for “dealbreaker” traits. Asthmatic and Dastard are particularly nasty and should always be avoided; Clubfooted is a no-go on builds which need to be mobile; Irrational, Pessimist and Superstitious will harm any build which is meant to engage in melee and thus suffer frequent morale checks or be targeted by enemy mind spells. Finally, there are a number of traits which reduce your attributes – these may or may not be deal-breakers depending on whether the respective attributes are relevant for the build you’re aiming for, or whether you can outweigh these negatives with good traits, good starting values or particularly good talents.

b) When assessing whether a character is viable for a given role, look to his attributes, specifically talent star distribution and starting values. What exactly you should be looking for here depends on each individual build. Remember that each talent star increases the average gain of that attribute by 0.5 points per level up. Thus every talent star is equivalent to an additional 5 points in that attribute by the time you hit level 11, provided you level said attribute consistently. Backgrounds matter since they affect the starting range of your attributes.

(As for the defense stats, anything above zero can be considered “good” for the cheap backgrounds.)

Of course, some backgrounds may have trouble rolling this high, while others should be expected to roll quite a bit higher since they are also more expensive. Not all attributes are relevant for all builds. I will include in the build guide which attribute you should be looking for “good” starting values in, and which should have talent stars. Also keep an eye out for beneficial traits which increase these stats.

In general, you will want to spend most of your points leveling up those which i will call “Primary” attributes for each build. These should also be the ones which have talent stars. Every build will have three such primary attributes, listed in order of relevance. Sometimes you may need to spend points getting a secondary attribute up, at least to a certain minimum value. There are certain HP, Resolve and Fatigue thresholds that no build should fall under, some even requiring quite a bit more.

Furthermore, when you increase a secondary attribute you will have to skip putting points in one of a character’s primary attributes. Thus, if possible, try to do this when you roll low in one of the less important or already sufficiently leveled primaries. However, refrain from putting points into attributes which you don’t need simply because you rolled poorly on that level-up for one of your primary stats, as this messes up your expected average that you should be looking to reach by level 11.

The values your attributes should reach by level 11 depend on the role of each build, but also how lucky you are with your recruited characters’ starting values and how much you are willing to spend for more expensive backgrounds. In this guide i will assume the backgrounds you will be recruiting are in the price category of the Hunter or below. With this in mind, there are some general guidelines you can follow for values you should be aiming for when leveling:

• Try to aim for around 80HP on most of your bros (after Colossus). Archers can do with 70, while Duelists and Two-Handers may require around 90 or more.
• Try to have at least 55Resolve on any character that is likely to be engaged in melee. Defensive Shield Bro builds may need to go over 60. Backline builds like the Polearm Bro can do with 50, while Archers generally shouldn’t need more than 40. Bannermen should go as high as possible.
• Builds which use a lot of Fatigue will need more of a reserve here: Archers will need around 90Fatigue or more, but also Two-Handers and Duelists wielding Orc Weapons should have around 80 Fatigue after armor. Most others can do with around 70, while the least Fatigue intensive, the Polearm Bros, can function well even with 60.
• Initiative is generally an attribute you can ignore, the only build where it matters is the Dodge Duelist, in which case go as high as your other attributes’ demands will allow.
• Melee Skill (for melee builds) and Ranged Skill (for ranged builds) can and should go as high as you can possibly get them, more is always better. However, some builds may wish to prioritize other attributes instead, e.g. the Shield Bro may want to sacrifice some Melee Skill in Favor of Melee Defense or Resolve if there are not enough points to go around. The Hybrid will want to prioritize Ranged over Melee most of the time, and vice versa for the Bannerman.
• Melee Defense should also be as high as you can get it on all builds which are meant to engage in melee. It is absolutely crucial you do not skimp on this as you will need to be able to reliably dodge attacks even when debuffed or when up against particularly accurate enemies.
• Ranged Defense will be the attribute which most of your builds will struggle to find points to invest in. However, good values to try to aim for are around 10-15 for frontline builds (Shield Bros need it less than Two-Handers or Duelists), and around 35 for backline builds. Though with some lucky rolls and some of the more high tier character backgrounds you may even be able to get your shieldless frontliners up to 20.

As for the Student perk, it is first and foremost a necessity when your build calls for only one Tier 1 perk and no Tier 2 perks, thus letting you skip to Tier 3 without wasting a perk point. Depending on whether you get lucky with high starting HP characters, some builds may be able to skip Colossus. In this case taking Student will be a must. Secondly, Student will get you to level 11 faster, but there is a trade-off in combat efficiency and particularly survivability that you incur when delaying your perks by one level. If you’re feeling confident you can keep your characters alive, take it.

Now on to the actual builds:

The Shield Bro

Battle Brothers Map Seeds 1.4

• Primary Attributes: Melee Defense, Fatigue, Melee Skill.

• Secondary Attributes: Resolve, HP, Ranged Defense.

• Recommended Talent Stars: Melee Defense, Fatigue and Melee Skill.

• Recommended Starting Attributes: GoodResolve, Fatigue and HP; decent Melee Skill (at least 50).

Note that, with the exception of the Sergeant, this is the build for which Resolve is the most important, as he will need to be able to be engaged by multiple enemies at once and stand his ground. It may be important enough to prioritize leveling it over Melee Skill, at least up to a certain point. For an even more defensive build, put more points in Resolve and Ranged Defense at the cost of some Melee Skill.

Talent Stars in Melee Defense and Fatigue are a must, ideally even 2 or 3 Stars. Talent Stars in Melee Skill are optional and there is nothing wrong with only having 1 Star here or entirely elsewhere (e.g. Resolve).

• Colossus – Always take this perk on every build, unless you have a specific reason not to. It is a lifesaver in the beginning of the game and it will save you having to invest points into HP later on when faced with enemies which do direct HP damage such as Goblins using Puncture, Ancient Priests using Miasma clouds, etc. Without Colossus you can very easily lose characters to such armor bypassing attacks.
• Pathfinder – A must for any build that expects to move around a lot, it can be a nightmare fighting in swamps and forests without it, and it provides a substantial advantage when traversing elevation, snow etc.
• Shield Expert – Not only will this increase the defense that shields provide, it will significantly increase their durability vs Split Shield attacks.
• Brawny – This build should be very heavily armored, the heavier armor the better, and it will need enough fatigue to use Shield Wall and still be able to attack.
• Rotation – THE lifesaver skill. A bro can use it to swap himself out of melee or save another bro by swapping himself in.
• Weapon Mastery – Swords have decent damage, low fatigue cost and increased to-hit chance; Flails are weaker in damage, especially against armor, but can be situationally useful in getting around shields; Axes and Maces do well against armored opponents (with Axes being quite a bit stronger than Maces in terms of general damage) and their special abilities can certainly come in handy in some situations; Hammers are a dedicated anti-armor weapon, while Cleavers are excellent against unarmored opponents. Pretty much any one-handed melee weapon is good here except for the Spear, which is too weak in the late game (though an early game Spearwall has its uses). Try to have a good mix of weapons in your mercenary band to cover all needs.
• Underdog – This build will frequently be engaged in combat with multiple opponents, thus negating the surround bonus the enemy gets is essential for increasing survivability.
• Battle Forged – The heavier the armor you wear the better this perk will be. Even if you think your armor is heavy enough, it’s not. Get even more armor.
• Backstabber – This perk will help mitigate the slightly lower Melee Skill of the Shield Bro when engaging enemies together with other bros. Particularly useful when surrounding and daggering down enemies for their armor.
• Player’s Choice – Since there are no more must-have perks for this build, the last perk point can be assigned according to personal preference. I recommend considering
  • Lone Wolf for situations when a Shield Bro needs to split off from the group and hold off multiple enemies alone. Alternatively,
  • Recover could be used to allow more spamming of Shieldwall;
  • Taunt could be used by a particularly defensive Shield Bro to protect weaker allies, though the skill can be notoriously unreliable at times;
  • Quick Hands could be used to swap in a second shield when the first one breaks;
  • Indomitable could further increase survivability; or you may consider picking a
  • 2nd Weapon Mastery to have some versatility and weapon choice for different opponents.

Any of these choices are perfectly fine.

A more defensive variant of the Shield Bro can even forego Backstabber and/or the Weapon Mastery in favor of Taunt and Recover.

A more offensively focused variant of the Shield Bro could take Beserk, possibly also Killing Frenzy instead of some of the more defensive perks (Colossus, Shield Expert, Underdog), though i don’t recommend it. Taking Recover would be almost mandatory as such a build will have an exceptionally high fatigue consumption. Perhaps with a character with the Iron Lungs trait this variant could be made more viable.

Using two-handed weapons in close combat, this build will be the primary damage dealer in the late game. It is also – with the possible exception of the Duelist – the most demanding build, needing both exceptionally good starting attributes/talent stars and sufficiently heavy armor to be able to survive. This build starts out weak and will need to be leveled in the back ranks or as a shield wielder initially.

• Primary Attributes:Melee Skill, Melee Defense, Fatigue.

• Recommended Talent Stars:Melee Defense, Fatigue and Melee Skill.

• Recommended Starting Attributes:GoodFatigue, Melee Skill, Resolve and HP; if possible, at least some points in the Defenses.

For this build, it is essential to have high starting Melee Skill and Fatigue. This is the build for which it will most likely be worth recruiting the more expensive backgrounds, as it can greatly benefit from additional starting points in either Melee or Ranged Defense.

This build requires at least 2, preferably 3 Stars in Melee Defense, as well as some in Fatigue and Melee Skill. This build’s greatest weakness is its lack of Ranged Defense so don’t forget to put some points into this secondary attribute every once in a while.

• Colossus – Same as for the Shield Bro. If anything even more essential here.
• Pathfinder – Pathfinder is indispensable on any build that uses two-handed weapons.
• Brawny – This is another build which requires the heaviest armor possible.
• Rotation – Not only does rotation increase survivability, it often also allows you to get into positions which you otherwise couldn’t without moving two tiles, thus letting you move and attack in the same turn.
• Weapon Mastery – Swords are the most versatile due to having both a line attack and a sweep attack, and they have decent damage vs both armored and unarmored targets. Axes have the highest single target damage output due to their special mechanics (head+body hits, higher critical hits), however their round swing is only situationally useful and too fatigue intensive most of the time. Maces have decent anti-armor capabilities and excel at controlling single targets through Stun and Daze. Hammers are excellent against heavy armor and their sweep attack makes them almost as versatile as the Sword, though its knockback can sometimes be more hindrance than help. Despite their ability to get around shields, Flails are not worth using as their overall damage output is too low. Finally, the Cleaver stands out as potentially the most interesting choice, if you can get your hands on a Crypt Cleaver, which only uses 4 AP per swing, allowing you to hit twice, or even three times with Beserk, though this will quickly drain your fatigue!
• Underdog – The Two-Hander Bro will frequently be fighting multiple enemies at the same time, thus making this perk almost a necessity. It is theoretically a possibility to switch this out for Backstabber (at your own peril!) if you have a particularly high Defense but low Melee Skill bro.
• Battle Forged – This build lives and dies by its armor.
• Beserk – This will allow you to potentially hit twice in a turn or move, hit, move. For two-handed weapons this perk is a must-have.
• Killing Frenzy/Recover – Choose between these two, depending on whether you want to have more short term burst damage capability or more long term staying power.
• Defensive Perk – This build is lacking in perk points to cover all possible defenses, so you will have to choose whether you want:
  • Reach Advantage, if you are confident in your ability to hit the enemy and prefer to build up Melee Defense using Reach Advantage stacks. This is more useful for Swords and Hammers which can hit multiple targets at once. A build with Reach Advantage needs more Melee Skill but can afford to have somewhat lower Melee Defense in favor of increased Ranged Defense.
  • Indomitable, used together with Recover it can dramatically increase the survivability of this build. Particularly useful, perhaps even necessary, when facing exceptionally dangerous, high damage foes.
  • Or Anticipation, if you’re lacking in Ranged Defense and find yourself peppered with arrows and bolts more than you would like to be. This is the option i would recommend least however, since most of the strongest enemies in the game are melee oriented. For fights against Goblins, just bring shields (or better yet, Shield Bros). For fights against Bandits and Noble Houses, simply close quickly into melee and the enemy archers will focus your backranks instead.

If using Fatigue intensive weapons like the Orcish Man-Splitter or the Crypt Cleaver, it is advisable to use a character with the Iron Lungs trait.

The Archer is a necessary part of a well-balanced mercenary band. He fulfills such support roles as picking off highly dangerous but weakly armored enemies like the Orc Beserker or two-handed weapon wielders before they reach your lines, taking out potentially deadly enemy ranged attackers like Marksmen and Arbalests, sniping enemy spellcasters like Necromancers or Hexen, disposing of weaker targets on the flanks when your line is threatened with envelopment, as well as dealing with injured and fleeing enemies. Though probably his most importantly function is in taking out Goblins and their Shamans from a safe distance where you don’t have to fight against constant vines, nets, daggers being slipped under your armor and showers of throwing weapons.

• Primary Attributes:Ranged Skill, Fatigue, Ranged Defense.

• Recommended Talent Stars:Ranged Skill, Fatigue and Ranged Defense.

• Recommended Starting Attributes:Very GoodRanged Skill, GoodFatigue and HP.

This build should increase Ranged Skill and Fatigue above all else. This is not a build that should ever get into melee, and if engaged, make sure to get them out ASAP. This also means, no standing directly behind your front lines when fighting enemies which can knock you around such as Orc Warriors and Unholds. Also, they are virtually useless in a fight against the Ancient Dead – use the Polearm Bro here instead for backline DPS, or build them as Hybrid Bros.

High Talent Stars in Ranged Skill are mandatory, as well as at least one or two in Fatigue. Stars in Ranged Defense are nice but not essential. Leveling HP is also great for Nimble builds such as the Archer, since it can protect this bro in case something goes wrong and he is engaged in close combat.

• Colossus – Especially useful on a Nimble bro.
• Fast Adaptation – Particularly necessary against very dodgy opponents like Goblins or Master Archers even into the late game, but also good in the early game when your Archers don’t yet have very high Ranged Skill.
• Bullseye – This will allow you to much more reliably hit targets that are in cover. Oftentimes enemy ranged attackers or spellcasters will hide behind obstacles or tanky minions.
• Anticipation – Your Archers will be most often targeted by the enemy’s ranged attackers once your front line has engaged into close combat. Even with Nimble, the Archer should be getting hit as seldom as possible since their armor cannot absorb much damage. For bros with exceptionally high starting Ranged Defense or high numbers of defensive Talent Stars, it could perhaps be replaced for a more offensive perk such as Head Hunter.
• Bow Mastery – The Archer’s defining perk. Not only does it reduce the fatigue incurred when firing the bow, it also increases your maximum range by 1.
• Footwork – Instead of Rotation, the Archer Bro uses Footwork to stay out of trouble and disengage when threatened. This will save many Archer lives.
• Nimble – To make up for his lack of armor, the Archer Bro can use Nimble to magnify his HP pool. *(See below for recommended armor.)
• Beserk – The Archer’s larger freedom in choice of targets across the battlefield allows him to maximize the use of this perk by consistently looking to last-shot wounded enemies. This will use a lot of fatigue and will require some use of Recover over longer fights.
• Killing Frenzy – This perk synergizes especially well with Beserk.
• Recover – The Archer will go through a lot of fatigue, whether triggering Beserk or using Footwork to escape danger, Recover is always useful.

The only recommended background for this build is the Hunter – all others are inferior.
Furthermore, I advise to resist the urge to take Dodge and/or Overwhelm on Archers. I find they are generally not worth it and the perk point better spent elsewhere. Both of these depend on having high Initiative to make the most of them, yet the Archer will use a lot of Fatigue over the course of a fight, thus making these perks most useful only at the very beginning of combat. If you do decide to use these perks, the Archer will need to invest some points in Initiative.

*Recommended Armor: Noble Mail (160 Durability, 15 Fatigue) and Sallet Helmet (120 Armor, 5 Fatigue, 0 Visibility Penalty). The 20 total fatigue leave you with 53% damage reduction from Nimble out of the maximum 60% at 15 fatigue.

The Bannerman Bro

This Bro keeps the other Bros from falling apart and fleeing. He is necessary against Geists and very useful in wielding the Banner to boost his comrades’ resolve against Hexen. His passive Resolve boosting is also of use against the Mighty Roar skill of Orc Warlords and the Ancient Priest’s Horrify. When not using the Rally skill he can serve as a supportive backrank damage dealer with either Polearm or Crossbow.

• Primary Attributes:Resolve, Ranged Defense, Fatigue.

• Secondary Attributes:Melee Skill, Ranged Skill, HP or Melee Defense.

• Recommended Talent Stars:Resolve, Ranged Defense, and Melee Skill or Ranged Skill.

• Recommended Starting Attributes:Very GoodResolve (50+), GoodFatigue and HP; if possible, decent Melee and Ranged Skills.

This build should increase above all its Resolve. The higher the better. Ranged Defense will primarly ensure that the Bannerman does not get sniped by enemy archer fire, though this doesn’t need to be leveled as high as for archers since the Bannerman can be more heavily armored. Leveling up Fatigue is also important to ensure that the Bannerman can actually use the fatigue-intensive Rally skill a decent number of times. Furthermore, some Melee Skill or Ranged Skill should also be given.

The Bannerman should have at least 2, preferrably 3 Stars in Resolve. The other two recommended Talents are not as essential, and either one of them can be replaced by Talents in Fatigue or Ranged Skill and this build will still turn out just fine.

• Colossus – He may not be Nimble but he can still benefit from more HP, thus allowing him to put more attribute points elsewhere.
• Fortified Mind – The Bannerman’s Resolve needs to be as high as it can get.
• Quick Hands – Allowing the Bannerman to switch between his Banner and a Crossbow or better Polearm without AP or Fatigue cost.
• Rally the Troops – A Bro is not a Bannerman without it.
• Anticipation – This perk allows the Bro to occasionally forego increasing Ranged Defense and invest in other attributes instead.
• Recover – The Bannerman will not have many points to invest in Fatigue. Recover is a good choice for longer fights when Rally will have to be used many times.
• Polearm Mastery – Allowing the Bro to cut down a little on the Fatigue use from attacking with his Banner or another Polearm, as well as increasing his movement range by 1 tile while still being able to attack during the same turn due to the reduced AP cost. Keep in mind that the Billhook is by far a better weapon than the Banner and should be used whenever possible instead.
• Crossbow Mastery – Sometimes you need a little more ranged DPS. The Bannerman, though by no means expert in ranged combat, can at least get one or two shots off at approaching enemies before switching to his Banner or Polearm.
• Footwork – A Bannerman built in this fashion will be vulnerable to melee. Use footwork to get him out of trouble. A tankier Bannerman can use Rotation instead.
• Backstabber – The Bannerman cannot afford to put many points into Melee Skill, and Backstabber can compensate for this, especially since most of his targets will usually be engaged in melee with other bros.

Battle Brothers Map Seeds Lone Wolf

A more tanky, heavily armored variant of the Bannerman which can better survive being engaged in melee can pick Brawny and Battle Forged instead of Crossbow Mastery and Anticipation. This allows him to use very heavy armor indeed, though remember that this requires increased Fatigue and heavier focus on melee abilities.

The Polearm Bro

This Bro is a dependable backrank damage dealer. He can hit consistently and is tanky enough to hold the flanks, at least for a while, against weaker enemies.

• Primary Attributes:Melee Skill, Melee Defense, Ranged Defense.

• Recommended Talent Stars:Melee Skill, Melee Defense and Ranged Defense.

• Recommended Starting AttributesGoodMelee Skill, Fatigue and HP.

This build should mainly seek to increase its Melee Skill in order to be able to hit enemies reliably. There is no need to have a very high Fatigue pool for the Polearm Bro since Polearms are comparatively low in fatigue consumption. Mainly he should have enough Fatigue to be able to wear the heaviest armor available to the mercenary company after equipping its frontline Bros. The rest of the points can be distributed among the two Defense attributes, making the Polearm Bro resistent against both ranged and melee attacks.

The Polearm Bro does not require many Talent Stars and even a second rate character can become a Polearm Bro with just one or two Stars in Melee Skill, though Stars in the Defenses are also beneficial.

• Pathfinder – Together with Polearm Mastery, Pathfinder can drastically increase the mobility of this otherwise rather sluggish build.
• Backstabber – The Polearm Bro will mainly engage enemies from behind the frontline. Backstabber will make him a truly reliable damage dealer.
• Anticipation – Due to his lack of shield, this build must either increase Ranged Defense or take Anticipation. Taking this perk frees up points for other attributes.
• Rotation – The Polearm bro is tanky enough to be able to rotate into the place of another Bro to save their life in an emergency, though he should not be left in this position for long.
• Polearm Mastery – The reduction in Fatigue consumption comes in handy for Beserk, and the reduced AP cost opens up many tactical opportunities.
• Beserk – Due to the Polearm’s relatively low Fatigue cost to swing, Beserk is a very viable choice, significantly increasing this build’s potential damage output.
• Battle Forged – The Polearm Bro will rely on heavy armor to tank damage when he is forced to engage in melee.
• Killing Frenzy – If Beserk can be triggered, Killing Frenzy will further increase the damage done by the Polearm bro.
• Brawny – Brawny will very likely be necessary to keep fatigue at reasonable levels while still wearing the kinds of heavy armor that the Polearm Bro will aim to use by the endgame.
• Colossus – The Polearm Bro is not Nimble, and is likely to be targeted by armor piercing attacks from enemy crossbows. More HP will also help him survive longer under the Miasma cloud cast by an Ancient priest.

Variants of the Polearm bro can use Polehammers or Longaxes instead of Polearms, taking the appropriate Mastery perk instead. These do NOT get the AP benefit of Polearm Mastery though, making them less mobile, and they do not offer major advantages in damage over the Billhook.

The Polehammer’s anti-armor attack is overkill against all but the heaviest armors, and its basic attack is only slightly better against armor than the Billhook’s while being significantly worse against unarmored opponents. The Longaxe does rather poorly against armor compared to the Billhook while its damage against unarmored is only slightly higher. It can be useful to use the Longaxe to break shields, though by the late game your Melee Skill should be high enough across the board such that breaking most shields would be a waste of action points which could have been better spent doing damage.

If you do not have any Hybrid Archers, nor many other builds which use Axes, it may be useful to take Axe Mastery instead of one of the more defensive perks like Colossus or Anticipation, in order to be able to quickly break the shields of Schrats, and – if your Melee Skill isn’t high enough to reliably bypass their Shieldwall yet – of Ancient Legionares and Noble House Footmen.

The (Bladed) Pike can be a good alternative to the Billhook for fights against particularly dodgy but lightly armored opponents due to its bonus to hit.

The Hybrid is a notable variant of the Archer that is more versatile at the expense of sacrificing some performance in ranged combat. Its primary function is to act as a support shield breaker and occasional backrank damage dealer in cases where using the bow is not an option (such as against the Ancient Dead).

• Primary Attributes:Ranged Skill, Fatigue, Melee Skill.

• Recommended Talent Stars:Ranged Skill, Fatigue and Melee Skill.

Best Battle Brothers Map Seeds

• Recommended Starting Attributes:GoodRanged Skill, Melee Skill, Fatigue and HP.

This build requires rather high starting values for quite a few attributes. In particular you will need a background which can roll high both on Ranged and on Melee Skill. The sacrifice will come at the expense of some Ranged Defense and/or Fatigue.

The usual Stars in Ranged Skill and Fatigue that an Archer requires are necessary, in addition, Talent in Melee Skill can be very useful, though a high starting value can suffice instead.

• Fast Adaptation – To hit those dodgy targets.
• Colossus – To make the most out of Nimble.
• Bullseye – To hit obscured targets.
• Anticipation – To avoid getting hit by enemy ranged.
• Bow Mastery – What else for an archer?
• Footwork – Get out of trouble.
• Quick Hands – To switch to the Axe.
• Axe Mastery – This is the main feature of this build, the Hybrid uses the Longaxe to break enemy shields and damage enemies resistant to his ranged attacks. If you have other ways of dealing with shields, consider using Polearm Mastery instead.
• Backstabber – Since this build will never have particularly high Melee Skill (as you should be focusing mainly on Ranged Skill and Fatigue), Backstabber serves to make it a little more viable.
• Nimble – The main way in which the Hybrid mitigates damage, both ranged and, in case of emergency, melee.

Again, the best background for this build is the Hunter, though a few others which roll high in both Melee and Ranged could work if you are willing to sacrifice some Ranged Skill. In particular, Bowyer, Sellsword, Witchhunter, Squire, Beast Slayer and Poacher could make decent Hybrids with enough Talent Stars in Ranged Skill.

For a purely shield-breaking variant of the Hybrid with little to no Melee capability, but which regains most of the ranged damage output of the Archer, replace Backstabber and Anticipation with Beserk and either Killing Frenzy or Recover. Instead of Melee Skill, level up Ranged Defense to compensate for the lack of Anticipation.

The Hybrid uses the same equipment as the Archer: Noble Mail and Sallet Helmet.

The Duelist is a highly specialized build and the one which requires the most exceptional character. The Duelist will be able to engage enemies in melee and do significant damage with only a one handed weapon and no shield or heavy armor, relying instead on his superior Dodging abilities and his Nimble perk to survive. The most common Duelist build uses a Sword with Riposte, though other types of duelists, such as Axe Duelists (using a one-handed orc axe), or Fencing Sword Duelists are possible.

• Primary Attributes:Melee Defense, Melee Skill, Initiative.

• Recommended Talent Stars:Melee Defense, Melee Skill and Initiative.

• Recommended Starting Attributes:Very GoodMelee Skill (>60), GoodFatigue, Resolve, Initiative and HP; some starting Melee Defense and/or Ranged Defense, as well as the Iron Lungs Trait.

The Duelist MUST have the Iron Lungs trait in order to be able to use his skills without too quickly draining his Fatigue, which would lower his Initiative and the efficiency of Dodge (and Lunge). Furthermore, he should start with at least 5-10 Melee Defense and/or Ranged Defense, have high Melee Skill and Initiative and a good starting pool of both HP and Fatigue as well as at least decent Resolve.

In addition to the high Talents required in Melee Defense and Melee Skill, if the character does not have high Talent in Initiative, it may be better to level up Ranged Defense and Melee Defense individually instead, as each point in Initiative only translates to 0.15 Points in each of the Defenses respectively. The Initiative focused Duelist is particularly adapted to use the Fencing Sword, whose Lunge damage scales with Initiative. If you are building a non-initiative-focused Duelist, the third primary stat should be HP. This variant is explained below.

Battle Brothers Best Map Seeds

• Colossus – Together with Nimble this will be the primary way in which the Duelist absorbs damage.
• Dodge – The Duelist uses his high Initiative to Dodge attacks, both at range and in close combat.
• Pathfinder – The Duelist needs to be highly mobile and not be impeded/fatigued by terrain.
• Lone Wolf – Greatly increasing the Duelist’s abilities when out on his own. Take Backstabberinstead if you plan on sticking closer to the main group of Bros.
• Sword Mastery – Reducing both the Fatigue cost of the basic attack, which the Duelist will use up to three times in a turn with Beserk, as well as that of the Riposte skill, which a Sword wielding Duelist will be wanting to use in combination with his superior Dodging skill to inflict large amounts of damage, especially when (partially) surrounded. Replace this with the appropriate Mastery if you’re using another weapon instead.
• Underdog – The Duelist, especially one using Riposte as his primary tactic, will frequently be engaged by multiple enemies at the same time. The Duelist should nevertheless not allow himself to be fully surrounded since the enemy will get increased to-hit bonuses if adjacent to him on all sides. Alternatively, for a non-Riposte Duelist wishing to avoiding getting surrounded, consider getting Footwork instead. In case of emergency the Duelist can use this to escape an unfavorable engagement. Or, switch it out for Rotation if you plan on using the Duelist closer to your main group of Bros to protect their flank instead of as a Lone Wolf.
• Beserk – A Duelist with Iron Lungs will be able to make significantly more use of this perk than other one handed weapon wielders. Not as essential for Riposte focused Duelists, but still useful.
• Nimble – When the Duelist does get hit, Nimble will serve to avert most of the damage.
• Duelist – The namesake of the build, this perk will increase the amount of damage which bypasses opponents’ armor.
• Killing Frenzy – In order to maximize the damage done by a Duelist with Beserk and especially one managing to kill many foes with Riposte.

A Duelist without Iron Lungs may wish to take Recover instead of either Killing Frenzy or Beserk, reducing his damage output but ensuring he does not tire himself out.

The HP Tank variant of the Duelist is adapted for those who do not wish to rely on Initiative and Dodge. This Duelist cannot use the Fencing Sword and should have HP as his third primary attribute and talent, and level it accordingly. This Duelist aims to make the most out of Nimble by using his HP to absorb hits. Instead of Dodge, this Duelist uses Indomitable to avert damage in an emergency. This duelist can afford to use more fatiguing weapons.

Equipment: As close as possible to 15 fatigue penalty from armor, to maximize the benefit of Nimble. The Sallet Helmet and Noble Mail are also excellent choices here until the mercenary company can find named armor better than this generic gear. The ideal equipment for a Riposte Duelist would be the Davkul Armor Set and the Legendary Weapon „Reproach of the Old Gods“.

Summary

An early game mercenary band will want to focus mainly on dependable

Battle Brothers Seed Bank

Shield Bros with a few Polearms and as many good Archers as they can get, as well as – if available – a Bannerman.

By the mid game you should be transitioning into recruiting and leveling at least a few candidates for Two-Handers. By now you should have a decent number of good Archers/Hybrids to carry you.

The end game should be focused on transitioning away from the Shield Bro to the Two-Hander Bro. The exception being of course Goblin fights, where you will want to have as close as possible to a half Shield Bro, half Archer group to take them on. Against most enemies some Archers will continue to be extremely useful.

Fights against large numbers of Orc Warriors will require you to restrict yourself to only a few Archersand almost no Shield Bros (whose shields would frequently get destroyed by the Orcs), and instead use a large number of Two-Handers and some Polearms.

Against the Ancient Dead the required party composition involves a handful of Shield Bros to hold their position at key locations while the main bulk of your group, your Two-Hander Bros, will progressively sweep away the enemy, with the help of a few Polearms to replace the Archers who would otherwise be virtually useless against the Ancient Dead.

Feel free to mix in one or two Duelists according to your personal preference.

This is by no means a complete list, and there are of course a number of other viable builds that i may be missing – a dedicated Crossbow/Throwing Weapon build is one i could imagine as being potentially interesting. You could also build characters which are more specialized to deal with very particular types of enemies that you find you have difficulties against, or you can simply experiment with incorporating some of the less common perks into your builds every now and again.

In addition, some of the recommended configurations of attributes and talents which i have suggested here may be difficult to find, and it may take a good number of tries before you find suitable candidates. You will have to settle for less than optimal characters and do the best you can to compensate for their weaknesses. You will certainly need to use a number of early game disposable bros as throwaway characters before you arrive at a more permanent composition for your mercenary band.

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