Endgame: Need for context of battles

[mrbunnyban]

Endgame: Need for context of battles

So. It’s day 56 and I’ve levelled up my band of brothers and made them as mighty as can be, outfitted them with the best gear, and now I fear no army on the map. I could run around the map, seeking battle after battle, glory after glory…

… except I don’t see the point?

It’s not like I can retire once I’ve accumulated enough gold and sail to lands which are not orc-infested. Or own land. Or buy housing. For that matter, if I hit raid all of the hostile faction settlements I’m not even sure if a replacement will pop-up again. There are no large movements of hostile factions around the map, so no pressure there to protect the towns either.

Looks like we need context to give purpose to our actions, beyond the glory of battle and building a mighty band of battle brothers. I’m aware that the quest system is being overhauled, so maybe the devs are already making plans here? Well, we have a forum here for suggestions so let’s throw some around!

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In Mount & Blade, the context was conquest. Even if the player refused to own land, factions were conquering each other’s holdings and taking control of land. I don’t think Battle Brothers is leaning that way (“You are a mercenary band! You are free to do whatever you please and you answer to no one!”), so IMO we should find something else.

———-

This kind of goes against the philosophy of Battle Brothers , but I think towns or villages could hire the mercs to protect the town on a long term contract/quest chain. It could start with a villager running from a village being raided, who plead the Battle Brothers to come to their aid in their hour of need. Succeeding this quest starts a quest chain of discovering protecting the village from a larger army, discovering the location of the small orc settlement and razing said settlement. This cummulates in being awarded recognition by the lord of the lands (who is housed in the castle) who awards you housing in that village. Perhaps it is a nice place to where food and wages are halved if you spend the night there, gives some small bonuses and the game is sped up while you wait for morning light – as long as you succeed in keeping the village safe!

Perhaps we could even help invest in the village, investing in early warning scouts who then send runners to warn you that enemies are coming and the village needs to be protected. Invest in better housing which gives those said bonuses for resting there, and perhaps station troops/equipment in reserve.

For the undead faction, the quest chain could be first tackling down the ghosts which hunt the villagers at night, discovering the sources of the Lost Souls, destroying the settlement, find the settlement is back in just a day so there is a need to find a more lasting solution which involves hunting the necromancer… something along those lines.

If players do a good enough job, maybe it can lead to a long-term contract to help protect the whole province. You are now answerable to the Lord of the castle himself, and he will coordinate efforts to secure the safety of the whole province with you, using your band as the elite assault force. This is a flag telling the game that the player is ready for some serious work and will be put through a marathon of heavy offense and defences around the map. So the player needs to have plenty of reserve troops and equipment in storage placed strategically around the map in the various villages AND be familiar with the placement of various hazards.

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I imagine that the town screen should have a separate caravan slot for:

a) Caravans which need protection (not always)
b) Mayor who wants something looked into (not always)
c) Tavern which gives news or says which town’s mayor has a job for us
d) Seedy stranger in back of tavern of more unusual quest lines?

Essentially, there should always be something for the player to do somewhere, or at least someone telling the player where to find work.

[Sky]

The current game that you see is a platform that the devs plan to build upon. Most if not all the things you mention are under consideration already. The game is 1 month into EA. ;)

Tipps for new players
BB Wiki

[Rap]

Not even three weeks ;)

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[mrbunnyban]

Heh, no pressure Rap. I’m not aware of exactly what work is being done and what work is not being done. So I hoped that posts like these are help get some ideas. As I said,

“I’m aware that the quest system is being overhauled, so maybe the devs are already making plans here? Well, we have a forum here for suggestions so let’s throw some around!”

Well, I started over and was leveling up another band but I think I’m going to take a break from the game awhile so that I don’t tire of it before it’s done.

[Author]

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