Ok, I played again today and am now around day 50. I have more observations:
1. The Goblins are very hard. Several factors come into play here. First, my guys can’t get close without getting shot or netted. And that’s key to beating the goblins, getting close to them. It seems almost impossible to take on a goblin force larger than my own. I can’t get close without losing a quarter of my strength. Second, my archers are no use against them. And third, my chances of actually hitting them when I get close is less than a human opponent.
2. I picked up a crossbow as loot from some bandits, but for the life of me, I can’t find a town that sells a quiver of crossbow bolts. So it’s worthless. Even towns with Fletchers outside of them, which I would expect to sell crossbows maybe, don’t have them. Anyone else encountered this?
3. I love the patrol missions. It’s a license to do what I’ve been doing anyway, which is killing bandit parties of 5-7 thugs, but getting paid 110 crowns per head. I’ve made a killing on these patrol missions.
4. I’m still looking for endgame. I think one of the developers posted an answer to an earlier question of mine regarding establishing your own noble house. The answer was that this is not a world domination game, but a game about a mercenary company. My answer would be this: What has been the traditional end goal of mercenaries in the past? No mercenary has ever wanted to die being a mercenary. The goal is to get rich and retire. So where’s our retirement? Just because a game is sandboxy doesn’t mean it can’t have an endgame. I think the sandbox model is more about HOW you get to the endgame, rather than substituting a perpetual sandbox for an actual ending. I’ll give an example – the game FTL. Great game. You spend the whole game fighting and moving from one star system to another, upgrading your ship and adding crew, all so that you can face the final challenge – a battle with a giant ship at the end. I think Battle Brothers could have a cool endgame like that. Perhaps a series of monumental battles or tasks that lead to an endgame – your retirement as a filthy rich mercenary.
