Suggestions; Impressions; Compliments

[McKing]

I have bought Battle Brothers near the Early Access launch, your Kickstarter got my attention, but your Progress Updates really convinced me to buy it. I don’t think i have ever seen someone do such a good job in keeping people up to date. Great job!

Well, here are some things i think would fit in quite nicely with the game. I’ve seen some of them before in the forum, but i’ll repeat to show my support for them. I know you don’t have the time/resources to add everything people want or suggest (as in horses), but i hope these are doable.

Battle Brothers is already awesome in my opinion, and i’m sure that the next update will only make it better.

1) Toggle Helmets
The different styles of haircut amaze me, and they coud really help the Brothers stand out. I think it’s a shame you barely see them as the helmets are always on, inside or outside battle. A option to show them would be great.

2) Casualties
Having up to 12 Brothers, and having constant casualties, it’s hard to keep up with the new guys – if one of them dies, it’s tough for me to remember wich one was it. If i could see their stats, backgrounds and traits for a last time before the burial, for some closure, it would be better. Think of it as remembering their good deeds (or lack of them).

3) Record of Fallen Brothers
Where you could see again their stats and levels when they died, their cause of death (Poisoned by Goblin; Smashed by Orc Warrior; Ripped apart by Berserker; “Friendly” Fire…)

4) Deployment Phase
I know a lot of people have asked for it already, but it really is a must have. Lots of tactical games have them, and it is very important in Battle Brothers, as you barely have time to organize before the enemy reaches your men. If the terrain is rough, you tire your men, your archers waste a firing opportunity (before they have to fire danger close to your ranks) to get to a better spot… I hope you can include it ASAP. I just fought some Zombies and Ghouls, i and had to hurry to get 2 previously badly injured men out of the way so they wouldn’t end up reinforcing the enemy.

In this hypothetical deployment phase, it would be great to have the option to keep some men off the fight altogether.. I saw a suggestion to have more Brothers but keep the 12 limit, so you could leave the injured out, and i agree with it.

5) Half Swording
I just saw a suggestion to use Half Swording, and Rap’s anwser that it’s important to keep weapons distinct. I understand that, but maybe adding it as a Perk if you rework those would be a good option, as a 2nd tier one, and requring mail armor or better so you don’t cut yourself. For later consideration, i believe.

6) Melee with Throwing Weapons
Mount and Blade did it, and i think you could it too. Maybe with a not so good damage, and requiring you to Change Grip, using 2 AP, or something like that. It may be kind of pointless, though, as people usually carry other weapons. But it would help if the primary weapon breaks for some reason. Better than using your fists, anyway.

7) Goblins are Overpower
I’ve already seen people complaining a lot, and i’m joining them on this one. I understand you wanting goblins to be nasty, and they really are with all theirs nets and throwing weapons. But these fellas always butcher everything that comes across them, specially early game. If you would create some weaker Goblin units and mix them with the existing ones, i think it could work for me.

8) Skill Fatigue Cost
I think some skills cause a disproportional ammount of fatigue to their benefit, and i never use them, like the Flail’s one.

Compliments:

1) Ork Bersekers
Really great. It’s possible to kill them before they reach your ranks, but if they do and have a chance to attack, it’s a blood bath. I was fighting 10 x 4 with new recruits, and killed 2 of them. The 3rd one was decapitaded along 2 Brothers, and a third brother was also killed. 10/10

2) War Dogs
I would never have tought of that. Awesome idea. It’s just a shame when a retreating (not routing) goblin murders the Houndmaster AND the Hound in ONE turn.

3) Art
I just love Battle Brothers art. I look forward to when there’s a new update or a new post in the Art Corner.

4) Brutal Combat
I am amazed as how deadly the combat can be, and how fast i go through the stocks of recruits i hire. The veterans are a lot of tougher and usually better equipped, but even their survival is far from guaranteed.

Greatings from Brazil,
McKing.

[Love Gun]

My thoughts on some of your notes:

1) Toggle Helmets
Very nice and original idea.

2) Casualties
Same here! It’s hard to remember how the attribute points and the skills for every single brother have to be spent, so that they do end up how you want them to be. For this reason it would be very nice, if one could not only see the character sheet of a fallen brother, but also see how many points you already have spent in which attributes and even pre-select how one wants to distribute the points/skill-points for each merc and then just confirm, if the points indeed shall be spent as predetermined or if one wants to differ at level up. In addition, it would be great, if one could save such builds and load them to each merc at will.

5) Half Swording
Good idea for a perk-to-be.

6) Melee with Throwing Weapons
I think the same. It would make sense; to have at least the (degraded) basic attacks of their respective melee weapons. (They do lack a second skill anyway. ;P)

7) Goblins are Overpower
I think it would be enough to restrict the goblins’ unit mix and their weapon usage, to create weaker goblin units meant for early to mid game.
Something like, if they have poison arrows, the melee units don’t have nets or vice versa; or if they use nets, the shaman does not cast this roots spell.

8) Skill Fatigue Cost
-I think that is more a problem of the flail’s special skill. Why choose “hits one of three targets”, when you actually always want/need to hit one specific target. I suppose it has a higher hit chance, given that it is targeted at three instead of only one entity. But if you want a higher hit chance a spear is the, more accurate, better choice. Maybe a (chance for a) morale check, that is tirggered for the units, the lash is targeted at, would make its use more appealing, because they all fear to be hit or a foe using a flail, constantly swinging it above his head is kind of intimidating.
Another way, I can think of, could be to reduce the lash’s fatigue cost, below the one of flail; or to add a melee defense bonus of 5 for one turn, so that it is more appealing for tank builds; or add a third skill, that is only usable together with a shield equipped, that rises the bonus of the shieldwall by another 5 or 10, simulating that enemies don’t dare to attack.

PS: The edit button is new, isn’t it? ^^ …I love this button already.
PPS: For some reason empty lines are not transferred from the post to the editing window. I hope this can be changed.

[McKing]

Pre-selecting the Skills would be neat, but i don’t consider it essential.

And yeah, your idea for the melee with the throwing weapons may be better, having it as a secondary skills as all weapons have.

I don’t know if it is only the RNJesus screwing with me, but the Goblin archers drive me mad with their accuracy AND the poison. They ALWAYS hit at least a couple of mercs in the beginning of the battle, usually headshots, forcing me to retreat them if they are to have any chance of surviving.

Talking about headshots and hits to the head in general, a nice defensive perk would be Keep you Shield Up or Keep Your Head Down, decreasing the chance of taking hits to the head. The already existing Steel Brow is good, but as a 2nd tier one, no chance of my more offensive oriented men having it anytime soon.

Maybe a good way to improve the Flail could be reducing the difficulty of hitting shield bearing enemies, as the chain allows it bending before hitting, i believe. Not sure about it, but is one of the first thing Wikipedia claims in it’s article.

[Love Gun]

McKing wrote:

Pre-selecting the Skills would be neat, but i don’t consider it essential.

More essential than toggable helmets. ;P
I did not mean it to be designed for skills only, but also for the attribute points. Or do you remember how many points you have put into which attribute of one of your mercs, let alone 12 mercs? If you do, I can only imagine, that you always pick the same attributes anyway or you note it.
With the option of pre-selecting, you do not have to think of the distribution of points for every individual merc again and again(especially when you continue a playthrough after a break) and one can create new and altering builds easier.
Sure it works without my described addition. It would be a convenience; much in the same line of not needing to manually follow caravans, that some people complained about. But while caravan contracts are only one type of contract of several, the point distribution is omnipresent.
I think the game would benefit from such a system.

McKing wrote:

Maybe a good way to improve the Flail could be reducing the difficulty of hitting shield bearing enemies, as the chain allows it bending before hitting, i believe. Not sure about it, but is one of the first thing Wikipedia claims in it’s article.

That’s already the case for the flail’s basic attack “flail” by ignoring the shield defense bonus of targets bearing shields.
( http://battlebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Melee_Weapons )

[McKing]

Hahaha, point taken. But i do consider it important in linking me with my mercs.

Yeah, it is in the Skill, but not in the weapon in general. I think it has a 10% chance to hit the head, but ignoring complete or patially the shield bonus would be a lot better.

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