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Warriors of the North Release



The ‘Warriors of the North’ DLC for Battle Brothers has been released into the world! Find it right here!

If you’d like to support us further and get a unique nordic banner as a ‘thank you’, you can also find a supporter bundle of the DLC here.



You can find a detailed explanation of what is contained in the DLC here.

The new music tracks by Breakdown Epiphanies have been added for free to the soundtrack for every current and future owner.

Enjoy!

Update 1.3.0.12



With the 'Warriors of the North' DLC comes a big free update that improves the game in many aspects. Below you'll find a list explaining the most important changes and additions.

Note that all of this is in addition to the many things brought by the 'Warriors of the North' DLC. You can purchase and wishlist it here.

If you'd like to continue your current campaign with the previous version of Battle Brothers, or continue to play it altogether without the DLC, you can do so as well. Find Battle Brothers in your Steam library, right-click it and select 'Properties'. Navigate to the 'Betas' tab and select the '1.2.x' branch from the dropdown menu. Steam should now update Battle Brothers, and once done, you're ready to go.

Starting a new campaign is recommended. You may continue your current campaign, but if you do, expect some glitches.

Note that most mods will not work anymore until they've been updated by their authors to work with the new version of Battle Brothers. Make sure to remove them, as otherwise the game may not work correctly or crash outright. This includes any language mods.

Changelog
  • Added new main menu background.
  • Added a choice between two company origins - the classic Hoggart start and a quick start that drops you right into the world. Owners of the 'Warriors of the North' and 'Beasts & Exploration' DLC get additional origins.
  • Added named variants of Ancient Dead and Goblin weapons.
  • Added additional loot items for Goblins.
  • Added new 'Relentless' perk which reduces the impact of fatigue on current initiative by 50%.
  • Added new 'Cultist Leather Hood' and 'Cultist Leather Robe' items.
  • Added 'Paint Remover' item for owners of the 'Beasts & Exploration' DLC. Can be both bought and crafted.
  • Added 15 new event illustrations and updated some older ones.
  • Added ability for Wiedergängers to pick up weapons from the ground.
  • Added new 'Auto-Pause After Leaving City' option.

  • Changed named items to have new attributes depending on item type, e.g. named throwing weapons may have larger stacks.
  • Changed crafting costs of some consumables from 'Beasts & Exploration' DLC to be lower.
  • Changed supply caravans to randomly carry either tools, medicine or ammunition in a significant quantity.
  • Changed trading caravans to carry tools, medicine and ammunition in small quantities.
  • Changed general frequency of events to be slightly higher.
  • Changed Goblin City and Witch Hut to have slightly less opponents, and Kraken to have slightly less hitpoints, to tighten the run-up to your next challenges after the first late game crisis has been defeated and you choose not to retire. The Black Monolith remains as challenging as ever. New campaign required to take effect.
  • Changed ranged attacks hitting tiles other than the intended target to have their damage reduced by 25%.
  • Changed 'Quick Hands' perk to no longer apply to shields.
  • Changed 'Bags & Belts' perk to also apply to shields again.
  • Changed 'Duelist' perk to still work if having a throwable tool (e.g. a throwing net) in the offhand.
  • Changed 'Resilient' perk to reduce any negative status effect duration to 1 turn, instead of decreasing it by 1 turn.
  • Changed fatigue cost of 'Adrenaline' skill to 20, down from 25.
  • Changed fatigue cost of 'Indomitable' skill to 25, up from 20.
  • Changed 'Throw Net', 'Throw Acid Flask' and 'Throw Blessed Water' skills to benefit from fatigue cost reduction when having the Throwing Mastery perk.
  • Changed 'Shoot Bolt' skill of crossbows to cost 3AP, up from 2AP, and 'Reload' skill to cost 4AP, down from 7AP.
  • Changed crossbows to inflict 33% damage to Ancient Dead and Alps, up from 10%. Bows continue to inflict just 10% damage against these opponents, but the new Staff Sling inflicts 33% damage as well.
  • Changed stack size of 'Spiked Bolas' to 6, up from 5.
  • Changed AI to make better decisions in a variety of situations.
  • Changed 'Lock Camera' option on worldmap to turn off automatically when using WASD or dragging the camera.
  • Changed various minor things for the better.

  • Fixed various bugs and issues.

Battling the Barbarians



With the release of the ‘Warriors of the North’ DLC right around the corner, we’ll take on the barbarian horde in a Let’s Play video this week. If you like what you’re seeing, you can add the DLC to your wishlist here and get it on May 9th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9czW3g8wI4

If you’d like to learn more, take a look at our previous dev blogs about the upcoming expansion;

Dev Blog #123: Tools of Death



The ‘Warriors of the North’ DLC for Battle Brothers will be released on May 9th with a whole bunch of features. You can read up on those and add the DLC to your wishlist here. In the meantime, let’s talk about an important topic we haven’t touched on yet: New weapons! With the DLC, you’ll also get your hands on new tools of death, including hybrid and niche weapons to create new builds and tactics with. Let’s take a look!

Bardiche

The Bardiche is a variant of the Greataxe with a differently shaped head and a longer shaft. Like the Greataxe, it comes with the ‘Split Man’ skill for great single-target damage. But while the Greataxe has more damage potential against up to six targets with its ‘Round Swing’ skill, the Bardiche instead comes with the ‘Split’ skill of Greatswords for more surgical precision and hitting two targets in a straight line at once. Like the Greataxe, the Bardiche is excellent in destroying shields and penetrating armor.



Staff Sling

A simple weapon used since ancient times, and the favorite of many a shepherd, the Staff Sling is used to hurl stones towards the enemy. It’s not particularly accurate or damaging, but it’s cheap, and with stones abundant everywhere, it will never run out of ammunition. Two stones can be hurled each turn, and on hitting a target in the head it will inflict the ‘Dazed’ status effect.



Scimitar

An exotic curved sword from the south, the Scimitar and its higher tier cousin, the Shamshir, are excellent for cutting deep wounds. They’re less suited for thrusting than straight swords, however, and therefore have a harder time penetrating armor. Like other swords, they come with the ‘Slash’ skill, but unlike those, they don’t have the ‘Riposte’ skill as a second. Instead, they have the ‘Decapitate’ skill of cleavers.



Heavy Javelins & Heavy Throwing Axe

For users of throwing weapons that long for an extra bit of oomph, the DLC adds the Heavy Javelin and Heavy Throwing Axe. They’re sometimes used by barbarians and can be looted off of their cold dead hands.



Warfork

A pitchfork re-forged into a battlefield weapon, the Warfork is the pride of any militiaman, and looks right at home with the new ‘Peasant Militia’ company origin. It’s a lower tier variant of the Spetum, which has in turn been slightly buffed. Like the Spetum, it is a specialized polearm that can be used to form a more deadly yet more fatiguing ‘Spearwall’ than with a one-handed spear. Particularly useful against non-sentient beasts, but also against humans if your battle line is long enough.



Battle Whip

The Battle Whip is a specialized weapon with plenty of strengths, but also a clear weakness. Covering a whole 3 tiles, it has the longest range of any melee weapon currently in the game. Hitting an enemy with the ‘Whip’ skill will inflict two stacks of the ‘Bleeding’ status effect at once, and because the weapon is classified as a cleaver, this skill also benefits from taking the ‘Cleaver Mastery’ perk for further bleeding damage. However, the weapon doesn’t have a high base damage, and while it can be deadly against unarmored or lightly armored targets, it performs dismally against armored ones.



Luckily, it brings another bit of utility to the table. Its second skill is called ‘Disarm’ and on a hit will inflict the new ‘Disarmed’ status effect on a target, preventing it from using any weapon skills for one turn. Some targets which are immune to being stunned, like Orc Warriors, can still be controlled this way, but unarmed targets, like Direwolves, can of course not be disarmed. Disarmed targets can still move and use non-weapon skills freely, just not attack. Barbarians also have their own variant of the Battle Whip, called the Thorned Whip, which has slightly different stats.

DLC Supporter Edition

Thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response to our announcement of the ‘Warriors of the North’ DLC, and many people expressing their desire to support us again even beyond the asking price, we’ve decided to also offer it as a special Supporter Edition again. This Supporter Edition includes the ‘Warriors of the North’ DLC, as well as an additional new player banner and shields with a nordic motif as a thank you from us to you. The bundle will be priced at $18.99, and you can already add the second part of it to your wishlist here as well.

Release Date Announcement



What started out as a small DLC has become a sizable expansion again. We’re happy to announce that the ‘Warriors of the North’ DLC for Battle Brothers will be released on May 9th for the price of $8.99 or your local equivalent. You can already find and wishlist it on Steam right here.



The artwork above can also be downloaded as a wallpaper here.

The ‘Warriors of the North’ DLC for Battle Brothers expands the game with a more distinct northern region, as well as different starting scenarios to pick for your mercenary company. Face an entirely new faction of barbarians in battle, wear new viking and rus themed gear, and follow the legend of the ‘Ijirok’, a mythical creature of the frozen north!

Features
  • Origins – Pick one of ten different origins and play as northern barbarians, peasant militia, or a flock of cultists. Each origin has special rules that shape your campaign into a different experience from beginning to end.
  • New Opponents – Face an entirely new faction of northern barbarians, complete with their own gear and unique mechanics.
  • Legendary Locations – Visit two new legendary locations and fight two new bosses in a quest that leads to a legendary reward.
  • Champions – Hunt down enemy champions and face them in battle to claim famed items for yourself.
  • New Banners and Gear – Dress in style with a collection of new viking and rus inspired banners, shields, helmets and armors. Use new weapons and let loose the new nordic warhound!
  • New Contracts and Events – Earn your stay in the north by taking on new contracts. Immerse yourself in leading a mercenary company with even more illustrated events.
  • New Music – Two new music tracks accompany you on your adventures.
  • New Achievements – Challenge yourself with new achievements.


Please note: You’ll be able to continue your current campaign with the DLC, but you won’t have access to all of the new content until you start a new campaign.