Here I have some mods and websites that help with the gameplay a lot:

BBplanner:
www.bbplanner.xyz
This is what I am using to record the builds.

BB wiki:
battlebrothers.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_Brothers_Wiki
Giving most information about the weapons, events, etc.

Plan your perks:
www.nexusmods.com/battlebrothers/mods/452
A build/perk planner, in-game

End's Buyback (Not Compatible with Legends):
www.nexusmods.com/battlebrothers/mods/357
Very convenient when you have lots of things to sell in the town and then misclick

End's Colored Rumors:
www.nexusmods.com/battlebrothers/mods/373
Faster and easier reading the information in the tavern

Backgrounds and Attribute Ranges:
www.nexusmods.com/battlebrothers/mods/287
Gives information for a better estimation of brothers waiting for recruiting

Show Enemy Stats:
www.nexusmods.com/battlebrothers/mods/98
Must-have

Quicker:
www.nexusmods.com/battlebrothers/mods/368
Time saver, but you also need the pause mod

Pause without conflicts:
www.nexusmods.com/battlebrothers/mods/54

Builds by attributes:

Matk + Mdef + Fat = BF QH 2H, Duelist, 2H Cleaver, 2H Hammer

Matk + Mdef + Initiative + (Fatigue) = Nimble QH 2H

Matk + Mdef + Initiative - Fatigue = Dagger Duelist

Matk + Mdef - Fatigue = Fat Neutral

Mdef + Resolve/Fatigue = BF tank

Mdef + (HP) + (Initiative) = Nimble tank

Matk + (Mdef) + (Initiative) = Polearm

Resolve + (Matk) = Banner

Ratk + HP + Fatigue = Crossbow

Ratk + Matk + (HP) + (Fatigue) + (Mdef) = Crossbow & 2H, Throw & Melee Duelist, Throw & Polearm

Ratk - HP/Fatigue = Bow

Other brothers are tempo brothers.


A general way to calculate the expected stats
1. With stars*, you can always get that stat if needed. Each star means +5 at level 11.
2. Without stars, you will refuse the lowest roll (for example, +1 Matk), so it means fewer stats at level 11 than the expected value.
3. You need to spend some level-up points on HP and resolve whether the brother is weak in these two areas. Generally, the brother needs 70~80 hitpoints, and melee builds need higher resolve (~45). That means fewer available points in other stats (e.g. Fatigue and Initiative).

Initial attributes and stars
Recruitment depends on the initial attributes and the level 11 attributes, and the number of stars cannot explain everything.
Generally speaking, the initial attributes are more important. The higher the initial attributes, the more worth cultivating. One star increases by five points on average, and the upper and lower limits of the initial values ​​between professions can vary by 10 points or even more than 10 points.
Moreover, high initial attributes indicate strong immediate combat power.
The corresponding lower limits of attributes for recruitment worth cultivating (level 11): 80 Matk, 30 Mdef, 80 Ratk, 110 Fatigue, 125 Initiative. HP needs to be 70 or 64 (Colossus) according to the specific build, and Resolve needs to be at least 32 or 42.

Pay attention that the very poor HP, fatigue, and resolve of some backgrounds are so low that they need to spend some points on HP and resolve. That means even if having high Matk and Mdef, they are only suitable for FAT neutral build.

Part 1 contains the most common builds for the late game.

Generally speaking, Brawny and Colossus are not necessary if the brother has high fatigue and HP.
Furthermore, Underdog can be replaced by Footwork, which has better performance but costs much more fatigue. I would suggest any brother with >80 available fatigue in the combat use Footwork.


A very good build combining damage, survival and versatility.
Executioner is not needed if you are not using 2H Axe.
Wisely choosing the remaining perks among Colossus, Brawny, Backstabber, or Gifted for what the brother needs.
Generally, the BF brother should have 60+ fatigue left when entering combat.
Polearm M. is also suitable, but should use Footwork as the following Nimble build.

Stats at level 11: ~80 HP, ~85 Matk, >30 Mdef, ~120 fatigue, ~45 resolve.
Level up: Matk+, Mdef+, fatigue+, HP, resolve


Having Dodge for higher defence, and Relentless replacing Adrenaline.
After getting gears, the brother should have ~70 fatigue and ~95 initiative.
The playstyle is "Wait first & hit later" in the first round, and using the advantage of Relentless to hit first in the second round.
Wisely choosing the remaining one perk among Colossus, Backstabber, or Gifted.
Polarm M. is better since the Nimble brother is not as stable as the BF brother. Their role is to last hit, make up the line, and help the BF brother. You can even use the 2H sword to make up for the hit.
Polehammer can greatly improve the brother against heavy armor enemies.

In addition, I would like to say here that the ultimate version of the Initiative build (200 famed helmet and armor) can be better than the BF build.
The advantages of Initiative build are:
The Dodge + Relentless has greater benefits than the Brawny + Adrenaline. When the initiative is high enough, Relentless is similar to Adrenaline but does not spend fatigue, and Dodge can provide a fairly high defence (8~13). Brawny gives ~15 fatigue, but heavy armor costs more fatigue than light and medium armor.
The disadvantage of nimble build is that the armor value is low. If the armor is destroyed, enemy's high base damage weapon will be deadly. But this disadvantage can be compensated by 200 famed armor and helmet with 60% nimble. The disadvantage of BF is that it performs poorly against piercing weapons, and generally uses Fur Padding to reduce damage, to achieve a similar effect to nimble. In the meantime, the medium armor can be attached with the Unhold Fur Cloak (range damage reduction), Hyena Fur Mantle (armor and initiative), Light Padding Replacement (initiative and nimble ratio), Lindwurm Scale Cloak (reaching ~300 armor), and Protective Runes (resisting control effects such as charm). The wider choice means versatility.

Generally speaking, BF build is better. But it is based on the playthrough of about 150 days. The low production of famed medium armor and helmet that meet the requirements of initiative builds is the main problem.
For BF build, even if the famed heavy armour drops are not ideal, you can still buy 300 heavy armor directly from the store. The fatigue cost of the medium armor in the shop is relatively high. The best light armor in the shop is the noble armor, and its armor volume is still somehow low.

Stats at level 11: ~80 hp, >85 Matk, ~25 Mdef, ~110 fatigue, >130 initiative, ~45 resolve.
Level up: Matk+, Mdef+, initiative, fatigue, HP, resolve


Less defence but more offence.
Choosing the remaining 2 perks from Executioner + Axe M., Colossus, Gited, etc.

Stats at level 11: ~80 hp, >85 Matk, ~30 Mdef, ~110 fatigue, ~45 resolve.
Level up: Matk+, Mdef+, fatigue, HP, resolve


Polearm for damage, whip for disarming and last hitting enemy, spearwall with high Matk to divide the battlefield. This build can always have the first move to hit with polearm (5 AP) and then switch to speawall (4 AP). Basically, even if the enemy can get close, they don't have enough AP to attack.

1~2 bros with this is enough.

When fighting against skeleton soldiers, replace the whip in your bag with a two-handed blunt weapon. When fighting against Orcs, use the whip to disarm them. The spear wall with high Matk is very powerful in chaos combat. If the enemy tries to go around and surround your backline, the spear wall can buy some time.

Another advantage of this build is that it can make use of the Goblin famed spear. In particular, if the Champion mod is used, the production of the Goblin famed Spear will be very, very high (in fact, it is not low without the mod). The one-handed spear has very small upgrades at different levels, resulting in a high probability that the Goblin famed spear will have higher damage than the T3 spear as long as it rolls for base damage and penetration damage. The Goblin famed weapons do not roll for total fatigue cost, so the probability of rolling out a higher damage than the T3 spear is quite high (personally, I feel the probability is 50%).

Stats at level 11: 70~80 HP, ~85 Matk, ~120 fatigue, 15~20 Mdef, >130 initiative.
Level up: Matk+, Mdef, fatigue, initiative, HP


Polearm for damage, whip for disarming and last hitting enemy, 2H cleaver for killing enemy who comes close, net and smoke pot for control and lifesaving.
The smoke pot or the net in the bag can be replaced with other long weapons like hammers, maces, etc., but I think that support should support well.
Adrenaline is useful here since this build lacks the initiative to hit the enemy first.
1 variable perks. It can be Recovery, Cleaver mastery, Backstab, Colossus, Gifted, etc.

Stats at level 11: 70~80 hp, ~85 Matk, ~120 fatigue.
Level up: Matk+, Mdef, HP, fatigue


A very classic build. The main difference is whether to choose Colossus and Rotation.

My suggestion is to find those who have high resolve but poor Matk (like 70~75) in the early days, as your first banner man. They can have Colossus and Rotation to help other brothers survive, but don't expect them to do good damage or a trustworthy disarm at critical moments.
For those who have good HP, and Colossus is not necessary, Taunt can be a choice for further control and utility.

If Matk is good (~80), then Backstabber is a good choice to replace Rotation to make up the hits and disarm chance. This often happens when you're trying to build a backup Banner Man. Polearm M. is also good if you want the banner man to do some damage.

If you find someone with great resolve and Matk (~85) in the meantime, and also with good fatigue (~120) and good HP (>70 w/o Colossus), then he is your best banner man in the run. He can have Polearm M. and Cleaver M. at the same time for damage and disarm. Cleaver M. is better than BS since disarm costs too much FAT (30).

A tip: always pay attention to whether the captain's fatigue is enough to Rally the Troop after performing the current action. If not, just use Recover to ensure it is available in every round.

Stats at level 11: >70 HP, ~80 Matk, ~120 fatigue, ~85 resolve.
Level up: Matk+, resolve+, fatigue+, HP+

For bros with good Mdef (>35), high resolve (~80), high fatigue (>130).
Wearing heavy armor, they can attract 5~6 enemies including champions.
Why Fencing Sword: Lunge can ignore zone of control, giving more movability.
Why B&B rather than Brawny: More backup shields, higher fatigue unless you're wearing zombie armor.
3 variable perks among: Colossus (+HP), Fortified Mind (+Resolve), Pathfinder, Steel Brow (against stupid RNG), Brawny (+fatigue), Footwork (ultimate survivability).

Stats at level 11: ~65 HP, ~35 Mdef, ~130 fatigue, >80 resolve.
Level up: Mdef+, resolve+, fatigue+, HP


Wearing light armor, he can taunt one enemy each turn and tank (mostly it will be elite).
Nimble tank performs better than BF tank in the early and mid-game, because of the low need for heavy armor, and the early pick of Dodge.

In fact, anyone with good initial Mdef in the early stage and a final Mdef of more than 30, such as a thief with an initial Mdef of 11 and no stars, can be used as a nimble tank. The nimble tank is a consumable and will be replaced by BF tank in the end, so the star position does not need to be exactly correct.

If fatigue is very low, then you don't need to choose Indomitable, Rotation, and Relentless. Either they can't be used, or the benefits are low.
Try to choose Indomitable when there is no BF tank. When fighting against the Barbarian Chosen, Troll, etc., it is crucial to use Indomitable in the first round after contact.
If resolve is very low, choose Fortified Mind.
Rotation is also a good choice to save the other brothers from death.
Other general choices are 9 Lives Cat and Gifted, trying every means to increase tankiness.

If the brother has great HP (>80 without Colossus) and ~110 Fatigue, you can aim for a more complete build:

The idea is similar to BF tank. Rotation can be replaced with B&B for more shield, or Relentless for lower Initiative penalty through the battle.

The level-up is flexible and tricky. Besides Mdef, HP is good as far as it goes to 80+. Resolve and Fatigue are favourable for the possibility of a complete build. Initiative and Rdef with a good roll is also acceptable when other attributes roll badly.

Stats at level 11: ~80 HP, ~35 Mdef, ~130 initiative, ~60 resolve.
Level up: Mdef+, HP, resolve, initiative


The only pure ranged build that is worth playing for the late game. Both the crossbow and the hurler have good hit bonuses and armor-piercing damage. In the later stages, when the Ratk is high enough, you can consider the handgonne. But in the early to mid-stage, you must use the crossbow.

In most cases, the battle is more than halfway through when the Recover is needed, or even close to the end. The total damage limitation of the range weapon is more dependent on the ammunition. If you don't do footwork like crazy, the ammunition for throwing will be almost used up when the fatigue is exhausted. Thus, Recover is not chosen here.

I will suggest having a build with throwing weapons, which is very useful for the Swordmaster fight in the arena and the fight in the Library. It can be crossbow & throwing, polearm & throwing, or duelist & throwing.
The starting and substitutes of ranged build in the final lineup should not exceed 4 in total, and the number of pure ranged builds should not exceed 2.

Stats at level 11: >70 HP, >85 Ratk, ~120 fatigue.
Level up: Ratk+, HP+, fatigue+, Rdef, initiative


This build is great. The axe now has the highest damage, but you can still use Polearm, Mace or other weapons.
One available perk from Adrenaline, Recover, Colossus, B&B, etc.

Stats at level 11: >70 HP, >85 Ratk, >80 Matk, ~120 fatigue.
Level up: Matk+, Ratk+, fatigue+, HP



This build is for 1H weapons. In terms of weapon selection, Mace > Cleaver > Hammer > Axe > Sword. It is not recommended to play a pure damage duelist build without god famed weapons.
You can have no Net on the freehand. That will enable Double Grip for more damage, but less capability to control the enemy.

Like the QH 2H build, choose among Colossus, Backstabber or Gifted. Backstabber mace duelist is a commonly used build. ~80 Matk is enough for strong control ability and good damage. Later, this brother can use the famed 1H weapon for high damage.

I don't use the BF Duelist build, because it needs more perk points (Brawny+BF vs. Nimble), higher fatigue (>140), and, most importantly, the Duelist build does not work as a half-tank-half-damage frontline. Instead, Duelists are the backliners in the frontline, quickly killing weak enemies so the BF 2H frontline is not surrounded, throwing a net to help other brothers, etc.

Stats at level 11: ~80 HP, >85 Matk, >30Mdef, ~130 fatigue.
Level up: Matk+, Mdef+, fatigue+, HP, resolve

Part 2 contains the builds that have some limitations, but are still good.


A typical background for this build is Swordmaster.
A nine-star beggar or slave will usually be comfortable with FAT neutral build. The tempo brothers can transform to FAT neutral if they roll high attributes in Matk and Mdef.
Wearing heavy armor, this brother walks once and hits with a 2H weapon, which costs <15 fatigue and the natural fatigue recovery is 15 per turn.
It should be noted that you cannot wait at will when using this build. If you are attacked by someone while waiting, you may not be able to make a hit, since being attacked also incurs fatigue cost.
4 variable perks among: Colossus, SB, Executioner, Backstabber, Gifted, and Brawny.

Stats at level 11: ~85 Matk, >30 Mdef, high HP and resolve.
Level up: Matk+, Mdef+, HP, resolve, fatigue


It is an alternative FAT neutral build. If the heavy armor is worn by the BF 2H QH brothers or the BF tank, then FAT neutral can use light armor.
It should be noted that the nimble FAT neutral is somehow fragile.
4 variable perks among: Colossus, Executioner, Backstabber, Gifted, Dodge, Footwork.

Stats at level 11: ~85 Matk, >30 Mdef, good resolve, high HP.
Level up: Matk+, Mdef+, HP, initiative, resolve, fatigue


This FAT neutral build should only work while having a famed Qatal Dagger with -3 FAT cost usage.
BS and Colossus can be replaced with Gifted, Backstabber, Executioner, or other perks.
This build maximises the damage from available AP.

Stats at level 11: ~85 Matk, >30 Mdef, good resolve, good HP.
Level up: Matk+, Mdef+, HP, resolve, fatigue


This build is also a FAT neutral build, used for the Southern (Qatal) Dagger only. Use the net with the 2nd skill of the dagger for very high damage in 1v1.

I don't choose the Colossus because this build has surplus attribute points to spend on HP.

The strength of the dagger build depends largely on the roll of the famed dagger. This dagger build is good at killing light armor or no armor units, or fighting in 1v1, but somehow limited in a complex battlefield with mixing light and heavy armor enemy. In that situation, it needs collaboration from other brothers, like the 2H mace or net from backline.

Stats at level 11: ~85 Matk, >30 Mdef, ~140 initiative.
Level up: Matk+, Mdef+, HP+, intiative, resolve



The captain uses handgonne to deal AOE damage, Fearsome and Overwhelm for debuff.
Much worse than the melee Bannerman.

Stats at level 11: >70 HP, ~85 Ratk, ~120 fatigue, >80 resolve, >130 initiative.
Level up: Ratk+, resolve+, HP, fatigue, initiative


Suitable for those who have good Ratk at the beginning, but only have about 80 in the end. Or those with very good Ratk, but low HP and fatigue, need a lot of points to make up.
The bow is now only suitable as a transitional weapon. It is still quite useful to shoot bandit snipers, witches, necromancers, etc.
A fear bow can help fight the Lindworm a lot, but there is no need to build it specifically.
3 available perks among CS, Colossus, Recover, Frenzy, and Fearsome.

Stats at level 11: >70 HP, >80 Ratk.
Level up: Ratk+, HP, fatigue, Rdef



Footwork can be replaced with Underdog if the brother has ~20 Mdef.
Colossus can be replaced with weapon M. if the HP is high enough.
Other good perks are B&B and Recover.

If you choose Underdog, the play style will be to throw, wait for the enemy to contact you, QH to 1H weapon and attack.
If you choose Footwork, you have to run away from elite enemies. If you can beat him, just fight or stun him.

Stats at level 11: >70 HP, ~85 Ratk, ~85 Matk.
Level up: Ratk+, Matk+, HP, Mdef, fatigue



This build used to be very strong, but now its advantage is that it forms quickly, and can be a panacea for lots of situations.
It has a good performance in the library to hit the stupid jars. But you can also cosplay this build by letting other ranged builds carry throwing weapons and a Goblin Jagged Pike.
Generally speaking, if the initial value of a brother's Matk and Ratk is quite good, but the final value is not good, then he is suitable for this build.
Be sure to pay attention to your position when using this build. Not having a 2H weapon means that you should often Footwork away when enemy gets close to you.
Extra perks can be Colossus, Recover, Duelist, B&B, Fast Adaptation, Gifted, etc.

Stats at level 11: >70 HP, ~80 Ratk, ~80 Matk.
Level up: Ratk+, Matk+, HP, fatigue

Part 3 is about the build that players use most, but are mentioned least in the guides: tempo brothers.


This tempo build is for brothers with very bad Matk, Ratk and Mdef.
Their quest is to do some control with the mace and net, contact with enemy for their armor, etc., just any risky action you don't want the other brothers to take.
You can also choose 9 Lives Cat instead of Adrenaline or QH.
Level up: Matk, Mdef, fatigue, HP, resolve, Rdef


For brothers with not very bad Mdef, working as tank in early-mid game.
It can be further developed into a nimble tank.
Level up: Mdef, HP, fatigue, resolve, initiative, Rdef


For brothers with not very bad Matk.
Dodge is a good choice instead of 9 Lives Cat if the brother has good initiative.
Underdog and Adrenaline are also available.
Level up: Matk, Mdef, HP, fatigue, resolve, initiative, Rdef


For brothers with common Matk.
Colossus can be replaced with PF.
It can be further developed into a QH 2H, or Polearm brother, if the brother is rolling well when level-up. In that situation, Rotation can be dropped.
Level up: Matk, Mdef, HP, fatigue, Rdef


For brothers with common Ratk.
It can be further developed into Polearm & throw.
Level up: Ratk, HP, fatigue, Matk, Rdef

After several months not playing BB...

"I know the build but how do I get the right order of perks to reach level 11?"

This is a general question that not only new players but also experienced players have.
To answer this question, we have to look back at all the perks and set some sub-goals for the build on the path to level 11.

Goal #1: Survival
Without survival, our brothers could die instantly on the battlefield. No matter if he is 9* or 8*, if he gets shot from several crossbows he will die.

Goal #2: Damage
Kill fast and you will still be alive.

Goal #3: Support (versatility)
Support perks are helping brothers to fight better. They can be fatigue management, combat variability, and team support, etc.

Goal #4: Tempo
Tempo brothers help in early-mid games and that's all we want from them.

The table below shows the categories of the perks, in common situations.


My common perk sequence:
Frontline: Colossus - Student - PF/Dodge - Weapon M/Adrenaline - Underdog - Nimble/BF - Frenzy - ...
Backline: Student - PF - QH - Polearm M - Footwork - Nimble - Frenzy - ...
Tank: Colossus - Student/Dodge - SE - Taunt - Underdog - Nimble/BF - ...
Ranger: Student - PF - QH/Bullseye - Weapon M - Footwork - Nimble - ...

In BB, because of the injury system and resolve system, the best way is to try killing the enemy as fast as possible, while avoiding the obvious risk of getting brothers dying.

I am not mining into the details of each perks here.
For more details and information you should read
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2001196860


1-1 Fast Adaptation (FA)
A really good perk for brothers using 4 AP weapon with poor melee skill like ~70.
FA also suits bow ranger very well. The more the bro likely to miss, the more he gets from FA.

1-2 Crippling Strikes (CS)
Seldom used in builds. Very few weapon fits this perk (Bow perhaps, and Southern sword).

1-3 Colossus
A good perk brings survivability and saves stat points from choosing HP. The exceptions are hybrid range build and polearm build with high initial HP. To bring a 64 HP brother to 80 HP, without stars on HP, it will need around 5 level up points. With Colossus the brother can have 5 level points on fatigue, resolve, or initiative.

1-4 Nine Lives (9 Lives)
It should bring survivability... But in most situation it is worse than Colossus, Gifted, Dodge, Shield mastery, etc.

1-5 Bags and Belts (B&B)
A must-have for throwing range brothers. An acceptable option for Polearm brothers doing support work. Lone wolf shield may also have this to have more backup shields without spending more fatigue. Generally this works with Quick Hands.

1-6 Pathfinder (PF)
Think about Kraken fight... Yes I will recommend PF for most brothers: PF & Polearm Mastery, PF & 4 AP weapon, PF & Footwork, PF & Neutral Fat build... PF is AP versatile with fatigue management. However, I know lots of people don't like PF, and yes it is possible to ignore it in some builds, but as a cost you have to carefully choose the battlefield.

1-7 Adrenaline
Great perk for tempo brothers. Recommended for new players. It can bring some cheese strategies in the early game (e.g. against brigand ruin with rangers).

1-8 Recover
Quite good. If you don't manage fatigue well then choose it. I don't have Recover in most of my playthroughs now since it's kind of a waste to choose a perk for pure fatigue management.

1-9 Student
Getting student at level 2~5 is always good unless the brother is meant to be replaced in late game (so tempo brother).


2-1 Executioner
Pure damage. Executioner is actually great with +20% damage (Killing Frenzy gives +25%). The problem is it needs to have the enemy injured at first, while not killing or doing too much damage (but at least 25% of HP) on the enemy.
However, in the latest version (1.5.1.7), 2H axe now can have its 1st split hit causing enemy to be injured, and the 2nd split hit will favor Executioner.

2-2 Bullseye
Don't choose it.

2-3 Dodge
Dodge gives high melee and range defence. However this defense will decrease during the combat since the fatigue penalty for initiative. Nimble Quickhand and Nimble Shield works with Dodge well.

2-4 Fortified Mind (Mind)
100+ resolve! Work with the perk Fearsome, or for the captain. Also available for the frontline with too low Resolve (e.g. Deserter). For a brother with 37 resolve, Mind can bring him to 46 resolve.

2-5 Resilient
An option when the brother himself is with very high skill and defense. To get rid of the hex charm and goblin poison effect.

2-6 Steel Brow (SB)
The brothers with heavy armor can have this to avoid sudden death from the head strike.

2-7 Quick Hands (QH)
The perk breaks the game. Giving versatile to many builds.

2-8 Gifted
Good perk for tempo brothers. For some brothers it can make up the shortcomings. Comparing to Colossus, Gifted is 3 points with 2 stars, so for the brothers with good stars, Gifted is worse than Colossus.


3-1 Backstabber (BS)
Great tempo perk, especially for Military Army. Backstabber means +20% hit chance when surrounding the enemy with 3 brothers, and +30% if hit with another polearm brother.

3-2 Anticipation
Don't choose it.

3-3 Shield Expert (SE)
Must-have for shield brothers. Without this perk, enemy will always try to break the shield and the result is brother dying and a broken shield need preparing (which means more cost of tools).

3-4 Brawny
Heavy armor brothers' choice, the revenue expectation is more than 15 fatigue. Brawny can be replaced if the brother is wearing famed medium armour (200~250 durability and less than 20 fatigue).

3-5 Relentless
Alternative Adrenaline for initiative nimble build. Less initiative penalty from fatigue, and also makes brother act first. The relentless with high initiative build works as follow:
In turn 1, act first, and wait for enemy to act. Then attack or move to a good position.
In turn 2, still act first (even after waiting in turn 1). It has almost same effect with Adrenaline but cost much less fatigue.

3-6 Rotation
Good perk for Shield and heavy armor brothers. Not only saving brothers from danger, but also rotating with another 2H weapon brother will help avoid the stuck. For 2H weapon brothers, Rotation is an alternative to Quick Hands, and brings a different play style.

3-7 Rally the Troops (Rally)
For the captain.

3-8 Taunt
A must-have for shield brothers. Very effective against lots of enemies: Necrosavant, Schrat, Unhold, Orcs, etc. Very useful in most situations. Furthermore, Taunt needs only 15 fatigue, which makes Nimble Shield build work.


The 4th row perks are the weapon mastery. They are necessary for Neutral Fat build due to reduce 25% of the fatigue build up.

4-1 Mace Mastery
100% Stun. Very useful in Expert difficulty since the importance of controlling the battlefield, for both single-handed and 2H mace. However, orcs warriors are immune to stun, which is one of the shortcomings. Also, it does not increase hit chance nor the damage. For QH brothers, Mace mastery makes polemace better than other polearm or long weapons.

4-2 Flail Mastery
1H Flails are not good weapons in mid and late game. Thinking about 2H Flails, this mastery is good with a +30% headshot chance famed flail and the Head Hunter build, in which situation it gives +10% armor penetration on the single hit and +5% hit chance of the AOE. But without the famed flail, this mastery is not worth it.

4-3 Hammer Mastery
Hammer brothers always try to use Shatter for Reach Advantage revenue, and it means the Hammer Mastery is great: +5% hit chance and lower fatigue build up. For single-handed hammer and polehammer, this mastery perk is not nessecary.

4-4 Axe Mastery
In 95% situation, don't try to split the enemy's shield. So the value of Axe Mastery is mostly from the lower fatigue build up, and +5% hit chance of AOE.

4-5 Cleaver Mastery
Necessary for cleaver brothers. 2H Cleaver is a 4 AP weapon which means higher fatigue cost in combat. Orc cleaver has higher damage but also higher fatigue load. And the mastery gives another 10 point bleed damage besides the fatigue management advantage. Meanwhile, the polearm and captain may also have this mastery, for +10% hitchance on whip disarm, and more bleed damage in a few situations.

4-6 Sword Mastery
Necessary for Fencing Sword and Southern sword (Shamshir) build. The problem is the swords are not great weapons in the late game due to their low armor penetration.

4-7 Dagger Mastery
Necessary for initiative dagger duelist build. One more hit means more damage and more overwhelm.

4-8 Polearm Mastery
The change of 6 AP to 5 AP means to possibility of move 2 grids and attack, combining with PF.
If the brother needs it, then get it.

4-9 Spear Mastery
A mastery that very seldom be used. The damage of spear is poor in late game.

4-10 Crossbow Mastery
Necessary for crossbow/handgun rangers, higher damage or better AP management.

4-11 Bow Mastery
Necessary for bow rangers, +1 range for snipers and Anticipation.

4-12 Throwing Mastery
Necessary for throwing/hybrid rangers. Great damage, and working with Duelist makes throwing weapon very strong.

5-1 Reach Advantage (RA)
For 2H hammer and axe, which can do AOE damage. If hit only one enemy, RA is not better than Gifted which gives +3 skill and defence and other attributes, and RA does not work with Quick Hands.

5-2 Overwhelm (OW)
A good perk for initiative builds. AOE can Overwhelm multiple enemies at the same time. Bow can OW several enemies due to the scattering shot. OW works with Relentless and Dodge for better performance, but they are not bound together when more damage is the aim.

5-3 Lone Wolf
Generally for Lone Wolf Shield. However, LW can also be a great perk to make a good brother great with the +15% attributes — 80/30 melee skill/defence becomes 92/35. Bow ranger may use LW for higher initiative, range skill and defence since he is often far from the main battlefield.

5-4 Underdog
Necessary for front-line brothers. In most situations, Underdog brings 5/10 defence and sometimes up to 25.

5-5 Footwork
Necessary for back-line brothers. Great for baiting enemies. Necessary for the strategy against Lindwurm in the early-mid game.
Footwork is a better choice than Underdog but spend much more fatigue.

6-1 Berserk
Great perk, more damage and more flexibility. It is bounded with Recover as the synergy between fatigue and AP.

6-2 Head Hunter
Only used when the famed weapon has added headshot chance.

6-3 Nimble
Necessary for initiative and back-line brothers. Nimble itself works pretty well with light armor (~50% nimble) to famed medium armor (~60% nimble). However, for famed armor, Nimble is very sensitive to the RNG of fatigue.

6-4 Battle Forged (BF)
Necessary for heavy armor brothers. In most time BF is bounded with Brawny. The Nimble + BF combination only works with well rolled famed armor, which generally happens at the very late game.


7-1 Fearsome
Works with Fortified Mind. Not recommended unless the build is heavy neutral fat with high resolve. The fearsome handgun build is likely a meme.

7-2 Duelist
Necessary for 1H weapon (so called duelist) build. +25% damage is huge. Throwing weapon is also a duelist weapon.

7-3 Killing Frenzy (Frenzy)
+25% damage is huge. Great perk.

7-4 Indomitable
Necessary for heavy armor shield. Unfortunately it now needs 25 fatigue, so nimble shield cannot use it each turn, and the damage dealer does not have enough fatigue and AP on it.

The weapons can be classified as 1H, 2H, 2-grid, range, and shields.

1H weapons that are always used include daggers, swords, sticks, spears, and flails.

Dagger is mainly used to get armor with S2.
Qatar dagger can be used as a duel weapon, which can have good damage with a good famed weapon. Its S2 has an additional 20% armour penetration against units that are stunned, dazed, and netted.

1H sword has a good effect in the early stage. With a good damage and +10% hit, it can deal good damage to enemies with low armor, such as thugs, wolves, spiders, and ghouls.
But sword has a very low armor penetration, which leads to weakness in the middle and late stages.

1H mace is likely the king of the duel weapon. The damage, armor penetration, and armor breaking ​​of 1H mace are all good, and there is also a 100% stun with the mastery. The performance in the early, middle and late stages is not bad, so it is still worth building a brother using it.

One-handed spears are very powerful in the early stage, and also have good functionality in the later stage. S1 has +20% hit, which is a great help in the early stage. S2, spear wall, can control the enemy AI's actions. In the later stage, brothers with high Matk can use S2 to easily kill enemies with weak AI such as ghouls and young orcs.
Growth of the spear is too low, resulting in the damage not being enough in the middle stage.
It is recommended to build a spear polearm brother. A high-matk spear wall can save lives on many occasions.

1H flail has S1 ignores the basic defense bonus of the shield, which is very useful for fighting the southern bandits in the early stage. S2 is used to knock the head of the brighand, which can save a lot of things in combat and farming armor.
The three-headed flail counts as three independent attacks. You can use it to kill a 9 Lives Cat vampire in seconds, or directly kill a geist. But other than that, this weapon is bad.

The main problem with cleaver and hammer is that they are two extremes. Cleaver has good damage but low armor penetration, while the hammer has good armor penetration and armor breaking but low damage. In addition, the functionality of these two weapons is poor, and they cannot be used as a transition in the early and mid-term.
Whip can also be considered a type of cleaver. It is very functional for disarming or last-hit enemies from a long distance. It’s always a good idea to carry one in polearm brothers' bag.

The strength of two-handed weapons is basically:
Axe > Hammer > Mace > Flail = Sword = Cleaver > Spear

The Man Splitter is insane. The 2H Axe is now the most comprehensive weapon since the 2nd half-hit can gain the buff from Executioner.

2H hammer is always needed to break heavy armor. Stagger is a great debuff to kicking the enemy directly to the end of the action sequence, which can help focus fire or save brothers.

2H mace is still very versatile, with good damage, and making stun and daze is still of some value. In addition, the stun of the 2H mace is now a two-round stun, which is a very powerful control.

2H flail is worth using in the early and mid-term if the orc berserker or fallen hero drops it.
The problem is that the damage fluctuates too much, and the armor penetration is low.

2H sword is mostly a weapon for early and mid-term farming. With super high damage and +10% hit rate or flexible AOE, it is easy to kill enemies with low armor. The main problem is that the armor penetration and breaking are too poor.
Those brothers with medium Matk (such as 82) can consider using the 2H sword to quickly kill T1 enemies or finish enemies with broken armor.

2H cleaver is flexible as a 4-AP weapon, but the armor penetration is low, and 4-AP means higher fatigue consumption. It leads to the value of cleaver M., and you have to squeeze out perks to the polearm M. to play with QH style (since cleaver has no 2-grid weapon). In the meantime, for a 4-AP weapon the value of Recover+Berserk can be huge.
When 2H cleaver is needed, brothers with other 2H weapons can simply use 2H cleaver, even without mastery.
A common place for 2H cleaver is the backpack of the polearm brother. It shares the cleaver M. with the whip, and can also be quickly swapped out to kill close-range enemy.

2H spear is precisely the Goedendag. It is great in the first 10-15 days, with good damage and +20% hit, and also the stun. If you want to use 2H weapon in the first 10 days, choose Goedendag.

2-grid weapons are also known as long weapons, including polearms and long hammers, long maces, long axes, and long spears.

The most common are polearms, which can be divided into Reap (Swordlance), Repel (Pike), and Hook (Billhook).
If you can hit, then Reap is the best. It is strong to hit 3 enemies at the same time, making not only Frenzy but also OW and RA valuable.
The second is Hook, which has a certain armor-breaking ability. You can hook the enemies from the front line and then focus them directly, or hook them from the backline into your pocket. The enemy being hooked will be 100% staggered.
Pike is good in early stage. Repel can protect teammates. But its armor-breaking is low, and it has no AOE.
Goblin Jagged Pike can use 5 AP to attack without mastery, very suitable for 2H brothers.

Polehammer has great armor-breaking ability. It is good in the later stage, and can be used as a supplement to the lack of armor-breaking ability.

Polemace is powerful in the early and middle stages. It appeared early, and its damage far exceeds other weapons at the same period. It is suitable as the first long weapon for QH brothers, and also for brother who need to level up in the backline.

The armor penetration and breaking of Longaxe are not good, and the drop rate is worse than Polemace.

Warfork is very good in early stage. While the damage is sufficient, the backline can also use the spear wall to deal with the opponent's unarmored units flanking. Spetum lacks damage and is mostly used with fearsome spear wall as an entertainment.

Bows are purely transitional weapons. Hunting bow and composite bow are powerful in the early stage. War bow is even more useless in the late stage. 60% armor breaking is useless. Of course, it's still very insane to get the war bow from another mercenary and shoot everything to death in the early stage.

Crossbows are quite powerful in all stages. In early stage the crossbow has +15% hit and very good damage. In the middle stage, the crossbow M. has +20% armor penetration, making up for the problem of the low damage. In the late stage, heavy crossbow and goblin Spiked Impaler have sufficient damage. Goblin Impaler also has a knockback effect. In addition, crossbows can still shoot one shot after being approached by enemy while other ranged weapons cannot.
Handgonne are also considered crossbows. It has good AOE damage. But the damage fluctuatation is huge, and the armor penetration is low, while a 90 Ratk is required to ensure the hit of AOE. If handgonne can only hit two enemy per shot, then it is not as good as a crossbow.

For throwing weapons, first of all, I think the sling is stupid.
The goblin's Spiked Bolas is useful in the library because it counts as a strike damage, but the throwing axe is still a better choice.
The best choice for general battles is the javelin, and the heavy javelin is better. In most cases, the heavy javelin is more powerful than the red javelin, and the heavy throwing axe is the same.

Buckler - Wooden Shield - Adarga Shield - Kite Shield/Heater Shield - Sipar Shield - Living Tree Shield
Update your brother in this order. But there is no need to fight Schrat specifically for Living Tree Shield.
Orc's Heavy Metal Shield is generally rubbish because of its high fatigue consumption.
If you get a famed orc shield (a common situation), it can be used by a nimble tank brother.

Knife and Dagger are used to Puncture the enemy for getting free armor.
Generally, I buy all the knives in the shop at the start of the game.
Notched Blade is usable, but not much improvement compare to Dagger.
Rondel Dagger is not worth to buy from the shop. Very poor improvement compare to Dagger.
Qatal Dagger, the highest damage dagger, is what we use for late game, for both Dagger Duelist build and any QH build with 2H mace. Deathblow (Skill 2) has very good damage when combined with net and/or 2H mace.

Dagger Mastery allows bros to attack with a dagger 3 times per turn, or attack with 2H mace then QH to a dagger attack. This perk makes the Mace & Dagger build available.
For Dagger duelist, dagger mastery makes Deathblow spend less fatigue. Combined with a famed dagger reducing fatigue cost, it will be FAT neutral.

For famed weapon:
Qatal Dagger: Skills fatigue cost, Regular damage, and Direct damage.
Famed Rondel Dagger is not worth buying.

1H swords are very low in direct damage (20%, same as dagger). The Sword Mastery has poor value. These mean most 1H swords are likely the worst weapon in the late game.
They are not bad in early game with the +10% chance to hit, but likely worse than other 1H weapons since the lack of versatility. The only situation I would use 1H sword in early game is when I get them freely from the brigands and there are no more good maces/flails for my brothers.

Riposte is not a good skill since it needs you to dodge or block the attack, while the counterattack has -10% chance to hit.
Gash can be used if you want to play with a combination of CS and Executioner, but some enemies never get injuries.

Fencing Sword is likely the only sword people keep using in BB. It can be used in a Fencing Sword initiative duelist build, which needs an extremely highly rolling famed Fencing Sword and a very good brother, but gives huge damage —— the nuclear bomb in BB. It can also be used by the Heavy armor tank, which gives them better mobility for travelling through enemies' zone of control.

For famed weapon:
Fencing Sword: Regular damage, Direct damage, Armor damage.
Other 1H swords are not worth buying.

Still, poor direct damage is the problem for a 6 AP weapon. But a Greatsword from the brigand leader will be handy to used against the enemies with low armor: thugs, spiders, wolfs, etc.

For famed weapon:
Don't buy.

1H maces is the best duelist weapon from mid-game with their good regular damage, high direct and armor damage. Knock Out can save your ass and every attack gives additional 10 FAT damage to the enemy.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Armor damage.

Cudgel does +20 damage and also applies Daze on enemy, which makes these weapons combine both offense and defense. Strike Down can save your ass sometimes.

You can easily get 2H Spiked Mace from the T2 barbarian in early game.
2H Flanged Mace is the best 6 AP weapon in my mind. Very high damage, easy to find at the store, combination with Qatar Dagger.
Polemace is the best weapon for the backlines to fight against Ancient Deads in early game. It is easy to get from early game nomad while farming 125 helmet, and has very good damage with also stun.
Goedendag is the best 2H weapon for very early game (before 20 days). Good damage with +20% chance to hit helps the brother with relatively low skill to hit well. Stun helps you to surround the enemy with daggers and get the free armor.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Armor damage.
Only buy Polemace if the roll is good and you have built a Mace FAT neutral brother, which means you already have a famed 2H mace.

Militia spear is a good weapon in early game when you need that +20% chance to hit.
From mid game the very low damage from spear makes spearwall the only value of these weapons. Spearwall can split the battleground with only 4 AP, and probably do huge damage since some enemies will try to go through it repeatedly. This is how the spear polearm build is available: 5 AP polearm attack working with 4 AP spearwall is a combination of offense and defense, while keeping good versatility.

Goblin Skewer is a good weapon for the tank to use because of its low FAT cost. I would say it's better than Fencing Sword for nimble tank.
Fire Lance is not a good weapon.

For famed weapon:
Don't buy from the store.
Roll for Regular damage, Direct damage, Skills fatigue cost.
Goblin Skewer are not rolling in the Maximum Fatigue, which means they are likely to roll a higher damage number than the normal Fighting Spear (T3).

Warfork is a good backline weapon (+10% chance to hit) before you have Hooked Blade or other polearms better than Pitchfork. Warfork does not work with Polearm Mastery.
Spetum is not good.

For famed weapon:
Don't buy.

In 95% situation, don't try to break the enemies' shield, because:
1. You don't get the famed shield if it is destroyed;
2. Destroying the shield makes enemy attack twice with double grip.
1H axes are expensive but not good weapons in early and mid game - it means huge economic from selling them.

A possible build for these axes is having HH with a famed Head Splitter or Fighting Axe. Chop does +50% additional damage to HP when doing a headshot. A brother with background like Killer on the Run or Juggler can make this HH build work well.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Armor damage.

2H axes are now the best 6 AP weapons after latest update. It hits both head and body so doing headshot damage, but also suffers a lot from enemies with SB or heavy armor (which means needs more hits to destroy the armor due to split attack). 2H axes are great against undead skeletons since most of their defence comes from the shield. It is one of the few situations in which breaking the shield is a good choice. Besides this, you mostly break the enemy shield when you can instantly kill them after the breaking.

Round Swing works well with Fearsome.

You can get Heavy Rusty Axe easily from Barbarian Chosen in mid and late game.
Man Splitter (orc 2H axe) has the highest damage in the game. Though it cost huge FAT, it is worth it. In early and mid game it can one-hit most enemies.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Armor damage.
Don't buy Bardiche.
Only buy Longaxe if the roll is good and you have built an Axe FAT neutral brother, which means you already have a famed 2H axe.

1H flails are very good weapons for very early game (before 30 days) farming: easy to get T2 and T3 Flails from brigands, Flail ignores defense bonus of shields, and Lash always does headshot (so the armor is not damaged). Flail is good against shielded enemy (e.g. nomads and undead skeletons, in early game).
Three-Headed Flail does less damage than normal T3 Flail. However, it is very useful against Geist and Necroservant because of the multi-time damage.
The problem with 1H flails is the direct damage and the gap between upper and lower damage.

For famed weapon:
Don't buy it.

2H flails are not bad for the late game content.

Pound does +20 damage, +10% direct damage and another +10% on headshot, ignoring the defense bonus of shields, and has 30% chance to stun.

Flail Mastery has a huge boost on Pound going to 60% direct damage on headshot, making the HH Flail build available.
You can use Berserk Chain for a HH Flail build, but a good famed 2H Flail is much better because of the lower FAT usage.
I always have a FAT neutral brother with HH and Flail Mastery when I get a good famed 2H Flail. He can use Goblin Jagged Pike as the polearm.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Chance to hit head.

1H Cleavers is not that good in early game since they always destroy the armor.
When enemy starts to have nimble, the bleed damage from Cleave and damage bonus scaling with lost health in Decapitate become valuable. Likely the best 1H weapon but worse than mace in many situations.

Head Chopper is the better 1H Cleaver since its higher damage than Military Cleaver.
Whip is also 1H cleaver, a very good all-around support weapon for backline polearm brothers. It can last-hit the enemy without armor, or disarm high-damage low-defense enemies like orcs and undead, with a wide range.

Cleaver Mastery is important for 1H Cleaver user. Lower FAT usage, doubled bleed damage, reduced Disarm penalty, all these things are quite a boost.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Skills Fatigue Cost, Armor damage.
Famed Military Cleaver from the store is not worth it (compared to normal Head Chopper) unless the roll is very good.
Don't buy famed whip.

2H Cleavers do huge damage to the enemy with low armor: young orc, orc berserker, beasts, etc.
Rusty Warblade is the best; Two-Handed Scimitar is good; Two-Handed Saif is the backup. Crypt Cleaver is also a good weapon but not easy to get in the early game.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Skills fatigue cost, Armor damage.
A famed Rusty Warblade is guaranteed in the Ice Hole.

1H hammers are good weapons, I mean, in enemies' hands, because they don't need to farm armor.
I am not a fan of 1H hammers but they are not bad.
You can let tempo brothers have Duelist, and use the 1H hammers in late game so they can quickly breach the enemy's armor, then switch to 1H cleaver for more damage.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Armor damage.

2H hammers are good 6 AP weapons. They are very effective against armor (so the orcs and undead) and have good AOE.

T3 2H hammer is worth buying because of the huge damage boost.

Stagger is not comparable with Daze but it is always good to kick the enemy to the last of the act sequence.
Shatter grants melee defense from RA, while staggering and knocking enemy back brings more survivability.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Skills fatigue cost, Direct damage, Armor damage.
Only buy Polehammer if the roll is good and you have built a Hammer FAT neutral brother, which means you already have a famed 2H Hammer.

Polearms are great weapons mainly because of the Polearm Mastery. Going from 6AP to 5AP is a huge deal, vastly improving mobility and utility.
Polearms also have +10%/+5% chance to hit, and the utility to push or pull the enemy, with also the ability to do AOE damage.

In early game, Hooked Blade and Pike are great. Pulling the enemy means you can have them dragged into the pocket, being surrounded by other 3~4 brothers. Pike and Ancient Bladed Pike have great damage and a chance to hit the head.
In mid-late game, Swordlance and Billhook are great for different purposes. Swordlance works for OW and AOE damage. Billhook works to pull the enemies and destroy their heavy armor. The 5AP capability of Polearms makes the Swordlance and Billhook so much better than Longaxe/Polehammer overall, even if these chunky weapons are more damaging sometimes.

My advice is to have the backline brothers with Swordlance so they can do OW. The frontline QH build brothers have the Billhook to have a better 1v1 fight.

Jagged Pike is special because it does not need Polearm Mastery to work. Its damage is somehow lower than other polearms, but farming it from goblin champions will help to get a good roll.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Armor damage.

Bows are better than Crossbows when you need to snipe low HP enemies. Range is the lifeline of Bows.

Hunting Bow is better than Composite Bow because +1 range.
War Bow is an update option, which can be obtained by attacking other mercenary companies.
However, I would suggest using a famed Reinforced Boondock Bow by farming goblin champions. A famed Reinforced Boondock Bow with normal roll is commonly better than a normal War Bow.
A famed War Bow is extremely hard to get.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Accuracy.

Crossbows are always better than Bows in early game since the +15% accuracy and higher damage. And Crossbow Mastery gives another +20% direct damage.

Heavy Crossbow (+15%) is arguably better than Spiked Impaler (+10% and knock back). The latter can be farmed from goblin.

A famed Crossbow is extremely hard to get.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Armor damage.

Handgonne does AOE damage.
A famed Handgonne is extremely hard to get. But a well-rolled Handgonne has a huge damage boost since the improvement in damage is always multiplied by at least 3 based on the enemies being hit.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage, Armor damage.

Despite Slings, other Throwing Weapons are always with +20% accuracy, which makes them very good range weapons in early game.
In mid and late game, Throwing Mastery is a big damage boost for Throwing. It can be combined with Duelist and turns into huge damage. Even after 2 nerfs it is still very good.

Heavy Javelins is better than normal Javelins, since the Throwing Mastery and Duelist amplify the +5 damage difference. Javelins are better than Throwing Axes for focusing more on direct damage.

Famed Throwing Weapons are extremely hard to get.

For famed weapon:
Regular damage, Direct damage.
Only the famed Throwing Javelins are worth buying, and they must have a higher roll than the Heavy Javelins, which is not easy to get.

If you keep losing the first one or two fights against Brigand Thugs, you should look into the combat strategies.

At the beginning, try to fight the Brigand Thugs, have 55~70 armors like cotton jackets for everyone, and also maces and flails as the main weapons. Keep some swords and spears in case you fight the beasts.
Normally, on the 5th day, you have enough jackets and the maces, flails and knives.
If you cannot find Thugs, or the quests are only Caravan quests, another option is getting the Caravan quest from a city, walking a little away from the city, cancelling the quest, and attacking the Caravan. Then wait for the militia of the city to attack you, which, if you know how to fight, can give you lots of weapons and cotton armors.

After winning several fights, recruit a roster of 8 brothers.
Set 4 of them as fodder, while the other 4 are worth building for mid and late game. If you are using MODs like Smart Recruit, yes it is good to have like 12 brothers, but you must have 3~4 tempo/fodder brothers to do the risky plays in the combat.
Everyone must have a knife/dagger. The difficulty of getting free armor (from enemies) in this game is related to the number of knives/daggers you have.
Throwing Net is also very important, and a Net is better than a shield in the early game because it helps you to control the enemies like a Brigand Raider with 110 armor, or a T3 Nachzehrer if you are unlucky to meet one.

Now try to fight the Raiders. Try to get the armor from 80 to 110 (which we called Raider's armor) as many as possible.
When you obtain around 8 Raider's armor, farm several T3 flails for fighting against the Nomads (they are very likely to have shields).
You can also farm zombie campsites for Raider's armor.

At day 10~20, go South and find another 4 brothers for the late game.
Before day 35, collect like 4 Polemace and 4 2H Cleavers, and 125 helmets for everyone. Get as many Whips as you can.

At day 40, go back to North, fight the Orcs.
The Orcs' weapons have very high damage compared to human weapons (which your enemy is using at this point), meaning the extra FAT cost of them is very acceptable. Orcs' 2H Axes are the most powerful ones that can one-hit like every human enemy. Orcs' 2H Flails and 1H Cleavers are also great.
With some Orcs' 2H Axes you should easily fight any Brighand and most of the Barbarians (not the huge campsite).

From day 50, you do not need to accept all the quests, but only those that can give you a good profit (like hunting Northern Kings). The money you can get from the quest can be lower than destroying the enemy campsites. Meanwhile, you may loot famed weapons and armors from campsites.
If you don't have heavy armor, you can farm them from Nomad leader (200 armor, but before 35 days) and Fallen Hero (240/260 armor).

Battle Brother is a game with rich content, and it is too challenging to encompass all the tactics in a single guide. Here, I will only mention some basic concepts and, if possible, leave the further details for you to explore in videos from others (most of them will be from Bilibili since I cannot find them on Youtube).

High ground advantage

Let's start with the simplest: high and low ground.
A brief overview of the characteristics of heights:

a) High ground grants a +10% hit bonus to low ground, while low ground grants a -10% hit penalty to high ground, equivalent to 10 points of attack and defense in most cases.
b) For characters without PF, moving with a height difference costs an additional 1 AP and additional fatigue.
c) With a height difference >= 2, melee attacks are disabled; only range attack works.

Common tactics using high ground advantage:

1. High ground Spearwall
Using Spearwall on a single high ground in the early game can force shieldless enemy units (such as bandit thugs) to evade it, while weak AI, like ghouls, young orcs, and wolfhounds, can charge directly into the Spearwall, crippling or even destroying themselves.
High ground Riposte 1H sword use the same strategy, but be careful not to be surrounded by more than two enemies.

2. High Ground Shieldwall
The best early-game tactic for dealing with brighands equipping throwing weapons. Take advantage of the extra 10 ranged defence and let them hit you. Once they've drained their ammunition, you can engage them in melee normally.

3. Retreat to find high ground and set a trap.
A must-do in the early and mid-game combat. It's better to retreat to the edge of the map and find a good position to wait for the enemy to charge, though you may need 2~3 crossbows to make this tactic work. Also, setting up a trap on high ground is better than directly engaging the enemy.


Due to the attack and defense bonuses of high ground, the enemy will always try to break into the red circle (so they are not standing in low ground). Since we have the control zone around it, enemies with 2H weapons will inevitably have no AP to attack, and 1H weapons can only attack once.
In other words, this is likely a free kill, especially when you wait for the enemy to act first.

There's another location where enemies may charge: the high ground in the lower right corner of the red circle. However, the enemy on that high ground can only hit our tank, so it's not a significant threat.

A brother without shield can stand in the grid above the red circle because there is no other adjacent high ground, and we have another brother occupying the single high ground in close range. If the enemy forms a surrounding, the other brother can walk down to get a counter-surrounding, or Knock Back the enemy away and block their movement.

Obstacles

a) Obstacles come in two types: those with vision (can be used to attack through walls with a long weapon or ranged weapon) and those without vision (completely blocked).
b) Obstacles with vision are considered cover for ranged attacks, reducing ranged hit chance by 75%. Additionally, characters standing in front of the others count as cover as well.

Common uses of obstacles:
1. Blocking enemy ranged attacks.
2. Creating diversions, limiting the number of enemies contacted, and establishing a localized surrounding.

Tactics for fighting zombies, ancient soldiers, and vampires in the early and mid-game.

In some cemetery battlefields, retreating to the left will lead to a wall, which perfectly blocks vampires from attacking the backline brothers. There may also be funnel-shaped diversions in the centre of the battlefield that can split the ancient soldier formation and control the vampire's landing point.


In the figure, almost all brothers will not be surrounded by more than 2 enemies, and the long-weapon brother can freely choose their target.

Surrouding

It is a crucial element in Battle Brothers, from the early to late game.

a) Surrouding grants the attacker +5 Matk bonus from each ally (increased to 10 with BS), even attacking with long weapons. It can be countered by Underdog.
Forming surrounding and occupying high ground are the best ways to increase the hit rate in the early and mid-game. Stunned units or units holding ranged weapons are not counted towards the surrounding.

From Battle Brother wiki

b) Getting surrounded reduces Resolve and morale.
Resolve increases by +3 for each ally nearby, and decreases by -3 for each enemy nearby.
Being surrounded will further reduce Resolve, with higher levels of surrounding units causing a greater reduction. The maximum reduction is -10, and this is only applied if the number of surrounding units increases during the round.
In addition to being surrounded, Resolve decreases every time a unit is damaged by 15 or more HP, a nearby ally dies or flees. A morale check is performed each time these events occur. The lower the Resolve, the more likely it is to cause a white flag. When morale is generally low, a single flee can easily trigger a chain of flees.

The utility of surrounding:

1. How to quickly and effectively establish surrounding and armor looting in the early game?
Throwing the net after the enemy action, then have all the tanks and fodders move forward to surround the enemy. Generally speaking, consider using a tank to stick the enemy and block a non-lethal attack (if you have the 9 Lives Cat talent, you can easily stick the enemy first and then surround them).
Since the enemy's initiative is lowered by the net, our brothers will act earlier in the next round. That means we can directly switch to a dagger or flail to deal damage, further reducing the enemy's resolve and forcing them to raise the white flag or flee, thereby looting armor.
After the netted enemy starts to flee, their stats are reduced, making it more difficult to break the net. At this point, the brothers can try to surround other enemies for valuable armor.

2. What if the enemy doesn't flee when we're trying to loot the armor?
Use the mace S2 to stun the enemy, then have the brothers move out and in again to start a new morale check in the next round. Slide steps can also be used to start a new morale check.
Or, use a flail to deal headshot damage for a morale check. If the enemy has full armor, you can also use a sword and a spear, but it will damage the armor.
Killing the enemies next to them to trigger a chain flee is also a good tactic.

AI aggro

AI aggro refers to the enemy's preference to attack our brothers. Several factors determine AI aggro:
a) Skills and buffs: Taunts have the highest aggro rank, Standard Bearers with Rally the Troop have high aggro, brothers with Killing Frenzy buff activated have high aggro, and Shield Guards with Indomitable have lower aggro.
b) Expect benefits: Brothers with a higher chance of being hit have higher aggro, and Brothers who are more easily killed have higher aggro (AI tends to think light armor is easier to kill than heavy armor).

The following factors seem only to apply to strong AI enemies (primarily humans):
c) Brothers with high-range attack have higher aggro.
d) Brothers with long-weapons and ranged weapons have higher aggro, and enemies tend to stick with them (partly, also because of the hit rate penalty of these weapons at close range); 2H weapons will make enemies stay away from you.

AI aggro mechanics are constantly in play but very complex (you can look into https://pastebin.com/v1K5QDa9 if interested). Understanding the applications is essential:

1. Formation attracting bow and crossbow attack (a, b)
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1KEYge7EQQ
If anyone has a YouTube link discussing similar content, please have it in the comment so I can replace it.

@Shringshring used in his playthrough. It is a very useful and strong formation at any stage of the game, and also the reason for the perk Anticipation and attribute Rdef to be worthless.
Placing the banner man next to the tank creates a more pronounced effect.
It's best to set up a preliminary attracting formation when you have 12 players in camp; otherwise, enemy units might target heavy armored borhters in the first round.

2. Naked archer luring Lindworms (a, b, c)
I have a Youtube link here with less details.
The bilibili video is still recommended if you want to know how to cheese the Lindworms and learn more about this tactic.
https://youtu.be/dFWldqHxrrw
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Lq4y1N7fr

A tutorial on how to exploit aggro inversely.
If the ranged attack of the naked Archer is too low (less than 60), this tactic is likely to fail.
If any long weapon brothers have perks like Rally the Troop and Killing Frenzy, their aggro will exceed the Archer, causing the tactic to fail.

3. Cheese the Icy Cave Madman, with a level 5 fodder (d)

Another cheese from @Shringshring in his speedrun...

https://youtu.be/rn6Ayh3P01E
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1SV4y1C7xZ

The ultimate application of the aggro mechanic.
The aggro fluctuations of the weapon in hand can control enemies' actions, making QH the most broken skill.

4. Fodder attracts (b)
A very common tactic and why people keep recruiting beggars even though they have poor attributes.
Having a fodder walk in the reverse direction of the main force, and that will attract some enemy to chase the fodder until they kill him or have a shorter distance to the main force.
This is one of the best ways to create a localised more-against-less fight and further lead to an easy surrounding.

4.5 Fodder's marathon in zombie combat (b)
When I look into any long-term game video by expert players, I always find them fighting armored zombies in the first 10 or 15 days, which has gained them lots of armor.
The idea is that zombies without Necromancers can only move a maximum of 3 grids per round. Meanwhile, our brother can move a maximum of 4 squares with PF, and the naked brother always moves before the zombies.
So, we can have the naked fodder wait, while the other brothers collectively retreat to the rear, away from the fodder. This will draw most of the zombies' aggro towards the fodder.
Then the fodder can use the 1-grid movement advantage to attract the zombies by distancing them by 4 grids, allowing our main force to finish off the zombies that haven't been attracted. For the armored zombie, we can surround it, kill it with dagger, and then pick up its weapons, waiting for it to revive and kill it again.
This strategy is likely 100% successful, with virtually no loss. Therefore, zombie-only combat is a real bonus stage.

5. Vampire drop locations (a, b, d)
Vampires tend to target ranged units and the banner, and secondarily target polearms on the team's flanks that can be surrounded.
You can take advantage of this by swapping positions between the two units as the fight begins. For example, a polearm in the middle can swap positions with a frontline tank or 2H weapon, or be positioned close to a shield guard for an easy taunt.

6. Fake ranged baiting (d)
Early in the game, have your tank use a throw weapon, or your QH brother start with a sling, then retreat to maintain the distance.
This allows the enemy to move 3 grids to stick you, leaving them no AP for attacks, and you can have a free attack.

Overview of enemies' AI

Here, I will not discuss the detailed tactics against each type of enemy and their combinations, but provide an overview of the enemies' AI behaviour.
Enemies' AI can be, somehow, categorized into two main types: strong and weak.

Weak AI follows a fixed pattern in 95% situations. They always follow almost the same action mode, and charge into your face in 95% situations. So if you can beat them once, then you can beat them twice. These include:
1) Beasts.
2) Undead (Zombies & Ancient Dead).
3) Orcs.

When fighting weak AI, it is delicious to have high ground or obstacle advantage in helping split the enemies, and have them stuck and block each other.

Strong AI's actions vary based on the combat capabilities, weaponry, and formation composition of both sides. Formation scheduling is mostly only necessary against strong AI enemies. These include:
1) Goblins. Goblins appear to have a strong AI, but their action pattern is mostly fixed. The archer shoot arrow, the front line throw nets and spikes, and try to kite our brother by Footwork. Wolfriders mindlessly flank and attack back line. It's just that Goblins have diverse attack methods.
2) Humans. Humans can be further divided as Brigands, Nomads, Barbarians, Noble Houses, and others:
2.1) Brigands. For this combat, you need to find if they have throwing weapons, range weapons or Polearms. With different weapons, the Brigands will always use different tactics, so shall we. If they have ranged weapons then always fight at nighttime when our brothers' level is low.
2.2) Nomads are another kind of Brigands, but always with archers. So when fighting a huge Nomad campsite, it should always be the night. After 40 days all the Nomads will have Dodge, which makes the combat extremely difficult.
2.3) Barbarians primarily focus on throwing heavy javelins/axes and having huge attacks with 2H weapons (hammers, maces, axes). The Chosen tend to flank and attack our back line. Having a good tank helps a lot, as well as Footwork for the back line and 2H brothers.
2.4) Noble Houses are with good armors and weapons. But they are slightly stronger Brigand Raider without the Knights, Arbalester, Sergeant, and Zweihander. Some people rob the Noble House caravans in the first 10 days to get their good armors and weapons, and with the success the game will be much easier.
2.5) Other human enemies are mostly Mercenaries and Civilian. Mercenaries is something close to Noble Houses in the early game, also a good target to fight for the War Bow and other armors and weapons. Civilian is, slightly stronger than Brigands Thug, and also a good target to loot the armor and weapons (the PIke) in the early game.