This was very helpful! I am a new player and I feel that for a beginner you should almost always take Colossus + Steel Brow on every Bro & also take Rotation on every Frontliner because this game is super nasty and you will make a lot of mistakes until you really learn the game mechanics and the mobs.
If you're trying to survive early game I would suggest getting dodge instead steel brow, steel brow does nothing most fights, dodge works against every melee or ranged attack
I have a brother with a crossbow and a famed swordlance who's stats are about 80 resolve, 140 initiative, 80 melee skill and over 100 ranged skill. Important perks he has would be overwhelm, fearsome, quick hands, and masteries for his weapons.
Great explanations! One thing I disagree with is 9 lives. It's a great perk to mitigate terrible luck and give a nice early power boost. I don't put it on trash bros (I usually take fast adaptation), but all other early game bros, and some into the late game. It's a much bigger immediate power boost than colossus, so it lets you take more hard fights in the early game, which helps you stay ahead of the curve. It stays good, though I usually take only colossus on bros that I decide to level up in the late game. Overall, I'd move colossus down to the second tier, and move 9-lives up to the second tier.
Yeah i value nine Lives more as well today but i still think collosus is the best Perk in the game because you can take on everybody and its never wrong, actually i take on 95 % of my Bros, that said nine is Probably stronger in the early game before you have Good armor and i always wanted to experiment with high HP Lategame Bros if Nine Lives dosnt Trump Coloussus if you have High Armor and very good base HP
Late to the party and just saw your list. Agree with most and I'm on the "i hate fearsome" bandwagon but I totally get if you get it on every bro it definitely would magnify the fights insanely so that makes sense. Quickhands is the problem I have with your video. I think its hands down one of, if not the strongest perk in the game. The fact that it works on builds agnostic if you're ranged or melee is what makes it so universal. You can take it on typical 2h swap to pole users for extra range or extra accuracy and damage. You can take it on archer thrower hybrids for the same, more range or more damage. Double hitting on a xbow/polearm hybrid becomes possible because of quickhands. You can take it on banners for a myriad of reasons swapping to net then back immediately to the banner to not lose the banner bonus to your bros while still contributing something else other than holding the banner the whole time. You can take it on a duelist by equipping a net, netting an enemy and hitting them all in the same turn, and even get bonus damage if the duelist is using a qatal because netted things amp the weapons damage, or you could hit something with a 2h mace to daze it first, then swap to a qatal and still swing it in the same turn all due to quick hands (well ... and dagger spec with it). Cleavers also same deal allows you to swap to whip, disarm, and still have ap to whip something, or if you were clever you could have hit with your 2h first, then swapped, then disarmed. Other applications? Didnt want to swing at something extra this turn with your cleaver? Well quickhands just gave you essentially 4ap so you can move two tiles. And moving two tiles in a game where everything is ap starved is almost always a good thing. I'm sure theres other applications too but its too insane of a perk. I skip it only on tanks and I don't run many of those so nearly every bro in my runs run this and its amazing.
You are right my Opinions on QH have cjanged and i still dont play enough with it. I also stopped playing with Fearsome because it gets boring fast but it is efficienti think .
Fearsome is a good perk! I mean it's useless against undead, but it's useful against everything else. The usefulness is in how you use it. I think it's best used on Backline polearm users because they'll typically be supporting another unit that is in ZOC of what you're hitting. Optimally you don't want to cause a morale cascade because a lot of money and gear will run away. You want to use it to make annoying things want to run so it's easier for your bros to cut it down or to free up a bro or 2 to help with a different target. Generally agreed though that quick hands is absolutely amazing, especially with bags and belts! The real fun of Battle Brothers is experimenting with the tools that are given to you and figuring out what works for your company. I personally find having 1 or 2 Backline bros with fearsome as a support unit to be nice but if it's not something you like then you can always use something else. Gotta love quick hands and crossbows/ throwing weapons
@@tobsejoto and that's fine too! I like a full fearsome build on a Cultist start because their stats are generally bad but their resolve is pretty good. I like fearsome for being able to reposition key brothers through ZOC but to each their own. Good videos btw!
@@gorrazin7983 fearsome is just this double edged sword, if it was an earlier game perk id be much more inclined to take it, thing is, its dead last in the tree. what fights i personally struggle with the most in the game are things that dont give a crap about fearsome. kraken fight, sunken library, black monolith, fearsome does nothing in any of those. even against lindwyrms, it does relatively nothing. outside of cultists i no longer consider taking it and i dont really play cultists much because its a reload fest scenario.
I think backstabber is better than you give it credit for. Combined with gifted and collosus u gain an insane early spike. Also good for lategame. It basically completely negates shields and shieldwall. I sometimes take it even on good bros and they just get like 95% chance to hit through footmen shieldwalls. Just makes the fights a lot quicker. Honestly a lot of enemies have shields or high melee defense so I think there is definitely some value there.
I never have space to fit them into my lategame Builds but i think its fine for early and midgame what perk do you replace on a lategame bro for backstabber ?
I take backstabber on mace duelists, but thats about it. They are very good at dealing with swordmasters and gladiators or at least keeping them somewhat under control and they are some of the most dangerous things you can fight in the game. I always keep one mace duelist in my party just for arena stuff and he usually has backstabber for that reason. Good candidates for these types of bros are usually your high matk bros that lack defense, because even if they had defense they wouldn't dodge a swordmaster anyway so its either stun or be killed.
I would put "fast adaptation" one tier higher because it does have its uses and is not generally bad. "Taunt" is always better than "shield expert" on tanks from my point of view because you can work tactically with "taunt", whereas "shield expert" is just a slight increase in stats that you can neglect on a good tank ("indom" is enough defence wise). Tried it once and can't go back. Would only drop "taunt" for "rally the troops" on a frontline banner tank, which is the best position for a bannerman. Rally the troops is crucial for an entire build not generally poor. I've always regretted not taking "brawny". You really notice the difference in long fights. I'm not a fan of fat neut builds. Would downgrade "recover" by one tier. It used to be good but not anymore. Everything else is more or less a matter of taste.
Im with you on that, my Mind has changed about a lot of Perks i should Update the tierlist, i take a lot of fast adaptation nowadays . The only thing im not using is Taunt but iknow it can be good for Ai Manipulation, i also think Shield Expert is a must on a full tank. Taunt and Rotation is more a Utility Tank thing which is a Different Build than a Full Tank that solos Monolith and stuff, i guess its worth having different Tank Types in your Team.
@@tobsejoto I can't leave the tank part as it is. I'm talking about a bf full tank here. In my opinion, "shield expert" is just as much a balancing perk as "fast adaptation", for example. If your tank is not suitable for the endgame, then you can use this perk to compensate for a few points. A full tank never needs to use "shield wall". A mdef value of 50-60 (including +18 Shield) is enough to tank everything this game has to offer (large Chosen camps with 3 champions, 6 Unholds, 40+ Chosen and more). "Taunt, on the other hand, expands your tank's zone of control by additional squares, it's the best way to control Unholds without having to stay at a distance (also great for Necrosavants or to interrupt "shield wall"). Even more important for a tank is "fortified mind" to get "Resolve" to about 80 and of course a lot of "fatigue" to be able to stand on "indom" all the time.
The Meelee defense is not that important but the reduced shield damage you take is important so your shields dont get instantly cracked, taunt has more utilty for sure but swapping taunt for shield expert makes the tank weaker at tanking, and in big ork or chosen fights you might not get away with just having 3 shields without expert.
@@tobsejoto Ok, I'll give you that, it's quite rare but it has happened that 3 shields weren't enough. But even then there are still options to pick up a shield from the ground, or to continue tanking on "indom". I don't see this as a weakening, because "taunt" simply always brings added value and not just in these rare cases. Of course, it can happen more often if your team has too little DPS and the tank has to stand there for too long. Nevertheless, it would be a waste of potential to leave out "taunt" for "shield expert.
@@001crabman If you fight 3 orc warrior with axes or 3 chosen they crack your shield in one turn even with mastery, sometimes it lasts 2 turns. so if you have tank on his own against multiple guys that use Shieldbrake 3 shields are not enoug and there arent any shields on the Ground to pick up. You take Shieldmastery just to for the Purpose of tanking multiple orc or chosen and you simply cant do that reliable for multiple turns without Shieldexpert. You can take Taunt but i would never swap shield mastery for that perk you swap with something else .
I look at footwork as offensive perk, so my twohanders can better utilize area attacks (Greatsword, Greataxe). Not sure if powerful, but fun for sure :D
I like the idea of putting Fearsome on every bro as you said everyone or no one, but l don't build TANKS with any melee attack, and l rarely attack with TANKS,they spend their AP on spamming sheildwall, so would you leave it off TANKS with no melee attack?
I'm not sure i get the argument about ranged def that everyone repeats. Yeah, it's less useful than melee, cuz there's less ranged opponents usually, ans yes, they can choose a target more freely. BUT. You're not putting bros with bad melee def to tank melee hits, right? So also don't put bros with bad ranged def in direct line of sight! Hide behind your tanks, trees, or at least on high ground. Then, so what if enemy decides to shoot bros with weakest ranged def? Good luck trying to shoot with a penalty.
Its an Interesting point, the Problem is if you dont level RDF nobody has it soyou cant put anyone in the Frontline which is just not realistcly or hiding behind cover. Also hiding dosnt help because big archer stacks dont charge you the best way to beat them is fighting at night so you dont take many arrows. Hiding behind your tank would mean you have to bring a lot of tanks which makes the fight harder cause your lacking damage also most companies dont have many tanks.
@@tobsejoto Enemies love scatter shots, and they love to focus their fire on one guy. On turn 1, if your best ranged def guy is in the middle of your line with 4 neighbors, and all your other bros have at most 3 neighbors, the enemy will usually shoot at the guy with good ranged defense (up to a certain point - 25 ranged defense is ok, 50 and they'd shoot at someone else). You can continue to control where the enemy shoots in later rounds by making sure the guy you want them to shoot at always has plenty of neighbors.
@@aperiodic1424 Op is generally correct. You get far more value from just taking dodge on a backliner than taking anticipation if your goal is to avoid ranged fire. Most of the time its simply not worth the investment either way because they will attack another bro with lower rdef instead. In order to make anticipation a viable perk it'd need to be reworked entirely. Perhaps make it so that it is the same thing as having bone platings that would stack with bone platings where it'd allow you to take 1 free hit per fight. It'd then be worth it to take I think, but in its current state its just a bad perk.
This was very helpful! I am a new player and I feel that for a beginner you should almost always take Colossus + Steel Brow on every Bro & also take Rotation on every Frontliner because this game is super nasty and you will make a lot of mistakes until you really learn the game mechanics and the mobs.
Thanks i agree beeing tanky makes it easier for sure, rotation is nice to correct mistakes or bad RNG
If you're trying to survive early game I would suggest getting dodge instead steel brow, steel brow does nothing most fights, dodge works against every melee or ranged attack
@@blakdust3 Thats aslo a nice tempoperk for the early game
I have a brother with a crossbow and a famed swordlance who's stats are about 80 resolve, 140 initiative, 80 melee skill and over 100 ranged skill. Important perks he has would be overwhelm, fearsome, quick hands, and masteries for his weapons.
Sounds Nice
Great explanations! One thing I disagree with is 9 lives. It's a great perk to mitigate terrible luck and give a nice early power boost. I don't put it on trash bros (I usually take fast adaptation), but all other early game bros, and some into the late game. It's a much bigger immediate power boost than colossus, so it lets you take more hard fights in the early game, which helps you stay ahead of the curve. It stays good, though I usually take only colossus on bros that I decide to level up in the late game. Overall, I'd move colossus down to the second tier, and move 9-lives up to the second tier.
Yeah i value nine Lives more as well today but i still think collosus is the best Perk in the game because you can take on everybody and its never wrong, actually i take on 95 % of my Bros, that said nine is Probably stronger in the early game before you have Good armor and i always wanted to experiment with high HP Lategame Bros if Nine Lives dosnt Trump Coloussus if you have High Armor and very good base HP
Great explanation on everything!
Ty
Late to the party and just saw your list. Agree with most and I'm on the "i hate fearsome" bandwagon but I totally get if you get it on every bro it definitely would magnify the fights insanely so that makes sense.
Quickhands is the problem I have with your video. I think its hands down one of, if not the strongest perk in the game. The fact that it works on builds agnostic if you're ranged or melee is what makes it so universal. You can take it on typical 2h swap to pole users for extra range or extra accuracy and damage. You can take it on archer thrower hybrids for the same, more range or more damage. Double hitting on a xbow/polearm hybrid becomes possible because of quickhands. You can take it on banners for a myriad of reasons swapping to net then back immediately to the banner to not lose the banner bonus to your bros while still contributing something else other than holding the banner the whole time. You can take it on a duelist by equipping a net, netting an enemy and hitting them all in the same turn, and even get bonus damage if the duelist is using a qatal because netted things amp the weapons damage, or you could hit something with a 2h mace to daze it first, then swap to a qatal and still swing it in the same turn all due to quick hands (well ... and dagger spec with it). Cleavers also same deal allows you to swap to whip, disarm, and still have ap to whip something, or if you were clever you could have hit with your 2h first, then swapped, then disarmed. Other applications? Didnt want to swing at something extra this turn with your cleaver? Well quickhands just gave you essentially 4ap so you can move two tiles. And moving two tiles in a game where everything is ap starved is almost always a good thing.
I'm sure theres other applications too but its too insane of a perk. I skip it only on tanks and I don't run many of those so nearly every bro in my runs run this and its amazing.
You are right my Opinions on QH have cjanged and i still dont play enough with it. I also stopped playing with Fearsome because it gets boring fast but it is efficienti think .
Fearsome is a good perk! I mean it's useless against undead, but it's useful against everything else. The usefulness is in how you use it.
I think it's best used on Backline polearm users because they'll typically be supporting another unit that is in ZOC of what you're hitting. Optimally you don't want to cause a morale cascade because a lot of money and gear will run away. You want to use it to make annoying things want to run so it's easier for your bros to cut it down or to free up a bro or 2 to help with a different target.
Generally agreed though that quick hands is absolutely amazing, especially with bags and belts! The real fun of Battle Brothers is experimenting with the tools that are given to you and figuring out what works for your company. I personally find having 1 or 2 Backline bros with fearsome as a support unit to be nice but if it's not something you like then you can always use something else. Gotta love quick hands and crossbows/ throwing weapons
@@gorrazin7983 Well in my Opinion Fearsome dosnt do a lot if you have it on 2 or 3 Bros it Really starts to do something when you have it on everybody
@@tobsejoto and that's fine too! I like a full fearsome build on a Cultist start because their stats are generally bad but their resolve is pretty good. I like fearsome for being able to reposition key brothers through ZOC but to each their own. Good videos btw!
@@gorrazin7983 fearsome is just this double edged sword, if it was an earlier game perk id be much more inclined to take it, thing is, its dead last in the tree. what fights i personally struggle with the most in the game are things that dont give a crap about fearsome. kraken fight, sunken library, black monolith, fearsome does nothing in any of those. even against lindwyrms, it does relatively nothing. outside of cultists i no longer consider taking it and i dont really play cultists much because its a reload fest scenario.
I think backstabber is better than you give it credit for. Combined with gifted and collosus u gain an insane early spike. Also good for lategame. It basically completely negates shields and shieldwall.
I sometimes take it even on good bros and they just get like 95% chance to hit through footmen shieldwalls. Just makes the fights a lot quicker. Honestly a lot of enemies have shields or high melee defense so I think there is definitely some value there.
I never have space to fit them into my lategame Builds but i think its fine for early and midgame what perk do you replace on a lategame bro for backstabber ?
I take backstabber on mace duelists, but thats about it. They are very good at dealing with swordmasters and gladiators or at least keeping them somewhat under control and they are some of the most dangerous things you can fight in the game. I always keep one mace duelist in my party just for arena stuff and he usually has backstabber for that reason. Good candidates for these types of bros are usually your high matk bros that lack defense, because even if they had defense they wouldn't dodge a swordmaster anyway so its either stun or be killed.
I would put "fast adaptation" one tier higher because it does have its uses and is not generally bad.
"Taunt" is always better than "shield expert" on tanks from my point of view because you can work tactically with "taunt", whereas "shield expert" is just a slight increase in stats that you can neglect on a good tank ("indom" is enough defence wise). Tried it once and can't go back. Would only drop "taunt" for "rally the troops" on a frontline banner tank, which is the best position for a bannerman.
Rally the troops is crucial for an entire build not generally poor.
I've always regretted not taking "brawny". You really notice the difference in long fights. I'm not a fan of fat neut builds.
Would downgrade "recover" by one tier. It used to be good but not anymore.
Everything else is more or less a matter of taste.
Im with you on that, my Mind has changed about a lot of Perks i should Update the tierlist, i take a lot of fast adaptation nowadays . The only thing im not using is Taunt but iknow it can be good for Ai Manipulation, i also think Shield Expert is a must on a full tank. Taunt and Rotation is more a Utility Tank thing which is a Different Build than a Full Tank that solos Monolith and stuff, i guess its worth having different Tank Types in your Team.
@@tobsejoto I can't leave the tank part as it is. I'm talking about a bf full tank here. In my opinion, "shield expert" is just as much a balancing perk as "fast adaptation", for example. If your tank is not suitable for the endgame, then you can use this perk to compensate for a few points. A full tank never needs to use "shield wall". A mdef value of 50-60 (including +18 Shield) is enough to tank everything this game has to offer (large Chosen camps with 3 champions, 6 Unholds, 40+ Chosen and more). "Taunt, on the other hand, expands your tank's zone of control by additional squares, it's the best way to control Unholds without having to stay at a distance (also great for Necrosavants or to interrupt "shield wall"). Even more important for a tank is "fortified mind" to get "Resolve" to about 80 and of course a lot of "fatigue" to be able to stand on "indom" all the time.
The Meelee defense is not that important but the reduced shield damage you take is important so your shields dont get instantly cracked, taunt has more utilty for sure but swapping taunt for shield expert makes the tank weaker at tanking, and in big ork or chosen fights you might not get away with just having 3 shields without expert.
@@tobsejoto Ok, I'll give you that, it's quite rare but it has happened that 3 shields weren't enough. But even then there are still options to pick up a shield from the ground, or to continue tanking on "indom". I don't see this as a weakening, because "taunt" simply always brings added value and not just in these rare cases. Of course, it can happen more often if your team has too little DPS and the tank has to stand there for too long. Nevertheless, it would be a waste of potential to leave out "taunt" for "shield expert.
@@001crabman If you fight 3 orc warrior with axes or 3 chosen they crack your shield in one turn even with mastery, sometimes it lasts 2 turns. so if you have tank on his own against multiple guys that use Shieldbrake 3 shields are not enoug and there arent any shields on the Ground to pick up. You take Shieldmastery just to for the Purpose of tanking multiple orc or chosen and you simply cant do that reliable for multiple turns without Shieldexpert. You can take Taunt but i would never swap shield mastery for that perk you swap with something else .
I look at footwork as offensive perk, so my twohanders can better utilize area attacks (Greatsword, Greataxe). Not sure if powerful, but fun for sure :D
Sounds Funny but i dont like the fatigue Cost on it
I like the idea of putting Fearsome on every bro as you said everyone or no one, but l don't build TANKS with any melee attack, and l rarely attack with TANKS,they spend their AP on spamming sheildwall, so would you leave it off TANKS with no melee attack?
Sounds resonable not to take it on your tanks than
@@tobsejoto l think if you put Fearsome on all bros except TANKS it should proc enough to give you the desired affect 👍
Nimble doesn't work on very heavy armor brothers.
Nimble Forge is a thing where take Nimble and BF
I'm not sure i get the argument about ranged def that everyone repeats. Yeah, it's less useful than melee, cuz there's less ranged opponents usually, ans yes, they can choose a target more freely.
BUT. You're not putting bros with bad melee def to tank melee hits, right? So also don't put bros with bad ranged def in direct line of sight!
Hide behind your tanks, trees, or at least on high ground. Then, so what if enemy decides to shoot bros with weakest ranged def? Good luck trying to shoot with a penalty.
Its an Interesting point, the Problem is if you dont level RDF nobody has it soyou cant put anyone in the Frontline which is just not realistcly or hiding behind cover. Also hiding dosnt help because big archer stacks dont charge you the best way to beat them is fighting at night so you dont take many arrows. Hiding behind your tank would mean you have to bring a lot of tanks which makes the fight harder cause your lacking damage also most companies dont have many tanks.
@@tobsejoto Enemies love scatter shots, and they love to focus their fire on one guy. On turn 1, if your best ranged def guy is in the middle of your line with 4 neighbors, and all your other bros have at most 3 neighbors, the enemy will usually shoot at the guy with good ranged defense (up to a certain point - 25 ranged defense is ok, 50 and they'd shoot at someone else). You can continue to control where the enemy shoots in later rounds by making sure the guy you want them to shoot at always has plenty of neighbors.
@@aperiodic1424 Op is generally correct. You get far more value from just taking dodge on a backliner than taking anticipation if your goal is to avoid ranged fire. Most of the time its simply not worth the investment either way because they will attack another bro with lower rdef instead.
In order to make anticipation a viable perk it'd need to be reworked entirely. Perhaps make it so that it is the same thing as having bone platings that would stack with bone platings where it'd allow you to take 1 free hit per fight. It'd then be worth it to take I think, but in its current state its just a bad perk.
Brawny is really this bad? I was taking it on 90% of my guys, thought it's really good lol
Is not that bad i take it a lot on my Forge Bros, i think i should update my Perk guide