Battle Brothers Developer Blog #136 – Smaller Things

The big content update accompanying the upcoming Blazing Deserts expansion for Overhype Studios’ strategy RPG Battle Brothers will introduce a number of smaller features aimed at making the game better overall. These include new customization options, new and overhauled company ambitions, greater reactivity, and some improvements to the trade system. The latest developer blog for the game shares additional information:

The next update to Battle Brothers will introduce not just major new gameplay features, many of which we’ve already talked about, but will also include countless smaller additions and improvements. This week we’re taking a look at some of those. Let’s start!

NEW BANNERS

Naturally, the ‘Blazing Deserts’ DLC will come with several new banners to pick for your mercenary company. They all sport a southern look and are a good fit for a southern-themed playthrough.

We’ll also have a Supporter Edition again for those who want to support us in developing Battle Brothers above and beyond. As a thank you, you’ll get a unique southern-style banner with some extra bling this time.

AMBITIONS

The next update will include some rebalancing on currently available ambitions, but the upcoming DLC will add a whole bunch of new ones. Many of these new ambitions are tailored to specific playstyles – for example, perhaps you’re more into trading? There’s a new ambition for becoming a master trader. Or perhaps you’re into banditry and robbing caravans? We’ve got you covered. Because unlocking additional slots for your retinue of non-combat followers requires renown (the system was slightly revised since we last talked about it), these new ambitions also help out with more specialized playstyles that previously had a harder time at accumulating renown.

When picking ambitions, it’s obviously helpful to know beforehand what exactly is asked of you and what your your reward is going to be in order to make an informed choice of your company’s next steps. That’s why the ambition selection now includes a detailed tooltip showing exactly that.

MORE REACTIVITY

In an effort to bring more reactivity to the world of Battle Brothers, we’ve added a few more ways to interact with parties on the worldmap. For example, if you happen upon a caravan that is being attacked, and you rescue them, they’ll now properly thank you and often provide you with some kind of reward. As they then tell the story of how you saved them to others, your relations to settlements will also improve this way.

Farmers travelling between settlements to sell their produce on local markets may now also offer it to you. That’s convenient for the farmers, as they don’t have to travel all the way to the next settlement, but can return early to their loved ones, and it may be convenient for you, as it’s a way to get cheaper supplies on the road. Of course, you can also decide to just take it from the farmers by force – after all, what are they going to do about it against a company of armed men?

TRADE

The ‘Blazing Deserts’ DLC will introduce several new trade goods produced only under the blistering heat of the southern sun, such as silk, incense and spices. But while previously the prices of trade goods were affected only by the size of a settlement and whether it produced a trade good itself, it’s now also a matter of how far away a trade good is produced.

Southern trade goods, such as spices, will earn you a higher profit up north, where such goods are not commonly available. Conversely, northern trade goods, like thick furs, will earn you higher profit down in the south, where even a bear pelt is a valuable curiosity. All this makes trading across the continent and across larger distances more profitable.