What weapons should I be seeking in Battle Brothers and where should I find them?
If XCOM and Game of Thrones had babies, Battle Brothers would be the result. Providing a merciless combination of turn based tactics and resource management, it usually doesn’t take long for new players to realise just how unforgiving it can be.
Death lurks behind every encounter your Middle Ages mercenaries will face, so you’d best steel yourself with the most capable weapons you can get your hands on. With this guide, you’ll not only know what deadly tools you’ll need on your journey, but what they’re good for and how to obtain them.
10. Longaxe
Take an axe and make it longer. Sorted.
Battle Brothers has several weapons that can strike enemies from two tiles away instead of one. Called “reach weapons”, these include Pikes, the Polemace and the Longaxe.
The Longaxe is a particularly useful reach weapon, giving your men the ability to smash enemy shields from a distance. Alternatively, you can use it to simply pile on a large amount of cutting damage from behind your front line of warriors.
The Longaxe is notably effective against Schrats, nasty living tree enemies that you will only encounter if you have the Beasts and Exploration DLC.
Strengths:
- Range of two tiles (twice the usual melee weapon range).
- Can be used to deliberately smash enemy shields.
- Delivers cutting damage, inflicting more harmful injuries than piercing damage used by pikes.
- Does more damage than pikes.
Weaknesses:
- Destroying enemy shields also increases an enemy’s damage by 25%, as they grip their weapons two handed afterwards.
- Can only be swung once a turn.
- Not always easy to get hold of Longaxes in large numbers.
- Harder to use than a pike, so your men need good Melee Attack stats.
- Hard to hit targets directly adjacent (without Axe Mastery).
Acquiring the Longaxe:
Longaxes can be purchased from dedicated Weaponsmiths in large cities or obtained from Brigand Raider enemies.
They are not as exorbitantly expensive as some other weapons but can still be pricey early in the game. If you’re going to go the buying route, you should do some missions for the town containing the Weaponsmith first, to increase your reputation.
This will lower the costs of weapons and supplies (presuming no event or disaster is currently affecting the town).
Alternatively, hunt down Brigand Raiders. These enemies can be found in their camps, wandering the roads or as the target of missions. They are dangerous in the early game, but as your men get stronger and acquire better armour, they slowly become easy to kill.
Brigand Raiders will often carry Pikes and Longaxes. When you see a Raider carrying the weapon you want, kill him as quickly as possible. The condition of the weapon deteriorates with each use, so eliminating him rapidly increases your odds of looting it after the battle.
9. Heavy Javelins (Warriors of the North DLC)
Like javelins, but heavier...
Many of the most dangerous enemies in Battle Brothers use heavy armour. Barbarian Chosen and Orc Warriors are particularly notorious for wearing thick steel that most bladed weapons will struggle to chew through.
Combining the ability of bow weapons to fire twice per turn with the armour penetration of crossbows, throwing weapons can be extremely effective when used correctly. In fact, they are perhaps the most lethal anti-armour weapons in the game.
In many ways the Heavy Javelin is the king of throwing weapons. It does 35-50 damage per hit (a slight increase over “normal” Javelins) and 45% of this damage totally ignores armour.
While this may seem good, it gets even better!
If your mercenary has the “Throwing Mastery” perk, damage increases by 30% if the enemy is only two tiles away. Add to this the “Duellist” perk and an additional 25% of damage completely ignores armour.
In total, then, skills add 30% more damage, plus 70% (!) of this damage ignores whatever armour the enemy is wearing. This can easily enable you to incapacitate or kill enemies that are otherwise extremely durable right at the start of a fight.
Strengths:
- Ranged weapon, so can strike from afar. Extremely good against armour.
- With the correct skills (Throwing Mastery), Javelins do greater damage at close range.
- With the Duellist skill, a huge amount of damage (70%) ignores enemy armour.
- Two can be thrown every turn, assuming your character has enough stamina.
- An excellent weapon for killing “Battleforged” enemies such as Knights, Footmen, Barbarian Chosen. Also good against Orc Warriors.
Weaknesses:
- Short range compared to bows and crossbows.
- Requires high Ranged Accuracy skill to land hits on enemies, especially enemies with shields.
- A lot of stamina is needed to keep throwing these over the course of a fight.
- Only five “ammunition” per stack of javelins.
- Until your character has the Quick Hands perk, he will lose one chance to throw when equipping more javelins.
- Javelins cost more Ammunition to replace after a battle than arrows.
- Harder to get, as these can only be looted from Barbarians (see below).
- Ineffective against Nimble enemies wearing light armour. These enemies can soak up armour piercing health damage and so Heavy Javelins are much less effective.
Acquiring Heavy Javelins:
Unfortunately, the awesome anti-armour potential of Heavy Javelins comes with a downside; you can’t simply purchase them.
Instead, you must confront the fearsome Barbarians, enemies who are only present in the Warriors of the North DLC.
You’ll need to head to the North of the map and kill Barbarian Reavers and Chosen to get this weapon. Reavers are preferable, since they wear less armour and usually have weaker weapons than their hulking Chosen brethren.
Unless you are a real veteran of the game, you will want to fight Barbarians later in your journey. Make sure you have a line of soldiers who have good Melee Attack (75-85+), Melee Defence (20-35+) and preferably skills like Nimble or Battleforged that give them some survivability.
Give your men hammers, two handed axes and/or two-handed maces and you should be in with a good chance of getting yourself some nice loot.
There is also good news if you don’t have the DLC! Standard Javelins are very similar to their heavier counterpart and can be purchased or looted from Orc enemies. You’ll be missing a small amount of extra damage, but they’re still very capable weapons when used with the skills above.
8. Head Chopper
Crude but effective
You’ll notice the first time you encounter Orc Young just how much damage this vicious Orc cleaver can do to your men. Like all cleavers, the Head Chopper inflicts bleeding damage over time in addition to doing a high amount of HP damage initially.
With the Cleaver Mastery perk, bleeding damage doubles up to 20 per hit for several turns, making the weapon very effective against enemies with large HP pools but bad armour. Typical examples include Sergeant and Conscript enemies (of the Northern and Southern armies respectively).
The Head Chopper has two things going for it that give it a place on the list.
First, it is the second most effective baseline cleaver against armour in the whole game, coming in just behind the Khopesh. The Head Chopper does 110% damage against armour, while the Khopesh only slightly beats this at 120%.
However, the Orc cleaver does an extra 20 damage per hit, making this advantage of the Khopesh negligible at best. Obtaining the Khopesh also requires killing Necrosavant enemies, who are both rare and exceptionally dangerous.
Secondly, the weapon can be obtained much more easily than most decent weapons. Orc Young, Orc Berserkers and Orc Warriors can all carry this weapon.
The Head Chopper does come with one significant downside; like all Orc weapons, it’s very tiring to equip and use. Unless you have Cleaver Mastery, you may find that you struggle to keep the Fatigue stat at acceptable levels during a battle.
Strengths:
- Deals damage over time like all Cleavers.
- The heaviest conventional one-handed Cleaver weapon.
- Very good armour damage for a Cleaver.
- Despite being one-handed, does damage comparable to two-handed weapons.
Weaknesses:
- Weaker against armour than more dedicated anti-armour weapons.
- Cannot be purchased.
- As an Orc weapon, it is very fatiguing to use without Cleaver Mastery.
Acquiring the Head Chopper:
To get some of these nasty implements, you’re going to want to take Noble House contracts to kill Greenskins, or otherwise wander the edge of civilisation looking for Orc camps.
Earlier on, you’ll want to look for camps of Orc Young and avoid Berserkers. Orc Warriors can also drop Head Choppers, but their thick armour means you should avoid them until you have suitable weapons (Hammers and Two-Handed Maces).
Spare Head Choppers can be repaired and sold in large cities for a very healthy profit; something also worth keeping in mind.
7. Bardiche (Warriors of the North DLC)
Take a big stick and attach an axe blade...
The Bardiche is an interesting utility weapon. A two-handed axe with the “Split” ability of two-handed sword weapons, it possesses useful versatility that many weapons lack.
“Split Man”, the main attack, is the standard ability all two-handed axes use, and can inflict devastating damage on one target directly next to your character. Unlike most attacks, “Split Man” can hit both the head and torso at the same time, for truly devastating damage.
“Split”, on the other hand, allows you to attack two enemies in a line, damaging both.
The latter is especially useful against enemies with a flimsy but dangerous back line, such as Ancient Undead, Noble House armies and Southern City State armies.
The Bardiche also provides good effectiveness against most armour.
Strengths:
- Combines the utility of a Greatsword with the one-target damage of a Two-Handed Axe.
- Can strike at the back row of the enemy as well as the front simultaneously.
- Effective against armour and does a high amount of damage.
Weaknesses:
- Difficult to find this weapon reliably in the field.
- Requires good Melee Attack skills to use effectively.
- Expensive to purchase.
- Lacks specialisation in one role.
- Does not have the “Round Swing” ability of most large axes.
Acquiring the Bardiche:
The Bardiche can sometimes be wielded by enemy Hedge Knights, who can appear later in the game alongside groups of Brigands instead of a Brigand Leader.
Various special “Champion” enemies may also wield a variant of the Bardiche. Nomad Executioner enemies (part of the Blazing Deserts DLC) also carry the weapon on occasion.
All of these enemy types are quite dangerous, so unless you’re late in the game, you may wish to focus on buying a Bardiche from a friendly Weaponsmith.
Mercenary companies may also have Bardiche wielders. You can attack neutral mercenaries you encounter on the map by Ctrl-Clicking them. However, be aware that this may anger towns who have hired them to do a job.
Mercenaries are also versatile and tough enemies, so you may want to wait until you are in the “mid-game” phase of your adventure before you seek deliberate fights with them. However, they are arguably easier to deal with than Hedge Knights or Executioners.
6. Polemace (Blazing Deserts DLC)
A mace on a pole. What's not to like?
Remember the useful and deadly Longaxe from earlier? Well, the Polemace is the blunt weapon equivalent.
Another reach weapon, the Polemace can strike from two tiles away and do some very serious damage to armoured opponents.
Additionally, blunt injuries are generally more debilitating than cutting or piercing wounds. As a result, you really don’t want to take a Polemace to the head. The Polemace can also be used to stun an enemy for one turn, at the cost of doing much less damage.
Strengths:
- Can attack from a range of 2 tiles.
- Deals blunt damage, causing nastier injuries.
- Very effective against armour.
- Can stun enemies for a turn if needed.
Weaknesses:
- Some enemies are immune to being stunned.
- Harder to hit with than a pike, so good Melee Attack stats are needed.
- Harder to hit targets who are directly adjacent.
- You need to defeat tough enemies to loot one.
Acquiring the Polemace:
The Polemace can be looted from Nomad Outlaws or Conscripts (found in Southern City State armies).
Despite the name, Conscripts are surprisingly tough enemies, especially early in the game, so you’ll want to have a reasonably capable outfit before you go attacking any Southern armies.
Nomad Outlaws are approximately as difficult to fight as Brigand Raiders, so you should be able to fight them from the mid-game onwards.
5. Two-Handed Spiked Mace (Warriors of the North DLC)
A club you'll want to avoid getting hit by
If you liked the Polemace, you’ll love the Two-Handed Spiked Mace. A heavy two-handed weapon with standard one-tile range, the main attack of this weapon inflicts the “Dazed” effect upon enemies. Amongst other effects, this crucially lowers the damage an enemy deals next turn by 25%. This can be extremely useful against hard-hitting enemies such as Unholds, Schrats and Zweihanders.
In addition to that, the Spiked Mace hits for 50-70 damage, with a whopping 60% of that damage completely ignoring armour.
There are other comparable maces for your men to use, but the Two-Handed Spiked Mace is also excellent due to ease of acquisition. If you can kill some Barbarian Reavers, you should be able to loot several for your own use.
Strengths:
- Can stun enemies.
- Extremely effective against armour.
- Inflicts debilitating blunt weapon injuries.
- Dazes enemies, making them do 25% less damage next turn (as well as reducing their Initiative and Stamina).
Weaknesses:
- Like all two-handed weapons, only one swing per turn.
- Does less HP damage than bladed weapons.
- You must defeat some dangerous enemies to loot it.
- Cannot be purchased.
Acquiring the Spiked Two-Handed Mace:
The weapon can be looted from Barbarian Reavers and Barbarian Chosen. You’ll want to generally target Reavers where you can, since they are weaker.
Focus on using Javelins and your own stronger weapons to kill Reavers as rapidly as possible. You’ll want to try to damage them as much as you can before they get a chance to inflict damage with this brutal weapon themselves. Shields are not recommended, as they usually get destroyed by the enemy and reduce your own damage output.
4. Two-Handed Skull Hammer (Warriors of the North DLC)
It looks scary but the effects of a hit are worse!
Another Barbarian favourite, the Two-Handed Skull Hammer combines even more extreme anti-armour damage with the Stagger ability. Anyone hit with this weapon is knocked to the back of the turn order, making it easier to hit them several times before they get their turn in combat.
However, the Skull Hammer lacks the Daze ability of the Two-Handed Mace, instead favouring pure destructive anti-armour damage.
Strengths:
- High damage and extremely effective against armour.
- Knocks any enemy hit to the back of the turn queue.
- Inflicts debilitating blunt injuries.
- Can be reliably looted, as with the Two-Handed Spiked Mace.
Weaknesses:
- You must fight Barbarians to acquire it, cannot be purchased.
- Somewhat lacks pure HP damage compared to swords and axes.
- One swing per turn.
Acquiring the Two-Handed Skull Hammer:
Once again, head North and search for Barbarian camps, or roving parties of Barbarian Chosen/Reavers.
Focus on giving your men two handed armour piercing weapons, or (if you lack these weapons), one-handed maces and hammers.
4. Two-Handed Hammer
A simple but effective design
The “civilised” version of the Two-Handed Skull Hammer, the Two-Handed Hammer boasts even greater damage. As a trade-off, it produces less armour-ignoring damage per hit.
It is otherwise very similar to its Barbarian brother and is a very useful weapon.
Strengths:
- Devastating to armour.
- Can be purchased from a Weaponsmith.
- Staggers enemies, as with the Skull Hammer.
Weaknesses:
- Expensive to purchase.
- Middling damage to hitpoints per hit.
- Only rarely carried by enemies.
Acquiring the Two-Handed Hammer:
The Two-Handed Hammer is most easily acquired from Hedge Knights (seen later with large Brigand groups) and Knights (who can be found in larger Noble armies).
Both enemies are very dangerous, and you’ll need your own anti-armour weapons and a well levelled-up mercenary company before you take them on.
Alternatively, get friendly with a city that has a Weaponsmith and you can purchase one for a hefty sack of Crowns.
3. Man Splitter
The Man Splitter axe
Battle Brother’s two-handed axes are often a balance between the HP damage of a Greatsword and the pure armour damage of a Hammer.
With the aptly named Man Splitter, however, you get the best of both worlds.
An Orc weapon capable of doing an insane 90-120 damage, with 160% effectiveness against armour, the Man Splitter is a monster of a battle-axe. It is capable of crippling or killing many opponents whether they are heavily armoured or not.
Unfortunately, it removes a hefty -34 max Fatigue when equipped and is too tiring to be practical to use unless you pick up Axe Mastery.
If you do decide to master axes, however, you can expect the Man Splitter to be an amazing all-around effective companion until you find a Legendary Weapon equivalent.
Strengths:
- All around great damage, very effective against both heavy armour and light armour specialists.
- Can do bonus damage due to the effects of the “Split Man” attack.
- Can be used to destroy shields if desired.
- Inflicts enough damage to often cause very debilitating cutting injuries, such as Split Shoulder.
Weaknesses:
- Only one swing per turn.
- Extremely tiring to equip, requires your character has a high Fatigue stat.
- Very tiring to swing unless you have Axe Mastery.
- Cannot be purchased, must be looted from Orcs.
Acquiring the Man Splitter:
To get hold of Man Splitters, you’re going to need to kill Orc Berserkers or an Orc Warlord. Berserkers are a good deal easier to find and kill, check for Orc camps around the edge of civilisation in the middle of the map and you should come across some quite easily.
Orc Warlords are essentially Orc Warriors on steroids, and you will want to avoid them until late in the game.
Berserkers with Man Splitters should be targeted first and killed as quickly as possible. They put out extreme damage if allowed to swing these huge axes and can often kill a mercenary in one or two hits. You should then focus on Berserkers who are carrying Head Choppers, as these cleavers can be very dangerous too.
2. “Warlord” Two-Handed Cleaver (Warriors of the North DLC)
The Legendary Barbarian Two-Handed Cleaver
A special variant of the Barbarian Two-Handed Cleaver (which gets an honourable mention as another deadly weapon), this cleaver boasts increased armour ignoring damage that makes it especially nasty.
Strengths:
- A very damaging two-handed Cleaver weapon.
- Even more armour-ignoring damage than the Head Chopper.
- Lethal against “Nimble” light armour specialists as well as more armoured foes.
Weaknesses:
- Still less effective against armour than a dedicated hammer
- A very rare weapon that can only be found in very specific circumstances
Acquiring the “Warlord” Two-Handed Cleaver:
It can be obtained either as a random Legendary Weapon variant from Barbarian Champions (see Legendary Weapons, below) or from a specific encounter with a crazed Barbarian.
The crazed lone Barbarian is found in some ice caves that are at a random position in the North of the map. You’ll need a heavily armed and armoured mercenary who can fight a single very strong foe one-on-one. Use of a two-handed mace or hammer is recommended in this fight, and you’ll want good Melee Attack, Melee Defence, and decent armour with the Battleforged skill.
If you manage to defeat the Cleaver-wielding lunatic, you’ll gain access to his broken armour (which can later be repaired) and this special cleaver.
1. Legendary Weapons
An example of a Legendary Goblin sword.
We saved the best until last! “Legendary” weapons are weapons obtained from bosses, enemy camps and other unusual circumstances.
They possess randomised stats. This means that sometimes they can be garbage, but they also have the potential to be much, much better than weapons you can acquire any other way.
For example, you may find a Legendary sword that has very high armour-ignoring damage, making it almost as good as a hammer while doing more HP damage in general.
Alternatively, you might find a weapon that does good damage while barely using any Fatigue, making it an effective special weapon for Duellist mercenaries.
Strengths:
- Can potentially have the best weapon stats in the game.
- Any type of weapon can be “Legendary” class, from hammers to swords.
- Can reach extremely high levels of armour-ignoring damage, making these weapons very useful against any foe.
- Some Legendary weapons, such as the Reproach of the Old Gods, can be found reliably from scripted encounters.
- Can be purchased from Weaponsmiths in some circumstances.
Weaknesses:
- Very difficult to acquire.
- Often only looted from the absolute hardest battles in the game.
- Incredibly expensive to purchase and only rarely available.
- Random stats mean they can sometimes be rather disappointing or even borderline useless.
Acquiring Legendary Weapons:
To gain Legendary weapons, you’ll want to kill random Champion enemies. These are essentially bosses that you can encounter on the map later into the game.
Legendary weapons and armour can sometimes be gained after destroying a difficult camp on the map. These camps can be found by asking for rumours in a city Tavern, or alternatively by exploring the far wilderness of the map attacking camps you come across. The further a camp is from civilisation, the better the chances of obtaining Legendary loot.
Typically, the tougher camps will have some of the hardest possible fights in the game and offer these items as loot.
You can also try your luck buying Legendary weapons and items. This is most easily possible after taking a Caravan Escort mission to a large town that possesses a Weaponsmith. The town will gain the “Well Supplied” status upon arrival, and this can sometimes spawn a Legendary weapon at the Weaponsmith.
You may also sometimes simply see an item like this for sale at random at the Weaponsmith too. Be prepared to pay anywhere upwards of 10,000 crowns, though if the weapon is particularly excellent, this price is worth it.
