Welcome back, mercenary captains! In this guide, we’re diving into the gritty essentials of early game Battle Brothers—focusing on armor and weapons. These two systems are deceptively deep, with each choice influencing not just survivability but the tactical role of each brother in your warband. Whether you’re trying to preserve gear, optimize fatigue, or select the right weapon to build your roster around, this guide has got you covered.

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Armor: Understanding Durability and Fatigue

Armor in Battle Brothers operates on two key mechanics: durability and fatigue. The higher the durability, the more punishment it can absorb before breaking. But higher durability often comes with a fatigue penalty, making your brother slower or unable to use stamina-hungry skills.

Vision and Helmets

Helmets can reduce vision, which directly affects ranged units. Characters typically start with 7 vision. Reduce this too much and your archers won’t be able to utilize their full bow range.

• Best Non-DLC Helmets for Archers: The 90 durability helm with 0 vision penalty.
• Best With DLC: The 120 durability Salad Helm (still no vision loss).
• Crossbowmen: Crossbows have 6 range, so a -1 vision penalty is acceptable. The 150 helm fits perfectly here. There’s also the 160 durability Zweihander hat from noble units (non-DLC).

Traits like Eagle Eyes (+1 vision) allow archers and crossbowmen to wear heavier helmets without sacrificing range. Frontliners, on the other hand, don’t care about vision—your goal is max durability for survivability.

Fatigue vs. Protection

Armor is all about balance:

• A 300 durability helm might cost -20 fatigue.
• Legendary gear varies—some provide great durability with less weight.

Assign armor based on the role:

• Archers: Lightweight, minimal fatigue.
• Frontliners: Heavy armor, even if it costs fatigue.
• Hybrids/Duelists: Something in between.

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Weapons: Picking the Right Tools for the Job

Each weapon category serves a distinct purpose. Here’s how to think about them in the early game and beyond.

Maces

• Great early game.
• Stun enemies to avoid retaliation (ideal for stealing gear).
• Induce fatigue on enemies with each hit.
• Weak later on—many late-game enemies are stun-immune.

Flails

• Ignore shield melee defense bonus.
• Lash targets the head—useful for preserving body armor.
• Falls off late game due to poor damage scaling.

Hammers

• Niche tool.
• Destroys armor, but does low HP damage.
• Bad early (you want to keep armor intact).
• Great against heavily armored enemies like Orc Warriors.

Axes

• Solid damage.
• Shield Break utility.
• Scales well with double-grip (25% bonus damage) and relevant perks.
• Excellent for two-handed builds later in the game.

Cleavers

• Underwhelming outside of legendary Orc cleavers.
• Apply bleed, but only effective if you penetrate armor.
• High stamina cost.

Whips

• Utility weapon—can disarm.
• Situational; rarely used consistently.

Swords

• +10 accuracy, great for low-accuracy early game brothers.
• Repost ability depends on being targeted.
• Low damage makes them obsolete later.

Daggers

• Essential for every brother.
• Use Puncture to bypass armor and damage HP directly.
• Crucial for preserving loot—undamaged armor has a higher drop chance.
• No fatigue cost—can always be carried.

Polearms

• Include pikes, billhooks, and more.
• Two-tile range, safe backline option.
• Billhook is king: massive damage to both armor and HP.
• Keep these on low-defense, high-attack brothers.

Spears

• Best early game weapon.
• +20 accuracy with Thrust.
• Great for low-skill recruits.
• Spearwall creates zone control and crowd control.
• Falls off late game due to poor damage scaling.

Crossbows vs. Bows

• Crossbows: 6 range, higher damage, better for melee-hybrid units.
• Bows: 7–8 range (with perks), can fire twice per turn.
• Dedicated archers should use bows.
• Throwing weapons are niche and DLC-dependent—opinions vary.

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Two-Handed Weapons and Duelists (Late Game Focus)

When gearing up for the long haul:

• Great Axe: Massive AoE (hex-based radius), amazing crowd clear.
• Bonk Mace (DLC): Can stun for two rounds.
• Bonk Hammer: Shreds armor efficiently.
• Two-Handed Sword: Versatile AoE patterns.

Duelists (using the Duelist perk) excel with:

• Legendary cleavers
• One-handed axes
• Swords (legendary only)

Hybrid units like Crossbow/Billhook combos are extremely effective—ranged pressure before switching to a two-tile melee finisher.

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Summary Loadouts by Phase

Early Game Must-Haves:

• Daggers on everyone for puncturing
• Spears for accuracy
• Maces for stuns
• Flails to ignore shields

Late Game Power Weapons:

• Axes (two-handed for DPS)
• Billhooks
• Duelist loadouts with legendary one-handers
• Two-handed weapons with AoE

Armor Tips Recap:

• Balance durability with fatigue.
• Pay attention to vision penalties for ranged characters.
• Traits like Eagle Eyes expand armor options for archers.
• Legendary gear offers great protection at better fatigue cost—assign wisely.

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Final Words

Armor and weapons are the bread and butter of success in Battle Brothers. The early game is all about scrapping what you can and protecting your men, while the late game is about leveraging high-end gear, perks, and tactical combos.

Use this guide to build smart, hit hard, and—most importantly—keep your brothers alive. Good luck out there, captain!