Battle Brothers: Complete Guide

A survival guide for Overhype Studios' brutal mercenary sim: how to keep a company alive through the first 50 days, hiring and levelling brothers, perk builds that work, combat rules that decide fights, the late-game crises, and what the 2026 content update added.

Researched September 2026 — current as of v1.5.2.3 (June 2026), following the v1.5.2.2 content update. Check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

1. Take contracts you can win. Early money comes from escorting caravans and killing brigands, not from heroic fights against orcs.
2. Money runs out fast. Every brother draws daily wages, and food, tools, medicine and ammo all cost money. Watch the gold and daily cost display.
3. Armour is life. Spend early profits on helmets and body armour before fancy weapons.
4. Hire for talents, not backgrounds alone. Check a recruit's stars (talents) before paying, if you can.
5. Use shields in the front line. Shieldwall and spearwall hold the line while others do damage.
6. Retreat is allowed. A fight going badly is not a campaign loss; losing your veterans is.
7. Avoid direwolves, orc warriors and anything undead in armour in the first weeks.
8. Rest and repair after fights. Keep enough tools and medicine to fix gear and wounds.
9. Play with Ironman off at first to learn. Save often; it's a hard game.

What's New (2026)

• v1.5.2.2 (18 June 2026) was the first content update in about a year. It added three weapons, new enemies and an updated Northern Noble Houses unit list:
  • Pollaxe: a two-handed weapon with a short haft that strikes at range 1. Its attacks are Smite (a heavy hammer blow that can stagger), Run Through (a quick axe hit that triggers a second free attack on staggered enemies) and Split Shield.
  • Executioner's Sword: a very heavy two-handed sword with Overhead Strike, Split Shield and its signature Decapitate, which deals bonus damage based on the target's missing health.
  • Estoc: a new sword type, with named variants. Early builds crashed when an Estoc was used without the Beasts & Exploration DLC installed; 1.5.2.3 fixed that.
  • A new Executioner background.
• v1.5.2.3 (24 June 2026) fixed an Estoc crash for players without the Beasts & Exploration DLC, made named Estocs, Pollaxes and Executioner's Swords count for the Bounty Hunter retinue member and ambitions, and fixed City States not selling paints.
• v1.5.2.3 also fixed incorrect retirement endings for the Executioner background and the "Mine Cave In" settlement situation not removing trade goods.
• If mods break on the new version, the developers provide a way to roll back to 1.5.1.8 (see the patch notes).
• The game is published by Hooded Horse and Overhype, and goes 70% off in most Hooded Horse publisher sales (several in 2026), with the DLC discounted too. Don't pay full price.

DLC Overview

Beasts & Exploration is the most commonly recommended first purchase, because it deepens the whole game.

Company Origins

When you start, you choose an origin that sets your starting brothers, gear and special rules. A New Company is the standard start. Others include Deserters, Lone Wolf, Peasant Militia, Northern Raiders (Warriors of the North), Gladiators and Manhunters (Blazing Deserts), and Oathtakers and Anatomists (Of Flesh and Faith). New players should start with A New Company.

The First 50 Days

1. Days 1-5: Take easy contracts near your start. Caravan escorts, local brigands and deliveries. Buy food and a few pieces of armour.
2. Build to 8-12 brothers. Hire cheap recruits with good talents to fill the line. Farmhands, Daytalers and Militia are fine early fodder, and Lumberjacks, Brawlers and Wildmen are strong cheap melee recruits.
3. Upgrade armour first. Aim for decent helmets and body armour on your front line before anything else.
4. Get archers. Hunters and Poachers make good early ranged recruits. Two or three bows help against brigands.
5. Grow renown. Completing contracts raises the company's renown, which unlocks better-paying jobs and better recruits.
6. Avoid overreaching. Orc camps, undead with armour, and big beast packs will wipe an early company.

Early enemies

Brothers: Stats, Talents and Levelling

Attributes

Hitpoints, Fatigue, Resolve, Initiative, Melee Skill, Ranged Skill, Melee Defense and Ranged Defense.

• Talents (one to three stars on an attribute) improve how much that attribute rises on level-up.
• On each level-up you choose three attributes to raise.
• Brothers gain a perk point per level up to level 11. After that, levelling slows to small veteran bonuses.

Backgrounds

Backgrounds set starting stats, wages and traits.

• Cheap and useful: Farmhand, Daytaler, Militia, Lumberjack, Brawler, Wildman, Hunter, Poacher.
• Expensive but strong: Hedge Knight, Sellsword, Swordmaster.
• Usually weak fighters: Beggar and similar low-stat backgrounds; they're cheap for a reason.

Traits like Brave, Iron Jaw or Fearless help; Cocky, Clumsy or Fear-of-X traits can hurt. Read them before hiring.

Perk Builds That Work

Heavy front-liner (shield or two-hander)

• Core: Colossus or Nine Lives, Brawny, Battle Forged, Steel Brow, Underdog, Indomitable.
• Plus: the mastery for their weapon (for example Mace Mastery or Axe Mastery), Killing Frenzy, Rotation for mobility, Shield Expert if using a shield.
• Why: Battle Forged scales with armour; this is the classic tank.

Nimble skirmisher

• Core: Nimble, Dodge, Anticipation, Underdog, Relentless, Footwork.
• Why: Nimble brothers wear light armour and rely on reduced incoming damage. Good for flankers and duelists.

Polearm backliner

• Core: Polearm Mastery, Reach Advantage or Killing Frenzy, Berserk, Head Hunter.
• Why: polearms strike from the second rank, safely behind shields.

Archer

• Core: Bow Mastery, Bullseye, Head Hunter, Quick Hands, Anticipation.
• Why: high ranged skill plus precision perks kill enemy archers and exposed heads.

Utility picks

• Fast Adaptation early for low-skill recruits.
• Student for faster levelling.
• Pathfinder for mobility on rough terrain.
• Bags and Belts for carrying spare weapons.
• Fortified Mind for resolve against undead and beasts.
• Rally the Troops on your best-resolve brother.

Combat Rules That Decide Fights

• Action Points: each turn a brother has 9 AP. Movement and attacks spend AP, and many attacks also spend Fatigue.
• Fatigue: exhausted brothers can't use strong skills. Rotate heavy hitters and don't waste Fatigue on low-odds swings.
• Zone of control: leaving an adjacent enemy invites free attacks. Plan movement so you don't get hit while repositioning.
• Surrounding: each extra enemy adjacent to a target makes it easier to hit. Don't let brothers get surrounded; do surround enemies.
• Morale: brothers go from Confident to Steady, Wavering, Breaking and Fleeing. Losing allies and taking big hits lowers morale. High Resolve and Rally the Troops keep lines together.
• Armour: attacks hit armour first. Axes and hammers are good at destroying it; some weapons (like daggers) bypass part of it.
• Injuries: big hits cause temporary injuries, and brothers who are "killed" may survive with permanent injuries.
• Formation: two ranks. Shields and spears in front, polearms and archers behind.

Formation defaults

Economy

• Contracts are the main income. Negotiate pay (upfront vs on completion) and watch relations with the nobles or cities involved.
• Trade: buy goods where they're cheap and sell where they're in demand.
• Loot: sell unused weapons and armour. Named (unique) items are valuable; keep good ones.
• Ambitions: set company goals to earn renown and bonuses.
• Retinue: hire followers who give company-wide bonuses (for example the Bounty Hunter).
• Upkeep: food, tools and medicine drain continuously. Stock up before long trips.

Late Game: Crises

Around the mid-to-late game, a world crisis begins and reshapes the map:

Prepare with top-tier armour, strong veterans and counters to the crisis's enemies.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Taking three-skull contracts early.
• Spreading money across new weapons before armour.
• Letting brothers get surrounded.
• Using Fatigue carelessly, so your best fighters are exhausted when it matters.
• Ignoring injuries and sending wounded brothers into the next fight.
• Too many expensive backgrounds on a thin budget.
• Not retreating from a lost fight.

Advanced Tips

• Recruit many, keep the best. Cheap recruits with good talents become veterans; dismiss the weak ones.
• Hunt named items from legendary locations and champions.
• Use nets and throwing weapons to control dangerous single targets.
• Scout with the map. Check enemy strength before engaging, and avoid terrain disadvantages like fighting uphill.
• Plan around the new weapons: the Pollaxe's Smite staggers a target and sets up its own Run Through follow-up, and the Executioner's Sword's Decapitate is an ideal finisher for wounded enemies.

FAQ

Is Battle Brothers still updated? Yes. v1.5.2.2 (June 2026) added the Pollaxe, Executioner's Sword, Estoc, new enemies and the Executioner background, and v1.5.2.3 fixed issues shortly after.

Which DLC should I buy first? Beasts & Exploration, which adds the most general-purpose content. Blazing Deserts is a strong second.

How many brothers can I have? With the standard origin, up to 20 in the roster and 12 in a fight. Some origins change these limits (Lone Wolf and Peasant Militia, for example, play with different company sizes), so check the origin description when you start.

What's a good starting origin? A New Company. The other origins apply special rules that can make the start harder.

How do I stop my company from going broke? Take cheap, winnable contracts, sell loot you don't use, and keep the roster lean in the early days.

My mods broke after the update. What do I do? Disable mods before updating. If you need to stay on the old version, the v1.5.2.3 patch notes explain how to revert to 1.5.1.8 through Steam's beta branches.

Sources

• Steam store page
• v1.5.2.2 update notes
• v1.5.2.3 update notes
• Hooded Horse news roundup (July 2026)