Mini-Compilation of Known Unit Info

[Slimsy Platypus]

I'm simply compiling what was in a previous beta thread with some recent developments. As you might notice, I'm super excited about the game so I thought I'd share some of the known info on upcoming units with everyone!

Original beta thread found here: Here's a previously released image of all the beta units
Some previous info from Arnie and Alex here: New Unit Ideas!

So Far we know of the following classes:

Base Class: Raider (formerly Axeman)
Thrasher
Backbiter
Raidmaster (formerly Axemaster)
Grudgewielder (upcoming!)

Base Class: Warrior
Wardog (upcoming!)
Warhawk
Warleader
Warmaster

Base Class: Shieldbanger
Provoker
Shieldmaster
Strongarm
Champion (upcoming!, formerly Shield Wall)

Base Class: Archer
Skystiker
Siege Archer (formerly Wall Archer)
Bowmaster
Sharpshooter (Upcoming!, formerly Eagle Eye)

Base Class: Landsman
Hunter Upcoming!
Warden Upcoming!
Unknown
Unknown

Base Class: Spearman
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Spearmaster

We know we have more base classes coming as well. In Here Alex said "We have five new playable base classes shipping with chapter 1 of the Saga which means a ton of new advanced classes."

Base Class (?): Mender (upcoming!)

Base Class (?): Berserk (upcoming!)



In this image (although quite fuzzy due to low quality) we can see some of upcoming units along with some Dredge, which have been confirmed to (at a minimum) be opponents in the single player saga

Dredge Grunt
Dredge Warrior
Dredge Tank
Dredge Slinger
Dredge Elite
Dredge Elite Slinger



This image contains (from left to right) Rook and Juno (two charactars in the single player saga, note that Juno's name may change prior to the Saga hitting, and Rook has been described by the developers as a "Hunter" in the Forum chat window), a possible Berserk, a centaur, a possible Dredge Grunt, and a Backbiter.

In Here Alex said "About the berserks, I don't want to say too much but they will be a new base class... and they're Varl."

Later in the same thread Alex stated "centaurs have been in our lineup for quite a while. They'll be a race new to the game in chapter 2, though, so don't expect to see them in the first release (plenty of other cool stuff to get to, first). "

Arnie then followed up with "they probably won't be called "centaurs" as that's from Greek mythology. These people are designed off the Icelandic Ponies that the viking rode. Surefooted, shaggy haired...etc. They are the one race, so far, that will look like they came from a different culture. That of the celts. "



Here we can see our Raiders (originally named Axeman) but while including the soon to be released Grudgeweilder! Just look how amazing the artwork on the Grudgewielder's shield is!



Provided in the recent Single Player update FOUND HERE we can see images (from left to right) of what probably is the soon-to-be hunter, a spearman, a male mender, a female mender, and a possible Berserk. Each of these models will be used for characters in the single player saga, but will also be the same models eventually used in Factions as well!

We dont know much about Menders. But Here Alex said "As for Menders, I'm really looking forward to adding them to the game. They will play differently from other classes in a key way that should be really interesting. "

Arnie followed up a little later describing them with "They aren't quite wizards as they use a much more subtle magic which 'weaves' the fabric of creation. We're basing them on the Norns from northmen mythology. I would not think they would jump up off the screen and attack like a Dragoon in FF, but they may be able to pick a tile and channel something for the next round to hit it. "

[Slimsy Platypus]

This image shows concept art extremely similar to the "Shield Wall" unit in the first image in this post. He has more recently been referred to as a "Champion" and is likely our final Shieldbanger promotion!

In here Alex said "So many new classes on the way! Its hard not to spoil anything. But I will say the Shield Wall is now called the Champion and the Eagle Eye (who used to do what the bowmaster does) is now called the Sharpshooter and does something completely different (and awesome). As for units that hit multiple tiles away, lets say we havent forgotten that idea."



This image contains some concept art for our Warrior class. The image of interest is the third Portrait to the right, which appears to be the upcoming Wardog! For an additional bit of the upcoming Wardog's animation, check out the YouTube video with them all prettied up and next to each other HERE!

In the PAX 2013 Demo video we got a little bit of a spoiler with the upcoming Landsman and possibly hunter class (which can be found HERE). Now, we know the main character, Rook, is a landsman or a hunter. However, we need to keep in mind that we've heard that some of the active abilities aren't going to function the same in the single player and multiplayer, but here's what we've seen:



Alright folks, that's all I've got for now. Will try to keep this updated with anything else I come across. Feel free to let me know if I missed something. I will have to take some time and read through the old forum posts to make sure I have all the information Arnie and Alex have leaked out together. As you may have noticed, I have been following this very closely with the ambition of a rabid wombat

[franknarf]

Looking around in the game files, I see "dredge ranged blind" and "dredge ranged bomb" characters, whatever those are. They sound cool, anyway.

Note@mods: if such digging around is discouraged, go ahead and edit that part out of this post...

[djangoc]

I think most developers don't mind if people datamine files, as long as its not used for hacking.

Really good OP! Can really see the game shaping up to be very fun and more chess-like.

[raven2134]

Slimsy you've been a beast on the forums. Good job, I love this thread <3. Having all that art visible is awesome. Link has been added to the mother sticky thread!

[Slimsy Platypus]

Don't give me too much credit - while John was mending the servers I had to get my Banner Saga Fix in somehow. I'm just grateful there is so much epic swag to gather!

[sweetjer]

hear hear, Slim you've been rocking out some great posts lately, this one included. Thanks!

[Slimsy Platypus]

Fixed a ton of incorrect info in here and added some developer quotes - oops!

[Alejandro Mackgyver]

As a newbie to the forums and someone who is hungry for information on some of the up coming classes, I really appreciate this summary thread. It gave me a good hours worth of content to peruse over.

+1 usefulness, -2 procrastination (penalty)

[mcloud357]

very good topic to refer back to.

[Wordplay]

We now know that the Hunter is a promoted unit of the Landsman base class (can't remember the thread) and what the Landsman and the Hunters' abilities are from the new playthrough video.

Apparently the Landsman can pass through friendly units.

[Slimsy Platypus]

We now know that the Hunter is a promoted unit of the Landsman base class (can't remember the thread) and what the Landsman and the Hunters' abilities are from the new playthrough video.

Apparently the Landsman can pass through friendly units.

Thanks! I have not been around as much lately but appreciate the help! I've updated accordingly!

[Slimsy Platypus]

We recently got a glimpse of two of the new characters that we'll be playing with in Chapter 1 of the Banner Saga! This was a brief visual bit in a YouTube video released by Austin Video. The video can be found HERE. Thanks Aleonymous for the tip!

Here we can see the Wardog's stats and below him the first exposure of the Spearmaster class! The stats are quite interesting compared the units we already have at our disposal!

[AnotherPersona]

Oh muh gerd. I wants.

[Wordplay]

I suspected that the Wardog might be even more of a glass cannon that the Warmaster. I wonder what the minimum willpower on the Spearmaster is? If it's low, then there may not be much to choose between Spearmen and Raiders.

[Aleonymous]

The Wardog (rank-1) stats sum is 2 points higher compared to the other Warriors' now in Factions (I remember it from my 10/15/3/2/1 Warhawk). I wonder if this boost is because (1) it's a different game, (2) this guy, Hakon, is a "special" character, (3) he is equipped with some "item" granting this bonus.

On the other hand, the Spearman's (rank-3) stats sum is equal to the Raiders' now in Factions (28+Rank), that making sense since they are both human males.

I also wonder if these units' barrack's looks are the "normal" ones (i.e. the look they'll have in Factions), or special ones for the particular characters of the Saga they portray. I remind you how Egil & Iver, whose classes are Raidmaster & Strongarm respectively, looked nothing like the corresponding Factions units.

[netnazgul]

do not forget, that MP stats are whole different than in Saga. So we really get nothing from a look on those stats

[Guðmundr]

do not forget, that MP stats are whole different than in Saga. So we really get nothing from a look on those stats

Although, the stats seem to usually be pretty close. At least, close enough to ensure that the unit's role in combat is similar between Factions and the Saga. I remember Arnie saying a while back in chat that the Wardog's max strength is supposed to be the highest of the Warriors, so I would be surprised if that was nerfed much for Factions.

[raven2134]

I duno Gud, Saga has had no real balancing. I mean they just played it by ear and guessed what would probably make it playable.

[Arnie]

What an awesome post. I shall use it to reference stuff myself.
As Raven and Net say don't pay too much attention to the stats on the Wardog and The Spearmaster. The Saga just underwent it's first round of balancing the other day and beyond that these are specific characters, not just class units, so they will be tooled a bit different in the Saga. Some classes are OP/UP in the Saga, and meant to be so.

I could go on and on, but we're doing the final IGF submission build today and need to get back to it. Wish us luck!