Days 0-20 Early Game — Survive and Snowball
Goal: keep your starting brothers alive, earn crowns, and turn raw recruits into a stable line. You are fragile. One bad fight can end the run.
What to fight
- Lone wolves, single direwolves, small groups of brigand thugs and poachers.
- Easy "kill/deliver" contracts. Take low-difficulty (one or two skull) contracts only.
What to avoid
- Anything with Orcs, multiple archers, or Necromancers. Run from packs you can't out-number.
- Night fights against ranged-heavy enemies.
Gear & build priorities
- Spear and shield on everyone. The spear's hit bonus and Spearwall keep weak brothers useful.
- Cheap backgrounds that grow: Farmhand, Brawler, Wildman. High HP and Fatigue beat a pretty title.
- First perks: Colossus, then start toward a Mastery and a survival perk.
- Buy a banner and a sergeant-shaped brother early so morale doesn't break.
Days 20-45 Early-Mid — Specialize the Line
Goal: push brothers toward level 7 (tier-3 perks), buy your first real armor, and start splitting roles. The Swiss-army spear phase ends here.
What to fight
- Larger raider camps, nachzehrer packs, weak Goblin scouts with ranged support of your own.
- Two-to-three skull contracts once your gear improves.
Gear & build priorities
- Get your first crossbow and bow online. Ranged kills before melee saves armor and bodies.
- Move front-liners onto two-handers or cleavers as their Melee Skill climbs. Keep one or two shield tanks.
- Mail and partial plate (150 armor range) for the front. Light armor plus Nimble for duelists.
- Lock in Mastery on every specialist by now.
Pacing
Don't dump every crown into one super-soldier. A wide, level-6-to-8 company of twelve beats four heroes and eight liabilities. The flat damage of a backline polearm is the safest scaling you can buy here.
Days 45-90 Mid Game — The Stable Company
Goal: a full 12-man roster, most at level 9 to 11, with answers to armor, crowds, and giants. You can now choose your fights instead of fearing them.
What to fight
- Orc Young warbands (snipe the squishy axe-wielders first), Goblin parties, armored undead with a Necromancer.
- Beast contracts: Unholds, Schrats, your first Lindwurm if you have cleavers and reach weapons.
- Three-to-four skull contracts and named-item hunts.
Gear & build priorities
- Full plate (200+ armor) on Battle Forged front-liners. Famed/named pieces start appearing from champions.
- Two-Handed Hammer and Two-Handed Mace specialists fully online. Add the Estoc or Pollaxe for anti-armor.
- Finish core trees: Mastery, Battle Forged/Nimble, Killing Frenzy, Berserk, Recover.
- Keep a Net and Quick Hands on a tank to lock down champions.
Days 90-130 Mid-Late — Hunting the Hard Targets
Goal: chase legendary loot, clear elite camps, and prepare for the late-game crisis that is about to fire. Your veterans are level 11+ and fully kitted.
What to fight
- Orc Warrior and Warlord camps, full Goblin cities, Ancient Dead crypts, multiple Lindwurms.
- Champion hunts. Champions always drop unique gear, so late-game you specifically seek them.
- The named bosses and special locations (see the Secrets page).
Gear & build priorities
- Top-tier named armor and weapons. Build your roster's specialists around the crisis you expect.
- Stockpile tools, ammo, medicine, and food. A long crisis is a war of attrition.
- Have a clear answer for each crisis ready before it lands (armor-breakers for undead, ranged for greenskins).
Day 130+ Late Game — The Crisis
Goal: survive and defeat the late-game crisis (Greenskin Invasion, Undead Scourge, or the Noble War), then keep going or retire as legends. This is the test everything was for.
The three crises
- Greenskin Invasion: waves of Orcs and Goblins. Lean ranged for the Goblins, armor-breakers and a rock-solid wall for the Orcs. High Ranged Defense up front.
- Undead Scourge: endless Wiedergangers, Fallen Heroes, Geists, Necromancers. A DPS race. Decapitation weapons (polearm cut skills, 2H swords) and armor-breakers. Hold an unflankable position.
- War of the Noble Houses: heavily armored human armies, banners, billmen, knights. Hammers, crossbows, and polearm frontlines shine. Break their armor and rout their line with Fearsome.
Crisis discipline
- Pick a defensible tile every fight. Funnel numbers through a choke so their count stops mattering.
- Keep Rotation on a row-2 brother to pull the wounded out. Keep your sergeant centered.
- Manage Fatigue. A crisis battle is long, and a tired brother is a dead brother.
- Retreat is always allowed. Living to fight the next wave wins the crisis.
The one that ends runs
Geists during the Undead Scourge. They are elusive, they damage Resolve, and they make your own dead rise. Bring 2H swords or whips to delete them fast, keep Fortified Mind on key brothers, and never let your line break in the open.