Do you ever build hybrids?

[partyboy]

If you get a bro thats got good rolls and good stars in Ratk and Matk? Also what kind of hybrid do you think is best? Polearm + crossbow w/ polearm mastery so you can shoot + swing then next round swing + reload and repeat or would you go for a thrower that could have the mastery and duelist, maybe switch to a good one hander in melee… or would you just go all melee and forget about the Ratk

[turtle225]

I tend to build a few hybrids each run, both of the types you described.

Polearm/Xbow hybrids I usually have as glass cannons as investing in these stats leaves them compromised for defense. You can compensate with more defensive perks but usually I go hyper offensive on perks and just keep them safely tucked away in the interior backline where they shouldn't be in danger.

Throwing/melee hybrids I usually build more defensive. I don't think you need a ton of melee skill for this as I usually carry a Sword or Spear as the melee weapon and Throwing is kind of the primary weapon while the Sword/Spear is used when needed. I like to build these guys to be capable on the frontline or the back flank. I find this build to do very well against Barbs particularly.

[partyboy]

Originally posted by turtle225:

I tend to build a few hybrids each run, both of the types you described.

Polearm/Xbow hybrids I usually have as glass cannons as investing in these stats leaves them compromised for defense. You can compensate with more defensive perks but usually I go hyper offensive on perks and just keep them safely tucked away in the interior backline where they shouldn't be in danger.

Throwing/melee hybrids I usually build more defensive. I don't think you need a ton of melee skill for this as I usually carry a Sword or Spear as the melee weapon and Throwing is kind of the primary weapon while the Sword/Spear is used when needed. I like to build these guys to be capable on the frontline or the back flank. I find this build to do very well against Barbs particularly.

Ahh that is very helpful thank you so much! I can tell by your responses in this forum you are very experienced in this game lol

[DarrkPhoenix]

Originally posted by turtle225:

Throwing/melee hybrids I usually build more defensive. I don't think you need a ton of melee skill for this as I usually carry a Sword or Spear as the melee weapon and Throwing is kind of the primary weapon while the Sword/Spear is used when needed. I like to build these guys to be capable on the frontline or the back flank. I find this build to do very well against Barbs particularly.

This is pretty similar to what I'll do for hybrids, provided I find a bro that can get high stats in RAtk, MAtk, and MDef. Primary role is a thrower, but it can be very useful to have a backline bro that can step into a frontline position or go toe to toe with an enemy trying to flank. I prefer to equip with 1H mace for the melee weapon to pair the high armor pen with the bonus from duelist, plus the option to stun if facing a particularly dangerous enemy. It also feels good to be able to intercept a flanking enemy who thinks he's being clever, then suddenly whip out a melee weapon and beat him to a bloody pulp.

[McGrits]

For lone wolf and its max 12 units, I build 2 nimble bow/polearm builds. The stat goal is mid-90s Ratk, upper 70s matk and mid 20s mdef. No quickhands since with polearm mastery you can get a swing after weapon change. Elsewise i keep melee and ranged specialty separate .

[Gilius Thunderhead]

I build thrower/ melee skirmishers all the time due to them already having duellist

If I'm making an archer I prefer a specialist

[CHOO CHOO]

I don't. All of my bros are specialists in one thing only. It's just simpler and easier to use that way.

[YuMMz]

I've tried my hand a hybrids a few times. Got a witch hunter bro this game who's starting stats seemed to lend itself to some sort of hybrid, so I gave a front line javelin duelist a try. He's been pretty fun, but it definitely requires a specific bro and ultimately, they'd probably be better as a specialist.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2850702581

Made some poor perk choices as I don't build hybrids often. If I could go back, I'd probably switch executioner for killing frenzy and overwhelm for a weapon specialty like cleaver or mace to compliment the duelist.

[Gilius Thunderhead]

I'd like to add that I have been known to give a pike to my archers as a secondary weapon, but I wouldn't call them a hybrid - the guy sucks at melee so I'm just using the extra 10% hitchance and the safety of some distance

[MMMMK]

Duelist thrower/mace is a staple in my runs. They have Duelist and quick hands anyway, so a mace in the bag is a great option to have. Usually packing a net or a stun grenade too.

You can cheat a bit on melee attack if you take backstabber, and I usually run them in the front line to exploit the AI's eagerness to engage ranged units. Just move the mercs to their left and right up a square and the computer will happily dive right into a three-man surround just to engage your thrower.

[Crowkeeper]

Always a few at least.

[Estieukua]

I give most of my ranged characters a melee mastery (along with Quick Hands and, for throwers, Bags&Belts), and don't think melee defence is important for them at all (so long as you utilize them in such a way that they'll never be engaged by more than one or two enemies at a time, and so that any enemy that does engage them will be surrounded and easy to hit).

If you hire from backgrounds with good starting values for some/most of the left-side attributes, you can level-up both attack skills every time, ignore defences, and just a take a few good rolls each for HPs, resolve and either fatigue or initiative. For throwers and x-bow users, ranged skill in the 70s is really perfectly adequate (irrespective of anyone claiming that ranged skill needs to be astronomically high).

If you're really paranoid about defence, you can always have a large shield in a bag slot (or even start battle with shields equipped on throwers until they reach level 8 and take Duellist).

If they have high melee skill, I like to give them Cleaver Mastery, a whip and (according to whether they have Duellist and whether the enemy has armour) a 1H or 2H cleaver. Whips have a similar range to throwing weapons, nets and grenades, and can be used to inflict bleeds through armour with Duellist, or to Disarm dangerous enemies (an endeavour that can be aided by first throwing a net over the target). If a dangerous enemy such as a Chosen moves around the formation to engage them, they can net the Chosen (preventing rotations) and use Disarm. If the formation is swarmed by masses of zombies or beasts, they can just keep using a cleaver to Decapitate anything that gets close (usually with 95% hit-chances), preventing themselves from getting surrounded and often barely sustaining any attacks.

If they have low melee skill, I like to give them Spear Mastery and let them serve (when required) as guards of the rear flanks. Against masses of beasts with a small layer of fur, this is lethal with Duellist (even with melee skill in the 60s) and typically results in large clusters of fleeing enemies. Even if Spearwall fails many times and allows lots of enemies to engage, many of the engaging enemies will already be damaged and/or demoralized and easy for allies to kill. Against more dangerous encroaching enemies with more armour and HPs, there's no reason why you can't also hold a shield (or have one ready to equip once the wall is breached by a threatening foe).

The other option I might go for is to use slings and 2H flails and take the Head Hunter perk (possibly also with Duellist, a rare 1H flail and throwing axes/javelins).

I sometimes give ranged hybrids the Overwhelm perk, primarily to make it harder for enemies to hit their allies, but it is also useful for protecting themselves without needing to invest in melee defence (especially if there are several of them who can nerf threatening enemies as a team). Overwhelm also makes it harder for enemies to break free from nets (and an enemy in a net is less likely to attack you, and will almost certainly be later in the turn order and thus easy to keep Overwhelming).

Big enemies who disrupt formations (e.g. orc warriors, unholds) can be netted before they try to move through the formation, or netted after they've moved into a totally surrounded position (whichever you prefer).

[Trappist]

i tend to build a couple of xbow, polearm, whip hybrids. Very useful in all sorts of situations

[Tephros83]

Originally posted by partyboy:

If you get a bro thats got good rolls and good stars in Ratk and Matk? Also what kind of hybrid do you think is best? Polearm + crossbow w/ polearm mastery so you can shoot + swing then next round swing + reload and repeat or would you go for a thrower that could have the mastery and duelist, maybe switch to a good one hander in melee… or would you just go all melee and forget about the Ratk

Not really, and it's really only tempting for the 12-guy origins like gladiators or lone wolf. But even for gladiators I ended up doing a gunslinger throwing duelist, and he's good for any fight except maybe pure geist, alp or necrosavant. At monolith I just made the positions next to him well-protected. Throwing axes with duelist are good vs ancient undead. Nomad sling is good at the library and a great backup to the gun.

I like to really maximize one offensive stat and not level the other. Low defenses are expensive and risky especially in endgame battles. But a guy who starts with high ranged attack could still sometimes use a crossbow as a secondary. And a ranged guy could use a spear (though ideally firelance) or sword to defend himself when engaged

[Lil Bunny]

Originally posted by partyboy:

If you get a bro thats got good rolls and good stars in Ratk and Matk? Also what kind of hybrid do you think is best? Polearm + crossbow w/ polearm mastery so you can shoot + swing then next round swing + reload and repeat or would you go for a thrower that could have the mastery and duelist, maybe switch to a good one hander in melee… or would you just go all melee and forget about the Ratk

I think I've dabbled with the hybrid thing to the point that I just role play with my hybrids. One thing to note is I'm a big fan of throwing weapons so all of these revolve around throwing weapons. Some of the hybrid builds I have:
1.) The Ranger - Ever watched/know LOTR? Yeah I love how elves are proficient with both bows and sword to the point that whenever I see their race in any other type of media, I immediately think they're a hybrid.
Melee Attack - High (70 - 80)
Ranged Attack - Very High (At least 75)
Melee Defense - Mid-High (15-25)
Ranged Defense - Low (5-10)
The whole point is to be able to act like a decent melee with a throwing weapon.

2.) The "U thought I was a ranged guy but no" - These bros are mostly just bait so that the enemy tries to flank towards them and then I hit them with one handed weapon (with duelist) when they're face to face with the bro.
Melee Focus Stats
Meme throwing weapon equipped
Ranged Attack - Minimal (50-60) just enough to be decent if an opportunity rises where I can spend a turn to throw (and hopefully hit for more DPS).

3.) Utility Backliner - These bros are equipped with whips alongside their throwing weapons. Their purpose is to "reinforce" and subsequently decimate the side they will be helping. By reinforce I only really mean disarm dangerous enemies (Like chosen or orc warlord). Otherwise, they're just throwing all their throwable weapons to the enemy.
Melee Attack - Mid-High (60-80)
Ranged Attack - Very High (At least 75)
Ranged Defense - Mid (10-20)
Initiative - Preferably high - highest among the team

4.) Flexible Backliner - These bros are downgraded rangers. They have melee skills just in cases of emergency. No they're not very good at them but they'll hold for a few rounds (hopefully).
Melee Attack - Mid (60-70), Equipped with a +hit chance melee weapon and a shield, or a real one handed melee weapon if they have the stats (Potential ranger)
Ranged Attack - Very High (At least 75)
Melee Defense - Low - High (5-25)

5.) Pure Hybrids - When I get decent bros and i'm not trolling, these bros are the backbone of the army. Equipped with a polearm and a throwing weapon, at least 2-3 enemies will go down before the lines clash for real. Starts the battle with throwing weapons equipped and would usually decimate unarmored enemies and chip away most of the armor of heavily armored enemies.
Melee Attack - Very High (As much as you can)
Ranged Attack - Very High (As much as you can)
Ranged Defense - Low - High (5-25)

I have also tried hybrids with bows and crossbows but they never really gave me the satisfaction that I need when I play the game. When I use these two, it's mostly just pure xbow or pure bow and polearm/one handed weapon as backup just in case (But mostly low melee attack purely dependent on stat RNG, 50-65ish)

Bonus: Not really a hybrid but I thoroughly enjoy a throwing weapon + handgonne combination. Nothing beats the satisfaction of 6 handgonne bros with throwing weapons right in the middle of a noble army fight. You get multiple kills, morale downs, armor shred with just 1 pop of the gun. Very satisfying. Then you'll use throwing weapons when you want to kill isolated targets or threats.

^I always have extra bag slots for throwers. It's totally normal for me to spend 2-3 throwing weapons per battle per brother. It's mostly 3 throwing weapons, 1 designated "melee" weapon, then another throwing weapon or some other utility item (bomb, bandage, shield, etc.) depending on the situation. Also, all of them have dogs. Weapon masteries are usually Throwing Weapons + the designated melee weapon. It just helps in general to have less fatigue cost. IIRC, after throwing 7 or so times, the bro will already have an almost full fatigue and hence I also use recover perk most of the time unless they're a polearm equipped bro where they can still hit even without recover perk after getting their fatigue to full.

^As to the amount of Hybrids in the company? I'd prefer to have all of my backline bros to be a hybrid as much as possible. It's just more fun for me.