Beast Slayers and how to make them good

[Percussigant]

So a lot of people were pretty disappointed about this particular origin, because it is quite hard to play and does not feel very unique whatsoever. I feel like there would be very little to tweak in their design to make them more fun, hence this discussion.

I suggest simply doubling the amount of trophies looted. It would help compensate the massive -10% on prices somewhat, and it would be less frustrating than the current mechanic, where you can sometimes not have your beast slayer bonus proc at all after a difficult fight. Even with such a change implemented, I think beast slayers would still be one of the "weaker" starts.

[suejak]

So you're saying I should get twice the trophies I got for this early fight vs. 10 spiders?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/296030401074429952/576841175277895700/365360_screenshots_20190429053106_1.jpg

[Kill'em ALL]

I do not like your suggestion because it does not add anything new or "fun", it just aims to make it easier by making player earn more money through selling of trophies.

I do agree that Slayers could use some improvement but I think it should be something that modifies their playstyle further to emphasize their profession, like for instance getting more beast-related events or unique ambitions and crafting recipes

[Percussigant]

Originally posted by suejak:

So you're saying I should get twice the trophies I got for this early fight vs. 10 spiders?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/296030401074429952/576841175277895700/365360_screenshots_20190429053106_1.jpg

Yes ! That is exactly what I am suggesting. Those extra webs and glands will probably not make you rich or break your game. The game might as well reward those poor Beast Slayers properly for their hard work, the rest of the origin is punishing enough imo.

@Kill'em ALL : what bothers me most with the Beast Slayer origin is that 25% chance of extra loot. This means that you are enticed to go for beast fights, but you have a very good chance not to see your special bonus fire. More than making this origin easier, my suggestion aims to make the bonus visible and less frustrating. Imagine fighting 3 lindwurms and not getting any extra loot from the origin bonus. +25% is simply not a good incentive enough imo.

[SaurianDruid]

I mentioned this in another thread, but a discount at the taxidermist on crafting potions and gear from monster loot would be nice. It'd compensate somewhat for the extra cost in bought gear by making it cheaper for beastslayers to get armor upgrades for much cheaper. It would also encourage beastslayers to make more use from poison, potions, nets, etc which would make them play differently from a normal mercenary band, adding more distinct flavor to the playthrough.

More crafting recipes as said above would also help with that. Maybe just straight up give them access to the direwolf armor recipe you normally can only get from a tailor event. I'd feel very much like a band of beastslayers if all my boys were decked out in the hides of direwolves and lindwurm scale cloaks.

[Percussigant]

Access to special recipes and improved mechanics/better prices at the taxidermist would certainly be a welcome addition. Might as well go all the way. It feels to me that the design of the Beast Slayers should lean towards high risk, high reward encounters, which it kind of does at the moment but rather halfassedly since you can invest a lot of resources preparing for a big beast fight and still not get enough trophies to make it worthwhile.

[suejak]

The real problem is finding beasts, I think, not how many mats you get or what you make with them.

[Diveyoc]

I think the loot drop is perfect. Anything more would be OP. I'm like a human spider walking around with reinforced nets and poison. Plus, plenty of trophies to craft dog armor and then just buy up the cheap dogs. I think poison needs rework though, it's kinda weak.

I'm guessing they could customize all the modes a little better. Discount at the taxi-dermist is a great idea for Beast-slayer mode.

They should maybe do something more, like a way to achieve the "Hate for Beasts" trait. Such as...kill "x" amount of beasts and gain the trait. Or a dice roll for every level up after 11 you get a certain % chance to gain the trait.

[suejak]

Although I argued otherwise, +50% mats feels fantastic. It really makes fighting beasts feel worthwhile, although sometimes it feels like I get almost too much from them.

[Gomer]

It would be cool if picking this origin increased the likelihood of Beast Hunting quests on the map, that would be fun.

[A Potato]

I personally would like it to feel more "Witcher-esque". There seems to be no reason that your people are not trusted, they aren't mutants and Beastslayers as a whole don't have particularly exciting backstories. I'd like it if they had more random encounters to explain why Beastslayers are the "big gay" in the eyes of the people, maybe add a new class that specialises in taking trophies (in a manner that people find disturbing or something) and maybe even the ability to capture living beasts and use them in battle.

Just a thought.

[Diveyoc]

Originally posted by A Nameless Hero:

I personally would like it to feel more "Witcher-esque". There seems to be no reason that your people are not trusted, they aren't mutants and Beastslayers as a whole don't have particularly exciting backstories. I'd like it if they had more random encounters to explain why Beastslayers are the "big gay" in the eyes of the people, maybe add a new class that specialises in taking trophies (in a manner that people find disturbing or something) and maybe even the ability to capture living beasts and use them in battle.

Just a thought.

Good idea. I think Beast slayers would be more famous, maybe they should get +10% renown. And I really don't get the -10% trade.

There are many things they should do to customize these modes more, they're a bit too generic.

[Diveyoc]

Originally posted by suejak:

Although I argued otherwise, +50% mats feels fantastic. It really makes fighting beasts feel worthwhile, although sometimes it feels like I get almost too much from them.

Right now it's the only thing that makes this mode worth while IMO.

[SaurianDruid]

Originally posted by suejak:

Although I argued otherwise, +50% mats feels fantastic. It really makes fighting beasts feel worthwhile, although sometimes it feels like I get almost too much from them.

Really wish I was feeling this too. I've been pouring hours into my Beastslayers playthrough and I feel like I am just not getting much loot. Certainly not enough to compensate for how much more expensive everything is.

I did a contract to kill 13 spiders. Ended up killing about 15. Only got four poison glands. Later I did a mission to kill 7 dire wolves and only got three pelts.

I've been getting a decent amount of Alp and Unhold loot at least. The problem is the beast quests are still few and far between, at least in my seed. I've had to go out of my way to chase down wild beasts for the mats to make things but I've only found a handful of wandering beasts to hunt.

I have noticed something kind of interesting and a little gross, though. I seem to be getting waaaay more strange meat fighting orcs. To the point that I am basically feeding my company primarily orc flesh these days. Does the bonus increase drop rates from greenskins too?

Originally posted by A Nameless Hero:

I personally would like it to feel more "Witcher-esque". There seems to be no reason that your people are not trusted, they aren't mutants and Beastslayers as a whole don't have particularly exciting backstories.

Yah, this doesn't make a ton of sense to me either. Beastslayers are basically men who roam the wild killing monsters that steal souls, crush houses, and kidnap children in the night. You'd think any town that saw them pass through would do what they could to make sure those men succeed at their chosen career. In the world of Battle Brothers Beastslayers are basically just very big game hunters.

[Diveyoc]

Originally posted by MetalJimmor:

Really wish I was feeling this too. I've been pouring hours into my Beastslayers playthrough and I feel like I am just not getting much loot. Certainly not enough to compensate for how much more expensive everything is.

I did a contract to kill 13 spiders. Ended up killing about 15. Only got four poison glands. Later I did a mission to kill 7 dire wolves and only got three pelts.

Same here. I am playing on Veteran/Expert but I feel like the game experience might have been better if I just picked Beginner/Expert because my economy is so bad. I've been playing forever trying to save 15k crowns for the wagon. I don't know if it's just that 10% trade penalty making the difference, but it does seem like the normal loot drops are weak.

I'm assuming nothing changed, but a week ago it seemed I was getting a lot of loot from spiders. My most recent battle was disappointing though. I killed over 30 spiders and only got like 6 gosimer and 3 poison glands.

On another note, I beat 10 Alps and got 7 eyes and 7 skins so that was nice. I think 1 or 2 of them fled the battlefield too.

[suejak]

Yeah, it's still RNG -- it's just an increased chance, not a guaranteed chance. +50% is absolutely nuts, and if you fight beasts, you will get ridiculous loads of trophies. So if your experience has not shown that yet, just keep hunting those beasts.

Being able to find beasts in the first place has always been a problem for this origin, but when you find them, you get a ton of stuff.