Character stats | Character development The Banner Saga Guide
Last update: 12 August 2016
Each character in The Banner Saga is described with five basic stats, they grow every time a hero gets to a higher rank. The game won't let you max out all of them so you always have to decide which ones you want to upgrade and which to ignore or upgrade later. The following description focuses on main abilities and provides tips on how to develop them. These hints are common, but you may be tempted to develop characters with specific skills and specializations in a different way.
Armor - how many armor points the character has. Don't spend too many points on this because nearly all heroes have quite a lot of armor. You can make an exception for the heroes that get attacked the most. In case of archers upgrading armor won't help because even when it's maxed out, they will die after one or two strong enemy attacks.
Strength - how many strength points the character has. It affects the power of attacks and work as health points. It's a good idea to spend some points on this throughout the game. Your characters will be able to deal more damage and your long distance units won't faint as often as before.
Willpower - how many willpower points the character has. The meaning of willpower has been described in one of the previous chapters. To remind you - it's used for covering longer distance, performing more powerful attacks and using special abilities. It's a good idea to upgrade it, maybe not to the max, but at least by a few points.
Exertion - how many willpower points might be spent on a single action. It's the most important of these stats and you should focus on maxing it out as soon as possible (regardless of character's specialization). Thanks to that you'll be able to power up your attacks - either aimed at armor or strength, on short or long distance.
Armor Break - how many armor points can be taken from the enemy in a single attack. You should upgrade it rather quickly, usually one or a few points should be enough to max it out. It's useful especially when fighting against the Dredge.