Stats | Character advancement The Banner Saga 2 Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Each character in The Banner Saga 2 is based on 5 statistics that can be upgraded when they advance to a higher level. The game allows you to upgrade the stats to the maximum level, then it enables access to special skills related to specific stats. Each level grants you 2 points.
Armor - responsible for the number of armor points of a character. You should not spend too many points to upgrade it because nearly all of the heroes have quite a lot of armor points from the very beginning. Upgrade it only for heroes who focus enemy attacks on themselves. In case of archers, upgrading armor will not do much because even if you max it out, they will still die from one or two stronger enemy attacks.
Strength affects the power of a character's attacks. It also symbolizes the hero's health (losing all points makes the character pass out.) Spending some points on this stat is recommended. Your team's warriors will deal more damage and ranged units won't pass out so often.
Willpower has been described in one of the previous chapters, so let me just remind you that it's used for travelling for longer distance, performing stronger attacks, and using special skills. It's worth upgrading - not to the maximum (you can use the horn and artifacts to regenerate willpower) but at least a couple of points. In case of wizards, this is their primary stat, since you use their special attacks more often than basic ones.
Exertion is responsible for how many willpower points can be spent on a single action. It's definitely the most important stat and you should take care of maxing it out as quickly as possible. You will be able to increase the power of every attack. It will improve the overall effectiveness of eliminating enemies.
Armor Break defines how many armor points can be taken from an enemy in a direct attack. You shouldn't wait too long with upgrading it, because usually you only need one or two points to max it out. Improving this stat is helpful especially against the Dredge, since nearly all of the monsters require depleting their armor before you can attack their strength bar.