Class

Classes can be considered as 'groups' (or sets) whose 'members' are Units, the Entities that take part in the turn-based battles of the game. Each unit belongs to only one class (i.e. each unit is an instance of a class), and each class can have any number of different units.

In the context of The Banner Saga battle-mechanics, there are two types of classes:

Base classes, usually associated with Passive Abilities.
Promoted classes, stemming from one Base class (inheriting its attributes), and usually associated with Active Abilities.

For more information refer to:

Terminology — Short definitions of all combat-related terms.
Abilities — List of all currently available abilities, passive & active, for ally & enemy units.

Unit Attributes[ | ]

This section describes the basic attributes that Units have:

Size (board 'footprint'): There are currently units occupying 1x1, 2x2 and 1x2 tiles.
Movement range: Most units can cover a distance of 2-4 tiles.
Attack range: Currently available attack ranges are:

» Melee (1 tile)

» Long-reach melee (1-2 tiles)

» Archer ranged (2-5 tiles)

» Thrower ranged (2-4 tiles)

» Hybrid melee/ranged (1-5 tiles)

Apart from the above attributes, each unit has a set of five Stats:

and any number (including zero) of Abilities:

Passive ability — Grants a 'power' to the unit that is 'always on' during the course of the battle. Most passives are positive, but there are negative ones too.
Active ability — Grants a special 'on demand' power to the unit. Active abilities are usually more powerful than passive ones, but require Willpower to activate them. Active abilities can also have Ranks, 1-3 of them, that cost more Willpower but increase their potency.

Unit Actions[ | ]

Finally, all Units have the following set of Actions:

Rest
Use Horn
Move
Attack
Use Active Ability
End Turn

Note that Active Abilities are not available to all units, and that Rest can only be performed at the start of a Unit's Turn.

Class Attributes[ | ]

Each Class is defined by a specific set of the Unit Attributes discussed in the previous sections. For example:

All Shieldbangers (Base class) in Factions have the following Attributes.

* Size: 2x2 tiles
* Move Range: 3 tiles
* Attack Range: 1 tile (melee)
* Stats: 14ARM / 10STR / 4WIL / 1EXE / 2BRK
* Passive Abilities: Return the Favor
* Active Abilities: -

Oli (Axe Thrower promoted class) has the following attributes, when first encountered in the second part of The Banner Saga

* Size: 1x1 tiles
* Move Range: 4 tiles
* Attack Range: 1-4 tiles
* Stats: 11ARM / 9STR / 7WIL / 2EXE / 1BRK
* Passive Abilities: Shield Wall
* Active Abilities: Axe Storm (Rank 2)

Promoted classes stem from Base classes and typically 'inherit' some of their attributes. In the previous example, the Axe Thrower promoted class stems from the Raider base class and inherits its {Size, Move Range, Passive Ability}, but not its {Attack Range, Stats}.

List of Base Classes[ | ]

Factions[ | ]

These four Base classes were the first ones designed and fully fleshed out in the world of The Banner Saga. They are unofficially known as the Factions classes:

Archer — Human female with ranged attack, limited mobility, low Armor & Strength
Raider — Human male with melee attack, high mobility and average Armor & Strength
Shieldbanger — Varl with melee attack, limited mobility, high Armor & Break
Warrior — Varl with melee attack, average mobility, high Strength and average Armor

Saga, Part 1[ | ]

The first single-player game introduced another three Base classes, added to those available in Factions:

Landsman — Human with melee or hybrid attack, very high mobility, average Armor & Strength
Spearman — Human with long-reach melee attack, high mobility and average Armor & Strength
Mender — Human with melee attack, average mobility, special 'magical' abilities and high Willpower

Various Dredge classes were also introduced.

Saga, Part 2[ | ]

The second single-player game introduced a few more Base classes:

Berserker — Varl wielding two weapons, moderately high Armor & Strength
Shieldmaiden — Human with long-reach melee attack and very high Armor
Skald — Human with melee attack, moderate stats and support abilities
Teulu — Horseborn class with melee attack, very high mobility and moderate Armor & Strength
Cantref — Horseborn class with ranged attack, very high mobility and moderate/low Armor & Strength

A few new Dredge classes were also introduced.