The Banner Saga 3 Updates: A New Stretch Goal and Combat Mechanics

The $300,000 stretch goal for The Banner Saga 3 has been reached, so Survival Mode is in. The latest campaign update starts the countdown towards the next goal: the return of Ubin. And if you think that $50,000 is a bit steep for just an additional character, a new, $400,000 goal is revealed. If reached, it will introduce the Eternal Arena:

The next stretch goal is $350k – “Ubin Lives” and we’re now on our way to unlocking that. You’ll get a chance to experience the culmination of the Scrivener’s storyline and take the venerable varl warrior onto the battlefield for the first time, to devastating effect. Stay tuned for an update that delves into more detail about Ubin!

In addition, we have uncovered the $400k Stretch Goal – ETERNAL ARENA!!

ETERNAL ARENA is a new game mode that we have devised, which pits your best combat tactics against quick-play challenges. Participate in weekly tournaments to prove the superiority of your tactics, and use the sandbox-style options to test out your wildest ideas, different gameplay rules, and alternate turn order mechanics. Unlock new Eternal Arena achievements to gain access to more units, more ranks, and more items, and more fun! We have heard your requests for something like Eternal Arena, and we will be happy to bring you a new mode that will satisfy some new gameplay angles.

With such a density of stretch goals being all about various combat situations, a previous update details some of the new things to expect in The Banner Saga 3 on that front:

Battlefield Variety

In Banner Saga 2 we had destructible props, such as barricades, but in Banner Saga 3 we want to create more dynamic battle boards that can change and evolve over the course of a fight. Picture a flaming urn that, when struck, tips over and ignites a line of oil on the ground, creating a wall of fire with which your enemies (or your heroes) have to contend!

Enemy Minds (Updated AI)

We’re improving enemy Artificial Intelligence to make enemies feel smarter and more dangerous! We’re enhancing ‘pathfinding’ to let the enemy be attracted to or repelled from certain areas. This will let us tether enemies to make them better at defending objectives and also better at avoiding dangerous areas of the battle board (like fire pits). As a side effect, we will also be able to create battles that incorporate more hazardous terrain, which will make movement a more tactical choice for players.

We’ll set AI target priority in a more granular way, which will allow us to do more interesting attack/defend scenarios, and tell stories through our battles with a higher fidelity. This will lead to more organic behaviors and new strategic opportunities for players who want to build a plan around anticipating enemy’s actions.

Fighting in the Darkness

There’s a growing Darkness overtaking the world, and we’ve been crafting new mechanics that differentiate these battles from what you’ve seen before. I’m not going to say TOO much, but I will tell you that you can expect a replacement for the war horn and a press-your-luck element. This should have even our most experienced players torn while trying to decide what to do.