Ranks | Character development The Banner Saga Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Character development in The Banner Saga isn't very complex but it has several unusual elements that you should know about before you play. The most important information is that your characters can advance up to fifth rank. The development is not very long but you have to do it for each hero in your party so it might be quite expensive.
In The Banner Saga you don't collect any experience points. What matters is the number of enemies killed by a specific character (you can see it on their screen in a city or a camp). Reaching a required number (for example 5 killed enemies) makes the upgrade available. An ally may fight in 20 battles but without killing any enemies they won't advance to the next rank. You should keep that in mind and let everyone get their kills, for example by skipping turns in battles and letting another character perform the finishing attack or changing the active party often. In easier battles you should also avoid using characters with the highest, fifth rank.
Killing a required number of enemies is not the only requirement because you also need renown points:
- From rank 1 to 2 - 5 renown points
- From rank 2 to 3 - 10 renown points
- From rank 3 to 4 - 15 renown points
- From rank 4 to 5 - 20 renown points.
It's important to set your priorities. If you need one strong warrior, you should spend 20 points on him. If you want to improve all of the party, spend 20 points on advancement of two or three heroes with lower ranks.