Yrsa

Yrsa is a mischievous archer and childhood friend of Ludin assigned to him as a bodyguard.

Saga 1
Not many people know much about where she came from, but ever since Ludin became old enough to train, Yrsa has been close by. Rumors used to spread about a romantic relationship between the two until Yrsa heard out about them, and then suddenly they stopped. Those who have spent much time near her have described the woman is intimidating.

Saga 2
Mysterious and dangerous are only two of the words others have used to describe Prince Ludin's bodyguard, Yrsa. Her fondness of flames keep varl away, and her intimidating stares do likewise with humans. While she admits burning things isn't always the answer, it's always her answer.

Active Ability: Slag and Burn

 * Yrsa's Slag and Burn is slightly different from that used by Siege Archers in The Banner Saga: Factions. Yrsa selects a target tile (occupied or not) within a range of 2-5 tiles, throws flammable slag covering the target tile and the four adjacent ones, and fires an arrow to ignite it. The resulting explosion deals 2 Strength damage to the units occupying any of five tiles. Additionally, if a unit occupies the target tile, it also receives Armor damage equal to Yrsa's Break stat. Finally, the explosion leaves off randomly placed burning coals on unoccupied tiles (prioritizing the target tile) that when stepped upon deal 1 Strength damage. The burning coals disappear on Yrsa's next turn, but stay active if she is knocked out.


 * Rank 1: 2 Strength damage (all units), Break+0 Armor damage (target), up to 2 burning coals.
 * Rank 2: 2 Strength damage (all units), Break+1 Armor damage (target), up to 3 burning coals.
 * Rank 3: 2 Strength damage (all units), Break+2 Armor damage (target), up to 4 burning coals.


 * Since Siege Archers' max break is 3, Slag and Burn can be used to cause splinter and deal strength damage at the same time.

Second Active Ability: Choice

 * In the second part of The Banner Saga, when Yrsa reaches Rank 6, she can choose a second active ability between:


 * Rainofarrows_icon.png Rain of Arrows (Skystriker), like Oddleif
 * Birdofprey_icon.png Bird of Prey (Bowmaster), like Nid

Passive Ability: Puncture

 * By standing still, the Archer is able to line up a shot that takes advantage of an enemies missing armor, doing bonus damage.


 * For every 2 points of armor her target has lost, the Archer gains 1 additional strength to her attack, as long as she didn't move beforehand.
 * This makes her especially deadly near the end of a fight, or against tough opponents who have lost a lot of armor.

Joining the Party

 * Yrsa will join Hakon's caravan as part of Ludin's retinue in Chapter 3. If she does not leave the caravan, she will join Rook's caravan in the end of Chapter 7.
 * In the second part of The Banner Saga, Yrsa shows up in the end of Chapter 8, at Ormsdalr. If she had disappeared in that forest fire in Chapter 3, her portrait will appear changed, but her smirk remains...

Possible Death or Departure
Yrsa will mysteriously disappear if she is allowed to start a forest fire in the middle of Chapter 3. She will also leave along with Bersi if you choose to send the annoying prince to safety by knocking him out, before you reach Ridgehorn. Interestingly if sent with Ludin in Ridgehorn she will die like Ludin & Bersi, the game acts as if she disappeared in that fire!

Playstyle
Yrsa starts with very low Armor and Strength stats. However, her active ability has a very large damage output, that is moreover independent of her overall health. For instance, rank-1 Slag and Burn can deal up to 10 Strength & 3 Armor damage for just 1 Willpower point! Evidently, it is essential to keep her well protected and stocked-up on Willpower, so that she can continuously wear down the enemies.


 * It is advised to max-out Yrsa's Break as soon as possible, since her active ability benefits from it.
 * Beware! Fire makes no distinction between friend or foe. Slag and Burn affects both ally and enemy units.
 * Large 2x2-tile units, like Varl or Dredge Stoneguard/Scourge, suffer only 2 damage for the explosion and only 1 damage from a specific burning coal tile.
 * The game's AI is set to ignore burning coals, so they can also be used to deal extra damage to the enemy.

Trivia

 * Her name loosely translates to either "She-Bear" or "mad, furious, wild".