Talents

Talents were introduced in the second part of The Banner Saga. They represent the chance to get a small bonus in combat, enough to give you the edge in a critical situation without breaking the delicate balance of the game's battle mechanics.

Talents Description[]

Once stats are maxed, then high-ranked heroes can be further specialized by spending promotion points to unlock Talents. There are six Ranks for each Talent, but promotion points can be added only up to Rank 3; Ranks 4-6 are only accessible through powerful Items.

List of Talents[]

There are currently two Talents for each of the five stats. Each hero can have only one Talent per stat, i.e. up to five Talents per hero.

Hunker Down
Tighten Straps
Robust
Artery Strike
Defy
Stubborn
Dodge
Lucky Shot
Exploit
Divert

Hunker Down[]

Ruling stat: Armor

Flavor text: "Bracing at the right time can ruin an enemy's plans to weaken you."

Rank 1: 20% chance to Resist 1 Armor damage.
Rank 2: 20% chance to Resist 2 Armor damage.
Rank 3: 20% chance to Resist 3 Armor damage.
Rank 4: 20% chance to Resist 4 Armor damage.
Rank 5: 20% chance to Resist 5 Armor damage.
Rank 6: 20% chance to Resist 6 Armor damage.

Tighten Straps[]

Ruling stat: Armor

Flavor text: "Armor works better when you get it back where it belongs."

Rank 1: 20% chance to Regenerate +1 Armor per turn.
Rank 2: 25% chance to Regenerate +1 Armor per turn.
Rank 3: 30% chance to Regenerate +1 Armor per turn.
Rank 4: 35% chance to Regenerate +1 Armor per turn.
Rank 5: 40% chance to Regenerate +1 Armor per turn.
Rank 6: 45% chance to Regenerate +1 Armor per turn.

Robust[]

Ruling stat: Strength

Flavor text: "Years of toil in field and battle have hardened your body against pain."

Rank 1: 20% chance to Resist 1 Strength damage.
Rank 2: 20% chance to Resist 2 Strength damage.
Rank 3: 20% chance to Resist 3 Strength damage.
Rank 4: 20% chance to Resist 4 Strength damage.
Rank 5: 20% chance to Resist 5 Strength damage.
Rank 6: 20% chance to Resist 6 Strength damage.

Artery Strike[]

Ruling stat: Strength

Flavor text: "'Go for the soft spots' as your trainer is fond of saying."

Rank 1: 10% bonus Critical-hit chance.
Rank 2: 15% bonus Critical-hit chance.
Rank 3: 20% bonus Critical-hit chance.
Rank 4: 25% bonus Critical-hit chance.
Rank 5: 30% bonus Critical-hit chance.
Rank 6: 35% bonus Critical-hit chance.

Defy[]

Ruling stat: Willpower

Flavor text: "With nothing to lose, you'll hang on as long as you can."

Rank 1: 30% chance to avoid a killing blow.
Rank 2: 40% chance to avoid a killing blow.
Rank 3: 50% chance to avoid a killing blow.
Rank 4: 60% chance to avoid a killing blow.
Rank 5: 70% chance to avoid a killing blow.
Rank 6: 80% chance to avoid a killing blow.

Stubborn[]

Ruling stat: Willpower

Flavor text: "Some give it their all. You refuse to accept that limit."

Rank 1: 20% chance to Regenerate +1 Willpower per turn.
Rank 2: 20% chance to Regenerate +2 Willpower per turn.
Rank 3: 20% chance to Regenerate +3 Willpower per turn.
Rank 4: 20% chance to Regenerate +4 Willpower per turn.
Rank 5: 20% chance to Regenerate +5 Willpower per turn.
Rank 6: 20% chance to Regenerate +6 Willpower per turn.

Dodge[]

Ruling stat: Exertion

Flavor text: "Long lives generally belong to the fighters with the fewest scars."

Rank 1: 5% chance to avoid Strength attack.
Rank 2: 10% chance to avoid Strength attack.
Rank 3: 15% chance to avoid Strength attack.
Rank 4: 20% chance to avoid Strength attack.
Rank 5: 25% chance to avoid Strength attack.
Rank 6: 30% chance to avoid Strength attack.

Lucky Shot[]

Ruling stat: Exertion

Flavor text: "The god Denglr might be dead, but only luck explains some of these hits."

Rank 1: 30% bonus hit chance.
Rank 2: 40% bonus hit chance.
Rank 3: 50% bonus hit chance.
Rank 4: 60% bonus hit chance.
Rank 5: 70% bonus hit chance.
Rank 6: 80% bonus hit chance.

Exploit[]

Ruling stat: Break

Flavor text: "You search for their broken straps or torn mail and then make them pay."

Rank 1: 10% chance to cause Puncture.
Rank 2: 15% chance to cause Puncture.
Rank 3: 20% chance to cause Puncture.
Rank 4: 25% chance to cause Puncture.
Rank 5: 30% chance to cause Puncture.
Rank 6: 35% chance to cause Puncture.

Exploit talent triggers on strength attack. Stacks with archer's Puncture.

Divert[]

Ruling stat: Break

Flavor text: "A small twist can turn a crushing blow into a scuff on your Armor."

Rank 1: 5% chance to avoid Armor attack.
Rank 2: 10% chance to avoid Armor attack.
Rank 3: 15% chance to avoid Armor attack.
Rank 4: 20% chance to avoid Armor attack.
Rank 5: 25% chance to avoid Armor attack.
Rank 6: 30% chance to avoid Armor attack.

Notes[]

Bonus chances or bonus stats offered by Talents are stack-able with equivalent bonuses from Items or Abilities. This can make some Talents especially devastating when combined with proper Items on specific heroes; the standard example is Bak (Pig Sticker ability) equipped with Gem of Vez'nan.
Bonus Ranks offered by Items are only applied to unlocked Talents, i.e. those whose Rank is at least 1.