[ en ]
Matches are played in the Great Hall, where you can select the match type you want to play and possibly toggle the timer for thinking-time in each of your turns. The team lineup you have prepared in the Proving Grounds and your corresponding team power are visible on the top of the screen, above the banners.
Just click on any of the banners for the desired match type!
Match Types
Currently, there are four types of 1v1 matches you can play: Quick, Ranked, Tournament and Friendly.
Selecting match type in the Great Hall: Quick, Ranked, Tournament or Friendly.
Quick
You play against a randomly selected opponent of approximately the same team-power as your own. These matches have no effect on your ranking and you earn Renown normally with a possible bonus if the opponents team-power is higher. The timer can be adjusted to expert or left to the default.
Ranked
You play against a randomly selected opponent of exactly the same team-power as your own. Currently, only teams of power 6 or 12 are allowed to compete in Ranked matches. The matchmaker (MM) tries to find an opponent as close to your current ranking as possible. The match outcome and the opponent's ranking have a direct effect on your ranking. In RM, you earn Renown normally, including bonus for win-streaks, and the timer can be adjusted to expert or left to the default.
Note: If the MM cannot find an opponent close to your ranking (or, equivalently, if it takes excessively long), an opponent of the same team power but from the Quick match cue can be brought against you. In this case, your ranking can only change by +2/-2, depending on the match outcome (victory/defeat, respectively).
Join the Tournament battles for glory and Renown!
Tournament
Each week a new tournament is heralded across Stand, and lasts for 5 days. The tournament is open to all players; you can battle using a team of the announced power (marked on the tourney banner) and you must spend a one-time fee of 20 Renown to register. The timer is fixed at 30sec and the match counts as a typical Ranked match (RM) in terms of Renown earned. You can play at most 5 matches a day, up to a total of 25.
Tournament Winner: Each player is assigned a "local" ranking of 1000 upon registering; this ranking is different from the "global" one and only serves for the current tournament. Similarly to RM, the matchmaker searches for closely-matched opponents with respect to the "local" ranking, which is appropriately modified according to the two opponents' "local" rankings and the match outcome. In parallel, your "global" ranking is normally affected by Tournament matches, just as if the match was a RM. At the end of the Tourney, the player with the highest "local" ranking is declared as the Ruling Champion.
Friendly
You can play against one of your Steam friends that are currently online and logged into The Banner Saga : Factions. The timer, map of the battle and team power can be chosen at will. You earn Renown only for a daily log-in streak and your ranking is not affected. Finally, and most importantly, in order to challenge one of your friends for battle, you must select an appropriate taunt from a list. Beware! Enraging your friend can work for or against you.
Toggle Expert Timer: Off (left) or On (right).
Timer
In Quick and Ranked matches, each player chooses their own timer.
The default timer is 45 seconds long, while the expert timer is only 30 seconds. Players using the expert timer receive an additional 2 Renown for every battle they finish, regardless of outcome (win or loss). The expert timer may be activated by toggling the icon on the match banner.
Tournament match timer is fixed at expert (30s).
In friendly matches, you can have three timer options: 30sec, 60sec or no time-limit at all! The setting is the same for both players.
The Horn sounds: Matchmaker has found you an opponent!
Matchmaking
The game's matchmaker (MM) chooses an opponent close to your level, firstly with respect to your team power and secondly with respect to your ranking. Modified rules apply for Quick, Ranked and Tournament matches.
When an opponent is found, the Horn sounds and you can see his/her team's lineup and unit-order for 10 seconds before going into battle.