Heroes of the Banner
Heroes of the Banner is a 2D, fantasy-themed browser tower defense game that mixes traditional lane defense with light RPG systems, letting you field hero parties, craft gear, and push back Loki’s invading monsters as one of Freyja’s chosen champions.
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Publisher: R2 Games Playerbase: Low Type: Tower Defense Release Date: January 5, 2015 Pros: +Tower defense with party-based hero play. +Bright, approachable visual style. +Nine hero specializations across three base classes. Cons: -Top-tier heroes are tied to the cash shop/VIP. -Daily play is limited by a turn/energy style system. -Monetization feels pushy. -Stages can start to feel samey over time. |
Heroes of the Banner Overview
Heroes of the Banner puts you in command of a Freyja-blessed defender in a Norse-inspired setting where Loki’s forces press toward the last safe settlement. At its core it is a 2D, browser-based tower defense game, but it layers in hero recruiting, party setup, and equipment crafting to give you more to manage than just tower placement. You begin by selecting one of three main archetypes, then branch into one of three specializations, for a total of nine class options to build around.
Between battles you expand your roster, tune your loadout, and upgrade power through gear and enhancements. In battle you handle waves of enemies, including threats on the ground and in the air, and your success comes from combining tower choices with the strengths of your current hero lineup. It is designed to be accessible, with clear objectives and frequent rewards, while still offering enough systems to keep progression moving.
Heroes of the Banner Key Features:
- Layered tower setups – experiment with tower mixes that can handle both ground lanes and flying attackers.
- Class-driven defense – build around nine specializations split across three core hero types.
- Team composition – arrange your party to better answer different wave patterns and challenges.
- Crafting and upgrades – forge equipment and enhance existing gear to steadily raise your heroes’ effectiveness.
- Treasure map rewards – hunt for randomized loot such as weapons, currency, scrolls, medals, and other useful items.
Heroes of the Banner Screenshots
Heroes of the Banner Featured Video
Heroes of the Banner Classes
Each hero class has three specializations or incarnations:
Archer Class
- Archer – focuses on single-target pressure and can accelerate attack speed.
- Druid – brings several AoE tools and can briefly stun foes.
- Alchemist – uses AoE abilities and applies poison damage over time.
Mage Class
- Flamemage – excels at heavy damage into one target.
- Thundermage – leans into chained AoE combinations for crowd control and clearing.
- Frostmage – slows enemy movement, helping you control the pace of a wave.
Gunner Class
- Gunner – offers AoE options and can temporarily stun enemies.
- Mechanic/Mechmaster – built around varied AoE combinations and utility.
- Arbalester – specializes in long-range single-target burst.
Heroes of the Banner Review
Heroes of the Banner is a 2D, browser-based strategy tower defense title from Reality Squared Games (R2Games), a publisher that has long focused on free-to-play web games. It entered open beta on January 5, 2015, and it is played directly through the official website, with a Facebook version also available.
The premise is straightforward and familiar if you enjoy myth-themed fantasy settings: Loki’s armies are on the march, and you serve as one of Freyja’s champions tasked with holding the line. Visually, it goes for a colorful, cartoon-like look with lively effects, and the audio aims for a light, energetic tone. The presentation clearly targets broad accessibility, including younger players, but the underlying systems can still be engaging if you like optimizing builds and repeating stages for better rewards.
Learning the ropes and chasing objectives
Early on, the game guides you through a tutorial that explains the basics of placing towers, managing heroes, and understanding map goals. Stages are structured around objectives such as clearing a wave efficiently enough to earn a three-star rating. Those targets matter because they provide extra items, unlocks, and resources on top of what enemies drop during the run.
Rewards also feed into the game’s broader progression loop. Treasure maps, for example, can turn into randomized items, while other drops and quest payouts support hero growth and equipment improvements. When you want a more passive resource stream, Exploration missions provide a separate activity where you gather materials over time, with the notable caveat that gathering only happens while you are online. That design makes it easy to check in and collect, but it also encourages frequent sessions.
Core defense gameplay and the Banner limit
The heart of Heroes of the Banner is its lane defense. Enemies follow set routes toward the end point where the city’s survivors are sheltering, and your job is to build towers along the path to stop the wave before it breaks through. A run ends in failure if ten city NPCs are lost during the round, so even one leaky wave can quickly snowball if your setup is not ready.
Maps introduce variations that keep the basics from becoming completely static, including multiple lanes and restricted build locations that force you to adapt. Replays are encouraged because earlier stages remain useful for farming materials and other progression items. The main limiter is the Banner system: each attempt consumes a Banner, and Banners regenerate at a rate of one per hour. That structure keeps the pacing controlled, but it can also make longer play sessions feel gated.
Heroes, equipment, and RPG-style progression
Where Heroes of the Banner separates itself from more traditional tower defense games is in its hero roster. You recruit additional heroes through the tavern, with up to five free summons per day. Beyond that, Summon Tomes are required, and those can come from rewards or be purchased using premium currency through the cash shop.
The three main classes (Archer, Gunner, and Mage) define your options, and the specializations give each branch a clearer role, whether you want single-target damage, AoE clearing, or control effects like slows and stuns. Heroes can be outfitted with weapons, armor, and accessories, obtained as loot or created through forging. On top of basic gear, there are multiple enhancement materials (stones, gems, recipes, orbs) that push stats further. Quests, including daily tasks, provide points used for leveling heroes and improving skills, which helps keep your roster growing even when you are repeating earlier content.
PvP and exploration raids
Competitive play opens later, with the Arena available at level 16. Arena fights are automated battles where your lineup (up to ten heroes) faces another player’s lineup. Turns alternate, and skills trigger based on the activation percentages listed in their descriptions. The outcome is less about twitch execution and more about roster strength and composition, which fits the game’s overall management-focused design.
Arena participation awards green crystals based on rank, and those are spent in the arena’s crystal shop for specific items. These green crystals are separate from the blue crystals used as premium currency, so it is important not to confuse the two systems.
Exploration also includes a second PvP-style option: you can spend gold to attack other players while out gathering, similar in spirit to base-raiding in games like Clash of Clans. These battles use the same automated format as the Arena, but the rewards focus on trophies and loot instead of green crystals. Trophy totals influence rank, and rank ties into the daily reward structure, creating another incentive to keep engaging with the mode.
Monetization and VIP pressure
As a free-to-play browser game, Heroes of the Banner leans heavily on its shop. Players can purchase Crystals with real money, then use those to buy the usual acceleration items, resources, and materials that speed up hero growth, skill upgrades, and equipment forging. The more impactful layer is VIP status, which is also obtained through spending Crystals and is tied to access to rare, powerful heroes.
In practice, those VIP-locked heroes can significantly outperform much of the standard roster, and the ability to pay to accelerate leveling further widens the gap. While monetization is expected in this genre, the overall balance can feel tilted toward spending, especially for players who want to compete seriously in PvP or progress at a faster pace than the Banner system naturally allows.
Final thoughts
Heroes of the Banner is an enjoyable, easy-to-pick-up tower defense game with enough RPG structure to make progression feel more personal than simply upgrading towers. Its bright art direction and upbeat presentation make it approachable, and the hero and equipment systems provide a steady stream of goals to chase. The main drawbacks come from repetition in the long run and a monetization model that can feel overly influential, particularly through VIP access and premium hero advantages. For players who want a casual browser defense game with party-building on the side, it delivers, as long as you are comfortable with its pacing limits and cash shop emphasis.
Heroes of the Banner Requirements
Operating System: XP / Vista / 7 / 8
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Equivalent
Video Card: Any Graphics Card (Integrated works well too)
RAM: 512 MB
Hard Disk Space: 100 MB (Cache)
Heroes of the Banner is a browser based MMO and will run smoothly on practically any PC. The game was tested and works well on Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox and Chrome. Any modern web-browser should run the game smoothly. Heroes of the Banner is also available on Facebook.
Heroes of the Banner Music & Soundtrack
Coming soon…
Heroes of the Banner Additional Information
Developer: R2 Games
Publisher: R2 Games
Platforms: Web (browser) and Facebook
Release Date: January 5, 2015
Development History / Background:
Heroes of the Banner was created and released by Reality Squared Games (R2Games), a studio established in 2010 that built its reputation around free-to-play browser titles. The company is known for games such as Caesary, Crystal Saga, Wartune, and League of Angels. Heroes of the Banner launched on January 5, 2015 as a free-to-play, browser-based tower defense game, bringing together wave defense, hero collection, and equipment progression in a lightweight web format.