Shadow Class Guide: Playing Death from the Dark in Wanderer's Tale

The Shadow is an assassin that hits from nowhere. It makes the enemy miss, marks it for death, and lands one enormous strike that no armor can stop. If you like setting up the perfect kill, this is your class.

The Shadow is one of three premium classes in Wanderer's Tale, a free browser text RPG. See "How to unlock it" below. The game itself, and the four free classes, cost nothing.

At a glance

Starting health: 68 base, plus 5 for every point of Constitution above 10, set when you create the character
Starting Shadow Energy (your ability resource): 40 base, plus 3 for every point of Intelligence above 10, set when you create the character
Starting bonuses: +4 Dexterity, +1 Intelligence
Starting skills: Stealth and Arcana
Each level gives: +10 max health, +8 max Shadow Energy, +4 Dexterity, +1 Strength, +1 Intelligence
Starts with: a Hunting Knife, Rogue's Leathers, a Small Health Potion and a Small Mana Potion

How to unlock it

Shadow is a premium class. It is a one-time unlock on your account (listed at $4.99 in the Premium Shop), and once you own it, it is available for every character you create from then on. The Premium Shop needs a free account, so if you are playing as a guest, use Save progress first.

How the Shadow actually plays

The Shadow is a duelist built on Dexterity. Every ability scales off it, and you gain 4 Dexterity every level, more than any other class. Most fights begin with the enemy several squares away, typically somewhere around 4 to 8, and your Advance covers 3 plus half of your Dexterity above 8, rounded down, so you close the gap fast.

Two of your abilities, Shadow Strike and Hex Blade, need the enemy next to you. Everything else, including Vanish, Death Mark, Soul Rend, Phantom Step and Oblivion Strike, has no range limit, so you can set up a kill while the enemy is still walking toward you.

Shadow Energy builds as you attack

Like the Rogue, a Shadow gains 10 Shadow Energy for every plain Attack, until your pool is full. A Warrior builds Rage by taking damage, and a Mage's pool only ever goes down. Your plain Attack is free and refills you, so the Shadow's rhythm is to Attack to build, then spend on the abilities that matter. Starting pools are small, so save the big spells for the moments that decide the fight.

Energy also comes back in three other ways:

Energy Vials restore 25 Shadow Energy (15 gold), 60 (40 gold, level 4), 120 (80 gold, level 7) or 200 (180 gold, level 10). They are sold to Rogues and Shadows.
Resting at the inn restores your health and Shadow Energy for a fee.
Leveling up refills both.

With a starting pool around 40, you can afford two abilities, and then two or three plain Attacks put you back in range of the next one. Carry vials for the big setups.

Dexterity is your damage

Your abilities scale off Dexterity, and all Rogue and Shadow gear carries a Dexterity bonus that counts. For example, with 20 Dexterity a Shadow Strike does your weapon roll plus 8, and an Oblivion Strike does 33 to 45 damage. Dexterity also raises the crit chance of your plain Attacks (5%, plus 1% for every point above 10, up to 35%).

Abilities

Every Shadow ability spends Shadow Energy. You unlock them as you level.

Level	Ability	Energy	What it does
1	Shadow Strike	18	Weapon damage plus a Dexterity bonus, with a 35% chance to crit for double. Full enemy armor applies. Melee range only
3	Vanish	20	The enemy misses its next 2 turns, and your next plain Attack is a guaranteed critical hit
6	Hex Blade	22	Damage, and the enemy's armor drops by 5 for 2 rounds. Melee range only
10	Death Mark	35	Your next 3 damaging attacks or abilities deal 50% more damage
20	Soul Rend	25	Damage, and the next 3 hits that land on you do 15% less
35	Phantom Step	30	The enemy's next attack misses entirely, and you counter for 24 to 42 damage
55	Oblivion Strike	60	20 to 32 damage plus Dexterity, ignoring all armor. Doubled if Death Mark is active

Early game (levels 1 to 9). Plain Attacks are free and each gives back 10 Energy, so use them to chip away and fund your abilities, then spend it on Vanish. Vanish is the best ability you have early: the enemy loses its next two turns, and your next plain Attack is a guaranteed critical hit for double damage. Hex Blade at level 6 is for armored enemies, since lowering armor helps every hit after it.

Midgame. Death Mark at level 10 is the setup move. It makes your next three damaging hits stronger, so cast it and then spend those three hits on your best attacks. Soul Rend at level 20 is cheap protection that also deals damage.

Late game. Phantom Step is your emergency button: the enemy's attack finds nothing and you hit back for a guaranteed critical. Oblivion Strike at level 55 is the finisher. It ignores armor completely, and with Death Mark active it is doubled and then gets the mark's usual 50% on top, about three times the base damage.

The assassination combo

When the enemy has closed in, cast Vanish. The enemy skips its next 2 turns: the one right after the cast and the one after that.
Cast Death Mark on your next action, while the enemy is still skipping its turn.
Now use your guaranteed critical plain Attack, and then fire Oblivion Strike while the mark is still up.

Remember that your plain Attack needs the enemy next to you. If you Vanish while it is still far away, Advance before you swing. The costs add up: Vanish 20, Death Mark 35 and Oblivion Strike 60 is 115 Shadow Energy. That is a late-game plan, and it needs a full pool, so drink a vial before a boss if you need one.

Daggers and leathers by level

Shadow shares its gear with the Rogue. Buy whatever gives the most Dexterity.

Weapon	Level	Damage	Bonus	Price
Hunting Knife	1	3 to 6	+2 Dexterity	Starting weapon
Shadow Blade	5	7 to 13	+4 Dexterity, +2 Strength	110 gold
Shadowsteel Dagger	6	9 to 16	+5 Dexterity, +2 Strength	Not sold in the store

Armor	Level	Armor	Bonus	Price
Rogue's Leathers	1	5	+2 Dexterity	28 gold
Swift Boots	3	1	+4 Dexterity	62 gold
Rogue Wraps	3	1	+4 Dexterity	62 gold
Hood of Shadows	4	2	+2 Dexterity	55 gold

Armor cuts damage by a percentage: your total armor divided by that number plus 40. The full set above is 9 armor, which cuts about 18%.
The Heirloom Weapon perk (2 points at character creation) starts you with a Heirloom Dagger: 5 to 11 damage, +4 Dexterity and +1 Strength from level 1.

Perks worth a look

If you use Customize at character creation instead of Quick Start, you get perk points to spend:

Heirloom Weapon (2 points): the Heirloom Dagger above.
Battle Hardened (1 point): +15 max health at the start.
Unbreakable (2 points): once per quest, survive a killing blow at 1 HP.
Brutal Critical (2 points): critical hits from plain Attacks do triple damage. That includes the guaranteed critical from Vanish. It does not change Shadow Strike or your other abilities.

If you roll your own stats, put your best roll into Dexterity. Put the next best into Constitution for your starting health, since after creation your health grows by a fixed 10 every level. Intelligence sets your starting Shadow Energy pool, so it is the third stat to care about.

Common mistakes

Skipping plain Attacks. Each one is free and gives back 10 Shadow Energy. Use them between abilities instead of waiting.
Using Shadow Strike or Hex Blade from a distance. They need the enemy next to you. Open with Vanish or Death Mark instead.
Spending Vanish's critical on an ability. The guaranteed critical applies to your next plain Attack, not to Shadow Strike. Attack first, then use abilities.
Casting Oblivion Strike without Death Mark. It is still strong, but the mark is what makes it enormous.
Wasting Death Mark. It lasts for three damaging hits. Cast it right before your strongest moves.

Start playing

Wanderer's Tale is free, runs in your browser, and does not need a signup to start. The four free classes are Warrior, Mage, Rogue and Ranger, and the Shadow unlocks on any account.

Play Wanderer's Tale free