Warrior Class Guide: Playing the Frontline in Wanderer's Tale

The Warrior is the class that stands in the way. It has the most health of any free class, wears the heaviest armor, and gets stronger the more it is hit. If you like being the one who does not go down, this is your class.

It is one of the four free classes in Wanderer's Tale, a free browser text RPG, and a good first character. You can start as a Warrior in under a minute, no signup needed.

At a glance

• Starting health: 80 base, plus 8 for every point of Constitution above 10, set when you create the character (the highest of the four free classes)
• Starting Rage (your ability resource): 50 base, plus 1 for every point of Intelligence above 10, set when you create the character
• Starting bonuses: +3 Strength, +2 Constitution
• Starting skills: Athletics and Intimidation
• Each level gives: +15 max health, +3 max Rage, +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, +1 Dexterity
• Starts with: a Rusty Sword, Leather Armor and two Small Health Potions

How the Warrior actually plays

The Warrior is a melee fighter, so it has to be next to the enemy to use its sword. Most fights in Wanderer's Tale begin with the enemy several squares away, typically somewhere around 4 to 8. Some enemies walk up to you. Some stay back and attack from range. When your target is out of reach the game tells you to Advance, and one Advance covers 3 plus half of your Dexterity above 8, rounded down. With Dexterity around 14 or 15 that is about 6 squares, so you usually close the gap in a move or two.

Three of your abilities, Cleave, Shield Bash and Whirlwind, only work when the enemy is next to you. If you try one from a distance the game tells you to close in first, and no Rage is spent, so Advance and then swing.

Rage: you get stronger by being hit

Rage works differently from the other classes' resources. A Warrior builds Rage by taking damage. Every time an enemy hurts you, you gain at least 8 Rage, or 60% of the damage you took if that is more, until the pool is full.

That changes how you think about a fight:

• Being hit is not purely a cost. It is how you pay for your abilities.
• The pool is small early on. At the start it is a little over 50, and Cleave costs 20, so you will not spend Rage freely until you level.
• Spend it, do not hoard it. Rage you are sitting on at full is Rage you are not gaining.
• Rage Flasks restore it directly when you need an ability right now: 25 Rage for 15 gold, and larger flasks from level 4, 7 and 10.

Armor does the heavy lifting

Armor reduces damage by a percentage: your total armor divided by that number plus 40, up to a maximum of 80%. Your starting Leather Armor has 4 armor, which cuts about 9% of incoming damage. Here is what a few levels of shopping does:

• Chainmail, Iron Helm, Iron Greaves and Iron Gauntlets together give 15 armor, which cuts about 27% of incoming damage.
• Swapping the chainmail for Plate Armor gives 21 armor, which cuts about 34%.

Every point of damage prevented is Health you keep and an enemy that takes longer to wear you down. The Defend action halves the damage you take for that round on top of your armor, and you still build Rage from the hits you take.

Abilities

Every Warrior ability spends Rage. You unlock them as you level.

Early game (levels 1 to 9). Cleave is your bread and butter. Battle Cry is a cheap heal in the middle of a fight, and because it costs Rage you earned by getting hit, it turns a bad exchange into a recovered one. Shield Bash at level 6 is the standout: a stunned enemy cannot act, so it loses its next attack.

Midgame. Whirlwind is your biggest hit, so save the 35 Rage for it. Fortify at level 20 is the tank button: eight less damage on every hit for three rounds adds up fast against anything that swings often.

Late game. Sundering Strike is the setup move. Shred the armor first, and everything you do afterward hits harder. Warlord's Fury is the finisher. It makes you take 10% more damage while it lasts, so use it when you have the armor and health to afford it.

Weapons and armor by level

Heavy gear is mostly Warrior (and the premium Spellblade) only.

Constitution bonuses on gear raise the Constitution number but do not raise your maximum health. Your health total only grows when you level up.

• The Heirloom Weapon perk (2 points at character creation) starts you with a Heirloom Blade: 7 to 14 damage and +3 Strength from level 1, a better weapon than anything in the store until the Steel Longsword and War Axe at level 5.
• Your damage grows with Strength: every 2 points above 8 add 1 to your weapon roll.
• Critical hits depend on Dexterity, and a Warrior has less of it than other classes, so crits are a bonus for you, not a plan.

Perks worth a look

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

• Unbreakable (2 points): once per quest, survive a killing blow at 1 HP. A very good fit for a class that lives on the front line.
• Heirloom Weapon (2 points): the Heirloom Blade described above.
• Iron Skin (1 point): +1 armor, which is small now and still counts later.
• Weapon Expertise (1 point): +1 to both ends of every damage roll.

Common mistakes

• Spending Rage from a distance. Cleave, Shield Bash and Whirlwind need the enemy next to you. Advance first.
• Standing still against ranged enemies. Some enemies never close in and just shoot. Walk up to them.
• Hoarding Rage. It only builds when you take damage, so a full pool is wasted potential. Use an ability.
• Skipping armor. Chainmail at level 3 and Plate at level 6 are the biggest survival upgrades in the early game.
• Starting fragile. Constitution sets your starting health at 8 per point above 10. After that you gain a fixed 15 health every level, so a Warrior who starts thin stays thin. Armor and Defend are what close the gap.

Start playing

Wanderer's Tale is free, runs in your browser, and does not need a signup to start. Pick Warrior, name your character, and the first quest begins at the gates of Thornhaven.

Play Wanderer's Tale free

See also: Warrior in the Codex, Chainmail Hauberk, Plate Armor, Steel Longsword