Warrior guide: skills, stats and gear

The Warrior is the shield of every party: the most HP of any class, a taunt that pulls monsters off your friends and quick single-target hits that never stop. Here is how to spend your stat points, which plate and weapons to wear at every level, and how to use each skill from level 1 to 60.

Tank, meleeMain stat: STR40% more HPSword, axe or falchion with a shield, or a two-handed weapon

1. What the Warrior does

A Warrior stands in front and takes the hits so nobody else has to. The class bonus gives you 40% more HP from your VIT and base health than a class without one, and from level 10 your level adds more HP to a Warrior than to anyone else. You have no area damage at all: your strength is short-cooldown blows on one target, one after another.

• Solo: slow at the very start, steady later. You can stand in a camp and fight one monster after another while drinking your endless potions, because you rarely die.
• Party: the tank. War Cry pulls every monster around you onto you and raises the party's defense, so the Mage and the Priest can work in peace.
• PvP: the anchor of a fight. Charge catches runners, Shield Bash stuns and slows, and Sunder Armor opens a target up for the whole party.

2. Stats and a point plan

You start with STR 14, DEX 8, INT 5 and VIT 12, and every level brings 3 stat points: 177 in all by level 60. Here is what each point does for a Warrior:

• STR (main stat): every point adds 2 attack power. Attack power drives all of your damage.
• VIT: every point adds HP, and the Warrior's 40% bonus makes each one worth more than for any other class.
• DEX: a small critical chance per point for everyone (capped at 30%). It does not add attack power for a Warrior.
• INT: only adds MP. Your skills are cheap for your MP pool, so leave it alone.

This is a starting point, not a rule. Once you have spent every point, the character panel (C) shows Reset stats: it gives every point back for free, so you can try another split whenever you like.

3. Weapons and armor

Warriors wear plate. Everyone starts in the same padded set at level 1; from level 5 the Warrior has a set of its own at every tier, each a helm, a chest piece, gauntlets and boots, and a shield for the off hand. The traders in the towns sell the level 1 and level 5 pieces; the rest drops from monsters, comes from the Riftstone Reel or is bought from other players' stalls.

The big choice is shield or two-handed. Swords, falchions and hatchets are one-handed and leave room for a shield, which adds defense. Waraxes, scythes, wingblades and the boss weapons Hellmaw Cleaver (level 45) and Nightreaper (level 60) are two-handed: they hit harder, but equipping one puts your shield in the bag. A tank for bosses usually keeps the shield; a Warrior who wants to bring players down fast often goes two-handed. Many keep one of each in the bag.

For jewelry, the pieces "of Might" carry STR and the pieces "of Warding" carry VIT. The gear and upgrade guide lists every set, the boss uniques and how the blacksmith takes a weapon to +10.

4. Skills

The Warrior has nine skills. Every skill costs MP, and the cost grows with your level.

• Heavy Strike (level 1) is your opener and stays useful all game: a strong hit every 6 seconds.
• Sprint (level 1) makes you run 55% faster for 8 seconds. Use it between camps and to reach a fight first.
• Shield Bash (level 5) stuns a target for a moment. Against players it also slows them for a few seconds, which keeps a runner in your reach.
• War Cry (level 10) makes every monster within 8 metres turn on you and raises your party's defense for 10 seconds. It does not force players to attack you.
• Rose Blade (level 10) swings every second with a pink bloom. It is the skill you press most: weave it between your bigger hits.
• Charge (level 15) rushes you to a target up to 12 metres away and slows it. It stops at walls, so mind the terrain.
• Iron Skin (level 20) cuts the damage you take by 40% for 6 seconds, once a minute. Save it for a boss's big moment or when three players jump you.
• Sunder Armor (level 30) hits and lowers the target's defense for 10 seconds. Every member of your party hits that target harder while it lasts.
• Executioner's Blow (level 45) is the heaviest single hit of the class. Use it right after Sunder Armor.

5. Leveling a Warrior

The first levels are the hardest for a Warrior, since the starter sword hits softly. Buy the level 5 iron set and weapon from a town trader as soon as you can afford them, then follow the camps outward from Emberfold: Bristle Boars, Ash Wolves and Mire Toads first, Stone Husks at level 5, Thornback Boars at 8, Bandits at 11, Alpha Wolves at 14 and Barrow Skeletons at 20. Up to level 20 common monsters never attack first, so you choose every fight.

At level 10 the gate opens your homeland, Valcrest or Gorzhak. From the Cave Bears (level 22) monsters attack when you walk close. This is where the Warrior shines: pull two or three with War Cry, keep Rose Blade going and drink your red potion when you need it. The route runs on to Forest Trolls (26), Granite Golems (30), Dire Wolves (34) and Ogre Brutes (38). At level 40 the Colony Zone opens with Ash Revenants (42) and on up to level 60.

• Join a party whenever you can: a party with a Warrior up front clears camps far faster, and every member past the first adds 5% XP.
• The roaming mini-bosses of the homelands (Gnarlhide, Redmane, Grimtusk, Bonecaller) can be soloed by a Warrior at their level with potions.
• The full route by level is in the leveling guide.

6. Warrior in PvP

Players deal less damage to each other than to monsters, so fights between players last longer and your large HP pool matters even more.

• Crystal Clash (from level 20): six against six with a crystal in the middle. Stand in the ways into the ruined ring and stop enemies reaching the crystal, then help land the last blow on it.
• The Colony (from level 40): open PvP everywhere outside your base. Charge and Shield Bash catch a lone player before they reach help; Iron Skin buys you the seconds to get back to your Priest.
• War of Morgard (Wednesday and Saturday 21:00 to 22:00 Istanbul time): a push into the enemy fort needs Warriors in front. Hold the line with Iron Skin while the casters burn the defenders, and Sunder the War Keeper for the whole group.
• Go after Mages and Priests first. Charge closes the gap, Shield Bash stops their casting for a moment.

Read the PvP and war guide for times, National Points and rewards.

7. Common mistakes

• Putting points into INT or DEX. INT only adds MP and DEX only a little crit for a Warrior. STR and VIT do the work.
• Pulling without War Cry in a party. Monsters go for whoever hurt them most, which is often your Mage.
• Using Iron Skin on cooldown. It lasts 6 seconds and comes back once a minute. Keep it for the dangerous moment.
• Equipping a two-handed weapon by accident. The shield goes to the bag. Put it back on when you want to tank again.
• Expecting area damage. The Warrior has none. Pull what you can kill one by one, or bring a Mage.

Other classes

Compare with the Rogue, the Mage and the Priest, or see all four side by side in the class guide.

Play free Next: the gear and upgrade guide