Warrior Guide

Guide to the tough and devastating warrior

Introduction

Do you want to play Wayward Souls, yet fear dying easily? Do you want to play a tanky class? Do you want to beat the labytinth, yet feels you don't have enough skill to win? Well then warrior is for you!

The Warrior is the first selectable class in the game, and as such designed for beginners. His swing is slow yet wide, with a power attack that makes him lunge. He can use shield to block attacks, as well as throw axes. Combined with high HP, as well as certain powerful upgrades, makes him the ideal class for starting the game.
Great..... I managed to be blacked out on my way in...no problem, just have to use my good old sword and shield and continue to find that rotter

Lore

Walton Blythe was a mercenary who usually worked as a bodyguard for various contractors. He worked together with his younger brother, Percy Blythe. The nature of the job created enemies for the brothers, one of which eventually hired an assassin to kill Percy. Percy died, however his remains are stolen, presumably by a necromancer named Gultrech. Walton decided to go to the Amaranth Keep to find his brother remains, unknowing of the nasty curse awaiting him

Pros

-High HP, starting with 38 HP and ending up with 43 (45 with paladin gift), allowing him to make more mistakes than other classes
-Shield that blocks damage, can be activated any time, and can block with 30% chance to not break shield with ugrades
-Throwing axes that drops frequently and offers him options to deal with enemies from distance
-Wide swing arc, allowing him to hit more enemies
-Longest melee reach in the game, outreaching most melee enemies in the game, making it safer to hit enemies in general.
-Can cancel his attack with shield, making his main weakness (agility) less of a problem.
-Drakefire Grease increase his DPS through the roof, and gives his sword a ranged flaming attack. Pop this out and watch as your warrior destroys mobs and bosses without breaking a sweat.

Cons

-His attacks comes slow compared to most class's weapon, while still dealing only 10 damage, making his DPS underwhelming under normal circumstance
-He can get cornered without any abilities that offers him "get out of jail" card, since the shield can only do so much before running out.
-His axes is probably the worst ammo projectile in the game, meanwhile classes such as Adventurer, Mage, and Cultist get various ammo-using abilities with variety of uses, warrior gets a shield and an axe, and.....that's it.
-Shield doesn't have invincibility frames. This mean enemies that spew out tons of projectiles are the warrior's worst nightmare, because they can remove his shield easily.
-Running out of shield expose how weak his axes is and how slow his attack is, leaving you to not overly rely on shield or else you die..

Playstyle

As warrior, you can play aggressively. Open with power attack and a swing and you can kill most basic enemies. Use your shield when you think you're going to get hit, but beware that shields doesn't have invincibility frames, so it will deplete quickly against spammers. Warrior does have axe, so against ranged enemies, two axes in the face in most of them will die, and if they are still alive then just throw more axe.

If you are on low health, you might try to play him more conservatively. His greatsword out-ranges nearly every single melee unit in the game, so with proper spacing you can be safe from melee attacks while still dealing damage. As with other classes with power attack, you can attack then power attack as soon as possible to deal combo. This is great for killing enemies in general, but is especially useful when you are on the defensive and need to switch into killing mobs. As last resort, you can use axe to lure enemy out of room. This is especially useful when you are on critical health and can't risk taking damage.

The warrior has no instant "get out" card, so he struggles when he gets cornered, so don't try to play too defensively, rather play aggressively to deny enemies a chance to retaliate. Open up with a power attack followed by a quick swing and then move to dodge incoming projectiles. He can bring up his shield at literally anytime, even in middle of charge, so by following the pattern of attack > block > attack, you can kill enemies fast while taking little to no damage due to your shield. His sword might be slow, but he can throw his axes pretty damn fast as well so it's a good idea to use axe to interrupt attacks.

Emberforges

Those useless mages didn't even tell me on their notes how to reuse forges!

The warrior fairly mundane arsenal might be sufficient against enemies on the mines, but on later floors, you will face dangerous foes with various attack patterns, and your ordinary greatsword won't suffice to dispose those threats. Luckily, throughout certain levels, you may found emberforges, which can upgrade your arsenal into something more dangerous. The warrior emberforge is a fairly standard one, usually offering him weapons with new power attacks, general upgrade to his axes, as well as imbuing his shield with special effects. Do note that emberforge upgrades only last for one run.

Weapons

Skullhack
Slow, but regular attacks deals 15 damage and power attack deals 20 damage, one shotting many mobs. Shield stills cancel as quick as regular warrior. Level 2 reduce power attack cost
Stained Glass Sword
Stationary power attacks that reflects projectiles. Its true strenght is that power attack has low energy cost, allowing warrior to spam it. Level 2 further reduces power attack cost.
Bane of Bones
Very slow, but has leaping power attack that can stun. The impact doesnt deal as much damage as direct hit, butt can stun weak mobs. Regular attacks still deals 10 damage, so if you don't abuse the stun you are left with a very slow greatsword. Level 2 has faster attack speed and deals more damage, similar to skulhack.
Ratblade
Has low range, but faster attack speed and increase crit chance by 4%. Highest dps weapon for warrior, and can be combined with other crit booster to further increase DPS. Level 2 brings crit chance to 7%
Duskhander
Power attack is a spinning charge that has shorter range than regular power attack. Very useful against crowds, as well as protecting the warrior from enemies from all degrees. Shield can be used to cancel the rest of the charge after initial spin. Level 2 brings the distance back to regular.
Liorfang Spear
Power attack deals low damage, but damages surrounding area and nullifies magic. Nullify effect lingers for a little longer, allowing it to protect warrior from further ranged attacks. Levell 2 reduces energy cost.

Gauntlets

Blackened Gauntlets

Deals 15 damage instead of 10, can one shot mages and other weak enemies. Level 2 makes it faster, has lower range than normal axe. Useful as source for quick damage as well as general upgrade for axe
Steel Plate:

Steel Plate now reduces all damage taken on all levels, however the level 1 reduces your energy regen. Damage reduction reduces all damage by 1, so it's more effective against enemies such as slimes who deals 2 damage. As long as you don't spam power attack, this shouldn't be too noticeable and the damage reduction far outweight any extra power attacks you might have. Level 2 removes energy penalty, so you can now be a tank without sacrificing power attacks. Note that all attacks needs to deal at least 1 damage, so these upgrade is essentially useless against 1 damage attacks.
Ravenstone Cuffs:

Increased crit chance by 3%. It may not sound much, but combine it with other crit items and you get a warrior with high DPS. Level 2 increase crit chance to 5%
Magebane Gloves:

Reduces magic damage taken and allows axe to disintegrate magic. Using this as sole tool against mages is awkward, due to having to take account that axe dissappears as soon as it hits an enemy. It is however useful for cancelling enemy revive and poison.
Hurlbat Hands :

Axes pierce 3 enemies, but deals lower damage and even weak enemies such as bat requires two hits from axes to kill. Best used to clear crowds by spamming it as well as interrupting ranged enemies. Level 2 makes the damage return to 10, making it handy tool to destroy mobs. Either take
Dvegar Stonefist:

Axe is now a guaranteed stun, but consumes 2 ammo per use and has reduced range. You can't spam this axe, but this axe is instead handy as crowd control against tough enemies, because this axe is 100% guaranteed stun. Level 2 increases the range of axe.

Shield

Thorned Heart

Deals 10 damage to melee enemies. Can only hold 6 charges, but is a light shield. One of best shield due to how dangerous melee enemies are. Level 2 brings it to 15 damage, one shotting those pesky stealth chargers.
Obsidian Ward

Slows melee attackers. Can hold up to 8 charges and has medium weight. A good compromise between thorned heart and stonebeard slab. Slow effect also makes Amaranth way easier to deal with. Level 2 has a stronger slow effect
Stonebeard Slab

Can hold 11 charges, but is an extremely heavy shield. Use this if you use shield extensively. Level 2 makes the shield medium weight.
Bloodbark Buckler

Increase crit chance by 3%, but shield use 3 charges per blocked attack, but can hold 9 charges and becomes extremely lightweight. Use this if you rarely use shield or is building a full crit warrior. Level 2 increase crit chance to 5% and use 2 charges instead of 3 charges..
Mirror of Kamran

Reflects projectiles and can hold 8 charges. Is a medium shield. Note that not all magic can be reflected and projectile spammers can remove your charges quickly. Level 2 makes the shield more durable.
Ophian Coil

This shield works differently. Unlike other shields, you need to time the block and it only has 0.4 second time window to parry. On successful block however, it release a damaging blast around the character that nullifies magic. During parry time, you are also completely invulnerable and any attacks that hit you doesn't consume extra charges. Level 2 has a 15 damage blast instead of the 10 it uses

Consumables

The warrior does not have magic, and he prefers to fight his enemies fair and square, so he doesn't have access to bombs either. Instead, he has access to oils which greatly enhance his attacks.
Vitae Tonic

Fancy way of saying health potion. The health potion is the simplest and easiest item to use in the game, just use it and congratulations, you healed yourself! But biggest mistake in the game is stockpiling too much health potions. While one may argue holding 2 health potions is a viable strategy, holding 3 potions severely limits your inventory space, space that can be used for other consumables that potentially can turn hard rooms into easy rooms, preventing more damage than vitae tonic can ever hope.

Time Dust
Gotta go fast! Increase your speed massively, as well increase your energy boost for 10 seconds (15 with spellsword gift). Time Dust also increase the distance of your power attack charge, so while under the effects of this buff (or any other source of haste) your power attacks becomes very strong and spammable as well.

Aged Hourglass
Creates magic circle around your warrior that blocks magic and slows enemies. Be careful though, certain projectiles can still hit you if you are too close to the caster. Use this against bullet hell section and to bully mages as well.

Ogre Oil
Your next five attacks stun enemies. The real strength of this consumable is the fact the duration lasts until you attack five times. What this means is that you can use this then get other consumables so on the next room you effectively have Ogre Oil + other consumable

Drakefire Grease
Your attacks spews fire for a short time. One of the best DPS booster in the game, allowing warrior to potentially kill bosses in seconds, and also extend his range in general. When you have this buff, spamming regular attacks not only become viable, but also far more effective than using power attacks.

Upgrades

Eventually, you will either die or finish a dungeon, and all the emberforges and items you collected will be lost. Don't worry though, because you do keep gold, which is mainly used to buy permanent upgrades for your characters. The last upgrade, the gift, gives a bonus to every other class in the game, making the game overall easier.

Eye for an Eye:
When you get hit, your next attack hits harder. Usually doesn't make a difference on the number of hits required to kill enemies, but might help gives you a little extra edge on bosses. The extra damage also applies to attacks that hit multiple enemies.

Disciplined Breath:
Faster energy regeneration. Allows you to use power attacks more in general, which is handy on certain situations.

Fenn Ferocity:
Allows you to score critical hits, dealing double damage. Increase your DPS in general, especially against bosses and tough mobs. Combine this with full on crit loadout to dish out even more DPS.

Ax-canvenger:
Enemies have higher chance to drop axes. Allows you to get tons of axes to throw around, and axes in general are best used in quick successions.

Walk it Off:
Recover more health from fountain. Health recovery is always the best upgrade/stat to boost, because it allows you to make more mistakes. Prioritize this upgrade first.

Shieldbearer:
Shield has a decent chance to not break upon use. Your shields now last longer and as such it allows you to block more, and shields are essentially extra hitpoints so this will make a skilled warrior far harder to kill.

Iron Flesh:
Increased maximum HP. Max HP isn't as good as health recovery, yet it might be stlll the difference between an alive warrior and a dead warrior. Fully upgraded warrior has whopping 43 HP, allowing him to survive many hits.

Gift of the Stalwart:
Gives eye for an eye to all classes. Try to abuse attacks that hit tons of enemies to fully utilize this gift.

Conclusion

Warrior is the archetypal mighty glacier, a slow yet powerful character. He's the most forgiving class in the game, having a huge health pool and a sword that outranges nearly every melee enemies in the game. As such, warrior is the go-to class for learning the game. He does still have a high skill ceiling , especialy proper usage of the shield, but skilled warriors can dish out massive amount of damage quickly and not take any damage through the use of shield, without dodging at all, turning the warrior from the relatively easy starting class into a monster on the battlefield.


Good luck, fellow warriors. Hopefully you will avenge my brother