Wartales - turn-based mercenary band RPG by Northgard developer - now with Skelmar Invasion DLC

[Cadmus]

So how does it compare to Battlebros? Is it at least half as much fun?

It's definitely not so replayable.
The graphics are nice, the atmosphere is thick and grim dark. The combat system is more basic but the adventure and game reactivity is better.

 

[pickmeister]

Last Steam reviews complain that the game is changing into a neverending grind. How bad is it?

 

[tindrli]

Last Steam reviews complain that the game is changing into a neverending grind. How bad is it?

at first nothing much but later on it gets tedious and story does not compensate well but its playable at least imo

 

[Barbarian]

Last Steam reviews complain that the game is changing into a neverending grind. How bad is it?

at first nothing much but later on it gets tedious and story does not compensate well but its playable at least imo

Have they added new level skills and such? I think that and maybe recruitable prisoners with unique skill trees would add a bit of variety.

Plan to make a full playthrough once final release is up. Had a blast with the game months ago.

 

[Barbarian]

Also region locked ya or nay?

 

[Abu Antar]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1527950/view/3716073126075919653

Community Update #6 Out now!
Featuring community requests, new content, reworked features and more!
Attention mercenaries!

Community Update #6 is here! You might be a little confused about this surprise update, but fear not, as it brings some much needed balancing to the game, alongside some other smaller changes.

As usual, the changes are based on community feedback/sentiments, read on to find out more...

Choose your destiny
We have redesigned the interface at the beginning of the game
!
We wanted to rework it and make it more aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, we have revamped the layout so that the choices at the beginning of the game are clearer and more obvious.
For example, few players knew that it was possible to play without scaling. In fact, the exploration mode now has its own interface. Between
adaptive exploration
(scaling) and
zoned exploration
(similar to more classic RPGs), the choice is yours!

• The destiny choices have been rebalanced
  .
• Each setting option now has more information

Revamped Difficulty
Wartales is a demanding game. From the very first minute, your mercenary troop is dropped into a wild and violent world where wolves and bandits are out to get you.

Your feedback tends to show that the difficulty decreases over time. Indeed, mercenaries gain power quickly by accumulating powerful skills and ways to generate Valour points, thus allowing for new possibilities to defeat your enemies. In doing so, the fragile assassin who had to be cleverly placed could, after certain levels, wander through the enemy ranks and annihilate everything.

We are convinced that the notion of challenge is part of the Wartales DNA.
Therefore this patch seeks to:

1. Make the easy mode less punishing and the hard mode more challenging
2. Not alter the beginning of the game/new game experience
3. Reinvigorate the late game with some added challenge

In order to achieve this, we’ve made a lot of changes.

First off,
you can now change difficulty
(survival and/or combat)
during a save
! You may have to be more careful in battle and perhaps rethink your team composition. From now on, your sense of tactics and strategy will have an even more decisive impact. If the battle seems too difficult, don't hesitate to retreat and reduce the difficulty until you find your feet.

For all modes, we wanted to keep the enemy stats curve unchanged: there's nothing more unpleasant than facing invincible monsters.

New units and passive skills have been given to your enemies
, seasoned soldiers join their ranks, as well as an improved deployment system and the timeline aims to offer more interesting combat starts.
The number of animals in a fight has been reduced
to avoid waiting several turns for everyone to play: meaning there are fewer but more powerful animals.
Overall,
we have reduced the difference in the number of units between your units and the enemy units
. If too many units were to be generated, they would be dispersed in the form of reinforcements.
We believe these changes are in line with what you want and what we want to do: exploit the finesse of the combat system mechanics as a whole to solve situations and have an unforgettable turn-based experience!

• Willpower has also been rebalanced so that galvanisation can occur earlier in long fights.
• The majority of the content (Elites, Arenas, Tombs, …) has been rebalanced to be in line with our new system!
• The differences between the difficulties have been accentuated
• The Path challenges have also been rebalanced
• Stats given by Legendary items were too high: they have been rebalanced
• Inquisition and Trackers are now eligible to trigger an Assassination contract
• Gosenberg should now have Inquisition contracts
• The Elites’ skills pattern now evolves according to your number of units in scaled mode

Economy
A lot of feedback echoed the following issue: players felt they were spending too much of their time paying their troop’s wages without any real benefit.

We still firmly believe that the core idea of balance and paying your troops is part of the game's identity and we want to keep this feature, however,
we also want players to enjoy doing it and not see it as a hindrance or nuisance
.

• We realized that the rhythm did not allow the player to organize themselves properly. The payment rhythm has therefore been rethought: instead of having to pay your troop every 72 hours,
  you must now pay it every 3 Rests
  . In addition to allowing more time to organise your troop, it becomes easier to plan an expedition and to know when your troop will expect to get their wages.
• Paying your troop on time gives a new bonus to Happiness and to experience gained in combat!
• The cost of wages has been slightly reduced.
• You now begin the game with more resources.
• You can earn more Krowns from Contracts.
• Contracts’ difficulties have been rebalanced.
• Some items’ prices have been rebalanced.
• The influence cost for certain actions have been rebalanced. Plus, the rewards have also been increased.
• The starting resources have been rebalanced to offer a slightly easier start.
• Earning profession experience has been rebalanced for all professions so it is now faster to level up.

Note that these changes are adapted to your difficulty settings
.

Units

As mentioned above,
enemy units have undergone some changes
.

• The leaders' abilities have been revised to be managed throughout a fight: they now only stop when the leader dies and their impact will adapt accordingly.
• Seasoned soldiers have been introduced: veteran enemy units in the ranks that are more resistant and more dangerous (a must-have!)
• Each enemy faction also welcomes a new unit into its ranks.
• Each enemy faction has a new common passive skill that will intensify the fighting!
• Enemies’ shield will have new skills after they reach a certain level and some enemies will be equipped with throwing weapons.
• Some animals will also have a common passive skill and a brand new skill!

We didn't want to release an update where we just increased the difficulty. So
new units have been created
and new items have been added to them, which means that we are also expanding your build options.
New shields
,
new weapons
,
new armor
: new ways to set up your team! Therefore:

1. New units have been added for each faction
   :
   • Outlaws New unit -> Criminal
   • Deserters New unit -> Looter
   • Guards New unit -> Defender
   • Legion New unit -> Hothead
   • Companions New unit -> Peacekeeper
   • Inquisition New unit -> Messenger
   • Trackers New unit -> Pursuer
2. A brand new faction, Alazar soldiers, has been added
   : new units, new skills, new items to loot…
3. Former weekly bounties with special weapons are now offered in the various regions!

Balancing
Weapons

• Arena Great Falchion Damage [80%-100%] -> [60%-80%]
• Mehyt's Kopis Damage [80%-100%] -> [70%-90%]
• Arena Bow Damage [80%] -> [70%]
• Narses' Bow Damage [60%-100%] -> [50%-90%]
• Arena Dagger Damage [60%-80%] -> [40%-60%]
• Arena Spear Damage [40%] -> [30%]
• Horoun's Partisan Damage [80%-100%] -> [70%-90%]
• Arena Axe Damage [50%-70%] -> [40%-60%]
• Arena Spiked Mace Damage [30%-50%] -> [20%-40%]
• Erkeshet's Mace Damage [60%-80%] -> [50%-60%]
• Arena Heater Shield Damage [40%-50%] -> [30%-40%]
• Paladin's Roundel Damage [40%-50%] -> [30%-40%]
• Throwing Hatchet Damage [40%-60%] -> [25%-50%]
• Ghost Throwing Hatchet Damage [45%-65%] -> [30%-55%]
• Rimesteel Throwing Hatchet Damage [50%-70%] -> [35%-60%]
• Throwing Knife Damage [20%-60%] -> [25%-50%]
• Ghost Throwing Knife Damage [25%-65%] -> [30%-55%]
• Rimesteel Throwing Knife Damage [30%-70%] -> [35%-60%]
• Throwing Sickle Damage [20%-60%] -> [20%-50%]
• Ghost Throwing Sickle Damage [25%-65%] -> [25%-55%]
• Rimesteel Throwing Sickle Damage [30%-70%] -> [30%-60%]
• Ringleader's Dagger Damage [70%] -> [60%]
• Rancher's Pitchfork Damage [50%-80%] -> [30%-50%]
• Shiv Damage [80%-100%] -> [30%-50%]
• Brotherhood Two-handed Axe Damage [70%-90%] -> [80%-110%]
• Herald of the Eye Damage [70%-110%] -> [35%-50%]
• Lucilla Damage [150%] -> [135%]
• Viper Damage [60%] -> [50%]
• The Indomitable One Damage [50%] -> [40%]
• Devotion Damage [80%-100%] -> [70%-90%]
• Liberator Damage [120%] -> [80%]
• Prosperity Damage [80%] -> [70%]
• Glory Damage [80%-100%] -> [70%-90%]
• Victorious Damage [80%] -> [65%-75%]
• Dagan's Hammer Damage [60%] -> [40%]
• Behedite's Kris Damage [60%-80%] -> [55%-75%]

Skills

• Bite Damage [80%-100%] -> [65%-85%]
• Ferocious Bite Damage [80%-100%] -> [65%-100%]
• Nibbling Damage [80%-100%] -> [50%-70%]
• Deep Bite Damage [80%-100%] -> [65%-85%]
• Wrath Damage [50%-80%] -> [45%-65%]
• Destabilising Strike Damage [90%-110%] -> [70%-90%]
• Laceration Damage [75%] -> [65%]
• Recoil Shot Damage [70%-110%] -> [60%-100%]
• Petrifying Sickle Throw Damage [20%-60%] -> [20%-50%]
• Poisoned Knife Throw Damage [20%-60%] -> [20%-50%]
• Poisoned Impact Damage [70%] -> [55%]
• Weakening Blow Damage [80%-100%] -> [70%-90%]
• Relentless Charge Damage [65%] -> [55%]
• Cutting Maelstrom Damage [35%] -> [30%]
• Rampage Damage [30%-45%] -> [30%-40%]
• Piercing Throw Damage [50%] -> [40%]
• Instinctive Throw Damage [25%] -> [20%]
• Frenzy Damage [35%-45%] -> [30%-40%]

Thank you all for your feedback and suggestions, we can't wait to hear your thoughts and feedback on this update.

Next up... 1.0 release on April 12th!

- Shiro Games

 

[Whisper]

How is game compared to Battle Brothers?

 

[Barbarian]

How is game compared to Battle Brothers?

Similar overall vibe, but combat is less complex and map is not randomly generated. Also a whole lot of sidestepping(some good and some shenanigans) - camp tools and upgrades, crafting, recipes, trading posts and... minigames.

 

[Alienman]

No chances to hit from what I remember, except ranged.

 

[Alter Sack]

Started playing yesterday after the big community update dropped.

I mean why wait for the release?

It seems to be a really decent game, kind of a battle brothers light.

Now I can't load my game because It gets stuck on the loading screen.

I would really suggest waiting for the first updates to drop after release before playing.

 

[LizardWizard]

How is game compared to Battle Brothers?

Combat is absolutely dogshit

 

[Alter Sack]

I like that you can appoint your doggo or mule as a lieutenant:

 

[Turn_BASED]

How is game compared to Battle Brothers?

Combat is absolutely dogshit

Pls elaborate

 

[Reinhardt]

I like that you can appoint your doggo or mule as a lieutenant:

he looks like man in cheap fursuit

 

[Barbarian]

I will add that the game is extremely "grindy" and seems to become more so with each update.

But that is part of its charm and actually fun grinding. The amount of game time you spend gathering resources, gaining path levels, buying schemes and leveling professions will increase the tools and weapons at your disposal.

Not to mention a very nice looking camp full of bonuses.

I like that you can appoint your doggo or mule as a lieutenant:

he looks like man in cheap fursuit

Do they carry the banner as humans then? Just curious.

 

[Alter Sack]

I am now over twenty hours in and only now exploring the second and third region.

What makes it a little bit tiresome is the lack of different enemies.

Battle Brothers had Bandits, Goblins, Orcs, Undead, Nobles, other mercenaries, zombies, different monsters, etc.

In Wartales you have basically only a few human enemy types (apart from some animals and Undead).

 

[ArchAngel]

I am now over twenty hours in and only now exploring the second and third region.

What makes it a little bit tiresome is the lack of different enemies.

Battle Brothers had Bandits, Goblins, Orcs, Undead, Nobles, other mercenaries, zombies, different monsters, etc.

In Wartales you have basically only a few human enemy types (apart from some animals and Undead).

Yes, yes. But did it have legs?

 

[Barbarian]

I watched the recent live q&a with devs.

They made it pretty clear that dlcs are planned. Lots of "we have plans for this but only after 1.0" and such. He even mentioned new regions, which I doubt would be added in "community patches" outside of early access.

 

[Modron]

This is out now with a 25% launch discount, worth it?


https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1527950/view/3718325557403101852

Wartales 1.0 is out now!
Wartales launches out of Early Access with a new region, new content, community requests and more!

Attention mercenaries!

The 1.0 Release update has finally arrived, but before we get into the fun stuff we just wanted to take a moment to thank you, our wonderful community, for your support throughout the Early Access period.

From our AMAs to Q&As together, hearing your thoughts and feedback, as well as seeing our vision and plans for the game evolve thanks to your involvement, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our journey with you and are incredibly proud to be able to share this moment with you all.

We really can't thank you enough!

Now let’s jump into what’s new…

New Region: Alazar

Behold, warriors of Wartales, a new region awaits your arrival! The land of Drombach lies to the south of the Kingdom of Alazar, a perilous county shrouded in icy mountains and fierce windswept plateaus. A place of knowledge and discovery, it is where the cure for the Plague was once developed.

But now, a new plague ravages the land, and even the wisest of scholars are unable to halt its spread. The mighty All-Seeing Eye, the god of light, strikes at will, pulverising beasts, buildings, and inhabitants without mercy. Even the powerful Inquisition dispatched by the Edoran Church is powerless in the face of this inexplicable wrath.

Storyline
The Wrath of the Eye has fallen on Drombach, annihilating everything in its path. Dispatched by the Church of Edoran, the Inquisition is entrusted with finding out what has unleashed the divine wrath.

Voice-over
The whole game has been fully voiced in English!

Content

• New confessions have been added to the pool.
• You can now bury your fallen companions :’(
• Numerous new achievements have been added!

Units and Combat

• New arena
• New elite
• Explore a new Tomb of the Ancients and defeat a special enemy!
• Snow wolves and bears are joining the fight alongside snow crawlers!

Companions and Camp Life

• The unit level cap has been increased to 12, and the enemy level cap to 14.
• Unlock the new level 12 skills known as Braveries: only one use per character and per round! If you don’t want to take this talent point, you can choose any other talent you have not chosen, creating new possibilities of building!
• Don’t worry about your animals; they will also be able to choose new talents.
• You can gain charcoal from the campfire when resting by burning wood!
• Hemp has been added as a brand-new component: craft ropes or new recipes! You can find it in various locations throughout the world.

Arenas

• The old arenas are getting a makeover with new requirements, new bonuses, and a rebalancing of the feature itself.
• In addition to the new arena in Drombach, battle in the brand-new arenas in Arthes and Ludern.
• Discover the last 3 specializations for your spearmen, archers, and swordsmen!

Difficult Mode
If you want to challenge your team, try the new difficult mode in arenas. But beware… disappoint the crowd, and you won’t last long!

Tombs of the Ancients
In addition to the one in Drombach, explore the new Tomb of Ancients in Vertruse.

Rouste

• Take part in the Rouste tournament!
• The rules of Rouste have changed: you will now play with two balls at all times, for twice the fun and... chaos.
• After completing the first Rouste match in Grinmeer, you will be invited to participate in the tournament with some trials to do. Each region has its field, its team, and its way of cheating the rules.

Difficult Mode
If after winning against each team, you are still not satisfied, you can try your luck with the difficult mode!

Professions

• We have rebalanced the way you gain experience in professions. It will now take less time to reach the last level: the more dangerous or costly your profession-related action is, the more experience points it generates.
• Some of the trade bonuses have also been revisited.
• Overall, new recipes have been added for each profession.

Woodcutter
Previously, you had to have an axeman to cut wood at relevant locations. Now it is a new profession that any companion can do. Of course, this profession comes with its own attributes, profession level bonuses and backpack accessories.

Alchemist
We are happy with the overall idea of Alchemy: fighting filthy rats in caves to gather as many filthy reagents as possible to make filthy oils to improve your weapons and strategy.

However, we felt that the initial access to the profession was a bit too complex, and the use of the oils was sometimes too random.

• We have added new oils that are easier to make at the start of the game.
• Oil recipes can no longer be bought with brains but with krowns: on the other hand, brains will become useful for crafting certain items.
• The majority of oils have been rebalanced: the effects are less random, and crafting an oil is now a long-term investment.
• The order in which the recipes are learned has also been revisited.
• New recipes have been added.

Blacksmith

• A new tier of weapons has been added.
• A new tier of armors has been added.
• New recipes have been added.

Scholar
Codices in the Tombs of the Ancients have been slightly redesigned. When obtaining a Codex, you must first decipher its Runes by playing a brand-new activity. Once you have obtained the Runes, gathered in Tombs, you will get a complete text that will serve as a clue. Collect all the clues from a group of Codices to find the location of a secret Vault. Inside, you will find a treasure (or more!)...

Lots of new secrets have been hidden throughout the world!

Graphics

• The overall look of the game has been greatly improved as well as optimized.
• Backpacks are now evolving with your gear: the better your gear is, the more beautiful the backpacks will be!
• New options for customization have been added: new faces, new beards…
• When you start the game, the characters’ customization has been revamped to make it clearer.
• In addition to the brand-new Alazar biome, new battle and camp maps have been added: rest and fight in the Edoranian fields and the Vertrusian vineyards.
• Visual effects have received some love.
• Wolf models have been updated.

Balancing
The amount of Experience points required to level-up the highest levels has been reduced.

Items

• Some items' rarity have changed.
• New items have been added.
• You should now loot more leather and fangs from animals.
• Civilians now have correct Attributes.
• Mint has been removed from the game and hemp has been added.

Difficulty Balancing
We believe that the Novice and Advanced difficulties are as they are intended to be. However, we believe that it is still possible to increase the difficulty of Expert mode. Therefore, some adjustments have been made concerning this difficulty.

One of the features requested was the ability to ignore which enemy is going to play during an enemy's turn. You can now hide or show enemies' turn order in the options menu. This means that you will know that the enemy is going to play, but you will not know which exact unit is playing.

We believe it is a first step in making the game more challenging for people who want more of a challenge. Keep in mind we do not want to alter the game experience for the new players but we also want to give more challenges to our veteran players. We want to give some love to the hardest difficulties and we think this feature is a good addition.

Units
You will encounter less mosquitoes in Harag.
Forsaken villages have been balanced in accordance with each difficulty.

Skill & Weapon balancing
Skill
Piercing Throw
Damage [45%] -> [55%]
Fortifying Strike
Damage [60-80%] -> [80-100%]

Weapon
Dagan's Hammer
Damage [45%] -> [35%]

• The weapon was dealing too much damage while its range was too large, thus making it an imbalanced weapon when hitting 3 enemies or more. We believe that tweaking the damage a bit means that it remains totally viable and an excellent choice while not being totally overpowered.

Bug Fixes

• Ponies’ equipment is removed before getting eaten by the party
• Porridge’s recipe can now be bought in the shabby camp
• Candied fruit can now be bought in the tavern in Marheim
• Eel broth is now called Eel Soup
• Salt Scoop now “Produces salt during each Rest if assigned to the Cooking Pot.”
• Fixed an issue in co-op where the UI would not appear after scoring a point in Rouste
• Fixed some items that were missing bonuses, they now have bonuses
• Fixed a bug preventing old saves from facing units from new factions.
• Other minor bugs have been fixed

Once again, thank you for joining us on this journey. We can’t overstate how excited we are for our players to finally discover (or rediscover) the full experience as we’ve envisioned it since development began over 3 years ago

Please let us know your thoughts and feedback on this update and stay tuned for more news about what the future holds for Wartales...

- Shiro Games

 

[Barbarian]

Lol game is now fully voiced. Another example of fine allocation of resources.

 

[Barbarian]

This is out now with a 25% launch discount, worth it?

Yeah, it is a fun game. Still a bit unfinished.

 

[lukaszek]

No chances to hit from what I remember, except ranged.

 

[Infinitron]

Coming to GOG as well, but not yet: https://af.gog.com/game/wartales?as=1649904300

 

[Barbarian]

Undecided if I should go for it and make a full playthrough or not.

The interviews and all else coming from the devs indicated that they intend to keep developing and probably go for dlcs.

 

[vazha]

I am gonna wait at least for first DLC, even if they do a Battle Bros on it and keep polishing / adding stuff for 2+ years. Looks unfinished at this point.