You can sign up for a closed beta of Wartales:

Closed Beta Sign-Up

We will soon be launching a closed beta to help us test an upcoming DLC and we'd like you to get involved!

How can I sign up for the closed beta?
You can sign up for the closed beta by filling out the registration form, which will allow us to select participants and notify you if you are chosen.

When will the beta start?
The closed beta will start in mid-November.

How long will the closed beta last?
The beta will last for a couple of weeks.

What does a beta tester do?
A beta tester provides feedback and reports bugs from the current beta build, enabling our team of developers to make necessary adjustments and fix reported issues effectively.

How can I give feedback and report bugs?
Dedicated channels on Discord will be made available for closed beta participants. These channels will become visible once you have been granted access to the closed beta.ty

Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted a new update for Wartales:

Community Update 4 Out Now!

Hello Mercenaries!

It is now time for the fourth Wartales Community Update.
On top of adding a new Champion and a new place of interest, we worked hard to bring you the option of joining and leaving a coop game.

We also spent quite some time rebalancing the classes as well as certain skills to ensure a more diverse array of options when starting a fight.
We will keep close attention to your feedback on those changes, so feel free to let us know what you think in the comments or on our Social Media channels.

Now let’s have a closer look at this update in details below:

New champion and place of interest
Arthes has been expanded to the south. A new place of interest, a secret passage and a champion have been added in the new area.

It seems a monster has moved into the mountains in the south of the County. The farmers are offering a reward to anyone who can slay it.

Drop-in/Drop-out Coop
You can now join a singleplayer game and convert it into multiplayer. You also have the option to start in multiplayer and continue in singleplayer, switching seamlessly between the two modes to suit your preferences.

To Join a Singleplayer Game in Multiplayer Mode

1. Navigate to the Multiplayer menu and select "Load Singleplayer Game."
2. In the lobby, add player slots and invite friends to join.
3. Once everything is set up, launch the game. It will automatically convert your save into a multiplayer session on the next save.

To Continue a Multiplayer Game as Singleplayer

1. Load your multiplayer game to open the lobby.
2. Remove other players from the save.
3. Launch the game to continue in singleplayer.

[...]

The DLC Wartales - The Pits has been released:

Wartales | The Pits | OUT NOW!

Thanks Couchpotato!

Farflame spotted a trailer for the DLC Wartales - The Pits:

Wartales | The Pits | TRAILER

Wartales gets late-game content:

The Pits: Mastering Combat

As we continue to develop Wartales, we recognized a demand for more engaging late-game content. This led us to create a DLC focused primarily on the combat aspects of Wartales, designed to provide a robust challenge for those who have explored all other parts of the game.

The idea for tying The Pits to black markets stemmed from elements already present in the base game. Black market agents, introduced after players confront bandit hideouts, hinted at more extensive storylines and unused content, such as early models for these agents. This DLC provided the perfect opportunity to bring these elements back into the spotlight, integrating them into the new combat pit scenarios.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted a new roadmap for Wartales:

Wartales Roadmap Update! [17/07/2024]

Attention mercenaries!

We are excited to share our plans for the latter part of 2024 with an updated roadmap.

The Pits will be released in August (next month)! This combat-focused DLC will introduce diverse and strategic scenarios where your goal is to lead your troop to victory. Confront formidable foes in 25 battles across 5 unique locations, each with its own distinct theme.

In October, Community Update 4 will bring free content to the base game, including a new champion and new places of interest. A drop-in/drop-out co-op functionality will also be implemented, along with balancing tweaks and bug fixes.

[...]

Couchpotato spotted a new update for Wartales:

Community Update 3 Out Now!

Featuring community requests, new content, reworked features and more!

Attention Mercenaries!

The first Community Update of 2024 has arrived, bringing with it new content, quality of life improvements, and bug fixes. Dive into the latest changes and discover what's new!

Don’t forget to share your thoughts on the update by joining us on the Wartales Discord server, Reddit page or Twitter. We look forward to hearing from you!

Battle Maps
These new maps have been finely crafted by our team to grant new exciting ways to battle in camps, towers, hamlets and villages. This addition will provide you with new combat environments, from existing locations, but also new tactical possibilities! With bigger obstacles, battles in these places will require you to adapt to new strategies.

You will be able to find these new battle maps in the following locations:

• Towers
• Camps
• Hamlets
• Villages

[...]

The DLC The Tavern Opens for Wartales has been released:

Wartales - The Tavern Opens! | RELEASE TRAILER

Thanks Couchpotato!

The DLC The Tavern Opens for Wartales will be released on April 18:

The Tavern Opens: Release Date

Greetings Mercenaries!

We are excited to share with you that our second DLC The Tavern Opens! will be released on April 18th.

You will be able to manage and expand your own tavern in this management and simulation expansion for Wartales. Secure wealth and prestige for your troop during your adventures. Purchase your initial establishment, select the finest decor for your tavern, hire employees, and craft the optimal menu to satisfy your daily customers.

Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming content, in the meantime you can add The Tavern Opens! to your wishlist now.

Don’t forget to let us know what you think of the upcoming content by joining our awesome (and passionate) Wartales community on our Discord server, Reddit page as well as Twitter.

- Shiro Games

Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted a new roadmap for Wartales:

Wartales Roadmap Update! 

Attention mercenaries!

We are excited to share our plans for Q2 2024 in the form of an updated roadmap.

The Tavern Opens! our second DLC, will be released next month. The current roadmap provides a general overview of the theme; we will reveal more information about the depth of its content in the coming weeks.
In June, Community Update 3 will address some community feedback and requests as well as balancing and bug fixes. The Pugilist class will be available in a new starting backstory, new battle maps & traps are on the way to freshen up your combat experience and a new toggle will be added giving you the option to hide your companions’ backpacks if you wish to do so!

We’re aware that you’ve waited a while for some information about what’s to come this year, thank you for your patience and let us know what you think!

- Shiro Games

Matt checked out Wartales:

MC519: Wartales

Mortismal Gaming reviewed the Wartales: Pirates of Belerion - DLC:

Wartales: Pirates of Belerion - DLC Review

04AM checked out the Wartales - Pirates of Belerion DLC:

Wartales Pirates of Belerion DLC is MASSIVE - Exploring Everything You Need To Know!

Couchpotato spotted a teaser video for the upcoming DLC Wartales, Pirates of Belerion:

Wartales, Pirates of Belerion | TEASER

Wartales, Pirates of Belerion releases on December 14th!
Embark on over +25 hours of new adventures and explore Belerion, a new hostile region far larger than any other part of the continent. Discover a land unlike anything you’ve seen with the first expansion to the world of Wartales! Unravel the secrets of the region's storyline, discover new factions and master the new way to travel: navigation.

The community update 2 for Wartales is now available:

Community Update 2 Out Now!

Featuring community requests, new content, reworked features and more!

Attention Mercenaries!

Community Update 2 is here and boy oh boy are you in for a read! We noticed the patch notes are quite long, so for those of you who are a bit short for time or just fancy a quick overview of what’s new we have just the thing: a Community Update overview video.

Grab some snacks and let's dive right into today’s update.

[...]

Thanks Henriquejr!

Shiro Games has posted two other previews of the upcoming community update #2 for Wartales:

Community Update #2 Preview: Camp & Troop Management

Community Update #2 Preview: Combat & Battles

Thanks Redglyph!

The community update #2 of Wartales is out:

Community Update #2 Preview: Paths & Endings

Greetings mercenaries!

Welcome to the first Update Preview, giving you a sneak peek of some of the upcoming changes to the Path system.

Stay tuned for more of these articles as we share in-depth details the new features & changes coming your way in Community Update #2.

Overview
We’ve been working on giving Paths a proper ending for quite some time now. We’ve explored several options before deciding that each Path deserved a distinctive new feature. Our goal with the upcoming update is to give you access to new content as you get further into the game, rewarding your investment not only with more power, but also with more gameplay (don’t worry though, there’ll be plenty of power too).

When you reach level 8 of a Path, you will gain access to a new activity.

Each Path has its own unique activity, and you can complete all 4.

• Power and Glory Path: The Ordeal of Legends
• Trade and Craftsmanship Path: The Trade Routes
• Crime and Chaos Path: Burglary
• Mysteries and Knowledge Path: Archeology

As you continue to progress from level 8 to 12, you will unlock new, harder steps for the Path’s activity.Upon completing one of these steps, you will be rewarded with a unique item AND a unique title for your troop (yes, you read that right). For example, by completing the 4th step of The Ordeal of Legends, you will obtain:

• The “Heroic Fighters” title, which grants your units a 4% damage bonus for the current battle each time one of them uses action points.
• The “Helmet of Legends”, which, when worn, applies Frailty to all adjacent enemies.

That’s a total of 25 items and titles. There was actually a hesitation at some point: should it be items or should it be titles? But the answer was simple: why couldn’t you have both?
Once you complete the 5th and last stage of an activity, you’ll reach the end of the Path.

The Paths

Power and Glory: The Ordeal of Legends
An ultimate arena in which you will fight bosses from every region.

[...]

Thanks Henriquejr!

Henriquejr spotted new update for Wartales:

Release Notes for 28/06/2023

Wartales v1.0.26636

Gameplay

• Added a warning inviting players to verify their game files or to reinstall the game if it detects potential corrupted files.
• Fixed an issue where stolen objects would still count towards the fine after giving them back or paying the fine.
• Fixed an issue where the wanted amount of a single item would change when hovering over it.
• Fixed an issue where the carrying capacity icon would hide the value on a unit’s character sheet.
• Fixed an issue where the commodity tax would take trade goods stored in the post’s chest into account.

Items

• Fixed an issue where dismantling objects would count as if they were crafted.
• Fixed an issue where some crafting recipes shown in the compendium were not obtainable.
• Lute’s recipe can now be found at numerous taverns around the world.
• Drombach’s Trackers camp will now sell the following recipes : Pungent Powder, Feathered Collar, Training Collar, Tracker’s Reinforced Layer and Bard’s Reinforced Layer.
• Powdered Rage’s recipe is now sold at the Drombach arena.
• Mountaineer’s Hotpot’s recipe is now sold at the Drombach Rouste field.
• Mutton au gratin recipe is now sold at the Mount Ernst haven.
• King’s feast recipe can now be found in a chest in the cursed village of Ashtel.

Battle

• Fixed an issue where Protective Overlay would prevent any malus to be applied.
• Fixed an issue where bears would survive a thunderbolt.
• Fixed an issue where the bee swarm hitbox didn't match its appearance.
• Changed Assassin's Strychnine effect : "This unit gains Poisoned Weapon for 2 turns" -> "Damage increased by 25% against poisoned units.

Quest

• Fixed an issue where having both Abbot Theocene and Captain Hostes in the party at the same time would prevent players from progressing their quests.
• Fixed an issue where the Drombach Rouste field quest artifact could be sold, preventing the completion of the quest.
• Fixed an issue where killing the smugglers in the derelict farm before going to the Garusa clan's Townhall would not complete the "Tomb Raider" quest.
• Fixed an issue where the “Informing the tavern of fortune mades” bounty could not be completed.
• Removed the chest in St Eleror abbey, as it was tied to a legacy quest.

Achievements

• Fixed an issue where the “Eat a feast” Achievement would only trigger when traveling via the trading posts.
• Fixed an issue where polar variations of bears and wolves would not count towards the completion of the “Leader of the pack” Achievement.
• Fixed an issue that prevented the “Jack of all trades” Achievement from triggering.
• Fixed an issue that prevented the “All modern comforts” Achievement from triggering.
• Lowered the "Travelling light" Achievement requirement from 20 different camp tools to 15.

FlynnStrider checked out Wartales:

What Is... Wartales? (Review)

The community update #1 of Wartales is out:

Community Update #1 Out Now!

Featuring community requests, new content, reworked features and more!

Attention, brave warriors of Wartales!

We're excited to unveil Community Update 1 (the first one since 1.0 release), a result of your invaluable feedback and requests. Community Updates are designed to enhance your gameplay experience and bring a selection of your desired changes, in line with our vision for the game, to life.

Prepare to customize your mercenaries with a stunning array of helmets, adding both style and protection to your adventures.
We've also prioritized accessibility and quality of life features, ensuring that every player can fully immerse themselves in the world of Wartales.
But that's not all! This update includes a host of minor content additions, carefully balanced gameplay adjustments, and crucial bug fixes.

Your input continues to shape Wartales, and we thank you for being an essential part of the game’s development.

Protect your heads!

Helmets are making a grand entrance in Wartales!

There is now a distinct helmet by weight category for every faction, matching the existing armors and bringing defensive attributes. Moreover, each of these helmets can give its bearer a specific combat Skill. This means we have added close to 30 new skills to the game!

What if you’d like a companion to use the skill of a helmet that doesn’t suit them? This is made possible thanks to a new customisation feature: Stamps. By dismantling a helmet with a master tinkerer, you can obtain a stamp bearing the helmet’s skill. This item can then be applied (just like a layer) on any other helmet, replacing its skill with the one on the stamp. With this system, build possibilities are multiplied!

[...]

Thanks Redglyph!

Redglyph spotted the new roadmap for Wartales:

Wartales Roadmap Update!

Attention mercenaries!

Following our recent 1.0 release, we are excited to share our plans for the rest of 2023 in the form of an updated roadmap!

With Community Update 1 (the first one since 1.0) just around the corner, we wanted to say a big thank you to you, our community, for all the feedback, thoughts and ideas that you’ve shared since the full release. We hope that this update will be welcomed with open arms!

As always, let us know what you think of what's to come!

- Shiro Games

Henriquejr spotted the release notes for Wartales 1.0.25844:

Wartales v.1.0.25844 - Release Notes for 24/05/2023

Performance
Since the 1.0 release, we have been hard at work on optimizing the game, especially the stutters that would occur during gameplay. Today’s update should drastically reduce them, mainly those happening during finishers or mini-games.
Rest assured that we will be furthering these optimizations in the coming updates to provide a smooth and stutter-free experience to everyone.

Battle
Fixed an issue where the game would softlock when using the Instinctive Throw skill while unarmed.
Fixed an issue where the game would softlock when killing a unit after successfully bribing an enemy unit.
Fixed an issue where the game would softlock when using the Challenging Shout skill and an attack in rapid succession.
Marksmen in Nairolf Arena will now punch when engaged.
Fixed an issue where the weapon Looter’s dagger would only apply burning instead of a random status.
Fixed an issue where the skill Overwhelming presence would apply the Confused status during the attack preview.
Fixed an issue where a Confused Bear wouldn't die.
Fixed an issue where Corene could not be captured when in Dying state.
Fixed a crash during a Rouste match in Ludern that would happen when the opponent team scored.
When hiding the turn order, allies are now displayed properly on the timeline.

CO-OP
Fangs will be used properly when trading with the trackers across the world.
Fixed a crash when starting Drombach’s final battle.
Fixed a bug where multiple sound effects were missing client side.
Fixed a bug where outlines were missing client side.
Skull icons above bandit lairs now update properly client side.
Mud and flames are now visible client side during battles.
Equipping torches during battles in tombs updates the light radius client side.
Aim radius now resets properly after the client uses the Aim skill.
The Nimble fingers challenge now progresses when the client picks locks.
Chat will now scroll properly when a new message is sent.
Inventory and Path screens will now close when starting a battle.
Perks given by food consumed during a rest will now be applied to all players.

World
Fixed a crash when reentering the Church cellar in the cursed village in Drombach.
Fixed a rare crash when inspecting the rocks in the Forgotten Cave in Drombach.
Fixed an issue where the Jailor in Drombach would leave after the completion of the region’s storyline.
Fixed an issue where additional Rouste fields wouldn’t unlock on Early Access saves.
Fixed an issue where players could get intercepted by guards during fast travel if they were wanted beforehand.

Quests
Fixed an issue where the purifiers in Tiltren would ask for the player to deliver Torus to them regardless of if the player already did so, forcing a fight.
Fixed an issue where Corene would lose her clothes after her capture.
Fixed an issue where Polar Animals wouldn’t be able to sniff the hat in Gosenberg City.
Fixed an issue where Guards would be naked after the attack on Hovendorp’s Manor.
Fixed an issue where Drombach’s Hunt wouldn’t complete when siding with Alazar.

Other
Fixed an issue where Seed biscuits would give a 1500% influence increase instead of 15%.
Fixed an issue that allowed for coal and wood to be generated infinitely.
Fixed an issue that prevented Skills to be mastered if no weapons were equipped.
Fixed an issue that allowed traits and titles to be applied on multiple units with the uses of the trading post.
Additional minor bug fixes.

Localisation
All 3 Fortifying oils have been renamed to distinct names (Fortifying oil, Shielding oil and Strengthening oil).
Miscellaneous Localisation fixes.

PC Gamer reports that Wartales has been sold 600.000 times:

Mercenary RPG Wartales has sold over 600,000 copies

Wartales, Shiro Games' turn-based tactics RPG in which you lead a mercenary company in a low-fantasy world plagued by banditry, wolves, and, well, plague, is so gritty you could use it to strip paint. The tough early game, in which you'll march down Struggle Street trying to earn enough food to keep your employees alive and enough cash to pay them, might be off-putting to some. That hasn't stopped it from winning fans, with Shiro boasting that it's sold more than 600,000 copies so far and been wishlisted one million times.

Wartales is doing well with players on Steam, who've given it a user rating of 91% positive over more than 13,000 reviews. Our own Rick Lane gave it a score of 83 in his Wartales review, praising its "rich and granular mechanical toybox" as well as its potential for character-driven storytelling.

[...]

Mortismal Gaming reviewed the tactical RPG Wartales:

Wartales - Review After 100%

00:00 Intro
01:17 Overview
01:40 Story Scenarios
03:07 Difficulty & Game Options
06:46 Progression Systems
15:04 World & Gameplay
21:28 Combat
26:34 Potential Technical Problems
27:20 Steam Deck Compatibility
28:32 Positives/Negatives
30:44 Conclusion
31:42 Wrap Up

PC Gamer reviewed the tactical RPG Wartales:

WARTALES REVIEW

Turn a bunch of generic mercenaries into your absolute best buds.

Like a battle-hardened mercenary roped into another foolish adventure, Wartales hides its colourful inner life behind a grim, inscrutable visage. This player-driven RPG presents with a muted aesthetic, lacks a typical central storyline, and isn't defined by any single feature. It's a game that rebuffs your initial advances with a grunt, because it knows you'll be feeding the crows before the week's out.

Survive long enough to penetrate that tough exterior, however, and you'll discover a game built from a thousand little ideas. These ideas accrue over time into a journey that feels unique to you. It isn't as strange as Kenshi or as spectacular as Mount & Blade, but it makes up for that in how personally attached you become to the party you create.

[...]

There are gaps in Wartales' well-worn chainmail. The game's structure necessitates a lot of backtracking, especially in the early stages. You'll frequently need to return to villages to hand in contracts, buy food and other equipment, or sell items to lighten your inventory. It's also possible to get bogged down in a loop of only earning enough money to cover your basic costs, making it hard to push farther out to new areas. While I wouldn't describe Wartales as a tedious game, there are times when it can move frustratingly slowly.

More broadly, compared to, say, Divinity, the world itself is not especially characterful. Once you've explored a couple of regions, the format according to which those regions are built pokes through, dampening some of the magic. And while the quests and dialogues are capably written, I'd struggle to tell you the names of any characters I interacted with outside of my own party.

That said, the mercs who you recruit, train, eat with, sleep with, explore with, and fight alongside will be burned into your brain forever. Wartales may not be the flashiest or most accessible game around, but persistence will enrich you with the most valuable currency any game can provide: memories.

Score 83/100 - Don't be fooled by its drab exterior, Wartales is a deep and richly rewarding exercise in party creation.

Thanks Henriquejr!

Softpedia reviewed the tactical RPG Wartales:

Wartales Review (PC)

Wartales was born from the love for games like Battle Brothers, Kenshi or Mount & Blade. Shiro Games’ title draws inspiration from all these games and many others. Described as an open world RPG in which you lead a band of mercenaries in their search for wealth and fame, Wartales sets the stage for a rather sandbox experience that encourages exploration and experimentation.

The game allows you to adjust the level of difficulty, which also coincides with two different playstyles. You can either opt to enable level-scaling or keep levels region-locked and explore to your heart’s desire. Both are perfectly suitable for the formula, so it’s more of what you prefer between exploration or a worthy challenge.

[...]

Wartales is the perfect game for those who love turn-based action and min-maxing their characters. The progression system is well-thought to keep you engaged while you explore each map. Combat and crafting are two other complementary systems that add extra layers of strategy.
The lack of a full-fledged story is probably the only thing that Wartales is probably guilty of, but so are Battle Brothers and other similar games, so it’s not a real issue. The visuals and soundtrack are fitting for an open world RPG, but I would have liked to be able to zoom in a little bit more.

All in all, Wartales offers enough variation and strategy layers to make the journey not just enjoyable, but also challenging and rewarding. If you liked Battle Brothers, you’re going to love Wartales.

Score: 4/5

Rock Paper Shotgun reviewed the tactical RPG Wartales:

Wartales review: a grimy medieval fantasy RPG rife with emergent stories

No long stories about beans this time, promise

‘The Tank’, I’ll admit, is a monumentally uninspired name for the mace-wielding brick privy of a man I’d bestowed the dubious honour of soaking up hits in place of my squishier mercs, but when sandbox tactical RPG Wartales let me assemble a party of 12 mad lasses and tapped chaps, the stash of good nicknames was always going to be the first casualty. So, The Tank he lived, and also died. Questing endlessly in this grimy medieval world won’t cut it. You’ll also need to keep your troupe paid and fed, so when evening fell to find nought but a handful of foraged mushrooms and a single mouldy apple I’d pried from the fingertips of a disemboweled bandit, it was time to get creative.

[...]

The presentation is probably a bit nicer than it honestly needed to be across the board. The music is lovely, all driving war drums layered with whimsical, slightly discordant European folk instruments. The minigames are all great aside from that bastard slide puzzle. Also, get this: I once picked two locks on a three lock chest but broke my last pick on the final one. I came back to it about three hours later with a fresh set of picks, and the two locks I did last time were still open! This sounds incredibly minor but I feel it exemplifies a sort of coherence and persistence about the world that I feel is crucial to the soul of this sort of game.

And this here is sort of the key to Wartales, I think. It feels consistent. It’s workmanlike without being uninspired, fascinating without being flashy. It’s like a loveable cockney chimney sweep with a sparkle in its eye. It might be too mundane to scratch the itch for high adventure, but if you’re feverish for a grounded low fantasy ramble with the occasional giant rat, Wartales will cure ya. Also, apropos of nothing: I still haven’t played Battle Brothers yet, so I don’t know. Go away.

The open-world RPG Wartales will be released today:

Wartales

FIGHT, SURVIVE AND LIVE TO TELL THE TALES

It has been a hundred years since the world saw the fall of the once great Edoran Empire at the hands of an unprecedented plague that swept the nation. In the turmoil and uncertainty that has followed, mercenary work, banditry and thievery across the land is abundant, as honor has long since become an almost entirely forgotten virtue.

Now, prepare to lead a group of unscrupulous characters who revel in such activity in a massive open world where combat, death and a thirst for riches will shape and define your day to day life. You are not special, the chosen one or a once in a millennia hero ushering in a new era of peace. Your goal is solely to survive and thrive in this harsh and hostile world.

Only the bravest and most ambitious can hope to see their story written in the Wartales!

EXPLORE

• Journey through the gigantic world of Wartales and explore each of its corners in your quest for notoriety, wealth and recognition.
• Explore lively and vibrant villages, vestiges of a forgotten time, abandoned mines, deserted camps and more that litter this vast continent as you unravel the history of the world.

PROSPER

• Fight your way out of perilous situations with a new twist on tactical turn based combat, as you are confronted by wild animals, fearless bandits and more...
• Recruit new companions with numerous unique specializations, skill sets, weapon preferences resulting in a plethora of possible builds.
• Accept contracts that will see you defend, liberate and save the many inhabitants of the land, be they good natured people just trying to make their way or those with less honorable motives...
• Collect bounties! From the most insignificant petty thieves to the lands most notorious figures, there’s no such thing as a profit too small to take.

DEVELOP

• Enhance you and your companions capabilities with a deep and intuitive RPG progression and crafting system.
• Improve your group’s equipment by gathering materials and crafting powerful new weapons and tools.
• Develop your camp, adding new amenities, tools & equipment to increase your group’s morale and efficiency.

Henriquejr spotted a new community update for Wartales:

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

[...]

Wartales will be released on April 12:

Wartales | 1.0 Release Date Announcement | Trailer

Henriquejr spotted a new community update for Wartales:

Community Update #5 Out Now!

Featuring community requests, new content, reworked features and more!

Attention mercenaries!

The fifth Community Update is here! As usual, the update is based primarily on some of the most prevelant and popular community requests we've been receiving over the last few months, massively changing multiple aspects of the game.

You can watch our Community Update spotlight video to find out what some of the major changes are if you don't have the time to read through the full patchnotes!

 [...]

The major update #3 for Wartales introduces co-op gameplay:

Major Update #3 | Co-op

Attention mercenaries!

The highly anticipated and much requested Wartales co-op update is available now!

Traverse the vast open world of Wartales with up to 4 players, lay out your tactics and devise a strategy before you face off with some of the many hostile inhabitants of this harsh world and defeat them side by side.

Work together to explore and unravel the mysteries of these strange, unwelcoming lands, while sharing your money, loot and resources before ending the day with a delicious meal sat around a roaring campfire alongside your loyal companions.

Read on to find out more about the Co-op Update…

[...]

SplatterCatGaming checked out the sandbox RPG Wartales:

Wartales - Open World Sandbox Medieval Mercenary Strategy RPG

Wartales got a major update - The Great Gosenberg:

Major Update #2 | The Great Gosenberg

We are very proud to present the second major content update for Wartales: The Great Gosenberg!
With this update, the gates to the Kingdom of Gosenberg have opened, giving you the opportunity to discover its capital, as well as new content for you to unlock, explore, complete and collect...

[...]

Thanks Henriquejr!

Shiro Games have posted a new trailer of Wartales for Gamescom, in which they present the capital, the Great Gosenberg:

Gamescom Announcements

Hello everybody!

We're extremely happy to finally share with you all of the incredible stuff we’ve been preparing for Gamescom over the last few months!

We hope that you will be as excited about this news as we have been throughout development, and we can't wait to share even more details about what’s to come down the line.

Let's start!

Wartales | The Great Gosenberg | Next Free Major Update

We're incredibly excited and proud to present the second free major update for Wartales, The Great Gosenberg, which will bring hours of new content and gameplay!

Gosenberg, our beautiful capital, is a marvellous place, filled with beautiful architecture, the smartest and richest minds in all of the land and host to the most gifted of artists and performers.

This historic city operates today as a central merchants hub, providing opportunities not only to the rich and powerful, but anyone who is savvy enough to dabble in the trades. Beneath the surface however, it seems there is a much more sinister side
to this seemingly idyllic city, one that has spent years waiting to be uncovered...

Gosenberg is yours to explore in Wartales this September!

Thanks Redglyph!

Henriquejr spotted a new community update for the strategy RPG Wartales:

Community Update #4 Out Now!

Featuring community requests, new content and full Chinese localisation!

Attention mercenaries!

We’re very proud to release to you all the fourth community update for Wartales! This update is built primarily around some of the most popular community requests we've been receiving, addresses and implements a number of issues and suggestions we've seen over the last few months and massively changes multiple aspects of the game!

In addition, following a very successful beta period, the much requested Chinese localisation is now live!

So... let's take a look at what's new!

各位玩家，欢迎来玩。

Chinese language has been implemented and is now available in game.

SYSTEM UPDATE - Fleeing merchants!
When you attack a merchant caravan, the merchant units and their ponies will try to flee the fight while their mercenaries will fight you. Catch them before they run away with their cargo!

SYSTEM UPDATE - Suspicion
After much feedback, we wanted to allow more freedom and risk-taking with the suspicion system.
In this sense, the suspicion is now divided into 5 wanted levels of 100 points each. You become wanted when you pass the first level and each level will make your life more difficult by sending more powerful and better prepared patrols with waves of reinforcements.
Unlike now, you will also be able to steal while being wanted unless you have reached the final search level which makes you public enemy n°1. At this stage, we don't give a damn about your skin...
To round off this update, we've also reviewed the various bonuses and penalties for suspicion.
If you're feeling like a thief, then brace your horses and get ready to run!

SYSTEM UPDATE - Choose your companies specialities
Following your feedback, we have decided to limit the randomness in the leveling of your units. In this sense, we have implemented a new knowledge that allows you to spend Influence to allocate your units' Attribute points as you wish and keep total control over your companions' evolution.

SYSTEM UPDATE - Partially-controlled ally!
Your extensive feedback on the subject has helped us to improve the ally system. So now, for each ally that fights alongside you, you can now select a stance that gives you more control: Flee, Defense or Attack. Meaning no more incidents of your allies randomly marching themselves to their doom…

NEW Tomb of the Ancients!
Recent excavations have uncovered a new ruin at Tiltrën.

[...]

Henriquejr spotted the roadmap for the turn-based strategy RPG Wartales:

Wartales Roadmap Update [21/06/2022]

Following up on the release of our 3rd community update last month, we have now finalised our plans for the next couple of updates and have updated our roadmap accordingly!

So check out the newly updated roadmap which details the plans for the next community update, major summer content update and more below...

Shiro Games have released a major update to Wartales:

Community Update #3 Out Now!

Hello mercenaries!

We’re very excited and proud to present the third community update for Wartales! This update focuses on some of the more popular community requests, bringing character relationships, customisation, balancing passes, economic improvements and more to Wartales!

In addition, the much requested Chinese localisation is nearly complete. And we plan to run a beta with our Chinese players in June with a view to release fully shortly afterwards. We'll share more news with you all about this soon.

Finally, for our non-English speaking players, please note that due to some issues with localisation, some text may not be translated correctly/at all. We are aware of this issue and will have it fixed when the final translations are provided to us early next week.

With all that out of the way, let's take a look at what's new!

Changelist:

NEW SYSTEM Confessions!
In Wartales, many things happen every day. The loss of a companion, a particularly poorly negotiated battle or, on the contrary, the heroic fight led by your captain can leave a mark on your companions' minds.

To represent this, we have devised a system in which your companions react, according to their own personality, to these events in the form of a speech punctuated by decisions to be made.

Will you make your companion drink after the death of his boar friend? Or will he help himself to the common fund to compensate for his grief? The choices you will make will deeply affect your companion for the rest of their life, leading them to strengthen up or, on the contrary, to leave the troop.

NEW SYSTEM Relations!
In addition to the confession system, we have developed a system of relationships between your companions. Wartales is first and foremost a story about a group of mercenaries who live from day to day and who fight, grow rich or die together.

To represent this, your companions can form friendships or enmities with others. The consequences are numerous: they generate Happiness together, fight better side by side and can even fall in love. On the other hand, they may hate each other, in which case it would not be a good idea to have them sleep together, unless you risk finding one of your protégés with his throat slit during the night.

Different actions have a chance to increase or decrease the relationships.

REWORK Prisoners
Do not let them escape! Prisoners now have a chance to escape. To represent this, they have an 'escape ability' stat. To prevent a prisoner from escaping, you can place companions close to them during a Rest. Obviously, some companions will be more effective than others in this exercise.
Recruit your prisoners! Prisoners who spend time with you and are treated well may one day ask to join your troop. Yes, it is possible to reconstitute a real Inquisition troop!

A new piece of camp equipment is introduced: the whip. Assign a foreman to whip your companions and make them work more efficiently. Indeed, a whipped companion produces twice as fast when assigned to a production camp equipment! Be careful not to overuse it or it may succumb to the blows.
A new piece of camp equipment has been introduced: the pillory. Tie your prisoners to the pillory to prevent them from escaping!

Prisoners that escape your troop can be found in the world. Their fate is yours to decide…
If you deliver a prisoner in prison, he can now escape and seek revenge…

[...]

Thanks Henriquejr!

Wartales got some new content:

UPDATE #1 - Harag's Marshlands

Hey there!

We’re super excited and proud to present the first major content update for Wartales, Harag’s Marshlands! This update adds hours of new content and gameplay but beware: the Marshlands are an unwelcoming and dangerous place, teeming with creatures, enemies and environments unlike anything you will have seen in Wartales to date….

Ludern is a particularly hostile land, even by Harag's standards. Its terrain is rugged and rocky, its forests thick and sinister, its swamps toxic and infested with nightmarish creatures. The War has destroyed its towns and villages, if not the Plague, which has taken hold. It is even said that if the Brotherhood of the Stalkers was born in these lands, it is because the Phantom Pack is more fearsome than elsewhere.

Discover a brand new scenario with new characters, quests and rewards! Harag’s architecture and local culture is very different from what you’ve become accustomed to in Wartales.

[...]

Thanks Henriquejr!

Henriquejr spotted the roadmap for the Early Access title Wartales:

Wartales Roadmap Update!

Check out what's in store for the future of Wartales...
With the release of our second community update earlier this week, our sights are now firmly set on Wartales' first content update that will introduce Harag's Marshlands, alongside a plethora of other additions and we have outlined our plans for what we will be bringing to the game in Content Update #2 and beyond, including more regions, level cap increases, Chinese language support and more!

So, with that, we have now updated our roadmap to reflect what's planned for the next 2 content updates (Community Updates will be released in between these updates, based on the feedback receieved after release) and give you all a glimpse into what to expect even further down the line.

Check out the updated roadmap below...

[...]

Shiro Games have released a major update to Wartales.

Community Update #2 Out Now!

Including "no level scaling" mode, a questlog, and more...

Attention Mercenaries!

Community Update #2 is now live! This update is based on the feedback and suggestions we have received since launch and following Community Update #1, and brings a number of new community requests to Wartales, including the long promised and much requested “No scaling mode”, a questlog and much more!

Read on to find out more about what is included in this update...

Region-locked mode has been added

We have designed Wartales so that each player can enjoy the game as they wish. The free expression of the player has always been and will remain the keystone of any proposal and any update that we release. In this sense, level scaling seemed to us to be an appropriate, though not perfect, solution, allowing the player to roam the world freely without constraints. We are still working on improving this solution because we are convinced that this game mode has its interest in Wartales.

Many players have asked for a version of the game without this auto-scaling. This seemed to us to be a legitimate request and as alluded to in the roadmap, we have now added this mode!

In this mode, the regions have an initially set difficulty and these regions are themselves divided into more or less difficult areas. The level and size of the enemy groups are fixed and the further away from the village you explore, the more powerful the enemies are. Moving from one area to another will therefore require you to have a sufficiently powerful troop. If an area seems too difficult, you can go and train your troop and then come back to take advantage.

[...]

COG gave their first impression of Wartales, currently in Early Access.

WARTALES IS AN ENGAGING TURN-BASED STRATEGY GAME WITH VARIETY

Wartales Preview

Tactical turn-based roleplaying games are a popular genre. Add the medieval fantasy element, and you’re in the wheelhouse of classics like Pillars of Eternity and Divinity: Original Sin. Shiro Games‘ Wartales, now in Early Access, sets the action in an open world. Instead of a story-based campaign, it allows for exploration and discovery and a unique experience every time.

The Edoran Empire has fallen victim to a great plague. One hundred years later, the land is full of treachery, conflict and turmoil. You begin with a party of four characters, the make up of which is determined by your answers to some questions. You might begin with an archer, rogue, swordsman and heavy weapon wielder. As you explore, you can recruit a number of new party members to fill out and balance your group. Visually, character customization is a bit limited. However, build variety is deep and open.

A Tale as Old as Time

As player, you are the unseen manager and while you control the forces, you don’t directly participate. You need to rest the party, pay wages and supply lots of food. If you don’t, morale drops and some may even leave. There is an economic model at play. Adding to your forces is balanced against being able to provide for them. Like any group of hired hands, some like to complain more than others. You almost expect them to start unionizing.

Your party travels across an overworld map. The map has many points of interest. There are resources, caves and camps, towns and many other roving groups. Each one is a source of conflict, information or trade. You zoom from the overworld map to the strategic level to engage in battle, trading or dialogue.

[...]

Wartales got a big first update, Shiro Games gives the details.

Community Update #1 Out Now!

Attention Mercenaries!

Community Update #1 is now live! Based entirely on the feedback and suggestions we have received since launch, this update brings character customisation, Ironmen Mode, Tutorials, a Happiness system overhaul, bugfixes and more to Wartales!

Read on to see everything that’s included…

Happiness system has been entirely reworked

Happiness is now accumulative. Some actions, such as assigning companions to the campfire, generate Happiness points. Conversely, not feeding or not paying your troops results in a loss of Happiness points. By accumulating Happiness, you reach levels that give you bonuses. If your total drops too low, your companions will be quick to leave your group. If a companion is ready to leave you, you will be afforded a last chance to convince him to stay with you.

Why such a change?

[...]

Rock Paper Shotgun checked out Wartales:

Wartales review (early access): an ambitious and gritty RPG with real promise

“Play against type,” Sin Vega advised in her well good piece on getting the most out of strategy games. I’m sorry Sin. I failed. Tactical RPG Wartales gave me the opportunity to promote a wild boar to the captain of my troupe of wandering mercenaries. I did not. Instead, I fell back into stale, boring habits like “entrusting the lives of my comrades to someone with ambitions outside of ‘moar acorns plz’.” Not a moment goes by that I don’t wistfully consider what might have been.

I’d recruited that boar in the first place by knocking it out and tying it up with a length of rope I found on a dead bandit. Wartales did not inform me this was a possibility until the moment it happened. The game bristles with texture like this; lovely emergent gemstones that form when small details from different systems bear down on each other. Don’t worry too much about all that, though. Most of your day to day worries in Wartales are about where the next bag o’coin or leg o’lamb is coming from, and whether you can get your favourite archer healed up before that nasty shiv wound contracts everyone’s least favourite plague: the plague.

[...]

It’s for this reason I decided to start the game again after a good chunk. To try more thievery, to play a bit less cautiously. Promote a boar or two. And it’s here that I discovered just how excited I was to start again, to really clinch an optimal first few hours. Wartales nails the restart, and not all games can claim that. I could point to the depth of systems or an approach to design that trusts the player enough to let them discover things themselves. These are both true to some extent. But I think the most useful thing to impart about Wartales is that it just has, well, a certain special something. Maybe there’s some cool sounding French for that that I’m forgetting. The fact that it’s far from finished has me very interested indeed. Moar acorns, please.

RPG Division checked out Wartales:

Game that will make you lose track of time - WARTALES Impression

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SplatterCatGaming checked out Wartales:

Wartales - Open World Mercenary Medieval Strategy RPG

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Wartales gameplay with Splat! Let's Play Wartales and check out a game where you'll lead a party of ragtags on an adventure spanning multiple lands a numerous storylines. Early access available now.

Wartales entered Early Access, the full release is expected late 2022.

Early Access Release

Attention Mercenaries!

We are proud to announce that Wartales has now entered into Early Access and is available to buy now on Steam!

Release Day

Well, what a whirlwind of a few months it has been!

From the announcement of Wartales earlier this year, to the mad dash to pull together a demo for the Steam festival, to the recent closed beta and final stretch of develoment before release, to right here, right now, orchestrating the release of our FIFTH game as a company...

Thank You!

First off, we'd like to thank everyone who joined us on our journey from the very start with the demo earlier this year, to have had such a positive reception and to see a community of dedicated and helpful players begin to form around the game at such an early stage was incredibly ecouraging for all of us here at Shiro.

Secondly, a massive thank you to everyone who took part in the recent closed Beta, your feedback and suggestions have been incredible and it is largely down to you that we are now able to release Wartales into Early Access with pride.

Early Access

A lot of content and features have been added since the demo and the beta, and throughtout Early Access we will continue to develop, expand, iterate and improve every aspect of the game, alongside all of you with your help and support.

New regions, units, items, quests, features, functions, mini games and much more are well underway internally, and will be making their way to the game over time, and we can't wait to hear what all of you think! And we are all ears for any ideas and suggestions you might have that will help us realise the best possible version of Wartales.

Roadmap

There is no firm roadmap available at this time, as we’re still finalising a lot of our plans and working out the logistics in terms of timing but this is something we are discussing internally and hope to share with you all very soon.

Watch the Trailer

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Start Your Adventure

Now it's time for you to write your story in the Wartales, and we hope you'll enjoy your journey throughout the Edoran Empire!

Wartales will enter Steam Early Access December 1st.

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Wartales enters Early Access on Steam on the 1st of December 2021!

Shiro Games answers questions from the community.

Wartales Q&A #11: Community Questions

Attention Mercenaries!

Welcome to a very special Q&A with the wartales devs, where we tackle the questions that you guys want answered!

This week, we're addressing all of the questions you guys have all been leaving us since the announcement of a Wartales AMA last week, covering topics such as co-op, the size of the world, helmets, loot, Early Access and betas...

Read on to find out more!

How many professions will there be?

We can't give a definitive answer for the final release, but at the moment we have 9 professions and the plan is to add more.

Will there be some kind of battle limit like in the demo?

Once the game releases into Early Access, there will be absolutely no limits on how long you can play the game or explore the world for. The 7 battle limitiation was strictly for the demo.

[...]

Shiro Games share their view of the two next months in Q&A#10.

Wartales Q&A #10: The Future of Wartales

Welcome to this weeks Wartales Q&A!

Today, we take a brief look at what to expect over the next couple of months as we speed towards Early Access release later this year and wind down this round of Q&As as we turn our focus to the rapidly approaching closed beta...

As it’s the last Q&A for a while, is there anything you want to say to the community?

"First of all, the whole team would like to thank you for all your feedback, your attendance and reception to our Q&As and your warmth and vivacity on the Discord. We are delighted with the reception you have given to Wartales and we have the ambition to make this game a reference in the genre. We know how important the community and players are to this endeavour and are delighted to see that you are already helping us to grow and mature Wartales. We genuinely cannot thank and appreciate you all enough"

What have you been doing since the release of the demo ?

"Well, a lot has changed but don't worry, not the essence of Wartales! We've taken your feedback into account and fixed a lot of the issues and areas that saw some negativity while also expanding on gameplay and features that we thought were secondary that resonated with you all. Over the weeks, the whole team has been working hard and you can be assured that we are not behind on the features we wanted to develop for the beginning of early access, there is some absolutely incredible stuff coming to the EA build that we genuinely cannot wait to see your reaction to.

We've added a lot of different content that we've talked about in previous diaries, namely the tombs of the ancients (dungeon crawler), the arenas (complex challenge with a small team), the rat invasions (how far will you go to burn the most nests?), Paths (echoes of the way you play), new elites, new units, new animals, new skills, talents, professions, items and so on. Enough to keep you on the edge of your seat for several dozen hours!"

[...]

Shiro Games explains the art of Wartales in Q&A#9.

Wartales Q&A #9: The Art of Wartales

What are the influences for the global art style of wartales?

The universe of Wartales is set in a medieval fantasy universe which draws its inspiration from medieval Europe, spanning an artistic period going from the 5th to the 14th century. The general philosophy is to offer credible environments and characters for fans of medievalism, while maintaining a somewhat original aspect.

Wartales' graphic universe is therefore influenced as much by a naturalistic and documentary approach as by artists with very dark and melancholic fantasy universes such as Arthur Rackham or John Howe.

What was the inspiration for the environment?

As said in the previous Q&A the environments of Wartales are very strongly inspired by Scotland and the north of England.

To be more specific this is the inspiration for the core of the world story, the Edoran empire. Edoran is inspired by the Roman/Celtic culture, and Wales is the real life location where this civilization existed. But Wartales is not a medieval documentary so we have mixed this core inspiration with a lot of other European cultures and different eras. The world of Wartales will be composed of many specific biomes that will reflect on the various local cultures. For example The empire of Edoran is based on Wales but Harag kingdom is more based on the Scottish highland and Belerion on Iceland.

So as you travel you will see some changes in the landscape.

[...]

Shiro Games write about the world of Wartales in their Q&A #8.

Wartales Q&A #8: The World of Wartales

Attention Mercenaries!

Welcome to this weeks Wartales Q&A!

Today, we talk about the World of Wartales and the inspirations behind it. We take a look at the different ways of navigating it, how it will grow and evolve over early access and some of the more interesting sights and scenes you can expect to come accross in your travels...

Read on to find out more!

How many regions are there in Wartales and how do they differ from one another?

First of all, I want to make it clear that the number of explorable regions at the release of the EA will be different than at the final release. It is therefore expected that we will release a good number of regions during the EA. We want to take the time to work on our regions properly, whether it's the narrative, visual or gameplay aspects. In this sense, we have set a rule for ourselves and we are committed to it: each region must offer a different gameplay experience. If by adding a new region, we change nothing except the location of places to discover, then we will not validate such a region. Regarding the average size of a region, the size of the demo is an medium size and we plan to develop between 20 and 30 regions, each with its own scenario, its own game rules, its own unique missions, its own local specialities, its own geology and all its own specificities.

[...]

Learn more about Wartales by reading the Compendium:

Wartales Q&A #7: The Compendium of Wartales

Attention Mercenaries!

Welcome to this weeks Q&A with the wartales devs!

Today, Quentin talks all about the all encompassing Compendium of Wartales, giving us insight into how it will impact your troop, their belongings, the bonuses it provides while also delving into why Knowledge points are going to play a huge role in how you approach and progress through the game...

Read on to find out more!

[...]

Thanks Henriquejr!

Henriquejr spotted Q&A #6 for Wartales:

Wartales Q&A #6: Customizing Wartales

Attention Mercenaries!

Welcome to this weeks Q&A with the wartales devs!

Today, we're talking about the huge variety of gear options at your disposal within the world of Wartales, ranging from your camp, your characters, their specialities, cosmetics and covering a little gameplay ground with how your actions and decisions impact your world, story and more...

Read on to find out more!

"In Wartales, you play as a group of filthy mercenaries recruited from dirty inns who will do anything to get rich. The first element you can customise is of course the companions and there are many options available to you.

First of all, from a gameplay point of view. Your troop is composed of a number of companions that you can pay, feed and satisfy. In this sense, you can compose the team of your choice. As I said in the combat Q+A, you will be able to choose your companions according to specific gameplay criteria: do you enjoy training animals? Put together a team of beastmasters and wolves! Do you like fire? Then a few bombers will come in handy!

[...]

In Wartales Q&A #5 you can learn more about contracts and quests:

Wartales Q&A #5: Contracts & Quests

Attention Mercenaries!

Welcome to this weeks Q&A with the wartales devs!

Today, Quentin is digging into the many types of quests and contract work within the world of Wartales, including (but most definitely not limited to) taking out huge groups of bandits, escorting (or attacking) caravans, smuggling contraband, involving yourself in geopolitical issues, narrative quests and how they affect the world and more...

Read on to find out more!

What kind of contracts can I expect to find?

"In Wartales, you play as a band of mercenaries who roam the plains and mountains of a harmonious but ruthless medieval universe. Survival is difficult and your companions need to be paid, fed, have their armour in good condition, heal their wounds, satisfy their desires... In short: you need money!

Luckily, in these lands, bandits, wolves and other misguided individuals abound and attack honest merchants and brave peasants. So sometimes, those who have some money left over advertise in the villages, in exchange of a service for a few krowns. The supply is high in the villages and the emissaries have to manage the flow of contracts in order to offer the mercenaries only the most lucrative ones.

There are different types of contracts that provide a renewal of the gameplay and a variety of objectives. You can expect to track down a rival gang that is causing chaos in the area, loot all the riches of a bandit's hidedout, attack a caravan carrying contraband liquor (you can always keep the liquor and say it has been misplaced), escort a caravan of foreign peddlers, eliminate a powerful and feared individual, trade with the village of another region, and many more... including contracts specific to each region!

And, if you have a hard tooth, you can negotiate the price of your contracts yourself!"

Are contracts randomly generated?

"Some of it is, indeed. There are two types of contracts in the game at the moment. The first is the procedurally generated contract, which follows very specific rules. If you need money, rest assured: villages will mostly have generated contracts to do and if you don't like some of them, you can always reroll them to get new ones that fit your desires or if you want to group contracts from common locations to maximise your time out of the village. The above list of contract types is only a portion of the ones you will solve but it is representative of what you can do.

The other type of contract is related to the game's narrative system: in each region, you will have the opportunity to experience the resolution of a scenario. While they are by no means mandatory, each scenario in each region is unique and represents the geographical, social and geopolitical issues of the region. For example, in one of the starting regions, war refugees have invaded a region: you can help them settle or, on the contrary, drive them out. Your choices will have a direct impact on the region: you will no longer come across refugees on the roads, the burgomaster will no longer be the same character, certain products will have disappeared from the stalls, etc.

Accepting a "scenario" contract will allow you to experience something different and unique that still exploits the basic mechanics of the game by taking new angles of approach. For example, you can participate in the destruction of a strategic bridge by performing a particular mining activity. Such contracts take longer to resolve, with more steps and twists, and have more narrative stakes than those procedurally generated. We believe that juggling these two types of contracts provides a balance of gameplay and, by extension, interest in the world of Wartales."

Are contracts the only type of quest?

"Not really. There are several layers of completion of a region. The first layer represents the scenario: once it is completed, the scenario layer of the region is completed and it then lies in its final state.
Next, you will be dealing with the objectives of the points of interest. Indeed, most of the points of interest you will come across, such as sawmills, farms or watchtowers, will have their own objectives. These will be referenced on your map, but we have chosen to be evasive about the process of solving them: we want to keep you involved in the game and we are scattering clues in these places to invite you to take action to find out how to solve the objective. Outside of the village contracts, these objectives represent another type of "quest" even if the format is different from that traditionally used in games of the same genre.

Finally, once the scenario has been completed, the contracts finished, all the location objectives validated, you'll have to wander around the area to find the secrets we've taken great pleasure in disseminating. This is the final layer of completing a region.

Other elements take the form of quests in the regions but they are connected to bigger systems that we can't wait to introduce you to: tracking down the Ghost Pack, becoming the local arena champion, clearing out rat nests, exploring a Tomb of the Ancients… and many others !"

Thanks Henriquejr!

In Wartales Q&A #4 you can learn more about work and professions:

Wartales Q&A #4: Work & Professions

Attention Mercenaries!

Welcome to the latest of our weekly Q&A's with the wartales devs!

This week, we have once again stolen Quentin away from precious development time to pester him about Professions and Work within the world of Wartales. Read on as he fills us in on the numerous ways you and your troop will be able to line their pockets, from mining precious ore, to thieving, to smithing the most devastating of weapons, to fishing a variety of regional fish and more...

What are some of the professions I can do in Wartales?

"In Wartales, you will be asked to perform tasks that require particular expertise or skills. To this end, we've created a system of professions that each of your companions can learn and master.
Some professions are linked to what we call "activities", unique mini-games with their own rules and challenges. One such activity is mining, which allows you to collect minerals from the deposits found throughout the world's mines. Strike at the right moment and collect some quality ore! There are different types of ore and their harvesting will depend on your level of mastery in mining (the same goes for finding gems while mining). This profession is closely related to that of the blacksmith. The ores collected can be used to forge weapons and armour, but also armour reinforcements capable of providing small bonuses in the statistics of your choice.

[...]

Thanks Henriquejr!

Henriquejr spotted Wartales Q&A #2 about combat:

Wartales Q&A #2: Combat in Wartales

Attention Mercenaries!

Welcome to the second of our weekly Q&A's with the wartales development team!

This week, Quentin, our Lead Game Designer/Producer gives us an insight into the easy to learn but hard to master combat system of Wartales, providing more information about how best to approach every fight, how your choice of weapons and units will be pivotal in your fights and why you'll need to thoroughly prepare for every confrontation that awaits you in wartales.

Read on to find out more...

What makes the fighting system in Wartales stand out from other turn based strategy games?

"We wanted to offer the player a combat system that is quick to learn but whose richness and depth unfold over the course of your playtime. Since the management component is one of the main aspects of the game, it was essential to link it to the combat system. In short, there are two layers of combat mastery; The first is simply winning the battle. The second is winning the battle efficiently, i.e., with as few wounds and armor repairs as possible.

Of course, winning a battle under catastrophic circumstances can be very resource intensive and can negatively impact the player's progress and economic expansion. Thus, the basis of a healthy economy is a good mastery of the combat system.

Wartales is not just a matter of fighting a skirmish to the death, we wanted to make a large variety of fights available to the player: you will be offered different combat objectives such as reaching a point in a given time, defending an area for a certain period of time, escorting a VIP, burning rats nests, fighting in arenas, attacking merchant caravans, assassinating a champion...

We designed a combat system that is malleable and adaptable to all of these requirements. The variety of objectives, encounters and game rules go hand in hand with the procedural generation of the battle area: this guarantees quality gameplay and replayability. The player must then deal with the battlefield, which is directly linked to the environment in which the fight was initiated (in the world) and procedurally generated according to the rules that govern these locations: is it a forest dotted with trees and tree trunks which archers can hide behind? A swamp in which the mud and mire make it difficult to get around? A mountain in the middle of a snowstorm that makes visibility almost impossible? The variety of combat environments and their procedural generation guarantees that the player will fight in a constantly renewed space and, by extension, always experience a different battle."

Why did we choose this particular combat style?

"Wartales’ combat system was designed to meet two requirements: the first being to distinguish itself from traditional tactical games by offering a more organic and faster system to learn and play. To do this, we removed certain mechanics such as the chance to hit and replaced them with a system of engagement that is simple to understand but whose mastery will make the difference between a perfectly executed fight and a mass grave.

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Henriquejr spotted an upcoming open world RPG - Wartales - some lore:

Wartales Q&A: The lore of Wartales

Hey Mercenaries!

Welcome to the first in a weekly series of Q&A's with our development team that will give you an exclusive look into the world of Wartales, it's development history, the future of the game, some exclusive looks at concept art and upcoming content and more as we build towards our release into Early Access later this year!

In this first Q&A, Shiro Games COO Nicolas Cannasse delves into the lore of Wartales and answers some of the more prominent community questions about this strange and hostile universe that we've found ourselves fighting to survive in.

Read on to find out more...

What were the main inspirations for the world and setting of Wartales?

"I’ve always been interested in medieval low fantasy settings, which are well illustrated in first seasons of Game of Thrones or several fantasy books. At first I wrote a more post-apocalyptic back-to-the-roots universe, but then we wanted it to feel more medieval while still being our own universe, so we got back to rewrite the medieval times including the old Roman Empire, the Plague, Christianism, etc. but by giving each of these topics a twist that makes it different from the history as we know it."

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