Shiro Games' Wartales is a medieval open-world RPG which sees players control a party of mercenaries as they travel across a vast land in search of bounties and treasures. Much like the Mount And Blade series, the role-playing begins before players have even seen the game world, and they must choose their story in order to determine their starting attributes. A variety of potential starts will offer players a range of advantages and disadvantages and while these are generally quite well-balanced, there are some choices that will be more favorable to newer players than others.
Each option will present players will a variety of different classes and starting items, as well as certain penalties and bonuses depending on which option players choose. However, this opening party choice mainly determines which class types will appear in the player's starting party.
5 Young Farmers
The "Young farmers looking for a better life..." option will provide players with a party of 1x Brute, 2x Spearman, and 1x Archer. Along with this, players will also start with +10 Bread and a -2 Happiness penalty. This party may be a good challenge for more experienced players, but for newcomers, it can be difficult to make full use of the Spearman until they have reached a much higher level.
Relative to other classes, the Spearman offers less early-game damage and is therefore a bit slower in terms of progression. While the +10 Bread bonus is decent, this is not an especially difficult or expensive commodity to come by, and other parties offer significantly more substantial perks than this one. The -2 Happiness penalty can also be quite a hindrance as this will affect the party's motivation to move around the map, and they may need to rest more.
4 Merchant Escorts
The "Men escorting merchants who lost their employer..." choice will grant players a party of 1x Swordsman, 1x Warrior, 1x Spearman, and 1x Brute - as well as +150 Krowns and a -2 Medicine penalty. The main benefit of this party lies in its +150 Krowns boost, which will enable players to buy a lot of different items in the early game. This makes up for the Medicine penalty since buying this back will not cost anywhere near 150 Krowns.
As for the classes, they can deal a lot of damage with the combined might of the Swordsman, Warrior, and Brute, who can be customized either as a tank or a damage-dealing class. The Spearman will also offer some defensive benefits, but mainly later in the game when they have been leveled up.
3 Escaped Bandits
The "Bandits looking to escape the Guard..." option grants players a starting party of 1x Brute, 2x Rangers, and 1x Archer. Along with this, there will be 2x Braised Chicken (stolen item) and 6x Cloth (stolen item) in the party inventory. While the classes provided in this class will offer a lot of damage output, particularly when the Rangers reach level 2 and are able to equip daggers, the main reason this class may not be ideal for beginners is due to the stolen items that will show up in players inventories.
If players try to sell these to a vendor in the game, the guards will immediately be put on full notice, barring a single NPC in the Lakeside Camp who will accept stolen goods. However, cloth can be slightly harder to come by than players might expect, so having such a high number of this item from the start can be beneficial.
2 Military Deserters
The "Deserters fleeing and abusive captain..." starting choice will give players a party of 1x Swordsman, 1x Warrior, 1x Archer, and 1x Ranger, as well as +10 Raw Materials and a +50 Suspicion penalty. This well-balanced group is strong in every area and provides a range of both offensive and defensive capabilities as well as a range of weapon types.
The addition of +10 Raw Materials will be helpful when it comes to repairing armor and shields, but the +50 Suspicion penalty will make it extremely difficult for players to steal any items such as food during the early game. The Warrior and Archer class will be especially effective from the start, and offer a great balance between attack and defense, particularly if combined with the 'incredible resilience' companion bonus.
1 Apprentice Friends
The "Apprentice friends looking for an adventure..." option will give players a starting party of 1x Swordsman, 1x Archer, 1x Ranger, and 1x Brute. In addition, they will have +30 Influence and a penalty of -5 Raw Materials. The best Wartales starting party for newer players, the apprentices offer a very well-balanced group of different classes with well-rounded strengths in virtually every area.
The +30 Influence bonus is also extremely useful in the early game, as it will enable players to recruit an additional companion right away, thereby enabling greater customization and versatility among the party overall. The versatility offered by the Ranger and the Brute, as well as whichever other party member players decide to recruit, will mean this group is by far the most dynamic and useful starting party to begin with - especially for newer players.
Wartales is available on PC.