The 7 Paths
A path decides 6 things: which skills you may learn, which move [Space] fires, which tool that move grows on, which weapon families it may hold, where your stats start, and how fast they climb.
The 7 paths
6 specialists and one generalist. A path is chosen once, at hero creation, and cannot be changed. To play another, roll another hero.
KnightHolds the line · MeleeThe wall the rest of the party stands behind. Grows more health and more armor than anyone, and is the only hero who can put themself between a friend and what is coming.
[Space] Shield Wall. Pull nearby enemies onto your shield and take far less damage for a few seconds. It pulls them off your friends too. Your tree can rank it up.
Always: Unmoved. You are harder to shove or pull, and harder again every level. By the cap nothing moves you at all.
Opens with a Copper Sword, 16 damage, this path’s own.
A better Shield buys a wider pull, a longer stand, a deeper cut. It is the only thing a signature grows on. The whole shield ladder, in real numbers.
AssassinEnds fights · MeleeFast, sharp and fragile. Crits more often than anyone alive and hits harder for it, on the understanding that very little has to go wrong before it is over.
[Space] Shadowstep. Vanish, and your next strike is a guaranteed crit that hits far harder and leaves poison in the wound. Your tree can rank it up.
Always: Momentum. With a blade in hand, every hit you land makes the next one hit harder. Taking a hit yourself loses some of it.
Opens with a Copper Dagger, 10 damage, this path’s own.
A better Venom buys a harder strike, and real venom on it. It is the only thing a signature grows on. The whole venom ladder, in real numbers.
ArcherOpens fights · RangedQuick feet, a hard opening shot and a habit of not being where the blow lands. Trades a little health for crit, evasion and speed.
[Space] Heavy Shaft. One huge shot straight ahead. A better quiver drives it clean through a whole line of enemies. Your tree can rank it up.
Always: Quarry Marks. With a bow in hand, your shots mark what they hit, and every mark on the same target does more damage.
Opens with a Copper Bow, 12 damage, this path’s own.
A better Quiver buys more marks, held longer, and a stronger seek. It is the only thing a signature grows on. The whole quiver ladder, in real numbers.
MageRaw power · MagicThe hardest-hitting caster in the realm, with deep mana to spend on it. Everything goes into the spell and almost nothing into the body.
[Space] Detonate. A full ring of your own shots bursts outward from where you point. A better orb makes each one hit harder. Your tree can rank it up.
Always: Heat. With an elemental staff in hand, casting builds Heat, and Heat adds your weapon’s element to every spell.
Opens with an Ash Staff, 8 damage, this path’s own.
Cannot hold Rods. Every other weapon in the realm equips.
A better Orb buys a harder burst from every bolt. It is the only thing a signature grows on. The whole orb ladder, in real numbers.
NecromancerCommands an army · MagicNever fights alone. Anything you kill gets back up and fights for you, with no button to press. Deep mana and a sturdier frame than the other casters.
[Space] Soul Drain. Drain the life out of every enemy where you are pointing, and some of it comes back to you as health. A better idol widens the area and heals more. Your tree can rank it up.
Always: Harvest. Anything that dies near you gives you back health and mana, and it gives more the stronger you grow.
Opens with an Ash Staff, 8 damage, this path’s own.
A better Grave Idol buys more risen, tougher and standing longer, a wider and harder drain, and more health back from it. It is the only thing a signature grows on. The whole grave idol ladder, in real numbers.
PriestKeeps others alive · MagicThe reason a party comes home. The deepest mana pool in the realm and the fastest refill, spent keeping everyone else standing.
[Space] Group Heal. A pulse of light that heals every friend near you, other heroes included, and you with them. A better tome reaches further. Your tree can rank it up.
Always: Kept Alive. No single hit takes more than three quarters of your health. Below half, a killing blow leaves you on 1, every 60 seconds or every 15 seconds once trained.
Opens with an Olivewood Rod, 22 damage, this path’s own.
Cannot hold Staffs. Every other weapon in the realm equips.
A better Tome buys a stronger heal, carried further. It is the only thing a signature grows on. The whole tome ladder, in real numbers.
FreebladeEvery road at once · MeleeNo master, no mastery, and no door closed. Learns anything in the tree and can pick up any other hero’s tool, though a borrowed tool never gives quite what it gives its owner.
[Space] Ultimate. An explosion that changes with what you are holding, adding a fan of shots, an elemental wave or a whirlwind. Skill points rank it up. Your tree can rank it up.
Always: Borrowed Craft. You use any tool you carry like the hero it was made for, and hold a wizard’s Heat at half strength.
Opens with a Copper Sword, 16 damage, this path’s own.
It can carry any of the other 6 tools, and draws 60% of what a specialist draws from the same item. What each one does, worst to best.
Where every hero begins
| Stat | Knight | Assassin | Archer | Mage | Necromancer | Priest | Freeblade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | 9 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Defense | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Health | 200 | 150 | 150 | 100 | 100 | 125 | 150 |
| Mana | 100 | 125 | 100 | 150 | 150 | 175 | 100 |
| Vitality | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| Wisdom | 20 | 20 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 23 | 20 |
| Speed | 37 | 40 | 40 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 37 |
| Dexterity | 21 | 28 | 26 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 24 |
| Crit | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Evasion | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
What each path starts with. A path opens ahead on the stats it is built around and behind on the ones it is not, so the spread starts before your first level: attack, defense, health, mana, vitality, wisdom, speed and dexterity already differ.
How fast each one grows
What each path gains per level, and where that leaves it. Pick a level to compare them at.
- Archer +1.79 per level 54
- Mage +1.63 per level 48
- Assassin +1 per level, and +1.48 per level from level 5 45
- Necromancer +1 per level, and +1.6 per level from level 6 45
- Priest +1 per level, and +1.3 per level from level 6 39
- Freeblade +1 per level from level 3 32
- Knight +0.79 per level 28
- Knight +1 every 4 levels 7
- Freeblade +1 every 6 levels 4
- Archer +1 every 8 levels 3
- Necromancer +1 every 7 levels 3
- Priest +1 every 7 levels 3
- Assassin +1 every 10 levels 2
- Mage +1 every 10 levels 2
- Knight +17 per level, and +21 per level from level 8 680
- Freeblade +14 per level, and +18.11 per level from level 8 560
- Assassin +13.17 per level, and +17.28 per level from level 8 540
- Archer +12.33 per level, and +16.44 per level from level 8 520
- Necromancer +12.83 per level, and +16.83 per level from level 8 480
- Mage +12.33 per level, and +16.44 per level from level 8 470
- Priest +10.5 per level, and +14.56 per level from level 8 450
- Priest +4 per level and +1 every 2 levels and +1 every 12 levels 285
- Mage +5 per level 270
- Necromancer +4 per level and +1 every 2 levels and +1 every 4 levels and +1 every 24 levels 265
- Freeblade +5 per level and +1 every 6 levels and +1 every 24 levels 225
- Archer +4 per level and +1 every 2 levels and +1 every 4 levels and +1 every 24 levels 215
- Assassin +3 per level and +1 every 2 levels and +1 every 24 levels 210
- Knight +3 per level and +1 every 2 levels and +1 every 3 levels and +1 every 8 levels 195
- Knight +2 every 3 levels and +1 every 2 levels 31
- Priest +2 every 3 levels and +1 every 3 levels 30
- Necromancer +2 every 3 levels and +1 every 6 levels 26
- Archer +2 every 3 levels and -1 every 6 levels 15
- Freeblade +2 every 3 levels and -1 every 6 levels 15
- Assassin +2 every 3 levels and -1 every 3 levels 11
- Mage +2 every 3 levels and -1 every 3 levels 11
- Priest +1 every 1.5 levels 39
- Mage +1 every 3 levels 31
- Necromancer +1 every 3 levels 28
- Knight -1 every 6 levels 16
- Assassin -1 every 6 levels 16
- Freeblade -1 every 6 levels 16
- Archer flat, no growth 20
- Assassin +3 by level 25 43
- Archer +2 by level 25 42
- Priest +2 by level 25 39
- Mage +1 by level 25 38
- Necromancer +1 by level 25 38
- Freeblade +1 by level 25 38
- Knight +1 by level 25 38
- Assassin +2 per level and +1 every 5 levels and +1 every 24 levels 81
- Archer +1 per level and +1 every 2 levels and +1 every 3 levels and +1 every 24 levels 71
- Freeblade +1 per level and +1 every 2 levels and +1 every 4 levels 66
- Mage +1 per level and +1 every 2 levels and +1 every 12 levels 61
- Necromancer +1 per level and +1 every 2 levels and +1 every 12 levels 61
- Knight +1 per level and +1 every 3 levels and +1 every 8 levels 56
- Priest +1 per level and +1 every 3 levels and +1 every 8 levels 56
- Assassin +2.5% every 4 levels 15%
- Archer +2.5% every 6 levels 10%
- Knight, Mage, Necromancer, Priest, Freeblade flat, no growth 0%
- Archer +3% every 6 levels 12%
- Knight, Assassin, Mage, Necromancer, Priest, Freeblade flat, no growth 0%
Growth curve only: no gear, no skill points, no Potions drunk. Crit and evasion have the same cap for every class; a class only gets there sooner.
Proficiency, and what a weapon asks for
The one gate on every weapon in the realm, the free perks for pushing past it, and the short list of things a path may never hold.
You have 3 proficiencies, one per fighting style, and they are the only thing any weapon asks of you. Deal damage with a style and that style’s proficiency climbs, so the way to hold a better sword is to keep swinging a sword. Nothing here costs a skill point, and no path is locked out of a style: a Mage who spends a week with a bow will hold better bows than an Archer who never picks one up.
Push one past what your weapon needs and it starts paying on its own. Each style hands you 3 perks on the way up, and the whole roster is here.
| Perk | What it does | Reached at |
|---|---|---|
| Cleave | wider, longer swings, and a wider thrown blade | Melee 10 |
| Momentum | melee kills refund 14 stamina | Melee 18 |
| Executioner's Edge | +25% melee damage vs foes below 30% Health | Melee 24 |
| Ricochet | arrows bounce to a second target for 60% damage | Ranged 10 |
| Steady Draw | faster arrows, +1 pierce | Ranged 18 |
| Double Nock | 12% free 2nd arrow, and marked KILLS erupt in a Deadeye burst: AoE (scales with Marks) that spreads Marks to nearby foes | Ranged 24 |
| Seeker Bolt | your casts bend toward the nearest foe, one true bolt | Magic 10 |
| Attunement | spells cost 20% less | Magic 18 |
| Overload | bolts splash 40% damage around the mark | Magic 24 |
Free, and permanent. There is nothing to buy and no point to spend: reach the number and the perk is yours.
Everything else in the realm equips for everyone, at the proficiency it asks for. A weapon outside your style is not wasted either: it swings just as hard in your hands as in anyone else’s, it simply scores its own style’s proficiency.
Signatures and the tool they grow on
[Space] is the signature key for everyone, and your path decides what it fires. All 7 fire from level 1: no unlock, no skill point, nothing to buy first. Every path also carries a skill in its own tree that makes its signature hit harder. Your signature grows on one thing only, the tool in your third equipment slot, so your big move gets bigger by finding gear, not by spending points. Tools drop from bosses, and they follow the level you beat.
A brand new hero’s starter tool fires the signature at 1.00x, the baseline every figure on this page is measured against. The best tool in the realm, The Unbroken Shield, fires it at 2.84x for the Knight it belongs to, and at 2.10x for a Freeblade, who borrows every tool broadly rather than deeply. Another path’s tool does nothing equipped, and it still sells. A weapon is the other way round: any path may swing any weapon it has the proficiency for, with 2 exceptions in the whole realm, named below. What every tool does, worst to best, in tiles, seconds and percentages, is on the Items page.
| Path | Signature on [Space] | Carries | Starts with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knight | Shield Wallgrows on a Shield, from a Cracked Shield | Shield | Cracked Shield |
| Assassin | Shadowstepgrows on a Venom, from a Weak Venom | Venom | Weak Venom |
| Archer | Heavy Shaftgrows on a Quiver, from a Frayed Quiver | Quiver | Frayed Quiver |
| Mage | Detonategrows on an Orb, from a Dull Orb | Orb | Dull Orb |
| Necromancer | Soul Draingrows on a Grave Idol, from a Chipped Idol | Grave Idol | Chipped Idol |
| Priest | Group Healgrows on a Tome, from a Worn Tome | Tome | Worn Tome |
| Freeblade | Ultimategrows on an Oddments, from a Cracked Shield | Oddments | Cracked Shield |
Who can learn what
2 skill points a level, spent in one tree. Almost every skill belongs to a path, so what you can buy is what your path does.
| Path | Its skills |
|---|---|
| Knight | Pain Tolerance · Bloodlust · Whirlwind · Shield Wall · Thornmail · Shield Line |
| Assassin | Whirlwind · Executioner · Shadowstep · Momentum · Slippery · Ambush |
| Archer | Hunter's Eye · Steady Aim · Evasion · Heavy Shaft · Long Draw · Barbed Arrows |
| Mage | Arcane Font · Charge · Chain · Detonate · Overheat · Arcane Homing |
| Necromancer | Arcane Font · Dominate · Summon Thrall · Legion · Plague · Undying · Lifesteal · Signature Power |
| Priest | Arcane Font · Absolution · Tithe · Group Heal · Last Mercy · Censure · Inner Light |
| Freeblade | Every skill except Inner Light |
A row your path cannot buy does not appear in your skill panel at all. Click a skill to jump to what it does.
Every skill
36 skills in the whole realm. What each one does, and who may buy it.