Wartales – Work & Professions

This week’s developer blog/Q&A for Shiro Games’ upcoming mercenary RPG Wartales sheds some light on the game’s profession system that will allow your troops to master some useful non-combat skills ranging from cooking to mining. And if you’d like to know how this system is going to work, and what the in-game benefits of becoming a master thief are, you should check this out:

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 take 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.

The cook will be able to prepare tasty dishes with various bonuses, ranging from reduced fatigue during the day to temporary damage gains. Always remember to have a good meal to boost your troop before fighting a powerful enemy! If patience is one of your virtues, and in order to add to your list of ingredients, there’s nothing better than perfecting your fishing skills!

Travel the world in search of carp, eels and other regional fishes! It is said that fish oils are also used in alchemy to concoct preparations. Do you think that one of your companions has the soul of a potion master? Or a tinkerer? Or a thief? Or a… I could go on and on, but I won’t give you the complete list of the professions in Wartales, we don’t want to spoil the surprise!”

How does learning professions benefit me?

“Professions are an important part of the game for three reasons.

Firstly, by learning professions, you open up a whole range of possibilities, not only in terms of content but also in terms of gameplay. For example, teaching a companion to be a thief allows you to steal from merchants, but also to pick locks on precious chests or strong doors. Furthermore, your stolen items can be sold on the black market and you can build up more friendly relationships with the usually unsavoury factions. You will then progress in this direction until you become an outlaw yourself. It is important to note that the different levels of skill in the professions not only offer advantages within the profession itself, but also open up new opportunities to cross-fertilise with other areas of the game. For example, getting better at fishing allows you to fish in the open sea…

The second reason will appeal to players who are eager to customise and optimise. Professions also give a bonus to your companions’ stats depending on their level of mastery of the profession. This means that depending on the role you have decided to assign to your companion within your gang, one profession may suit him better than another. In short, while it is possible to teach any profession to anyone, there is probably a combination of professions that will suit your battle strategy.

Finally, I would say that the job system is important for immersion reasons and this is really reinforced by the permadeath. Indeed, since every character that dies is permanently lost, a character that has become a skilled tinkerer after many creations becomes extremely valuable and losing him would be really damaging. In combat, he becomes a unit to be protected and funny situations can multiply: the timid apothecary and the bellicose blacksmith can become friends, the head hunter can replace for a while the cook who died in combat from an unfortunate arrow he shot himself…

The game situations, generated by the management rules, the harshness of the battles and the freedom of troop composition, are truly powerful sources of emergent narrative. And don’t worry about your replacement tinkerer: his master before him may have written a guide before he died to speed up his training. “

How many professions will there be at launch?

“I can’t give you a precise figure at the moment as some of the professions are still being developed and tested. I can only tell you that there will be enough of them to avoid duplication within a reasonably sized troop!”

Will new professions be added over the course of Early Access/After release?

“Well, we are committed to deploying quality content in each iteration. So if there are professions that require more development time, we’ll make sure they fit perfectly with our vision before adding them to the game. And who knows, if the community comes up with ideas for new professions during EA, we’ll be willing to consider them and add them to the game if they can make a real difference!”