Wartales is a tactical RPG where you lead a mercenary band through a medieval land full of bandits. The map is split into regions, and each one has its own enemies, towns, and storyline. The base game comes with its own regions, and paid DLC adds more, from a sea region and a legendary monster hunt to a cursed forest and a city in unrest.
Content
Base game
Tiltren County
The starting county, with routes west, north, and through the mountain pass to the east.
- Kingdom / Status
- Independent
- How to Reach
- The standard starting region. It connects to Arthes and Vertruse through their border crossings, and to Mount Altis to the east.
- Content
- Base game
County of Arthes
An Edoranian border county divided between rival nobles and the Legion.
- Kingdom / Status
- Edoran
- How to Reach
- From Tiltren, cross the Edoranian Border Crossing into Arthes.
- Content
- Base game
Vertruse Province
A river-cut Gosenberg province known for vineyards, mills, and manor lands.
- Kingdom / Status
- Gosenberg
- How to Reach
- From Tiltren, cross the Gosenberg Border Crossing into Vertruse.
- Content
- Base game
Mount Altis
A mountain pass linking Tiltren County with the route to Ludern.
- Kingdom / Status
- Independent
- How to Reach
- Take the mountain pass east of Tiltren; the pass continues east toward Ludern.
- Content
- Base game
Ludern Region
A marsh region in Harag, with ruined settlements and plague-infected wildlife.
- Kingdom / Status
- Harag
- How to Reach
- Cross the Harag Border Crossing from Vertruse, or travel through Mount Altis from Tiltren.
- Content
- Base game
Grinmeer Province
Gosenberg's most urban province, built around its capital and university.
- Kingdom / Status
- Gosenberg
- How to Reach
- Travel northeast from Vertruse or south from Drombach County.
- Content
- Base game
Drombach County
A snowy Alazarian county in the northern mountains.
- Kingdom / Status
- Alazar
- How to Reach
- Travel north from Grinmeer or enter through the Drombach Border Crossing from Vertruse.
- Content
- Base game
Content
Paid DLC
Belerion Archipelago
An island chain reached by ship, with pirate crews and sea travel.
- Kingdom / Status
- Belerion
- How to Reach
- With Pirates of Belerion, use the new point of interest south of Tiltren and sail to the archipelago.
- Content
- Expansion: Pirates of Belerion
Ormance County
An Edoranian county occupied by Skelmars and divided into baronies.
- Kingdom / Status
- Edoran
- How to Reach
- With The Skelmar Invasion, travel west from Cortia in Arthes and pass through the border gate; Town of Two-Shores is the first stop.
- Content
- Expansion: The Skelmar Invasion
Wild Lands of Brigga
A remote Harag territory where trackers hunt corrupted animals.
- Kingdom / Status
- Harag
- How to Reach
- With The Beast Hunt, cross the Closely Watched Bridge south of Ludern and complete Worthy of Brigga to enter.
- Content
- Contract: The Beast Hunt
County of Rigel
A secluded Alazarian valley containing the lightless forest called the Weald.
- Kingdom / Status
- Alazar
- How to Reach
- With The Curse of Rigel, enter from Drombach through the Rigel Border Crossing; the scenario begins at the Edelweiss Inn.
- Content
- Expansion: The Curse of Rigel
County of Lombelle
A western Edoran county centered on Isandrin, the imperial capital.
- Kingdom / Status
- Edoran
- How to Reach
- With Fires in the Capital, sail from the Port of Arthes, southwest of Boethius Village, to Isandrin.
- Content
- Contract: Fires in the Capital
How Regions Work and How You Move Between Them
Each region is a large stretch of the map with its own towns, enemies, bandit camps, and storyline. You move between them through border crossings, and most of them charge a toll. A Border Pass lets your band through for free, and Vertruse's storyline is a place to earn one. Without a pass, you can pay Krowns or spend Influence to cross.
From Tiltren, the Edoranian Border Crossing leads west into Arthes. Vertruse is a busy junction, where the Harag Border Crossing opens the way east into Ludern and the Drombach Border Crossing on its northwest side leads into Drombach.
Region Locked or Adaptive Exploration
You choose how enemies scale when you start a new campaign. Adaptive exploration scales enemies to your band's strength wherever you go, so every region stays close to your party's power and you can head anywhere early on. Region locked exploration gives each region its own fixed difficulty instead, and enemies grow tougher the farther you travel from your starting village.
That fixed difficulty makes the order you explore in matter, since arriving early in a later region can mean facing enemies well beyond your band. Region locked suits players who like a clear sense of progress, because the challenge rises as you move on and you can feel your band getting stronger. Adaptive suits players who want to roam freely, though growth can feel less obvious when enemies rise with you. Neither mode is better overall, so pick the one that matches how you like to play.
Base Game Regions and the Order to Explore Them
The base game runs from Tiltren County, where you start, to Drombach County at the far end. Enemies get tougher as you travel toward Drombach, so the regions near the start are the easiest.
Arthes and Vertruse are close in difficulty, so you can go back and forth between them and visit whichever suits your band. Vertruse links to Ludern and Drombach, which makes it a useful stop while you build up. Ludern and Grinmeer Province come next, and Drombach County is the toughest of the base game regions, so it's best left until your band is well built.
Mount Altis, the Pass Between Tiltren and Ludern
Mount Altis is a mountain pass that connects Tiltren County to the Ludern Region, so it's a common route when you head toward Ludern. Bandits control the pass, and a tower there has to be liberated before you can explore it safely. A bandit toll station charges Krowns to cross, though you can fight your way past instead.
The pass also matters for Contract: The Fief, the DLC that adds fief management. You reclaim the Old Mount Altis Fortress first, then speak with Steward Vothier inside to unlock the feature. The fief is a system for ruling your own domain rather than a region, but it starts on this pass.
Getting to the DLC Regions
Every DLC region needs the base game, and each one has its own way in. The Belerion Archipelago, from Pirates of Belerion, is reached by sea. The entrance is on Tiltren's southern coast near the Old Lighthouse, where a damaged ship waits to be repaired by a carpenter.
The County of Lombelle, the setting of Contract: Fires in the Capital, is reached from the Port of Arthes. You find the port by heading southwest of Boethius Village on the map and talking to the port desk official, and a ship sails you straight to Isandrin, the capital. The ship's captain can take you back to Arthes when you're done.
Land routes cover the rest. Ormance County lies west of Cortia, the main town in Arthes, past a border gate. Wild Lands of Brigga sits south of Ludern, and you reach it across the Closely Watched Bridge, where you can talk your way across with Influence. The County of Rigel sits at the far west of Drombach and is reached through the Rigel Border Crossing.
How the DLC Regions Play Differently
Each DLC region changes how you play. Pirates of Belerion is built around sailing, with sea battles and head-to-head duels against sea captains. The Beast Hunt turns Wild Lands of Brigga into a hunt for a cursed beast, and you search for clues to its hidden lair while it can show up anywhere in the land. Its influence can turn your animal companions into Ghost Pack monsters, and that change can't be undone.
The Curse of Rigel takes a different approach by sending you into the Weald, a forest where your compass, exact position, and calendar vanish from view. A sanity meter tracks your whole troop there, and if it empties, the forest pushes you out, often with injuries. Contract: Fires in the Capital moves the story into Isandrin, where unrest can close streets and limit contracts. Fighting battles and dealing with situations lowers the Crisis Level, which is how the city settles.
The Skelmar Invasion sends you into Ormance, where each barony stays under Skelmar control until its central stronghold falls. Sieges add new fights on top of that. Since they're paid add-ons, the DLC regions are extras you can skip, and each one offers a different kind of challenge.
FAQ
How do you get to Pirates of Belerion in Wartales?
Once the ship is repaired, sail to Per-Bast Island. Its shipyard offers the blueprints you need, and you can build a travel post there to get back to the mainland.
What do you need to explore Rigel's Weald?
A lantern. Crafting one unlocks exploration of the Weald and the Field Laboratory, and the lantern burns oil as you explore, so keep a supply of oil on hand.
Can you go back to an earlier region in Wartales?
Yes. In region locked mode, enemies keep the strength they started with, so a band that has grown stronger can return and handle those fights more easily. In adaptive mode, enemies scale to you, so going back doesn't change the challenge much.