The Warrior is the first sword and heavy armor class introduced. Originally, they had a good defense stat because of their access to a shield, which didn’t do anything at the time other than provide a defense boost. They gained MP and Wisdom in Build 96, and in Build 97 were given a unique ability - the Helm - to set them apart from the Knight. In Exalt 1.1.0.0, the Warrior’s buff was nerfed, but most Helms no longer had cooldowns.
A maxed Warrior is capable of dealing extremely high damage-per-second, but as a close ranged offense oriented class, a degree of skill is recommended to make the most of it. Unlocking Warrior requires level 5 with Rogue, but new Steam accounts have this class unlocked by default. See his stat gains, caps, and averages here.
Warriors begin with Swords and max attack at 75, giving him extreme damage potential. Like other sword classes, his health capacity averages at 675 and caps at 770 (the highest available); the highest VIT cap lets him recover that quickly. The rest of his stats are pretty bland, including the other offensive stat, DEX, though the Helmet provides both defense and the Speedy status.
The Warrior is one of three sword classes, along with Knight and Paladin. Swords are very powerful weapons, boosted even more by their Helmet. Even with their short range, the Warrior a force to be reckoned with. The Sword Comparison guide provides a more detailed explanation of each sword’s capabilities.
Tiered swords are the bread and butter of the Warrior.
The Sword of Acclaim (Acclaim), Sword of Splendor and Sword of Majesty are the highest damaging tiered weapons in the game, at the cost of a 3.5 tile range. The Majesty is valued in particular, due to its elusive status as an Oryx 3) drop. The other two are tradable, though are often more expensive than other tiered items.
The Pirate King’s Cutlass (Cutlass) is much like a tiered sword, with a 130% fire rate and a slight range reduction. A tradable UT from Jon Bilgewater the Pirate King, and much more attainable than the Splendor, the Cutlass outdamages the former until a 20 DEF.
The Crystal Sword (CSword) is a decent sword for new players. It is remarkably similar to tiered swords, but its extra projectile lifetime gives it a fair 4.5 tile range. But it is also quite weak, outdamaged by even the T8 Ravenheart Sword.
These swords fire multiple shots, requiring you to get close to do massive damage.
The Demon Blade’s (DBlade) and Pixie-Enchanted Sword (Pixie) have fairly big spreads, but fairly decent damage. From a range of 1.37 and 1.87 tiles, respectively, they do the highest damage of any sword; Pixie at 0 DEF and DBlade for everything else. Most of the time, if and only if its safe to sit on an enemy, its safe to use them. DBlade is tradable and drops from the Abyss of Demons, and Pixie from a Gigacorn.
The Ancient Stone Sword (A.S.S.) is like the CSword, trading DPS for range. But what the ASS has is a massive damage per shot, meaning that minions that normally require multiple shots (multiple aims) will be killed in one. This comes at the cost of firerate; the Warrior’s Berserk helps make this more tolerable. It deals more than a CSword, but at a slightly lower (4 tile) range. This sword is dropped by the Stone Guardians.
The Sword of the Colossus (Colo Sword)’s 4.5 tile range and massive damage output (beating the Sword of Majesty) are incredibly appealing aspects of this Marble Colossus drop. But the shots alternate left and right, curving in and out, only hitting all shots at the front and end of its range. Regardless, the damage more than makes up for it, making this sword a very prestigous item.
Oryx’s Greatsword (Greatsword) is a unique sword that is dropped by Oryx 2. This is currently the only sword with the ability to armor pierce enemies with its primary fire, meaning it will do the same amount of damage regardless of enemy defense. This sword is best when enemies have astronomical defense, because most other swords are capable of outdamaging otherwise.
Divinity is an endgame sword that pierces and calls down AOE Exalted Beams for huge armor piercing damage. While it doesn’t get boosted by Berserk (thus losing out to other endgame options), it still a worthwhile weapon. A combination of healthy range, significant armor-ignoring damage, and unique crowd-control properties give it a strong niche in many situations.
The archetypical Helm gives Berserk to allies in range, and Speedy to the Warrior. Berserk serves to boost the whole group’s firerate, while the speed boost allows Warriors to dive into the fray. Speed can help with dodging, strafing, and then retreating from combat. In addition, most Helms give DEF on equip, giving the Warrior the 2nd best effective defense, behind the Knight.
Tiered Helms are most efficent at giving the Warrior’s main status effects.
The Helm of the Great General (GGen) (tradable) and Helm of the Tribune give the Warrior speedy for 6 seconds, while giving party Berserk for 6 and 6.5 seconds (@50 Wis). With enough pet MHeal, these buffs can be sustained infintely.
The Helm of the Juggernaut (Jugg) is a very elusive helm, an event white from either the Grand Sphinx or the Hermit God. Instead of Speedy, this helm gives Armored (a 1.5x DEF boost), along with 10 Defence and 5 Speed. This helm is no equal when it comes to survivability, effectiveness, and utility. Jugg lets Warriors stay in without any compromise to damage output. In addition, MP is the only barrier to applying Speedy and Jugg at the same time, which greatly simplifies rushing dangerous dungeons. But as an event white, it is extremely rare, and extremely difficult to re-obtain if you die - even with its blueprint.
The Helm of Draconic Dominance does not provide berserk, though fires 3 highly-damaging piercing fireballs, along with a +125 HP boost to yourself. Part of the Dragon Tamer set, it is dropped by the Ivory Wyvern.
The Hivemaster Helm (Bee Helm) doesn’t provide Speedy, but summons three orbiting bees. These bees have a collective DPS of 600, while the red bee will curse enemies for 4 seconds. The Curse can only affect up to 3 targets at any given time, and is applied when the red bee makes an attack. If Speedy is a deterrient (such as when very tight dodging is required), this Helm is very useful. It is dropped in The Nest
The Warrior is one of five heavy armor classes, which give the Warrior some much needed resiliance. Other armors may sacrifice defense for some other stats.
Tiered armors have no frills, just defense.
The Acropolis Armor (Acrop) and Dominion Armor (Domi) are the best tradable tiered heavy armors. Annihilation Armor is a small upgrade, providing +28 DEF, but is a soulbound endgame drop.
The Candy-Coated Armor (CC) gives the highest defense in the game (+30 DEF), but with a 5 DEX malus. Compared to T14, that’s only +4 DEF for a very offputting penalty. While it may help with some In Combat thresholds, this armor is weak compared to the highest tiered options.
The Fire Dragon Battle Armor sacrifices DEF to provide a valuable +6 ATK, along with a minor SPD boost. Its ability will poison enemies for up to 1,000 damage, which only adds to DPS. It’s dropped by Pyyr the Crimson Dragon.
The Breastplate of New Life gives a measly 14 DEF, but a massive +160 HP. It is great for survivability, especially if you happen to have Jugg. Health matters much more than DEF in many endgame areas, and players often swear by HP boosts anyway. As this armor will get you In Combat in more situations, it is best in said endgame areas (where any shot would, regardless of DEF).
These Oryx-themed armors sacrifices DEF to give very high offenses.
Mercy’s Bane (Mercy) is the best armor for sheer DPS. It offers a terrible +10 DEF, but an extremely strong +7 to both ATK and DEX. In places where DEF doesn’t matter, there really isn’t an equal. You could also combine with Jugg or 3 pieces of the Oryx’s Battle Attires set to make up the DEF loss.
The Gladiator Guard is a more sane pick. With a fairly decent +20 DEF, but “only” +5 ATK & DEX, it is still a very strong general use armor. In addition, a pretty big speed boots gives it quite a bit more utility. Even though it is rare Oryx 3 drop, it’s often much more practical in just about every situation, over the Mercy’s Bane.
The Zaarvox’s Heart (Zaarvox) again sacrifices DEF for a hefty amount of speed, this time. Wearing 2 pieces of the Dragon Tamer set gives you an extra +10 SPD on top.
Like most classes, Warriors often choose to priorities either offense or survivability. As a Warrior already has high DEF, DEF-giving rings are less effective than HP - and that’s ignoring that HP is often prefered on anyone.
The Ring of Exalted Health, Ring of Unbound Health, and Ring of Decades, as with any other class, remain excellent generalist options for increasing endurance. With the Brestplate of New Life, any heavy armor class can reach absurd levels of health.
The Forgotten Crown and the Magical Lodestone both provide an amazing +12 to offensive stats (+6 ATT and +6 DEX). The Crown’s HP boost is often considered better than the Lodestone’s DEF/SPD - though the SPD’s better for rushing, and the Lodestone with the Brestplate of New Life can compensate for the HP loss.
The Ring of the Pyramid is an older, but still viable, alternative to the aforementioned rings. While it provides less stats in general (providing +100 HP and +4 to ATT and DEF), it is a relatively balanced ring that most classes, including Warrior, can use effectively.
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The Chancellor’s Cranium is a pretty neat endgame ring, giving +120 HP and +6 DEF. It only gives 3 DEX. But when you take enough damage, you’ll proc a short ranged skull - easily making up and potentially even surpassing conventional offensive rings for damage. Short-ranged warriors appreciate every aspect that the Cranium gives.
The Warrior’s main strengths are having DEX boosting helms that also give him additional speed/defense, as well as having high offensive power. The Warrior’s high ATT stat allows him to deal absurd amounts of damage even without using the Helm. As a heavy armor class, a Warrior can have very high defense with which to shrug off hits, and his high VIT cap further complements this tankiness by allowing him to recover from hits faster than most classes. As a sword class, Warrior also has a high HP capacity which allows him to soak more damage than other classes. The Warrior’s helm makes him largely unhindered by his average SPD and DEX stats.
The Warrior’s main weakness is the short range inherent of swords. This forces him to tank hits if he wants to deal hits. Although fresh Warriors can deal decent DPS compared to other fresh classes, the sword’s range still puts potion-farming Warriors at a disadvantage compared to classes such as Bow or Staff class, who have access to longer range weapons. The CSword, A.S.S, and Colo sword can mitigate the disadvantage of short range.
Much like the Wizard, the Warrior lacks a defensive ability such as the Knight’s shield stun or a healing ability like that of a Paladin or Priest. With this in mind, even the most powerful Warriors need to pick their fights carefully and not get too reckless in combat.
The Warrior also benefits from Vital Combat as his high DEF requires more damage for the Combat Trigger and his 75 VIT makes the Combat Duration last for 3.4 seconds.
Warriors, with their attack speed boosting helms, are useful in groups, and are key if you want to crack the Mysterious Crystal. Large groups attacking can bring quick death to more enemies by boosting everyone’s attack speed, which is especially important when trying to break the aforementioned Mysterious Crystal. The damage by the group is boosted even higher when coupled with a Paladin’s seal boost. With the Hivemaster Helm, the Warrior can also provide the Curse status effect that other classes can benefit from as well as the Warrior.
Warriors, with their extremely high attack power, are able to take down event bosses extremely quickly if an opening is made for them. A skilled warrior can rise to the challenge of taking down an event boss himself if he is able to abuse the way Skull Shrines and Cube Gods shoot to where they predict the enemy will be. At a Skull Shrine or Cube God, you should rapidly twitch about the event to dodge some of the shots. A good Warrior (or any other class) should be able to make a Skull Shrine shoot behind itself, get in several shots, and back off. When fighting a Cube God, the biggest problem are the minions because most swords do not pierce enemies. Once the cube system is in a favorable position (far away from the Cube God), a Warrior can walk in strafing, making the Cube God shoot the wrong way until the cube system moves in on top of the Cube God again. Because the Warrior relies on his speed to manipulate the cube’s shot pattern, never go in once slowed by a cube minion. Wait until the slow effect wears off and try again. Especially if you do not have a Jugg, the “kill or be killed” philosophy applies here.
Warrior’s astronomical attack power gives him a considerable edge against certain dungeon bosses. He can easily kill Stheno before she even has a chance to move to her next phase, and can also make short work of Limon and Septavius. With an electric pet, it is possible to use Warrior (along with a few other classes) to almost instantly kill Limon solo through baiting her onto your pet. The Warrior’s extremely efficient boss-slaying and relative safety from minion damage in melee range make the class optimal for spamming dungeons to farm basic stats for other characters. Warrior also is critical in the Lost Halls, able to shrug off most small hits and deal massive damage in a dungeon where being in melee range is often safer than being at long range. There are, however, some bosses that a Warrior may have trouble with. His short range makes certain dungeon bosses, like Oryx 2, a serious hindrance to fight alone, so don’t be afraid to call upon allies who use other classes to help you take the fight to these bosses. In general, the Warrior fares poorly against bosses like Oryx 2 due to phases that primarily rely on ranged damage and punish being in melee range. With the changes to Oryx 2’s phases, Warrior is very strong in the updated phases (minus slow) but continues to struggle in shotgun phases.
The Warrior has several applications that can be used on the battlefield that work to his advantage, if used correctly. This class is often considered to be the strongest class for skilled players alongside the Wizard and Trickster, although it takes a good deal of experience to make the most of it. If you want to simply deal extremely high DPS, finish events and dungeons with great speed, can deal with the short range of swords, and are not adverse to “risky” or “dangerous” tactics, the Warrior is for you.
