This article has been edited to fit the game update of December 8th.

Thandar has a robust mercenary industry. While most that sell their services are handy in battle, the Fighter is in a class all of their own. Do not expect more of them than this, because this is all they know.” – The Emperor’s Guide to Thandar.

“When looking for a sellsword you must keep in mind that, though you see many available and looking for work, the best warriors don’t need to advertise.”The Emperor’s Guide to Thandar.

“Remember to pay your fighters properly. Do not make a mistake and assume that they cannot count.” – The Emperor’s Guide to Thandar.

Lore from Hero Realms Blog Post

The Fighter archetype is usually a tank. Able to soak up a lot of damage and deal as much in return. The Fighter in Hero Realms has the highest health total of the existing classes and is built towards aggression – using both skills and abilities to defeat their opponent so fast that they won’t have a chance to recover.

Skill / Ability / Health Upgrades

Everything the Fighter does in a game is geared towards defeating their opponent as fast as possible and their Skill and Ability reflect that quite well. There are two different routes on the two upgrade trees and they are both quite similar. One route focuses on straight damage – used however the player wants to use it. The other focuses on taking out champions, so that the damage in the Fighter’s deck can be directed at the opposing hero’s health instead.

Armor Choices - on level 9

The Fighter has one of the lowest health requirement for magic armor among all the classes – only outrun by the Wizard. The most expensive armor only requires 20 health to work, which feeds into the idea that the Fighter likes to go down swinging. 

Like everything else in the Fighter’s deck, their magic armor provides more damage. There is just a slight difference on how to go about getting it. The Spiked Pauldrons deliver only 1 damage. But they do however deliver every single turn, while the Helm of Fury gives 3 damage, but only if a guard is in play. The choice is roughly between two play styles. Is the player going to be buying champions or not?

The Deck

Starting Deck

Ruin of Thandar Treasures - 2 of 4 enters the Deck on level 5 and 7

Remember that any cards with both bold and italic text has different functions in PvP and PvE. Therefore look carefully at the italics on the Double-bladed Axe, Hand Scythe and Jagged Spear as these are the abilities relevant for the app.

The Lost Village Treasures - 1 of 2 enters the Deck on level 11

Thoughts and Comparisons

The below schematic attempts to give an overview of the Fighter’s starting deck and the upgrades available from treasures. 

Keep in mind that all of the RoT and LV treasures have been added in their row – despite the fact that only half of them will be attainable for a hero. Also, if a treasure card replaces a card in the starting deck, only the new additions have been counted in the treasure row.

GoldDamageDrawSpecialDefenseHeal
Start8513
RoT131122
LV531
Total8222150

The Fighter has 8 gold in their starting deck – one Ruby and six 1-gold. Along with the Thief, this is the only class that has no gold dependent on other factors. This means that the Fighter’s early gold profile is better than the Cleric but worse than Thief, Wizard and Ranger. The Fighter has no treasure cards that are able to improve on their gold profile.

The Fighter has no heal in their deck, but it has a ton of damage. Curiously enough, the Fighter isn’t in the top of the damage race with their starting deck, but is outrun by the Wizard by 2. Even the Thief can do more damage if they are lucky. This changes however, once treasures start entering the deck. Five out of the six available treasures adds extra damage to the deck and the Fighter ends up with the highest damage profile among all classes. Remember that the hero can’t attain all of these treasures simultaneous though. 

The extra damage from trashing the Jagged Spear is the Fighter’s only special ability. One could argue that compared to the Ranger’s and Cleric’s ability to bring cards from their discard pile back to hand or to stun a guard, this is a little underwhelming. Thinning the deck and dealing more damage is however also useful.

Besides having the best damage profile, the Fighter actually also has the best defense in their deck. Although the other classes’ champions have expendable abilities, none of them have more than 2 defense on their own. The Fighter has the Seasoned Shield Bearer with 5 guard-defense. It also starts with the highest amount of health – 60 health.

Until the Lost Village treasures are introduced at level 11, the Fighter only has one possible draw in their deck. The Throwing Axe from the starting deck isn’t an independent draw either as it needs enough damage to trigger the draw. This means that the Fighter has the least draw potential among all classes with only 2 draws, while Ranger, Thief and Wizard all have at least double that amount.

 

“You will hear screaming. This is normal.” – The Emperor’s Guide to Thandar.

Lore from Hero Realms Blog Post

Balancing

During the Beta, some balance changes have been made to the Fighter. They are listed below. The old effect is the card on the left side.