Fighter

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Fighter
Tier 1 Class
Human Fighter Large.png
Class traits
Class trait: INSTINCTS INSTINCTS
Monsters of an equal or lower level always have their location revealed
Class trait: VETERAN VETERAN
Fighters earn 1 extra experience on any monster kill (Permanent Trait: Learning Learning), 10% less exp required to level
Class trait: PIT DOG PIT DOG
Dungeon runs start with 1 level of standard Trait: Death Protection Death Protection on the character
Suggested Races
Class: Fighter Elf Fighter, Class: Fighter Goblin Fighter, Class: Fighter Human Fighter, Class: Fighter Orc Fighter
Class Challenges
Fighter Bronze ChallengeFighter Bronze Challenge Bleat It

Fighter Silver ChallengeFighter Silver Challenge Toe-to-Toe

Fighter Gold ChallengeFighter Gold Challenge The Arena

Unlocking
Building: Guild Level 1 Adventure Clubhouse

Fighters are heroes who go about hitting evil things for a living. They're generally good at surviving long enough to brag about it afterwards.

So, what's he about?

Class trait: INSTINCTS INSTINCTS: You know where monsters are. They are the same level as you are and not really worth fighting. But if you get one level ahead of them, you get first strike against them. This makes most of them into just XP powerups sitting there for you to pick them up. So this reads as: You know where the XP powerups are.

Class trait: VETERAN VETERAN: This makes the "XP powerups" worth more. Also, it makes getting a level ahead of them easier. First you have to fight something above your level for bonus experience to outlevel a bunch of popcorn. Then fighting the next thing above your level becomes easier, because you can use all the low level monsters to refill your health and mana by leveling up mid-fight.

Class trait: PIT DOG PIT DOG: And this is what you may use for that first tough fight. This is an extra hit on something bigger than you early on, guaranteed on every run. If you start off by killing something bigger than you with a glyph, maybe a potion and this, you can then munch on popocorn and keep killing other big stuff with ease. Alternatively, since you're likely to reach a really high level, this can mean one big hit on a boss at the end.

Strategy

Fighters are all about finding "popcorn", and getting into a position to beat tougher monsters by using weaker monsters. Since so much about them revolves around leveling up in order to refill health and mana instantly, they do well if they build up large pools of either health, mana, or both to spend and restore. Since they don't have any inherent fighting ability most of what they do revolves around good use of glyphs.

This is something that often confuses newbies - the average gamer would expect the Fighter to be more of a straightforward melee character. In another game, the DD Fighter would probably be some sort of Priest, as he utilizes experience and a mix of martial and magical power to do his thing.

Besides the lone Death Protection, the Fighter has no innate fighting ability. So some combination of preparations, glyphs, items, potions, and later, gods has to be used at the very beginning of a run, before he develops a large suppy of easily disposable low level monsters (a "popcorn bowl") and really starts leveraging experience as a weapon.

It is also possible, and often favorable, to use your health to fight regular monsters for experience and dings while simultaneously pelting the boss with glyph damage. This lets the "humble" fighter start the boss fight (or a tough fight) much earlier than one would think and still use both his bars and all his resources to the maximum.

Races

Remember - fighters like to level-up mid fight against something huge. If your health isn't good enough to tank hits from the boss - pelt the boss with magic, and fight the other guys with health to level up. This takes practice, but it is worth the practice as most fighters get scary once you wrap your head around that concept.

Human Fighter Human

The human racial bonus kicks in at mid-late levels, so he's not in a rush to convert glyphs. The fighter appreciates this because he needs the glyphs to level up early. Use the glyphs to level up a bit, explore and round up the "popcorn", then dump the ones you don't need to enable the human big damage bonus. Then just throw everything at the boss, much popcorn to level up, repeat.

Since the human allows plenty of glyph use, you can just grab a cheap leveling tool to back it up and save your Class trait: PIT DOG PIT DOG DP. You'll be a fine spellcater, and eventually have huge melee damage with no effort invested, but you may not have the means to get too many melee hits in on the boss. Once you've got the ball rolling, you might look around the map for a bit of a health boost, damage resistance, death protection, first strike, things like that - it might come in handy.

If your health isn't up to tanking hits from a boss yet, use it to fight other guys, while you pelt the boss with glyph damage. Why let all the health and damage go to waste? Practice makes perfect.

Dwarf Fighter Dwarf

Any dwarf, once leveled up and once you convert enough stuff, will be a big blob of health. They're not in a rush to convert glyphs, as the bonus requires levels to become significant. The fighter can get the dwarf leveled up, using all the glpyhs the dwarf isn't in a hurry to convert. Then, once you are a big blob of health, who got there by becoming a good glyph user first, the fighter abilities let you ding a lot to refill both pools and blob all over the place.

What you will want is a leveling tool or two and good glyph use for exploration, leveling up and rounding up the popcorn. Feel free to spend the Class trait: PIT DOG PIT DOG DP, too, use any means to get leveled up. Do conserve health potions and popcorn, you'll want to be able to ding and refill your eventually huge health pool.

~ Some God Tips ~

Two gods make Class: Fighter Dwarf Fighter flow in a particularly fine way.

God: Mystera Annur Mystera Annur lets you build up as a spellcaster while you use your glyphs to explore, "popcorn bowl", and level up. God boon: Refreshment Refreshment lets you get mana refills for converting glyphs. You want to do this against the boss, which is also when you really need your health to finally become huge. Dump all your glyphs for a glyph barrage on the boss, then ding for a full refill of your suddenly huge health pool (and more glyph use).

God: Dracul Dracul is the other god that plays rather fine in a more melee oriented fashion, as he is the deity all dwarves love to worship anyway. Fighters in particular appreciate the lifesteal and the refill boons. Those scale with your level, and fighters are the kings of getting high level. Remember to use your glyphs, though - any Drac Dwarf is a scary healthmonster later on in a run, but it's your glyphs that get you there.

Elf Fighter Elf

Elves have an easy time getting their mana pool large eonugh for serious spellcasting. At the very least good enough for leveling up. They also have trouble refilling it, which is what being a Fighter is all about. The elf spellcasting gets the high level kills for bonus XP, and the fighter lets the elf munch on popcorn for mid-fight refills. It's a beautifully sinergistic combo, and not very taxing on the brain.

A pure spellcasting Fighter can indeed work, but do consider that a dinging spellcaster always appreciates at least a bit of help with popcorn munching. A modest health and/or damage boost will help you ding and get melee hits in here and there. A Fighter dings both bars, no need to let one go to waste.

~ Some God Tips ~

Depending on whether going mad with mana for a pure, pure spellcaster, or developing your health a bit will most likely determine your choice of god. The first option is so straightforward it doesn't need writing up, but the second option is interesting to explore:

Glowing Guardian - since developing your mana pool involves converting stuff, and the refill plan involves dinging a lot, this is a very sensible (and obvious) choice. There are many ways to play this race/class/god combination, have some fun with it.

Jehora Jeheyu - works for any Fighter, ofc, but it's likely that the Elf would be more interested in making his health large and functional rather than spend mana potions on making his mana even bigger.

Dracul - The free level up at the start increases the power of your fireballs, the lifesteal lets you get more out of munching popcorn, and provided you can find a health boost the refills are rather nice. You will be a top-notch spellcaster even if you go faithless - but Drac lets you work on your healh plan. Takes a bit of practice, but works rather well.

Halfling Fighter Halfling

The most straightforward way to handle a Class: Fighter Halfling Fighter is to use his potions to extend his health spike, drinking them once he runs out of level-ups. Building health, resists and damage is obviously very good here. Keep in mind that this still means leveling items and glyph play to start things off.

The other way to play the little guy is to use some of the health potions to fight monsters while throwing spells at the boss at the same time. This is pretty handy if you're up against bossess you'd rather spellcast against. Which is most of them, simply because you can start earlier. Fight the map with your health, pelt the boss with you mana, ding both bars - fighters are really good at this sort of thing once you get some practice. Just make sure you boost your health early on in some way.

The god of choice would be Jehora Jeheyu, the patron god of mid-fight dings. Cosider all other Halfling health potions shennanigans, too. Many gods can let you turn them into early boosts which the fighters love, or late game damage spikes for when you're done dinging.

Gnome Fighter Gnome

The Class: Fighter Gnome Fighter is the most generic gnome and the most generic spellcasting fighter there is - first you explore looking for mana boosts and glyphs. Then you use your glyphs to level up a bit by killing monsters higher level than you, and you can because you don't need to convert glyphs early on. Then you ding off popcorn kills while throwing spells at the boss. And when you're as high level as you can possibly be, dump all the CP you can afford into mana potions which refill your mana for more spells at the boss. Once two or three boss dungeons start cropping up, just use the more glyph succeptible boss as an exceptionally high level kill for bonus experience.

The gnome CP refills along the fighters leveling refills, make the Class: Fighter Gnome Fighter a terrific Pisorff user. Since a Pisorff spamer build is generally easy to build (16-ish mana, the glyph itself and refills which you have covered), this allows you to use the huge amount of total refills for leveling AND hitting the boss at the same time. The reason to point this out is because gnomes are really good at fireballing bossess. They get high level, then cast a lot of BURNDAYRAZ at the target for a lot of extra burning damage. Preparing Pissorf becomes possible a bit later into the game when folks have allready fixated on the other glyph. It pays to keep both options in mind from the get go.

What you do with your health, damage or anything other than mana pool size, honestly, is up to you. A purely spellcasting gnome fighter "plays itself" to a large degree, but expanding your mana pool can hog all of your resources - be they gold, piety, exploration while looking for stuff, or preparations. Boosting the other stuff is worth it, if you can afford it - you're a fighter, you refill both bars wihen you ding, and you need to munch on popcorn TO ding and that is easier with a bit of health and/or damage.

Orc Fighter Orc

The Orc brings much-needed damage to the Fighter at a very early level, allowing the Class: Fighter Orc Fighter a much easier leveling phase than most Fighters. His end-game payoff can be lacklustre if he can't get many melee hits in, so keep that in mind and score a bit of a health boost, some resistance or something if you think it'll come in handy.

Your Glyph: PISORF PISORF game is obscene. The glyph works off base damage, which the Orc converts for. The orc likes to explore a lot early to find stuff to convert, and the Pisorf spammer likes to explore early to line up monsters to slap into one another. A Fighter would need glyphs to level, but an Orc can convert them for early damage wich serves the same purpose. But the damage also makes Glyph: PISORF PISORF stronger, which means it gets applied via a glyph, and the fighter is a great spellcaster. The fighter dings easily, which lets him refill mana to cast more Glyph: PISORF PISORF.

The preferred starting god is God: Binlor Ironshield Binlor Ironshield for the glyph, but the race/class/deity combination is so strong that there isn't a real need to swap out most often. End game God boon: Stone Skin Stone Skin spam is actually synergistic with being an Class: Fighter Orc Fighter (lets you get hits in), as are his damage boons (they amplify your Orc damage bonuses). There are many other ways to play the combination, naturally, this one is just the most synergistic.


~ Advanced Tip ~

This is a frequent PQI combination, and it pays to learn to handle it. As long as the PQI isn't asking for Badge: Warmonger Warmonger (no glyph use, so no Glyph: PISORF PISORF) or Badge: Faithless Faithless (no gods, so no God: Binlor Ironshield Binlor Ironshield for guaranteed Glyph: PISORF PISORF), or Badge: Purist Purist (no preps), in which case, have a fun little challenge.

Otherwise, just prep God: Binlor Ironshield Binlor Ironshield and the Item: Crystal Ball Crystal Ball, explore for early damage boosts (other glyphs to convert, mainly) and position monsters into a big pile as you explore. Grab an easy L4 monster along the way if you want. Then move over into a ding-friendly God, or not, and just Glyph: PISORF PISORF everything into powder. Once you get a bit of practice with it, you'll be tacking the Badge: Vicious Vicious onto the PQI for extra money whenever you see this combination.

Goblin Fighter Goblin

The Class: Fighter Goblin Fighter, also known as "The King of Ding", is all about weaponizing your experience bar. It's a bit on the "awesome but impractical" side of things, especially before you get familiar with it and develop your kingdom a bit (namely the items and goods you have at your disposal).

What you'll be looking to do is boost your health and mana and ding your big bars at the right times for big refills. It's essentially like being an extra efficient goblin - it takes killing even fewer things to level up, you get to round up and keep more popcorn than usual, and if you boost your bars well enough, most likely using gods, you're very likely to get in a few of those very valuable high level dings for high level hits.

If this seems vague, it's because this is probably the most open-ended combination you can imagine. Grab a god that rewards you for converting stuff, a god which rewards you for leveling up, or a god which lets you benefit from either and go nuts. Every goblin is a popcorn-munching stat-bar-padding ding-monger, as are most fighters, so the guide for this combination should be a well-written goblin racial page.

How to truly pull it off on an early kingdom or without the help of gods is tricky, as items in general don't really let you pad your bars as much as gods do. Try to get efficient kills, use glyphs to ding, get as high level as possible (and that can be very high indeed), and unload your potions and death protections if you have any.

The more features you unlock, and the more familiar you get with various features, the more you'll be able to wring out of these little guys.

Items

The Item: Balanced Dagger Balanced Dagger is a very good early find due to Class trait: INSTINCTS INSTINCTS. This approach reduces the amount of popcorn on the map, but allows for extreme blackspace conservation.

A fighter has no way to start fighting enemies above it's level, so the standard leveling tools such as Item: Fine Sword Fine Sword or Item: Pendant of Health Pendant of Health will do wonders for you as early finds or light preps.

Gods

God: Tikki Tooki Tikki Tooki is an incredible choice for worship. The fighter will be able to rack up a ton of piety, as he will reach a high level quickly and leave a bunch of popcorn untouched. The massive piety gain allows him to invest heavily into into God boon: Reflexes Reflexes and God boon: Tikki's Edge Tikki's Edge, which combine to massively increase the fighter's already formidable level-up spiking potential.

God: Glowing Guardian Glowing Guardian also works well: Class trait: VETERAN VETERAN synergises very well with the God boon: Humility Humility boon, and the Fighter also has enough spare XP to make liberal use of God boon: Absolution Absolution.