Owlcat Games released Wrath of the Righteous on 2 September 2021, built on the Pathfinder first edition tabletop rules and the adventure path of the same name. Character creation offers 25 classes, 12 races and more than a thousand spells, feats and abilities, and combat switches between turn based and real time with pause at any moment. Above all of that sit the Mythic Paths and a crusade layer where you command the Fifth Crusade against the Worldwound.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Switch to turn based mode for any fight that killed you in real time
Switch to turn based mode for any fight that killed you in real time. The same encounter becomes readable once you can see initiative, attacks of opportunity and buff durations, and you can switch back afterwards.
2. The combat log names every roll
The combat log names every roll. When a boss shrugs off your spells, the log will show spell resistance or a successful saving throw, which tells you whether to buy a caster level item or change spell school.
3. Choose your Mythic Path deliberately at the Chapter 2 fork
Choose your Mythic Path deliberately at the Chapter 2 fork. Angel, Demon, Lich, Trickster, Aeon and Azata are the ones offered there, while Gold Dragon, Swarm That Walks, Devil and Legend branch off later from specific paths and choices.
4. Legend is the odd path out
Legend is the odd path out. Taken at Mythic Rank 8, it strips your mythic abilities in exchange for continued class progression past level 20, which suits a pure martial character and wrecks a mythic caster.
5. Buff before you open the door
Buff before you open the door. Long duration spells cast in camp cost a slot each and save entire encounters, and the game lets you queue them from the spellbook rather than clicking each one during initiative.
6. Set crusade battles to auto resolve in the difficulty menu if the army layer is not why you bought the game
Set crusade battles to auto resolve in the difficulty menu if the army layer is not why you bought the game. Doing so does not lock you out of any story content.
7. Camping supplies are a real resource
Camping supplies are a real resource. Buy rations in Drezen before every expedition, and assign your highest Perception character to the watch so ambushes do not open with a free round for the enemy.
8. Lann and Wenduag are effectively exclusive
Lann and Wenduag are effectively exclusive. Choosing one closes the other's companion arc, which is the single most common surprise in a first playthrough.
9. Difficulty is a set of sliders, not one setting
Difficulty is a set of sliders, not one setting. You can keep enemy statistics at normal while disabling party friendly fire and enabling an additional saving throw, which is how most people run their first campaign.
10. Companions are deliberately built badly to match their characters
Companions are deliberately built badly to match their characters. Respeccing Camellia, Woljif or Nenio at the trainer in Drezen costs gold and turns three awkward sheets into functional party members.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Paladin (A-Tier):
- Focus on Mythic Paths combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Radiance
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Slayer (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Finnean the Talking Weapon
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Mythic Paths + Crusade army management: You gain mythic power at the end of Chapter 1 and commit to a path early in Chapter 2. Combined with Crusade army management, from chapter 3 you run the fifth crusade out of drezen, recruiting units, building forts and fighting army battles on a strategic map.
Turn based or real time with pause + Pathfinder first edition rules: Both modes are live and you can switch mid encounter. When paired with Pathfinder first edition rules, armour class, attack bonus, saving throws, spell resistance and roughly a thousand feats and spells all come straight from the tabletop system.
Six chapters from Kenabres to the Worldwound scaling: The campaign runs The Worldwound Incursion, Sword of Valor, Demon's Heresy, The Midnight Isles, Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth and City of Locusts. Drezen becomes your permanent base from Chapter 3 onward.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Radiance | Paladins and other good aligned melee characters who want a weapon that grows rather than one that gets replaced. | A longsword recovered in the Gray Garrison at the end of Chapter 1, and one of very few weapons with its own upgrade questline later on. |
| Finnean the Talking Weapon | Characters with narrow weapon proficiencies, and early parties that have not yet found a decent two hander. | A sentient weapon that reshapes itself into whatever weapon type you ask for, and comments on the choice. |
| Fauchard | Slayers, Fighters and Rangers built around critical feats and attacks of opportunity. | An exotic two handed reach polearm with an 18 to 20 threat range. |
| Falchion | Martial characters who want a wide crit range without spending a feat on Exotic Weapon Proficiency. | A two handed martial sword with the same 18 to 20 threat range as the Fauchard, but no exotic proficiency cost and no reach. |
| Composite Longbow | Zen Archer Monks, Rangers and any back line character who needs damage without entering melee. | The standard ranged option, adding your Strength modifier to damage up to the bow's rating. |
Location Efficiency
Kenabres (Character levels 1 to 5): The crusader city where the campaign opens and which is destroyed by a demon assault during the Armasse festival within the first ten minutes. Chapter 1 plays out in its ruins and the caverns beneath them.
Gray Garrison (Character levels 4 to 6): The demon held fortress that closes Chapter 1. Clearing it is what turns a survivor of a city collapse into a mythic commander with an army to run.
Drezen (Character levels 7 to 20): The fallen crusader citadel you retake at the end of Chapter 2, and your base for everything after it. Crusade management, the throne room and most companion quests all route through here.
The Midnight Isles (Character levels 12 to 15): Chapter 4 moves the campaign into the Abyss itself, into Nocticula's territory and the demon city of Alushinyrra. Assumptions that held in the mortal world stop applying here.
Iz (Character levels 15 to 18): A ruined city reached in the later chapters and tied to the campaign's endgame. By this point mythic rank rather than class level decides most fights.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Playing the whole campaign in real time because it is faster. Pathfinder's rules are built on discrete turns, and boss fights are dramatically more winnable in turn based mode.
- Dumping Constitution on a caster. Demons hit hard enough that a wizard with 10 Constitution dies to a single attack of opportunity that a tabletop group would have shrugged off.
- Picking Lich or Demon without reading the consequences. Both paths permanently remove good aligned companions and close several endings.
- Ignoring the crusade layer completely. Losing army battles costs resources and forts, and the auto resolve setting exists precisely so you do not have to play it by hand.
- Never respeccing anyone. Default companion builds are intentionally suboptimal, and the trainer in Drezen exists to fix exactly that.
Pro Quick Tips
- Switch to turn based mode for any fight that killed you in real time. The same encounter becomes readable once you can see initiative, attacks of opportunity and buff durations, and you can switch back afterwards.
- The combat log names every roll. When a boss shrugs off your spells, the log will show spell resistance or a successful saving throw, which tells you whether to buy a caster level item or change spell school.
- Choose your Mythic Path deliberately at the Chapter 2 fork. Angel, Demon, Lich, Trickster, Aeon and Azata are the ones offered there, while Gold Dragon, Swarm That Walks, Devil and Legend branch off later from specific paths and choices.
- Start with Slayer, switch to Paladin when ready
- Invest in Radiance above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Kenabres → Gray Garrison → Drezen → The Midnight Isles → Iz. See our maps guide
- Mythic Paths + Crusade army management together are stronger than either alone
More Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Guides
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Overview
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Best Builds
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Tier List
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Walkthrough
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Beginner's Guide
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Weapons Guide
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Combat Guide
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Boss Guide
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Maps & Locations
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Crafting Guide
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Classes & Characters
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