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.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Kenabres | Mythic Paths basics | Slayer | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Gray Garrison | Crusade army management mastery | Slayer | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Drezen | Turn based or real time with pause + gear | Paladin or Slayer | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | The Midnight Isles | Build optimization | Paladin | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Iz | Min-max | Paladin or Magus | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Kenabres)
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.
Level/Difficulty: Character levels 1 to 5 Key Rewards: Your first companions, Terendelev's scales, the route into the Gray Garrison
What to Do in Kenabres
- Learn Mythic Paths. You gain mythic power at the end of Chapter 1 and commit to a path early in Chapter 2. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Slayer as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- 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.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Finnean the Talking Weapon or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Mythic Paths fundamentals
- Slayer selected and functional
- Kenabres main content cleared
- Ready for Gray Garrison
Phase 2: Early Game (Gray Garrison)
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.
Level/Difficulty: Character levels 4 to 6 Key Rewards: Radiance, the end of Chapter 1, your first mythic power
What to Do in Gray Garrison
- Work on 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. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Finnean the Talking Weapon if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- 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.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Drezen.
- Consider whether Paladin might suit your playstyle better than Slayer.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Crusade army management integrated into gameplay
- Finnean the Talking Weapon acquired
- Gray Garrison fully cleared
- Ready for Drezen
Phase 3: Mid Game (Drezen)
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.
Level/Difficulty: Character levels 7 to 20 Key Rewards: Crusade command, the Sword of Valor banner, base upgrades and the respec trainer
What to Do in Drezen
- Master Turn based or real time with pause. Both modes are live and you can switch mid encounter. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Radiance. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- 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.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Pathfinder first edition rules for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Turn based or real time with pause mastered
- Radiance acquired or in progress
- Drezen fully cleared
- Ready for The Midnight Isles
Phase 4: Late Game (The Midnight Isles)
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.
Level/Difficulty: Character levels 12 to 15 Key Rewards: Abyssal equipment, Nocticula's storyline, several mythic ranks
What to Do in The Midnight Isles
- Finalize your build. You should be running Paladin or Slayer with optimized gear.
- Radiance should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- 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.
- Six chapters from Kenabres to the Worldwound optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Iz.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Radiance upgraded to max
- The Midnight Isles fully cleared
- Ready for Iz
Phase 5: Endgame (Iz)
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.
Level/Difficulty: Character levels 15 to 18 Key Rewards: High mythic rank abilities, endgame equipment, the approach to the final chapter
What to Do in Iz
- Iz tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- 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.
- The endgame loop: run Iz, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Magus for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Six chapters from Kenabres to the Worldwound mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Iz fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- 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.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
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 Beginner's Guide
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition Tips & Tricks
- 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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