Last Updated on by Samuel Franklin
Form a legendary fellowship with this For The King classes tier list to assemble your perfect party combo. These recommendations are based on my experience beating every For The King campaign on Master difficulty with tips on team composition and maximising each class.
For new players I recommend a starting party of Scholar, Blacksmith and Hunter before branching out into different party dynamics based on this guide and personal playstyle preferences.
Table of Contents:
– Class Tier List
– Best Team Composition
– Detailed Class Analysis & Tips
Class Tier List
Classes are ranked in order of S, A, B and C tiers, including how to unlock each class (e.g lore store) and their primary stats.
- S Tier: Always have a role in the best For The King teams with high stats and useful special abilities to improve consistency.
- A Tier: Can lead you to victory if used carefully to reach their full effectiveness.
- B Tier: Rarely your first choice as they have clear downsides compared to other similar classes that need to be overcome with luck or advanced levels of play.
- C Tier: Classes that add extra challenge to your adventure and should be only picked if you enjoy their playstyle or design.
| Class | Tier Rating | Source | Primary Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
 Hunter |
S | Starter | Awareness & Speed |
 Scholar |
S | Starter | Intelligence, Speed & Talent |
 Blacksmith |
S | Starter | Vitality & Strength |
 Minstrel |
A | Starter | Talent & Intelligence |
 Herbalist |
A | Lore Store | Intelligence & Awareness |
 Busker |
A | Lore Store | Talent & Strength |
 Trapper |
A | Lore Store | Awareness & Speed |
 Monk |
B | Lore Store (Find In Game) | Strength & Intelligence |
 Astronomer |
B | Lore Store (DLC) | Intelligence & Vitality |
 Gladiator |
B | Lore Store (DLC) | Strength & Awareness |
 Hobo |
C | Â Lore Store (Find In Game) | All Stats |
 Woodcutter |
C | Lore Store | Â Vitality & Strength |
 Treasure Hunter |
C | Â Lore Store (Find In Game) | Intelligence, Awareness & Talent |
For The King Best Team Composition
For The King best classes vary slightly based on the campaign and your playstyle preferences but commonly have:
- High Starting Stats: Reaching the max 95 stat value is a massive boost for your attacks, skills and stat checks so higher starting stats mean improved consistency in the early game and a stronger late game.
- Special Abilities: Many special abilities give extra items, gold, damage or reduce the number of stat rolls required for an action that result in a significant advantage.
- Starting Equipment: Important in higher difficulties as it can be sold for some initial gold or used to survive the difficult early game.
A fundamental of any 3 hero party is flexibility to pass the various stat checks (not applicable to Hildebrant’s Cellar game mode) as these give extra loot, healing or reduce damage taken. While there are a total of 6 stats in For The King (Strength, Vitality, Intelligence, Awareness, Talent and Speed) I consider there to be 4 different archetypes of characters to consider as these are the vast majority of stat checks; Strength, Intelligence, Awareness and Talent.
The For The King best party compositions I recommend for the campaigns with examples are:
- Intelligence, Strength and Awareness
- Intelligence, Strength and Talent
| Hero 1 | Hero 2 | Hero 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Scholar (Intelligence) |
Blacksmith (Strength) |
Hunter (Awareness) |
| Herbalist (Intelligence) |
Blacksmith (Strength) |
Minstrel (Talent) |
| Herbalist (Intelligence) |
Busker (Strength) |
Trapper (Awareness) |
| Scholar (Intelligence) |
Busker (Strength |
Hunter (Awareness) |
The order is important as your highest vitality character (usually strength based) or highest dodge chance (usually awareness based) should be in the middle position. This is because it is statistically hit the most from attacks as enemies have a large number of attacks that hit two adjacent characters.
For The King Detailed Classes Analysis & Tips
This section details how to optimise each class strength based on my experience across hundreds of hours of For The King gameplay.
Hunter
The Hunter is the fastest character who will constantly attack first giving you the opportunity to kill enemies before they can even attack your party (perfect for the solo Forgotten Cellar). The high speed stat and Energy Boost passive of the Hunter also allows you to move fast in the overworld. Hunters are best when equipped with a bow weapon as their Called Shot special ability gives a 10% chance for maximum damage and a critical hit.
Scholar
An intelligence character with high speed that makes them deadly in combat and the overworld. The Refocus skill of the Scholar means you can use focus often to remove risk from your adventure at critical moments. The high intelligence stat of the Scholar is ideal for the deadly magical tomes that have various debuff options.
Blacksmith
The best tank character with high strength, vitality and the Steadfast ability that can completely negate an attack when it activates. The trade off for this durability is a terrible speed stat which means you’ll have limited opportunities to attack or taunt targets as the Blacksmith and they can fall behind your group in overworld movement without careful management.
Minstrel
The Minstrel is the best talent focused character with a realiable speed stat and an incredible skill combo to improve outcomes and levelling speed. These skills are Encourage that can turn a failed roll into a positive outcome and Inspire for a steady boost to party experience gain which is a key driver of character power.
Herbalist
The Herbalist is an attractive class option for their innate Party Heal ability that can help beginners maintain party health during an adventure. While the Herbalist is strong their lack of speed and offensive power can actually hinder your success as you increase the difficultly level because an attacking focused team will take less damage overall.
Busker
A unique character that combines strength, vitality and talent stats together the Busker is often overlooked but can actually fill a number of roles as a flexible alternative and one I have used often as you can adjust their role as a game progresses to your party needs. Potential roles for the Busker include a strength based tank or being a useful talent ally equipped with lutes for additional gold generation. The special abilities of the Busker are also some of the strongest in For The King with Entertain offering a reliable source of gold at all difficultly levels with careful movement planning and Distract that negatively impacts your enemies attacks.
Trapper
The Trapper is a reliable awareness stat character and fills a similar role to the Hunter although has better equipment flexibility from different weapon options and they are particularly adept in the Into The Deep campaign where their strong talent stat is useful for ship movement. The Elite Ambush skill of the Trapper also allows you to single out enemies for safe experience farming although their other special abilities are lacklustre.
Monk
The Monk is a versatile class across intelligence and strength which comes at the cost of specialisation. This class can also be difficult to reach their potential as the Discipline skill requires significant planning and the extra effort is not necessarily worthwhile compared to other easier class options.
Astronomer
Introduced in the February 2021 DLC (Lost Civilisation Pack) the Astronomer is an intelligence class that has the most unique game ability known as Black Hole. While fun to use and completely viable given the team protection it provides it requires some luck as it can actually be a detriment if it triggers at the wrong time. The Astronomer is also strong in vitality but the lack of speed and weak other special ability of Support Range means there are simply better options for intelligence characters given it competes with the Herbalist and Scholar with a dual intelligence setup in For The King being less than ideal.
Gladiator
Another Lost Civilisation Pack character the Gladiator introduces the concept of dual wielding weapons and provides a unique stat mix of strength, awareness and speed. While this has made the Gladiator a popular pick and a fun character it leaves them in a strange place when considering their role in the team and often competes with other party members for equipment. Their Glory special ability gives a nice damage boost but is not consistent enough and triggers more when the Gladiator is alone or below 50% health which are situations you want to avoid in the first place.
Hobo
The Hobo is the jack of all trades with 70 starting stats (75 on apprentice difficulty) that makes them highly flexible although basically impossible to reach the high 90 stats that are preferred for end game. The key problem for the Hobo is that he lacks any special abilities to assist you in a playthrough and there are better party members for flexible options that can be mixed and matched for full stat coverage anyway. The Hobo does perform slightly better in modes that require flexibility or where the majority of special abilities cannot trigger though like Hildebrant’s Cellar.
Woodcutter
A deadly fighter with the highest starting strength stat in For The King although the Woodcutter is let down by lower vitality than their direct strength competitor (Blacksmith) and a lack of useful special abilities. While Justice provides some extra area of effect damage to the team your other skill (Elite Door Bash) provides little opportunity for use in your adventures and feels wasted.
Treasure Hunter
With high intelligence, awareness and talent the Treasure Hunter is capable of using a diverse range of weapons and has unique special abilities that focus on treasure accumulation. While diversity can be a strength the design of stat checks and damage in For The King makes specialists generally preferred strategy as only they can reach the 90+ stat values at the end of a campaign and leaves the Treasure Hunter in an awkward role.
