Warrior Quest Best Weapons: Early Tier List for Act I

How Weapons Work in Warrior Quest

Every swing in this dark-fantasy dungeon crawler comes down to a die roll, so the weapon in your hand directly sets how fast goblins, wolves, and pirates go down. That makes the hunt for the Warrior Quest best weapons one of the first real decisions you face after leaving Crowhollow. The free demo covers Act I, roughly an hour of play, and your save carries over to the full release on November 13, 2026. Gear choices you make there stick with you.

Weapon damage is written in tabletop notation, such as 1d8 plus your Strength modifier. Your class (Warrior, Thief, or Wizard) shapes your starting kit and equipment preferences. In Act I you have three ways to improve your gear:

• The forge. The blacksmith upgrades the gear you already own for gold.
• Merchants. The market and a traveling salesman sell new wares.
• Diplomacy. You can bully, bribe, or charm creatures into handing over what they carry.

The Keen Strike Weapon From the Traveling Merchant

Image: Steam / Wizard of the North

Weapon	What it does
Keen Strike weapon	Rolls 2d8 + STR, and the merchant says it gives your words more weight with goblins

After the first dungeon, a crooked-wheeled wagon appears in Crowhollow. The merchant there offers a Keen Strike weapon that jumps from the starter's 1d8 + STR + 1 to 2d8 + STR. On average that is about 9 damage before Strength, compared with 5.5 from the upgraded starter.

During the visit, the merchant snatches the pale orb you found in the Goblin Den right out of your hand. Pick up anything strange you find down there before heading back to town.

The weapon also leans on Charisma alongside Strength, and the merchant pitches it as making your words land harder with goblin minds. Since so many encounters can be talked through, a weapon that helps both your swings and your persuasion is a natural fit for a Warrior who likes to negotiate first.

• Take the Keen Strike weapon to the forge right away. It can be upgraded like any other piece of gear.
• Sell the chain mail or other gear you won't use to cover the cost of the forge and a ring.

Forge-Upgraded Starter Sword

Weapon	What it does
Starter sword (forge upgrade)	Reaches 1d8 + STR + 1 before the first dungeon

The Warrior walks out of the tutorial with a sword and armor. When Crowhollow's Townmaster sends you after the goblin band, they point you to the blacksmith first. Listen to them. A sword upgrade is cheap enough to buy before the Goblin Den, and that flat +1 adds up across the dozens of rolls in a dungeon.

Spend your first gold on the sword, not armor. Then grab an antidote at the market, because poison shows up in the pirate hideout and lasts 30 ticks.

Damage Abilities

Several Warrior abilities multiply the damage of your attacks, so they make your weapon choice count for even more.

Ability	What it does
Focus Strike	Your next attack deals 250% damage
Razor Strikes	Hits for 150%, and a crit adds a second Bleed stack (since demo 1.3)
Victorious Slash	Has its own finishing strike since demo 1.11a

Pair Focus Strike with your best weapon to get the most out of that 250% multiplier.

Dirty Tricks and Borrowed Muscle

Not every "weapon" in Warrior Quest is a blade. Creatures carry their own inventories (added in demo 1.4), and the game rewards you for exploiting that.

• Your mouth. You can talk a goblin out of its weapon with the right words and a good roll.
• Companions. A recruited goblin can land the killing blow on a boss. Since demo 1.6, companions carry their own gold and items, including gifts you give them. Hand your old sword to an ally instead of selling it.
• The peddler's "healing potion." On the road to the Goblin Den, a roadside peddler named Connor Manning gives you a bottle meant for someone you hate, to be passed off as a healing potion. Keep it for a foe you can't beat in a straight fight.
• Pocket sand and scrolls. Pickpocketing can turn up pocket sand. Since demo 1.5, a Scroll of Magic Missile sells for 8 gold instead of 1, so scrolls you won't use make decent forge money.

Shopping Smarter After Recent Updates

The demo patches changed how gear is shown and stored. Several of those changes help you compare weapons faster:

• Demo 1.11a (October 18). The salesman's item cards now use rarity colors and symbols, so you can rank his wares at a glance.
• Demo 1.11 (October 18). Locked-chest cards show your chosen method, the difficulty, and your remaining lockpicks. Smashing a chest open can damage what's inside, so pick the lock when you can.
• Demo 1.4. Hover over loot names to preview descriptions and stats before you take anything.
• Demo 1.5. Inventory space went from 255 to 500 slots, so hoard spare weapons for gifting or selling.
• Demo 1.6. Rerolls let you retry a failed check, and you earn one for every five tavern rumors at the Ample Dwarf. Save them for boss fights and high-DC persuasion, such as talking a goblin into surrendering its gear.

Grab the free demo or wishlist the full game on the Warrior Quest Steam page to start building your arsenal.