The recommendations below separate verified game effects from judgment calls. Some map-specific choices depend on enemy waves, building options and the player’s unlocked equipment.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
For most campaign stages, start with Bow and Dagger, then pair Ranged Damage or Lighter Materials with one economy perk and one defensive or utility perk. Choose Heavy Sword when enemies bunch up or you need dependable boss damage. For an army-first plan, use Commander Mode, Elite Warriors, Archery Skills or stronger tower perks and let your units do the work. In Eternal Trials, prioritize flexible damage and cooldown perks early, then add survivability when stages begin to outscale your king. These are recommendations based on the documented weapon and perk effects, not an official ranking.
Quick ranking
The strongest starting templates
A build in Thronefall is more than a weapon. It is the interaction between the king’s weapon, five possible perks, the map’s building choices and the way you spend gold during the day. The most reliable setup is therefore the one that matches your objective rather than the one with the highest theoretical damage.
The community reference lists Bow and Dagger as a far-range weapon with high damage and a fast attack cycle. Its dagger attack also gives you a close-range answer when enemies break through. Heavy Sword is slower, but it has area damage and a strong boss multiplier, making it easier to use when several targets overlap. Falchion and Traps is a more aggressive alternative for players who are comfortable fighting in melee range.
- General campaign: Bow and Dagger with Ranged Damage, Lighter Materials, one economic perk and one defensive or utility perk.
- Crowded waves and bosses: Heavy Sword with Lighter Materials, Melee Damage, Glass Cannon or Heavy Armor, plus economy or recovery support.
- Army-first defense: Commander Mode with unit-focused perks such as Elite Warriors, Archery Skills or Stronger Heroes, then add a defensive or economic option.
- High-risk damage run: Warrior Training or Glass Cannon with cooldown or attack-speed support. This is powerful, but less forgiving if the king takes damage.
| Goal | Recommended weapon | Core direction | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learn a stage | Bow and Dagger | Range, attack speed, economy | Lets you contribute safely while learning enemy routes. |
| Hold a breach | Heavy Sword | Area damage, melee damage, survivability | Punishes clustered enemies near walls and the castle. |
| Let troops carry | Any comfortable weapon | Commander Mode, elite units, tower support | Shifts power from the king to buildings and soldiers. |
| Kill bosses quickly | Bow and Dagger or Heavy Sword | Damage, cooldowns, targeted attacks | Both can exploit their documented boss modifiers. |
| Push Eternal Trials | Flexible weapon choices | Damage first, then survival | The mode changes the map, weapon and perks between stages. |
The weapon roles and perk effects are documented by the community reference. The ordering above is a practical recommendation based on those effects and normal play patterns, not a developer-published tier list.
By mode
Campaign, Eternal Trials and challenge play
In the normal campaign, consistency matters more than maximum damage. A ranged king can clear isolated targets, help a threatened lane and avoid wasting health while the economy grows. Bow and Dagger is the best default recommendation for that reason. If a map funnels enemies through narrow approaches, Heavy Sword becomes more attractive because its splash damage can cover several targets at once.
Eternal Trials changes the evaluation. Official patch notes describe it as a roguelike mode in which each stage offers three combinations of a level, a weapon and two perks. The level and weapon apply to that stage, while the selected perks remain for the run. Because the map and weapon are not fully under your control, avoid building around one narrow interaction. Take broadly useful damage, attack-speed or ability-cooldown perks early, and select defensive help once the escalating waves begin to overwhelm your health or structures.
For challenge and mini-mode runs, choose the build around the rule rather than the normal campaign. If the restriction reduces access to units or buildings, a king-damage setup gains value. If the mode makes the castle the main failure point, favor Castle Blueprints, Castle Fortifications, Arcane Towers or other defensive tools. If scoring rewards speed, economy and direct king damage are usually more useful than slow safety perks, but this is a recommendation rather than a verified universal scoring formula.
- Campaign clear: protect the economy first, then use the king to cover whichever lane your fixed defenses cannot reach.
- Eternal Trials: choose perks that remain useful after the weapon and map change; do not assume one weapon will appear every stage.
- Challenge modes: read the restriction before selecting perks. A defensive build can be best for survival but poor for a time or score target.
| Mode | Best default | Main adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign | Bow and Dagger | Swap to Heavy Sword for dense melee pressure. |
| Eternal Trials | Whatever offered weapon best covers the current map | Value permanent perks that work with future weapons. |
| Mini-modes and mutators | Goal-specific weapon and perks | Counter the restriction instead of copying a campaign loadout. |
There is no current official developer ranking for weapons or perk combinations. Mode recommendations are evidence-led interpretations of the documented mechanics and the mode rules.
By stage
How to adapt from the first nights to late maps
Early stages reward simple, low-risk plans. Your roster and perk pool may be smaller, and official progression notes confirm that weapons and mutators are unlocked through campaign completion. Use the weapon you understand best, build enough income to expand, and avoid spending every coin on king damage before the first dangerous night. A safe opening is one economic investment, one reliable defensive lane and a king who covers the weakest approach.
Mid-campaign stages are where specialization becomes worthwhile. If the map gives you strong archery options, Archery Skills can extend their range and projectile speed. If you rely on towers, Arcane Towers improves range and projectile damage according to the reference data. If melee units do most of the work, Cobbler can improve their movement speed while Commander Mode increases unit and building damage at the cost of king damage.
Late campaign stages and boss waves demand a deliberate answer to the enemy mix. Heavy Sword is a strong recommendation when ranged enemies or large groups can be reached through splash attacks. Bow and Dagger is safer when flying enemies or distant threats are the problem. The reference data lists specific weapon modifiers against bosses, flying enemies, fast enemies and siege targets, so inspect the coming wave before locking in a loadout when the map allows it.
- First nights: prioritize a stable economy and one lane you can personally rescue.
- Middle stages: specialize around the map’s best units, towers or attack routes instead of spreading perks across unrelated systems.
- Late stages: reserve a perk slot or building plan for the enemy type that can actually end the run, such as flying units, siege threats or bosses.
| Stage of progression | Priority | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Early | Economy plus reliable personal damage | Taking several expensive damage perks before the kingdom can fund defenses. |
| Mid | Commit to one unit, tower or king identity | Mixing Commander Mode with a king-only damage plan. |
| Late | Counter the hardest wave and protect the castle | Using the same weapon and perks on every map regardless of enemy types. |
Do not spend a perk slot merely because it is strong in isolation. Ask whether it improves the part of your defense that is currently failing: income, lane control, castle durability, air coverage, boss damage or king survivability.
Player goals
Builds for speed, safety and personal combat
For the safest first clear, use Bow and Dagger, an economy perk, Ranged Damage or Lighter Materials, and at least one defensive or recovery choice. Fight from the edge of the engagement, move between lanes and keep enough health to respond when a wall falls. This plan is less explosive than Glass Cannon, but it gives you more chances to correct a bad build order.
For fast clears or score attempts, the king should contribute meaningful damage every night. Lighter Materials improves the attack cycle, while Spell Scroll improves active ability cooldown according to the documented perk list. Pair one of those with a damage perk and keep the remaining slots for economy and the map’s most dangerous counter. A fast run still fails if the kingdom cannot afford its next unit, so do not remove every economic option.
For players who prefer direct action, use Warrior Training, Glass Cannon or weapon-specific damage support and take fights yourself. Warrior Training increases king weapon damage while reducing the contribution of units and buildings; that trade is excellent only when you are consistently active. For a calmer, strategy-first run, Commander Mode reverses the emphasis and lets the army carry more of the damage while the king controls emergencies.
- Safety goal: range, economy and one defensive fallback.
- Speed goal: attack or ability cooldown plus focused damage, while keeping enough income to maintain the defense.
- King-combat goal: Warrior Training or Glass Cannon with a weapon whose range and damage pattern you can use confidently.
- Army-combat goal: Commander Mode with unit, hero or tower support, accepting that the king becomes less important.
| Player goal | Recommended identity | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Reliable first clear | Ranged generalist | Lower peak damage than a glass-cannon build. |
| Fast completion | Cooldown and damage attacker | More vulnerable if the king is forced away from the main threat. |
| Personal combat | Warrior Training or Glass Cannon | Units and castle support become less forgiving. |
| Low-micro defense | Commander Mode | The king deals less damage and must focus on positioning and emergencies. |
Start with the general campaign template, then change only one element at a time. If the run fails because enemies reach the castle, improve lane control or defense. If it fails because you cannot kill a priority target, improve the weapon or king damage. If it fails before the kingdom comes online, add economy.
FAQ
Common questions
Is Bow and Dagger always the best weapon?
No. It is the safest general recommendation because it offers range, strong damage and a dagger attack, but Heavy Sword is better for clustered enemies and Falchion and Traps can reward aggressive melee play. The best choice depends on the map and enemy waves.
Should I use Commander Mode or Warrior Training?
Use Commander Mode when units and buildings are the main source of damage. Use Warrior Training when you personally clear priority targets and can accept weaker army and building damage. Combining either with an opposite game plan usually wastes part of the perk’s value.
What is the best setup for Eternal Trials?
There is no fixed setup because the mode offers changing combinations of levels, weapons and perks. Favor permanent perks that improve several weapons and maps, such as broadly useful damage, attack-speed, cooldown or survivability effects. Adapt each stage’s temporary weapon to the map offered.
Are five damage perks better than a balanced loadout?
Usually not. A pure damage loadout can clear waves quickly, but it may fail because the economy, castle or king health cannot support it. One or two economic or defensive choices often produce a more reliable clear, especially on unfamiliar maps.
How should I choose perks for a new map?
Play the first night to identify the map’s real failure point. Then choose perks that solve that problem: range or anti-air for distant and flying threats, area damage for clustered pushes, defense for castle pressure, and economy when expansion is too slow.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.
- OfficialOfficial Steam store page for Thronefall: weapons, perks, maps, units and released game features
- OfficialOfficial Update 1.7: progression changes, five-perk loadouts and Eternal Trials Season 3
- OfficialOfficial Endless Mode Update: Eternal Trials rules and permanent perk selection
- ReferenceThronefall community wiki: weapon roles, damage modifiers and Royal Forge effects
- ReferenceThronefall community wiki: perk categories and documented perk effects