Underkeep has everything you expect from a classic tile-based RPG, which means choices you make at the beginning will matter throughout the game. The first thing to do is to decide on a character creation - which races and classes to choose - there's no going back later.
Underkeep Character Creation Guide
Your party in Underkeep has four heroes. You can choose premade characters, but that's no fun, so you'll need to create four characters. Here you'll choose a class, race, name, and image. Unfortunately, you can't change their starting stats manually (you can reroll them until you like them, though). In Underkeep, you have seven classes: Warrior, Thief, Paladin, Ranger, Voidcaller, Wizard, and Blood Mage. Most of them use Stamina or Mana for their skills.
The only Underkeep class that differs from what you would expect is Blood Mage. This warrior mage class focuses on curses and bleed and is tougher than you would expect, making it a great choice for the front row. It's also fun to play, as Blood Mages use bones instead of mana. If you have no bones, you'll use health. Don't worry, there are plenty of bones lying around.
Underkeep Classes Tier List
| S | Warrior is the best choice for the front-rank tank position. They'll take the most beating while dealing raw melee damage. Ranger is your typical glass-cannon type, combining ranged damage and debuffs. My favorite back row class. Wizard deals plenty of elemental damage, but you'll need a steady stream of mana (which goes very fast). Wizards also have the best area-of-effect spells. |
| A | Blood Mage is by far the most fun class to play, combining spells, debuffs, and standard weapon damage. They're very efficient as you don't need a bunch of mana or stamina potions. With the right items and maxed Leechcraft (lifesteal), Blood Mage will replenish health on its own. Thief excels at critical hits, bleed, and evasion. They can be extremely efficient but require certain buildup (negative trait, bleeding, poison). |
| B | Paladin is a very efficient fighter, especially against undead and demons, but requires you to rotate its skills that use Zeal. Paladins aren't as efficient in combat as Warriors, but they're still great, especially if you improve their buffs. |
| C | Voidcaller is basically a cleric. This is a must-have class, unless you're a fan of spending money on a lot of potions. |
What's the Best Starting Party in Underkeep?
The most efficient party in Underkeep is: Warrior, Thief, Wizard, and Voidcaller. As you may notice, this party is as classic as it gets in terms of classes. This party combines pure damage (Wizard and Thief) with enough protection to sustain any attacks (Warrior and Voidcaller).
| 1. Front row position: Warrior or Paladin | 2. Front row position: Thief or Blood Mage |
| 3. Back row position: Wizard or Ranger | 4. Back row position: Voidcaller |
When choosing classes, keep in mind that two characters in the front row take most of the beating. With that in mind, you need a tough race and a class powerful enough to crush enemies.
I wanted to mix things up, so I chose Paladin, Blood Mage (front row), and Ranger and Voidcaller (back row). Ranger debuffs enemies to increase the damage they receive, while Blood Mage reflects damage back to attackers (Blood Pact).
What Are the Best Races for Each Class in Underkeep?
Each race offers a different combo of stats and traits, so pairing a class with a race creates different playstyles. For example, if you don't want to experiment too much, dwarf or stoneborn are the best choices for the Warrior class. Here's a complete list of the best races for each class in Underkeep.
| Class | Best Race |
|---|---|
| Warrior (Strength) | Dwarf is the perfect race for the Warrior class. It combines high strength and endurance with increased elemental resistance. |
| Thief (Dexterity) | Raven is a great race choice for the Thief class. It has high dexterity but also enough endurance to keep you alive. But if you play on Hard, choose dwarf for higher endurance (health). |
| Paladin (Strength) | Human is the best choice for a Paladin, since you need to level up faster (humans have a 10% XP boost) as this class depends heavily on its skills. |
| Ranger (Dexterity) | Elk is my first choice for the Ranger class, as I'm leaning on a glass-cannon DPS build, but be prepared to protect and heal your Ranger a lot. For a more balanced approach, choose Raven or Human. |
| Voidcaller (Wisdom) | Slugman is perfect for Voidcaller as it gives a lot of Wisdom and Endurance, so your Voidcaller can focus on healing others while making sure it doesn't die from attacks. That said, roll to get at least four in Strength or Dexterity, so your healer isn't completely useless in combat. |
| Wizard (Wisdom) | Elk is a natural choice for Wizard if you want to go all in on Wisdom (for damage and mana), but Slugman is a better choice, as you need Endurance to avoid being an easy target. |
| Blood Mage (Endurance) | Stoneborn is a great choice for Blood Mage because of the high Strength and Endurance potential. Dwarf is another option if you don't like that Stoneborn can't equip body armor. |
Underkeep Class Progression Guide
Each class has two key skills you need to focus on. Each time you level up, you get one skill point, so use it wisely. To avoid wasting precious points, max out these skills to level 5:
| Class | Best Skills |
|---|---|
| Warrior | Provoking Shout - Taunts enemies to attack the warrior instead of others The Flow of Life - Increases maximum health and elemental resistance |
| Thief | Shadow Instinct - Increases CRIT chance and partially ignores armor Nightshade Mastery - Adds negative statuses and increases their damage and duration. |
| Paladin | Righteous Strike - Increases damage of your next attack and generates extra Zeal Zealous Resolve - Increases melee damage per Zeal |
| Ranger | Hunter's Prey - Marks an enemy to receive increased damage Cloak of Swiftness - Increases ranged hit chance and CRIT hit. |
| Voidcaller | Void Mend - Classic healing spell that also removes certain debuffs when upgraded. Auras (passive) - You can choose between attack, defense, and reflect damage buffs. You can switch to another aura each time you level up. Aura of the Void (defense) is good at the start, but for later stages, I recommend Aura of Thorns (reflected damage). |
| Wizard | Feel the Flow - Increases maximum mana Dragon Arcana - Increases the damage and effects of all elemental spells |
| Blood Mage | Blood Pact - Reflects damage received back to enemies. Leechcraft (lifesteal) - Restores health when you deal blood damage. |
To learn more about this retro RPG, check out our Underkeep Review here on PGG.
