How to get free companions in Wartales

Turn-based tactical RPG Wartales sees you leading a ragged band of companions as they attempt to find glory and wealth across a gritty medieval landscape. You start with a party of four but can pick up all kinds of extras on your travels. The only problem is all those extra mouths need to be fed, and there are wages to pay too. If you’re a little tight for money and influence, wouldn’t it be useful to know how to get free companions in Wartales? If so, then read on.

Can you get free companions in Wartales?

The simple answer is yes, you can get free companions in Wartales. You will still have to pay them wages and feed them, but there are several ways to get them into your party without having to spend any influence or Krowns to hire them.

Related: Wartales Starting Guide – Tips & Tricks for Beginners

• Unique quest NPCs: Sometimes, a quest or location meeting will give you the opportunity to hire one of the participants. The first of these are Ranger Hakert (at the Stromkapp Mill directly south of the jail) and Warrior Torus (if you cure his plague at Woodland Farm directly east of the jail).
• Prisoners: You can capture human combatants if you have some chains and they are below 50 percent health during a battle (choose the Knockout option). They will then be a prisoner in your camp. From there, you can check them out and choose to recruit them (or take them to jail).
• Prison: There are several Jails in Wartales, the first being Tiltren Jail directly east of Stromkapp on the other side of the lake. Prisoners cost Krowns to hire, but not Influence, so they are an option if you're cash-rich but Influence-poor.

Both prison recruits and prisoners tend to be weaker options due to having no Traits or negative Traits. But traits are earned as you level up, so especially in the early game, it isn’t that bad. My Hakert now has the Cooperative trait, which increases his damage by 10 percent when adjacent to an ally.

How to get free animal companions in Wartales

As with humans, animals can also be added to your companion roster by capturing them in combat (you’ll need ropes rather than chains, with larger animals needing more ropes). Boars, wolves, and bears can all be added as companions. However, unless you take Beast Mastery as a level five specialization on one of your Archers, you will not be able to control them in combat.

We have plenty more on Wartales at Pro Game Guides, including Wartales Oils Guide – All Oils and How They Work, and our Wartales Ghost Carcass Guide.