If you’ve ever wanted to run a tavern it's now possible in the tactical fantasy RPG Wartales: The Tavern Opens DLC. If you want to know how to get things set up, and how to succeed once you do, read my full Tavern guide below.
Complete Tavern Guide for Wartales The Tavern Opens
To start you will have to go to Stromkapp in Tiltren County. You’ll find a new building in the town called Derelict Tavern. Select it, talk to Luuk Baos, and buy the derelict tavern for just 1 Krown. What a bargain.
Luuk will leave, and you’ll be faced with a clean-up job. You’ll need to do the following (which only takes a minute):
- Clear cobwebs: Gain 1 Mosquito Proboscis per cobweb.
- Repair damaged table: Gain 1 Tavern Table (for 4 patrons).
- Clear damage: Gain the Alchemist’s Creme Brulee specialty cooking recipe.
- Destroy wood: Requires a Woodcutter. You need to do a standard woodcutter skill check but you’ll receive 1 Wall Torch as well as the usual XP and wood.
You won’t be attacked and other than the Woodcutter skill check you don’t need any other professions or equipment.
Tavern management basics
You can now name your tavern and begin to operate your tavern. You’ll see a list of Objectives in the top-left corner of the tavern screen, your tavern’s current stats in the top-right, and the menu in the bottom right of the screen. You'll need to complete the objectives list before you run your first shift.
- Capacity: Maximum number of patrons.
- Clientele: Your mix of patrons between upscale and working class. This mix will impact the level of security required and also the prices patrons are willing to pay.
- Comfort: Higher comfort levels improve your chance to make sales and the number of patrons who show up.
- Copper Coins: This is a new currency that is only usable in Tavern menus but that can be converted to Krowns.
- Equipment: Increases Comfort, draws different types and numbers of Patrons, produces alcohol, increases sales, and improves security.
- Menu: Dishes served to make a profit.
- Prestige: Higher Prestige allows you to add better equipment to your tavern.
- Satisfaction:
- Security: Reduces the chance of negative shift effects and increases customer satisfaction.
- Staff: These can be civilians but also members of your troop. Staff employed in your tavern will gain Profession XP while doing so, which is a nice way to level up your Brewer, for example.
You can create a steady profit stream for your troop with time and effort or much more if you put some love into it.
Related: How to get and use Seasoning in Wartales The Tavern Opens
How to run a shift in Wartales The Tavern Opens
Once set up, you will run a shift in your Tavern each time you camp for the night. It doesn’t matter where you are, the shift will still run, so be sure to check your Tavern’s status before camping for the night. You can change everything you need to from anywhere except for sending companions from your party to work in the tavern (they will not arrive until the next shift, even if you’re in the Tavern).
Before you run a shift, be sure to check the following:
- Layout: Bards have a reach that significantly increases sales odds in that area, so try to get as many seats in the area as possible.
- Food Menu: Each week there will be a list of ingredients that are either promoted or scarce. Switch your menu to promoted ingredients and drop scarce ones to increase your profits. Also, make sure the dishes have a high percentage chance of selling.
- Cellar Menu: This is the second tab on the menu option, so it is easy to miss. Set each brewer up with a barrel.
- Staffing: Don’t leave any employee gaps as long as there are people to recruit to them (except Thieves, which is optional and situational. See below). Unlike equipment, staff don’t have an upfront cost and should always earn you more than their wages will cost.
- Security: You can check your current security rating in the top-right of the tavern screen. If you’re trying to run a tavern with upscale customers, be sure you have the icon here well into the green if you’ve increased capacity since your last shift by adding more tables. The number of clients that visit increases the negative details of your Security total, so if you’re likely to get more clients the security rating you have pre-shift is likely to go down during it.
To run the shift, click back to the Camp menu and camp as normal. Your shift results will come through alongside your camp results.
Extra shifts
While on the Tavern menu, you can click the New Shift button at the bottom of the screen to run an extra shift before you camp. This costs 100 Influence the first time you do it, 200 Influence the second time and keeps doubling in Influence cost as you continue to complete extra shifts. This cost is reset to 100 Influence after you do a normal shift (via camping).
Special events
Sometimes you’ll get special visitors after a shift, who appear in the Tavern with a question mark above them (as you sometimes get with a companion in your camp). These work in a similar way to companions, giving you three options to choose from which can have a variety of consequences.
One of these is usually to ignore them without consequence, but be sure to check them carefully as they can give solid boons. For example, increase Ambience for a Faction for several shifts for a relatively small fee.
How to improve your tavern in Wartales The Tavern Opens
There are lots of ways to improve your tavern in Wartales: The Tavern Opens! Here are some tips that I’ve found made a great impact:
- Animals as bouncers: When you’re out battling creatures on your travels, consider catching some and sending them to the tavern to act as bouncers. Some animals have fantastic specialties that make them perfect for the job, such as Bears (Collosal Stature: Increase Security by 6 in addition to their bouncer effect) and Alpha Wolves (Watchdog: Increase Comfort by 5). It also makes it extra amusing when they get traits (my bear is apparently a smooth talker…).
- Tavern Management: Explore the icons at the top of the Tavern Management screen as they open up all kinds of extra information. The Growth button shows graphs of your progress and also gives you access to your last Shift Report. Clientele shows the mix of patrons you’ve had and more about their requirements.
- Music matters: Look at the mix of clientele you’re getting and see which music they like most. Change what your bards play to meet their tastes and encourage better custom.
- Check client needs: After selecting Clientele in the Tavern Management menu, hover over a faction type you’re not attracting to find out why. Sometimes, it is out of your control (they may require a service you can’t yet offer), but sometimes, it can be as simple as lowering your drink prices by a Krown to attract new customers.
- Seasonal menus: Even if your tavern is largely running in the background, at least keep an eye on the Promotions and Shortages section of the Create Menu page. Three items are listed under each category and they change each week. Providing dishes containing promoted goods will save you a lot of money so you can either increase profit or lower prices to attract more customers.
- Complexity penalties: The reason a dish is less likely to have high sale odds is its complexity penalty. Steer away from high-complexity dishes until you have high-quality cooks, unless you’re willing to drop the price to make up for it.
Related: Wartales Best Builds for Each Class
Tavern area effects
Certain additions to your tavern, such as Bards and Menu boards, are listed as increasing sale odds ‘in the area’. This means is important where exactly in your tavern you place these items as they will increase the odds only within a circular range of their location.
Select the Layout view from the bottom-right row of icons to see how far an item's area extends. You’ll get a rough idea by examining the green circles emanating from each item. For a more exact view, left-click an item while holding the shift key (see the image above). This will show the exact seats affected by the item with a little up-arrow. Note that you need to select a lute, not the bard, to see this information for musicians.
How to upgrade and move your tavern in Wartales The Tavern Opens
At first, you can only have a tavern in Stromkapp. As you improve your tavern you will eventually get the option to instead have a tavern in Marheim (Vertruse Province) and later in Gosenberg (Grinmeer).
Once again you need to go to the location (you’ll get an alert on-screen and on your map when a new destination becomes available). I got the invitation to move to Marheim when I passed 300 Prestige in Stromkapp but I can’t be sure this was the trigger.
When you arrive, you’ll find another Derelict Tavern, and once again, Luuk Baos will be inside. The upgrade to the Tavern in Marheim will cost you 300 Krowns. Note that this moves your tavern, rather than you opening an extra one. You’ll again need to clean 3 cobwebs (for 3 Mosquito Proboscis), complete a Woodcutter skill test (and get 1 Wall Torch), get a Tavern Table, plus a bonus of 10 Beers (not for your tavern. They will appear in your normal inventory). You’ll also get the achievement titled Scaling Up.
You don’t lose anything in the move but must set things up once more. Your menu and cellar will transfer over with your staff, and the bouncers will be in the tavern, but you’ll have to lay out your tables, equipment (including Bards you have employed), and decorations. The big plus is that you now have a much larger space to fill after each upgrade. However, all the same rules apply. Once you upgrade your tavern you can also begin to upgrade your equipment (for example, the Improved Tavern Table increases Comfort by 3).
For more on Wartales check out Wartales – Full Belerion Archipelago region map & locations guide and Wartales – Full Maps & Locations Guide here at Pro Game Guides!
Published: Apr 20, 2024 08:09 am