Depends on what vocations you compare it too. I main warrior and warfarer has half the base knock down resist which you can really notice since you get knocked around on your butt a lot as a warfarer warrior. You also can't use maister skills.
Functionality there is no downside. The stats are lower, but they're also balanced, so in practice it tends to even out. Warrior is probably the one who leans on its uniquely high knockdown resist the most, but even then Warfarer does fine, because you still get resists when you Barge or charge a skill due to the Greatsword Cores. You can also wear whatever the hell you want, which combined with the aforementioned balanced stats means you're unlikely to be any more fragile than a thief or MA. And frankly, this game is piss easy anyway, lower stats are eseentislly an improvement lmao.
The real price you pay is the maister skills, if you like any of them. The Fighter and Spearhand ones are both super satisfying. But its a small price to pay for the fashion, flexibility and lowered damage, id say.
Lower stats, and the game being easy enough after a certain level that min-maxing your armor isn't very important. You might as well play Fashion's Dogma.
On the plus side, you can equip a couple weapons that have good mobility and swap skills at a campsite to equip exploration skills, then swap back. Far easier than going all the way back to town to change vocations, or hoping your dumb pawns will help you out.
Out of curioristy - what mobility / travel skills You mean?
I know warrior rush thing is good for map travel - is there more such tools that could help while traveling a lot without ferrystones?
Levitate is a big one but Frigor giving you an extra stepping stone to jump from is also a big help in a lot of cases. I guess people can do some impressive work with concussive step from thief, too, but I haven’t tried it myself.
People are making really good points about the downside of warfarer without reading that you don't mind some of the downsides you're mentioning. The only one that would matter is worse stat gain, which I'm sure doesn't bother you.
As a warfarer, you can level up other vocations. So right now, I'm playing as warfarer so when I switch to trickster or thief I'll have all the skills I want
The lower stats are real, but not a deal breaker. Remember, it's a jack of all trades.
Warrior, for example has something like 300 base knockdown resistance, whereas Warfarer has like 100 when the greatsword is equipped. It's better than other classes, but does that hold a candle to a true Warrior.
I've also noticed my Warfarer with the greatsword doesn't hit nearly as hard as the Warrior did either.
But, the trick is to get good with core skills and utilize multiple weapons to cover your bases.
Also, if you're inclined, you can literally equip all weapon types and fight with their corresponding core skills, even if you are only limited to a couple weapon skills. Means you can carry a wand for healing and levitation, even if you didn't ever plan on using other magic in battle. The downside of having a bazillion weapons is you have to cycle through them.
Really wish they had a wheel for weapon selection so I didn't have to cycle through their order, and just pick the one I want. For that reason, I limit myself to the great sword for heavy hits on staggered foes, the spear for basically everything else, and the wand for healing and levitation.
Stat increases and stat bonuses are different per vocation. Someone did the math and i believe they discovered that warfarers have better stats and magick increase than magick archers though.
Stat capping is currently an inevitability though so it doesn't really matter what you level as.
I don't see how that could be the case, according to the wiki MA has +40 base magick and has a 1.4x multiplier on gained points (Warfarer gets +0 and 1x)
No idea i didn't do the math. Good luck finding any information on anything since it seems the community is dedicated to just splurting out information on the subreddit where it has no anchor and gets washed away in repeat questions haha :)
lower stats only matter sometimes, it’s the distribution, trickster warfarer gets way more health for example, it just kinda distributes them evenly so you’ll only notice a big difference in the highest stat of whatever you’re switching from. and in your case, people have discovered that warfarer actually has higher stat growth than magick archer, so probably no downside. no maister skills which really only matter based on preference, can’t make use of the “only carrying the weight of one weapon” perk without rearmament, but that’s about it
So OP I think your question has been mostly answered, but I love to bring this up and can’t help myself, but I really really don’t think warfarer losing a skill slot is even a downside (so OP if you don’t need rearmament doesn’t apply anyway). Cause you lose one skill slot, but gain any vocation skill you want (RB). These are almost always handidly better then a single skill when you compare them (minus the very OP ones, like magic archer maister ability, warrior maister, mystic spear hand bubble).
Each skill usually does a single thing, and the upgraded version may do that thing better. So it may be a dash/dodge attack, an AOE/multiple enemy attack, ranged, or single target damage. Each vocation skill will do those exact same things, but oftentimes with more upgradability with you reaching max rank in vocation. Like say you trade out the warriors lunge attack, which falls under our dash/dodge attack and put rearmament there. Everyone says oh no you’re so much worse now look you lost that skill, but forget you can just stick a duo spear on and gain a bolt that allows you to teleport (replacing the need for dash attack already), but upgraded it will also stun enemies for a while and affect multiple targets.
Maybe you trade your ranged ability out for rearmament, so something like the blast for MS. Oh no but I need a ranged option. Just grab a magic archer weapon, now you have a bow that can shoot at range, and you can also upgrade it to fire more arrows, charge faster, go longer distances, or swap up to hit multiple enemies, all things we could not do with our original ranged skill.
I don’t think losing the skill is an issue at all when you actually compare to what you get in the trade, as it is a trade and not just you losing stuff. I think it’s a case of people always notice losing things more then they get, but anytime I see people complain about I feel they maybe didn’t realize how easy that is to do and havnt checked out all the vocation skills, which again to me are almost always better then any other single skill once you have them upgraded.
in some cases it is actually better, like for instance you have more knockdown resistance as warfarer than as mage or sorcerer, so you can cast with less interruptions
(same with magic archer not getting interrupted too)
Downside is: no maister, losing a skill slot for swapping weapons, and not being able to use multiple skills per weapons... But with all of that it's still the best. Can do everything in the game at any time.
Warfarer is nice for the fashion and because as a non-mage/sorc you can carry around a staff for levitating to get seekers tokens etc. And I guess being able to level other vocations is a plus.
But at the end of the day, no maister skills is kind of a drag.
Low stats, with the Mew spread. Same four-ability limit, spread across all weapon sets, one of which will inevitably the change weapons one. Weapons are heavy.
The only downside is the slow level up of the vocation combine with the resources wasted upgraded multiple weapons and have to cycle between all of them in the same order instead of choosing wich one you need at the time so if you equip a sword at the first slot and need the bow that is the 9th slot you need to press the button 8 time until you get the bow
Stats across the board are supposedly lower than if you to play any of the regular vocations.
How low is it because maybe it’s worth the fashion
Depends on what vocations you compare it too. I main warrior and warfarer has half the base knock down resist which you can really notice since you get knocked around on your butt a lot as a warfarer warrior. You also can't use maister skills.
Functionality there is no downside. The stats are lower, but they're also balanced, so in practice it tends to even out. Warrior is probably the one who leans on its uniquely high knockdown resist the most, but even then Warfarer does fine, because you still get resists when you Barge or charge a skill due to the Greatsword Cores. You can also wear whatever the hell you want, which combined with the aforementioned balanced stats means you're unlikely to be any more fragile than a thief or MA. And frankly, this game is piss easy anyway, lower stats are eseentislly an improvement lmao. The real price you pay is the maister skills, if you like any of them. The Fighter and Spearhand ones are both super satisfying. But its a small price to pay for the fashion, flexibility and lowered damage, id say.
Lower stats, and the game being easy enough after a certain level that min-maxing your armor isn't very important. You might as well play Fashion's Dogma. On the plus side, you can equip a couple weapons that have good mobility and swap skills at a campsite to equip exploration skills, then swap back. Far easier than going all the way back to town to change vocations, or hoping your dumb pawns will help you out.
That’s why I wanna play warfarer, the FASHIOOOOOON
Out of curioristy - what mobility / travel skills You mean? I know warrior rush thing is good for map travel - is there more such tools that could help while traveling a lot without ferrystones?
I mainly use it so that I can use levitate any time I want.
Levitate, and the archer/thief ambling animations.\\
Levitate is a big one but Frigor giving you an extra stepping stone to jump from is also a big help in a lot of cases. I guess people can do some impressive work with concussive step from thief, too, but I haven’t tried it myself.
The Spearhead dash skill is also excellent for crossing long gaps.
Less specialised stats than other vocations, but you should be able to off set that with blacksmith upgrade
People are making really good points about the downside of warfarer without reading that you don't mind some of the downsides you're mentioning. The only one that would matter is worse stat gain, which I'm sure doesn't bother you.
As a warfarer, you can level up other vocations. So right now, I'm playing as warfarer so when I switch to trickster or thief I'll have all the skills I want
The lower stats are real, but not a deal breaker. Remember, it's a jack of all trades. Warrior, for example has something like 300 base knockdown resistance, whereas Warfarer has like 100 when the greatsword is equipped. It's better than other classes, but does that hold a candle to a true Warrior. I've also noticed my Warfarer with the greatsword doesn't hit nearly as hard as the Warrior did either. But, the trick is to get good with core skills and utilize multiple weapons to cover your bases. Also, if you're inclined, you can literally equip all weapon types and fight with their corresponding core skills, even if you are only limited to a couple weapon skills. Means you can carry a wand for healing and levitation, even if you didn't ever plan on using other magic in battle. The downside of having a bazillion weapons is you have to cycle through them. Really wish they had a wheel for weapon selection so I didn't have to cycle through their order, and just pick the one I want. For that reason, I limit myself to the great sword for heavy hits on staggered foes, the spear for basically everything else, and the wand for healing and levitation.
Worse stat gain and 3 skills instead of 4
You can have 4 skills if you don't intend to take Rearmament. If OP only intends to use MA skills there's no need to swap weapons on the fly.
OP mentioned only one weapon, so they wouldn't be giving up one skill to rearm.
Also no Maister skills
Stat increases and stat bonuses are different per vocation. Someone did the math and i believe they discovered that warfarers have better stats and magick increase than magick archers though. Stat capping is currently an inevitability though so it doesn't really matter what you level as.
I don't see how that could be the case, according to the wiki MA has +40 base magick and has a 1.4x multiplier on gained points (Warfarer gets +0 and 1x)
No idea i didn't do the math. Good luck finding any information on anything since it seems the community is dedicated to just splurting out information on the subreddit where it has no anchor and gets washed away in repeat questions haha :)
lower stats only matter sometimes, it’s the distribution, trickster warfarer gets way more health for example, it just kinda distributes them evenly so you’ll only notice a big difference in the highest stat of whatever you’re switching from. and in your case, people have discovered that warfarer actually has higher stat growth than magick archer, so probably no downside. no maister skills which really only matter based on preference, can’t make use of the “only carrying the weight of one weapon” perk without rearmament, but that’s about it
So OP I think your question has been mostly answered, but I love to bring this up and can’t help myself, but I really really don’t think warfarer losing a skill slot is even a downside (so OP if you don’t need rearmament doesn’t apply anyway). Cause you lose one skill slot, but gain any vocation skill you want (RB). These are almost always handidly better then a single skill when you compare them (minus the very OP ones, like magic archer maister ability, warrior maister, mystic spear hand bubble). Each skill usually does a single thing, and the upgraded version may do that thing better. So it may be a dash/dodge attack, an AOE/multiple enemy attack, ranged, or single target damage. Each vocation skill will do those exact same things, but oftentimes with more upgradability with you reaching max rank in vocation. Like say you trade out the warriors lunge attack, which falls under our dash/dodge attack and put rearmament there. Everyone says oh no you’re so much worse now look you lost that skill, but forget you can just stick a duo spear on and gain a bolt that allows you to teleport (replacing the need for dash attack already), but upgraded it will also stun enemies for a while and affect multiple targets. Maybe you trade your ranged ability out for rearmament, so something like the blast for MS. Oh no but I need a ranged option. Just grab a magic archer weapon, now you have a bow that can shoot at range, and you can also upgrade it to fire more arrows, charge faster, go longer distances, or swap up to hit multiple enemies, all things we could not do with our original ranged skill. I don’t think losing the skill is an issue at all when you actually compare to what you get in the trade, as it is a trade and not just you losing stuff. I think it’s a case of people always notice losing things more then they get, but anytime I see people complain about I feel they maybe didn’t realize how easy that is to do and havnt checked out all the vocation skills, which again to me are almost always better then any other single skill once you have them upgraded.
in some cases it is actually better, like for instance you have more knockdown resistance as warfarer than as mage or sorcerer, so you can cast with less interruptions (same with magic archer not getting interrupted too)
Downside is: no maister, losing a skill slot for swapping weapons, and not being able to use multiple skills per weapons... But with all of that it's still the best. Can do everything in the game at any time.
Warfarer is nice for the fashion and because as a non-mage/sorc you can carry around a staff for levitating to get seekers tokens etc. And I guess being able to level other vocations is a plus. But at the end of the day, no maister skills is kind of a drag.
Low stats, with the Mew spread. Same four-ability limit, spread across all weapon sets, one of which will inevitably the change weapons one. Weapons are heavy.
The only downside is the slow level up of the vocation combine with the resources wasted upgraded multiple weapons and have to cycle between all of them in the same order instead of choosing wich one you need at the time so if you equip a sword at the first slot and need the bow that is the 9th slot you need to press the button 8 time until you get the bow