Prologue:

Hello, guys. After a few Xulima runs, I would like to round up my experience into one relatively short (for an RPG of this scale) guide. To start: the guys from Numantian games are not idiots. They actually thought out the classes. To continue: there is no bad class. To further: play more parties. Experiement. It is rewarding.

Let us make this quick and easy people. As far as choosing gods goes, there are a few options that stand out:

- Taliet for combat speed - the faster your combat speed, the faster you act. This is less feasible at start, but VERY much noticeable in the late game. Works perfect for casters who ned to go first (Mages, Arcane Soldiers) and buffers (Paladin, Cleric, Bard).
- Valvet for Agility - agility means you will hit more often in the early game, and remains a reliable bonus throughout for front liners (including Arcane Soldiers), saving you points to get to the weapon requirements you are looking forward to. The only person I would not pick it for is a frontline Cleric.
- Golot for characters who need to become good ASAP - this is one of the gods who doesn't provide a sizeable XP bonus towards the late game, but is a very welcome addition to party members who need to get as best as posible in their professions through level gain, like: frontline Thief with mercantilism, perception, picking & disarming, who focuses on shurikens (too big of a SP drain) and Divine Summoner with Golot summon (for maximizing gold gain). Might consider it for Clerics and Bards too.
- Febret - but only if you go for Bard & Paladin party combo. Extra evasion means you have to commit to evasion & defense & buffs, so make sure you have the party for that.

On every level up, you are forced (too bad) into picking 2 stats - you are not allowed to save up. This is why, I personally, "craft" my party members in the following manner:

1. Arcane Soldier.
1.1. Frontliner with Bard - SPD/AGI & SPD/STR alternating. Give him some herb/liquid HP and PP. Let bard take care of the combat speed.
1.2. Frontliner without Bard - SPD/AGI & SPD/CON. The idea is to build a person who can burn/bleed properly without sacrificing too much. Perfect tank for caster parties as he/she can contribute to the party focus.
If you want a backliner AS, best go for Divine Summoner.

2. Mage.
Mages excel as backliners, so SPD/CON & SPD/EN alternating. You can opt for all out SPD/CON and build up PP another way.

3. Thief.
3.1. Frontliner - SPD/AGI, SPD/STR & STR/CON alternating. You need your thief to wear a good 2-Hander like Katana or Claymore to inflict more bleeds while not hurling shurikens.
3.2. Backliner - Backliner thieves aren't moot. Give him a crossbow and use quick strike (no need to keep your PP bar full) a lot when you don't have to expend shurikens. Backline thief takes over lockpicking, disarming, mercantilism, and even maybe perception. IN essence, he is Gaulen's best friend cause he relieves him of so many tasks. SPD/AGI & SPD/STR alternating. Give him some liquid/herb HP, so that he/she's not so squishy.

4. Cleric .
4.1. Frontliner - SPD/CON all the way. Clerics play a simple way - buff up and divine prayer to full PP or until buff expires.
4.2. Backliner - SPD/CON & SPD/EN alternating - buff up and consider the enemy party composition. Undead and/or some demons mean you can use your nukes (the late game Ray of the Gods, for example) to great extent.

5. Divine Summoner - big time backliner. SPD/CON all the way, cause they are way too squishy with their 1 HP per level gain, and if they die, all summons die.

6. Paladin.
6.1. Paladin with Bard - SPD/AGI & SPD/STR alternating. Let bard take care of the rest.
6.2. Paladin without Bard - SPD/AGI & SPD/CON alternating. This means you want a frontliner who can use Divine Prayer and still fight.
6.3. Paladin backliner - SPD/AGI & SPD/STR alternating - backliner Paladin isn't moot. Use him/her to cure conditions, heal now and then and stun with a staff.

7. Barbarian - SPD/AGI & SPD/STR alternating. So simple.

8. Bard.
8.1. Frontliner Bard - SPD/CON all the way. GIve some PP and build for Requiem/Victory like a backliner.
8.2. Backliner Bard - SPD/CON & SPD/EN alternating. You need more energy on a backliner Bard for Requiem. Difference is, the backliner can do more casts and pat more backs out of the burns than a frontliner would. NEVER disregard the HELP AND ALLY option. Bards excel at it.

9. Soldier - pure frontliner. SPD/AGI & SPD/STR alternating.

10. Gaulen - Realmain was right, he needs his spot.
10.1. Frontliner Gaulen - SPD/CON & SPD/STR alternating, and add SPD/AGI every 3-4 levels to keep his agility on per to hit the selected 2-H Axe requirement.
10.2. Backliner Gaulen - SPD/AGI & SPD/STR alternating till he can use a decent crossbow to match with envenomed strike, and then go SPD/STR & SPD/CON. He has a better HP gain in comparison to other backliners (3.5 a level), so he doesn't need that much CON.

There are 9 classes in this game, and there is no bad class. Some offer challenging playthroughs, others give you easier time. Some notes at start:
- Learning is amazing for all classes apart from the ones who have little skill points to spare, but try to add some in it. You will not regret it.
- Fast Reflexes are best combined with Paladins' & Bards' specials. Oterwise they provide little benefit.
- Immunity is a secondary skill and must be picked if you have no Cleric. If you have one, it turns into a late-game skill, making your characters literally immune with buffs and items.
- Body Building is situational - for characters who have free skill points or if you have no Cleric.
- Armor is a great skill till level 15 or so.
- Tactics & Weapon Master - those work best if you have no Bard to boost you up.
Crucial non-character specific skills:
- Item identification
- Perception
- Disarm Traps - 50-75% of the char level
- Lockpicking - 50% of the char level

Let's dive in:

1. Arcane Soldier - absolutely outclassed by ALL other frontliners - Barbarians, Soldiers, Paladins, and even the stupid Gaulen. Why pick one then? Simple. Xulima is a game of focus. The Arcane Soldier is the best tank for a caster party, because they can still contribute to both aspects of the fight - casting vs many enemies or using power/bleeing strike when they need to dish out damage. They do not complain about the lower HP pool as long as there is a cleric in the party to add some mass protection & mass regeneration. I build for:
- Swords max
- Armor 10-15
- Flaming Strike
- Powerful Strike
- Bloody Strike
Reason: Freezing is good but some enemies just dont like stay frozen for long. Best fry them so they take damage longer.

2. Mage - great in early and mid game, losing their momentum in late game unless you play sparingly or focus a lot. Has tons of free skill points to use on secondary skills like perception, immunity, meditation, and even some body building. I build for:
- Flames - very useful, cause enemy backliners tend to hide behind the strongest frontliner. NO longer.
- Inferno - huge AoE replacement of Blizzard.
- Blizzard - nets you big kills in early & mid and helps vs late game freezable enemies.
- Energy Absorption - crucial, but learn which enemies have no PP to absorb.
- Lords of the Thunder - great damage, but huge PP cost.
- Hammer of the Destroyer - PP cheap and very useful throughout the game, turns the Mage into a wounding machine. To elaborate: wounded characters are easy to hit and less likely to hit an enemy themselves. Easy prey for your "underpowered" Arcane Soldiers.
- Matter to Gold if no mercantilism character - drop to sell. So easy.

3. Thief - amazing class to have in both front and backline. Frontliners focus on quick strike + katana for max bleed and backliners on quick strike+ crossbow to save some shurikens. I build for:
- Shurikens
- Sword or Bow
- Quick Strike
- Lockpicking & Disarm
- Mercantilism if no Bard or specialized Matter to Gold Mage
- Armor for frontliner

4. Cleric - best built as healer/buffer. Acts a a really good middle frontliner due to divine prayer. I like saving as much skill points and build for:
- Meditation
- level 3 Light Heal, enough to get you through early game if you find no light heal books.
- level 1 Mend Bleeding & Cure Wounds till level 30, up to 3 later on.
- Mass Organic/Magical/Elemental protection
- Mass Heal
- Mass Regeneration (the "I win" button)
- Ray of the Gods
- Armor till 6-7 for frontliners in the early game (3 SP is a lot), pump it later on

5. Divine Summoner - backliner jack of all trades. The summons can do everything. Since I like using summons on the backline, I do not go crazy with Herald's Life. I build for the following summons:
- Herald of Golot - in a good frontliner party will net you tons of gold depending on the fight.
- Herald of Valvet - few enemies can't be burnt properly, but a lot can't be frozen for a decent time.
- Herald of Raznet - very useful backliner. Poisons, good damage, decent HP (for the back line).
Other skills to max:
- Herald's Destiny
- Herald's Light
Skills to add a point now and then:
- Herald's Power
- Herald's Life
And just don't think the DS usefulness ends here. Now how many scrolls did you have again? Might'cha wanna us'em neh? Who said he DS isn't a decent Bard?!

6. Paladin - frontliner with armor or a backline buffer with stuns. I personally build for:
- Flail and max Maces
- 8-10 Armor (you will pump STR to compensate)
- Aura of Protection for defense based parties
- Powerful Strike
- Bloody Strike
- 1-2 pts Mend Bleeding to comlement the Cleric
- 1-2 pts of Cure Wounds to complement the Cleric
- Mass Heal to 5 in late game

7. Barbarian - so easy. Max preferred weapon (I like sword for Katanas, cause crits inflict 50% more bleeds), Rage, Steadiness, Learning, about 8-12 armor, then go for Fast Reflexes with a Paladin & Bard combo or Immunity & Body Building ( you dont want to get crazed and crit a Mage or Cleric).

8. Bard - big time backline buffer that can act as decent frontliner. I build for:
- Song of Courage
- Song of Stunning
- Song Awakening & Speech
- Requiem
- Song of Victory
- Item identification
- Armor & Dagger & Shield for frontliners
- Mercantilism
- Perception - Bards can take over this easily

9. Soldier - frontliner with some PP to use on special attacks depending on the situation. I build for:
- Max preferred weapon and Armor till 10-15 (armor based on STR)
- Learning works wonders.
- Meditation - works wonders cause you have tons of free skill points
- Max powerful strike ASAP and add Bloody Strike later. Stunning Strike is ok if you have no stunner.
- Body Building as necessary - especially if you skip CON.

10. Gaulen - Gaulen is your Jack of All Trades. He can do anything and fit any line. He can be your Thief when you have no one to pick traps and locks, Bard when you have nobody to identify items, frontliner when you have 2-3 backliners, and backliner when you have 3 frontliners. He has a few crucial skills that you absolutely need to level up.
- Knowledge of Herbs - 30 points in this ASAP and don't pick herbs in advance. I have uploaded a screenshot on my profile showing just how much can you pick if you save up till char level level 29-30.
- Knowledge of Terrains - a must 30 pt for Old-School veteran or higher difficulty cause you have only 6 or less food to get through the toughest areas. Not an immediate max, but best done before level 45.
- Axe or Bow
- Armor to 8-10 for frontliner Gaulen (you will need the points to raise your other skills)
- Envenomed Strike

Additional (by no means mandatory) skills for Gaulen:
- Disarm/Lockpicking if you have no Thief
- Identify if you have no Bard or Mage
- Exploration if it is your first play-through - it is a moot skill, but you will absolutely miss on a lot of stuff if you don't have an extra few tiles of visibility in the fog of war.

There you go. Feel free to experiment, but some combos work better than others.

When creating a party, you need:
- someone to remove conditions (bleed, wounds, poison, etc.)
- someone to heal
- someone to protect your party
- someone to hit realiably
so easy. No AoE and no buffs. This is how you find out that since the Cleric can do 3/4 you absolutely need one or a few Paladins to cover (poorly).

Let me make something very plain - there is no good and bad class - including the Arcane soldier. It is the party composition that makes the run. Focusing is crucial in this game. THis splits parties into 3 aspects:
- pure physical
- conditions
- casters

To make the long read short, I will quickly analyze:
- Physical parties use weapons to hit and count on stunning, powerful strike and crits. They can be buffed by Bards and Paladins as necessary. Classes in this tier are: Barbarians, Soldiers, Paladins and Arcane Soldiers.
- Conditions parties inflict bleeding, poison and wounds as necessary. They do not rely on buffs but on shurikens, bloody strike, envenomed strike or summons. Classes in this tier are: Soldiers, Paladins, Arcane Soldiers, Gaulen, Mages, Bards, Thiefs, Divine Summoners.
- Caster parties use magic to destroy enemies before they get trashed. This sounds powerful, but you still need a safe front line to keep your casters safe. Classes in this tier are: Arcane Soldiers, Mages, Clerics, Divine Summoners.

Foreword: if you want to rock the game, you need 3 classes: Paladin, Bard and Cleric. Pick those 3, and you are golden. It will seem tedious at times, but you can persevere through.

And now the proposed party combos:

1. Offensive/buff combos.
1.1 Max Crits:

Barbarian Paladin Barbarian
Cleric Bard Gaulen

Paladin goes protection, bard goes courage in early game, stunning to complement, requiem in mid game and victory end game. This party has a difficult start but once you see those 200+ crits (not counting the bleeds), you will forget the hardships.

1.2. Balanced offensive:

Gaulen Paladin Thief
Cleric Bard Mage

Great buffs that carry a party and a mage to AoE the irritating buggers. Thief and Cleric can be switched - this way either Gaulen or the Paladin can get a good weapon (ulnalum) and the thief can go all utility/shuriken with quick strike & crossbows to boot.

1.3. Defensive offensive (yeah, lol):

Paladin Paladin Paladin
Cleric Bard Gaulen
I have doubts something can beat this party. Paladins get mass heal, and mass heal in not position based. The left and right paladins can easily divine power and alternate heals.

1.4. Special offensive:
Thief Barbarian Barbarian Gaulen
Cleric Summon Summon Divine Summoner

This build allows the DS to go Golot summon and make tons of money. You can replace Barbs for Soldiers if you want to.

2. Condition parties. Gaulen does poson, so he is in.
2.1. Crit/Bleed with some poison

Barbarian Gaulen Barbarian
Thief Bard Cleric

This is a setup that can change into a tanky cleric or bard or thief. Thief helps Gaulen to do well in envenomed.

2.2. Max conditions - this party is based on wearing down the enemy, plain and simple.
Gaulen Barbarian Barbarian Thief
Cleric Raznet (P) Summon Divine Summoner
(P) means poison, apart from Gaulen's one.

Barbarians get katanas/claymores and can be replaced with Soldiers with any weapon to make early game easier.

3. My own DS take.

Gaulen Soldier Soldier Thief
Cleric Raznet Valvet Divine Summoner

Easy to play throughout the game. Easy to do conditions/caster build.

3. Caster Parties.

Caster parties are focused on single target damage and/or AoE. This is where the completely disrespected Arcane Soldiers shine. Add some buffs to make them crazy.

3.1. Caster/Buffer.

Arcane Soldier Paladin Gaulen
Cleric Bard Mage

a convenience blizzard in early game and one in late game.Cleric & Paladin & Bard carry the Arcane soldier as a frontliner.

3.2. Offensive casters.
Arcane Soldier Cleric Arcane Soldier
Mage Mage Gaulen (bow, all utility skills and envenomed, so no frontline)

3.3. Casters with Divine summoner.

Cleric Gaulen Arcane Soldier Arcane Soldier
Mage Summon Summon Divine Summoner

Gaulen gets only 1 level in axes for a long while, everything else goes to disarm, armor, and his specials. Mage gets identify and perception.

Explanation: If you go caster, you go caster. No Bards and Paladins - you want to have as many first turns (based on speed and a God) and do as much damage as you can to the enemies before they can do something. DS does not go Golot on this build, cause Golot Herald doesn's get to do enough, and you cant hold out of kills till he materializes everyone.

To conclude, there is not a bad class in this game. Classes either do stuff or complement others. It is easy to hate on something before you realize where the whole usefullness lies. A class you feel useless (like cleric) in the early game wins the late game. A call that feels underwhelming (like the arcane soldier) is the perfect caster party tank, cause he/she can contribute on their own, and with a valvet god option, have the % to hit to land those flaming strikes properly. For the same reason, Barbarians plain suck in early game, and inflict 200+ damage crits (not counting conditions) in late game.

That being said, feel free to experiment. Workshop is coming eventually, so there will be some player-based rebalancing. Either pick it, or go with the base game. The guys from NUmantian games weren't stupid for selecting the classes as they are. Keep this in mind.

Thanks for the read and enjoy!

Dobri

In this section I will add valid points from comments and other guide contributors.