I keep decent records of stuff and decided to take 30 minutes to go through old screen shots plus notes I kept myself on my first few playthroughs of DayZ back in August 2023 and managed to compile this list.
I think this is fairly accurate; maybe missing a few quick runs that ended ignomiously (killed instantly, died of starvation etc)
I played WOTR in April 2026 and found it underwhelming.
I was playing a Sylvan Sorcerer from the start assuming my companions would form a balanced team, nope. Every new companion I seemed to acquire other than the excellent archer Wenduag and the strong mounted (!) paladin Seelah was a gimmicky spellcaster or niche class. I needed strong warriors not another perosn who is really good at one specific kind of spell or skill.
tbc
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The party
Karlach Barbarian Giant 12
Superb when Enlarged, good when not. Throwing Nyrulna now so everything simply dies.
Lae'zel Barbarian Berserker 12
Soulbreaker Sword is just so good.
Shadowheart Barbarian Wild Magic 12
Solid but I hardly ever use the rage effects, they add very little especially at this stage of the game.
Astarion Barbarian Wildheart 12
Have him sorted as a pretty damn good archer; he can also dual wield well.
Timeline
9th August 2026 - I cleared Act 2; I cleared Rivington minus Ansur and Gortash, went to Lower City and managed to kill Dolor immediately, Lorroakan easily enough, cleared the Shar House and then Cazador; I couldn’t convince Ast to stay good so we had to fight him to death. Jaheira now has all his stuff, oh well. Halsin is on Orin’s desk and I’m thinking I’ll either accidentally kill him like I did Lae that one time or I will forget to free him and he’ll walk. I’ll collect some more good gear then work on the Coronation battle.
Assessment
Just need to attack Gortash on sight. I managed to walk passed it earlier so will return in a bit;
I cleared the end of Act 1 and most of Act 2 on August 1st & 2nd; I managed to do a small few bits a few other days during August
The party
Karlach Barbarian Giant 9
Throw Returning Pike twice and maybe kick people. Repeat.
Lae'zel Barbarian Berserker 9
Very good at whacking stuff with her Soulbreaker Greatsword.
Shadowheart Barbarian Wild Magic 9
She's just sort of there; solid all-around though.
Astarion Barbarian Wildheart 9
Have barely used any of the powers, he's just a really good archer.
Timeline
1st August 2026 - played for ages; beat Phase Spider, Ethel (took Hag hair and Mayrina) Flind, Tyr paladins, hook horrors, could not find Bulette; Duergar on beach; Myconid king; all of Forge minus Grym; made it to level 6 and went to monastery/Creche; sent Lae into the pod this time and almost lost her, the doctor aggro’d the next room over but not full creche.
2nd August 2026 - cleared creche, moved into Act 2 and did almost all of that; got halfway through Trials and am almost level 9; it’s getting testing not having magic and so on.
5th August 2026 - I googled how to get a scroll of knock in Act 2 and turns out there is a guaranteed one in the Mason’s Guild so I got that and got to the end of the Trials; cleared the Library fight, then the big Shadow Mound to get to level 9; and Yurgir (auto-hostile, no talk because I was in menu at the time? Apparently it’s because I went in the wrong way) but he was easy even with all his servants, and took almost no damage. Stopped again after an hour; will finish next time.
Assessment
Trucking along fine, slightly more amusing than the all-fighter run.
I have 3 or 4 rage charges on everyone left so will probably burn through them before the restoration pod (I will not be long-resting in Act 2). Maybe the Inn fight, Moonrise entrance, Ketheric, lab fight? Then restore pod and fight Myrkul and the gith ambush on way to Act 3, but whatever.
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The party
Karlach Barbarian Giant 6
I switched Lae and Karlach around; it made more sense for Karlach to be Gigantic. I also made her Strength 17 and got the Hag's Hair; now I can use Elixir of Colossus.
Lae'zel Barbarian Berserker 6
She was the Giant but now a Berserker; she is an elixir user so am hoping to give her GWM at level 8 and get the Risky Ring.
Shadowheart Barbarian Wild Magic 6
I've found this the least interesting - I guess I'm not raging enough? At least all the effects are benign. She mainly just shoots people.
Astarion Barbarian Wildheart 6
Also somewhat secondary to the Giant and Berserker. Loving the passive effects that everyone can benefit from.
Timeline
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Assessment
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25th July I completed Honour mode with Gale and immediately started again as Karlach the Barbarian. She will lead an all-barbarian squad hopefully to the end of the game once again.
The party
Karlach Barbarian Berserker 5
Auto-prone frenzied throw is just amazing, but apparently Giant Barb is the better thrower, may need to re-think the party build later. Have managed to avoid long-resting so far but may do it to gte back rages for the Forge and rest of Underdark; then I long-rest again before/on-way to creche and finish Act 1 with 3 long rests. Then do all of Act 2 with no long rests!
Lae'zel Barbarian Giant 5
I know I always make Lae kickass but then I realised its a facial recognition thing. I see Lae's portait scowling at me and I know she's tough, strong class, while Shadowheart I usually cast in a more supportive role, Astarion sneaky/knifey etc. Helps to just keep them in their lane. It's going OK but migth need to re-jig equipment and roles and stats and everything again later. Also, might need GWM. Much to think about!
Shadowheart Barbarian Wild Magic 5
Seems OK? She is mainly just shooting her crossbow at the moment but have used Wild Magic Rage twice and both times got explosive flumphs which are kind of cool. Apparently all the random effects are beneficial so will have to see.
Astarion Barbarian Wildheart 5
I keep changing the 'Heart' every level since 3 - seems fine so far? Considering a dual-wield build later. Will have to re-spec later maybe.
Draft build plan may not be exact:
Timeline
25th July 2026 - I started and cleared the Nautaloid, then Withers' Temple after getting all 4 people, then the Grove setup, then the Blighted Village, then Ethel meeetup, then Goblin Fort, then various quests inching everything forward so I could get to level 5.
Assessment
It's going OK! Fun and strong, nice to see the two Wild barbarian subclasses haven't tried them yet. Should be fine to crush Act 1 and 2, the plan was to immediately bee-line to Gortash's coronation and crash that but idk. Might need a ton of barrels and bullsh*t to do it that way.
