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 set things up, and how to succeed once you do, read my full Tavern guide below.
Complete Tavern Guide for Wartales The Tavern Opens
To get started you will need to go to Stromkapp in Tiltren District. You will find a new building in town called Abandoned Tavern. Select it, talk to Luuk Baos, and buy the abandoned tavern for only 1 Crown. What a bargain.
Luuk will leave, and you will be faced with a cleanup job. You will need to do the following (which only takes a minute):
- Clear cobwebs: Earn 1 Mosquito Proboscis with spiderweb.
- Repair a damaged table: Win 1 Tavern Table (for 4 patrons).
- Clear damage: Get the Alchemist's specialty Creme Brulee recipe.
- Destroy wood: Requires Lumberjack. You have to make a standard lumberjack skill check but you will get 1 Wall Torch as well as the usual XP and wood.
You won't be attacked and apart from the Lumberjack skill you don't need any other professions or equipment.
Tavern management basics
You can now name your tavern and start running your tavern. You will see a list of Goals in the upper-left corner of the tavern screen, the current statistics of your tavern in the upper-right, and the menu in the lower right of the screen. You will need to complete the objective list before you run your first shift.
- Capacity: Maximum number of patrons.
- Clientele: Your mix of patrons between upper class and working class. This mix will affect the level of security required as well as the prices patrons are willing to pay.
- Comfort: Higher comfort levels improve your chance of making sales and the number of patrons who show up.
- Copper Coins: This is a new currency that can only be used in Tavern menus but can be converted to Crowns.
- equipment: Increases Comfort, draws different types and numbers of Patrons, produces alcohol, increases sales and improves security.
- Menu: Dishes served to profit.
- Prestige: Higher Prestige allows you to add better equipment to your tavern.
- satisfaction:
- security: Reduces the chance of negative change 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 during this, which is a nice way to level up your Brewer, for example.
You can create a steady stream of profits for your troupe with time and effort or much more if you put some love into it.
Related: How to get and use Spizon in Wartales The Tavern Opens
How to make a shift in Wartales The Tavern Opens
Once installed, you will run a shift in your Tavern every time you camp for the night. No matter where you are, the shift will still be on, so be sure to check the status of your Tavern before camping for the night. You can change everything you need from anywhere except sending companions from your party to work in the tavern (they won't arrive until the next shift, even if you are in the Tavern).
Before you run a shift, be sure to check the following:
- arrangement: Bards have a reach that significantly increases sales odds in that area, so try to get as many seats as possible in the area.
- Food Menu: Each week there will be a list of ingredients that are either promoted or scarce. Change your menu to advertised ingredients and drop scarce ones to increase your profits. Also, make sure the dishes have a high percentage chance of selling.
- Basement Menu: This is the second tab on the menu option, so it's easy to miss. Customize each brewer with a keg.
- employment: Don't leave any staff gaps while there are people to recruit to them (except Thieves, which is optional and situational. See below). Unlike equipment, staff have no upfront cost and should always earn you more than their salary will cost.
- security: You can check your current security rating in the upper right of the tavern screen. If you're trying to run a tavern with high-end customers, make sure you have the icon here well in the green if you've increased capacity since your last shift by adding more tables. The number of customers that visit increases the negative details of your Safety total, so if you are likely to get more customers, the safety rating you have pre-shift will likely go down during it.
To run the shift, click back to the Camp menu and camp as normal. Your shift results will come along with your camp results.
While in the Tavern menu, you can click the New Shift button at the bottom of the screen to make an extra shift before you camp. This costs 100 Influence the first time you do it, 200 Influence the second time and continues to double in Influence cost as you continue to complete additional shifts. This cost is reset to 100 Influence after you do a normal shift (by camping).
Special events
Sometimes you will get special visitors after shift, which appear in the Tavern with a question mark above them (like you sometimes get with a companion in your camp). These work similarly to companions, giving you three options to choose from which can have various consequences.
One of these is usually to ignore them without consequence, but be sure to check them carefully they can give solid goodies. For example, increase Ambience for a Faction over several changes for a relatively small fee.
How to improve your tavern in Wartales The Tavern Opens
There are many ways to improve your tavern in Wartales: The Tavern Opens! Here are some tips that I've found worked:
- Animals as doormen: When fighting creatures on your travels, consider capturing a few and sending them to the tavern to act as bouncers. Some animals have amazing specialties that make them perfect for the job, such as Bears (Colossal Stature: Increase Security by 6 in addition to their bounce effect) and Alpha Wolves (Watchdog: Increase Comfort by 5). It also makes it funnier 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 latest Change Report. Clientele shows the mix of patrons you've had and more about their requirements.
- Music is important: Look at the mix of clientele you get and see what music they like best. Change what your bards play to suit their tastes and encourage a better habit.
- Check customer needs: After selecting a Client in the Tavern Management menu, hover over a faction type you're not attracted to to find out why. Sometimes, it's out of your control (they may require a service you can't yet offer), but sometimes, it can be as simple as lowering your Krown drink prices to attract new customers.
- Seasonal menus: Even if your tavern is mostly running in the background, at least pay attention to the Promotions and Shortage section of the Create Menu page. Three items are listed under each category and they change every week. Providing dishes containing advertised 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 a high sales probability is its complexity penalty. Stay away from highly complex dishes until you have high quality chefs, unless you want to drop the price to make up for it.
Related: Wartales Best Builds for Every Class
Tavern area effects
Certain additions to your tavern, such as Bards and Menu boards, are listed as increasing sales probability 'in the area'. This means it matters where exactly in your tavern you place these items because they will increase the odds only within a circular range of their location.
Select the Layout 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 accurate view, left-click an object while holding the shift key (see the picture above). This will show the exact seats hit by the object with a small up arrow. Note that you must 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 have a tavern instead Marheim (Vertruse Province) and then in Gosenberg (Grinmeer).
Again you have to go to the location (you will get an alert on screen and on your map when a new destination is available). I received the invitation to move to Marheim when I 300 Prestige has passed in Stromkapp but I can't be sure that 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 Crowns. Note that this moves your tavern, rather than you opening an extra one. You will again have to clear 3 cobwebs (for 3 Mosquito Proboscis), complete a Lumberjack 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 will also receive the achievement titled Scale Up.
You don't lose anything in the move but have to arrange things again. Your menu and cellar will move with your staff, and the porters will be in the tavern, but you'll need to set up your tables, equipment (including bards you've hired), and decorations. The big plus is that you now have a much larger space fill after each update. However, all the same rules apply. After you upgrade your tavern, you can also start upgrading your equipment (for example, the Improved Tavern Table increases Comfort by 3).
For more on Wartales check out Wartales – Full Belerion Archipelago region map and location guide and Wartales – Full Maps and Locations Guide here at Pro Game Guides!
