If you have just started playing Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest, there are several things you should learn before exploring the territory and progressing through the story. From creating your cat to completing your first quests, understanding the basic mechanics will help you get comfortable with the game.
In this beginner’s guide, we will explain how to create your character, choose personality traits, follow your mentor, hunt prey, and fight your first enemies. I will also cover the important controls, StarClan guidance, and crafting so you know what to do during your first hour.
Whether you want to become a warrior, explore the different Clans, or eventually become a leader, getting familiar with these basics will make your journey easier. Let’s go through everything you need to know when starting Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest.
Warrior Cats Clans of the Forest Beginner Guide – Quests
When you start a new game, the first thing you need to do is create your cat. The character creator includes six sliders that affect your cat’s appearance and determine its two personality traits.
Here is what each slider controls:
| Slider | Appearance range |
|---|---|
| Size | Graceful to powerful |
| Fur length | Efficient to resilient |
| Tail | Swift to steady |
| Ears | Subtle to perceptive |
| Eyes | Sensitive to reserved |
| Muzzle | Gentle to tenacious |
These sliders are not just for appearance. They also influence which personality traits your cat receives, so experiment with the options until you find a combination you like.
Available Personality Traits
Your cat receives two personality traits, which can affect gameplay and dialogue choices.
- Brave: Provides more strength and instinct, along with a bonus when choosing brave answers in conversations.
- Patient: Increases your chance of finding extra prey while hunting.
- Wise: Provides more resilience and strength, as well as a bonus for wise answers.
- Energetic: Reduces the stamina used when sprinting and climbing.
If you prefer exploring the map and moving around frequently, Energetic can be useful because it reduces stamina consumption. Patient can be helpful if you want to focus on hunting, while Brave and Wise offer their own combat and dialogue benefits.
Choose the combination that best matches how you want to play.
Choosing Your Cat’s Name and Colors
You cannot type in a completely custom name. Instead, you must choose from a long list of available names.
Color options are also limited. Blue, pink, and green are among the available choices, but black is not available according to the current character-creation information.
If you own the Feral Edition, you can access additional fur patterns marked with a star.
Choose Your Clan
Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest features four playable Clans: ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan. Each Clan has its own story and prophecy.
| Clan | Story overview |
|---|---|
| ThunderClan | Navigate a story involving shifting trust within the Clan. |
| RiverClan | Investigate threats to your territory from Twolegs and other cats. |
| ShadowClan | Build alliances while questioning the cat you trust most. |
| WindClan | Experience a story in which an unexpected death disrupts the peace of the Moors. |
SkyClan is not available as a playable option.
Your choice determines which Clan’s story you experience. If you want to follow the detailed progression from apprentice to leader covered in the RiverClan storyline, that is a good route to explore. However, you can also choose another Clan to experience a different story.
Follow Your Mentor and Learn the Controls
Once you begin the game, follow your mentor to learn the basics. Your mentor helps introduce the main objectives and guides you through your first tasks.
During this part of the game, pay attention to the quest markers and instructions on your screen. They will help you understand where to go and what you need to do next.
Essential Controls for Beginners
Here are the important controls to remember:
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Shift | Sprint |
| Space | Jump |
| Q | Request StarClan guidance |
| Ctrl | Crouch |
Sprinting helps you move around faster, but you need to manage your stamina. Jumping allows you to navigate parts of the environment, while crouching helps you approach prey without immediately alerting it.
Use StarClan Guidance
Press Q to request StarClan guidance. This feature reveals items and helps show your quest path.
Your first pickup is a marigold petal, which is useful to learn about early because marigold petal provides a medium amount of health recovery.
Whenever you are unsure where to go next, check your current objective and use StarClan guidance to help locate relevant items.
How to Hunt Prey
Hunting is an important part of life in Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest. You will need to hunt during certain quests and contribute food to your Clan’s fresh-kill pile.
One useful technique is to crouch before approaching prey.
How to Perform a Sneak Attack
Follow these steps when approaching prey:
- Locate the prey you need to hunt.
- Hold Ctrl to crouch.
- Approach the prey carefully.
- Use the available attack when you are close enough.
Sneaking up on prey allows you to perform a sneak attack. This is worth learning early because hunting is part of your regular quest progression.
You may also encounter quests that ask you to hunt specific animals, such as forest rats, rabbits, or birds. Always check the quest log to confirm which prey you need before returning to your mentor.
How to Fight Enemies
Combat is turn-based, so you cannot simply attack repeatedly without considering your moves. Your agility determines who acts first, and different moves use different stances.
Before attacking an enemy, check the icon above its head. This gives you an indication of how strong the enemy is compared with your cat.
Learn the Three Combat Stances
The game’s combat system uses three main stances:
| Stance | Beats |
|---|---|
| Offensive | Trick |
| Trick | Defensive |
| Defensive | Offensive |
Each stance counters another stance. Before your first serious fight, open the Info menu and check the enemy’s stance so you can choose an appropriate move.
You will learn several moves during the early game, including Taunting Strike, Tackle, Rock Throw, Quick Claw, Tail Attack, Poisonous Claw, and Sand Throw.
Your First Rogue Fight
During the tutorial, you will encounter a rogue. The combat menu gives you several options:
- Attack: Choose an attack to fight the enemy.
- Rest: Skip your turn to recover stamina.
- Herbs: Use an herb to restore health, at the cost of your turn.
- Flee: Attempt to escape the fight.
You can finish this tutorial encounter with Rock Throw.
Take your time learning how the combat menu works. Understanding your available actions early will help you handle tougher encounters later in the story.
Complete Your First Quests
Quests are the main way to progress through the story and earn promotions. During the early game, you will receive objectives from your mentor and other cats.
Look for the yellow markers above cats to identify main quests. Purple markers indicate side quests.
Follow the Quest Markers
Your first assignments may involve hunting prey, collecting items, delivering supplies, or defending your Clan’s territory.
Examples of early quests include:
- Sharpening Your Claws
- Making Your Mark
- Meal Service
- Special Delivery
- Feathering the Nests
The order of these assignments can vary, so do not worry if your objectives appear in a different order from another player’s.
Check your quest log regularly and follow the active objective rather than wandering around without a goal.
Understand Your Rank Progression
As you complete quests, you will work toward becoming a warrior and eventually advancing further within your Clan.
In RiverClan, you need to reach Level 4 for the warrior progression, Level 11 for the deputy storyline, and Level 15 for Strength of the Stars, which grants your nine lives.
These level requirements apply to the RiverClan story progression described here. Other Clan storylines may have different objectives.
Craft Your First Den Decoration
Crafting is another mechanic you will encounter early in the game. During the tutorial, you can craft a Shepherd’s Wool Fleece den decoration.
To make it, you need three materials:
- One dry leaf
- One bird’s nest
- One oak gall
Collect the required materials and use the crafting system to create the decoration.
Some crafting projects take time to complete, so it is worth gathering materials as you explore. Den decorations can have crafting timers of up to 48 hours, depending on the item.
You can also visit a friend’s den to help speed up their crafting.
Keep Your Clan’s Fresh-Kill Pile Stocked
The fresh-kill pile is important because your Clan consumes food over time.
Your Clan uses one food point every 90 seconds. If the pile drops below 50 points, your cat suffers stat penalties. Keeping the pile well stocked provides agility and prowess bonuses.
Each piece of prey is worth approximately two food points.
Beginner Tips for Managing Food
- Hunt prey whenever your quests require it.
- Deposit your catches into the fresh-kill pile.
- Remember that prey is deposited one piece at a time.
- Keep the food supply above 50 points to avoid penalties.
Hunting is not only useful for completing quests; it also helps maintain your Clan’s food supply.
Beginner Tips for Exploring the Map
Exploration is useful for finding items, discovering important locations, and completing side quests.
Here are a few features you should learn about early.
Outposts
Outposts allow you to rest, save your progress, and fast travel after activating them. They also respawn enemies, so be prepared when returning to an area.
Sunning Spots
Sunning spots allow your cat to rest and recover health. Interact with them whenever you find one and need to recover.
Plants That Restore Stamina
Dandelions, poppyseeds, and cotton can refill stamina when you hit them while sprinting. Keep an eye out for these plants when travelling through the territory.
Exploration Sage
Exploration Sage reveals side-quest items on your map. Use it if you are having trouble finding a particular object for a side quest.
Not every rock or tree can be jumped over, and some areas contain invisible walls. If you are struggling to reach a destination, stick to the paths and follow flower trails.
Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest has several mechanics to learn when you first start playing, but you do not need to master everything immediately. Begin by creating your cat, choosing your Clan, following your mentor, and learning the basic controls.
As you progress, focus on completing quests, learning combat stances, hunting prey, and collecting crafting materials. Remember to use StarClan guidance when you need help finding your next objective and keep your Clan’s fresh-kill pile stocked to avoid food-related penalties.
Once you understand these systems, you will be better prepared to explore your Clan’s territory, become a warrior, and continue your journey through the story.