Dark medieval RPG Wartales see you exploring a large open world and completing quests, crafting items, and fighting your way through a series of turn-based squad battles with your party of companions. As with most combat-oriented RPGs, having the best gear will give you the edge in a tough fight. In Wartales, that means applying oils to your weapons. In our Wartales oils guide, we’ll explain how they work and what they all do.
How do oils work in Wartales
Oils can be applied to any weapon equipped on a companion in your party. Using oils in Wartales is a very simple process: if you have an oil in your inventory, simply open the character screen for the companion who has the weapon you want to apply the oil to. Next, right-click the oil in your inventory. You will be asked whether you want to apply the oil to the weapon. Click OK, and that’s that.
At the beginning of the game, each weapon can have one oil applied to it. If you decide later you want to add a different oil to a weapon, you can simply overwrite it. However, once you have reached Level 7 on the Mysteries and Wisdom Path, you can then stack two oils on each of your weapons. As it stands, you can never have more than two oils on the same weapon.
How do you get oils in Wartales?
Oils can be found as loot, bought from NPCs (commonly from an Apothecary in a town), or crafted by an Alchemist companion (if they have the appropriate Recipe learned, access to an Apothecary Table, and the required ingredients). Oils are expensive to buy and use quite a lot of ingredients to make.
While oils are a great addition to any weapon, we think they're better saved for later in the game. Early on, you’ll regularly be finding better weapons and the oils you use won’t transfer to the new ones. So, it is usually best to wait until you get a companion up to around level 7 or 8 before experimenting with too many oils. The major exception to this is Legendary Weapons, which can be leveled up with your characters via the Brotherhood Training Ground you can find in each region. So if you find a Legendary Weapon that is a good fit for a companion, it is a good plan to add oil to it, as it won't be wasted.
All oils in Wartales
The following oils can be found, crafted, and applied to your weapons in Wartales. All effects and costs are subject to change as the game is still being updated.
| Oil | Effect | Ingredients |
| Acidic Oil I | Every time a skill deals damage, has a 30 percent chance to apply Burning. | 1x Pristine Essence, 5x Coal |
| Alertness Oil I | Unknown or unimplemented effect. | 1x Pristine Essence, 3x Comfrey, 4x Fish Oil |
| Animal Essence Oil I | Damage inflicted to animals increased by 20 percent. | 1x Pristine Essence, 10x Pristine Fang, 1x Red Eyeball |
| Bleeding Oil I | Every time a skill deals damage to a bleeding enemy, has a 10 percent change to trigger the effects of Bleeding. | 1x Pristine Essence, 4x Pristine Fang, 2x Coal, 2x Salt |
| Conversion Oil I | Every time a skill deals damage, has a 30 percent chance to restore an amount of Health equal to 20 percent of the damage dealt. | 1x Pristine Essence, 2x Fish Oil, 2x Comfrey, 2x Snow Iris |
| Fortifying Oil I | Every time a skill deals damage, has a 30 percent chance to reduce the damage taken by 10 percent for 3 rounds. | 1x Pristine Essence, 2x Grease, 3x Iron Ore |
| Infectious Oil I | Every time a skill deals damage, has a 30 percent chance to apply a status effect inflicting damage equal to 50 percent of the attack. | 1x Pristine Essence, 6x Pristine Fang, 4x Infected Blood |
| Misty Oil I | Every time a skill deals damage, has a 30 percent chance to also deal 50 percent of its damage to the enemies next to the target. | 1x Pristine Essence, 2x Alazarian Powder, 2x Crocswine Scale |
| Perforating Oil I | The attacks dealt ignore 50 percent of the target's Guard. | 1x Pristine Essence, 4x Mosquito Proboscis, 2x Crocswine Scale |
| Plague Essence Oil I | Damage dealt to plagued units increased by 20 percent. | 1x Pristine Essence, 5x Infected Blood, 2x Red Eyeball |
| Poisonous Oil I | Every time a skill deals damage, has a 30 percent change to apply Poison. | 1x Pristine Essence, 4x Marsh Parsley, 1x Infected Blood |
| Sharpening Oil I | Critical Hit +10 percent. | 1x Pristine Essence, 5x Salt, 2x Alazarian Powder |
| Strength Oil I | Every time a skill deals damage, has a 50 percent chance to increase Strength for 3 rounds. | 1x Pristine Essence, 3x Comfrey, 5x Pristine Fang |
| Swiftness Oil I | Every time a skill deals damage, has a 30 percent chance to increase Dexterity for 3 rounds. | 1x Pristine Essence, 3x Snow Iris, 5x Pristine Fang |
| Unstable Oil I | After attacking an enemy in close combat, has a 30 percent chance to follow up with an attack of opportunity. | 1x Pristine Essence, 2x Salt, 2x Brandy, 2x Alazarian Powder |
Looking for more information on Wartales? Check out Wartales Tips and Tricks for Beginners and Wartales Ghost Carcass Guide here at Pro Game Guides!
Chris Marling is a writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience across newspapers, magazines, and websites. Based in the UK, he has written professionally on everything from tech to tearooms. But his real passion is gaming, going right back to the Atari 2600 - and especially RPGs and MMOs. He cut his teeth on games such as The Realm and Anarchy Online. But 20 years on still gets excited about exploring each new world. When not online, you'll find him gaming analog-style around the table. Chris has had five of his own board games published, including Pioneer Days and Armageddon.