Tears of Metal Heroes

Wallace playstyle tips

Official demo footage emphasizes block and parry over dodge spam — dodging carries a long cooldown and is reserved for large area attacks. Wallace's near-instant block makes him the hero who punishes elite wind-ups fastest.

Spend one special gauge bar on battalion reposition commands during captain fights; save all three bars for the panic AoE clear when fodder surrounds an objective. Pair Wallace with balanced emblem stacks from the builds guide rather than splitting across four clans.

Recommended emblem direction

Wallace shines with battalion-enhancing and strike clan emblems — anything that buffs troop damage while keeping his own light attacks upgraded. Avoid glass-cannon artifact greed until you can parry consistently; see artifacts tier list for safe Act I pickups.

Ruadh abilities & role

Ruadh's heavy attacks focus on armor break and stagger. Captains that sponge Wallace's sword combos fold once Ruadh's hammer emblems come online. His healing supports co-op partners who stack risky DPS emblems — pair with a Vanguard Tracker player who kites ranged threats.

Because Ruadh is slower, let your battalion absorb fodder pressure while you walk heavy attack chains into the elite. Command troops with single gauge bars to hold flanks; never burn all three bars on fodder when a boss adds phase is imminent.

Official Ruadh reveal footage highlights shield smashes and knockback — lean into strike-clan emblems that amplify stagger windows rather than attack-speed buffs that Wallace uses more efficiently.

When to pick Ruadh

Choose Ruadh for boss rushes, armored elite rooms, and co-op lobbies missing burst damage. Skip him on speed-run routes where you ignore fodder entirely — Wallace or Vanguard Tracker finish those maps faster if you already know elite locations from the walkthrough.

Rescue event checklist

Watch the map for the unique distress icon in Act II Environment 12. Do not chase every enemy — eliminate priority captains first while staying inside the rescue radius. Losing experienced soldiers here hurts more than failing the event because permanent troop death is real.

Co-op makes this event dramatically easier: one pair holds waves while another focuses elites. After unlock, revisit village upgrades so Training Grounds progress stays ahead of Act III requirements.

Recommended emblem direction

Stack mobility and strike clan emblems on Vanguard Tracker — emblems upgrade your moveset per action slot, so prioritize light-attack upgrades that boost poke damage. Hybrid battalion emblems help when you play solo without a Ruadh frontline.

Role splits that work

Frontline (Ruadh or Wallace): holds captains, breaks shields, spends battalion gauge on defensive commands. Flank / elite (Vanguard Tracker): deletes priority targets marked by the team. Support emblem (any hero): stacks battalion clan emblems so AI troops scale with player count.

Full co-op strategy — revive rules, scaling, ping shortcuts — lives on the co-op guide. Hero tier lists for PvE ranking will land on a future `/tier-list/heroes` page once EA balance settles.

Customization & future roster

Paper Cult supports hero appearance and loadout customization at launch — cosmetics do not change stats but help squads identify roles in four-player co-op. Early Access roadmap promises additional heroes, new emblem families, and expanded Training Grounds unlocks; settlement progress you bank now accelerates every future character.

When new heroes ship, this page will add profile sections and update the roster table. Until then, mastering all three launch heroes covers every objective type in Acts I–III: Wallace for learning, Ruadh for armor checks, Vanguard Tracker for mobile elite objectives.

Steam Early Access updates may rebalance hero damage or unlock requirements — recheck this guide after major Paper Cult patches.