Tears of Metal · Early Access
Tears of Metal heroes: launch roster, playstyles, and unlocks
Compare the three playable launch heroes and the Aodh the Vigil companion added in v0.12.58540.
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Wallace, Brienne, and Ruadh Stonecrusher remain the three playable launch heroes. Paper Cult's v0.12.58540 update separately added Aodh the Vigil as an unlockable companion. The companion card links to the existing Soldiers & Companions guide rather than creating a playable-hero profile.
- The three Tears of Metal heroes at a glance
- The launch roster of Tears of Metal heroes is three playable characters, confirmed by Paper Cult X, the Gamespress Ruadh reveal, the Steam store page, and the Steam Deck HQ review. Each hero has a distinct weapon kit and a distinct playstyl
- Wallace: the broadsword bruiser
- Wallace is the recommended first hero for most players in Early Access because his broadsword arc is forgiving and his defensive options are the most reliable of the three launch heroes. Steam Deck HQ describes Wallace as the bruiser lane w
- Signature weapon and moveset
- Wallace fights with a one-handed broadsword and a shield, with a kit that includes wide horizontal slashes, an uppercut launcher, and a parry that staggers most early enemies. The shield bash is the cleanest stagger tool in the game, which
The three Tears of Metal heroes at a glance
The launch roster of Tears of Metal heroes is three playable characters, confirmed by Paper Cult X, the Gamespress Ruadh reveal, the Steam store page, and the Steam Deck HQ review. Each hero has a distinct weapon kit and a distinct playstyle that maps to a different role inside a co-op party. • Wallace: broadsword-and-shield bruiser, the easiest entry point for new players. • Brienne: twin-blade duelist, the highest-mobility launch hero. • Ruadh Stonecrusher: heavy stone maul tank, the third hero added with the latest character trailer. Per-hero detail pages for Wallace, Brienne, and Ruadh Stonecrusher are generated from the heroes entity family at /heroes/{slug}. Each detail page uses the shared summary format and lists the hero's signature weapon, role, and unlock path.
Wallace: the broadsword bruiser
Wallace is the recommended first hero for most players in Early Access because his broadsword arc is forgiving and his defensive options are the most reliable of the three launch heroes. Steam Deck HQ describes Wallace as the bruiser lane who anchors the front of a co-op party, while Brienne and Ruadh benefit from players who already understand the Emblem and Charm systems.
Signature weapon and moveset
Wallace fights with a one-handed broadsword and a shield, with a kit that includes wide horizontal slashes, an uppercut launcher, and a parry that staggers most early enemies. The shield bash is the cleanest stagger tool in the game, which makes Wallace the safest hero to learn the game's parry timing on.
How Wallace fits in co-op
In a four-player session, Wallace is the front-line anchor who holds enemy attention while Brienne or Ruadh players burst down elites and bosses. Solo, Wallace handles the full campaign without forcing the player to lean on Charm stacking the way Brienne does, which makes him the most self-sufficient launch hero.
Brienne: the dual-wielding duelist
Brienne is the agility hero of the three launch heroes and the natural pick for players who want fast combos and frequent dodge i-frames. Steam Deck HQ frames the Wallace vs Brienne comparison as "anchor and chase": Wallace holds the line, Brienne rotates around it.
Signature weapon and moveset
Brienne wields two short blades and chains dodges into fast strike combos. Her kit rewards momentum: every successful dodge extends a combo timer, and her signature move is a leaping cross-slash that closes distance to ranged enemies. Compared to Wallace, she has fewer defensive options but the highest sustained damage on trash mobs.
How Brienne fits in co-op
Brienne is the skirmisher who deletes priority targets between Wallace's engagements. She leans naturally into Lightweaver-style chain damage and the refracted debuff from the named Emblem clans, which makes her a natural pairing with the Emblems and Charms guide. Solo players using Brienne lean harder on Charm drops and Emblem synergies to compensate for her lower stamina pool.
Ruadh Stonecrusher: the heavy maul tank
Ruadh Stonecrusher is the third launch hero, revealed through the Gamespress character trailer that Paper Cult distributed to media and on its official X account. The reveal trailer frames Ruadh as the heaviest-hitting launch hero, with a stone-themed kit that trades mobility for raw damage and stagger.
Signature weapon and moveset
Ruadh swings a two-handed stone maul whose charged strikes deal the largest single-hit damage of any launch hero. His kit includes a ground-slam that staggers groups, a charged overhead that punishes stationary elites, and a defensive stone shell that reduces incoming damage for a short window. His recovery between swings is the slowest of the three heroes, which is the trade-off for the high burst.
How Ruadh fits in Early Access co-op
Ruadh fills a similar front-line role to Wallace but with a different timing profile: Wallace is reactive (parry and punish), while Ruadh is proactive (charged swing into shell). In a co-op party, Wallace and Ruadh can hold two separate lanes, with Brienne rotating between them. Solo, Ruadh is the most dependent on Charm drops because his slow swing recovery leaves the largest punish windows.
Aodh the Vigil joins as a companion in v0.12
Paper Cult's 7 Aug teaser describes Aodh as an old scholar hauling a book heavier than most men's armor, keeping watch when a fight starts so the enemy's first blows do not land as intended. The v0.12.58540 post then confirms that Aodh the Vigil is unlockable. The official update calls Aodh a companion, so this page does not turn him into a fourth playable hero or invent a hero moveset.
How heroes unlock during the Early Access campaign
Wallace and Brienne are unlocked from the start of a new campaign. Ruadh Stonecrusher is unlocked after defeating Iseult the Banshee, per the V0.8.57278 patch notes (24 Jul 2026), which is the official unlock path as of the 2026-08-03 research date. The wiki-claimed "Vanguard Tracker" unlock through an Act II rescue is wiki-only and is not adopted by the site because Paper Cult has not confirmed it.
Why you might switch heroes mid-campaign
• You want a more forgiving opener: switch to Wallace if the early Acts feel overwhelming. • You want faster trash clear: switch to Brienne once you have a Charm or two that feeds into her combo timer. • You want a tankier feel: switch to Ruadh once you have learned to time the stone shell. Each hero uses the same meta-progression pool (Charms, Emblems, village upgrades), so switching heroes does not reset your campaign unlocks or your soldier battalion.
Sources
Steam and Paper Cult sources confirm Wallace, Brienne, and Ruadh Stonecrusher as playable heroes. Paper Cult's v0.12.58540 post and 7 Aug teaser separately confirm Aodh the Vigil as an unlockable companion. Gamespress, Steam Deck HQ, and TheSixthAxis retain the dated playable-hero context.
Heroes profiles
Wallace
Scottish melee frontline hero and the default starter character in Early Access. Wields a heavy two-handed sword (including the Flamberge and Celtic Longsword variants) with wide sweeping attacks; his swing timing is a little on the slower side but trades deal decent damage. Has the Committed Charge ability (description corrected in V0.8.57278 to grant 35% damage resistance) and a model shared with the wider cast. Acts as the all-rounder entry point of the three launch heroes.
playable heroBrienne
Faster, lower-damage-per-hit hero compared to Wallace. Her combat identity centers on a Direct Hits buff that grows as she lands consecutive hits and multiplies the damage she deals. Unlockable in Early Access through an in-game unlock quest that involves gates opening on a specific level (a gate-stuck progression bug for her unlock quest was fixed in V0.8.57278).
playable heroRuadh (Ruadh Stonecrusher)
Late-launch addition first revealed by Paper Cult on 2026-02-25 as a hero wielding a gigantic hammer. Per the reveal trailer, Stonecrusher smashes through shields, shatters armor, and knocks enemies away while supporting allies with powerful healing. Originally unobtainable at launch; V0.8.57278 rebalanced him so that Ruadh is unlocked after defeating the Banshee boss.
companionAodh the Vigil
Unlockable companion added in v0.12.58540. Paper Cult describes Aodh as an old scholar carrying a massive book who keeps watch when a fight starts; the official update does not present him as a fourth playable hero.
FAQ
How many heroes are in Tears of Metal at launch?
Three heroes: Wallace, Brienne, and Ruadh Stonecrusher. Paper Cult and the Gamespress character trailer confirm all three are launch heroes as of 2026-08-03.
Do I have to unlock each hero by finishing an Act?
No. Wallace and Brienne are unlocked from the start of a new campaign, and Ruadh Stonecrusher is unlocked after defeating Iseult the Banshee per the V0.8.57278 patch notes (24 Jul 2026). No Act-gated unlock has been announced beyond that. Wiki-claimed unlocks are treated as community reference and are not used on this site.
Which hero should I pick first if I am new to the game?
Wallace. His broadsword-and-shield kit is the most forgiving, and Steam Deck HQ explicitly recommends Wallace for first-time players who are still learning the Emblem and Charm systems.
Will Paper Cult add more heroes after launch?
Yes. TheSteam Deck HQ review and TheSixthAxis coverage confirm Paper Cult plans more heroes during Early Access, but the count and names beyond Ruadh are not announced as of 2026-08-03. Future hero announcements appear first on Paper Cult X and the Steam Community news index.
Are there per-hero detail pages I can read?
Yes. Each of the three launch heroes has a detail page at /heroes/{slug} generated from the shared hero entity contract. Detail pages include the hero's signature weapon, role, playstyle, and unlock path.