Underkeep Guide | All Races and Classes

Underkeep features six playable races and seven classes, each offering different racial traits, attributes, and combat abilities. Choosing the right combination is essential for building a balanced party and surviving the game's increasingly difficult dungeons.

Whether you want a durable Warrior, an agile Thief, or a powerful Wizard, understanding each race and class's strengths and weaknesses will help you build a party that suits your playstyle.

All Races

Underkeep offers six races: Human, Dwarf, Stoneborn, Raven, Elk, and Slugman. Each race has a unique racial trait that provides specific advantages or disadvantages.

Your race choice can affect a character's effectiveness in combat, so consider its racial bonuses before creating your party.

1. Human

Good at: Any role; balanced.

Racial trait: Fast Learner - +10% XP.

Humans are the most versatile race in Underkeep. They don't specialize in a particular combat role, so they work effectively with all seven classes.

Their Fast Learner trait provides 10% additional experience, helping them level up faster throughout the adventure. This makes Humans particularly valuable for long-term character progression.

The experience bonus is useful regardless of whether you're building a physical damage dealer, tank, or spellcaster.

Recommended classes: All seven classes.

2. Dwarf

Good at: Physical roles; very tough.

Racial traits: Deep Sight - +3% elemental resistance.

Dwarves are naturally suited to physical combat because of their toughness and defensive advantages.

Their Deep Sight trait provides 3% elemental resistance, helping them withstand magical attacks. They also have Infravision, which lets them see things other races cannot.

Recommended classes: Warrior and Paladin.

3. Stoneborn

Good at: Brute strength and resilience.

Racial trait: Stonebound - Cannot wear body armor but gains +1 Armor at levels 1, 5, 9, and 13.

Unlike other races, Stoneborn cannot equip body armor. However, their Stonebound trait compensates for this limitation by providing additional Armor at specific character levels.

They still have access to other equipment slots, including helmets, gloves, and boots, so you can keep improving their defenses with alternative gear.

Recommended classes: Warrior and Paladin.

4. Raven

Good at: Agility and perception; flexible builds.

Racial trait: Twisted Blood - Receives one random stable (beneficial) mutation and one random unstable (negative) mutation.

When creating a Raven, the game randomly assigns one beneficial mutation and one negative mutation. These mutations can affect different aspects of combat, including damage, accuracy, and resource management.

Each mutation has a 5% chance of coming from the rare list, meaning most Ravens receive common mutations.

However, not every mutation suits every class. Some negative mutations only apply to specific character types:

Stamina-draining mutations only roll for Warriors, Thieves, and Rangers.

Check the Character panel immediately after creating a Raven to see which mutations it receives.

Some negative mutations can seriously interfere with your intended build. For example, Backseat Parasite has a 50% chance to hit a random enemy, while Photosensitive Eyes reduces a Ranger's ranged hit chance by 20%.

If you receive an especially bad combination, you can delete the character and create another one through the Party Creator.

Recommended classes: Depends on the mutations received.

5. Elk

Good at: Agility and wisdom; precision and magic.

Racial trait: Beastwarden - +1 Armor against Animals.

Elk characters combine agility and wisdom, making them well-suited for builds that rely on precision and magic.

Their Beastwarden trait provides an additional point of Armor against Animals. This is especially useful early in the game, when forests contain enemies such as wolves, rats, and spiders.

Recommended classes: Ranger, Thief, and Wizard.

6. Slugman

Good at: Magic and steady endurance.

Racial trait: Eye Stalks - Immune to critical hits but takes double Fire damage.

Slugmen are particularly interesting because their racial trait provides a powerful defensive advantage alongside a significant elemental weakness.

Eye Stalks makes Slugmen immune to critical hits. This helps characters who frequently take damage, especially those positioned near the frontline.

However, the drawback is substantial: Slugmen take double damage from Fire attacks.

This makes Fire-based enemies particularly dangerous, so you should prioritize Fire resistance whenever possible. Keep restorative items available and cure Burn quickly when affected.

Recommended classes: Wizard and Voidcaller.

All Classes

Underkeep has seven playable classes, each with a different primary attribute, combat position, and specialization.

Four classes are designed for the frontline, while three are primarily intended for the back row. Choosing the right combination is important because your party needs both characters who can withstand attacks and characters who can deal damage or provide support.

1. Warrior

Frontline fighter

Main stat: STR

Position: Front row

Specialization: Weapon mastery, taunts, and party buffs.

2. Paladin

Main stat: STR (+1 WIS)

Position: Front row

Specialization: Tanking, healing, Zeal, and Holy damage.

3. Thief

Main stat: DEX

Position: Front row

Specialization: Evasion, critical hits, Bleed, daggers, and swords.

4. Ranger

Main stat: DEX

Position: Back row

Specialization: Marking targets, precision attacks, and elemental arrows.

5. Wizard

Elemental damage dealer

Main stat: WIS

Position: Back row

Specialization: Fire, Ice, Lightning, barriers, and crowd control.

6. Voidcaller

Dedicated support

Main stat: WIS

Position: Back row

Specialization: Healing, barriers, debuffs, and party auras.

7. Blood Mage

Main stat: END

Position: Back row

Specialization: Bleed, execution magic, and resource-consuming spells.

Recommended Parties

1. Classic Party

Front row: Warrior + Paladin

Back row: Wizard + Voidcaller

Why this party works:

Two durable frontline characters.

Serious elemental damage from the Wizard.

Dedicated healing through the Voidcaller.

Additional healing through the Paladin.

Good balance between offense and defense.

2. Hunter's Pack

Front row: Warrior + Thief

Back row: Ranger + Blood Mage

Why this party works:

Multiple ways to increase damage against selected targets.

Serious single-target damage.

Bleed stacking through the Thief and Blood Mage.

A good mix of melee and ranged attacks.

3. Holy Order

Front row: Paladin + Thief

Back row: Voidcaller + Wizard

Why this party works:

Paladin provides frontline protection.

Thief contributes evasion and physical damage.

Voidcaller provides healing through Void Mend.

Wizard can change elemental attacks depending on the enemy.

Strong options against Undead and Demons.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right race and class in Underkeep can make a significant difference to your party's performance. Humans are an excellent all-round choice thanks to their additional experience, Stoneborn and Dwarves are strong options for frontline characters, and Slugmen are particularly useful for spellcasters.

When choosing classes, consider how each character contributes to the entire party. Warriors and Paladins provide frontline protection, Thieves and Rangers focus on physical damage, Wizards handle elemental attacks, Voidcallers provide support, and Blood Mages specialize in Bleed and execution magic.

For beginners, the Classic party of Warrior, Paladin, Wizard, and Voidcaller is the safest starting point. Once you're comfortable with combat and resource management, experiment with other combinations to find the playstyle that suits you best.

FAQ

Q. How many races are there in Underkeep?

A. There are six playable races: Human, Dwarf, Stoneborn, Raven, Elk, and Slugman.

Q. How many classes are there in Underkeep?

A. There are seven classes: Warrior, Paladin, Thief, Ranger, Wizard, Voidcaller, and Blood Mage.

Q. What is the best race in Underkeep?

A. Human is the safest all-round choice because its Fast Learner trait provides 10% additional experience. However, other races can be more suitable for specialized builds.

Q. What is the best class for beginners?

A. Warrior is a straightforward choice for beginners because it specializes in physical combat, weapon abilities, taunts, and party buffs. Paladin is another excellent option because it combines tanking and healing.

Q. What is the best race for a Wizard?

A. Slugman is an excellent choice because it provides immunity to critical hits. However, its double Fire damage weakness means you should prioritize Fire resistance. Human is a safer alternative because of its experience bonus.

Q. What is the best party composition for beginners?

A. Warrior, Paladin, Wizard, and Voidcaller are the recommended beginner combination. It provides two frontline characters, elemental damage, and dedicated healing.

Q. Which classes are best against Undead?

A. Paladins and Wizards are particularly effective. Paladins' Judgment deals additional damage to Undead, while Wizards can exploit their weakness to Fire. Undead ignore Bleed and Poison.

Q. What is the best class combination for Bleed damage?

A. Thief and Blood Mage work particularly well together because both classes can apply Bleed. Together, they let your party deal damage against enemies while the other characters contribute additional attacks.