The classes of your fighters are determined by the weapons you give them, and in turn, their efficiency depends on other equipment. For example, an assassin in heavy defender armor will surely be able to survive longer, but they will receive a serious penalty to both their attack and movement speed, which means they will be unlikely to reach the enemy rear in time.

There are currently 5 combat classes in Battlesmiths: Blade and Forge: Archer, Warrior, Defender, Assassin, and Mage.

• Archers rely on the speed, range, and power of their bows, which compensates their slow movement and weak defenses.
• Warriors go melee, use medium armor, and deal decent damage to opponents with their two-handed swords.
• Defenders use heavy armor, shields, and hammers. These are slow but well-fortified fighters who can withstand a significant amount of damage and divert the fire of enemy archers. Defenders don’t suffer speed penalties from using medium armor, but their defense is significantly reduced if you equip it.
• Assassins prefer to attack first, move quickly, and eliminate opponents in the enemy rear with daggers. Their element is speed, so they wear light armor and are therefore unlikely to survive a direct encounter with enemy warriors. On the other hand, unlike all the other classes, an assassin has a chance of dodging enemy attacks completely.
• Mages don’t like armor at all and wear clothes, but their fireballs inflict colossal area damage. Be careful! Even the toughest mage will lose to a couple of low-level enemies if no other unit draws the attention of enemy archers from them.