Clans of the Forest Combat Moves Guide — 75 Moves, Stances & Clan Abilities

There are 75 combat moves to discover and unlock

The most important pre-release combat detail is now explicit. Steam lists 75 unique combat moves to discover and unlock as a headline feature of the game.^[1] That changes the role of this page substantially. Clans of the Forest is not presenting combat as a tiny fixed menu where every cat always uses the same handful of attacks. The official wording describes a larger progression system in which players find or unlock moves over time.

What has not been published is the complete list of those 75 moves. There is currently no official database showing all names, damage values, status effects, targeting rules, costs, animations or unlock conditions. Any page claiming to have a complete pre-launch 75-move spreadsheet should therefore be treated cautiously unless the data comes directly from current official material or released gameplay.

The safest confirmed interpretation is simple: there are 75 distinct moves in the game, they are discoverable and unlockable, and they participate in a broader customizable combat system.

How combat works around those moves

Steam describes the core battle system as turn-based combat with battles of up to 3 versus 3.^[1] That maximum matters because move value is likely to depend on party composition and encounter context rather than raw damage alone.

A move that works well in a one-on-one fight may serve a different purpose in a full three-cat team. Likewise, Trailmark explicitly tells players to exploit enemy weaknesses, which suggests that matchup knowledge matters when selecting actions.^[2]

However, the exact underlying turn rules are still not public. Official material does not currently establish an action-point system, initiative formula, speed stat, fixed number of actions per turn or a universal cooldown model. This guide does not invent those mechanics.

You can build a move set

Trailmark specifically says players can build your move set.^[2] That wording is important because it indicates customization rather than a completely fixed combat kit.

Combined with the Steam statement that there are 75 moves to discover and unlock, the official material strongly supports a progression loop in which the player gains access to a broader move collection and then chooses how to configure a combat style from it.

What remains unknown is the exact size of an equipped move set. The publisher has not announced whether a cat equips four moves, six moves, eight moves or another number. It also has not explained whether every unlocked move can be equipped by every cat, whether some are restricted by Clan, whether companions maintain their own move libraries, or whether equipped moves can be changed anywhere or only at particular locations.

Those are all useful post-launch questions, but they should not be converted into fake pre-release rules.

Combat stances are a separate layer

Trailmark also says players can experiment with combat stances.^[2] This appears alongside move training and combat-style customization, which means stances should be treated as a meaningful combat layer rather than ignored as flavor text.

The exact mechanics are still unknown. Official sources have not published stance names or explained whether stances alter damage, defense, targeting, turn order, move access or another parameter. It is also not clear whether changing stance consumes a turn or whether stances are selected before combat.

For now, the correct conclusion is only that combat stances exist and can be experimented with. Anything more specific should wait for direct gameplay evidence.

Specialized Clan moves are confirmed

Clan identity also affects combat. Trailmark explicitly promotes specialized Clan moves as part of the turn-based combat system.^[2]

That does not yet tell us how many of the 75 moves are Clan-specific. It also does not prove that every Clan has the same number of exclusive moves or that the four Clans follow rigid RPG classes.

For example, official Warrior Cats lore may associate WindClan with speed, ShadowClan with stealth, RiverClan with swimming and ThunderClan with strength or tenacity. Those themes may influence design, but there is no official Clans of the Forest stat sheet currently saying that WindClan receives a speed percentage bonus, ShadowClan applies poison, RiverClan has healing sustain or ThunderClan is a tank archetype.

For a deeper breakdown of that distinction, see the Clan abilities guide and the individual Clan campaign guides.

StarClan ancestor attacks are part of combat

Another officially confirmed layer is ancestor attacks granted by StarClan.^[2] These are described separately from ordinary move-set building and specialized Clan moves, so they may represent a distinct type of combat action or power.

The publisher has not explained their resource cost, frequency, unlock timing or targeting rules. It would therefore be premature to call them ultimates, limit breaks, summons or once-per-battle abilities. Those familiar RPG labels may eventually be useful comparisons, but they are not official terminology at this stage.

What is safe to say is that StarClan is not only a story concept in Clans of the Forest. Official promotional material directly connects StarClan to powerful ancestor attacks during combat.

Enemy weaknesses affect move choice

Trailmark says players can exploit enemy weaknesses.^[2] That phrase makes move selection more interesting than simply choosing whichever attack has the largest damage number.

Steam separately confirms a broad enemy roster that includes badgers, vicious foxes, imposing Dobermanns and rival Clan cats.^[1] The diversity of enemies gives the weakness system room to matter, especially when combined with custom move sets and up-to-3v3 party combat.

But the exact weakness model is not public. There is no verified official type chart resembling Pokémon, no confirmed elemental system, and no published table stating that a specific move is strong against a specific species. Weaknesses could involve move categories, timing, conditions, stances or encounter-specific openings. Until the game or official guides show the system, assigning invented type advantages would be misleading.

How moves are unlocked

Steam confirms that the 75 moves can be discovered and unlocked, and its broader description also says players can learn new combat moves while strengthening their Warrior Cat.^[1]

That establishes progression, but not the exact unlock pathways. Official sources do not currently provide a level table, trainer list, quest reward table, currency cost or Clan-rank requirement for individual moves.

Possible-looking systems should not be mistaken for confirmed systems. Claims such as “unlock this move at level 12,” “buy this move for 500 reputation,” or “complete three patrols to learn this skill” require direct evidence. At the moment, the correct wording is simply that combat moves are learned, discovered and unlocked through the game’s progression.

Does each cat use the same move pool?

This remains unconfirmed. The player creates a custom Warrior Cat, and the game supports battles with up to three cats on each side, but official marketing does not yet publish a companion-by-companion move table.

We therefore do not know whether all friendly cats can learn from one universal move pool, whether book characters have fixed kits, whether generated characters roll different moves, or whether the player character alone receives deep move customization.

This distinction will matter after launch because party-building guides should separate player-character customization from companion abilities instead of assuming every cat follows identical rules.

What is not confirmed yet

As of September 6, 2026, official sources have not published the following details:

• the complete list of all 75 move names;
• exact damage values or damage formulas;
• critical-hit rules or critical-hit percentages;
• accuracy or dodge formulas;
• AP, stamina, spirit, mana or energy costs;
• move cooldown durations;
• status-effect percentages;
• exact move-set slot count;
• complete stance names and effects;
• a complete weakness/type chart;
• exact Clan restrictions for each move;
• level, rank or reputation requirements for individual moves;
• whether moves can be upgraded in tiers;
• whether moves can be reset or respecced;
• whether every companion uses the same move system;
• a reliable pre-launch best-moves tier list.

This is especially important because search results already contain pages assigning detailed names, percentages and class-style roles to moves that have not appeared in current official documentation. A useful wiki should preserve the distinction between confirmed mechanics and speculative guide content.

What makes a strong move after launch?

Once the game releases on October 23, a meaningful move evaluation should consider more than headline damage. At minimum, a proper database should record the move name, description, target pattern, unlock source, Clan restrictions, effects, resource requirements if any, interactions with stances, synergy with StarClan attacks and useful enemy matchups.

A tier list should also distinguish game modes. A move that performs well in the story-focused Prophecy Mode may not have the same value in the single-run Defender Mode or asynchronous Skirmish Mode. Without released balance data, collapsing all three into one pre-launch ranking would be unreliable.

Combat moves versus Clan abilities

The phrases overlap but should not be treated as synonyms. Steam gives the overall number of 75 unique combat moves, while Trailmark separately highlights specialized Clan moves.^[1][2]

That means Clan moves belong somewhere within the broader combat system, but current official text does not state exactly how they are counted. They could be included inside the 75 total, partially separate, or categorized in another way. Until official UI or documentation resolves that question, this site will not invent a numerical breakdown such as “15 moves per Clan plus 15 universal moves.”

Frequently asked questions

Watch the official announcement trailer

Related guides

• Combat system guide
• Clan abilities guide
• Enemies guide
• Four Clans guide
• Game modes guide
• StarClan guide

References

1. Steam — Warrior Cats: Clans of the ForestConfirms October 23, 2026 release, turn-based battles up to 3v3, 75 unique combat moves to discover and unlock, enemy roster and overall gameplay features.
2. Trailmark Games — official game pageConfirms timing and tactics, specialized Clan moves, move-set building, enemy weaknesses, StarClan ancestor attacks, move training and combat stances.