Can you become a medicine cat in Clans of the Forest?
As of September 6, 2026, the safest answer is not confirmed.
The official Warrior Cats announcement describes the player's role in broad but important terms: you train as an apprentice in one of the four Clans, explore iconic locations, defend borders, hunt to feed your Clan, meet familiar cats, create your own character and follow the destiny StarClan has laid out for you.[1]
Trailmark expands that framework by saying players can learn from powerful mentors, rise through the ranks, shape relationships and reputation, complete dynamic quests and experience four Clan-specific campaigns.[2]
What neither source currently says is just as important. There is no official mention of:
- choosing “medicine cat” during character creation;
- becoming a medicine apprentice;
- being assigned a medicine-cat mentor;
- treating injured Clanmates;
- collecting herbs specifically for healing;
- learning remedies or medicine recipes;
- receiving exclusive StarClan visions because of a medicine-cat role;
- completing a medicine-cat promotion ceremony;
- replacing combat progression with a healer progression path.
That does not prove such content is impossible. It simply means the feature has not been announced and should not be presented as fact before release.
Why this question is easy to answer incorrectly
Medicine cats are central to Warrior Cats lore. Readers already know that the role is strongly associated with healing, herbs, spiritual guidance and communication with StarClan. Because Clans of the Forest includes StarClan, the Moonpool, foraging, crafting and apprentices, it is tempting to connect those systems into a medicine-cat profession.
That inference is not currently supported by game-specific evidence.
A reliable game wiki has to separate two different questions:
- What do medicine cats do in Warrior Cats canon?
- What does Clans of the Forest actually let the player do?
The first can be answered from franchise lore. The second requires a developer statement, storefront description, gameplay footage or direct post-launch testing.
What role does the player actually have?
The official description consistently presents the player as an original cat living a broader Clan life rather than as a confirmed selectable class.
The player is confirmed to:
- begin by training as an apprentice;[1]
- defend Clan borders;
- hunt to feed the Clan;
- fight rival cats and other enemies;
- learn new combat moves;
- complete quests and gain Clan favor;
- learn from powerful mentors;[2]
- rise through the ranks;
- explore Clan territories and sacred locations;
- follow prophecies and spiritual omens;
- shape relationships, rivalries and reputation through choices.
That is a much broader role than a traditional class-selection screen. Official material does not yet reveal whether “rise through the ranks” branches into multiple careers or follows one primary warrior progression.
For the broader progression question, see our apprentice guide.
Does starting as an apprentice mean you can choose medicine apprentice?
No. The word apprentice by itself does not confirm multiple apprenticeship types.
The official announcement says the player trains as an apprentice, but the surrounding description emphasizes combat training, border defense and hunting.[1] That language is compatible with the normal warrior-apprentice fantasy, although the developer has not formally stated that every campaign uses exactly the same rank path.
Until an official source names a “medicine apprentice” option, the site should not create one from franchise expectations.
Are mentors confirmed?
Yes, but their exact mechanics are not.
Trailmark says players can learn from powerful mentors.[2] That confirms mentors exist as part of progression or story interaction.
It does not confirm:
- one permanently assigned mentor per playthrough;
- a medicine-cat mentor branch;
- mentor compatibility scores;
- mentor-exclusive skill trees;
- mentor approval requirements for promotion;
- different mentor categories such as warrior, medicine cat and leader.
The game may eventually reveal some of those systems, but no current official description provides them.
Are herbs confirmed in the game?
A specific herb system is not confirmed.
Steam and Nintendo say players can forage the land and find materials that can be used to craft items in the den.[3] That confirms generic forageable materials.
It does not give an official list containing catmint, cobwebs, marigold, burdock root, poppy seeds or any other medicine-cat herb from the books. It also does not say gathered materials restore health or cure status effects.
This distinction matters because unofficial pages often take familiar Warrior Cats herbs and convert them into invented game items with healing percentages, rarity tiers and gathering locations. Those details should not be copied into a pre-release guide without primary evidence.
For the confirmed gathering loop, see foraging and crafting.
Is there a healing system?
The game obviously has combat, but official pre-release descriptions have not published a dedicated medicine-cat healing system.
There is currently no confirmed information about:
- healing herbs;
- healing moves;
- healer party roles;
- revives;
- injury treatment between fights;
- sickness mechanics;
- wound severity;
- long-term injuries;
- medicine den management;
- treatment minigames;
- status cures tied to herbs.
The absence of those details is not evidence that characters never recover health. It only means we do not yet know how recovery works or whether medicine cats are involved.
Does the Moonpool prove medicine-cat gameplay?
No.
The Moonpool is officially confirmed as one of the game's six iconic locations. Nintendo describes both the Moonpool and The Island as famed sacred locations and says players will uncover the mysteries of StarClan.[3]
That supports spiritual and story relevance. It does not prove the Moonpool functions as:
- a healing point;
- a medicine-cat-only hub;
- a save point;
- a fast-travel location;
- a prophecy trigger;
- a place where herbs are blessed;
- a class-change location;
- a promotion site for medicine apprentices.
Those mechanics are common examples of speculation being mistaken for confirmation.
See the dedicated Moonpool guide for the location-specific evidence boundary.
Does StarClan mean the player can become a medicine cat?
Again, no.
StarClan is directly confirmed in the story. The official announcement tells players to follow the destiny StarClan has laid out for them, while Trailmark describes a world guided by mysterious prophecies and spiritual omens.[1][2]
StarClan also has a confirmed combat connection: Trailmark says players can use powerful ancestor attacks granted by StarClan.[2]
None of this makes StarClan exclusive to medicine cats. The current game marketing presents StarClan as part of the player's overall journey, prophecy framework and combat systems.
Read StarClan and prophecies for those mechanics without assuming a healer profession.
Could a medicine cat appear as an NPC?
It is possible, but current public material does not provide a confirmed medicine-cat NPC roster.
Official sources say the game features iconic cats from the books plus an original cast. Brightheart, Tawnypelt, Tallstar and Ivypool are among the specifically named reveal characters.[1] Those names should not be expanded into an unofficial list of medicine-cat characters simply because the franchise contains many famous medicine cats.
A post-launch character database should classify a cat as a medicine cat only when the game itself identifies that role or the character is clearly presented in a canon role relevant to the game's timeline.
Could medicine-cat duties appear as quests without a full career path?
Yes, that is possible in principle, but it is still unconfirmed.
The game has dynamic quests, procedural quests and meaningful encounters, so a quest could potentially involve helping an injured cat, delivering supplies or interacting with a healer. But there is no official pre-release quest description specifically centered on medicine-cat duties.
This is an important middle ground. A game can include healer-themed quests without offering a selectable healer career. The two should not be treated as the same feature.
Is medicine-cat content procedurally generated?
No such claim is confirmed.
Steam says characters, quests and stories are procedurally generated. That statement does not establish procedurally generated herbs, diagnoses, treatments, medicine-cat apprentices, StarClan visions or healing recipes.
For the exact boundary of that system, see procedural generation.
What would confirm a medicine-cat path?
Any of the following would be strong enough evidence for this page to change its answer:
- an official feature list naming a medicine-cat career;
- footage showing medicine apprentice as a selectable role;
- a rank or career screen with medicine cat as a branch;
- an official quest description centered on training as a healer;
- developer commentary explaining multiple Clan careers;
- a storefront description mentioning herb treatment or medicine-cat duties;
- direct observation in the released game.
Until then, “can you be a medicine cat?” should remain an unanswered pre-release gameplay question rather than a guessed feature.
Medicine cat lore versus confirmed game mechanics
| Topic | Warrior Cats lore | Clans of the Forest game status |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine cats exist | Yes | Franchise fact; playable path not confirmed |
| Medicine apprentices | Yes | Not confirmed as a player option |
| Herbs and remedies | Core lore element | Specific game herb system not confirmed |
| Connection to StarClan | Important lore role | StarClan confirmed globally; no medicine-cat exclusivity confirmed |
| Moonpool | Sacred lore location | Confirmed playable/explorable location |
| Healing Clanmates | Medicine-cat duty | Dedicated healing gameplay not confirmed |
| Mentor training | Exists in lore | Powerful mentors confirmed generally |
| Rank progression | Clan structure exists | Player can rise through the ranks, exact branches unknown |
This table is the key distinction for pre-release coverage: canon relevance is not the same thing as confirmed gameplay implementation.
What is still unconfirmed before launch?
Do not treat any of the following as established unless Trailmark, Bamtang, an official storefront or the released game confirms it:
- playable medicine cat;
- medicine apprentice career;
- healer class;
- healing skill tree;
- medicine-cat mentor assignment;
- herb list;
- herb spawn locations;
- herb rarity;
- herb respawn timers;
- treatment recipes;
- sickness system;
- wound-treatment minigame;
- Moonpool healing;
- StarClan-only medicine-cat visions;
- medicine-cat ceremony;
- medicine den upgrades;
- medicine-cat-specific endings;
- medicine-cat-only Clan reputation bonuses;
- healer role in 3v3 combat;
- unique medicine-cat path in each Clan.
Frequently asked questions
Can you play as a medicine cat in Clans of the Forest?
A dedicated playable medicine-cat path has not been officially confirmed.
Can you choose medicine apprentice at the start?
No official character-creation or progression description currently lists medicine apprentice as an option.
Are mentors in the game?
Yes. Trailmark says players can learn from powerful mentors, but it has not announced a medicine-cat mentor branch.
Are herbs confirmed?
Generic forageable materials are confirmed. A named medicine-herb system has not been announced.
Can you heal other cats?
No dedicated treatment or medicine-cat healing system has been publicly described.
Is the Moonpool in the game?
Yes. It is one of the six confirmed iconic locations.
Does the Moonpool heal you?
No official source has confirmed a Moonpool healing function.
Is StarClan in the game?
Yes. StarClan is connected to the story, prophecies and confirmed ancestor attacks.
Does StarClan only interact with medicine cats?
No such restriction has been announced. Current marketing connects StarClan to the player's broader journey.
Could a medicine-cat path be revealed later?
Yes, it is still possible. The current answer is simply that the feature has not been officially confirmed before launch.
Related guides
- Playing as an apprentice
- StarClan
- Prophecies
- Moonpool
- Foraging
- Crafting
- Combat
- Quests
- Relationships and reputation
Watch the announcement trailer
References
- Official Warrior Cats game announcementConfirms apprenticeship, four Clan storylines, hunting, border defense, StarClan, character creation and named book characters.
- Trailmark Games — official game pageConfirms mentors, rank progression, four campaigns, spiritual omens, relationships, StarClan ancestor attacks and exploration features.
- Nintendo — Warrior Cats: Clans of the ForestConfirms the Moonpool and The Island, foraging materials, crafting, exploration systems and StarClan mysteries.