You build a stickman warrior from two choices — a race and a class — then fight through side-scrolling waves of monsters across dungeon environments, earning gold to upgrade your gear and skills between stages.
Stick Hero RPG is a browser-based action RPG published by AZGames, released on April 1, 2026. Free to play on desktop and mobile with no download required. The race and class you pick at the start shape every stat, every skill, and how the game feels throughout — it’s the most important decision in the game.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Publisher | AZGames |
| Released | April 1, 2026 |
| Races | Human, Orc, Elf |
| Classes | Gunner, Archer, Wizard, Thief |
| Best beginner combo | Human + Gunner |
| Combat | Side-scrolling wave-based — enemies approach from both sides |
| Environments | Grassland, desert, cave, swamp |
| Platform | Browser — desktop and mobile, free, no download |
Contents
Races and Classes
You pick one race and one class at the start. Race determines base stats; class determines weapon, attack style, and skill set. All twelve combinations are viable, but they demand different playstyles.
▸ Races
| Race | Strengths | Weaknesses | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human | Balanced stats, fastest leveling | No standout advantage | Beginners — levels up faster and adapts to any class |
| Orc | High strength and durability | Slow movement, low intelligence | Direct close-range combat, tanking damage |
| Elf | High dexterity and intelligence | Low HP and physical strength, slow growth | Skill-based builds, Wizard class pairings |
▸ Classes
| Class | Weapon | Playstyle | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunner | Firearms | Balanced offense and defense — drag-and-shoot mechanic is intuitive | Easiest — recommended for first run |
| Archer | Bow | High damage and agility, excels at dodging — requires precise aim control | Moderate — high ceiling but demands accuracy |
| Wizard | Staff (magic) | Powerful AOE attacks — low defense, requires constant mana management | Moderate-hard — needs careful resource management |
| Thief | Shurikens | Speed and evasion focused — weak early, peaks in late game | Hard early — strong late — needs patience to develop |
The confirmed best starting combination across multiple sources: Human + Gunner. Human’s fast leveling pairs with Gunner’s intuitive drag-and-shoot aiming to give the smoothest first experience. After learning the game, Orc + Archer (high raw damage) and Elf + Wizard (skill-heavy AOE build) are effective advanced combinations.
Controls
| Action | Input |
|---|---|
| Move left / right | A / D or Left / Right Arrow |
| Jump | Spacebar, W, or Up Arrow |
| Attack / Shoot | Left Click — hold and move mouse to aim |
| Use skills | 1, 2, 3 number keys |
| Restart | E |
Attacking works by holding left click and moving the mouse to aim — your weapon fires in the direction of your cursor. This is why Gunner is the easiest starting class: the drag-and-shoot feel is more immediate than the Archer’s bow timing or the Wizard’s mana-cost skills. Enemies approach from both sides of the screen, so staying mobile while maintaining aimed fire is the core mechanical challenge.
Combat and Wave Structure
Each stage is split into waves of enemies. They spawn and approach from the left and right simultaneously — staying in the center and managing threats on both sides is the default defensive position. Enemy types include zombies, various monsters, and stage-ending bosses. Each environment (grassland, desert, cave, swamp) introduces different enemy variants with new attack patterns.
Wave difficulty scales throughout a run — later waves are more numerous and faster. The stage always ends with a boss battle that requires learning the boss’s movement and attack pattern rather than just outlasting it. Bosses have predictable patterns once observed, making second attempts consistently easier than first encounters.
One mechanic most guides mention but don’t fully explain: headshots award significantly more gold than body shots. Against most enemies, aiming for the head on each shot doesn’t take longer than body shots, but it substantially accelerates upgrade funding over the course of a full run. This makes the Archer and Gunner classes naturally reward players who develop aiming precision.
Gold, Skills, and Upgrades
Defeating enemies drops gold and items. Between stages, gold is spent on upgrades across three areas:
- Stats — HP, damage, defense, and attack speed. For Wizard specifically, mana capacity is also upgradeable. Confirmed upgrade targets vary by class.
- Weapons — stronger weapons unlock as you progress, funded by accumulated gold.
- Skills — skill points from leveling are assigned to class-specific abilities. How you distribute these points shapes the mid-to-late game build.
Skill priorities differ by class. For Gunner and Archer, single-target damage skills maximize headshot value. For Wizard, area-of-effect skills clear waves faster than single-target magic. For Thief, speed and dodge skills are what allow the class to reach its confirmed late-game strength — investing in them early pays off later even when the immediate gains feel small.
If a later stage feels impossible, you can return to earlier stages to farm gold and items before progressing further — confirmed by taproad.io as a valid strategy.
Tips
▸ Aim for headshots on every enemy, every wave
Headshots give significantly more gold than body hits. On most enemies the head is a clear target. Training yourself to aim slightly higher on every shot from the start — not just on bosses — means substantially better upgrade funding by mid-game, without slowing down clear speed.
▸ Start with Human + Gunner, then experiment
This isn’t just beginner advice — it’s a real learning tool. The Human’s fast leveling makes the growth system visible quickly, and the Gunner’s drag-and-shoot makes aiming learnable without mana constraints. After one full run, you’ll understand what each other class demands better than any guide can explain.
▸ Don’t ignore defense for Wizard — it’s the class’s main vulnerability
Wizard’s high magic damage is tempting to stack entirely. But its low base defense means enemies that reach it deal disproportionate damage. Some HP and defense investment early extends Wizard runs significantly and makes mana management less punishing when you take accidental hits.
▸ Use skills on timing, not on cooldown
Skills have cooldowns and for some classes (Wizard especially) a mana cost. Firing a skill the instant it’s available regardless of the situation wastes its value. Save skill uses for incoming boss attacks or dense wave clusters — a well-timed AOE into a five-enemy cluster is worth three individually-timed single uses.
▸ Stay mobile — standing still loses to both sides simultaneously
Enemies approach from both directions. A static position in the center is manageable in early waves but fatal in later ones where enemies arrive faster. Constant lateral movement while firing makes you a moving target and naturally keeps you off the approach lines of enemies arriving from either side.
