Dominus Gladiatus Fatigue Guide: 0/5 and Injuries
Dominus Gladiatus fatigue explained: the 0/5 scale, win and loss costs, 25/50/100% injury risk at 3/4/5, Quarters recovery and Infirmary interactions.
Fatigue is the number that decides whether an arena purse is income or a hospital bill. It runs from 0 to 5 on every gladiator's INFO card. Wins add 1, losses add 2, and the arena injury risk climbs sharply once the counter reaches 3. A fighter at Fatigue 5 has a 100% injury chance in the arena according to the Patch 3 notes.
Quick answer
Keep arena fighters at Fatigue 0-2. Treat 3 as conditional, 4 as an emergency and 5 as unavailable. Rest in the Gladiator Quarters, which recovers Fatigue faster, and never start an arena fight at 5 just because the purse is large. The recovery cost is always higher than the purse.
What is the Fatigue scale?
| Fatigue | Arena injury risk | Recommended use |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Base win/loss chance only | Best fighter, important purse |
| 1 | Base chance | Normal arena work |
| 2 | Base chance | Normal arena work |
| 3 | 25% | Low-risk matchup only |
| 4 | 50% | Emergency; prefer rest |
| 5 | 100% | Do not enter |
Patch 1 set the base injury chance at 10% on a win and 40% on a loss. Patch 3 added the fatigue-based arena risk with the 25/50/100 values at 3/4/5. At low Fatigue, the win/loss base chance dominates. At high Fatigue, the counter is the decisive risk.
The lesson is not "never fight at 3." It is "price the risk correctly." A 70-coin purse at Fatigue 3 can be rational if the matchup is safe and the fighter has a replacement. A 40-coin purse at Fatigue 4 is not. If you need the full pre-fight sequence, the arena readiness checklist → turns these numbers into a decision.
Official source: Dominus Gladiatus patch notes ↗
How does Fatigue change after a fight?
A win adds 1 Fatigue. A loss adds 2. That asymmetry matters because a loss already carries the higher base injury chance (40%) and the morale hit; it also pushes the fighter two steps closer to the danger band.
A typical cycle:
- Fight at Fatigue 1-2.
- Win: Fatigue becomes 2-3.
- Rest in the Quarters before the next booking.
- If the fighter lost: Fatigue becomes 3-4, and the next fight is off the table until recovery.
Do not stack a second fight on a loser. The combined fatigue and base injury chance turns a minor setback into a multi-day Infirmary stay.
How do you recover Fatigue?
The Gladiator Quarters is the primary recovery building. It "allows gladiators to rest and recover Fatigue faster," costs 30 coins to purchase and 2 coins per use in the build panel I checked. Patch 5 made Quarters recovery stronger.
Other recovery interactions:
- Idle time recovers Fatigue, but the day still charges upkeep.
- Infirmary admission restores Fatigue to its pre-admission value if you leave early. That is not a recovery shortcut; it prevents an early exit from being a free fatigue reset.
- Easy difficulty critical hits cause less Fatigue according to the Pre-Launch notes. That is a difficulty perk, not a general rule.
- Doctore training no longer adds Fatigue after Patch 7, so training is not a hidden fatigue source.
The practical routine is to schedule a Quarters rest after every two arena fights, or after every loss. If the roster is large, rotate fighters so one rests while another earns.
Why is Fatigue 5 a hard stop?
At Fatigue 5 the arena injury chance is 100%. There is no lucky roll and no "important fight" exception. The game is telling you the fighter is physically spent.
The only reasons to enter are:
- The fight is scripted and unavoidable.
- The gladiator is expendable and the purse solves a run-ending coin problem.
- You have already accepted that the injury is the cost.
For a main earner, none of those reasons apply. Rest.
How does Fatigue interact with the Infirmary?
The interaction is the most misunderstood rule in the game. When a gladiator is admitted to the Infirmary, Fatigue is effectively parked. If you let the stay finish, the injuries are removed normally. If you leave early, Patch 5 removes injuries proportional to the recovery time already served and restores Fatigue to the value it had before admission.
That means an early exit does not give you a rested fighter. It gives you a partially healed fighter with the old Fatigue, plus a wasted admission.
Plan the full stay. If you need the fighter for a purse, finish the stay first; the arena will still be there tomorrow.
Should you train a tired gladiator?
Training and arena Fatigue are separate pressures in the current build. Patch 7 removed the extra Fatigue from the Doctore's training bonus, so a training block is not automatically a fatigue cost.
The bigger issue is opportunity cost. A fighter at Fatigue 4 needs Quarters time, and training during that time may delay recovery if the two compete for the same calendar. Check the INFO card after scheduling; if the fighter is still above Fatigue 2 when the block ends, rest before booking.
What is a safe weekly arena schedule?
For a two-gladiator roster:
| Day | Fighter A | Fighter B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arena at Fatigue 1 | Quarters rest |
| 2 | Quarters rest | Arena at Fatigue 1 |
| 3 | Training | Training |
| 4 | Arena at Fatigue 2 | Quarters rest |
| 5 | Quarters rest | Arena at Fatigue 2 |
| 6 | Training | Training |
| 7 | Review; no fight if either is 3+ | Review |
This is deliberately light. It leaves room for injuries, market refreshes and the occasional high-value purse. A schedule that assumes every fighter is available every day will break on the first bad roll.
What raises Fatigue besides fighting?
The verified sources are wins (+1), losses (+2) and difficulty-specific effects such as Easy critical hits causing less Fatigue. The Pre-Launch notes mention that some actions were being rebalanced to avoid hidden fatigue costs, and Patch 7 removed the Doctore's training fatigue.
If a fighter gains Fatigue outside the arena, check the event log and the INFO card. Do not assume it is a bug; the game has morale and injury events that can change the daily state.
Official source: Dominus Gladiatus achievements ↗
Official source: Steam store ↗
FAQ
What is the maximum Fatigue? The INFO card shows Fatigue 0/5, so 5 is the cap.
Does a loss really add 2 Fatigue? Yes. Patch 1 set wins at +1 and losses at +2.
Is Fatigue 3 always too risky? No. It is a 25% arena injury chance, which is acceptable for a low-risk matchup or an expendable fighter. It is not acceptable for a To-the-Death fight with your main carry.
Does the Quarters heal injuries? No. The Quarters recovers Fatigue; the Infirmary heals injuries.
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