Here is a comparison of tropes commonly associated with soldiers and warriors
- The warrior usually attains command via Asskicking Leads to Leadership, while the soldier usually attains command by attending a Military Academy, starting out as an Ensign Newbie being guided by a Sergeant Rock, then becoming a Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough command duo.
- The warrior usually learnt his trade from a Sink or Swim Mentor, while having to navigate a Secret Test of Character or two. The soldier on the other hand may have gone through a Boot Camp Episode under a Drill Sergeant Nasty, then going through specialized formal training, and then getting on the job training from a Sergeant Rock.
- If you are a scientist or medic in a warrior culture, expect the Warriors to treat you like dirt. If you hold such a position in an army of soldiers, expect to become The Medic, Combat Medic, The Engineer, a Gadgeteer Genius and ultimately a Guile Hero or Science Hero. But be warned, this may also make you a priority target.
- If you are looking for a Love Interest as a warrior, you may have to Best Her to Bed Her, kidnap her or win her through trial by combat. If you are a soldier, more normal romance tropes such as Single Woman Seeks Good Man might apply.
- Among warriors, friendships may only be formed through Defeat Equals Friendship. Among soldiers, expect Fire-Forged Friends, as cooperation and teamwork is expected a lot more.
- A soldier might go from The Captain to Majorly Awesome to Colonel Badass in an army, or go from Commanding Coolness to becoming The Captain in a navy. He may even become The Brigadier and eventually a Four-Star Badass if he has an exemplary career. As a warrior, expect to rise only through Klingon Promotion or You Are in Command Now, with no formal rank, just a larger number of warriors following you.
- A soldier might end his career as a Retired Badass, a Shell-Shocked Veteran, a Handicapped Badass or in some cases, Reassigned to Antarctica or Kicked Upstairs. Warriors on the other hand never retire - they remain as old warriors until they get a glorious death.
- Don't expect to find Friendly Sniper or Cold Sniper types among warriors, as they may most likely see killing from a standoff distance as dishonorable and unworthy of them as warriors. You will also never see them use a Depopulation Bomb or More than Mind Control type devices, as again, these things give them victory without imposing a tough fight. A weapon that produces an Earth-Shattering Kaboom or a Colony Drop however is fair game, as deployment of these weapons do involve some actual combat.
- While you might find Miles Gloriosus types among both soldiers and warriors, you may never encounter General Failure types among warriors. Usually because in their world, bad commanders get killed along with their troops. While both sides can have The Neidermeyer, only among soldiers could that person go on to become a General Failure, or a General Ripper or Insane Admiral.
- Don't expect a warrior commanding other warriors to ever wear The Chains of Commanding. This is because in their eyes, anyone who died under their command had a glorious death, or they died because they were weak and therefore unworthy. Also to them, choosing one warrior over another for a mission is trivial - both are warriors, so either should do.
- While you might find Big Brother Mentor, Sink or Swim Mentor or other mentor types among warriors, you will never find a Sergeant Rock. This is because someone capable enough to be a Sergeant Rock would have obtained his own command via Asskicking Leads to Leadership.
- You won't find The Chessmaster or the Manipulative Bastard among leaders of warriors. To them, all warriors should want to die glorious deaths, so no need to manipulate or sacrifice them. Also, while a soldier commander may pull off gambits such as the Batman Gambit, Xanatos Gambit, Xanatos Speed Chess or use The Thirty-Six Stratagems, expect a warrior to only deploy the Indy Ploy, declare Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?, use either a Zerg Rush or a Thanatos Gambit at the most. Warriors will almost never use I Surrender, Suckers, or a Wounded Gazelle Gambit.
- A warrior's flaw might be that they always put Honor Before Reason. A soldier's flaw on the other hand might be a My Country, Right or Wrong attitude.
- Some warriors might complain that My Species Doth Protest Too Much, but you'll never hear soldiers complain similarly. Expect soldiers to angst over doing what had to be done instead, but warriors never angst over that, due to their penchant for fair fights.
- Finally, warriors don't take prisoners (unless it's part of their ideology), while soldiers do.
- When faced with an order that goes against their own personal code of honor or morality: a solider is more likely to obey the chain of command and carry out the order even if they don't like it. A warrior on the other hand, will not fight a battle that they don't believe in and is more liable to either turn against their leader or die honorably disobeying them.
- Soldiers are more likely to be shown in a benevolent light when fighting warriors. However, when their usual moral depiction is reversed, soldiers are usually either played as bloodthirsty sadists who terrorize those weaker than them for amusement, or are amoral Punch-Clock Villains who simply don't care about the suffering they help commit as long as they benefit from it. They're also likely to be shown as Faceless Goons who are used as tools of conquest and oppression. Warriors, by contrast, would usually be more likely portrayed as heroes of the people. Their lack of a cohesive structure is also shown to be the result of a diverse background and varied personalities.
