Feeling fairly defeated by the secrets...

[RIG-801]

I can get through half of the game with the un-upgraded Ponos and a few rings. It takes a really long time to kill things and yet that's less painful than having gone through every nook and cranny to find the Ponos pieces and other collectibles.

I keep reading about secret rituals and all sorts of stuff, but I have no idea where these are even mentioned in game or where to even start. I love this game, but I'm starting to feel fairly defeated by the obscure stuff in it - can I get some minor or major hints please?

Also, are the last 2 weapons unlocked from rites?

[The Scanner Darkly]

Hi RIG! The secrets certainly can be difficult to work out. And yes the last few weapons are from the rites. I'm not sure which Ponos pieces your missing, but the 2 hardest to find ones you'll find in the Trajan Palace, on top of some pillars in a small side room. Look for Cerberus. Another difficult one you'll find close to the drowned statue in the Thallassian Fissure. If there's others you haven't found let me know and I might have more hints :)

[Faifur]

Is that what the blood is for? WHAT ARE WE DRINKING

[KROMENOI]

I would be more than happy to give you some hints!

So the good ending is meant to be a bit of a crazy easter egg hunt, the first 1-4 Ponos pieces are fairly easy to find and 5 and 6 are much harder like you said - so I'd be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Artefact 1 - a hallway nook in Orphic Temple

Artefact 2 - a pile of bodies in the Nekromanteion

Artefact 3 - behind a mirror in the Lair of the Beholder

Artefact 4 - a dead end tunnel in Ophion's Labyrinth

Artefact 5 - jump onto a statue of Cerberus in a small room in the Trajan Palace and have a really thorough look around, look a bit higher than normal

Artefact 6 - find a beach far, far away from the spawn point in the Thalassian Fissure

To achieve a truly Orphic Run, find Hipparchia in Pantheon and listen to what she says. Do not use any items, consumables, rings, crowns or weapons that you have bought, even the optional Orphic Rites are not truly Orphic because they are administered by the Priestess (money is exchanged, breaking the ascetic vow).

In short, at the very beginning of the game you have everything you need to achieve the good ending (try equipping the Saltpetre Jar, it was given to you for free).

Another tip: you can see if you are ready and valid for a good ending run if your skull UI element is glowing a healthy blue green.

Your UI status skull does not need to be a healthy blue green to find the shards. It just needs to be blue green when you decide to do a good ending run.

Finally, at the end of each Orphic Rite, you should unlock a weapon. Read the Codex entry for each Rite to figure out where to go. If you are looking for the Kantharos of Epiphany, head back to the Cerberus statue in the small room in The Trajan Palace.

If you are looking for Apollo's Bow, find a secret door in the Lair of the Beholder.

If you are looking for a Scythe, find a secret passageway in the largest interior building in the Thalassian Fissure.

So that's quite comprehensive and spoiler-ish, but I'd rather you were having fun and not spending too many hours scouring every nook and cranny so I hope that's helpful and not *too* much information.

Let me know if anything else needs clarifying, cheers!

[Arlyeon [Crit Hit]]

What are 'Harvest knives' Btw. I assumed they were the regular knives- but that doesn't seem to be the case, and I've been looking over the weapons to see something that matches.

Is it the arbelos, since it's technically used to harvest/salvage leather into a usable state?

[KROMENOI]

Hi Arlyeon, I think regular daggers should work fine! "Harvest Daggers" is now a bit of a misnomer, originally only daggers thrown when you have a fully rebuilt Ponos sword would work but we found this was too hard for a lot of people. I will confirm this again with the programmer just to make sure, though!

[Evo']

Are the artefacts for the blade disabled in Co-op or is there a pre-requiremnt to finding them? (Ie. wielding Ponos, unequiping everything)

We just scoured every nook and pile of bodies but could not find them.

Edit: Nevermind we already looted it.

[Arlyeon [Crit Hit]]

Originally posted by Evo':

Are the artefacts for the blade disabled in Co-op or is there a pre-requiremnt to finding them? (Ie. wielding Ponos, unequiping everything)

We just scoured every nook and pile of bodies but could not find them.

I found a few of mine in multiplayer- I think. They're just stashed in some really sneaky nooks.

[KROMENOI]

Hey Evo, there is no requirement for finding the blade artefacts and you can find them in both co op and single player. May I suggest looking for the third blade artefact in the main temple in the Nekromanteion where the Minotauros spawns? If you don't see it, you might have already picked it up, so you can check the Codex category "Artefacts" to make sure you have it. Let me know if that doesn't help and I'll investigate further!

[Kavaliro]

Time to get the Good Ending

Thanks KROMENOI!

[KROMENOI]

Originally posted by Kavaliro:

Time to get the Good Ending :lotrtactics:

Thanks KROMENOI!

Good luck, Kavaliro!

[RIG-801]

Originally posted by KROMENOI:

I would be more than happy to give you some hints!

Thank you, I generally like finding secrets in fps games and push on as much as I can, but due to this one having the twist of not being able to start any level at any time (or even from a quick save) it really drains me. I figured out some of the things you mentioned (conditions for the good ending and such), but those Ponos pieces are a thorn in the ass to find - for me at least.

Thanks again!

[RIG-801]

Alright, so either I don't know what I'm doing, or I'm bugged.

I'm looking at the first Ponos fragment and I can't interact with it, can't hit it, or anything of the sort.

Is it supposed to look different than just have a rocky texture on it?

I only have the Ponos equipped and the Saltpeter jar, nothing else.

[KROMENOI]

If it has a rocky texture on it, it means you've picked it up already - they should usually glow blue-green if you've not found it yet. You can check the "Artefact" section in Codex to see if you have it already :) Let me know if that doesn't solve it!

[RIG-801]

Right, so I don't know what I'm doing. I never made the connection that the artifacts are supposed to be parts of the Ponos - typical user problem.

Thanks a lot for your patience, I'm maybe getting too old for games.

[Scrungus]

I absolutely cannot find the 5th artefact to save my life. I believe it is the one described as "a dead end tunnel in the Nekromanteion" but I can't find this at all.