FAQ for new players (WIP)

[Lightbearer]

The purpose of this guide is to cover game mechanics and other regularly asked questions. It's a work-in-progress, so please provide your feedback, corrections, and questions. The overall structure of the document will be refined, so several topics have been dumped into the "Miscellaneous" section at the end.

Note: I haven't played the game in several weeks and will update this entire guide after the next major patch. There are likely errors, so just a heads-up and feel free to note anything you catch in the comments.

I. Setting up your game properly

Investing 15-20 minutes to optimize your controls and graphics settings will fundamentally improve your overall experience of the game. Unlike the vast majority of games you can pick up and play, but there are several unique mechanics in the game that you'll want to set up properly.

A. Key Rebinding

The developers have spent a significant amount of time revising the control scheme for gamepads. They have created a preset layout that is fairly solid, but I think will likely need to be tweaked for most players.

Fortunately, you can rebind all of your inputs via Settings > Gamepad or KB/M.

Here are some things to consider:

Movement: Do you want to automatically accelerate from walking to running? You can change the inputs so that you have to hold a button to run. Many players prefer having a separate input for greater control over their character, especially when jumping, turning, or navigating narrow walkways. The most comfortable keys to hold to run would be LB, LT, B, or A.

Abilities: You can use any ability by holding LB [Modifier Key] + A, B, X, Y. This is the default set-up and is pretty standard. The abilities that populate include weapon abilities and abilities that you purchase for your character. Switching weapons will update the HUD with whatever abilities the new weapon provides.

If you don't like that set-up you can use the Primary and Secondary Quickslots to assign any ability or item to the press of a button. While this may sound appealing it might make your life more difficult as you're removing an entire button away from other inputs that will impact your overall control scheme.

Items: You can equip up to 4 items (but only 2 at the beginning of the game) from the Character menu. They are assigned to the directional arrows by default. This set-up works nicely, but be sure to assign your HP potions to the arrow key that feels most comfortable. Nothing worse than hitting the wrong key during a pivotal moment in a boss fight and then dying.

Combat: Play around with LB, LT, RB, RT to see what feels most comfortable for attacking, defending, and parrying. For the latter I don't think I parried once in this game, so you can comfortably leave it unassigned if that's not your playstyle. Jumping (default: A) and dodging (default: B) are pretty standard and easy to use. Note that you can change your default dodge type from either "Roll" to "Dash and Roll."

Other considerations:

If your character is feeling unresponsive, or too responsive, play around with the Deadzone and Sensitivity settings.

If this is new to you, then there is an extremely useful guide created by Steam member, valcan_s, that emulates the Fromsoft layout and overall feel. The directions are step-by-step and it takes 3-5 minutes. Link here:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1173220/discussions/0/3783625216789777527/
Note: This may not be as helpful given the significant number of changes and improvements the developers have made to the current control scheme. (And making it much more inline with what valcan_s originally created).

B. Graphics

The developers strongly recommend playing the game at 60 FPS. If you're getting screen tearing turn on/off V-sync, AA, adjust quality settings, and so on. This is entirely rig dependent and it's difficult to give universal rules for what's going to work best for you.

If this all sounds overwhelming, don't worry. Once you're playing the game you'll get a better sense of what layouts you prefer.

C. Patches

Since there are frequent patches one thing you can do to double-check that it's patched properly is right-click on the game from your Library > Properties > Local Files > Verify Integrity. Worst case you can also uninstall and re-install. Serious bugs should be reported on the Discord via the bug/feedback sub-channel. Link is provided further down.

II. Character Strengthening

Unlike most games in this genre you do not level-up in the traditional sense with experience points. Your strength is completely dependent upon the gear you discover, its Mk. level, gems, and accessories you are using. One point in a single core stat will make a meaningful difference in your overall performance, especially during the early game.

A. Handler Echoes

Your equipment can be upgraded from Mk. I to Mk. V via finding Echoes on the map and giving them to the Handler NPC at Blok 6174 (Hub) to improve their "synchronization" rate.

There are 5 Echoes in the game. Each Echo belongs to a specific group listed below.

Echo 1 = Konrad (First boss)
Echo 2 = Machinarium or Upper Blocks or Rain District
Echo 3 = Asylum or Uranopolis
Echo 4 = Desert Mirage or Ghosttown
Echo 5 = Desert after Wormlord boss

As an example, let’s take Echo 2. One copy will populate in the Machinarium, Upper Blocks, and the Rain District in a predefined location. It is not random. If I find the Echo in Upper Blocks, then the game will remove the Echo in the other 2 locations. Once I've found one copy of Echo 2, I would then start to search the Asylum or Uranopolis for Echo 3. And so on. It is possible to get to Mk. IV or V (with the right build) from the very start of the game.

B. Equipment Upgrading

You can upgrade your equipment at the Handler via Upgrade Splinters (Mk. I-III) and Upgrade Modules (Mk. IV-V). Both are dropped from enemies. Each upgrade will strengthen the Armor or Damage Rating (Sharp/Blunt/Technomancy) for a piece of equipment. More importantly, it will provide a new slot for you to insert gems.

C. Gem Creation

In the Handler menu go to Manufacturing to create gems. Your list of gems will grow as you gain more recipes via defeating enemies and general plot progression. Each gem requires materials dropped from enemies and 1x Essence. Gem benefits differ whether it’s being slotted into a piece of armor or weapon.

The max gem level you can create is +2. There are 12 +3 gems (4 for each stat) hidden on the map in secret-ish areas. And, very rarely, enemies can drop equipment pieces with a native +3 to a stat. If you insert a gem into a slot that's already occupied the previous gem will be destroyed. So, with +3 gems I'd strongly suggest you only use them on your final equipment set to avoid wasting them.

You can dissolve lower tier gems for materials by going to Inventory > Backpack > Gem (Icon) > Extract. I have never seen a +2 gem drop from an enemy, so I can’t confirm if that is possible. Later in the game dissolve your +1 gems for Essence to avoid farming enemies.

D. Recipes

You’ll receive recipes for new gems (via the Handler) and potions (via the Crafting menu). Recipes drop almost exclusively from enemies. It is in your best interest to kill every enemy you come across. Return to areas when you’re more powerful to tackle the giant enemies as they tend to drop new recipes and other powerful items the first time you defeat them.

E. Perks

You can only have 4 perks, maximum, during one play through. Each perk has several upgrade options, but the first level is mandatory. You can only pick one of the upgrades. Perks are PERMANENT and cannot be reassigned. The developers have indicated that this is likely not going to change in future patches.

Perk Essences only drop from bosses. After defeating a boss, the Perk Essence is “unstable” until you manually walk back to a Homonculus save point. A Homonculus Mirage (temporary respawn point) does not count. If you die or respawn on your way back to the save point the Perk Essence will return to the boss’s room. Fortunately, most bosses are located closely to a save point via shortcuts.

To select a Perk, go to Character > Perks. If you click on a Perk you can read about its upgrades to see what options you will have in the future.

Note: Many of the Perk descriptions are confusing or incorrect. The developer has received a lot of feedback from the community and is adjusting the language to be more clear.

Some Perks have been reworked, but many people seem to prefer: Vampire, Natural Talent, Vindicator (for 2H weapons), Combo Brutality, and Berserker. Technomancy is pretty much required for an INT build.

F. Abilities

Go to Character > Abilities where you can select from 8 available abilities, but can only have 2 assigned at one time. If you want to replace an ability it needs to be repurchased. Abilities can be purchased with Ability Splinters, which are drops from more difficult enemies. The cost increases from 1 to 3 if you add a second ability or want to replace an existing one.

There are 8 locked abilities, which cannot be accessed. They are placeholders for future expansion. If you're not sure what to get Dash, Power Armor, and Echo Slam provide a lot of utility when fighting and exploring.

Dash: Quickly position yourself in tough boss fights; several ways to cheese exploration for hard-to-reach items
Power Armor: Great for tough enemies to negate their special attacks, pulling off strong attacks, or general face tanking
Echo Slam: Cheap crowd control

You'll have an ample supply of Ability Splinters mid-late game so don't be afraid to respec as the situation demands.

G. Potions

You start with the ability to equip 2 items with 2 uses each. This will expand over time at key plot progression points. At the end game you will be able to use 4 items for 4 uses each. The Tinkerer perk will increase these values. You can craft potions from the Character Menu using Rt to toggle over.

Mid-late game you'll gain access to powerful recipes, including a 60% increase to all damage, +5 to all stats, FX and HP regen, and many others. Potions are an extremely powerful tool to defeat tough bosses. Make sure you use them, but remember to only create as needed because some of the ingredients are rare.

Their duration differs, but you can assign them to your belt, use the ones that you need, and then re-assign your HP and FX potions before heading into the boss fight. No need to bring them into the fight and limit your standard recovery options.

III. Game Mechanics

A. Core stats

There are four core stats in the game: Strength (STR), Agility (AGI), Intelligence (INT), and Constitution (CON). These stats govern several sub-attributes listed below.

STR: Base weapon damage, reduce weight penalties, reduce penalties to great weapon speed
AGI: Critical chance %, maximum stamina, delay before stamina regeneration, attack speed, draw speed of bows
INT: Maximum flux value (MP), ability damage
CON: HP, stagger resistance

There are diminishing returns at 10 and 30; the stat maximum is 45. STR will be your primary stat for all melee builds and INT for technomancy. This may change with future patches if AGI is reworked to increase weapon damage.

B. Accessing the tooltip

You can select nearly anything in the Character Menu with the directional pad, and press the X button (gamepad) or [R] key (KB/M) for a detailed description. The core stat details listed above are one example. It's worth your time to read through everything to understand how things work.

C. Assigning and using items and weapon abilities

Items and weapon abilities are linked to the Primary and Secondary Quick Slot. For items you have to equip them beforehand from the Character menu. Potions are at the bottom center. Once equipped, hold the assigned Quick Slot button (usually X, Y, or < >) and a wheel will pop up. Select the item or ability you want to assign. It will show up on your HUD. Now, hit the assigned button to use the item or skill.

D. Homonculus Mirage

Early in the game you will gain the ability to create a Homonculus Mirage. These are effective one-time use save points that you can put down anywhere if there are no enemies in range. To use simply hold the "Interact" button.

If you die you will respawn at the Mirage. You can remove a Mirage by standing close to it and holding the Interact button or from the Settings menu. Note that you cannot put down a Mirage, dissolve it, and then put down another. You must first go back to a normal Homonculus save point to "replenish" its usage.

Finally, all of the enemies that would normally spawn in the area where you put down the Mirage within a certain radius will no longer populate. This is relevant for farming, so the key is to put down the Mirage far enough away from the enemies you're targeting to ensure they respawn every time you return.

E. Damage Types

There are three damage types in the game: Sharp, Blunt, and Technomancy (i.e., magic). They are designated by an Axe, Hammer, and Skull icon, respectively. These values are depicted on all armor pieces (Armor Rating) and weapons (Damage). All enemies have their own resistances, so if one weapon type (Sharp) is registering below average damage try using one with a different damage type (Blunt/Technomancy).

F. Armor Rating

Armor Rating are the values listed on each piece of equipment and summed on the Character Screen as Sharp/Blunt/Technomancy Resistance. This represents the amount of damage you can absorb. The difference is registered as damage.

As an example, let's say you have total Sharp resistance of 1,000. This rating is converted to a percent using 0.01%. Basic math: 1,000 x 0.01% = 10% Sharp damage resistance. If an enemy hits you for 500 Sharp damage you would absorb 50 points (500 x 10%) and 450 points (or 90%) would register as HP damage. This is why builds wearing only heavy armor can be 1-shotted by magic attacks due to the lack of Technomancy defense even at Mk. V.

I'm hoping the developers will do this simple conversion on the back end and depict the AR as a % in the future as it's easier to understand.

G. Armor Types

Armor comes in three types: Light, Medium, and Heavy. Note that there is no line item that shows how much an armor piece weighs. It is also unclear if these values are universal across armor types or vary by set even within the same type.

Light armor: The lowest weight with the highest Technomancy defense. Low-to-medium defense against Slash and Blunt damage.

Heavy: The highest weight and provides significant protection against Slash and Blunt. Non-existent defense against Technomancy.

Medium: Balanced, usually, across all three stats.

The total weight of your equipment is important. Weight affects your stamina recovery, stamina delay, movement speed, encumbrance, and stagger resistance. Basically, if you wear all heavy armor you are going to move and recover stamina at a slower rate. Lighter armor will allow you to move faster, roll quicker and further, and increase overall character responsiveness.

The only way to mitigate the weight handicap is to increase your STR stat. It's not clear how much 1 point in STR reduces the penalty, but at the stat cap of 45 it is almost entirely removed. The Ring of Travel negates this entire mechanic. If you're using Heavy Armor I suggest you have at least one piece (notably the Technomancer Helmet) to provide some level of magic protection.

You can mix-and-match armor pieces until you find a set-up that provides your desired level of protection and responsiveness. I found that movement speed <80% is sub-optimal and should be avoided, but your tolerance may differ.

H. Penetration

Each enemy has its own mix of Sharp, Blunt, and Technomancy resistance. There are corresponding gems and accessories that allow you to bypass (or penetrate) a certain % of an enemy's AR to increase your overall damage. It remains unclear if this is a must-have for melee builds; but, you're highly encouraged to stack Technomancy penetration for INT builds.

I. Debuffs

There are four debuffs in the game: Decay, Frost, Heat, and Silence. You can stack up to 3 levels for each debuff; up to 5 stacks with the Debuff Mastery Perk. The stacks are depicted on the enemy as a red circle with a # (1-5). They will eventually fade with time.

Decay: Flat -5% AR reduction and -5% damage reduction per stack
Frost: Slows movement by 5% and causes DOT, greater damage if the enemy is moving
Heat: Standard DOT effect
Silence: Prevents enemies from using abilities; if 100% resistance, then it slows their cast speed

NOTE: It is unclear what stat(s) Frost and Heat scale off and how the damage values are determined. Generally, Frost > Heat due to its ability to slow groups of enemies as a form of crowd control (CC) if stacked on a weapon. Decay is incredibly valuable for certain bosses and enemies to lower their AR and weapon damage. This is why the Kamas weapon (Passive: 30% Decay chance) is so popular when dealing with tough enemies and bosses.

If you're aiming for a DOT or CC build you'll want to use fast weapons that hit multiple times as each hit has a chance to proc the debuff. The Arcane Bow's homing arrow special is also a good choice as it sends out 8-10(?) projectiles in rapid succession. One approach to bosses is to open the fight with a fast-hitting Decay weapon, then switch to your highest damage-dealing weapon.

As of the most recent patch I'd personally rank debuffs in the following order based on their utility and damage potential:

Decay >> Frost >>>> Heat = Silence.

J. Bows

As of the current game version, bows are extremely powerful if used properly. You can use bows as your main weapon or for special situations. You have a fixed number of arrows per encounter that will increase with your Mk. level. You can rotate between arrow types using the < or > buttons on your gamepad. Arrows need to be created in the Crafting menu, so if you're out of arrows check your stock first. Hitting an enemy with a headshot usually guarantees a critical hit and can kill even the toughest enemies in 1-2 shots.

You can zoom in the reticule by holding the attack button you've assigned. If you're having difficulty moving the reticule try turning on/off Auto-Aim from the Settings menu to see if that improves things. The Arcane Bow and Winged Bow both have specials that can cheese many boss fights; this is likely to be patched in the future.

K. Switching weapons and (un)sheathing

You can switch weapons by pressing the ^ directional arrow on your gamepad.

To sheathe (put away) your weapon press the ⌄ directional arrow. Sheathing your weapon allows you to run without any stamina drain. It also increases your movement speed and dodge roll length. It is an important technical trick for boss battles. There are several where you need to quickly get away from their 1-shot area attacks and sheathing can make a difference.

III. Miscellaneous questions

I'm burning through my potions, any tips?

The perk Vampire and the Gluttony Ring can help you preserve your limited resources early game. The former provides a flat amount of HP per hit on the enemy (based off your highest stat) and the latter provides HP and FX for every item you pick-up, including enemy drops. This is particularly useful for FX-hungry builds since you can refill your FX fairly quickly if you kill every enemy you come across.

How do I get extra belt slots?

You get belt slots after each Calibration for a total of 4 slots. Their is also a perk that you can take that is more useful during the early-to-mid-game. Personally, I would never take it but the upgrades can be nice depending on your play style.

Do bosses drop anything? Why do items randomly appear in my inventory?

Most bosses drop equipment or recipes. However, they are automatically added to your inventory without a pop-up. And, if you get multiple drops from enemies they will not always display in the notifications section. So, get in the habit of regularly checking your inventory for new equipment, especially when you defeat enemies in new areas.

I'm farming an equipment set and enemies have stopped dropping their pieces. What do I do?

You have a few options that seem to increase the drop rate: 1) restart the game, 2) kill the same enemy in a different location of the same zone, 3) kill the same enemy in a different zone. For the latter this isn't always possible since some enemies only appear in one specific area. Also it wouldn't hurt to note what enemies drop key ingredients for items you craft on a regular basis (i.e., gems, FX potions).

How do I defeat Giants? Why is that dagger on my back?

You defeat Giant enemies by hacking at their legs until their HP is zero. Then, hit the "Interface" button to climb them. Giants have at least 2 weak points designated by a small, white circle. Use your standard attack button to strike it with the dagger. You can move on a Giant's back to position yourself closer to a different weak point. Once the weak point is fully damaged a giant lance of light will come out of the Giant.

Be warned though that some Giants will use an attack that will hurt you or throw you off if you stay on too long. This is usually telegraphed pretty clearly. Rinse and repeat this process until they're dead. Most Giants only need to be defeated once, so these aren't going to be a regular thing that's required of you. Also note that some bosses are also climbable.

You can cheese Giants by using the bow to get critical strikes on their head. If their head HP reaches zero they will instantly die. If you run out of arrows you can run away, get out of their line of sight, refill your arrows and go back. This can be very time-consuming if you're a bad shot (like me). But, it is possible.

How do I kill these black ghosts?

The skill Bless on the Paladin's Mace will kill them instantly. They often drop Ectoplasm and there are a handful of items that they "guard" (as in, they will not move from a fixed location), including a Handler Echo in Asylum.

How do I progress the game? What is Calibration?

To beat the game you need to do two Calibration events. This is what the gear-looking icon is referring to and how far (meters?) you are from one of the events. They are located at the highest and lowest points, geographically, in the game. Similar to seeking the two bells in Dark Souls 1.

When do Red Knights appear?

The developer stated that Red Knights appear after defeating 4 bosses. Some players have reported defeating 3 boss and doing a Calibration event. So, be warned that these uber tough enemies will appear all over the world once this requirement is met. To make your life easier, consider fully exploring as many areas as possible and unlock shortcuts before killing the bosses to make navigation easier.

Red Knights can also be cheesed using headshots with a bow. In 30-40% of areas you can take advantage of the terrain to reach areas where they cannot hit you. In a recent patch the developer reduced their HP and how far they'll follow you. Still, when in doubt, you can run away.

They do not drop their weapons or equipment. The only item equipment that has ever dropped is the Vermillion Bow. This might change in the future since there is a lot of demand for their equipment.

What is Entropy?

Entropy is story-based and a game play mechanic. Once the Red Knights appear if you die to them you'll receive a message that your entropy increased by 0.25%. Significant spoiler: If you reach 100% entropy or die to Red Knights 400 times (0.25% x 400 = 100%) then your save file will be deleted. However, you would have to go out of your way to die to these enemies to reach that value in a single play through. This is somewhat of a bug, but if any of the Red Knights hit you and you die for other reasons you will still incur Entropy.

Where is X item, equipment, etc.?

The fastest way to find information is to join the Bleak Faith Discord. It's a very large, active community. Just search for the item and you'll find a thread discussing it 99% of the time. Currently, there is a community effort to populate the location of every item in the game, but it is a huge undertaking and will take time.

Discord link here:
https://discord.com/invite/x7UCRbHAAq

I found this completely empty area. What's going on?

If you follow the train tracks from the Hub it will take you to a late game area. Unfortunately, it cannot be accessed from this side. This empty area is to provide "scenery" for when you unlock the shortcut back to the Hub. There is nothing in the area (I checked) and only accessible because the developers have not put up invisible walls in the area. Don't waste your time and it's not a bug.

[andreacardinopf]

As far as you know, do weapon abilities inflict physical or technomantic damage? That is, does the damage scale with STR or INT? Faussart's ability seems to me to be based on my INT rather than my Strength, but what about those abilities that don't produce any white sparkling or trail, like the leap of the Eviscerator?

[Lightbearer]

That's a good question I'll look into. What I do know is that white damage #s = physical (STR) and blue damage #s = technomancy (INT). I haven't used Faussart for awhile, but I remember you get both types of damage with its special ability. You could always experiment with stocking all STR and all INT and see if there are significant differences.

And, logically, it wouldn't make sense to give melee builds weapons that scale off the wrong stat...right?

Edit: The Faussart special only does technomancy (blue) damage now, which would be impacted by INT and technomancy penetration. If you're doing melee you're going to use it for the stun, not the damage. More relevant for INT or hybrid builds. I have an open question to Roia, the developer who handles this part of the game on ability scaling in general.

[Shadow of Moel]

Good job Lightbearer. it's very thoroughly done. I'll help bump it up, hopefully it'll get pinned.
One thing missing is entropy.

[Lightbearer]

Thanks, this was more to put my thoughts down somewhere before turning it into a guide. I'll add entropy now.

[Skinny C]

Hey! Thanks so much for creating this guide!

Wanted to ask if you had any insight on what controls the amount of damage caused by heat and frost debuffs. Is it still Strength? (I know it's probably totally untenable but i really want to try and make a totally vampiric/DoT healing build.

Cheers!

[Lightbearer]

Unfortunately, nobody seems to know at this point. The developers have been asked several times and there is no official word (yet). Some think its STR or INT, others think it functions like Vampire where it's some % of your highest stat so the damage works for any type of build.

There is one over-powered Frost melee build user Sin posted a few days ago. In general, it seems like most people think the DOT builds are underpowered and can't quite be optimized because no one knows the underlying calculations.

[rasabt]

i think when it comes to build guides
you need to include perks

like twohanded-heavy

-heav hitter (decay upgrade)
-natural talent (strength upgrade)
-tinkerer (perma upgrade)
last slot open (Illusions, Stagger Resist, etc. for example)

or a Technomancy/Int build:

-Technomancy (reg upgrade)
-Zealot (Damage upgrade)
-Tinkerer (perma upgrade)
-Natural Talent (Int upgrade)

unlike the abilities you can buy, you cannot "farm" perks and they are permanent.
most questions i got concerning builds were related to perks.

[irvult]

so i have to kill wormlord to get the last echoe?

[andreacardinopf]

Originally posted by Lightbearer:

That's a good question I'll look into. What I do know is that white damage #s = physical (STR) and blue damage #s = technomancy (INT). I haven't used Faussart for awhile, but I remember you get both types of damage with its special ability. You could always experiment with stocking all STR and all INT and see if there are significant differences.

And, logically, it wouldn't make sense to give melee builds weapons that scale off the wrong stat...right?

Edit: The Faussart special only does technomancy (blue) damage now, which would be impacted by INT and technomancy penetration. If you're doing melee you're going to use it for the stun, not the damage. More relevant for INT or hybrid builds. I have an open question to Roia, the developer who handles this part of the game on ability scaling in general.

Thank you very much.

[Lightbearer]

@rasabt, thanks for the solid suggestions. As I noted in the FAQ this really is not intended to be a build guide of any sort. Those were just some pointers for people to consider as they progress. At the moment, most of the questions are on the fundamental game mechanics that are fairly unclear at first. I might just remove that sub-section entirely to not give the wrong impression of what I'm aiming to cover.

[Lightbearer]

@irvult, yes, Wormlord is guarding the temple entrance, which leads to the end game areas. However, to actually pass the gate to the final zone you need to do both calibration events.

[Napalm®]

My main question is - what is it that I actually need to master to 'git gud' at this game?
I cannot block, parry or roll to avoid attack, and right now I'm at the boss that starts the fight with the attack from the back (regardless of which way you're looking) that also has a random grunt spawn in the arena too.
It very much looks like these guys have the 'hard' and 'annoying' mixed up.

[Lightbearer]

I think the first thing you should do is go to Settings and look at what buttons are assigned to the different inputs. Your block, parry, roll, etc. may have "NONE" listed, which is why you can't use them.

Re: the boss, if you're talking about the Asylum boss, then the best way to start the battle is to roll as soon as the elevator/platform is about to stop to avoid their initial attack. That boss can be a real pain and being comfortable with the controls is vital. I'd suggest you save until you're stronger and have worked out whatever controller issues you're experiencing.

Alternatively, follow the controller set-up from valcan_s. I provided the link under that section.

[Napalm®]

Originally posted by Lightbearer:

I think the first thing you should do is go to Settings and look at what buttons are assigned to the different inputs. Your block, parry, roll, etc. may have "NONE" listed, which is why you can't use them.

Re: the boss, if you're talking about the Asylum boss, then the best way to start the battle is to roll as soon as the elevator/platform is about to stop to avoid their initial attack. That boss can be a real pain and being comfortable with the controls is vital. I'd suggest you save until you're stronger and have worked out whatever controller issues you're experiencing.

Alternatively, follow the controller set-up from valcan_s. I provided the link under that section.

Thank you, I have the controls assigned, but you just can't parry or block boss attacks, roll has no invincibility frames and is so slow it's better not to use it.
On top of that you cannot sprint in combat because.. well who knows why.
As for getting stronger - no idea how to even do that, every other place I went leads back to the hub except the underground after giant knight boss and the hilarious skull horse rider cut scene, but over there I got one shot by a regular enemy which tells me it's probably the wrong way to go, not to mention the checkpoint is 15 min away.
Since there are no stats to improve, I have the best gear I found so far equipped and I can tank exactly 2 attacks.

[rasabt]

a) you can run during every fight
you can even sheath your weapon and run without stamina cost
b) take it slow'n easy
similiarly to most From games, it's about knowing patterns and spacing (or knowing what you can parry)
yes, many boss moves can't be parried, but the hit-boxes are pretty tight, so even just stayin shy out of range is enough to avoid takin damage
dodge roll might not be your best choice, it's often just the simpel button press dash
and not just back, but also all 4 directions might serve you well (Nurgel for example has 2 moves where dashing into him avoids all damage). the Dancer has a rather simple pattern and not that much range on her weapons.

also i'm pretty certain you missed 90% of the paths.
the Asylum boss leads to no further areas.

Sewer, Rain City, Asylum, Uranopolis, Lone Tower, Desert, Machinarum, Upper and Lower Bloks, the Blok area, Ghost Town and Deluge (and side areas) are all accesible from the start.
nearly all areas are somehow connected.
you can find MK4 gear, you can find +3 gem slots, all without even killing a singel mob.

you do "improve" stats as the OP's guide describes: find Handler Echos, upgrade your gear to unlock more gem slots, slot gems: the difference between 20 str and 50 str is worlds apart, you can go from dealing 5% of the Dancer's health to two shotting her.
i literaly 2-3 shot or 2-3 combo now most bosses apart from some standout fights on nearly all of my builds.
also the trash mob spawning in the dancer's area is probably a bug, never was there before.
saw him standing around there aswell, but doing nothing (not even beeing targetable).

you could do the Deluge dive to recalibrate and unlock one more potion charge, or do the Wormlord in the Desert (just run past the trash until you find the "chapel" at the bottom of the desert, run through it until you find a black/white orb, jump into it, kill the boss..your damage doesn't realy matter in that particular fight, and it's an amazing boss design audio-visualy).
or just follow the OP's guide to grap some Handler Echos. You also don't need to look at armor class, if you have gear in your inventory, not beeing your favorite armor class, but already having more slots unlocked or socketed, just wear it.
there's nothing more important in Bleack Faith than attributes.

depending on your build you might also look at what perks you got or abilities: the armor-ability and the dash are kinda must haves (the dash to skip some annyoin jumping puzzles), the rest is pretty much useless.

with perks it's kinda dependand on what you're running: dual wield, twohanded, caster or archer, or sword'n board..which i wouldn't recommend. you ould always move far enough away from a save-point, test some perks, quit the game (doesn't save on quit), rince repeat (or save scum via the save-folder).