Severely struggling - General tips?

[Talithmara]

Before I begin: I'd prefer to avoid spoilers if possible.

I think I got decently far on my own. Most of the time, if I ever felt the game was being cheap, I realized I had a method to negate the percieved cheapness, which makes it not cheap at all. Until, unfortunately, I got to about The Engineer's Place at which point I started to feel some encounters were just plain dumb. Thing is... I know that I'm wrong. Not only is my build suboptimal, but I also keep discovering things that could have helped when I was stuggling, like the double jump upgrade.

I get that the game is supposed to be hard but fair; lacking in accessibility and hand holding but being all the more rewarding for it. I just feel like there's more nuanced mechanics I simply don't know, or obvious things I'm missing because of the tunnelvision of not dying. For some reason, the only guides that show for me are the Completionist's Guide and Combo Guide, or guides in languages I can't read. (I only know English and French - and I'm not a french gamer so gaming terms in guides fly over my head.) So basically, I'm more frustrated at myself than the game.


If you're aware of things that a lot of players miss, feel free to say so. And if you wanted to give more specific tips to my own special brand of "What are you doing Ranylyn, go to bed, you're sick in the head," here's some more detailed info about my build and playstyle, overall progress, etc.


Playing as: Reina (I'd only ever seen Wyatt gameplay before, I wanted to change it up)

Current build: https://i.gyazo.com/cf67bb173449c01cbb2bb2878f27d158.png (I'm aware a pure Agi build is "better" but some things in the early game led me to believe she was more of a hybrid type, sooo... for a long time I was focusing on trying to get my mana regen on and focusing on casting; I only switched to Bolverk instead of Faolan as recently as the Raven battle in the Gardens)

Skill Tree: https://i.gyazo.com/0929e91dd265281f31f5adbad907fdc0.png (And knowing what I know now, this is embarassing. Please don't laugh. I know I should have worked toward improved focus gain at level 15 in the leftmost tree.)

Available weapons: Unarmed, Monk's Scepter Lv3 (for Mana Steal)
Available armor: Murderous and Judicator Raiments. Paladin Armor. Warlock, Cleric, and Magister Vestments. Monk's Robe.
Available Accessories: Only the starting one.
Other noteworthy Upgrades: Double Jump. Increased mana Regen.

Current Progress: Anemone
Difficulty with said boss: Freezing damage + poison damage when you can only use one tonic at a time, combined with being able to turn my healing to zero. I literally cannot hurt it enough before I just die, even destroying the crystals and all.
Optional Bosses I'm aware of and elected to skip just to get this over with so I can unlock the rest of the characters: The Eyes of Algath and Myrgato


"Why are your stats so low?" My damage output is low, so boss timers make me reel and go "Was the person who decided on this time on drugs!?" Thing is, I know that's not the case, but I've gotten very few boss bonuses. My average boss rank is C, with the occasional A and maybe one B in there somewhere. I have never, ever met an S rank time, since my damage output is too low. In fact, I've had D for time on some bosses; it took me 10 minutes to wear down this one boss. Forget how to spell their name exactly but it was the one who drops the Warden Soul.

"You know you can respec, right?" The guy wasn't there when I went. Not sure what that's about. I'm aware of a few events that can result in people dying or spaces clearing out, and I may have missed one. I saved Ishk's heater and I stopped that one guy who wanted to turn his town over to the angels, but apparently there was something about an execution I could have stopped, based on the guides I took a look at?

"Why were you not level 20 fresh out of the tutorial area!? That would have solved your inability to S-Rank!" First rule of RPGs: Later areas have stronger enemies worth more experience for more efficient level gains, so grinding only serves to slow you down and quintuple the time it takes to get anything done. While some games to have exceptions, such as middle-game enemies being best since they die fast, overall, my policy is to always put progression before grind, with grind as a last resort.

[chaoticenigma]

the respec guy is around Tagrum, so you could respec if you saved that town.


Reina is also the hardest character in the game. It was very frustrating for me going for the boss S ranks first playthrough Godslayer as her, and I ended up with over 500 retries, actually more than that when you consider that I had to reload saves too which would remove some of them. Even my second Reina run (Hard Mode, No Equipment Change/Upgrade, under 3 hours) was very frustrating because I can't play her well.


It is possible to go over level 20 as well. If you beat the boss of Halls of the Fallen, you can make a few things to boost your level. Since you've already made a level 3 weapon, you can't get the golden weapon since you need all 10 Tamahagane in the game for it, but you could use some there to get higher level. The downside is that is probably the hardest boss in the game for Reina since she does not have ways to cheese the fight like the other 3 do outside pulling off a long enough combo to skip one of the phases which is very hard to pull off consistently.


I think I mainly used Murderous Raiment for the critical boost and the accessory that gives lifesteal when you crit. the freeze protection Elixir is the one to use if you're not going for the no elixirs achievement. Dark character affinity can also be useful for extra lifesteal based on your strength that, which you'd likely have some even if you didn't put points in.

The Gladiator armor is also good for its agility boost and focus time boost and focus regen at critical health. You can also equip it, activate focus, then switch back to your normal gear. If you haven't found Teachings of Life Blade go back to the first Ice area then take the skeleton key door to Hallows. It'll be in a chest behind a Divine Key door, and it'll make it so you do more damage to Gods/Demigods while you're in focus mode, which is very useful for the Eyes of Alagath/Myrgato as well as Anemone

There are extras in the ending if you beat both of the Eye of Alagath and Eye of Myrgato as well as for beating the game on Godslayer.

I did not have anywhere near as much trouble with the other 3. Used reload instead of Retry for Vladyn to get Combat rank S, and Vladyn was also the one I went with for Goibniu Mode because of how muuch easier he is. Gilda and Wyatt also weren't too difficult, but I didn't bother to S rank some of the optional bosses or final boss with Gilda/Wyatt.

[Neuromaniac]

can't say a lot about Reina, but you need Parry skill (from Protector branch) that's for sure
this will make things much easier for Raven battle
otherwise cast Ice Tower and stay behind to avoid poison waves (and rain)

also acc. Fighter's Bandages works better for Reina, but you need coins
if I remember correct, you need luck 5 or more to start farming coins from enemies
or find them in chests (there are 3 in total)

as for spells, Divine Decoy is another useful one
for damage, or as a shield from projectiles (but Ice Tower is cheaper in that case =))
and even may cast Reckoning debuff, so the enemy will receive more damage
could be useful with Anemone too

if you're not wearing Paladin Armor, use cast Volt Aura to protect yourself from static, the debuff that makes your attack weaker

also, in case if you haven't noticed yet, Thunder Struck will hit everything above you, since you have a lot of Int

[myhr2]

First thing first, you should still be able to reach the respec NPC, the one called the Mesmer. If you killed the guy that was about to betray his town, then you've saved Tagrum, and he should be available. He's located just above the exit of Tagrum that leads to the Ancient Mausoleum, in the room with a bed and a chest locked behind a skeleton door.

Now, a few things that might help :
- first, read the manual, I'm not kidding, you'll understand some mechanics much better (especially Focus Mode)
official link on Steam : http://cdn.edgecast.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/252030/manuals/VSAC%20Manual.pdf?t=1447358663

- use spells, especially Buff spells, like Fire Brand and Sacred Wind.

- if you have trouble against a boss, try to gain a couple levels. This is IMPORTANT, leveling will make you gain directly Attack and Magic Attack, even if you do not spend your stat point! And the difference is huge and very noticable! This is especially true because, well, I'll just say this, you're not that far from the end, and leave it at this.

- the fight against Anemone in itself is a survival battle, but you have powerfull tools to help you. First, if you want to damage her, you need to break the crystals to prevent her regeneration. Second, once you get to the next phase, it doesn't matter if she regains all her health, you're still in the next phase. For exemple, if you managed to damage her, then defeat the first wave of minions, even if she heals back to full, that minion wave is defeated for good.
Assists can help you last a while : Kantae heals you and Faolan gives you mana regen. Also, note that Assists can be leveled up to level 5. Their max level is linked to your character level, but at level 17, you should be able to fully level them. In order to do so, you need to use them while in battle, and repeat until they gain levels.

Also, you can activate a mana heater in Anemone's room to stop the freezing damage. It's located in the central upper platform, stand near it and press the Magic button.
And while we're talking of this, you can buy an upgrade in Tagrum that lets you charge mana heater and mana stones almost immediatly. Superior mana key stone, if I remember correctly.

- using the good Focus Finisher is important too. You're currently using Plan B, but given your build, I recommand that you'd use Great Fang Kick or even Hurricane Rage. The "Focus required" indicates how much Focus you need to build to fill your Focus Gauge, so, in practice, the lower, the better.

- we're entering into spoiler territory, but I highly recommand that you use Fighter's Bandage as an accessory. It can be bought for 3 ancient coins to Honest Davion after you've recuited him and sent him to the Library. He can be found in the Guardian Temple, the Fire Area, in a small room behind a fire wall. Just use Ice Pillar to stop the flames.
Also, use Monk's Robe, it's the best armor for Unarmed style, you'll do insane damage in Focus Mode.

- Ho! SUPER IMPORTANT (but spoilery) : find the Teachings of Life Blade key item! It reduces Gods and Demi-Gods armor and resist to 0 while you're in Focus Mode, and yes, Anemone is a demi-god. You can find it in the room located behind a skeleton door, just to the left of the save room in the Frozen Crypt.

If you have any other question, feel free to ask!

[Talithmara]

First off, I suppose it IS partially my fault for starting with Reina, isn't it? "Bah, the LP I saw that made me want the game was of Wyatt, the official trailer showcases Wyatt, so on and so forth, I want to see what else there is!" I are teh smart. Yay me. Brb, making myself a "dunce" cap.

Secondly, I went back, and the respec guy is there, now. Not sure why he was missing for a time, could have been a bug, but hey, I was able to fix my skill tree. I need one more angel sapphire before I can fix my stats. A longer focus mode should be far more helpful than a larger mana pool, since even with high Int, my attack magic was not helping much. (I'm not sure if it helps with buffs or the power of Divine Decoy.) Meanwhile, Reina gets things like gear that makes her do more unarmed damage in focus mode, so really capitlaizing on those bursts is probably the best bet.

Third, thank you SO much for a link to a proper manual! Seriously, I needed this. I've just looked at the first little bit and I've already learned something: Specifically, the amount of HP and MP that heal when you activate Focus Mode. I honestly never noticed a correlation before, and just assumed it was level-based or something. Now that I know, I can make note and aim to use Focus mode at certain HP thresholds where I know the heal can be very helpful, rather than either popping it at full for the offensive benefits, or using it at low HP when it can't save me.

Also, about Teachings of Life Blade? I saw that door before, since I went out that way before I got the divine key, and was quite frankly too lazy to go back. Thanks for letting me know! That sounds incredibly useful to have. Also, a huge thanks for mentioning the Mana Heater in the boss fight I'm at; I didn't notice it could be charged! Even if I need to recharge it every so often like I need to destroy the crystals every so often, it'll still help a lot! (I do have the enhanced stone, yay.) I'll also keep a lookout for Davion, though I think I only have one coin, so the bandages may be a way off.


You've all been incredibly helpful, and I appreciate every word. I'll try to avoid being a pest with the questions, but I may need to take you up on that offer to ask more, if more arises, heh! Still, I don't expect to be spoonfed, and I have more than enough to work with for now, so I'm off to go check out what I've been taught. Thanks a lot, everyone!

[chaoticenigma]

If you don't mind farming for the stuff again, you could go full luck stat on your first respec in order to help the drop rates, get the ancient coins for stuff then get the materials to spec into final build(though full luck is viable with proper setup, and is actually the stat I went with on my Goibniu clear)


Necromancer Lexicon is a good accessory too(immune to all status, forbidden to cast any light magic). Reina's divine magic is nonelemental, but there's no way to upgrade it past level 2. The Ice and Lightning magic are light , so you would take a lot of damage if you were to cast one with the accessory equipped.


There's crew members that can upgrade your light and dark magic souls by giving them certain materials. Your magic might not be as powerful because you haven't upgraded the levels of them. This is very important for Gilda's run because you'll want a fully upgraded light magic and dark magic(I'd recommend Ice and Fire, though the other options can work too). While unlike Reina, Gilda can get her poison magic to 3 since she has a skill to boost it to 3.


Unlike weapon or armor upgrades, you should be able to upgrade magic without worrying about not being able to get certain weapons or other armor upgrades. The limited upgrade materials is definitely one of the complaints I have about this.

[Talithmara]

Coming back with an update: Wow. Just. Wow. I wasn't expecting the advice here to make THAT much of a difference. I S-Ranked Anemone's first and second forms with ease. Here's what I did:

- Got To level 20
- Got the Soul Collector and upgraded it because I'd already locked myself out of the golden weapon. (Limited upgrades = sadface)
- Got Teachings of Life Blade.
- Respecced stats (ALL of it into Agi) and skill tree (Focusing primarily on her Monk tree.)
- I did NOT go after optional bosses; my main intent was to unlock Vladyn and Gilda.

With this, I got the 1000 damage in one hit achievement (I wouldn't have even had the 250 before, if I didn't get it from a cutscene where Laofan apparently hits 500-999 damage) and just... wow, it felt really good to turn the tables like that!

Thanks a lot, everyone. Seriously. I mean it. Almost instantly, once I fixed my stats and got the Soul Collector and everything, and seeing how it was working out for me? I immediately felt happy with my choice to play as Reina, one hundred percent.

Playing as Gilda, now, and got the S rank for time on the first several bosses. Now that I understand the game better, I think I'm going to really, REALLY appreciate playing as her.

[myhr2]

VS is not accessible (like, at all), but it has some real depth. Anyway, glad you're enjoying the ride!

You'll see, Godslayer isn't that much more difficult, it's a bit more brutal at the beginning, but in VS, knowledge is power, and matters as much if not more than execution.