Tips and tricks, post your own here (spoilers!)

[Terkala]

I quite enjoy this game, but there are a lot of quirks to the game that only become apparent after a few games.

1. Enemy turn order is linear, left-to-right (see dev response below). If you're facing 1 tough enemy and 2 weak ones, kill the tough one first. That gives you probably a few turns that the weaker enemies will act instead of the much stronger enemy.

2. Bleed and poison are most common in the first position. Whoever you put at front should have immunity to both of these.

3. Do not kill stunned enemies if you can avoid it. If the enemy tries to activate a stunned character, that wastes their turn.

4. You cannot activate the same character twice in a row, unless you have only one character. The enemy follows this rule as well.

5. Pay attention to element types. Most dungeons have an element, and if you bring a weapon that has the counter to that element you will do very well. Attacks have both an element type and a physical/magical type.

6. Make a diverse party. You don't want to have to split up strength-weapons between two characters, for example.

7. Elemental resists are most valuable on the first party member.

8. Money is worthless. You're always going to have far more money than you could ever spend. Use your inventory to save up extra suits of armor/trinkets to give your characters specific elemental resists.

9. Don't try to fight the reaper if you meet him on the road. It's just a bad idea.

10. All of your buffs/debuffs last a certain number of turns, check your help menu to see how many for each buff/debuff.

[Officer Plonk]

Terkala, all good tips. I'd clarify #10 to say that each buff/debuff lasts for a certain number of "actions," not turns. So 1 turn is 2 actions (yours and the enemy's). The durations of all status effects (in actions) are on the Help screen.

My contributions:

1. Redemption is the most important healing spell. If you've played at all you probably already know status effects are the biggest killer in the game. If your healer isn't a Priest, pick up a book of Redemption as soon as possible. Maybe with certain play styles you can do without, but it will be a challenge.

2. Because money is plentiful, it's beneficial to ALWAYS optimize your gear. I do this obsessively, for example, going to the Library each time I'm in town and seeing if there's better versions of the spells that I have. Even a few extra damage points and I'll swap mine out.

3. Similarly, potions are plentiful, so once I'm a couple dungeons in and have a crap-ton of them, I usually heal everyone fully after every battle.

4. Treasure chests CAN kill you. Another reason to heal fully between battles.

5. The Pestilence spell is awesome in a lot of contexts. Infested does mondo damage after a few turns. In certain dungeons you may want to swap it out as a lot of enemies resist Infested.

I could talk a bit about party design, but the truth is I'm curious to hear what play styles others come up with and I don't want to spoil the process of discovery... so, happy playing! Hope all the tips in this thread are helpful and that people contribute more.

[Terkala]

I've used an enchantress in place of a cleric before. Since most enemies do more damage-per-turn than your cleric can heal-per-turn, it's somewhat more effective to just blast them with damage. And the enchantress has a skill that does a full-party-status-cleanse, making her able to clear conditions almost as well as a cleric could (but not as frequently).

[Officer Plonk]

I guess my play style is pretty conservative. I got so fed up with wiping at the final dungeon (or on the way there! even worse!), that my last party was basically a giant damage sponge: Gadgeteer with almost all his points in LIF, mostly to soak up damage and inflict Dull, a Priest (also a very good tank), and a Witch for damage dealing. Some battles were a little slow but that team took me to glory! The Gadgeteer had over 400 HP toward the end of the game, with the right equips :D

[MΔX ΩHM]

I'll add a bit to this:

1. Never use a character turn to remove a stun if you have a healer with Redemption. Use Redemption instead, it removes the stun on your party member AND heals.
1a. Always have a character with status removal spell(s).

2. The previous advice about potions and money holds true up until Insanity level difficulty. You will then be hard pressed for both potions and money...so don't totally ignore ways to build your supply of both.

3. If you can, take notes whenever you figure out the elemental type of a dungeon. It's not clearly listed anywhere unless you talk to random wise snails on the road, it's very hard to remember, and it's pretty much crucial knowledge at later difficulties. Also remember that there are interloper mobs in each dungeon which do not follow the element type of their friends (although they are more sparse).

4. While it may make a battle and the dungeon go much, much more slowly, you may want to permanently have Confusion resistance equipped to each party member to secure yourself against a random self inflicted party wipe. Confusion, as one forum member put it, is devastating (at least until the update. we will see how that pans out).

5. If you have a choice to use a weapon with burning, poison, or bleeding, use burning or poison. Unlike the other two, bleed does damage based on a percentage of monster life, and will eventually do 0 damage once it's health gets too low.

6. Remember you can re-roll your starting cast of characters 5 times before you hire them. Each character starts out with a different set of bonuses to their stats. Some of them get a random bonus to their main stat types which makes them more valuable.To be honest, sometimes I start a game and just abandon it if I'm not satisfied with my party make up - it's important to winning.




On a different note, I'm curious how people are doing in the final difficulty. Has anyone beaten it? I got smacked down pretty hard in the first dungeon.

[Dorok]

Originally posted by Terkala:

....

Nice tips agree with them but for the 10 as Plonk explains. For 9, it's really a bad joke, lost a party for that that's irritating. Well I already knew all those tips (truying understand why I have that much troubles with first dungeon of second difficulty level).

Originally posted by Officer Plonk:

....

Agree and kew already those tips but for the 5, I know how it works but don't feel it's good to exploit. I would better transform it in a tip about character with the effect and how manage it.

For tip I I would add that the healing associated not worth it really so you could consider the option to let the book to a non healer non faith character.

Originally posted by Terkala:

I've used an enchantress in place of a cleric before. Since most enemies do more damage-per-turn than your cleric can heal-per-turn, it's somewhat more effective to just blast them with damage. And the enchantress has a skill that does a full-party-status-cleanse, making her able to clear conditions almost as well as a cleric could (but not as frequently).

The only thing to take care with her is you need by books the cleric start with.

About her skill you quote, I don't agree, as most skills of most classes, they are pointless because of the too high cooldown. Don't count on it but look to do as tip 1 of Plonk.

Originally posted by djohm23:

...

More complicated tips,
1 agree and knew it,
2 I didn't knew but I already have a lot of troubles with first dungeon at second difficulty level,
3 I know but I feel too lazy to inflict myself the burden, I think the game should include something but I understand why it doesn't. :-)
4. I disagree if you don't combat an enemy with mass confuse, because it's too constraining, I would suggest more your main damage dealer could wear it and nothing more, not sure for your main healer, there's many other beneficial effects you'll give up by having all party have this immunity. In general it's pointless have the whole party have a same immunity.
5. I didn't knew, I think burning effect is the best from my experience for damages dealer effects. But if I have the choice I would consider other effects as better. But also they are more rare. The list of weapons effects from best to less good: Confused > Burning > Stun > Sick > Cursed > Poison > Bleed > Infested. The reason for Burning to be before Stun and Sick is only because it seems many enemies aren't resistant when very few are resistant to Burning if any.
6. It leads to the point so many characters are pointless apart in trivial first difficulty level?

After to have read all those tips and quote I already knew most of them I wonder why I feel first dungeon of second difficulty level such a random crap. Perhaps I need focus more on tip 6 of djohm23.

[Dorok]

Some tips:

1. Remind check often the combat log (and quote the arrows to scroll it) it will provide you valuable information.

2. This one is just a basic rule but it is counter intuitive. The range is showing what enemies you can hit, it's not linked to position of your character in your party. For example a character in back row can do a close range attack.

3. Check the help panels when you discover the game it provides important information. Status tab for descrption of status but also their duration. The Elements tab to know what element is weak for what element. For example Levathian (Water) does a lot of damages to Phoenix (fire) but Phoenix does a lot of damage to Griffon (earth) not to Levathian.

4. Look about the option to provide curse immunity to your main healer. It can be a disaster if a heal spell fail, it's less clear for a failed attack.

5. Look about the option to provide stun immunity to your front character. It's just because many enemies stun and much more the front character.

6. Don't provide a same immunity to all your characters, spread it more because it's pointless have all characters immune to the same effect. A possible constant is Confuse for your main damage dealer, Curse for your main healer, Stun for your front character. On that base, if you know you'll face an enemy using mass <bad effect> look at have two character immune to that <bad efferct> but not more.

7. In general don't drop your trinkets providing resistance, they'll allow have a team with some resistance against more types.

8. Trinkets with attributes bonus will rarely be your best option, immunities and resistances are quite more important.

9. Consider use bows with physical damages, the reason is their main use is to kill faster a caster in enemy back row and most if not all have much better magical protection.

8. Consider have each of your damages dealers using a weapon with physical damages and a weapon with magical damages.

10. Confider spread ranges attacks of your damages dealers. For example your warrior with a close range and a pole. This will let you more tactical choices.

11. When you discover the game and don't know yet general specifics of each dungeon, remind check combat logs of your first combats in the dungeon to adapt your equipement if you can.

[MΔX ΩHM]

Originally posted by Dorok:

Some tips:


6. Don't provide a same immunity to all your characters, spread it more because it's pointless have all characters immune to the same effect. A possible constant is Confuse for your main damage dealer, Curse for your main healer, Stun for your front character. On that base, if you know you'll face an enemy using mass <bad effect> look at have two character immune to that <bad efferct> but not more.

I agree with everything you said except for this one. While it holds true as a general rule, you'll find that eventually you will get to know the effects that mobs in certain dungeons cast. For example, you know that enemies in the Volcano are going to cast Burning spells, so you can opt to use only anti-burning gear for your crew to keep them safe.

"9. Consider use bows with physical damages, the reason is their main use is to kill faster a caster in enemy back row and most if not all have much better magical protection."

^ this is good advice. I found out today that the Huntsman is a very powerful damage dealer.

[Dorok]

There's resistances and immunities, my point was only about immunity, your answer example is about resistances. I would be tempted to make a similar but more tempered tips about resistance, like, try have at least 2 characters with resistance agaisnt main damages type done in a dungeon, if the 3 characters can it's even better.

About this point 9 I was also meaning, if you use a bow, I think it's handy but I wouldn't suggest all party are better with a bow.

For me it's Rodin the strongest character for using a bow, but she needs be in Backline, she can't be front line.

Rodin, Priest, Dwarf Warrior it's my current opinion about the strongest characters of the game.

[MΔX ΩHM]

Originally posted by Dorok:

Rodin, Priest, Dwarf Warrior it's my current opinion about the strongest characters of the game.

I never have a party without the priest in it. There is no healer type that even comes close to being as useful due to his two party healing skills.

[Dorok]

The Pionic can be as good (faith+5) but not fully, first it's a burden on start because you need buy/find the right spells, second it's weaker to try develop the magical abilities and requires develop only the healer point of view. So the Priest with better ability to improve a bit health is just better. The onyl good point of sonic is during first steps his unique magic attack is quite good and his skills are much better than those of the Priest but it's anecdotal because of the high cooldown.

About my point 8, I forgot temper it from the point of view of first levels, during first levels some trinkets with attribute bonus can really make a difference but soon they'll become pointless in comparison of imminities and resistances.

[Pixel Hero]

Originally posted by Officer Plonk:

I guess my play style is pretty conservative. I got so fed up with wiping at the final dungeon (or on the way there! even worse!), that my last party was basically a giant damage sponge: Gadgeteer with almost all his points in LIF, mostly to soak up damage and inflict Dull, a Priest (also a very good tank), and a Witch for damage dealing. Some battles were a little slow but that team took me to glory! The Gadgeteer had over 400 HP toward the end of the game, with the right equips :D

Congratulations! You now belong to the 3,3 % of the players that beat the campaign on hard!
Just a reminder, you can see the global achievement stats in the top right part of the community hub.

[eharper256]

Things to add to these tips:
1. AOE heal is just generally superior to any other heal choice. If mobs routinely focus-fired your 1st slot it might be a different story; but given that a single target heal is just 40-60% odd stronger its also less efficient to use (except at extremely low faith). I have the same feeling about the status effect heals: they're nice statuses, don't get me wrong, but since we're trying to optimise the efficiency of our turns here...
1a. Corrolary to the above: I also just discovered how superior the Priest is (had herbalist in my first attempt). DoT's are horribly powerful, and in fact I didn't even see a status-heal in my first run; which led to my wipe (hilariously though my OP rogue lasted another 5 rooms of the dungeon by herself there: not like she needed the Barbarian and the Herbalist :D ).
1b. Thoughts: Single target heal should hit a percentage rather than a set value. It could still determine max percent by Faith. Alot of JRPGs do this with their single target heals and it works fine. High level books should be 100% heals (or possibly even overheals to 101%+); that would make them a much more competitive option. The status effect heals need to be multi-target to have a chance to compete (like the Priest skill, which is worthwhile).

2. Dull [Resistance Down] is actually excellent. I had it this run from Battlemage's unique; and considering this party is Priest, Battlemage, and Enchantress, we're high on Magic damage. As a result, Magic Missiles Dull effect is the only reason this party could beat Baba Yaga. I imagine the Defence Down version is also really useful if you have a physical party.

3. Targeting percentage is something in the region of 20/30/50 I think (from left to right). Could be entirely wrong though that is what it feels like: it IS clear that the rightmost hero does get chosen somewhat more, but not to the extent of being able to ignore the defences of the back.

4. There really does need to be an option to turn back. Nothing worse than being wiped down to 1 character on the first room of a dungeon, and no sane adventurer would keep going in such a situation: it just becomes demoralising. It would be fine to STILL have to deal with encounters on the way back; having the dungeon reset when you return, and possibly failing the sidequest (so running off has its penalties). But not having the option... hmm...
4a. Alternatively, extremely expensive Rez potions. Like 10,000 gold or something.

[Jayne_Cobb]

I smell a guide in the makings here.

[Pixel Manuel]

Terkala's 1st point is not right. There is no random order. There is a straight order from left to right.

[Dorok]

Originally posted by PixelManuel:

Terkala's 1st point is not right. There is no random order. There is a straight order from left to right.

Woo never noticed lol, thanks for the precision.