How To Barony: Death from Everything

Just a heads up, as of 12/8/2022, I will no longer be keeping up with this guide. It's been a great run and I highly suggest you look into the guides I linked at the end of this one for future reference. The community has grown exponentially since I first wrote this and real life has kept me from keeping this going. Thanks!

Hello, welcome to the illustrious game of Barony! Before you begin, here's a few quick things to get you started on what will most likely be your first 10 tries before you make it through the first level. This guide will have a little bit of everything; from the outline of the game itself, to solid strategies on how to get to the end of the game (and beat it). With that being said sit back and read. This guide used to cover the 3.0 Blessed Addition Beta, but now I'm working on covering the full fledged Blessed Addition and new updates from here on out when I have the time to do so. In addition, I don't plan to cover everything so I've linked guides that others have already made regarding things not mentioned here.Hope you learn something!

Barony: A Quick Overview

Before we start learning about the mechanics of the game along with strategies on how to beat it, let's talk about what this game actually is. It's described as a "first-person roguelike...hard-boiled dungeon-crawler." Now that sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo to some of you (yes it does, don't fight it) but let's make one thing clear: this game is a masterpiece. What I would describe Barony as is a game of traps, skills, wits, and most of all: death. There's an endless amount of it. Death from hunger, boulders, arrows, spiders, succubi, demons, goblins, gnomes, and of course the infamous minotaur are only a few ways to die. So much dying is involved in fact that I would call it more of a game mechanic rather than a consequence of losing. That being said, it is one of my favorite games of all time and has me coming back to it like a gambler with a bad habit to Las Vegas. In order to help people feel the joy that this game has brought me, I have made this feeble attempt at a guide to give newcomers a heads up before they venture into the land of Hamlet. Before you read, I want to give a quick thanks to Calida Myriad in the comments below. They’ve pointed out several things I missed or didn’t get into great detail on.

Character Attributes

Just like in any rogue-like dungeon crawler type game, character stengths and weaknesses are evident in their basic attributes. In Barony, these decide how fast you heal, how much natural AC you have, how fast your mana recharges, how much weight you can carry before being encumbered, and so much more. Each level, depending on the character, some these stats increase more than others, usually catering to your class' proficiencies. Here's a basic lowdown of each of the six attributes for any character and what they affect.

Strength: How strong your character is. Higher strength leads to a passive and progressive ability to carry gradually heavier and heavier inventories of items. Classes like Warriors, Monks, and Barbarians are what I like to call "human pack-mules" because of their high strength. This attribute also contributes to your base melee attack damage and at 5 strength, you can shove stationary boulders around one tile at a time.

Dexterity: Determines the maximum speed of your character when weight isn't a factor. A high strength can give way to a fuller use of a high Dexterity. Also contributes to range base attack in a 1:1 ratio. For the movement purposes, high STR and DEX work well when equal.

Constitution: Determines several traits regarding survivability. A higher natural constitution score means a higher natural AC. In addition, it possibly makes effects such as confusion, paralysis, and poison (to name a few) shorter in duration. May also reduce the amount of food you need to eat as your score gets higher (this last one is pure speculation).

Intelligence: Very important for magic users. Helps in determining what kind of spells you can learn (a negative score will prevent players from learning the simplest light spell for example). Also controls your mana recharge rate.

Perception: Determines player vision, especially in low light. Succession of appraising items also depends on this skill. A high enough persuasion in the current state of the game allows for sight even when blinded (though the sight granted is dark outlines of items and units).

Charisma: Helps with recruiting followers and other kinds of NPC interactions throughout the game. A higher Charisma complements the leader skill and may allow for additional NPC followers.

Hovering over any one of these stats in the menu in the upper left will also reveal some more "behind the scenes" type stuff. For example, hovering over the Constitution stat allows you to also see the HP regeneration rate of your character based on their CON score. In addition, male characters have +1 STR and females have +1 DEX.

DLC Races

With the DLCs "Myths and Outcasts" and "Legends and Pariahs", 8 new races have been added alongside 8 new classes that have dynamically changed the game. Each race comes with their "trademark" class already unlocked. In order to unlock this class for other races, achievements need to be unlocked. These achievements are usually complete game runs as a true non-human race. Here's what the new races are alongside a brief summary. Note, if you have the DLC already, you can see this information from the in-game menu.

Skeleton: Friendly/can recruit ghouls and automatons. Weak to maces, polearms, and water.
Strong against magic, swords, axes, and ranged. Traits include immune to starvation/unable to eat food, self-revive provided that 75 MP is available, 25% MP and HP regeneration rate, 50% water movement (swimming) speed, and immune to burning. Signature class: Conjurer

Vampire: Friendly/can recruit Vampires and automatons. Weak to maces, polearms, water, and solid foods. Resistant to swords, ranged attacks, axes, and magic. Traits include the use of health for mana when trying to cast a spell that costs too much mana, starts with bloodletting and levitation spells learned, can only feast on blood vials to sustain hunger, vials of blood drop on kills (higher chance when target is bleeding or whilst landing sneak attacks). Signature class is Accursed.

Succubus: Friendly/can recruit succubi, incubi, and automatons (plus drunk humans). Weak to swords. Resistant to Magic and Polearms. Traits include being able to remove cursed equipment (each curse acts as a blessing for other races), being unable to remove blessed equipment (while still retaining the bonuses of that blessed equipment), and starting with the teleportation spell learned. Signature class is Mesmer.

Goatman: Friendly/can recruit Goatmen and Automatons. Weak to magic, axes, polearms, and ranged. Resistant to swords. Traits include fountains giving a chance to drop 1-3 potions on use, increased STR and CHR while drunk (also immune to drunken dizziness), suffers from hangovers that can be cured by intoxication (aka if hungover, drink more), can eat tins without an opener, and can recruit humans and goblins by throwing booze while drunk. Signature class is the Brewer.

Automaton: Friendly/can recruit humans and other automatons. Weak to maces, axes, and magic. Resistant to Ranged and unarmed attacks. Traits include needing Heat (HT) to survive and cast spells, consuming gemstones, scrolls, non-spell books and scrap to increase HT, able to unequip cursed items, neutrality towards succubi and incubi, immunity to burning, bonus +20 to tinkering and repairs, and starts with the salvage spell learned. Signature class is the Mechanist

Incubus: Friendly/can recruit incubi, succubi, and automatons. Weak to swords and ranged. Resistant to magic and polearms. Traits include removable cursed items and unremovable blessed items (just like succubus) and starts with the tele and arcane mark spells learned. Signature class is the Punisher.

Goblin: Friendly/can recruit automatons and other goblins. Weak to polearms, axes, and ranged attacks. Resistant to Unarmed and Sword attacks. Traits include less degradation of equipment, melee stats all increase with a single melee stat increase (slower weapon skill increases as a result), and being unable to learn magic spells permantly (must use the books in the off hand to use spells). Signature class is the Shaman

Insectoid: Friendly/can recruit other insectoids, scarabs, and scorpions. Weak to Axes, polearms, and ranged attacks. Resistant to maces and unarmed. Traits include using energy (EN) for survival and casting spells, regaining EN through eating and consuming sweet liquids, immunity to poison, immunity to sickness when eating spoiled food, and starting with the flutter, dash, and spray acid spells learned. Signature class is the Hunter

Find a Class that's Right for You

Let's start with a brief Overview of each of the classes:

Barbarian: Good fighter/melee class with alot of strength. Proficient in axes, shields, and other various melee weapons. Comes with little/moderate amount of armor at start. Decent starter option but there are better. Recommened for just about anyone; simple to play with melee as main fighting style.

Warrior: Armored melee fighter equipped with a spear, sword, and bow. Basically a heavier armored Barbarian with the ability to recruit followers easily. Very easy play in the beginning, but falls off of the late game plan due to low intelligence and lack of magic/casting skills. Recommended for beginners trying to get a feel for the game.

Wizard: Squishy hero equipped with various spells at the start. Difficult to level at first, but great late game because of magic and casting proficiency. Recommended to cautious beginners or anyone with a long-term gameplan.

Healer: Discount Wizard that starts with "heal" and "cure ailement" spells. Very little armor (like Wizard) but healing gives player and allies decent advantage compared to most other classes. Lower magic/casting skills at start compared to Wizard but has a higher Swimming ability. Also a good beginner class.

Joker: The wild card. Has one of the most difficult starts in the game due to lack of gear. Comes with ring of levitation which is a must in the late game. Has an even stat table (equal chance to level any of the 6 attributes at any given level up) making them viable for nearly any style of play. Also has a decent Charisma rating for recruiting and magic/casting ability. Recomended for extremely cautious players. Also good for speed runners.

Merchant: Medium class overall. Proficient with an axe and has a very high starting Appraisal rating. Also has a nice starting trading rating, so can be an excellent "middle-man" between the shopkeeper and rest of party. Recommended for anyone in a party online that wants to play a support character.

Arcanist: Basically the Warrior version of a Wizard. Comes with crossbow and 2 spells along with decent armor. Solid intelligence at the beginning that doesn't improve an incredible amount compared to Wizard and Healer. Good class for almost any combat strategy.

Rogue: Similar to the D&D version of a Rogue. Stealth based class that has good tinkering skill. Squishy class that must avoid direct confrontation in the beginning. Has bow to accomodate lack of HP. Recommended for more experienced players.

Ninja: Double-edged Rogue. Higher damage with more reliance on sneaking and playing in stealth. Very quick, comes with throwing daggers and invisibility potion for lack of HP. Recommended for experienced players.

Cleric: Most well-rounded of the group. Starts with mace, shield, and healing potions. Decent magic and casting ability. Definition of combat medic with multiple styles of combat proficiency. Recommened for anyone for versatility reasons. Only detrimental downside is lack of mobility in the early game.

Wanderer: Nomadic-like adventurer. Very little gear at start. Solid skills to make up for it though. Should be played on the more cautious side until proper gear is picked up. Recommended for cautious/experienced players.

Monk: Little in the way of starting gear, but has a high constitution and strength, allowing for easier survivability and adaptability. Starts with a slingshot, ring of slow digestion, and brass knuckles as suprisingly powerful weapons. My personal favorite as it has a high natural AC and great attack with punches (if using knuckle type weapons anyway).

Sexton: If you like the ninja and wizard, this is by far the closest thing to the two combined. Well equipped class that relies on stealth and magic. Strong throughout the game and is a very nice starter class to get going with.

**********************DLC Classes**********************

Conjurer: Slow spell caster that can summon unique companions to aid in their fight. Companions retain level and equipment between deaths and resummons. When I say these guys can fight by your side, I mean they are almost like having player-strength AI at your side at nearly all times. Recommended play style is slow with a lot of fighting done by your companions early on to level them and your leader stat up.

Accursed: Double edged monk. Trading the stability of the monk in the early game for more overall power. The curse that you start with causes you to get hungry more often but can be cured inside the Mystic Library. This trade off results in higher attributes, causing a more unstable but potentially more powerful start compared to the monk.

Mesmer: Do you like pacifism? Is the idea of having an entire private army at your disposal pleasing to your inner dictator? Then the Mesmer is for you. Coming along with a staff of charm monster, this class is the ultimate charmster.

Brewer:Comes equipped with all of the essentials for making potions, including known potion ingredients. Allowing for a wide, flexible approach revolving around the Alchemy skill. Useful with the goatman because as mentioned earlier, goatmen allow for a random chance for a fountain to drop 1-3 potions when interacted with.

Mechanist: The ultimate class for Tinkering. Automaton tinkerers are highly skilled at the craft and can build dummies and sentries to make fighting tougher enemies easier. Starts with a tinkering kit, scrap, and a decent skill to get to building traps and sentries early.

Punisher: Armed with a whip and a crystal axe for maximum sneak attacks. Whip can be used at longer melee ranges to strip enemies of weapons and cause status effects. With the Incubus, becomes a teleporting assassin with the infamous "Arcane Mark" spell that allows the player to mark and then teleport behind monsters. A stealthy, serial killer play style that uses magic is the way to play him.

Shaman: Are you tired of playing Barony as some sort of generic humanoid? Then the Shaman is for you. This class has a combat and tactical style that revolves around their ability to shapeshift. Transforming into a rat for extra speed, a spider for poison and ensnaring attacks, a troll for brute force early on, and much more. No more messing around as a silly humanoid for you.

Hunter: The ultimate ranged combat hero. Comes with a boomerang, longbow, and variety of ammo. The Boomerang is an unlimited use throwable that does what a Boomerang does (ie, comes back to you after throwing). Awesome class to use if you prefer to avoid close encounters.

Game Definitions and Skills

To shorten this section up a bit, everything that will be said below can also be easily checked and made more precise by hovering over the skills in the panel in the top right. To get to this panel, open your inventory and click the arrow in the upper right panel showing “party stats”. If you click the lock so that it turns green, you can keep and cycle between the two panels without needing to open the inventory. If you want to see what I tried to do to describe the skills before the devs made it easy to see what they are and what they do, proceed to keep reading this section :D.































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The game, despite being rather retro on graphics, plays fairly in-depth and very well. With this "depthness" comes with a set of overall abilities/skills for each class to start off with and or strengthen as the game goes along. Here they are in a nutshell (my personal definitions):

Starting with the tiers:


None: No progress has been made

Novice: sliver of chance of doing a task involving this skill successfully

Basic: small chance '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

Skilled: Moderate success with these tasks

Expert: Near 100% effective, but missing the higher quality perks

Master: Full mastery of task at hand

Legend: Perfection+1, full mastery plus a unique trait acquirement (for some skills).

When you hit legend in a skill revolving around a weapon, it means that you do the max amount of damage you can with said weapon. Other skills such as swimming and appraise work differently though and will be explained next. Let's get a quick explanation of what each skill does and how it applies once you hit legendary status:


Tinkering: Used to be the lockpicking ability but now involves anything tinker related. Valuable skill for Automaton characters.

Stealth: Stealth ability. Higher ability allows for more sneak attack damage. In the current edition, crouching with legend stealth allows for invisibility.

Trade: Shopping ability. Expert trading allows full sell-back value to shopkeepers. Legend allows any shopkeeper to buy any item from you. Acts as a gradual skills when it comes to pricing; higher trade skill means better selling and buying prices from shopkeepers.

Appraise: Identifying ability. Higher appraise means quicker item identification. Legend appraise means instant item identification.

Swimming: Swimming ability. Controls movement speed of your character in water. Legend swimming allows you to walk on both water and lava. One of the most handy imo.

Leader: Influential ability. Higher ability means better chance of recruting human followers. Legend leader allows you to recruit goblins.

Casting: Spell preparation ability. Determines how fast, how efficient, and how often you are able to cast spells. Skilled casting allows for near-perfect to perfect casting times while legend allows for a no mana costing Forcebolt Spell. While not as useful as the Magic Missile spell was, it is still nice to have in the arsenal for the end game.

Magic: Magic ability. Determines the complexity of spells able to be learned as well as damage with spells. Legend in this grants the Dominate spell (make an enemy obey you. Does NOT work with Minotaurs, I tried. :D)

Ranged: Ranged weapon ability. Determines damage with bow, slingshot, crossbow, etc. Higher skill = higher damage.

Sword: Sword weapon ability. Same as Ranged but with Swords.

Mace: Mace weapon ability. Same as Ranged but with Maces.

Axe: Axe weapon ability. Same as previous but with axes.

Polearm: Spear and Staff weapon ability: Same as previous but with polearms.

Shield: Blocking ability (with shield): Higher shield allows for more blocked attacks. A higher shield skill also leads to a higher AC gain from wielding a shield regardless if you're blocking or not.
Mirror Shields are a bit of a weird one however. Whilst giving infinite magical reflections, they break under the strain of melee attacks quite easily, regardless of one's shield skill.

A good thing to remember is that each ability you "improve" (yellow text) gives you 2 xp no matter what level you are. So given any opportunity, try and improve even the most mundane ones that you think you'll never use. 2 xp doesn't sound like alot, but the total xp for each ability adds up to a few character level ups each, which can be the difference between outrunning, blocking, and damaging higher creatures such as that infamous Minotaur.

Common Monsters and Creatures.

Many-a-creatures haunt the floors of Barony, some creatures make a one time appearance, and some keep showing up for a stab at you.


Rat: Located on floors 1-4, easy enemy that drops rat meat and cheese. Cheese is a good starting item for appraise skill. Boss rat Algernon drops gems and has more Hp than a typical rat. AC needed to deflect blows is between 10 and 12 (from what I've gathered). A squeaking sound is signature for this creature.

Skeleton: Located on floors 1-4 mainly, but can make an appearance in the underworld levels as well. Useful for getting starting gear such as weapons, helmets, and shields and is one of the main beginning creatures you fight. Boss skeleton Funny Bones drops the legendary axe Parashu. The sound of clanking gives this creature away.

Spider: Located most commonly on floors 1-4 and 6-9 but has a tendency to show up anywhere. On floors 1-4, you'll see the majority of these guys in cages. You can shoot through these cages if you have a non-magic range weapon/throwable. The boss spider Shelob drops the legendary sword Dyrnwyn that also has a fire effect that causes enemies to ignite when hit and a -5 ring of invisibility.

Troll: Located on any floor in the game with the excpetion of boss floors. Very high HP relative to the beginning floors. Can do large damage to newer characters. Passive until something gets too close to them. Thumpus the Troll is a higher HP more powerful troll that acts similarly to Algernon in the fact that he drops gems when he is killed. Mostly quiet until it turns aggressive.

Succubus: Located on floors 16-20, Braham's Castle as indivually named tougher versions, and in the underworld/hell levels but can be spawned at any time if the player gets one from a fountain. Moderately difficult creature that takes a random item you are wearing off of you then teleports to a random spot in the dungeon. Player has to seek out and kill the succubus in order to get their stolen item back. [boss is in comments]

Ghoul: Located primarily on floors 6-9 and in the underworld levels. Also has their own levels such as the haunted castle and graveyard of the damned. Can be encountered on the first floors by "disturbing" a gravestone. Normal ghouls are slow, resilient creatures that are worth a good chunk of xp. Enslaved ghouls are the same except prevalent in the underworld and are faster in movement speed. Coral Grimes is the name of the tougher ghoul. Typically drops a flawless gem.

Minotaur: Has a maze dedicated to him that you can find on floor 14 (also holds legendary spear Gungnir) but can appear on several floors throughout the game as Baron Herx's pet. Two appear after defeating Baphomet. Most powerful creature with the exception of Herx himself and Baphomet. Despite seeming invincible at early levels, he can be defeated rather easily later on (I'll do another guide on how to kick his rear). Drops a flawless diamond upon getting killed and comes with a side reward of pride. You'll hear it coming.

Gnome: Seen in the gnome mines and in dungeon levels 16-19 mainly. Two types can spawn. One has lightning staff, other has a pickaxe. Usually drops fish, a cape, and whatever weapons they're holding. Lightning staff wielders can be extremely potent and must be approached with extreme caution. Always hostile like most other creatures. Makes a chattering noise of some kind.

Goblin: Makes first appearance in levels 6-9. Creature similar to skeleton in regards of attack methods but can also use magic staffs; particularly, fire staffs. Has more armor than skeleton and can be recruited once the player earns "legend" in the leader skill. Chants/speaks in an unfamiliar language that sounds rather quiet. Boss is called the Potato King and drops the legendary mace Sharur and a +5 jester hat.

Slime: Appears in all levels from sinks/faucets in the same way succubi appear from fountains. Green slimes typically appear from these devices. Blue ones are first found on levels 6-9 and continue to be found. Low damage allows for an easy fight for a decent xp gain and possible weapon skill train.

Incubus: Appears in the same way as succubus and also appears in later and underworld levels. Much stronger in terms of attack and HP but won't steal your items and tele away like a little rascal. Can come armed with a variety of weapons.

Scorpion: First Appears in levels 11-14. Moderate creature that isn't too big of a deal once you get to that point. Has a boss that drops gems similarly to the other tougher creatures.

Insectoid: First appears in dungeon floors 11-14. Another moderately to heavilty armored bipedal being. Normally uses physical ranged or melee attacks but can conjure a poisoning spell that packs quite a wollop. Can drop steel gear, including steel shields of magic resistance. Sounds like a bug of some sort.

Scarab: First appears alongside the scorpion in floors 11-14. Is another insect-like creature that attacks with mainly melee damage. Can drop a food called a tamale but otherwise operates similarly to its insect companion on the same floor set.

Demon: First appears on floors 16-19 and continues to appear if traveling to the underworld. A tough creature that uses a combination of melee attacks and fireballs. Has a tougher boss that drops gems when killed. Can be summoned by Baphomet and break wall tiles if trying to get somewhere.

Imp: Appears in the underworld and in deeper dungeon levels. Flying creature that like to use magic attacks to deal damage. Low HP, but levitation and high attack due to magic makes it a somewhat difficult opponent. Noted by a high pitch sort of laugh in the distance.

Goatman: Appears for first time in floors 16-19 and appears in the underworld. Another armored type creature that operates similarly to the others. Sounds like a goat and is typically armed with mage gear and crystal armor. Nothing too extraordinary about these guys either.

Cockatrice: One of the biggest pain in the rumps in terms of a common enemy. Winged creature that appears only in floors 26-29. Attacks with melee, range, and a paralysis spell that renders the player unable to move or committ to any action outside of a teleport via mirror or scroll. This leaves players vulenrable and it is how I lose nearly every single one of my characters down in these floors. These guys are the sole reason why I take the route through hell over the main story course when I can.

Kobold: Deviant little critters that like to wield solid weaponry and shields. Not a terrible threat but are still hostile. Found on floors 26-34 as well as having a cultist variant that lies in level 32 known as the Cockatrice lair.

Crystal Golem: Large creatures that dwell on floors 26-29. Similar to a troll if a troll could throw rocks, have 4x the HP and attack, and was made entirely out of crystals. Not too bad if you can manage resources in the lower levels and get some sick armor with blessings. Still like an upgraded troll though.

Corrupted Automaton: These guys have only been seen (by myself I mean) during the final fight in the current storyline. Basically openly hostile entities of the same automaton that you can lead. Carries the same traits all around.

Monsters Part 2

Vampire: Tough creature that uses spells of lifesteal to its advantage. Chances of finding begin at floor 16. Boss can be found in Braham's Castle (he is named Braham as it is his castle) and wears the cloak of the artifact armor set.

Shadow: Black, shadowy (derp) entity that disappears when first attacked, only to come back as a shadow clone of the creature it is fighting. Found beginning at floor 16.

Boss Entities and the Like

Barony takes its name from the various "barons" that inhabit the land of Hamlet. These are the main key components of the storyline and are the backbone of all the legends that the game implements as side stories. Here are the ones that are currently in the game.

Baron Herx: The sole reason why your character chose to go on this crazy adventure. He is the one responsible for countless lives lost under his control and you have decided to stop him. His lair is located on floor 20 of the dungeon and he uses levitation and magic to his advantage. Lightning and summoning spells are his two go-to's. Likes to summon imps to his side and enjoys mocking you through every step you take in his dungeon. He is also the one that sends those cursed minotaurs after you and is the designer of most of the dungeon.

Baphomet: Basically Satan. Loves to throw boulders and fireballs from the pools of lava that he swims in. Summons demons and imps to his aid. Located on the last floor of the Underworld. Players can win the game right after defeating him.

Orpheus: Lich in yellow that is commonly referred to as "brother" by his sister. In the final fight between him and the player (sister accompanied), he floats around similarly to Herx but most of the attacks done by him are with his sword. Will hunt down the player and attempt to do melee damage. Getting him down to half health will make him whip out fireball spells as well as his relentless melee attacks.

Erudyce: Lich in light blue commonly referred to as "sister" by her brother. Final fight involves much spell casing for this lich, the two most notable being bloodletting and cold. Killing her brother first results in the typical "you will pay" one liner. Damaging her down to half health results in a tantrum of cold spells and corrupted automatons sent flying your way.

Note: These enemies cannot be tamed to serve on your side, no matter the case. Trying to dominate them will be seen as a vain attempt by the source code. Same can be said for the Minotaur.

Traps

Many traps are also associated with the game and are some of the sole reasons why the game can be frustrating at times. Here's a quick list of them.

1. Boulder Trap This is the first trap that the game exposes you to. It is indicated by nothing more than a black circular hole in the ceiling and can be spawned on any ceiling tile in any environment. The boulders do quite a bit of damage (lowest I've seen is 55 highest is around 75) and can easily one hit you in the early stages. They trigger when an item or creature is placed in their path of direction, or right under their hole. A good thing to remember is that boulders are linearly traversing objects. This means that they can only travel in a straight line. The max number of directions a boulder can travel is 4 (they can take a path of any 4 tiles directly adjacent to them). Often times they are near walls, in hallways, chokepoint, and smaller rooms though again, they can randomly spawn anywhere.

2. Arrow Trap These begin spawning in the swamp (floors 6-9) and are indicated by an ancient looking face carved into a wall with a hole for a mouth. Their triggering mechanism works similarly to a boulder trap and can be triggered using any item thrown into their path, or by the player running by them. Although they are initially annoying with some traps even shooting poison tipped. flaming, and even silver arrows. Can become a status nightmare if you aren't careful and keep stumbling into them.

3. Spike Trap Easily among the most annoying traps right after boudlers. They begin showing up in the jungle (floors 11-14) and are indicated by a series of holes in the ground. Levitation DOES NOT help against them and many times they can be triggered more than once. That being said, their triggering mechanism works the same way and while they are up, the player can traverse them unharmed. The damage comes when they are down and the player walking over them gets impaled like a piece of meat on a kabob.

4. Magic Tower Traps. Showing up at the ruins stage (floors 16-19), these are designed similarly to arrow traps with a few noticeable differences. They can be stacked, with more than one shooter in a single trap, and they shoot magic spells. They also are NOT triggered in the same way as boulder, arrow, and spike traps are and are set in a timer fashion. So far confuse, sleep, fireball, forcebolt, magic missile, slow, lightning, and cold have all been spells I have come across. These can be game breaking, especially with sleep spells as it can cause an endless sleep cycle that will stall you forever unless you can teleport away or get lucky on the rng (this rng is more favorable with a higher CON score).

5. Magic Beam Trap Showing up in the later levels (post 26), these are indicated by yellow points of some sort on the ceiling and floor of certain spots. They work pretty simplistically: walk in, get zapped. In the newest set of levels (30-34) they can be arranged in an array to where they are constantly being set off and before you realize it, your character will be confused, poisoned, and drunk all at the same time, leaving nothing but vulnerability in your wake.

The Hall of Trials and Some Short Scrolls

The recent update has added what are called the "Hall of Trials". These teach you many of the mechanics of Barony. You can access these tutorial/speed run challenges from the main menu. I encourage both old and new players to use them as I even learned some new things about the game since my year long absence. Combat, brewing, traps, its all there!

There are also scrolls that can be found throughout the game. These are usually encrypted with some sort of ancient text. In order to find out what the scrolls do, one must identify them through appraising. Some of the following effects can be gained through these scrolls:

Repair: Repair any item of your choosing to a better condition. Also works on broken items.

Destroy Armor: Got a cursed piece of armor equipped? Take the rest of your armor off and use this scroll to destroy it.

Fire: Use this to combust into flames. Useful for automatons to keep their boiler burning or for any other race role playing as the "human torch".

Magic Mapping: Works like the spell. Reveals the layout of an entire level.

Enchant Weapon: Adds a +1 blessing to the weapon in your primary hand (spear, sword, bow, etc.).

Enchant Armor: Same as previous, but uses a random piece of armor. For desired effect, remove all bits of armor that you DON'T want enchanted before using.

Food: Spawns a load of apples, fish, cream pies, meat, tins, and cheese.

Remove Curse: Removes the curse from an item of the player's choosing.

Summoning: Summons a group of mobs to your side that will fight with you until death. Vary from rats to Demons.

Teleportation: Can be used once to teleport to anywhere around the current floor. Results may vary.

Light: Works like the spell, but without the orb. Lights up the floor and allows for much better vision for the rest of the current level.

Identify: having a hard time appraising a gem but have a shopkeeper nearby? This scroll identifies any item that players choose at will.

Mail: Contains a quip that might be a pop culture reference or a funny/useful message.

Blank Scroll: Has no effect. Can be used with a Feather to make an actual scroll.

Each scroll, like almost any other item, also has cursed and blessed variants that will multiply their power. Another thing, the cryptic names for the scrolls are consistently the same for scrolls on each run. However the names change each run. So for example "READ ME" is what I call a "cryptic name" for a scroll. Say that in my current game, "READ ME" after appraisal is a scroll of identify. With that out of the way, we can now assume that EVERY scroll of "READ ME" for the rest of that current game is a scroll of identify. After a new game is started, the scrolls randomize once more and the cryptic names and actual names are matched differently.

My Priorities/Tips

While there are probably several ways to tackle the game in the beginning, I have found that the end-game is more or less the same. There are a handful of priorities that you can keep in mind as well as not dying:

1. Find a ring of levitation. While being able to walk on lava is handy, and being invisible is grand, nothing can compare to having a ring of levitation. Invisibility is nice, but fails in practicality once you get to bosses that can see you regardless whereas levitation only gets better as you progress further. As you delve deeper and deeper into the dungeon, you will find that there are more drop-offs, pits, and empty space. Such places are also present in fights with Baphomet and Baron Herx. Being able to levitate not only makes accessing otherwise unreachable areas possible, but it takes away a large advantage held by the main enemies of the game. In terms of Baphomet's lair, it takes away his ability to hit you with boulders and, if you keep far enough away, his fireballs as well. In fact, I don't even think about heading to hell without levitation as the first areas alone make it difficult to traverse without it. This is why it's my number one priority.

2.Grab some Magic Reflection/Resistance Gear. Magic resistance gear is a universal priority that can help as early on the Gnome Mines and can keep being useful as far as any boss entity. Shields w/magic resistance, cloaks, amulets w/ magic reflection, and mirror shields that carry a magic reflection effect acquired in the lower levels of the dungeons all have key usage in the underworld and mines. In these areas, practically everyone and everything is using magic. Acquiring this gear will help in planning ahead for the fights to come.

3.Raise that AC. Making sure you have a high AC is also a key goal that can save you on more than one occasion. While magic enemies are a larger pain imo, enemies that do melee damage don't stop appearing either and cranking that AC to 80 is a sure thing to make sure that physical entitities won't bug you. Attacks that persist throughout the game include the Minotaur's, which got buffed a hefty bit in dungeon levels 20+. So crank that AC up like there's no tomorrow.

4. Drink the fountains. While several things can happen from drinking from these mysterious structures, the one that occurs least frequently is the one that makes it all worth it. Out of everything that can happen, you can have a single piece of equipment blessed or, if you're a bit luckier, all of you're wielded equipment blessed! While this effect was more prominent in the earlier Cursed Edition of the game, its occurrence rate has decreased significantly. That being said, it is still around and is possible to obtain once in a blue moon. This means that everything you are wearing at the time of drinking the blessed fountain will get a +1 bonus to it, drastically raise your AC as well as granting powerful enchantments to whatever weapon you're holding (bonus if it is a legendary weapon because in addition to be extremely powerful, they also never break or wear down).

5. Be patient with appraising items. While you may be wanting to slip into that iron chest plate that you just picked up off of a goblin, you may be surprised at what you find if you don't appraise it first. Cursed items are prevalent in the game and cause stat losses, spell losses, or even death. Items in this condition also force the player to wear them until they break or are otherwise destroyed. So while it may take some time for your appraise skill to go up, in the end it is all worth it. To get a kick-start on your appraising ability, I suggest using various food items such as cheese and apples. Other substitutes include throwables and potions. These are able to be appraised somewhat quickly to get you started.

6. Keep your eyes and ears open. Traps are the enemy of any player of Barony and really like to nail the newcomers. Keeping your head up for boulder holes and other traps will not only cause you less trouble, but will most likely save your life in several instances. Hearing boulders roll around or monsters around a corner can also be a game saver in those closer instances of clinging to life. Playing with the music on is a big help as well, as the soundtrack to the game is dynamic and changes when you encounter an enemy that coming after you.

7. Magic is any classes best friend. While a warrior will have a harder time learning it than an Arcanist, magic is such a good tool to have in the arsenal no matter which class you are. Focusing magic, even just for the little bit of XP, can be worth it all in the end. Aside from the combat aspects, opening, levitating, digging, and remove curse spells all exist and can be very helpful. Training your character in magic can allow you to get to secret areas and enhance the overall experience you'll have on your adventure.

Accept Death as a Guarantee.

When I first took the ropes of Barony, I was ready to defeat Baron Herx as soon as he started to laugh at me. About 15 seconds later, I earned an achievement... for getting squashed by a boulder. One of the hardest things to do in any task is to accept defeat. This trial comes up in this game more than any other that you will come across. The easiest thing to do with this fact though is to accept it. You are going to die and you're going to die a crap-ton. So don't get disgruntled or disappointed when you inevitably die from the boulder falling from the ceiling or from the Minotaur because you underestimated the all-powerful being that can walk on air and water like Jesus Christ himself. Pickup another character, tilt your head high, and start anew. The game takes time to find the right rythym, but one you find it, the reward is tremendous. For those of you who have tried this strategy many-a-time and aren't really sure how you're failing, check the priorities tab of this guide. I take these guys into account every time I play the game. These has allowed me to have several triumphant characters including these guys:

Other Useful Guides

First off, I want to thank everyone for checking this guide out. Didn't think it would become this popular and I hoped that it helped a ton of people. Second, Lyiusa Eterna posted an in-depth guide covering much more ground than myself. He also has put more time and attempted many speedruns of this game so I highly recommend his guide linked below.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1340119808

So since I first made this guide, Tinkering and Alchemy have become the newest skills to the forefront around the gameplay and adventuring. I’m still learning what is involved with these skills myself so I’m not putting them in this guide. That being said, !Yoodiv has made guides for both of them, linked below.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1652148702


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1951881469

Want a guide on how to make the most of your followers? Happygiggi did just that. He's a legend on the community discord when it comes to followers and making them OP.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2229170418

Lastly, if you want to get in on the mod scene for the game, check out the various guides made by Barony dev Wall of Justice. I'll link one down below.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1383197562

For an up-to-date general guide, check out Bwoobee's!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2739279798

[Dirk3K]

Good points! Can’t believe I forgot to mention that stuff. Thanks!

[Nyla_bright]

Other than the slight issues outlined below, nice guide! Very, very helpful.

[Nyla_bright]

Note that the 0% break chance associated with a maxxed shield skill does NOT apply to the mirror shield. It can still break even with a maxxed shield skill.

[Nyla_bright]

The Dominate spell also doesn't work with Shadows and Liches. Also, it doesn't work on Baphomet, for obvious reasons.

[Nyla_bright]

Noticed something you missed: Shopkeeper items will actually be more expensive for a character with a low trade score. Basically, the Trade skill applies a multiplier to both the buy and sell price of an item.

[Dirk3K]

Sorry for taking so long. Different weapons affect different monsters in terms of overall damage. (Maces do more damage to skeletons for example)

[Xzanos]

Hey asked on a different place what do the different weapons do? Swords vs axes vs spears etc

[Dirk3K]

That it can LOL

[UnGrave]

Note: the minitour can, in fact, walk on water.

[Bonsai]

bawi