This RPG is a throwback to first-person RPGs of old. While the obvious comparison would be earlier Might & Magic games… I have never played those and so instead liken it to the old TSR D&D games (i.e. Menzoberranzan, Strahd’s Possession, Stone Prophet).
Let me get some important links out of the way before going further:
– Interactive Map
– Secret Door Locations
– Puzzle/Trainer/Relic Information (largely based off of the information found in this Riddle/Puzzle/Trainer Guide)
Another thing to get out of the way right now is a rather common and annoying ‘bug’:
The game does a single online check to make sure you have the full version before unlocking the path to Chapter 2. If this check does not take place, then the Griffin Rider will have a dialog option grayed-out and the Sentinel blocking the bridge to the second town will never be removed. Both of these have work-arounds (editing the dialog file and using the horse-travel option), but it’s easiest to just make sure the check takes place. To see whether this connection issue is affecting you, simply go into the ‘Extras’ menu from the Title Screen, then click on ‘Bonus Content’, and finally the ‘Redeem Code’ button. If it says “Invalid Code” you’re good, while if it says “Connection Issues” then your firewall is probably blocking the game/launcher and you should fix that.
Now, on to the gameplay:
The first thing to be aware of when playing this if you’re more familiar with modern RPGs is that the learning curve is a bit unforgiving. If you’ve built your party ‘wrong’ or don’t know the quirks of the combat system it’s entirely possible to have one of your weaker characters get killed by a simple spider hiding in a barrel right off the boat. Another important thing is to actually read what quest-givers are saying. There’s a lot of stuff that’s only mentioned in dialog which will become necessary/helpful later.
Some basic advice to get you started is to fully explore the town, talk/enter all the white dots/squares on your minimap (checking the top of the screen after entering a building to see if there’s multiple people to talk to), and open any chests you find (but not barrels). After the walk around you should have three new quests, a new follower (the girl from the Church), and enough money to go into the Armor Shop and buy a few pieces of basic head/hand/foot armor for your characters.
At this point you can go open up those barrels. If you have difficulty killing the spiders that will pop out of two of them, you may wish to re-think your party makeup or character builds. Some things to be aware of:
– You need an Elf, Orc, and Dwarf in your party to enter all areas (each has a race-specific area).
– Mages should only put points in Magic.
– Fighters should never put points in Magic/Spirit.
– Your Mage(s) should have access to either novice Light Magic or master Water Magic (preferably both).
– Someone should have access to novice Earth Magic.
– Someone should have access to expert Fire Magic.
– Try to have different weapon specialties for each character.
– You’ll want one character focused in Magic, one in Might, and one in Perception in order to open all the secret doors.
– Do not be stingy with resting/potions.
To explain the above, you’ll pick up a ton of potions to refill your mana over the course of the game and potions/supplies/scrolls are basically the only things you’ll want to spend money on mid-late game. Add to that the existence of +Mana equipment and there’s no need to waste your Mage’s points on Spirit. Light Magic gives you the Celestial Armor spell which blocks a set amount of damage, master Water Magic gets you the Liquid Membrane spell which reduces all incoming damage by a certain percentage, Earth Magic gets you the Regeneration healing spell, and expert Fire Magic gets you the Burning Determination spell which blocks most harmful status effects.
If you have Celestial Armor on a Mage, then you can likely get by with never putting an attribute point into Vitality (note however that the main quest requires you to have someone with 20 Vitality to proceed; there is a Relic available which grants +10 Vitality when fully upgraded that will help out here). Where to put your Fighter’s points is somewhat inexact. A general guideline would be: 3/1 Might/Destiny for 2H users, 2/1/1 Might/Destiny/Perception for non-dagger Dual-Wielders, 3/1 Destiny/Perception for dagger Dual-Wielders, and 3/1 Perception/Destiny for Ranged users.
Next up is a quick rundown on the more useful Spells:
Air Magic
– Air Ward (Novice): Useful against elementals.
– Clear Mind (Expert): Cures Feeblemind (Resting does this too, but you can’t rest in battle).
– Eagle Eye (Expert): Party-wide Perception boost. Useful for secret doors and as a pre-boss buff.
– Lightning Bolt (Expert): Solid single-target damage to non-humans.
– Chain Lightning (Master): Tons of damage for little mana to a group of enemies.
– Cyclone (Master): Good against Damage Reflect. Can be used to trigger combat from a safe location.
– Thunderstorm (Grandmaster): Good against Damage Reflect.
Dark Magic
– Darkness Ward (Novice): Useful against ghosts/specters, dark mages, and those beholder-like enemies.
– Shadow Cloak (Novice): The first incoming attack auto-misses. Good pre-boss buff and can make you invincible in certain situations.
– Whispering Shadows (Novice): Reveals secret doors.
– Purge (Expert): Removes enemy buffs.
– Sleep (Expert): Fantastic disabling spell that will help get you into places you shouldn’t be yet.
– Agony (Master): Great when combined with a dual-wielding dagger user.
Earth Magic
– Cure Poison (Novice): Poison doesn’t expire.
– Earth Ward (Novice): Useful against elementals and venomous creatures.
– Regeneration (Novice): Fantastic party-wide healing spell.
– Poison Spray (Expert): Deals damage over time (bosses are immune though) and reduces Evade.
– Stone Skin (Expert): Party-wide Armor boost. A semi-useful pre-boss buff.
– Strength of the Earth (Expert): Cures Weakness (Resting does this too, but you can’t rest in battle).
– Acid Splash (Master): Cut’s enemy Armor and number of Blocks in half, stacks with Warfare’s Shatter.
Fire Magic
– Fire Ward (Novice): Useful against elementals.
– Burning Determination (Expert): Fully protects against Stun, Paralysis, and Sleep.
– Inner Fire (Expert): Party-wide Might boost. Useful for secret doors and as a pre-boss buff.
– Fire Blast (Master): Damages all enemies on the three tiles directly in front of you.
– Fire Shield (Master): Damages enemies that hit your party. A useful pre-boss buff.
– Fire Burst (Grandmaster): Tons of damage to all surrounding enemies, but very expensive.
Light Magic
– Celestial Armour (Novice): Godly damage-prevention spell.
– Light Ward (Novice): Useful against elementals.
– Cleansing Light (Expert): Curse doesn’t expire.
– Heal (Expert): Single-target heal. Good for reviving a suddenly knocked-out character.
– Radiant Weapon (Expert): Minor damage and prevents blocking.
– Resurrection (Master): Revives a slain party member.
– Heal Party (Master): Nowhere near as good as Regeneration, but useful in a pinch.
Prime Magic
– Arcane Ward (Novice): Stacks with the other wards.
– Time Stasis (Novice): Can help you defeat enemies you’re not supposed to be facing yet.
– Dispel Magic (Expert): Removes all positive/negative effects from your party, even exhaustion (though exhaustion effects will reappear on the next turn).
– Heroic Destiny (Expert): Party-wide Destiny boost. A good pre-boss buff.
– Identify (Expert): Not necessary, but very convenient and will save money in the early game.
– Spirit Beacon (Master): Limited quick travel.
– Hour of Power (Grandmaster): Party-wide Might/Magic and Melee/Ranged Attack boost. A good pre-boss buff.
Water Magic
– Consciousness (Novice): I’ve never had a character affected by Sleep, but it would be good to have just in case.
– Ice Bolt (Novice): Single-target damage that reduces the number of enemy attacks.
– Water Ward (Novice): Useful against elementals.
– Circle of Winter (Expert): Damages all surrounding enemies and reduces their number of attacks.
– Ice Prison (Expert): Can help you defeat enemies you’re not supposed to be facing yet.
– Water Flows Freely (Expert): Paralysis doesn’t expire.
– Blizzard (Master) – Cheap damage to a group of enemies that reduces their number of attacks.
– Liquid Membrane (Master) – A damage-reduction spell.
And I’ll close this with a guide of sorts regarding the order to visit various areas to get stuff as early as possible (a more in-depth version can be found over here):
– Clear every nook and cranny of the entire outdoor area, heading to the Mysterious Crypt by the castle first.
– Clear the Den of Thieves, but do not pick up the book (so that the secret-finding Hireling doesn’t leave you).
– Clear the Lighthouse.
– Go back to the den and pick up the book.
– Clear Castle Portmeyron and the various elves out of the Elemental Forge (do not fight the Air/Light elementals).
– Defeat the Earth Elemental boss.
– Head directly for the next Mysterious Crypt west of Seahaven.
– If you have enough money and a sword-user in your party try to upgrade to the +20 Earth damage swords the Seahaven shop usually sells.
– There’s a hireling in the Seahaven Tavern that will drastically reduce shop prices that may help with the above.
– Clear the couple of forest paths to the west of Seahaven.
– If you have access to Sleep/Ice Prison/Time Stasis you can now do some boss hunting and clear out the three currently accessible Deadly Caves.
– Depending on your ability layout and if you’ve gotten the new swords, you may also be able to break into the Desolate Wilds now.
– First head through the Halloth Grove (avoiding any glowing Spiders you see).
– The Grove can be reached by taking the path southwest of the Floating Tower west of Seahaven.
– The Desolate Wilds entrance is guarded by four or so Orcs, so save and then try taking them out (Purge and Sleep come in handy here).
– If you can kill them, head to the Desolate Wilds’ Deadly Cave near where you entered this area.
– Stick to the northernmost tiles and you’ll now have an almost clear path west to The Crag (there’s another 3 or so Orcs and 3 Goblins on the way).
– The Crag’s potion shop sells some of the the best spears, the weapon shop some of the best daggers, and the armor shop some of the best robes.
– From there you’ll only have to take out one more group of Orcs/Goblins to get access to the Meteorite (which is a quest item that results in a very good sword Relic) and a Mysterious Crypt.
– Head over to the bridge by the Axe Grandmaster Trainer next and try to break into the area around Karthal.
– When you turn the corner to face the Black Mages, two War Dogs will attack from behind, so be aware of that.
– If you can get through there, head south a bit a take out the next group of enemies which include a relatively easy Wolf-type boss.
– You now have a clear path to Shadow Woods’ Mysterious Crypt and Deadly Cave, as well as the Tower of Enigma.
– Clear out the path to the Lost City, which is northeast of the Observatory.
– Stay as far south as possible while heading there to avoid some Black Fang enemies (which are very nasty).
– Clear levels 1, 2, & 4 of the Lost City. Avoid Level 3, unless you can easily defeat the enemies that appear near the entrances to that area.
– You should have the Water Shard now, so go defeat the Water Elemental at the Elemental Forge (use the Water Ward crystal by Sorpigal before traveling there).
– Head northwest through the Marshes, west across the stream near the hut with the Potion-Selling Hireling, to reach the jungle.
– A little ways into the jungle is another Deadly Cave (that contains a fantastic Medium Armor relic).
– Now it’s time to see if you can get the Air Shard. Head back over to the Shadow Woods Mysterious Crypt.
– Head south through the woods and you’ll come across two Black Fang enemies. If you can take them, good. If not then you’ll probably have to progress with the main quest for a bit.
– Assuming they weren’t a problem, continue heading south until the beach curves to the east and you can see a group of naga.
– Try to defeat them. If you have no real trouble with them, then you can go get the Air Shard now.
– Head back to the Desolate Wilds and look for a cave guarded by a naga. Explore Lvl 2 (password is “swordfish”) to find the shard.
– Go defeat the Air Elemental at the Elemental Forge to gain the ability to access the last two areas of the main map.
– With them open, you can now finish the Obelisk and Dragon Shrine quests, and have access to the last Mysterious Crypt and Deadly Caves.
– From that point on you can just do whatever.