Has anyone "beaten" this game?

I hit a HARD wall at about level 12 after opening up the town. Every enemy I can find access to is so strong I can't realistically defeat them without AI abuse / cheese bc they take I think at least 20 hits with anything I have and I can tank 1-2 hits and can't block their attacks.

Specifically the only things I can find to fight are water elementals and some kind of lizard creature in the sewers. Neither area is explorable without abusing AI to avoid combat or tediously widdle down HP through cheese. The lizardfish dudes in particular I can't even bring down period because they have an effect that pretty much paralyzes you so you can't even run away or dodge. Only one I could manage to kill was glitched out and stood there not attacking. Whether I can protect against this effect or not either way it's still kind of obvious I'm not supposed to fight them "normally" at this level bc they kill me in 1 or 2 hits and have a gorillion HP and there are often 2 of them at a time. If they can be defeated it must involve a strategy I don't understand or don't have available, cuz I highly doubt me spending 3+ minutes per enemy 90% of which is just running away to not get hit is the intended method.

Is there a normal sane way you're supposed to progress at this point in the game? Is there a "wrong" way to build your character and I've just screwed up? Only other place I can find to explore is some kind of crypt which I fully explored and got a plot item from. The plot NPC dude in town told me to go to the sewers now, which are full of giant mega lizards. This game has no respawns and as far as I can tell you can't farm XP to level up to match the enemies you find so I assume there's an intended path or perhaps a strategy to beat these new enemies other than whacking them and running away type strategies that take forever. Or maybe there's a way I'm supposed to go that is appropriate to my level that I just couldn't find in the maze of the world.

Just nudge me in the right direction if you have some clue please. I've slaughtered every wastelander I can find I swear.

To start with, where are you putting your points?

A bit more germane, though, if the sewers are too hard, make sure you are completing the quests in each area. You can collect the seals from the Outland area, then open go into that next section. I also bypassed the sealed door, and went through the sewer to the town. I however didn’t have issues killing the enemies, though since I focused on my preferred combat skill (cosmic). This doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong however. It just means if you are spending your points in a different place, you need a different approach. If you are focusing on melee combat, “right click” is block.

What do you mean by focus on cosmic? If the game expects you to specialize in exactly 1-2 skills in order to progress I don't see why there's any need to put points, they could just have you pick a class that auto levels up in a way that isn't underpowered. I split my points into a few skills, about 4 different ones. Magic is pretty useless since you need the runestones and I have only found a couple of them, I think I have 4 now, a lot of the spells I know can't be done with just the runestones I have. Plus I noticed the stat requirements on spells to be so insane (like 20, my highest stat is 15 I think) that you really do need to put points in literally one attribute the whole game to hope to qualify at my level. Additionally, I can only cast a spell for a little bit before the focus meter drains and I have to run away and sit on my hands for a little while. I don't know if you're suggesting that if I put points in nothing but Intelligence and Cosmic that the spells available with the first couple runestones would have scaling damage that lets you kill an enemy before it can hit you, but that's off the table for a sucker like me who wanted to cast spells AND hit things AND run and jump a little bit. The point being, I certainly cannot rely on magic to kill enemies, or at least if I do it would devolve as I said to casting a spell for a bit then running away. I was kind of asking if that was really expected of me to progress.

I know how to block lol. I'm saying against these lizard monsters in the sewers as well as the water elementals, blocking didn't work. The damage went through anyway. I was assuming that the block mechanic has limitations on how much damage it can tank. Yes I'm using a shield. Although up until I came to those lizard guys I had little reason to block since you can avoid any attack pretty easily. They paralyze me so I can't really do that, I have to stand there and tank their hits somehow. If there's a way to not get paralyzed by the lizard roar thing they do, I don't know it.

Anyways I was able to make progress. I discovered the water elementals can be cheesed by keeping them on the other side of a pillar the whole fight. They just waste their projectiles shooting the pillar and you can Benny Hill routine them to death. Takes a while but it made the fights actually possible. So I got through that dungeon.

Still don't really see a "normal" way to kill the lizard dudes in the sewers, but I figured out they are practically blind and deaf and you can run past them. I'm starting to think that's what you're expected to do. They kill me in 2 hits and also paralyze me, so I don't know how you beat them as a pure mage unless putting all points into magic results in you killing them before they get an opportunity to hit you once?

Once I got past the big green door I was facing wastelanders once again that are way easier to fight "normally" without cheesing their AI abusing a pillar or running away between potshots. Still unsure if I'm playing the game right or just cheesing it, very curious to watch the dev play the game and explain the intended path a little better. I'm anxious to see other people post let's plays so I can get some insight in how others progress, because it doesn't feel like the way I got over a few of the challenges was intended. Not necessarily criticizing the game, I really like it, and I'm genuinely just wondering if I'm stupid and not seeing the obvious.

Also if anyone more experienced with the game can explain the emerald horn to me I'd appreciate it. I saw patch notes saying it can be combined with a green barrier. I only encountered one green barrier besides the giant green door and it won't let me use the horn on it, so I'm deeply confused how I get past the barrier. It's guarding a chest that has a LOT of steps just to enter the room, sort of a fortress area in the "Heartland" full of wastelanders. Given how much stuff you have to do just to get up to it, I'm very interested to know the contents of the chest.

Also also I want a sanity check on this puzzle I had to do for one of the green door artifacts: There's a thing you touch that makes a red death field start expanding in the room. I wandered around for HOURS and could not find the subtlest clue about what to do. So I went on youtube and found a video of a guy doing it. How were you supposed to know the correct way to hit the switches to proceed? There's no way there's not a hint somewhere that tells you, trial and error in that situation would be insane. No the dude in the video did not explain how he figured it out. He just hits the switches.

Let me preface this by saying that I "completed" (as much as the early access version allows) 3 characters so far so it is indeed possible -- but as you already figured / pointed out, the sewers do indeed contain the toughest enemies available so far!

It took me a while to write this whole thing (you were asking a lot of stuff - LOL) and in retrospect, as a starting suggestion, you might want to consider that running away is a valid solution in some cases -- as you pointed it out yourself! I personally never did on my first two runs but I used it in the sewers in my last one to avoid some fights with the lizards -- and that could be helpful to you as a workaround. After all, who would fight such strong creatures if they could avoid them - right?

[Now, please bare with me while I explain something -- then we will be back with my core response with suggestions -- you can skip the next TWO paragraphs if you just want to focus on suggestions]:

To touch on your topic of interest right away, know that my last character still has (most of the) Sewers to do as his last section but for XP farming ONLY as he doesn't need anything down there - except one quest to complete that would normally lead to the next section (map) -- which has easier enemies (as you found out - and which honestly doesn't make sense) and will probably / hopefully get fixed by the developer. Yet, instead, I went straight to that next section in question as I figured how to do that after completing my first run -- it was actually a revelation on the second run!! [Much like in the game 'Arx Fatalis' you can observe after playing more than once that you can actually play the whole game without ever setting foot into the Crypt]!

While you could be tempted to ask me how to do it and get there, I am convinced that it could and would ruin your first experience of the game so I would suggest that you don't ask me how to do so (BUT will gladly do so if you so chose) and rather have you try to explore and figure out if there is something else you might be missing in your exploration -- After all, I cannot know what you went through exactly -- So just be aware that, while unlikely, anyone could figure out how to get there on their first run if they are really attentive to details (which I failed to do myself on my first run - and I am a QA guy...) -- I rest my case and will let you figure that out on your own for your own enjoyment!


Now, as for suggestions in relation to your findings related to the sewers and back to what I was originally going to say to help you out:

My first character was a lockpicking mage, then the next a full on melee brute relying on Anatomy (underwhelming skill damage wise -- but it helps with healing too ~ so mentioning here) and last was an archer who is now investing his latest points in pointy weapons after maxing out bows and feeling like they are underpowered even at 20/20 skill points -- and there is only one model which might explain the issue... -- so I suggest you don't go invest in that for your first character if you already have problems).

My first overall suggestion that I would suggest to anyone is to make sure to put at least a few points in Athletics -- I did not for my first character and it was a revelation on my second run! 5 Points make make your day easier - 10 makes you quite fast - and 15/20 already feels like 'Speedy Gonzales'!

Don't forget that you can dodge as well (which ties into the Athletics mentioned above).

Also, be aware that - if fully invested in it - Magic is the "easy mode" in this game as far as Early Access goes -- And I say that after spending 17 skill points in lockpicking and wasting 4 Attribute points into DEX and neglecting Cognition on my mage character) that plus only putting 5 points in each of the 3 magic groups -- Yet that was my easiest run! [Read as "a long and fun" run - as you get to discover everything for the first time at that!]


If you went melee you will notice among other thing (like you reported) that you cannot block the lizards -- maybe this is a bug maybe not -- so red potions are you friends against the lizards!

Start healing with a bandage or even better a potion as you get hit for the first time and that will make all the difference!


[SPOILER] You can fill empty bottles with red liquid at the 2-3 red fountains you come across [END SPOILER]


You might want to try boosting your Vitality stat if you cannot withstand the tougher enemies -- I did 3 runs and did not invest a single point in it and I did fine overall.

I also noticed that the lizards could not hit me too their full damage when I stood against walls - so I abused that strategy a bit as well in some cases (no clue if this is intended or not).


[ *** SPOILERS AND POTENTIAL DECEPTION FOR YOU AHEAD [WINK] *** ]

Lets start with the "fire" puzzle as the response is way shorter -- if you go back in the room before the sphere you will notice two notes written on the wall (I recall them being light gold or beige) - they give you the clues which on ce combined let you figure it out -- I got it on my first try which was fun -- otherwise you can also move the switches quickly and frenetically until you get the proper combo (I did that for fun with my third character to induce some stress - ha ha)!

Now about the Horn - as you inquired:

You need to go to the Lysandrian Heartlands to use the Horn against the small green wall (that you mentioned) which holds the chest in the barracks in the bottom left section of the map. That chest contains another key that unlocks the next section of the game! Before the last patch you needed to equip it in one of you 4 slot items -- but you should be able to use use the horn directly on the portal since the last patch (maybe you did not try it again since your last post).

The location you need to go to with that key is accessed by doing to the underground section near the bridge that connects both sections of that that same map (near the Chapel of Rahi).

If you go there and use the key, the game will then proceed to tell you that you completed the current Early Access content! (Which could technically be false if you did not explore every nook and cranny of the map) seeing that there are other sections that are blocked by a red wall (until further development is complete) and you could have missed some minor sections of the Sewers -- plus the two doors inside of the Cathedral that is currently inaccessible in the in the main city.


[My personal take on the Horn and the map it is acquired on]: Technically it doesn't seem to make much sense to acquire a key (the Horn) to get another key but I assume that other smaller green walls will be integrated into the game later on. It would have made sense if there were more than one - such as one in an earlier stage of the game to which you would want to come back to - but as-is, it doesn't make much sense. And as a side note, the Demo was using the green walls differently and the map in questions was well done - unlike in the Early Access version where the map was unfortunately butchered and reintegrated into the game in poor fashion and now feel dull (and with easier enemies as you pointed out). In the Demo the large wall was part of the same map where the green keys could be found and the location was more puzzling and labyrinthian!

Yes, as a “pure” mage, 19 int, 12 focus stat (I forget atm), 20 cosmic, I was able to kill them with the magic dart spell, one at a time.

The expanding fire puzzle is solved by putting the levers in the correct positions. There is a brick in the room before the fire orb, that says “ there are three standing, two on one side, and one alone on the other” (paraphrasing).

The horn is a pick and interact item, used on free barriers that aren’t the large sealed door to the serpents bastion. There is one in the initial cavern area, in the ”keep” with a chest. I had a similar issue with the blue barriers, as the ancient moth dust gave me a “these items can’t be combined” message when I tried it, which set me back a ways to figuring out how to get past them.

And running past them is exactly what I meant by looking at other solutions than frontal combat if that isn’t what you focused on, or sneaking, depending on what skills you invested in.

Wow there's a lot of stuff I failed to realize apparently.
Again if it wasn't clear I wasn't really criticizing the game I was legit just trying to confirm how dumb I am, like whether there's stuff that's busted or if there's simply solutions I hadn't discovered. This game's complexity goes even deeper than I'd hoped it seems.

Thanks for the info. You're correct that I don't want to spoil too much, it's fun trying to figure things out on your own in an immersive way, I guess that's the whole point. But sometimes I just reach a point where I'm at a loss and growing uncertain whether the problem is me or the game, and I need a sanity check. I'm trying to use somewhat vague language in describing stuff cuz I'm not trying to spoil everyone. Sorry for rambling, there's so much stuff I have to say about this game it's hard to organize my thoughts.

I'm pretty sure the reason I couldn't use the green horn was purely bc I didn't download the latest patch. So I'm just dumb lol. And also I didn't try to put it in my quick bar cuz I forgot that was an option in this case. I'll grab the latest patch before playing again and see if that resolves the issue. Thanks for the tip.

I am absolutely astonished you managed to do trial and error with those switches with the red death orb bc there two sets on opposite sides of the room lol, I was running around hitting switches at random for many deaths (more trying to probe for some clue than actually solving the puzzle at random). So again I'm just not very good at noticing things cuz I missed the clue in the previous room. I'm really glad that's the case actually, if it was pure trial and error that would be horrible.

This game is pretty awesome. Other than a need for polish, and some nitpicks, my number one most consistent gripe with it is the non-diegetic music that plays in ambient tracks for some areas. I have music turned down all the way for maximum immersion and the mysterious dark souls organ coming in around Serpent's Bastion drives me nuts like a mosquito in my ear! Hope they remove music from ambience and put it solely in the music channel so you can turn it off for real.

Having now officially finished the game as far as it's completed (the only thing I have outstanding is the gnawed bone quest, and I'll work on that before putting the game away to await an update) I also have a lot of thoughts on the game, and they are indeed a mess to collate and make sense of them.

I am not going to spoil anything here, but the puzzles were more or less just the right amount of difficulty. I am hoping the dev adds flour and fruit to make pies and bread, and makes a few more interactions like that. Oh, I need to go see if I can add fish to a pie crust. Anywho, in a way I am a "cheater" in that I am well familiar with Arx Fatalis.

I am level 15, with cosmic maxed out (happens at 20) with 19 intelligence, 14 strength, and 12 lockpickiing. Reading the post from the person in front of my message makes me wonder if I had put some of those points into athletics, instead of where I did (there are 2 in search, and 2 in aura).I haven't figured out what search actually does, besides turn the screen green, lol

Chase? Do you mean the gnawed bone quest? I noted that talking to the ghost he seems to promise to help you find them, but I have yet to see the ghost anywhere. I am missing one arm and the skull. I figure when I get off work in the morning, I’ll go work on that for a bit.

And the search skill with 2 points in it, never showed any item in red, checked whenever I had figured out the secret before I went and interacted with it. It would be much better if it was passive like it was on Arx Fatalis.

Since they're obviously interested in pursuing some kind of Thief like angle (those water arrows aren't just a coincidence) then another sensible thing to do for expanding stealth would be to add more opportunities to steal stuff by sneaking into forbidden areas. So far I found some stuff hidden away in locked houses in town I could steal but there were no guards patrolling to catch me and no traps or alarms. Search might play into those mechanics too, like a way to reveal hidden compartments for valuables or maybe mechanisms for traps in the walls.

I'd really like it if they'd make it so locks showed a tooltip that let you know what skill level you need to open them. I ran into a lot of locked doors in my first playthrough. My thinking was for my first play I wanted to at least get the lay of the land as best as possible, so I started pumping lockpicking and since I had no idea what level was needed to open things I kept backtracking to all these locks over and over again, just to be informed I'm still not skilled enough. If I knew what level was needed I'd not have wasted so much time after every level-up rechecking locks that I would know I still couldn't open. Are there locks that cannot be picked no matter what? I guess we have no way of knowing for absolute sure unless someone maxes out lockpicking and checks.

There are a couple that cannot be picked, and in a way, they do tell you what level you need. If it says “slightly” too complicated, then another level (2 points) and you’ll be able to open it. If it’s a flat “too complicated” than four, and anything more than that, and it could be anywhere from 6 to impossible. I didn’t get the sense that it was focusing on “thievery” (not to say he won’t add some of that in), but rather to take out lights so you can avoid enemies who rely on light to see.