I don't do a lot of FPS or other more strategically-mature games. I was playing this a while back, and I got a few levels in on normal or something, but felt I was reloading too much and generally not doing the best. It seems like you have to spam headshots if you're ranged, and I don't really know how to avoid damaged as melee.

I guess back in the day I played too many games like Ultima Underworld in which a little backpedal can solve everything and a bit of side-exploring can help you steamroll later on if you want. I might dust this game off again eventually, but any tips for this? I think I'm coordinated enough, but I don't quite get how these sorts of games should be played. I've never done much Halo or whatever you might compare it to.

It seems impossible to avoid damage altogether, especially when you're playing a meele character and fight multiple opponents. You just have to make the most out of the potions you find.
Against a single opponent, i fund it best to go back and forth, instead of backpedaling continually. You go up against the foe, swing your weapon to hit him just as you get into range and back off immediately. Your enemy gets knocked back a bit from your blow and you can repeat the whole process. This works especially well with the fast Halfling, the Knight is a bit too slow for my taste.
As for ranged characters, the Druid and later the Wizard are good options, as their spells are much more powerful than arrows and also have a slight homing capability.

I haven't played through the whole game yet, only through a couple of levels, and I admit I set the game on Easy for the first playthrough, but who knows, maybe some of my suggestions and observations are still of help to you:

- Generally I've found the game is more fun as a shooter than a melee combat simulator, so regardless of the character class I always make sure I have a good ranged weapon equipped (e.g. a crossbow or a fast shooting staff) and use melee only as a last resort when the ammo runs out or the enemies have me cornered.

- When enemies are far off or unaware of me, I aim for the head, when they quickly approach me, I shoot at them while running backwards but you have to pay attention that you don't fall off an edge or something.

- Needless to say, don't rush into unknown territory or you'll become an easy target for ambushs. Move cautiously and peak around corners, so the surprise factor will be on your side.

- In the bigger levels I try to reach the first checkpoint before taking risks or meticulously collecting stuff. Since I play Easy mode, I'm not sure if it's quite the same in Normal mode, but once I reach a checkpoint, I usually don't fail the mission anymore because when I die I always respawn at the checkpoint and none of the items and gold I collected before dying are taken away from me (although I don't get any used ammo and healing potions back, of course). This might make the game a bit too easy for your taste and maybe even smell of cheating but I don't mind that much as I only want to have fun with the game and this spares me some frustration.

- Enemies are damaged by traps, too, so sometimes you can lure them into a trap to weaken them. And if you just want to get rid of them, you can also push them into an abyss or water or lava or provoke them to fall into a crevice by jumping over it when they're after you (most are too dumb to make the jump). Although in some cases - if you can't reach the bottom yourself - you'll miss out on something they drop after death (e.g. ammo or a pot of gold).

- If I find I die too often and the game gets too difficult, I either switch the character class or try to optimize the equipment at the item selection screen. In some cases it might be worth it to use only average equipment but buy more healing potions instead, or more ammo etc. In other cases maybe cut down on something in order to afford a better armor or similar. And sometimes switching the character class can make a big difference. For example, I had some issues with a level that has many strong snipers in it, even though I had grown accustomed to the druid, thinking she was a pretty quick and strong character with the right shooting staff. Switching to the knight didn't help either, although he made huge damage with the crossbow. But when I tried with the huntress, it suddenly became a lot easier. I think the game encourages you to switch often and experiment, rather than stick to one class and equipment setup you might think works best for all situations (that doesn't mean that some levels only cater to specific characters though, often it's fun to replay the same level with a completely different class).

- The druid can summon an elemental or golem type creature to fight for you and distract enemies so you can ambush them without getting hurt. Equip the Astral Staff and hold down the left mouse button for a few seconds, pointing the cursor at the spot where you want the creature to appear. I don't know if this strategy will still work with the more powerful enemies later on but for some of the earlier levels it's very helpful.

- Also keep in mind that sometimes a ranged weapon with average damage but fast shooting/reloading rate can be much more effective than a powerful but slow one.

- After the first few levels you are awarded a new arena area with three different difficulty levels. Even though I already beat all three of them once, I always come back there to test new characters and practice combat with different weapon setups.

- Apparantly you should be able to block some damage with shields or magic barriers, using the right mouse button in melee, but I haven't quite figured out how (maybe because I didn't read the manual yet, heh).

- As for side exploring, of course the more gold you manage to find the better you can equip your characters. If you missed some hidden gold, you can replay a level and try to find it. You won't lose anything but if you find more gold than before, it's added to your stack Gold is not irretrievably spent on items but only defines the maximum worth of your equipment; if you unequip an item, you get the money back and can spend it on something else, and your fortune is available to all characters alike (I know, it's not the same as side exploring in RPGs but it is a way to improve your characters before moving on to tough levels).

Hope that helps.

Just now getting the tips. Thanks, might test it when I have time. I didn't get any notice on the front page because it stops notifying you about replies after a week or so. :(

Just reading about Enclave since it's on sale and was considering it. However, although this strategy tips thread is useful, I've read elsewhere that it is (to quote Gamespy review) *it is absurdly difficult* and even the easy setting will be more than just a challenge.

I'll admit that I don't like games to be hugely challenging but prefer lots of searching, loot and weak opponents.

Therefore, does anyone know if there's any mod or tweaks to make combat not just easier but easy!

Thanks.

Sorry, I have no idea about mods, but I managed to play through the Light half of the game in Easy mode without too much trouble, and I'm really not someone who's good at action games or enjoys ultra-hard challenges. Like I wrote above, most of the difficulty comes from picking a less adequate character with the wrong equipment. Changing the player character can make a huge difference if you get stuck - suddenly a hard spot can become a child's play. There are walkthroughs including tips on the easiest classes to play a given level with, if you want to make things easier for you.

For $2.99 I'd just give it a try; even in the unlikely case that it becomes too hard for you at some point, I think it will be worth the fun. If you're still doubtful though, maybe Two Worlds would be a better fit for your preferences? I haven't played it myself though.

Thank you Leroux *Major Blockhead*!! That was really helpful. I've completed Two Worlds and that was pretty good fun. Good to know that I'm not the only one who doesn't want a hard-core challenge from a game.

Well, it can still be a bit challenging at times but in a good way, I never got seriously frustrated by the game so far, even if I had to repeat a mission - and that's despite me usually hating replays (the missions are very short and you can try as often as you like). And of course it's all relative, but usually I'm the one saying I don't need difficult combat in order to enjoy a game, just to have everybody else look down on me and think "bah, another one of these casual gamers". ;)

In any case, Enclave has good atmosphere and is well worth a try.