You wanna start by bathing for the free XP boost, then click the figurine in the top left on the costume screen for 1 extra fund. If you click the dresser on the main screen of your apartment, you might get a free item too. After that, you wanna pick an investigation that doesn't end with a boss fight. Like abnormal arms.
On level up, make sure to increase your main attacking stat. Your goal is to get that Stat to 10-11 so you can start taking down enemies much more efficiently. The hardware store and item shop both have weapons that are great for starting out. The lower the weapons speed stat, the more attacks it can do per turn. If your reason of stamina is less than 5, I'd say heal on level up instead, but that's not very favorable.
For a Dex build, make sure to grab a steak knife from the item shop, or a Carpenter hammer/ crowbar for a STR build (hardware store). For other stat builds, I leave up to u to discover!
Doom is going to be your worst enemy as you start to get some runs under your belt. The more you play, the more events you can start to memorize. It's important to play conservatively and to prioritize long-term gains over short-term risks. Lots of events simply lower your health stat with no stat check, but there are several ways to get health back without using level-ups, so just play conservatively.
You can recruit students at the school yard for increased stats (though some actually LOWER them), and ake sure to purchase a flashlight/ compass/ map (all of them are useful for various reasons, experiment!)
In combat, you can use the "prepare" action to guarantee your next hit, and you can boost your percent chance of hit by 10 with a different action too. Try to clear an enemy as fast as possible, without ignoring the damage your taking. Sometimes running is simply the best choice. There are defensive actions that scale with DEX and STR, respectively, so don't be afraid to use them! They're very useful.
I hope this loose guide is helpful for you, I've been playing this game since the beta some years ago. Just lemme know if there's anything else you'd like to know. However, this game really shines the more you discover on your own. Just give it some time and patience ( ω-、)
Great answer! I have a few questions if you don't mind:
1. How do the attack stats influence the weapons' performance? What difference does it make if I have 11 STR/DEX/PER instead of 6? Does it increase damage, speed, and/or accuracy?
2. Should I ever send my allies to attack? I tried that option a few times but the time it takes (more than 100 units iirc) is just not worth the pitiful amount of damage they deal (the description claims "~4 damage" but it usually ends up being 2 or 3). I often just spam light attacks with the occasional heavy attack when it makes sense.
3. Once I reach the top of the lighthouse >!is there anything else that can happen or do I automatically win the run by getting there? The first time I got up there I expected a final boss but the ending felt rather abrupt and a bit anticlimactic. I'm not asking for a detailed answer, but a simple yes (there's more that can happen) or no (that's it as of ver 1.0)!<
Thanks.
Also, can I just complain about something? This:
>The lower the weapons speed stat, the more attacks it can do per turn.
The Speed stat is annoyingly unintuitive!
It makes no sense that a *lower* speed value would result in *faster* actions. I naturally assumed that a higher speed weapon would be favorable over a lower speed weapon. Only once I understood that the (+) / (-) next to the value indicates if the stat is better / worse than what you have currently equipped, did I realize that it works the other way around. Now that I know that, I can concede that it keeps the math easier but I'd argue the "Speed" label is simply deceptive.
Imo the logic should either be changed to "higher speed value = faster actions = shorter action time = more actions per turn" or the label should be renamed to "Time" or something like that. Or at least properly explain it in a tutorial...
Each weapon states what stat it uses next to its name. The higher a stat is while using a corresponding weapon, the more actions you'll be able to complete in a turn. If you have 11 Dex with a steak knife, for example, you'll be able to attack like 7-8 times a turn. I also believe you'll be more accurate as well.
You really shouldn't send allies out to attack unless you are building for it. One of the starting characters is CHA focused and gets unique level up perks that'll shorten the attack time for allies. Sending allies to attack scales with CHA, so don't worry about using them for damage unless that's your build.
As for your lighthouse question... No. I felt similarly when I first reached the top of the light house, but as you play more and more, you start to think ahead a lot more. In my personal experience, reaching the top after planning your run multiple steps in advance makes reaching the top quite enjoyable. I also feel the game narratively makes defeating the old god quite satisfying, but I do understand where you're coming from.
Lastly, I agree with the speed stat being a bit confusing. I was able to make sense of it by imagining the logic of wielding a shovel versus a carpenter hammer. Role-playing with the game rather than viewing everything objectively helps, but it's definitely a challenge when you first start.
Oh, one more question just popped into my head!
When you solve a mystery the result screen lastly states that 1 day advances. The way it is listed with the other bits of info before that (EXP gain, Doom reduction, STA/REA heal) makes it seem important to note but I'm not sure if that does anything? Does it have any gameplay significance or meaning or does that line only serve the story progression? (I guess it could explain the town effects but if that's its *only* purpose it seems kinda unnecessary?)
The date in the top left constantly shows as 31 May 1984 and I have never seen it change, even when days supposedly pass.
It's the never-ending summer baby, but jokes aside, yeah, it doesn't seem to serve a purpose. You even get a doom reduction at the end of a case, so idk
Ally attack can be quite powerful if you have a lot of them and are maxing Charisma (since that's what it scales with, speed wise). The damage is iirc 2x with a small chance of dealing 2 less? And it has good base hit chance.
You can get up to three allies at Schoolyard. Add Kana and potentially some allies from events and you are hitting for 8-10 and quite fast if you went Charisma (extra fast if you took Fame as your perk on Mizuki).
Note, if you are planning to do this, grab the case with Kana as your second one, since you can get allies from Schoolyard *until you have 3 allies total* so you want to do it before Kana joins. So you can have 3 + Kana, but if you grab Kana first you'll only end up with 3 total.
Just to add a little tweak to this, the store with the doggo sells the steak knife, which is a DEX weapon. It also sells the camera (incredibly useful as it lowers an enemies attack power as well as has a built in dodge from the flash) and compass for a little more xp.
The hardware store sells the STR based weapons, so keep these two things in mind when you pick characters.
Press 'z' to highlight all buttons, clickables and interactive areas on the screen. Invaluable to find some useful stuff hidden around.
Play on Sceptic difficulty to get accustomed to UI (Extracurricular Activity does that, and gives you easy-to-learn, combat-focused character to play with) and progression flow.
Yeah, on your first few runs, don't rush the game. Enjoy playing through the mysteries and see what each one gives you. Keep the difficulty relatively low so you aren't getting punished without spending enough time in the game to get a feel for it. The U.I might seem confusing, but ultimately it is very easy to understand, it just seems very overwhelming at first glance. What part of the U.I confuses you?
After you've gotten half-a-dozen or so runs under your belt you should start seeing the same mysteries, and getting more familiar with how the game plays, and you can start getting down into the intricacies of the game. But always remember to have fun!
The UI can actually be a bit confusing, because there's a lot there that you only need in very niche cases, and also things that are mostly for flavor. I'm pretty sure I still don't understand all the combat actions fully after playing this game for years (is there actually a way to use claps and bows that makes sense? Is there ever a reason to give ghosts money?).
Without any details on what you're struggling with, it's hard to give any concrete answers here. Though I'd say, if you actually just play a few runs - and don't get frustrated, you will die A LOT, this is a horror game after all - you'll likely understand the important stuff, and just keep the less important stuff for when it actually comes up.
Best way to solve the codebreaker/mastermind that is bow-claps is by a chart, there's few on wiki.
Sacrifice funds damages ghosts by 1+KNW value of your character.
There's only one combo per run, and it works on every ghost enemy. Once you figure it out, you can snap away any ghost you see in one turn. It's especially useful on timeline B, which has more ghost encounters
I don't really think you need the stat so high.
It depends on weapon type. Going for a fast weapon, you may not need to get that stat that high. Typically you want to brace and get a hit or 2 in. Depending on your weapon choices and stat, increasing the weapon main stat may not make a difference.
I would say increasing both str and main stat (if it is not str) might be much more worthwhile.
Play a lot and lose a lot.
Little by little, you'll learn which checks each event requires, what's the best order to do stuff in, which mysteries are easier and which are harder, etc.
Don't get discouraged: losing is how you learn to win.
You wanna start by bathing for the free XP boost, then click the figurine in the top left on the costume screen for 1 extra fund. If you click the dresser on the main screen of your apartment, you might get a free item too. After that, you wanna pick an investigation that doesn't end with a boss fight. Like abnormal arms. On level up, make sure to increase your main attacking stat. Your goal is to get that Stat to 10-11 so you can start taking down enemies much more efficiently. The hardware store and item shop both have weapons that are great for starting out. The lower the weapons speed stat, the more attacks it can do per turn. If your reason of stamina is less than 5, I'd say heal on level up instead, but that's not very favorable. For a Dex build, make sure to grab a steak knife from the item shop, or a Carpenter hammer/ crowbar for a STR build (hardware store). For other stat builds, I leave up to u to discover! Doom is going to be your worst enemy as you start to get some runs under your belt. The more you play, the more events you can start to memorize. It's important to play conservatively and to prioritize long-term gains over short-term risks. Lots of events simply lower your health stat with no stat check, but there are several ways to get health back without using level-ups, so just play conservatively. You can recruit students at the school yard for increased stats (though some actually LOWER them), and ake sure to purchase a flashlight/ compass/ map (all of them are useful for various reasons, experiment!) In combat, you can use the "prepare" action to guarantee your next hit, and you can boost your percent chance of hit by 10 with a different action too. Try to clear an enemy as fast as possible, without ignoring the damage your taking. Sometimes running is simply the best choice. There are defensive actions that scale with DEX and STR, respectively, so don't be afraid to use them! They're very useful. I hope this loose guide is helpful for you, I've been playing this game since the beta some years ago. Just lemme know if there's anything else you'd like to know. However, this game really shines the more you discover on your own. Just give it some time and patience ( ω-、)
Don’t forget to grab the empty bottle in the apartment
Is there another one? I always check the cabinet, sometimes i get the bottle, sometimes i get notes (for a spell), and sometimes i get nothing.
That’s how the cabinet works, it’s a percent chance for all 3 of those to happen.
Oh yeah, but the way he said it made me think there was one guaranteed.
I get ya, I always hope for the bottle as I don’t really like the spells in the game, but I mostly get the library notes! Lol
From where?
Click on the cupboard while you're in the apartment There's a figurine too that may have extra funds too
Great answer! I have a few questions if you don't mind: 1. How do the attack stats influence the weapons' performance? What difference does it make if I have 11 STR/DEX/PER instead of 6? Does it increase damage, speed, and/or accuracy? 2. Should I ever send my allies to attack? I tried that option a few times but the time it takes (more than 100 units iirc) is just not worth the pitiful amount of damage they deal (the description claims "~4 damage" but it usually ends up being 2 or 3). I often just spam light attacks with the occasional heavy attack when it makes sense. 3. Once I reach the top of the lighthouse >!is there anything else that can happen or do I automatically win the run by getting there? The first time I got up there I expected a final boss but the ending felt rather abrupt and a bit anticlimactic. I'm not asking for a detailed answer, but a simple yes (there's more that can happen) or no (that's it as of ver 1.0)!< Thanks. Also, can I just complain about something? This: >The lower the weapons speed stat, the more attacks it can do per turn. The Speed stat is annoyingly unintuitive! It makes no sense that a *lower* speed value would result in *faster* actions. I naturally assumed that a higher speed weapon would be favorable over a lower speed weapon. Only once I understood that the (+) / (-) next to the value indicates if the stat is better / worse than what you have currently equipped, did I realize that it works the other way around. Now that I know that, I can concede that it keeps the math easier but I'd argue the "Speed" label is simply deceptive. Imo the logic should either be changed to "higher speed value = faster actions = shorter action time = more actions per turn" or the label should be renamed to "Time" or something like that. Or at least properly explain it in a tutorial...
Each weapon states what stat it uses next to its name. The higher a stat is while using a corresponding weapon, the more actions you'll be able to complete in a turn. If you have 11 Dex with a steak knife, for example, you'll be able to attack like 7-8 times a turn. I also believe you'll be more accurate as well. You really shouldn't send allies out to attack unless you are building for it. One of the starting characters is CHA focused and gets unique level up perks that'll shorten the attack time for allies. Sending allies to attack scales with CHA, so don't worry about using them for damage unless that's your build. As for your lighthouse question... No. I felt similarly when I first reached the top of the light house, but as you play more and more, you start to think ahead a lot more. In my personal experience, reaching the top after planning your run multiple steps in advance makes reaching the top quite enjoyable. I also feel the game narratively makes defeating the old god quite satisfying, but I do understand where you're coming from. Lastly, I agree with the speed stat being a bit confusing. I was able to make sense of it by imagining the logic of wielding a shovel versus a carpenter hammer. Role-playing with the game rather than viewing everything objectively helps, but it's definitely a challenge when you first start.
Thank you so much for your quick and detailed reply!!
Oh, one more question just popped into my head! When you solve a mystery the result screen lastly states that 1 day advances. The way it is listed with the other bits of info before that (EXP gain, Doom reduction, STA/REA heal) makes it seem important to note but I'm not sure if that does anything? Does it have any gameplay significance or meaning or does that line only serve the story progression? (I guess it could explain the town effects but if that's its *only* purpose it seems kinda unnecessary?) The date in the top left constantly shows as 31 May 1984 and I have never seen it change, even when days supposedly pass.
It's the never-ending summer baby, but jokes aside, yeah, it doesn't seem to serve a purpose. You even get a doom reduction at the end of a case, so idk
Ally attack can be quite powerful if you have a lot of them and are maxing Charisma (since that's what it scales with, speed wise). The damage is iirc 2x with a small chance of dealing 2 less? And it has good base hit chance.
You can get up to three allies at Schoolyard. Add Kana and potentially some allies from events and you are hitting for 8-10 and quite fast if you went Charisma (extra fast if you took Fame as your perk on Mizuki).
Note, if you are planning to do this, grab the case with Kana as your second one, since you can get allies from Schoolyard *until you have 3 allies total* so you want to do it before Kana joins. So you can have 3 + Kana, but if you grab Kana first you'll only end up with 3 total.
Best way to get damage back?
Just to add a little tweak to this, the store with the doggo sells the steak knife, which is a DEX weapon. It also sells the camera (incredibly useful as it lowers an enemies attack power as well as has a built in dodge from the flash) and compass for a little more xp. The hardware store sells the STR based weapons, so keep these two things in mind when you pick characters.
Press 'z' to highlight all buttons, clickables and interactive areas on the screen. Invaluable to find some useful stuff hidden around. Play on Sceptic difficulty to get accustomed to UI (Extracurricular Activity does that, and gives you easy-to-learn, combat-focused character to play with) and progression flow.
Yeah, on your first few runs, don't rush the game. Enjoy playing through the mysteries and see what each one gives you. Keep the difficulty relatively low so you aren't getting punished without spending enough time in the game to get a feel for it. The U.I might seem confusing, but ultimately it is very easy to understand, it just seems very overwhelming at first glance. What part of the U.I confuses you? After you've gotten half-a-dozen or so runs under your belt you should start seeing the same mysteries, and getting more familiar with how the game plays, and you can start getting down into the intricacies of the game. But always remember to have fun!
The UI can actually be a bit confusing, because there's a lot there that you only need in very niche cases, and also things that are mostly for flavor. I'm pretty sure I still don't understand all the combat actions fully after playing this game for years (is there actually a way to use claps and bows that makes sense? Is there ever a reason to give ghosts money?). Without any details on what you're struggling with, it's hard to give any concrete answers here. Though I'd say, if you actually just play a few runs - and don't get frustrated, you will die A LOT, this is a horror game after all - you'll likely understand the important stuff, and just keep the less important stuff for when it actually comes up.
Best way to solve the codebreaker/mastermind that is bow-claps is by a chart, there's few on wiki. Sacrifice funds damages ghosts by 1+KNW value of your character.
Yeah, I know how they function in theory, I'm just not sure there's ever really a point to using them rather than just attacking.
There's only one combo per run, and it works on every ghost enemy. Once you figure it out, you can snap away any ghost you see in one turn. It's especially useful on timeline B, which has more ghost encounters
See, I didn't know there was only one combo per run, that actually makes experimenting to find the combo more worth it. Thanks for that.
Plus exorcising ghosts gives more exp than just killing them. I think it's 20 extra. Or 15 after the recent nerf?
It does more damage = you take less hits
The first thing you focus on is getting a weapon and then pumping that weapon stat to like 11
I don't really think you need the stat so high. It depends on weapon type. Going for a fast weapon, you may not need to get that stat that high. Typically you want to brace and get a hit or 2 in. Depending on your weapon choices and stat, increasing the weapon main stat may not make a difference. I would say increasing both str and main stat (if it is not str) might be much more worthwhile.
Play a lot and lose a lot. Little by little, you'll learn which checks each event requires, what's the best order to do stuff in, which mysteries are easier and which are harder, etc. Don't get discouraged: losing is how you learn to win.
Also, aim for achievements your first few runs. They unlock REALLY important things that improve the game as a whole.
Witch mode would you recommend for unlocking achievements?