Top 10 - Tips To Beat Your RPG

By Sherrin English

10 handy RPG tips that could save your life.

We’ve all done it: turned right when we should’ve turned left, talked to the girl on the corner twice instead of three times so that she’d give us the key to the door and the next Boss, faced a Boss with a weakness to electricity and our entire party is fire strong. Mistakes like these can have you throwing your controller at the TV and kicking the cat, but if you use these common sense tips your RPGing can be stress-free.

10 - Side Quests.
While pursuing the main quest you’ll often be given side quests, either from a main character or from an NPC (Non-Player Character) you meet along the way. Take them! Not only will you be rewarded for doing the quest plus gain xp, but you’ll also get to explore new areas, and therefore find things that may come in handy for the main quest. Some side quests can be almost as epic as the main quest – eg: ‘Durgan’s Luck Charm’ in Summoner - so it follows that the reward will be very worthwhile - often a Legendary weapon or a rare piece of armour. But even if the side quest is merely to act as a courier, the extra xp is not to be sneezed at.

9 - Talk to People.
When you venture into a new town there will be people everywhere, and figuring out who to talk to and who to bypass can have you gaga with choices. The easiest way, of course, is to talk to everyone, but that can be very time consuming. If the game displays people’s names when you click on them it’s a safe bet that ‘Bendigo Brown’ has something to offer but ‘Street Sweeper’ does not. But that doesn’t mean ‘Street Sweeper’ should be ignored altogether. It simply means that you’ll probably only get often repeated gossip from him, whereas ‘Bendigo Brown’ could give you much needed information or a side quest. If no names are displayed then look at what people are doing. If they’re walking aimlessly about they won’t have much to offer, but if someone’s walking with a purpose that’s who you should approach. And of course you should talk to them until they begin to repeat themselves – like wives do.

8 - Revisit Places.
The main quest or a side quest will see you visit many places on a regular basis, but most of the time you’ll pass through a place only once. If you’re following a track or a road walk to one side of it and be alert for both hidden enemies and treasure chests. When you’ve gone a good distance turn around and walk back on the other side of the track/road. A new perspective will often reveal what was hidden the first time. Revisiting a battle site can often yield something you missed while your adrenaline was off the charts during a fight. Many RPGs will have respawning enemies and treasure chests, so a quick trip to revisit the major sites can often end up being well worth it, in both gold and xp.

7 - Enemy Drops.
Respawning enemies who drop excellent items is always something to celebrate. When you find a particular kind of enemy that drops a large amount of gold and/or rare weapons, armour or items, kill lots of them. Some enemies will drop better items than you can buy in shops, so when you’ve outfitted your party in all the best items, load up with as much as you can carry and set off for the nearest shop. Of course, finding enemies that drop good items is always trial and error, but when you do find one take advantage of it - over and over again.

6 - Rest Often.
Instead of using potions all the time to top up your health or mana, take a rest instead. Potions are not just decoration of course, they’re there to be used, but some of the better ones can be hard to come by, so saving them for an especially difficult Boss fight can often be the difference between life and death. But not only does resting replenish your health and mana, it also gives you time to look around – and not only for hidden treasure chests. RPGs often have spectacular scenery, so taking time out just to appreciate the artwork of your surroundings can be a very rewarding – and humbling - experience.

5 - Enemy Weaknesses.
Every enemy has a weakness; whether it’s elemental or physical it’s there to be found and exploited. Even though some RPGs award extra points for finishing a battle quickly, it’s in your best interest to kill an enemy quickly because the less damage you and your party take the better. An elemental weakness is usually fairly easy to spot because whatever the enemy is attacking with it’s a safe bet that he’s weak to the opposite. If, on the other hand, he’s not using elemental magic it’s a little harder to find his Archilles heal, but while you’re attacking him you’re still reducing his hp so it’s still good news. But when you do find a weakness attack it strongly and often.

4 - Steal Everything.
Most characters have access to, and can use, a lockpick. Exploit it! If your character is a Rogue learn to pickpocket as soon as possible. Stealing everything that’s not nailed down will net you some excellent booty all the way through the game. And whether it’s stolen to sell or to use for yourself, everything’s useful. Houses in RPGs are seldom locked during that day, so take full advantage of that particular foible. And if they’re locked at night your lockpicking skills will come in handy. If, however, you’re playing an RPG that frowns on theft then be careful not to get caught, but if the one you’re playing seems to revere the adage ‘what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine’ steal until your inventory is bulging.

3 - Camera Angle.
The majority of Western-made RPGs have a free moving camera, so moving it where you want isn’t an issue. Japanese-made RPGs, however, will usually have a fixed camera, so you’re stuck looking at what the game makers want you to see. Getting the best possible view can mean life or death during battle, so if your RPG has a free moving camera make sure your view of the battle is clear and unobstructed. If the game has a fixed camera the majority of them will alight on an optimal place automatically. If, however, it doesn’t (I’m looking at you Magna Carta) you’ll either have to hope you’re doing the right thing or run away and try again.

2 - Balanced Party.
A balanced party is essential to a good and speedy victory in battle. A solo player, however, must be all things at once. A party of three should ideally have a tank (heavy fighter with high hp), a fighter/spell caster and a healer. A party of four splits the fighter/spell caster between two people, with the fighter having archery skills if possible. When fighting it’s not much use having all of your party members a jack-of-all-trades, because although each person can do a lot of different things he, or she, isn’t specialised in any of them so doesn’t have the best of anything to offer. A balanced party will have every eventuality covered so they can bring down an enemy quickly and efficiently.

1 - Level up.
On your travels you can often find places with more difficult enemies than you’re used to, and therefore yield more gold and award high points for a kill. Provided you can handle the enemies, take advantage of the situation to level up. Unless you specifically want difficult Boss fights, taking time out to level up is a good idea. Difficult enemies will not only give you good xp but the dropped items and gold all adds up. If you find them a problem you can, of course, depart gracefully at a very fast pace and then come back later and try again. But if you’re coping well there’s no reason not to stick with it until you’ve risen sufficient levels that those same enemies can be taken without raising a sweat. Getting your levels up is not only a good thing to do because your health and mana points rise but also because you gain skills and abilities at certain levels, and new skills are always useful.

These are 10 of the most useful tips that I can pass onto you; regardless if you’re a new RPGer or a veteran I hope you’ll find something there to help you on your way. But here’s an extra tip that everyone should use. As we know, RPGs aren’t all about fighting; the story is why we play them, so to make sure I’m with the play on what’s happening I keep notes. And on that note I’ll leave you to your holiday RPGing!

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