Lords of the Fallen, the latest Soulslike action-RPG from HexWorks and CI Games, can be intimidating at first, even for veteran Souls players. It features an abundance of new mechanics that might seem a bit confusing but are actually quite helpful in the grand scheme of things. If this is your first time hopping into the game, whether you’re a die-hard fan of the genre or not, we’ve got some handy tips and tricks for beginners.
Before we begin, we won’t be discussing anything here that can be considered spoilers. Our points are mainly focused on the mechanics of Lords of the Fallen and some basic tips about levelling up, utilising certain NPCs and how some items work.
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Lords of the Fallen Tips and Tricks for Beginners
Don’t Worry Too Much About Classes (at First)
The first major decision you’ll make in Lords of the Fallen is your class. Veterans might already be familiar with the pros and cons of each class but if you want a more in-depth explanation, make sure you read up on our starting classes breakdown. In the early stages, your class isn’t something to be too concerned about. It does impact your playstyle initially, but you can very easily distribute your XP points to other attributes if you figure that a certain style isn’t working for you.
The more you level up, the more points you’ll gain to freely allocate into any attributes you want, but this becomes trickier later as gaining experience points becomes more difficult and limited, so make sure you land on a build idea in the early stages of the game.
Levelling Up
On the subject of distributing points and honing a build, this will only make your life easier in the long run. You can scatter your experience points across all attributes if you really want, but you’ll become a jack of all trades/master of none. For example, if you figure that being a tanky greatsword user is better than being a fireball-hurling mage, Strength and Endurance should be your key attributes to pour XP into as opposed to levelling up Inferno.
The classes offer a basic framework of what kind of playstyles are on offer so if any one of the starting classes spark your interest and you think it will give a gameplay advantage, lean into their highest attributes and scale up accordingly.
Wither Damage
Lords of the Fallen takes a few notes out of Lies of P‘s playbook with Wither Damage. Essentially, when you block an attack, your red health bar drops and creates a grey bar in its place called Wither Damage. This means that if you play aggressively and attack your opponent quickly, you can regain your grey bar’s health. It’s a good way to shield yourself from damage while also getting the chance to completely nullify any lost health. On a bitter note, if the enemy attacks you while you have Wither Damage, you lose that portion of your health.
Traverse Umbral Sparingly
There are two realms that players can traverse in Lords of the Fallen: Axiom, the main overworld of the game; and Umbral, a sort of Upside Down-esque dark world with more dangerous enemies. Usually you’re taken to Umbral upon death and must find paths to return to Axiom in good health, but you’re also given a magical lamp that lets you tap into Umbral while in Axiom. Alternatively, you can also willingly make the jump to Umbral for environmental puzzle-solving sections.
That said, as tempting as it is to harness Umbral, we recommend using it very sparingly. Enemies are not only tougher in this realm but after a certain amount of time, you’re hunted by a grim reaper figure that can insta-kill you. It may seem like prime farming real estate but don’t be fooled. The lamp’s usage is situational and it isn’t in your best interest to “explore” Umbral unless you really need to, especially in the early hours. The goal here is to ultimately spend as little time in the dark realm as possible.
Vestige Seeds
Lords of the Fallen‘s unique spin on the bonfire checkpoint comes in the form of Vestige Seeds. These seeds can be freely placed in areas with flower beds as checkpoints, meaning you can place a checkpoint almost anywhere in a level. Keep in mind, the seeds are in limited quantities in the early hours of the game. The wisest choice is to plant Vestige Seeds near boss rooms to save you the trouble of running back if you fail. That said, you’ll be able to acquire more seeds from vendors and the environment later so it’s only a small hurdle initially.
Free the Blacksmith
Gerlinde is a blacksmith NPC that’s essential if you want stronger and better gear as you progress, though she’s easy to miss. You’ll have to free Gerlinde from a prison located in Pilgrim’s Perch, specifically close to the bellroom. You’ll be able to hear her hammering away in this area so pay close attention. After a little bit of traversal off the beaten path, you can free Gerlinde from her prison and recruit her as your blacksmith.
Gerlinde offers vital upgrades to your weapons and gear so you may want to revisit her frequently to get stronger.
Spotting Mimics
Lords of the Fallen also has its own version of mimics in the game but they’re not disguised as chests. Instead, mimics take the form of glowing gold orbs (which are the same forms of item pick-ups). It’s easy to accidentally pick up a mimic thinking it’s an item, only to find yourself being eaten alive. Mimics have the potential to one-shot you so they’re extremely annoying.
The easiest way to tell a mimic apart from an item is to look at the streaming light above an orb. If the light doesn’t flicker, it’s a regular item to safely pick up. If the light erratically flickers, then it’s a mimic. Use your Umbral Lamp to flush out the mimic and kill it.
Lords of the Fallen is now available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
