Things we knew before launching the ink range

range of inks The roguelike gameplay can get hectic soon after you leave the tutorial. The game relies on you recognizing some of the mechanics you've played in similar games and some people will struggle to understand things as a result. Thankfully, once you get past the initial learning hurdles, the game becomes much smoother.

To see through Red's own storyteller's slaying adventure, you'll want to blend together the various aspects of melee and magical combat, along with navigating the in-game upgrade systems, pet evolution, and economy. It's a lot to keep track of and this guide aims to streamline the basics.

The Ink range is currently available in Early Access and therefore some content may change. We will update this guide as needed in the future.

Your original pets can become powerhouses

If fed the right ink your pet can be surprisingly powerful. If you Unlock its special ability with a pair of epic gems, This will often be strong enough for a single standard meeting room.

Both gems require an average rarity of epic for your pet's special skill. If you Prioritize upgrading one of your gemsYou can do it more easily Swap another as needed. Upgrading both equally often means weakening your pet if you make any changes to your build.

The game type chart follows the five elements (Wuxing) of Chinese philosophy, rather than the four Greek elements that are more common in games.

This means you won't find any air elements, as the Wuxing elemental chart includes: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal.

Each pair of elements gives your pet a different look, including two of the same element. It can be hard to tell how different pets perform in battle by looking at them, but you can Check the pause menu to see what your pet's form is Currently and what passive or active abilities it can release.

You can safely ignore some visual indicators

Visually, there can be a lot going on at any given time, and not all of it is dangerous for you. Train yourself Ignore visual effects tied to your own attacks Makes it easier to avoid your enemies.

If you are struggling with this a useful option can be found under video settings, allowing you to
To increase the transparency of your abilities,
So there is less visual clutter when dodging.

Some builds rely on you seeing your own effects, such as magic circles. While allowances can usually be left at maximum transparency, don't be afraid to change the visibility of your ink gems as you equip new ones.

Depending on the ink you have, your familiar can take on a form that looks dangerous to you: this is especially true for projectiles and area attacks it uses, such as fire and ash forms.

Choose the gem that complements your benefits and nectar

The game's tutorial places a much greater emphasis on the two ink gems you can carry than the other available upgrades. Ink gems are the most flexible upgrade you can get Swap them as you see fit.

The benefits are continuous and As such cannot be changed, and there is no limit to the number you can carry. If you are given a choice of rooms to proceed with, Perk rooms are often a good option.

It is better to choose ink gems that favor the currently available perks than the reverse.
You'll find plenty of opportunities to find different gems in the loop, but you'll want to commit to a set of special features before you get to the first boss fight.

Not all attacks should be used on cooldown

There are some gems
Worth holding for their passive or pet abilities
rather than their active skills.
Read the capabilities carefully
It is more important to know the inactive or active part of the gem.

Burning ink is great for any build that focuses on damage over time. Its passive lets you stack burning effects but its active skill removes all stacks of effects.

• in In short fights you want to use active skills oftenConverting your slow burn damage into rapid bursts of lethality.
• in many Long fights you want to avoid using active skills And allow the passive to deal damage by increasing burn stacks.

The same extends to the basic abilities of some unlockable skins. While Red is able to hold the attack button to use the same combo again Akuan takes advantage of weaving his abilities with Dodge For extra power and General Gore must raise his blade after each throw.

Keep an eye out for ranged attackers

Has ranged attacks Dodgeable only when you are able to see them coming. Enemies with ranged attacks larger than your field of vision can easily hit you offscreen if you don't keep the fight close to them.

Keeping combat close to ranged enemies also makes them easier to deal with, as you'll naturally reduce them to area effects and spells intended for other enemies.

This is difficult to achieve with some boss fights like Emperor Puppet and Peony Demon. Here you want Know if there are blind spots in the arena Where you can fight summoned minions and not worry about giant death lasers.

Dash while catching a charged attack in a lunge

Heavy attacks do a lot of damage but can be difficult to position correctly on most characters. Dashing does not cancel your charged attack but instead It delays the end of your movementWait for them to advance instead of letting you dive into a group of enemies. This is one An important part of Red's toolkit In the early stages of the game.

This lets you use long-range attacks, or charged strikes, against enemies
Be amazed by the attack animation that will end when you are hit.

In some skins, this can lead to interesting results. A'kuan doesn't need extra range on its heavy attacks, but repositioning during its channel can adjust the direction it hits.

Use your money wisely

It's easy to make assumptions about the in-game economy and get blindsided by the cost of healing potions or spending more on upgrades than you might find in regular loot.

Learning how much different types of items are worth will help your run last longer, and teach you Value of benefits and upgrades that offer stackable discounts. expenses 200 silver on an elixir is usually not worth the expense Unless there is a synergy that grows from the money you spend or the food you eat.

This also applies to NPC events that will appear during runs.
Selling your hit points for items is usually a worthwhile trade
You can always heal before a boss fight.

Selling max HP is hard to justify, though
Can pay with the right construction
.

Always take the challenge room

Some roguelikes will train you to carefully weigh the merits of taking a more challenging route. In a game like Slay the Spire or Hades, taking a strong fighter means potentially being short on hit points when fighting an area boss, or getting wiped out by minibosses you're unprepared for.

There are stronger enemies than usual in the range of ink challenge rooms, however Rewards are double to triple that of a normal encounter room. There will still be special challenge rooms like defending NPCs If you fail them give you a partial reward, On par with a normal meeting room. It means there is Rarely a reason to avoid challenges Unless they pose a serious risk of killing you.

Find the gameplay that suits you

Like many games that feature both spellcasting and martial combat, the two offer varying levels of challenge depending on how you apply both disciplines. Most encounters can be defeated without getting hit if you stay at maximum rangeUse a ranged ink gem and let Momo block any melee attackers.

At the same time, some people will enjoy playing a pure melee game as a great challenge, even though it doesn't offer extra rewards. It extends to A costume system, which changes your attack style: