Fatekeeper is an action-RPG developed by Paraglacial and published by THQ Nordic.
Providing plenty of nostalgic combat entertainment for fans of the old Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Xbox 360 era, Fatekeeper is a game with combat that's simultaneously complex and simple - but unmistakenly punishing.
There's a lot that doesn't get mentioned in the tutorial, and if you're struggling with combat encounters or just want to maximise your time slaying ghouls and goblins, this guide is here to help!
If you've just started and are interested in some beginner tips and tricks, click here!
Fans of Dark Messiah will be very familiar with this one. The best way to fight in Fatekeeper is to make the most of the destructible and interactable environment. The besy way to leverage said environment, is with the heel of your boot.
It send enemies absolutely flying. This is great for creating distance, of course, but even better when you send them flying to their doom.
Look for holes in the ground, spikes on the walls, or cliff edges. If it looks like somewhere you wouldn't want to be yourself, kick the bad guys into it!
A great way to position so that you can kick an enemy into a hazard is to stand next to the hazard and wait for the incoming attack. Dodge to the opposite side, and voila, the enemy is now in prime booting position.
Learn Your Environment
To expand on the above: Fatekeeper is absolutely littered with deadly surroundings that you'll want to pair enemies with. It's imperative that you can recognise the many hazards and booby traps to plan your strategy accordingly
Here's a breakdown of what to look out for:
Trap
Image
Spiked Walls
Holes/Ledges
Pressure Plates
Destructible Platforms
Oil
Keep an eye out for these - they often spell instant doom for enemies.
Perfect Dodge is a Thing
Dodging/dashing is a great way to not just mitigate damage, but avoid it entirely.
It's easy to spam the Dash button to scramble around in combat and keep yourself at arm's length, but this is an easy way to run out of Stamina and, more importantly, doesn't put you in a spot to follow up with your own attacks.
Instead, if you dodge at just the right moment, you'll slow time down and be able to use that window to strike back at the enemy.
Blocking is Bait
It might be tempting to stand still and continuously block - after all, it negates damage, requires one button press, and doesn't need any timing - but there are some significant draw backs.
The primary drawback is stamina cost. Blocking an attack drains a whole heap of your stamina bar and is unsustainable, especially when fighting multiple enemies.
Secondly, you can't deal with ranged attackers by blocking. This isn't star wars, you don't have a lightsaber, and you aren't fighting stomtroopers (though the enemies in Fatekeeper are about as talented). Ranged attacks still hurt a ton, and you don't want to tank them.
All this to say that staying mobile and dodging is the superior defensive strategy. Practicing this playstyle may take a bit of time to get used to but is well worth it in the long run!
Best Skill Points
The Skil Tree in Fatekeeper is vast and can seem overwhelming.
To break it down simply: the right section is weapon damage, the bottom alchemy, the left stamina, and the top health.
Which of these should you take? There's certainly room for personal preference when it comes to building your character and combat experience, but the optimal points are in stamina and health.
The short reason why these are the best is because of how pivotal environmental interaction is for combat. Stamina lets you dodge, sprint, and kick more often. Health gives you a safety blanket so you don't die immediately.
Weapon damage is less helpful when your foot is the most powerful weapon there is.
Telekinesis is Broken
We've mentioned how your cleats are OP in this game. Telekinesis is your shoe in reverse!
It doesn't displace enemies as effectively as kicking, but considering it's a ranged ability, it certainly gets the job done.
There are few ways to use Telekinesis to your advantage:
Dragging enemies into hazards. Stand on the other side of a trap such as a pit or behind a spiked wall, and then yank an enemy towards you.
Comboing with an attack. Pull the target towards you, and while they are flying/staggered, swing at them with a heavy attack. Due to them being stunned they are vulnerable to anything and everything in that window, so it's a perfect change to combo the enemy down.
And arguably the most important way Telekinesis helps in combat...
Easily Handle Archers
Ranged attackers are incredibly frustrating to deal with - they hurt a lot, it's hard to dodge the arrows, and they're positioned far away.
Telekinesis changes all this. Just target the archer, pull them off their platform, and then easily dispatch of them with melee attacks. Often times these enemies are perched on a cliff edge, so Telekinesis drags them to their doom!
How to Heal in Combat
If you're fighting in combat, you will inevitably need to heal at some point. The tutorial doesn't help you figure this out, but it's quite simple!
The plants and mushrooms scattered about the maps can be eaten for stat bonuses and resource regeneration. Open your inventory and inspect your consumables to see what does what.
In combat though, chewing through mushrooms is a slow way to gain back health - you may not find yourself with all the time to do that. What you can do instead is take these ingredients to an Alchemy station to brew potions that combine the effects of three raw ingredients into one. This speeds up how quickly you can get back your health, mana, etc in a fight.
Get Runnin'
Positioning is key in Fatekeeper. Whether you're setting up your next kick victim (kicktim?), trying to avoid being cornered, or just buying time to heal, you're likely never wanting to stay in one place at any giving time.
Instead of treating combat like a gauntlet where you tackle each enemy as they come, run around the combat area and look for isolated enemies or spots where you can spring an ambush using the various booby traps.
By staying mobile you'll keep yourself safe and be able to spot out key areas to take down enemies. This is especially helpful if you find yourself fighting multiple enemies and need to create some distance.
Charge the Heavy Attack
Melee combat can feel a little clunky and weapon swings are not exactly fast. Often you'll find that enemies are able to swing their weapon at you faster than you can do the same.
This means that going into a swinging battle with an opponent is rarely a good idea, and at best is a guaranteed way to burn through your healing items.
By charging a heavy attack and backpedaling while the opponent swings, you can avoid the opponent's hit and then be prime to strike back. Because you're already charging the swing, you eliminate the first part of the attack animation therefore guaranteeing a free window to hit back. Not just hit, but clobber, as the heavy attack does a whole heap more damage than a standard swing.
