Back when I released episode 2, I only had one German playtester. Nowadays I see some people struggle to complete my quest lines, especially with the English version. So here are some hints to play my expansion.
This page contains spoilers so read with caution.
Also note that the game and also the expansion are based on the predecessor Amberstar. Many additions reference story elements from there. The paladin guild and wine cellar of crystal or the inner of the vortex were all present in Amberstar. If you don't know it, it might be hard to understand the relations.
This is still WIP and will be extended.
- Animal party member
- Extended start town
- Sea creatures quest line
- Mystical creatures quest line
In Spannenberg you can find a new party member which is an animal.
You need to learn the animal language beforehand. Talk to Sandra the healer. And if you don't know Amberstar or forgot the name of her tomcat, there is someone new in town who might know it.
The animal is pretty weak, can't carry items (except for those who can be used or equipped by it) and won't level up at all. But it also is not "stealing" exp so the other party members will get the full exp.
The animal can still be valuable in the very early game, especially with some item from the gardener's shop. And it has 6 free self-revives and a cheap healing potion.
In the mid to late game you will be able to empower the animal a lot. Pay attention to what Sandra says when you return her amulet.
Spannenberg was extended a lot. There are those new things:
- Carpenter
- Gardener
- Animal party member
The carpenter can renovate your grandpa's house and it will become your house with a new look.
He can also add a wind gate and a storage cave. The cave holds a new small dungeon with a nice little side quest. To unlock all this you have to visit Snakesign later on to unlock it. There might be naming confusions. At some point the carpenter was named Karl but later was renamed to Theodorus (a reference to the Amberstar wind gate builder family).
The gardener likes animals and can unlock pets for you. Unfortunately this quest might be broken in episode 2 and will be working again in the next episode. He can still help you with other things. For example to hint you in the right direction to learn the animal language at Sandra if you don't know Amberstar. You need the animal language to get the new party member.
After you rescued the townsfolk of Burnville you can start this quest line already. Talk to someone who knows about maps.
The vortex is mainly inspired by Amberstar. There you could enter the vortex and visit the ship graveyard named Ship's End. There was a castle as well with a cruel monster called Manyeyes and it lived up to its name. It consisted of many eyes like the one boss in Zelda. This was long ago so when you visit it now in the expansion, things might have changed.
You will gather 6 essences of those powerful creatures. Your starting point is a new book in the Newlake library.
In the Crystal remains (Crytal was a big town in Amberstar) you will find some more information and the first essences already. In the wine cellar you can find an amulet with a name on it. Maybe you can return it to its owner?
The essences can be used to empower the animal party member. But you also get a reward if you just return them to the person who could do the empowering. She is located in Spannenberg but you have to give her the amulet first. Note that you also get the reward if you empower the animal!
Tips:
- In the spinner room you have to start east of the pillar (on the tile right of it). The parchment text is a bit unspecific here and will be improved in the next episode.
- When you walk through the spinners always make sure you stand on the correct tile. After a spin you can adjust yourself to the center of the tile.
- It can be beneficial to open the map. With a compass active, you can see an arrow above the player which indicates your current view direction.
- Imlortant to solve the puzzle is that you don't enter any tile which is not part of the right way. You will fail at the end if you do. An exception is the topmost tile row.
- So with the right starting position and when moving with caution, you should be able to proceed. It is not a problem to spin multiple times as long as you stay on the right tiles. So always adjust yourself before approaching the next tile.
Things not to miss:
- Well which grants EXP by throwing in wishing coins
- Altar to empower fire spell damage
- Fire staff
- Flamberge
- Pyrdacor's essence
The english text mention a mystical creature named Isdir. Unfortunately in the english version there is a typo which says IDIR. The correct name is ISDIR. This will be fixed in the next episode.
Tips:
- He is related to water, so you should look for him in the vortex. If you don't entered the vortex yet, please look for the tips about the sea creatures.
- If you can't find him directly, you should ask someone about him. Maybe someone has seen him.
- His quests are mainly focused on finding things on Lyramion. Some require that the current daytime is night. But you can still search at day to see more. Then when you found it, wait until night (usually 0:00 to 4:00) and move or interact to trigger the event.
- The upside down tree is just a chopped down tree and it is very close to the five trees. You don't have to go far. You can search at day with the eagle and when you found it hop off the eagle and approach it at night.
Things not to miss:
- Isdir's essence
- Ice staff
- Stone of knowledge
to be continued ...