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No Rest for the Wickedis the latest Soulslike Action RPG from Moon Studios, a developer you may be familiar with if you’ve played the stunning Platforming Metroidvanias part of the Ori series. While this is quite a departure from their previous works, you can expect the same gorgeous visuals and engaging gameplay they’re known for and then some.
The game starts with you assuming control of a Cerum, making you the last hope for humanity to purge the Pestilence, having you take down monstrous foes, populating a settlement, and much more. If you’re a fan of Soulslikes, you should feel right at home with this entry to the genre, even if some aspects are at odds with one another.
No Rest for the Wicked is currently in Early Access, so everything is still subject to change and can be completely different when it fully releases in the future!
Exploration Is Crucial
As expected from most Soulslikes,exploration is a key aspectof No Rest for the Wicked, offering manyvaluable items and gear for your Cerum to stumble uponif you simply explore each area thoroughly.
Check out every nook and crannyin each region tofind everything from Coins to equipment to ingredients for recipesand much more. Furthermore,Gathering Toolswill help you get the most out of exploration. The table below will highlight the Gathering Tools available in No Rest for the Wicked and their uses!
Fishing Rod
Catches fish.
Fish can be used to create many different Meals via Recipes.
Pickaxe
Digs roots and treasures up.
Can be used to uncover Roots and Treasures that range from Coins to Weapons to Ingredients and much more!
Dug-up roots can also be used to create Potions, Oils, and Elixirs!
Shovel
Harvests ore.
Ore can be used to Repair, Infuse, and Enhance Weapons and Armor.
Woodcutter’s Axe
Cuts trees down.
Used to obtain Wood, which can be used to create Planks and other Materials useful for crafting.
Choose Your Playstyle Wisely
Another expected element of a Soulslike is thevarious playstylesthey naturally offer, enabling you to usefast-paced dual-blades and one-handed swordsto land several strikes on your opponent in quick succession to lugging around amassive two-handed weaponthat deals tremendous amounts of damage at the cost of agility.
And that’s not even covering yourranged or magic options,which are very much a thing in No Rest for the Wicked as well. However, before diving into the play style of your choice, youshould be wary of several aspects of the game that directly impact your combat and general gameplay.
Combat Stats Overview
There areseveral Statsin No Rest for the Wicked that willdictate which weapons you can and cannot use,making it crucial for you tolevel the Stats you need for your playstyleover the ones you will essentially never use.
If you are afan of the large and encumbering greatswords,thenStrengthwill be your go-to Stat. If the moreagile and fast-paced bladesare more your speed, thenDexterityshould be your main focus. However, if you want to useMagic and Spells, Intelligence and Faithwill likely be your focus.
Furthermore,some weapons require you to level up two different Statsto utilize them, especially if they are rare.Always be mindful of which Stats you need leveled upfor the weapons in your Inventory and which ones benefit your playstyle the most. If you’re holding onto stuff you will never use, you should sell it!
Hovering over a weapon in your Inventory will show you the Stat Requirements in its information box. Use this information to determine if you meet these requirements and what you need to focus on if you don’t!
Be Mindful Of Your Equip Load
Speaking ofStatsand being mindful of your Inventory, it’s time to move onto the following topic: YourEquip Load.While dealing with Equip Load may not be anything new if you’re familiar with the genre, it is handled a bit differently than you may expect in No Rest for the Wicked, so let’s go over the basics.
There arethree levels of Equip Loadyou must be mindful of if you want to get the most out of combat and mobility in the game, as there arecertain drawbacks and perksthat come with some of them. Thetable below will cover all levels of Equip Loadin greater detail!
Increasing your Equip Load Stat will enable you to equip heavier equipment without the downsides of the Heavy Equip Load status. However, if you don’t mind the drawbacks, you can never touch this Stat and gain access to the unique Shoulder Check ability when wearing heavy armor or wielding large weapons.
Utilize Every Attack Option
As you may tell, there are quitea lot of systems and mechanicspresent in No Rest for the Wicked, and that evenextends into its combat.When in the heat of battle, it can be hard to utilize everything you have access to effectively, but there are some actions you should consistently implement during combat.
First,holding the attack button down will have you perform a charged attack,serving as the game’sHeavy Attack,making it the best way to dish out damage. The next action we want to highlight is therunning attack combo.
Toperform this attack combo,you mustsprint toward your target and then spam the attack button.This will have your Cerum perform aunique combo that deals a great deal of damage.However,be mindful of your Staminahere, as it can quickly become depleted if you become too wreckless!
Don’t Sleep On Your Defensive Options
Keeping on the topic of combat and its many systems, yourdefensive options are equally as crucial to get down in this game as the offensive options.While dodging, blocking, and parrying incoming attacks is a staple of Soulslike games, it seems a bit more prominent here.
In most Soulslike titles, you can rely on dodge-rolling through every encounter,only sparingly utilizing guarding or parrying unless your specific build or playstyle calls for it. However,in No Rest for the Wicked, you must implement all these tools to survive more frequentlydue to how aggressive most of the enemies are.
If you find yourself struggling early on,try guarding and parrying incoming attacks more,especially on the foes that are blazingly fast or have a devastating leaping action.Simply guarding their attacks can open them upin ways that give you a clear advantage!
Stock Up On Recipes, You’ll Need Them
While youcan heal via Potions and Elixirs,youronly healing option early on will come from consuming Mealsyou can prepare viaRecipes.And, at the start of your journey, we strongly recommend preparing lots of Meals, as you will need them.
Before you tackle the game’s first boss, we cannot stress howcrucial exploring the region, gathering ingredients, and preparing Mealsis in the long run.Some merchants will sell you recipes and ingredients,and you can evenfind Recipes in cheststhroughout the world.
We urge you toget your hands on as many Recipes as you may and create as many Meals as possibleat campfires. These will not onlyreplenish your health by a substantial amount,butsome Meals will even offer you bonus effectsthat can go a long way!
It’s also important to note that you should avoid consuming raw ingredients as much as possible, as they don’t really offer much healing properties on their own and can better be served by being incorporated in a Meal that will give you much greater restorative properties!
Durability Exists And Must Be Monitored Closely
Whether you love it or hate it,Equipment Durability is a thing in No Rest for the Wickedand must be taken seriously if you want to be at the top of your game. If youlet your Durability go uncheckedfor an extended period, yourgear will permanently break, making it unequippablefor the remainder of the game.
Dying, attacking enemies, breaking thingsin the environment,and evenfalling off high thingswillimpact your Equipment’s Durability.To prevent your equipment from breaking, youmust Repairit via theBlacksmith in Sacramentor withRepair Powder.Sacrament is the game’s hub area, which becomes available upon defeating Warrick the Torn, and Repair Powder is sold by many different merchants.
you’re able to monitor your Equipment’s Durability byopening the menu and hovering over it.Once here, you will see anicon resembling a Forging Hammer.Next to this icon will be itsDurability State,which isout of 100.So, it is inperfect conditionif it reads100/100.However, thelower the first number is, the worse its condition is.
The lower your Equipment’s Durability is, the more costly it will be to Repair it, so we strongly suggest staying on top of it and Repairing your gear once it dips below 70, as it begins getting a bit costly from that point onward!
Cerim Whispers Don’t Do What You Expect
Our last topic for this guide focuses onCerim Whispers,which serve as No Rest for the Wicked’sbonfires and checkpoints.However, as of now, they are handled very differently than you may suggest if you’re a fan of Soulslikes.
Resting at a Cerim Whisper won’t reset the enemies in the region, nor will it replenish your health.For now, theyonly serve as Restore Pointsfor when you dieand fast-travel pointsafter gaining access to Sacrament.
So,if you’re worried about enemies coming back if you rest at one, that’s not the casehere. You alsocannot rely on them to replenish your healthbefore a boss encounter, as that is also not an option.Activating and resting at one only marks it as your current checkpoint,making you respawn at it if you die in combat. So, as covered earlier, you must stock up on Meals, Potions, and Elixirs if you want to replenish your HP!
Enemies do respawn in areas, but only if you move far away from the area for an extended period. If you stay in the same location, the enemies you kill will remain dead until you travel to a new region and remain there for a prolonged period!
