No Rest for the Wicked: 7 tips for getting started on this new game halfway between Diablo and Dark Souls

Destroy everything in your path

During the prologue of No Rest for the Wicked, you should learn everything you need to know to move well and handle your first few fights. From this obligatory moment when creating your first character, you will also be taught how to hit the crates, barrels and other containers that litter the path. As in many games of the genre, the importance of taking the time to smash everything in No Rest for the Wicked should not be underestimated.

Indeed, in the latest game from Moon Studios, you may need a lot of resources to improve your weapons or simply to heal yourself or throw objects at your opponents. In order to always have something to deal with in all situations, we advise you to always break as many containers around you as possible to recover what they are hiding.. So, you should easily have something to cook once you are in front of a brazier. Note that the durability of your weapons only deteriorates when you die, so don’t hesitate to use them even to break crates.

Take time to explore the world

If there is one element that is likely to make everyone agree on No Rest for the Wicked, it is the quality of its level design. Indeed, the areas you will cross are vast, and above all offer a large number of different paths. Even if every part of the game risks being well guarded, we still advise you to explore as much as possible. Indeed, the loot being random, you will have more chance of finding good items if you take the time to think outside the box.

Additionally, pay close attention to beams suspended in the air linking two buildings. In almost all cases, they are not just there for decoration and you can use them to reach an otherwise inaccessible location. No Rest for the Wicked offers a very vertical level design, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. Be careful, however, to walk slowly on these to avoid a fatal fall, fall damage is unforgiving.

Pay attention to the weight of the items you equip

As in many role-playing games, No Rest for the Wicked offers a maximum weight system that you will need to pay close attention to. There are several things that set it apart from other games, however. First of all, the weight of items is only taken into account when you equip them. In other words, you can keep around ten weapons in your inventory without them impacting your weight (be careful though: the inventory has a slot limit).

The weight of an object is marked on its sheet (1), the weight of your character at the bottom right (2)

The other distinction that Moon Studios’ game makes regarding its weight management is that the latter directly influences your ability to dodge blows. In most games, if you carry too many items, you simply won’t be able to move forward properly. In No Rest for the Wicked, your weight will be divided into three categories: Light, Medium and Heavy. If you have a lightweightyour dodges will be much faster and will take the form of a dash. THE average weight limits your dodges to one roulade a little slower and moves you a greater distance. Finally, if you choose to play with a heavy weightsyour dodges will be slow rolls which you will not be able to chain easily. Note that this disadvantage comes with a small bonus: Heavyweights benefit from a shoulder blow which allows them to stagger enemies.

Fight smart

We told you in the introduction, No Rest for the Wicked is inspired by other big names like Diablo and Dark Souls to make a very interesting mix. If the random side of the loot and the view from above will remind you of Blizzard’s Hack’n’Slash, However, don’t expect to be able to rush into all your fights. Indeed, it is the difficulty of the latter which recalls the games from From Software. If you’re not careful, even the most basic of enemies could easily take you out.

As such, we strongly advise you to approach your battles a little more intelligently. That means observe your opponents and understand their patterns to be able to dodge, parry and then counterattack. This goes for bosses of course, but also for any enemy you encounter on your path. If you take the time to analyze your opponents’ moves, you will end up knowing them like the back of your hand and everything should become much easier. Also, don’t forget that before you start a fight, you could gain a huge advantage by sneaking up behind an enemy’s back and delivering a surprise blow.

Don’t forget your rune strikes

If you play with our previous tip religiously in mind, you might get into the bad habit of only focusing on your simplest dodges and hits. Unfortunately, this would ignore all the salt of the fights of No Rest for the Wicked. First of all, each weapon offers a special move that is activated by holding the strike button for a few secondsand the latter could well make the difference if it is used well.

But better yet, all weapons are infused with at least one runic attack that consumes Concentration. The effect of the latter depends directly on the associated rune and can range from “classic” skills like a jump or a throw to real spells like fireballs or the application of a temporary elemental effect to your blows. Note that you can change the rune of your weapon by speaking to Eleanor in Sacrament, provided you recycle the runes of the weapons you do not want to keep. Finally, know that Focus regenerates mainly by hitting your opponentsyou will therefore need to vary your approaches to get the most out of it.

As in many action-RPG games, your defensive options come down to blocking, parrying or dodging in No Rest for the Wicked. THE blocking can be done using a shield and guarantees a lower loss of life points, but does not cancel the damage. It is therefore the simplest method to defend yourself, but also the least effective. If you really want to avoid damage, you will have to parry or dodge.

If you are playing with a light or medium weight, we strongly advise you to favor dodging as long as you don’t know your opponents’ timings like the back of your hand. Indeed, even if dodging consumes endurance, it also allows you to benefit from a short period of invincibility and above all to move quickly to take your opponent from behind. If you have a character who wears heavy equipment, on the other hand, we advise you to try to defend yourself by parrying enemy blows.

Heavy rolls are indeed too restrictive and should be reserved for your opponents’ most powerful blows. For the rest, a parry launched at the right time can allow you to follow up with a charged move, which should inflict very high damage. Of course, the timing of the parade is particularly tight, so it will take a little practice before you get there. But if you equip heavy armor, you shouldn’t lose too much life if you make a mistake.

Do not hesitate to retrace your steps

We said it a little earlier in this article, exploration is really one of the positive points of No Rest for the Wicked. If we advise you to discover as many paths as possible from your first arrival in an area, this should not prevent you from going back quite regularly. In fact, you will quickly notice that the fog of war on your map returns after a while. This simply means that defeated opponents have reappeared, as well as all chests and other resources collected along the way.

In No Rest for the Wicked, you will have to spend a lot of time farming resources to build better shops in town, to improve your weapons or to concoct dishes and potions to survive more easily. If you arrive at a point that’s a little too difficult for you, don’t hesitate to go back and re-explore an area you’ve already visited to kill other enemies and collect other resources. This way you should be able to level up and get back to where you were stuck with more dishes, which might just change the course of things.