No Rest for the Wicked, Moon Studio’s new action RPG, is a little less Diablo than many players (myself included) were expecting. This dissonance between expectation and reality, no matter the quality of the game, is a surefire recipe for friction.
A glance at the user reviews, currently sitting at a 65% “Mixed” rating on Steam, tells a story of… well, mostly performance issues. But if you look a little closer, complaints of a low stamina economy, plodding enemy encounters, and a high early-game difficulty start to peek through the usual Early Access culprits.
No Rest for the Wicked Combat Tips
Having completed the campaign portion of the Early Access content currently on offer (“Act 1” of what will be the full game), I feel well-versed in its weird blend of Dark Souls meets Diablo. And by “blend,” I basically mean 100% of the combat stylings of Dark Souls, and 100% of the camera angle from Diablo.
If you, like me, expected to be able to eventually delete even a handful of enemies at once after finding some gear, you’re sorely mistaken. Here are some quick tips sure to dispel the illusion that this is a “typical” dungeon-crawling action RPG.
Slow it down
If you find yourself relatively exhausted after each enemy encounter, this is by design. Every fight is a bit of an ordeal, since you’re only going to be fighting upwards of five or six enemies total between rest points. Taking on more than one foe at once is a recipe for disaster, but if you do find yourself outnumbered, try to separate enemies by rushing down ranged units. More crucially: take your time. Trying to rush through fights is a guaranteed way to walk away poorer in resources than you ought to.
Spend your Focus, use your Runes
Your focus meter, indicated by the yellow-orange meter by your health and stamina gauge, is spent using Runes. Runes are essentially spells that attach to your weapons, and every weapon comes equipped with at least one. These are very powerful abilities, and can quickly turn the tide of a fight. There are even some Runes, available for purchase a little later on from Eleanor in Sacrament, that heal you on use. If you also have an aversion to resource-farming, these are a lifesaver when you run low on food.
Level Stamina (at least a little)
Stamina got a little bit of a buff in a recent hotfix, but it can still feel scarce in the early game. Since rolling is your most valuable tool for avoiding damage, be sure to put at least 2 or 3 extra points in Stamina so you can keep up with the relentless attacks of speedier foes. Remember: rolling or dodging grants invincibility frames, which means you’ll be invulnerable for the duration.
If all else fails, make some room
Distance between yourself and the enemy has perhaps the highest impact on the flow of a battle. Some enemies have massive, far-reaching weapons with high recovery times. Some unleash flurries of short-ranged attacks in the blink of an eye. In both these scenarios, simply backing out of reach can create the perfect opportunity for a counter-attack. Because you can sprint at any time, in any direction, running literal circles around foes is a more than viable option in the heat of battle. Remember: sprinting into an attack is faster than swinging from a standstill. Use this to punish!
If nothing else, just don’t try to play No Rest for the Wicked like Diablo. Of course, I can’t stop you, but you don’t want to end up like those poor souls in the Steam reviews, do you?
