May 2022 Game of the Month: Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

Whenever a video game attains critical success, generally fans will desire more of it, such as additional content or even a new video game. This also applies to upcoming titles of great anticipation. For example, during the months prior to Elden Ring’s launch, Dark Souls saw an increased amount of daily players up until Elden Ring’s launch. With regards to upcoming highly-anticipated titles, Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes has received massive support on Kickstarter for a Japanese-style RPG not scheduled to launch until 2023. The developers have released some screenshots of the game, and they look great so far. Despite having their hands full working on the aforementioned title, the Eiyuden Chronicles team have managed to recently launch a companion title in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising.

Launching on all current platforms, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising serves as a prologue to Hundred Heroes, as many of the characters in Rising will return in Hundred Heroes. As a companion title, it does not have the length that Hundred Heroes plans to have, but its price reflects that. Unlike Hundred Heroes that plays as a turn-based RPG, Rising plays more like a roguelike mixed with action-platforming. While officially described as an action-platformer similar to Castlevania, Rising contains numerous mechanics similar to roguelike games. For example, players may only obtain as much loot as their bag can hold, and deposit loot into their storage upon leaving a dungeon; however, doing so causes all enemies to respawn. Players may only progress through dungeons up to a certain point, and then they must go through story quests to advance, meaning players cannot go out-of-sequence. Combat remains fairly straightforward, but allows you to swap between characters during a battle. Swapping characters with the correct timing produces a “Link Attack” that deals significant damage, which players will want to utilize to defeat stronger foes. Most players will want to mainly control the main character, who functions as a light and agile fighter, only swapping to the other two characters when the need arises: a strong yet slow bruiser, and a ranged magician who has to recharge every few attacks.

As a companion title, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising does not take long to complete the main story. This game serves to tell the origin story for Hundred Heroes launching in 2023, explaining the lore of the game and introducing some of the characters. Rising also serves as something to play for Eiyuden Chronicle fans while waiting for Hundred Heroes to release. Luckily, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising has launched on all current platforms, proving multiple methods to enjoy this game.

Honorable mentions:

• Soundfall – Take Crypt of the Necrodancer and apply roguelike mechanics with 4-player co-op, and you get Soundfall.
• Salt and Sacrifice – This sequel to Salt and Sanctuary combines Soulslike elements with the gameplay of Castlevania-style games.
• We Were Here Forever – This latest entry in the We Were Here series delivers a new environment to overcome. Like previous games of the series, this game requires two players to play cooperatively to solve puzzles and escape from the dungeon.

April 2022 Game of the Month: Mystia’s Izakaya

An old joke pokes fun at people getting off work, only to play a video game that involves working. Simulation remain a popular genre of video games. Whether the game literally contains the word “Simulator” in the title or attempts to mimic real-life occupations, these games provide great replayability because the game never truly ends. Once a player completes the main story, the game continues to operate, allowing the player to continue to play and simply focus on the business. Every game boasts varying levels of depth and customization, but for those who seek depth in a simulation game, look no further than Mystia’s Izakaya.

For such a low-price game, Mystia’s Izakaya has so much going on in it. Despite taking place in the Touhou universe, one does not need to have played any other game in the series – this game explains all you need to know, although understanding a character’s gimmicks and characteristics may provide an advantage. Mystia’s Izakaya takes the classic restaurant simulator game and adds multiple other features, such as story progression, gathering outside business hours, building customer relationships, and even a rhythm game during operating hours. Mystia’s Izakaya primarily operates in two phases: gathering hours, and business hours. During gathering hours, you can look for ingredients, or interact with NPCs to progress quests or establish customer relationships. As for business hours, players must first pick a location to open at, the recipes to serve, and what tools/equipment to bring. You can assign assistants to specific tasks, but because customers may order something custom, most players leave assistants to serving duties.

Ignoring the story and lore, Mystia’s Izakaya provides dozens of hours of content in a restaurant simulation game. This game may not dethrone a leader of simulation games such as Stardew Valley, but Mystia’s Izakaya scratches that itch for those looking for a comfy game featuring cooking, gathering, and building relationships.

Honorable mentions:

• Cat Cafe Manager – Another restaurant simulation game, this game has a simple gameplay loop of making profit, and using that profit to upgrade your restaurant to increase your daily profit. However, the game lacks the depth of Mystia’s Izakaya.
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – Ignoring the two major franchises this game portrays, this game provides an excellent single-player experience for those who like action-adventure games.
• HunterX – This indie Metroidvania game contains some Souls-like elements. While one can complete the game in a few hours, the low price tag matches the game’s length.

March 2022 Game of the Month: Kirby and the Forgotten Land

February 2022 saw some of the biggest releases in recent video game history. However, most of those February releases took place on either PC, Playstation, or both. In March 2022, Nintendo decided to have a field month and release several exclusive hits, not to leave Switch owners out of the big releases of February. Despite all of the big titles that launched in March, Game of the Month has to go to Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Think about it: does any bad mainline Kirby game exist? The latest entry continues the trend of great Kirby games, and appeals to gamers of all ages.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land follows largely the same format as all mainline games. You make your way from the start of a level to the end, overcoming any obstacle or enemy in your way. Like with recent titles, levels contain objectives for the player to seek out to obtain a 100% rating. While games from either the Game Boy or Super Nintendo era only contained one extra objective per level, all levels in Kirby and the Forgotten Land contain four objectives in addition to clearing the level. Gamers not intending to complete the game at 100% can play this game at a leisurely pace, and may find solace in the calm and comfy mood presented by this game. For those seeking a 100% clear, some of the objectives may present a challenge, either searching for them or simply completing them.

Have you ever seen a bad mainline Kirby game? By mainline, this does not include spinoffs. If anything, players who do not speedrun may not find replayability in this game. Regardless, Nintendo may have a Game of the Year contender with Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Honorable mentions:

• Rune Factory 5 – Another Switch exclusive, Rune Factory fans had waited ten years for a new Rune Factory game, and it finally arrived a few days prior to the release of Kirby.
• Chocobo GP – Final Fantasy meets Mario Kart in this cute kart-racing game starring various Final Fantasy characters.
• Tunic – Think Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, but more open-world and less direction. Although Tunic strongly resembles Death’s Door, neither game has anything to do with each other.

February 2022 Game of the Month: Lost Ark

The video game industry must have collectively decided to release all of their greatest hits in February 2022. With just the February releases, we already have all the nominees for Game of the Year. Deciding a game of the month posed quite a challenge to overcome, but as a long-time MMORPG player, I had to stick to my guns and go with Lost Ark. One of the most anticipated games to receive a western release, gamers had waited years for a new MMORPG to sink time into, other than existing titles such as Final Fantasy XIV.

For as many things that make Lost Ark an amazing game, Lost Ark also has its downsides. For most of the game, Lost Ark knows how to trigger that rush of dopamine in players. From ranking up to succeeding an upgrade to staggering a boss, Lost Ark knows how to make players feel good for accomplishing something. While its top-down view does not bring anything new to the genre (see: MU Legend), Lost Ark scratches that nostalgia of playing similar-looking games such as Diablo or Path Of Exile. Unlike another MMORPG that launched last year (New Genesis), Lost Ark arrived in the west as a more complete game. At launch, Lost Ark had enough content to take weeks if not months to complete. This stands to reason, as Lost Ark overall represents a long-term game. The endgame grind takes many days to get through, and the game turns into a daily chore at that point. Alternatively, players can simply whip out the credit card to overcome the gear grind, making Lost Ark a pay-to-win title.

For any MMORPG fan looking for something different, I recommend checking Lost Ark out for at least a month. One month should give players plenty of time to get to level 50 to start the endgame grind, which will allow players to feel out if they want to keep playing or not go through with daily tasks that start to feel like chores. For now, players can only launch the game via Steam.

Honorable mentions:

• Elden Ring – The biggest February release most likely to win Game of the Year, think of this game as a combination of Dark Souls and Skyrim.
• OlliOlli World – A throwback-style 2D skateboarding game, this game resembles the NES Cult Classic Thrilla’s Surfari, but with a greater emphasis on tricks instead of avoiding obstacles.
• Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons – Gamers looking an MMORPG not top-down like Lost Ark will want to check out the latest expansion for Guild Wars 2. Players can play the base game for free, so anyone can raise up a character to max level and gear up before buying an expansion to explore additional content.

January 2022 Game of the Month: Needy Streamer Overload

January 2022 saw quite a variety of video game releases, but while almost all of the month’s releases play as you would expect of the game’s respective genre, no other game stands out from the pack as much as Needy Streamer Overload. On the cover, this game looks like a visual novel. Once you start playing it, it feels like a simulation and management game. However, this game goes much deeper, and those familiar with Doki Doki Literature Club will feel a sense of déjà vu.

BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD!

The core of the game revolves around you assuming the role of a manager, making decisions for a girl who wants to gain success from livestreaming. Although you may conduct normal decisions to help boost her fame and success, this game shatters expectations by additionally allowing you to dabble in less than savory actions and decisions, most of which involve sex and/or drugs. This allows the player to obtain one of multiple endings, all of which depend on decisions the player made during the game.

So what makes this game stand out so much? This game has a “true ending” that ties everything together. Players cannot obtain the true ending until completing all endings available in the game. This means the player must view every action and decision possible, including some horrible and inhumane decisions, to obtain the true ending. Throughout the game, players will occasionally receive an in-game pop-up notification reminding them “Good thing this is only a game, right?” as if to make the player feel less guilty for making some bad decisions. However, the true ending brings everything around only to slam it back in the face of the player. Without spoiling the true ending too much, imagine the existential dread caused by revealing the true plots of the NieR series (both Replicant and Automata). The true ending hits the player’s emotions so hard that some YouTube and Twitch streamers had to take at least a day off to process what had happened upon viewing the true ending.

If you want an emotional roller coaster, look no further than Needy Streamer Overload, only available on PC via Steam. In addition to the story, the game features a banging opening theme:

Honorable mentions:

• Pokémon Legends: Arceus – Perhaps the biggest launch of the month, this entry into the Pokémon franchise introduces an open-world system, something that fans have long requested in a game.
• God of War – One of the greatest PS4 games of all time got ported to PC, receiving a number of visual and performance enhancements.
• Monster Hunter Rise – Another PC port from the Switch, this game also received a number of visual and performance enhancements.

Animanga 2021 – More Than a Fall From Grace, a Descent Into Purgatory

Thanks to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic that forced many countries to implement public restrictions starting in early 2020, recurring live events could not take place. From concerts to conventions, large event organizers had to cancel or indefinitely postpone their original plans starting around March 2020. Some organizers could adapt and hold their events with adjustments, such as reducing capacity, spacing out seating, or making the event fully virtual (watching via livestream). One year later, events slowly started to occur again, creating some new challenges. Organizers needed to limit capacity to operate with a pandemic that never ended. However, after a year on hold, demand for live events (that used to occur more frequently) soared. This tasks organizers with a decision: responsibility or greed? One recent event opted for the latter: Animanga 2021.

@plushpenguin: “I’m looking at the line for animanga.. Uh… They really didn’t think things through. They didn’t cap attendees and I think someone collapsed from heat stroke in the line..”

 

Animanga 2021 took place this past weekend at its new location of the Ontario Convention Center. Now in its third year (skipping 2020, they started in 2018), Animanga hoped to bring the convention experience back for fans who had to go over a year without any similar events. Since I had attended their first two years, I expected the Animanga organizers to hold another fun event. As much as I would like to talk about the fun I had at their first two events, unfortunately anything positive I could say about Animanga ends there.

@bampikku: “Huge fire hazards for the artist booths who were crammed together and apparently 8 people fainted from heat exhaustion and a few were carried away by ambulance.”

 

Animanga 2021 did pretty much everything that an event organizer should NOT do in a post-pandemic world. Organizers originally claimed that they would limit ticket sales to comply with pandemic restrictions. Not only did they not limit ticket sales, but organizers did not hire enough personnel to handle the excessive number of attendees. A combination of no sales limit and minimal personnel paved the way for the line to enter the convention to take over three hours out in the hot sun to enter. Organizers took no measures to alleviate the agony of standing outdoors in line, where lack of shade and over 90°F weather created harsh conditions, especially for the hundreds of attendees in cosplay not suited for hot weather (such as myself, who wore a jacket as part of a costume). At one point, I witnessed some people handing out free bottled waters – bless those kind souls. This did not prevent some people from suffering heat-related problems. Throughout my wait in the line, I witnessed not only a female attendee collapse in line, but multiple EMTs arriving on scene, indicating that more people would suffer (or already suffered) from the heat. When I first arrived at the convention center, it took me 10 minutes to locate the end of the line, and then three hours and 10 minutes in line to finally enter the building. Once inside the building, the convention center only contained four security checkpoints with metal detectors. If the organizers knew how many tickets they sold, why did they only pay for four metal detectors? This entire paragraph only talks about the horrendous entry process; however, the problems did not end there.

@DJ_Arson: “#ANIMANGA is such a shit show how the fuck are you selling tickets at the door on the same line as those who need to pick up passes and also only have one metal detector. Legit have been online since 11:30 and still no where near being inside”

 

Entry problems aside, Animanga 2021 possessed more issues inside. Upon entry, I noticed an “EMT Waiting Area” close to the entrance, with dozens of attendees seated there. I had never seen such a thing at any live event in the past decade that I have attended events. Animanga 2021 only utilized two expo halls for their events, and they clearly did not space the vendors & booths out enough, evident by the cramped space and shoulder-to-shoulder attendees. Even without a pandemic, vendors deserved more space than they had. I question the convention center’s ventilation too – I expected AC inside each hall, but each hall felt almost as hot as outside did. On a strange note, at one point, the lights shut off in the artist hall for quite a duration.

@richterrikta: “@AnimangaUSA genuinely the shittiest convention I have ever attended. Please watch this shitshow. I almost fainted in line. #Animanga2021”

(video in the above link)

I really wanted to enjoy Animanga, as I fondly recall having fun at their first two events. With this catastrophic post-pandemic convention, Animanga reminds us all to stay wary of post-pandemic events who may not necessarily follow restrictions to keep their attendees safe. Between heat-related problems and potentially hundreds of new COVID-19 infections, Animanga has blood on their hands, with the possibility of fines and lawsuits in the near future.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis – Gunner Quick-Start Guide

The contents of this guide pertain to Phantasy Star Online 2 (PSO2): New Genesis (NGS) from its launch up until the first major content update for Kvaris. If you read this guide in the future, information in this article may not appear currently relevant.

Information in this guide derives from personal experience and asking questions of the community in-game, on the official forums, on Reddit, and on Discord. Major credit goes to Froogal#5631, Mirryn#1703, and Gigafreak#4754 from Discord for their significant contributions to the Gunner community.

This guide will not cover common gameplay elements, or anything that pertains to all classes. This guide will not try to mention anything that any in-game text covers. This guide aims to briefly provide tips for anyone getting into the Gunner class, especially if the game does not specifically explain a topic.

Photon Arts (PA)

• Bullet Rave: Long-range single-target attack, meant to focus on one part, especially when locked on. Unleashes three quick bullet salvos, followed by a larger salvo. You can slightly reposition yourself before the first salvo, after the second salvo, and after the third salvo. Using a Weapon Action (WA) or step dodge after any salvo will cancel the PA. Using any other attack after the third salvo will cancel the final hit. Due to its long range, players may often not receive the close-range damage bonus – more on that below. Great for building hits for the chain counter when used uncharged on a boss and canceling the final hit. Loosely resembles Infinite Storm or True Equilibrium from PSO2 Classic.
• Aimless Rain: Short-range AoE attack. You can slightly reposition yourself during the first half of this attack. After you land from the hop, you can WA out to cancel the rest of the PA; however, you cannot cancel the second half, leaving you vulnerable until the PA completes. Great for racking up the chain counter when used uncharged in a mob. Resembles Desperado Dance from PSO2 Classic.
• Point Blank: Melee-range attack, and very high DPS in general. Using this PA will slightly move you towards the target in case it moved away, but will not chase a faster target. You can cancel after the first hit. Works like Satellite Aim from PSO2 Classic, but now has the same speed on the ground as in the air.
• Infinite Ricochet: Mid-range AoE attack with roughly the same hitbox as Photon Blast. Against a downed or immobile target, this generates hits slightly faster than Bullet Rave; otherwise, use Bullet Rave to build hits on a moving target. In a tight mob, its damage does not compare to Aimless Rain, but it can produce hits more quickly; regardless, you will still want to use Aimless Rain as a Chain finisher. This attack ignores line-of-sight similar to Point Blank, allowing you to strike a weakspot that would otherwise obstruct Bullet Rave. Depending on the boss, you may need to practice positioning, as this attack may decide to hit a different body part, despite targeting the weakspot.

Other Actions

• Stylish Onslaught: Requires a skill point to unlock, and worth mentioning because it boasts safe DPS when spammed. Onslaught loses DPS compared to Point Blank, but has defensive utility. Works exactly like Assault Advance from PSO2 Classic, including the guard frame. You have super armor during the entire duration of this action. See the next section for information on how to obtain & use this.
• Homing Darts (Rifle): Keep in mind that Gunners can also use Rifles as a main weapon. While a Rifle’s single-target damage cannot match that of Twin Machine Guns (TMG), Homing Darts’ AoE potential can outperform Aimless Rain. Homing Darts has comparable damage, but significantly more range at the cost of a 10-target limit. Hold the PA button to start locking on to targets, do a quick 360 spin to lock on to as many targets as you can, then release to fire homing beams at the targets.
• Rising Drive: Take some time to practice the timing of this skill, as you will need to press the skill at almost the perfect frame to gain height. At first, you may notice yourself losing height trying to activate Rising Drive. Once you get the timing correct, you can infinitely gain height.
• Step Counter: Get used to also using your standard step dodge in addition to your WA to dodge attacks. Although the step dodge has a shorter i-frame window than your Stylish Roll (S-Roll), every class now has Hero Step Counter from PSO2 Classic. Step Counters hit very hard in NGS, so take advantage of this when you know an enemy will attack you. Note that using this action will ground you, and in some cases would put you outside of critical distance, so stay aware of your position when anticipating an incoming attack.
• Diving Attack: Your Dive outputs high DPS on a grounded target. It also does not cost any PP, unlike Onslaught. However, Dive does not provide any defensive utility, leaving you vulnerable to enemy attacks.
• Photon Blast: I only recommend using this on a downed target (especially a Break) and for building the chain counter. This locks your position for more than four seconds, so on a non-downed target, it may move out of the way before the Photon Blast completes. This Photon Blast has back-loaded damage, meaning its biggest hit occurs at the end. You should never use this during a finisher since the strongest hit will not occur during the finisher window.

Skill Point Allocation

1. Stylish Onslaught: Using your WA without pressing a direction will make you perform a shoulder slam at your target. The entire duration of this action gives you super armor, while the slam has a guard point. Although this moves you forward a little, it will not chase a fast-moving target. Because of the super armor, you may opt to attack with Onslaught instead of Point Blank when you expect the target may attack during your combo, which can knock you out of a Point Blank.
2. Chain Trigger: Improved from PSO2 Classic, this will now place the hit counter over your character instead, and any uncharged attack will build the counter. The counter lasts 30 seconds, and starts blinking when it has five seconds left. The counter does not disappear if you swap to a non-TMG weapon. Hitting anything with a charged PA initiates the counter, and hitting anything with a charged PA activates Chain Finisher Boost. Once activated, ANY TMG attack gets the damage boost. More on the best combos below.
3. Chain Trigger Quick Reload: Without this skill, Chain Trigger cools down in 15 seconds, which includes the three seconds of Chain Finisher Boost. At 100 chain, Chain Trigger cools down in five seconds, including the three seconds of Finisher.
4. Chain Boost: This speed boost applies to all TMG attacks. Maintains a 20% speed boost for an entire battle when used properly. While active at any level, Chain Boost also modifies S-Roll attacks, making it one of the key ways to accumulate hits. See the section below for details on how to stack this boost.
5. Chain Boost Advance: This enhances S-Roll during Chain Boost, a must-have for bosses.
6. Slow Landing Attack-Gunner: Like PSO2 Classic, Gunners spend a lot of time in the air, so this skill helps you stay afloat while you build your chain counter.
7. Slow Landing Charge-Gunner: See above, except note that you can jump while charging.
8. Stylish Roll Arts: This skill has two different attacks. During Chain Boost, this releases a toned-down version of Alternate Stylish Roll Finisher from PSO2 Classic. Without Chain Boost, this shoots a slightly stronger version of your normal attacks. Overall, this does not have as much damage nor range as its predecessor, so you would never want to use this. You obtain this to unlock the next skill.
9. Stylish Roll Strike Back: When you activate this skill, you will see a glow around your character, and hear a distinct sound. Death, swapping to another weapon, or teleporting will remove the effect; otherwise, this skill has no expiration timer once activated. When building a chain counter, keep in mind that an uncharged PA will consume this skill.
10. Strikeback Advanced: An enhancement for Strike Back, when you use a boosted PA, the entire PA gains invulnerability. This also gives a minor 0.12-second invulnerability window at the start of your next PA, allowing you to transition immediately from a S-Roll to a PA, but not charge it safely.
11. Rising Drive: Sees a lot of use when fighting bosses, but not so much when fighting normal mobs.
12. Dodge PP Gain: Put one point into this for now.
13. Attack PP Recovery: Put one point into this for now.
14. Overwhelm: Put one point into this for now.
15. Chain Trigger Count Retain mainly helps preserve your hits in combat zones.
16. Max out Dodge PP Gain.
17. Max out TMG Alternate Arts PP Preservation.
18. Max out Attack PP Recovery.
19. Stylish Roll Counter Bullet does little damage and does not restore PP, but better to take it than not.
20. Put your final point into Overwhelm (2/10).

Sub Class

For a recommendation on skill point allocation for every class, see this skill tree.

Top tier sub classes:

Ranger: Filler damage
Provides filler damage with Rifle Grenadier or Sticky Bomb Quick Reload. During Chain Trigger’s cooldown, use these WAs for quick damage, then swap back to TMG. If you have a Launcher, include Fallen Impact as filler damage. Also allows you to use the Launcher’s Photon Blast, which allows you to continue attacking once it launches. October 2021: This update significantly increased the damage of Rifle Grenadier and Fallen Impact to beyond Brave Combat. Additionally, Rifle Grenadier benefits from main-class bonus. If you intend to select a sub class based solely on filler damage, Ranger will outperform Braver. June 2022: The addition of Spread Shot Auto Charge and Rifle Grenadier Quick Reload further makes this sub class a strong choice, and now outperforms Fighter and Bouncer at bosses.
Recommended for all bosses.

Mid tier sub classes:

Force: PP battery. Also allows for Rod/Talis usage.
Provides hefty PP recovery with PP Conversion, PP Conversion Increase, PP Recovery Boost, and Eradication PP Gain. In combat zones, Eradication will fuel you so much that you can spam Aimless Rain. PP Conversion helps immensely for bosses, as it reduces the time spent trying to regain PP. Outside of PP recovery, this sub allows access to techniques, providing an option to contribute to elemental downs. Less commonly, you may use the Rod’s WA as a parry to recover PP, or the Talis’ WA for gradual PP recovery.
Recommended for leveling/grinding.

Bouncer: More damage against specific bosses.
Provides Defeat Amplifier (more downs) and Partial Destroy Advantage (conditional damage boost and defense). Combined, these greatly contribute to faster boss fights if the boss has at least one breakable part. Each broken part (up to three) increases your damage against that boss, as well as reduces incoming damage from that boss, for the rest of the battle against it. Gunners have less down-factor than other classes, so Defeat Amplifier will make a minuscule difference. Large groups may inflict downs more frequently on bosses, so consider the next sub class in that situation.
Recommended for bosses with at least one breakable part, and when soloing or in a small group.

Fighter: Stronger burst on downs.
Provides Defeat Advantage (+5% damage boost) and Defeat PP Recovery (+25% PP recovery) when attacking downed foes, making your Finisher much better. Note that this only applies to physical or elemental downs. Breaks do NOT count as Downs, so you will not receive any benefit when attacking a foe during a Break. Unique downs also do not receive any benefit of the above skills. Examples of unique downs include breaking Pettas Vera’s chestguard in phase 1, breaking all of Fortos’ legs, and breaking the tail or batteries off Renus Retem. Also provides access to Acceleration Drive as an alternate gap-closer and height-gainer; however, this requires a Twin Dagger as a weapon swap or multi-weapon. If fighting with a large group, downs may occur more frequently, giving this sub class the advantage in those cases.
Recommended for bosses with no breakable parts, or in a large group when more downs would occur.

Low tier sub classes:

Hunter: The defensive choice. Also allows for Sword usage.
Provides Hunter Physique (short-term CC-protection and damage reduction) and Flash Guard (10% damage reduction). Also provides Wired Anchor Perfect Parry, making your wire pull safer (more on this below). Additionally, pick up Slow Landing Charge-Hunter, Hunter Arts Avenger, Hunter Arts Perfect Parry, and Hunter Arts Avenger PP Gain. This opens the door for using a Sword’s Calibur Streak during Chain Trigger cooldowns. You can also use Spiral Edge with the correct timing to activate Hunter Arts Avenger. This sub class does not provide any offensive advantage, so I recommend to move on to another sub class once you feel confident enough to not need the defensive skills of Hunter.
Recommended for beginners or encountering unfamiliar content.

Techter: More Photon Blasts for bosses. Also allows for Wand and Talis usage.
Provides Weak Element Amplifier (gain more meter when attacking with elemental advantage) and Awake Aile (gain more meter when attacking with a boss nearby). This sub class choice requires an elemental weapon (such as Glissen or Frostel) because of Weak Element Amplifier. This ensures you can use your Photon Blast more often during boss fights, and may especially come in handy if it allows you to have your Photon Blast ready for a Break phase (when applicable). Using the Wand’s WA to parry an attack restores a lot of PP, giving you a PP battery for when you run low. Also provides Floating Pillbox Multirock, the Talis WA, which greatly helps with building hits in a mob.
Recommended for bosses with a Break gauge as long as you wield the correct elemental weapon.

Braver: Filler damage with Bow
Provides filler damage with Brave Combat. Obtain all the relevant Brave Combat and Bow skills. During Chain Trigger’s cooldown, double-tap Brave Combat for a small burst. Also put a point into Breakfall HP Gain for slight comfort. This sub requires having a Bow on hand, preferably as a multi-weapon. If used solely for filler damage, consider Ranger instead.

Chain Boost Explained

“Chain Boost” in the Gunner skill tree applies a speed boost to all TMG attacks. The boost starts the moment Chain Finisher starts, regardless of how many hits the counter has. The duration counts down even if you swap weapons, but swapping weapons does not remove this effect, so you can still benefit when swapping back to TMG. The number of hits on the counter when you activate Chain Finisher determines how much of a speed boost you gain: under 50 gives +0%, 51-80 gives +5%, 81-100 gives +10%.

Boosts stack as long as you activate another Chain Finisher before the active boost expires, stacking up to 20%. For example, activate a Chain Finisher with 81 hits, then within the next 45 seconds activate another Chain Finisher with 51 hits, and you will have a speed boost of 15% for 45 seconds. You can then activate another Chain Finisher of 51 or more hits to cap at 20% for the following 45 seconds. As long as you activate Chain Finishers before Chain Boost ends, you can roll over the highest speed boost to the next 45 seconds.

Once you learn Chain Boost from the skill tree, activating a Chain Finisher will ALWAYS activate Chain Boost, regardless of the number of hits, even with a 0% boost. While you generally want to avoid activating a Chain Finisher at a low number for multiple reasons, you can take advantage of this to prolong a 20% speed boost. Once you have reached a 20% boost, simply activate Chain Finisher at any number before Chain Boost ends, and you will extend the 20% boost for another 45 seconds, even with 1 hit on the counter.

Critical Distance

Those who have played Monster Hunter will recognize this mechanic. Like in PSO2 Classic, Gunners gain a damage boost when attacking in close range, although the game never explicitly explains this other than describing Gunners as a close-range class. NGS classifies range as short, mid, and long range, all visually indicated by the target reticle. The reticle shape and color determine your damage boost: white circle gets no boost, white circle with a diagonal line gets a 10% boost, and an orange circle gets a 20% boost. TMG gets a 20% boost when attacking in close range, and a 10% boost when attacking in mid range. Rifle gets a 20% boost when attacking in mid range, and a 10% boost when attacking in close range (reversed from TMG). Additionally, hitting with the 20% boost will cause purple slash effects on the target. See below for sample images of the reticle and the effect that appears on enemies when you strike with the 20% boost.

Images courtesy of Gigafreak#4754

Equipment Choice

Weapons

• Rugged Machine Guns – Strongest weapon available, but has an extremely low drop rate. The low drop rate makes this weapon quite rare and highly sought-after. While strong on its own, its scarcity means very few exist with a Fixa, if any at all. The rarity also makes this weapon very expensive to add a multi-weapon.
• Kaizaar Machine Guns – Second strongest weapon, but takes a while to obtain. Use this if you have the materials to make it, but know that Rugged will outperform Kaizaar because of the potential.
• Rokz Sixiemes Machine Guns/Rokz Roughewn Rifle – These have different potentials, so you will want the main weapon to carry the potential you prefer. Sixiemes has the higher bossing damage as long as you can satisfy its requirement; however, not satisfying its requirement makes it weaker than Evoleclipse. Roughewn has more consistent damage if you prefer not to worry about meeting the Sixiemes criteria. All Rokz weapons upgrade to Kaizaar – as such, I do not recommend putting expensive augments on one, as the upgrade will wipe all progress, such as augments, potential, and Fixa. Since the upgrade requires a +50 Rokz, you may affix five budget augments in the meantime.
• Sechetyl Machine Guns – The best weapon series for grinding due to its potential. Sechetyl technically performs better than Evoleclipse against bosses. Against bosses, Sechetyl falls a few percent behind Rokz, but costs significantly less. Unless you can afford to multi-weapon one of the aforementioned weapons, use this weapon if you intend to multi-weapon.
• Evoleclipse Machine Guns – The weakest of the currently available 6★ weapons. This weapon does not have the damage to compare to other weapons of this rarity or higher. Furthermore, Gunners have great PP recovery options already. If you have the tickets to obtain this, feel free to obtain the no-Fixa version, but do not invest valuable augments into this, as you will want to upgrade to a better weapon ASAP. When you do, you can return this weapon for the tickets.

Prefix: Fixa Attack 3 OR Fatale 4. In the long-run, both prefixes output similar damage. With no Potency Floor affixed, Fatale provides a little more damage than Attack. Fatale loses its advantage over Attack as you affix more Potency Floor. On a weapon that gives crit rate, go with Fixa Termina 3 instead to take advantage of its potential.

Multi-weapon choices:

• Rifle: Provides quick access to Homing Darts for grinding. With Ranger sub class, also provides access to Rifle Grenadier with Rifle Grenadier Quick Reload, and Spread Shot paired with Spread Shot Auto Charge for filler damage and PP gain. Generally the most recommended choice when you do not need anything else specific, since Gunners can use Rifles too. Since Ranger has passives that Gunners do not, Rifle makes the best choice to improve a Gunner’s damage output.
• Rod/Wand/Talis/Jet Boots: With the respective sub class, provides access to techniques, which can contribute to elemental downs or help deal with annoying enemies such as Gogorox. Each weapon’s WA helps restore PP in a pinch. Rod & Wand function as a parry, restoring PP on a successful block. Talis will restore PP over time, as long as it hits an enemy. Jet Boots provide Jet Intensity, a filler attack during Chain Trigger’s cooldown.
• Launcher: Only for Ranger sub class, provides filler damage during Chain Trigger’s cooldown with the WA and Fallen Impact. The WA restores a lot of PP, making it a good choice for a PP battery. Also provides access to its Photon Blast, which, unlike TMG, does not lock you in its animation once it starts, so you can keep attacking while the Photon Blast does its work.
• Wired Lance: Provides access to the Wired Lance WA, a gap-closer. You do not need the Hunter sub class to use this; however, if you do have the Hunter sub class, the WA has i-frames with Wired Anchor Perfect Parry.
• Twin Dagger: Only for Fighter sub class, provides access to Acceleration Drive, an alternative gap-closer to the Wired Lance, but on a better sub class.
• Sword: Only for Hunter sub class, provides access to Calibur Streak for filler DPS, and Spiral Edge for activating Hunter Arts Avenger.
• Bow: Only for Braver sub class, provides filler damage during Chain Trigger’s cooldown with Brave Combat. If used only for filler damage, loses out to Ranger weapons.

Units

• Behlgren Armor – The glass cannon armor, this provides the greatest damage boost but lowers your HP and resistances the most. Not recommended for beginners.
• Geant Armor – Low-level requirement and damage boost for all attacks make this unit a fine choice for long-term use.
• Sestato Armor Arga/Belta – A viable alternative to the above armor if you value added HP. Note that each account may only obtain one of each, so if you want a full set, you will need to buy one more from the market.

Prefix: If looking for a prefix, search for Fixa Performa, which reduces PP usage (indirectly raises your max PP). Generally, a prefix matters less on units compared to weapons. Prefix units also tend to cost significantly more, so do not worry too much about buying them.

Augments

With regards to augments, like in PSO2 Classic, by the time you can afford to start affixing augments, you will know which augments you want to affix. For expensive augments (excluding 100% augments), consider affixing one capsule at a time instead of ten, combined with a 10% affix booster. Preferably, do this with multiple augments so that the booster applies to each augment.

Augment Categories as of June 2022:

1. Potency +2.5%, Potency Floor +2.5%
2. Potency +2.0%, Potency Floor +2.0%
3. Potency +2.5%
4. Potency +2.25%
5. Potency +2.0%

A player may equip up to 20 total augments: five per piece of equipment. To obtain the highest possible damage, one must equip:

• Weapon’s rarity 4-6: 8 of Category A, 5 of Category B, 7 of Category C
• Weapon’s rarity 7-?: 8 of Category A, 8 of Category B, 4 of Category C

Any modification of the above will result in less damage than the maximum possible, but you may prefer the other effects of an augment, especially if an augment comes with something negative. Use the best augments that you can afford, but I do not recommend using anything weaker than 2.0% potency.

List of augments per category:

1. Mastery IV, Addi Deftra
2. Deft Precision, Alts Secreta III
3. Pettas Soul III, Ragras Soul III, Crocys Soul III, any Aglai Soul, any Thali Soul, Gigas Precision III, Gigas Aglai, Gigas Thali, Decold Precision, Addi Guara, Addi Spira, Addi Stara, Addi Staspira, Addi Wardra, any element Exploit I
4. Tria Starora, Tria Spirora, Tria Guarora, Eradi Soul III
5. Precision III*, Triplble, Forms Machini Soul II/III, Kvar Note B/D, Kvar Domina, Sta Precision, Spi Precision, Gua Precision, any “II” of a “III” Category C augment*

* = this upgrades to a higher category augment

How to Play

Both of the in-game tutorials (one for Gunner, one for TMG) do a good job at explaining the core gameplay of the Gunner. However, time and time again, I witness other Gunners doing something wrong, so I would like to reiterate how to maximize damage output as a Gunner. The main things I witness other Gunners doing wrong:

• Using charged PAs too often: A charged TMG PA will both activate and stop the hit counter. A Gunner using charged PAs too often means not reaching enough hits for the strongest finisher and best speed boost.
• Not accumulating hits fast enough: The sooner you accumulate hits, the sooner you can use a finisher, increasing your DPS. Reaching a high number sooner allows you more time to watch the target’s movements so you can better time your combo so you do not get hit, and also provides a chance to stock a Strike Back.

Single-target/Bossing

A Gunner’s core gameplay revolves around Chain Trigger. The core gameplay loop starts with a charged PA, building up hits (not charging any PA until then), then bursting with a finisher, which starts with a charged PA. See the sections below for information on how to accumulate hits and what to do during the finisher’s three-second window. When you reach 100 hits, do not just go straight for a finisher – wait for an opening, or you may miss some of your attacks if the target moves or hits you. However, once you see the counter start blinking and still cannot find an opening to go for a combo, charge a Bullet Rave so that you do not lose a chance for at least some damage, plus the speed boost you gain for activating a finisher. Alternatively, if you know a boss will get up from a downed state soon and have not reached 100 hits, start a finisher sooner so that you get your full combo in safely.

Mobbing/Grinding

With the introduction of Chain Trigger Count Retains, you can maintain Chain Boost as you run to the next mob. Use Infinite Ricochet to build hits, and use Aimless Rain as a finisher. For spread-out mobs, consider using Rifle’s Homing Darts. During PSE Bursts, you can use Chain Trigger Finisher more frequently. Depending on where the PSE Burst takes place, mobs may spawn so close together that you can reach 100 hits within two Infinite Ricochets.

Building the Chain Trigger Counter

• Single-target: alternate (uncharged) Infinite Ricochet and (uncharged) Bullet Rave canceling the final hit, using S-Roll attacks whenever you run low on PP
• In a mob: (uncharged) Infinite Ricochet, using S-Roll attacks whenever you run low on PP

Chain Finisher Boost Combos

A multitude of possible Chain Finisher combos exist, each highly dependent on the target’s relative location and mobility. Gunners do not have meta combos – you must adapt to positioning and your target’s movement & actions. The following information only scratches the surface of possible combos. Factors that influence your combo:

• Target will attack soon – more damage via Step Counter
• Target near the ground – Dive Attack does a lot of damage for a quick attack
• You stocked a Strike Back – boosts the damage of the PA that will start the Chain Finisher Boost

Since you must adapt your combo to the situation, multiple combos exist. The following image shows some examples of possible combos you may use, as well as when & how to use each.

Image courtesy of Froogal#5631

If you see an incoming attack (for example, Daityl’s chest burst), stop your combo and go for a Step Counter.

If the target moves out of your range (for example, Pettas jumps away), tap Bullet Rave to get some hits in.

What to do during Chain Trigger’s cooldown

After Chain Finisher ends and Chain Trigger cools down, you have two options on what to do.

Regain PP. Use S-Roll attacks to regain PP. If your sub class has a better method to regain PP (for example, parrying with Wand’s WA), use that method.

Filler damage. Your sub class determines if you can do more damage than your TMG attacks. Some examples include Hunter’s Sword, Ranger’s WAs, or Braver’s Brave Combat with Bow. However you do it, make sure to have most of your PP recovered by the time you can start Chain Trigger again.

Photon Blast Positioning for Break Phases

The TMG’s Photon Blast hits a spot about one S-Roll in front of you and slightly above eye level. For most bosses, simply get in melee range/height of the weak spot and about the distance of one S-Roll away for your Photon Blast to strike the weak spot. For certain bosses, you will need to position yourself more carefully to strike the weak spot.

Pettas Vera has one of three possible weak spots during phase 2:
Chest (hard) – get in melee range, move slightly left under its right armpit, then descend until your eye level drops below the chest
Front/Left Knee (very easy) – standard position: jump up in front, get to eye level, and about one S-Roll back
Rear/Right Knee (easy) – on the ground exactly between its hands (not wrists), about one S-Roll away from the knee; alternatively if you have trouble with the previous position: on the ground to the rear of its right hand, and take one step back so that you do not hit the hand

Nex Vera (very hard)
Phase 2 (when it has three heads) allows you to find the spot easier. Get in melee range, take a half step back, half step away from the adjacent side head, and short hop such that you have gotten off the ground but the top of your head has not reached the height of the weak spot.

Daityl Sword/Axe (medium)
Get in melee range, S-Roll back once, move one body length to the left, then descend one body length.

–END OF GUIDE–

Monster Hunter Rise – Kamura Points Farming Route

The above video exhibits a 4-minute loop of gathering account items to farm Kamura Points in a high-rank Lava Caverns expedition. You will need to reach Hunter Rank 6 to unlock the high-rank Lava Caverns expedition. This method requires Geologist 2 and Upsurge: Local Items for maximum effect.

If you have Dango Calculator available to eat, make sure to eat for this and use a Dango Ticket to guarantee it (you can easily gain Dango Tickets with points*). If you can eat for this but your expedition does not have this upsurge, find someone else who has the upsurge and ask him/her to host this expedition for you, then the host can leave after you enter the map.

A route lasts four minutes long because gathering spots respawn four minutes after you last gathered from them. However, if you eat for Dango Harvester (which reduces gathering spot respawn time by 20%, from 4 minutes down to 3:12), after you get the coal on the pillar north of area 13, travel to camp 2, ignoring the three coal nodes in area 14.

1. Travel to sub-camp 1, and grab the coal node just to the west.
2. Turn around, and wiredash up the ledge to a bismuth node just south of the camp.
3. Slide down towards the number 10 on the map, and grab the coal node just south of the number 10.
4. Slide off the ledge to the south. After jumping off, wiredash to the right to cross the small bridge. Upon landing, slide left towards the small rocky hill. You will hop off before the hill – wiredash slightly to the left of the hill, and slide to the south. You want to aim for the coal node at the south end of area 5.
5. Hop on your Palamute now, and run northeast towards another coal node.
6. Run into the cave. When you reach the number 13 on the map, look left and up for a coal node. Run off the ledge, jump off your Palamute, and wiredash to the coal node.
7. Hop on your Palamute, and jump back down the previous ledge. Hop over to the northeast end of this circular area for a bismuth node on the bottom level.
8. Climb up the nearby ledge, and climb up the vines to the north. After climbing the vines, look left and up for a coal node. Leap off your Palamute and wiredash to the pillar so that you wallrun up the pillar to the coal. Wiredashing too high will result in you soaring over the pillar.
   (if you ate for Dango Harvester, skip to step 12)
9. Return to the main path you just leapt from, hop on your Palamute, and run north into area 14. Once in area 14, take the northwest path to find a coal node on the left side of the path.
10. Run northwest towards area 11, but hop off your Palamute where you see a green Spiribird. You can crawl into the wall at this point. Once inside the crawl space, look up and right for a small hole. Wiredash and wallrun up to enter the hole. Once in the open area, turn right to find a coal node.
11. Wiredash up the nearby ledge to find another coal node.
12. Travel to sub-camp 2. Hop on your Palamute, face away from the camp, and run to the left towards a broken bridge. Prior to the broken bridge lies a small path on the right that leads under the bridge. Run down that path for a bismuth node.
13. Turn around, and run towards the number 6 on the map, staying on the upper level. Follow this path all the way to the end for a bismuth node.
14. Hop down the ledge to the right. Face east, make a leap of faith to the lower level, and hop off your Palamute midway in the air. Press A to hang from a wirebug, and you will see a patch of grass ahead on a plateau. Wiredash towards that grass. Face north and wiredash to a low pillar with a bismuth node on top.

Upon reaching the last gathering spot, the first gathering spot should have respawned. Travel to sub-camp 1 and repeat this loop until the locale info changes. Complete the expedition from your start menu to return to Kamura Village with all the Kamura Points you gathered.

With this route, you can possibly hit six digits of Kamura Points until the locale info changes (with Dango Calculator).

* = to gain Dango Tickets with points, go to Rondine, buy a bunch of Raw Meat, take those to the Tea Shop, use Motley Mix to turn those all into Rations, then talk to Yomogi for Dango Tickets.

Genshin Impact – Things I Learned From Playing the Closed Beta Test 2

Genshin Impact wrapped up its second Closed Beta Test in mid-April 2020. This open-world role-playing video game, announced as free-to-play, will release on Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android, although with no set release date yet. Featuring gameplay similar to popular open-world RPGs such as Breath of the Wild and The Witcher series, Genshin Impact delivers a massive world to explore with content that replenishes daily. Although the game provides tutorials upon discovering new gameplay elements, the game does not provide any means of reviewing that information. With a third & final Closed Beta coming soon, I have compiled some information to help new players getting started with Genshin Impact for the first time.

Hold off on exploring until you progress the story enough to obtain a full party

The game does not restrict you from detouring off the main quest unless you go way too far from your current region. As tempting as it appears, hold off on exploring. Progress the main story quests until you have a full party. This not only gives you access to four elements, but you will obtain the glider during this time, an important tool for exploring.

Recruit a claymore user ASAP

Your initial party of four will consist of two sword users, a bow user, and a magician. This leaves you without a claymore user. Claymores have higher impact per attack, which does more damage to shields, stones, and any other solid object. Outside of combat, claymores can harvest minerals much faster than other weapons. Most players will recruit Noelle as their first claymore user.

Use Elemental Vision often while exploring

You have access to Elemental Vision the moment you enter the game. Use Elemental Vision while exploring to reveal objects you may miss with regular vision. Refer to your platform’s controls to see how to use Elemental Vision, usually triggered by holding a left shoulder button and pressing left on the right joystick.

If you have max Original Resin, run Domains to use them up

When you open the world map, you may notice a blue orb icon in the top right corner with a number next to it, usually 120/120. This represents Original Resin, which functions like stamina in mobile games. You use resin to complete Domains – completing a Domain consumes 20 resin. Your account will slowly recover resin over time, so make sure you run Domains so that you can keep recovering resin. You can access a level 5 Domain just south of the first Statue of the Seven, the one in the lake. Run east from Mondstadt, then take the path northeast to reach this Domain. This Domain provides EXP tomes, an important resource for leveling up your characters. Lisa will perform very well in this Domain due to her Lightning element because…

The majority of your damage comes from elemental combinations

Party members alone generally cannot take down strong foes on their own without utilizing a different element. You will need to swap members during combat to use another element and deal more damage. Swap characters often, since swapping only has a one-second cooldown. Unless a party member has a skill that makes their attacks deal elemental damage, melee attacks and uncharged arrows deal non-elemental damage. Charged arrows, magician attacks, and all active skills deal elemental damage. Most elements have a combination that deal increased damage. Some foes have a permanent element, such as Slimes or Abyss Mages when they have a shield up. When fighting outdoors in the rain, all targets have Water element, including you.

A list of all known elemental combinations (for simplicity, this list uses generic element names, not the proper names given in Genshin Impact):

• Swirl: Wind + Fire/Water/Ice/Lightning. The wind attack takes the element it combos with and spreads that element based on the effect of the wind attack.
• Crystallize: Earth + Fire/Water/Ice/Lightning. Generates a temporary elemental shield based on the element the earth skill combos with.
• Burning: Fire + Nature. Deals damage over time. (unverified effect) May spread if a Burning enemy touches another nature enemy.
• Vaporize: Fire + Water. Deals a big hit of damage, and removes both elements.
• Overload: Fire + Lightning. Causes a large explosion on the target where the combo takes place, dealing fire damage in a large area. If this occurs close enough to an enemy’s earth-based shields, Overload will destroy those shields.
• Melt: Fire + Ice. Deals a big hit of damage, and removes both elements.
• Electrocharged: Lightning + Water. Deals damage over time. (unverified effect) May spread if an Electrocharged enemy touches another wet enemy.
• Superconduct: Lightning + Ice. Causes a large explosion on the target where the combo takes place, dealing ice damage in a large area. Also temporarily lowers the defense of the enemy this combo takes place on.
• Frozen/Shatter: Water + Ice. Briefly renders the target immobile. Attacking a frozen enemy with a hard-impact attack deals a big hit of physical non-elemental damage and removes freeze. Attacks include many claymore attacks and a handful of earth attacks.

When you hear a pulse sound effect and see a white star in the minimap, you will find an oculus nearby

Oculi represent small collectibles throughout the world of Genshin Impact. Offering these to a Statue of the Seven confers multiple benefits and rewards, but most importantly, these increase your party’s max stamina. The oculus type & appearance depends on your region, and you can only offer these to statues in the same region. You can reach some oculi easily, while others may require climbing, jumping, gliding, solving a nearby puzzle, clearing out nearby foes, or a combination of any of these.

If you see a small turquoise wisp with wings and a white eye, touch it and then follow it

Throughout the world, you will spot small floating turquoise wisps called a Seelie. Luckily you cannot attack it, as these things lead to treasure, or sometimes unlocks something important you need to use nearby. Touch it, and it will start moving towards its home pedestal. Whenever it stops, touch it again. Many Seelies may require climbing or gliding to reach. Repeat this until it reaches its pedestal, which will spawn a treasure chest or generate some other beneficial effect nearby. Occasionally, you will need to do this for more than one Seelie to activate the reward. If you discover a pedestal and cannot find its Seelie, use Elemental Vision near the pedestal, and you will see a trail in the direction of the Seelie.

Unless you grind heavily, you cannot keep every party member upgraded

Once you start to obtain more party members, you will find your resources stretched thin if you try to keep everyone upgraded. Upgrades will consume exponentially more resources the higher you go upgrading, so unless you heavily grinded, you will constantly have low resources. Focus on a core group of four party members to keep up with the world’s foes. As far as upgrading equipment, never upgrade white or green rarity items – focus on blue rarity and above. However, if you did end up upgrading a lot of characters, then consider the next point…

Foes upscale with your Adventure Rank, so do not level your Adventure Rank until you can handle stronger foes

All party members level up independently. However, all actions contribute toward your Adventure Rank, which represents your account level. Try to keep your core party of four around the same level as your Adventure Rank, if not higher. As your Adventure Rank rises, enemy levels will rise more. For example, at Adventure Rank 30, you will encounter level 44-48 foes. If you only focused upgrading a core group of four, that group can handle the increased enemy difficulty.

Cook stamina-replenishing food, and always have some when exploring

At a few locations throughout the world, you will need to glide a long distance, and gliding consumes stamina. To ensure that you survive the trip, you can eat stamina food during the glide.

Pokémon Sword & Shield – Catch Suggestions When Entering the Wild Area for the First Time

So you have just received your Pokédex from Magnolia, and have boarded the train at Postwick, or will board the train soon. Unlike previous generations of Pokémon games where you had limited Pokémon variety prior to the first gym or trial, Pokémon Sword & Shield allow players to pass through the Wild Area much prior to the first gym. This presents players with a large variety of Pokémon to catch, as well as a good method to level up, quite early in the game. The Wild Area may appear overwhelming to players at first since players now have access to so much more Pokémon. I have compiled a list of the Pokémon that I most recommend catching.

Growlithe (Sh)/Vulpix (Sw)
Type: Fire
Priority: B (Growlithe), C (Vulpix), F (if you chose Scorbunny)
A fire Pokémon will greatly help for the first gym. Unfortunately, you do not have much of a choice for now. If you picked Scorbunny as your starter, you can safely skip these until later in the game. An arguably better fire Pokémon, Sizzlipede, resides in Route 3, the next route you will traverse, albeit at a 1% encounter rate. Between Growlithe and Vulpix, Growlithe ends up with better stats and greater move variety.

Magikarp
Type: Water
Priority: A, F (if you chose Sobble)
If you can get Magikarp to at least level 21, you have a very solid physical attacker quite early in the game. At that level, it can learn Waterfall, Ice Fang, and Bite, giving it very good coverage. Thanks to this game’s inherent Exp. Share, you never have to put Magikarp in battle to level it up, making a Gyarados easy to own. If you prefer speedy Pokémon…

Arrokuda
Type: Water
Priority: B, F (if you chose Sobble)
You actually catch Arrokuda in Route 2, not the Wild Area. Arrokuda’s final form Barraskewda ends up with about as much physical attack as Gyarados. While it cannot take a hit as well as Gyarados, it makes up for it with a lot of speed, more than Sobble’s final form. Barraskewda also learns some interesting coverage moves such as Drill Run, Close Combat, Throat Chop, and Psychic Fangs.

* Both water and grass cover rock and ground. Water covers fire, while grass covers water. If you picked Grookey and decide not to add a water type to your team, I strongly suggest catching a ground or rock Pokémon to cover fire, which I list below.

Roselia
Type: Grass/Poison
Priority: B, F (if you chose Grookey)
Lucky players can actually obtain a Roserade already by testing their luck at the Digging Duo. Roserade has similar stats to Grookey’s final form Rillaboom, boasting special attack equal to Rillaboom’s attack, but with slightly more speed. However, Roserade does not learn too many coverage moves outside of Dazzling Gleam and Shadow Ball (also Extrasensory, which requires breeding). A Pokémon further down this list uses those latter two moves better, so you may consider sticking two support moves on Roserade instead.

Bounsweet
Type: Grass
Priority: C, F (if you chose Grookey)
Consider Bounsweet’s final form Tsareena a slightly weaker Rillaboom. Tsareena’s main selling points include her signature ability, Queenly Majesty, and her signature attack, Trop Kick. To get Queenly Majesty, make sure you catch a Bounsweet with the Oblivious ability. Tsareena can eventually learn some coverage moves such as Hi Jump Kick and Acrobatics, helping to make up for having lower stats compared to Roserade or Rillaboom.

Swinub
Type: Ice/Ground
Priority: B
Most water Pokémon can learn Ice Beam, allowing for coverage without the weaknesses of ice types. Swinub stands out as a solid all-around physical ice and ground attacker. Much later in the game, obtaining Swinub’s final form Mamoswine from a 5* raid may yield its hidden ability, Thick Fat, which eliminates two of its weaknesses. However, Mamoswine’s strongest physical ice attack requires breeding.

Sneasel
Type: Ice/Dark
Priority: B, D (if you chose Sobble)
Early on, Sneasel will not appear in the wild – instead, it has a chance at appearing in a raid at one particular den. You can start catching it in the wild following the third gym. Sneasel shares similar stats to Arrokuda – it has great physical attack and speed, but otherwise cannot take hits well. Later in the game, Sobble’s final form Inteleon can learn Ice Beam and Dark Pulse, which covers both types of Sneasel. Until you can get these moves on Inteleon, Sneasel makes a good speedy dark & ice attacker.

Tyrogue
Type: Fighting
Priority: A (Shield), C (Sword)
Look for a Tyrogue with more attack than defense so that it can evolve into Hitmonlee. This will serve as a main fighting type for Shield players. Sword players will encounter another fighting type to catch after the first gym.

Ralts
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Priority: A
With great special attack and decent speed, Ralts will serve you well all the way until the end of the story. With Psychic, Moonblast, and Shadow Ball (TR required), you can hit just about anything for at least neutral damage.

Drilbur
Type: Ground/Steel (upon evolution)
Priority: A
Like Sneasel, you cannot encounter Drilbur in the early sections of the Wild Area – you can only encounter it a raid at one specific den. However, you will still encounter wild Drilbur prior to the first gym. Drilbur evolves into Excadrill, one of the best attackers in the game. Given Earthquake (or High Horsepower to avoid hitting teammates), Iron Head, and Rock Slide, Excadrill can hit just about anything for at least neutral damage. Both of its abilities make it better in a sandstorm, so consider teaching it Sandstorm, or bringing a teammate that can start a sandstorm.

Gastly
Type: Ghost/Poison
Priority: C
Gastly counters psychic and ghost types hard, but cannot take a hit at all. You will also need to trade it to obtain its final form Gengar. Gengar has high special attack and speed, and can learn a wide variety of moves. Later on, another ghost type, Chandelure, has even higher special attack and can take a hit better than Gengar.

Types not suggested to catch yet:

• Electric: You will receive Toxel, a much better electric (and poison) attacker, a route prior to needing an electric type for a gym.
• Poison: See the note about Toxel above.
• Flying: Fire covers grass and bug, while psychic or fairy covers fighting. This game does not have any Pokémon double-weak to flying attacks.
• Bug: You can find a Sizzlipede, a great bug and fire attacker, in Route 3.
• Rock: Teach Rock Slide to a Drilbur/Excadrill for a rock attacker.