With proper food and armor, you really shouldn't be getting hit hard by anything except for abominations or starred enemies. Besides that, getting hit a couple times shouldn't be an issue, but you'll want to know how to strafe archer shots, parry melee attacks, and position yourself in ways where you won't get overwhelmed. Using a bow to whittle down enemies before they can even reach you is also useful.

Originally posted by Suzaku:

With proper food and armor, you really shouldn't be getting hit hard by anything except for abominations or starred enemies. Besides that, getting hit a couple times shouldn't be an issue, but you'll want to know how to strafe archer shots, parry melee attacks, and position yourself in ways where you won't get overwhelmed. Using a bow to whittle down enemies before they can even reach you is also useful.

I have 72, only one meat food. Isnt that enough? I didnt know food gave damage reduction.
As for parry, I made a tower shield. I suppose I should just return home and make food and a buckler and try again....

Bronze armor is unnecessary. More important is the poison resist potion(!), the best food you can get and a good shield to block enemy attacks. A bronze or bone shield is good enough, and Troll armor will see you through the swamps anytime.

Edit: Food is EVERYTHING in this game. Good food trumps armor every single time. If you do not have access to turnips yet, I suggest to eat deer stew, minced meat and a good stamina food of your choice. Do NOT skimp on food!

You can eat 3 foods at a time. I tend to use 2 health-focused foods and 1 stamina-focused food. If you're heading into the swamp, you should be making Deer Stew, Minced Meat Sauce, and Carrot Soup. This will make you much tankier, a good bit of stamina, and health regen. Then you can upgrade to better meals unlocked with food and resources from the swamp.

Tower shields can't parry. They can only block. While that block is powerful, it means you can't parry, and parries stagger enemies, and staggered enemies take double damage. Bucklers are best for parrying.

Swamp is a big jump up in diff, and obviously, you have the "wet" effect all the time, so conserving stamina is vital. No stamina = death in this game from now on.

I run the entire swamp in Troll Armor till I get swamp gear and even to end of swamp. Not sure your build or weapons but using a shield is a good bet to increase survival early on. Flint arrows should be sufficient, dont use fire arrows as everything is wet so their damage output is poor.

The food advice per above is good. Food is indeed everything is this game. The most important thing for me when entering a new biome is getting my hands on the better food upgrade and a then a shield. Both as soon as possible. The next food crop upgrade in the swamp is tricky to find so you will have to search for it.

Take it slow and get the hell out of there at night. If you can, set up a portal on top of a sunken crypt once you find your 1st once as thats an elevated safe place where most monsters cant reach. Oah and obviously run the best food you can. Once you get your first bits of swamp tier gear will get a lot easier.. All the best!

Originally posted by electricdawn:

Bronze armor is unnecessary. More important is the poison resist potion(!), the best food you can get and a good shield to block enemy attacks. A bronze or bone shield is good enough, and Troll armor will see you through the swamps anytime.

Edit: Food is EVERYTHING in this game. Good food trumps armor every single time. If you do not have access to turnips yet, I suggest to eat deer stew, minced meat and a good stamina food of your choice. Do NOT skimp on food!

You can cook food? Ive only seen the sticks over campfire one so far.

Cook food at the cauldron.

Originally posted by Millenia:

Originally posted by electricdawn:

Bronze armor is unnecessary. More important is the poison resist potion(!), the best food you can get and a good shield to block enemy attacks. A bronze or bone shield is good enough, and Troll armor will see you through the swamps anytime.

Edit: Food is EVERYTHING in this game. Good food trumps armor every single time. If you do not have access to turnips yet, I suggest to eat deer stew, minced meat and a good stamina food of your choice. Do NOT skimp on food!

You can cook food? Ive only seen the sticks over campfire one so far.

You need to make the Cauldron.. using tin and a nearby forge. If you have bronze armor you definitely have the recipe. Check the crafting tab.

Originally posted by Millenia:

Originally posted by electricdawn:

Bronze armor is unnecessary. More important is the poison resist potion(!), the best food you can get and a good shield to block enemy attacks. A bronze or bone shield is good enough, and Troll armor will see you through the swamps anytime.

Edit: Food is EVERYTHING in this game. Good food trumps armor every single time. If you do not have access to turnips yet, I suggest to eat deer stew, minced meat and a good stamina food of your choice. Do NOT skimp on food!

You can cook food? Ive only seen the sticks over campfire one so far.

You need to finish exploring Black Forest looks like. Tin and Copper is vital.

Food is the most important I would say, you will make mistakes - better food = more health = more room for mistakes, also better food = more stamina = more possibilities.

Swamp is a huge difficulty jump. Master Black Forest. Make that sword and buckler from bronze. Keep shooting arrows one after another. Control your stamina, make sure you are rested all the time (more health regeneration, stamina regeneration and experience gain) and explore all tools you can get from it..

In case you haven't done these yet:

craft some nails
make a bronze axe and cut down those trees that were too hard for you before
make a cultivator and start farming those carrots
make a cauldron and start cooking
start brewing mead especially poison resist, which you drink before the blobs get you

when you're in the swamp, look for yellow flowers to level up your food again

Bronze armor is heavy and made of tin foil. Try not to get hit by using your (finewood) bow, sneaking, and don't stand still while things pound on you.

Another note on food and parry/block:

- You can be in awesome armor and shield, but if you are very low on hp, a hit might stagger you. Getting staggered is an easy way to get yourself killed.

- Vise versa, you can be in rather crappy armor and shield, but if your hp is high, you will likely not get staggered when parrying/blocking.

The places with 3 spawns are very harsh, best thing to do is attacking the spawners from afar with bow to destroy them, at least in places that you will be passing often.
Also note that you can use hoe to your advantage. Water slows you down and is full of eels, you can raise the ground to minimize the watery areas.

There is the common belief that you should not use fire arrows in the swamps. That is mostly correct but with a few exceptions:
- Abominations, weak to fire
- Wraiths, weak to fire
- Skeletons, weak to fire (just don't bother if they are in the water)
- Inside crypts.
- Blobs, hit points so low that if not in water fire arrows will kill them

Otherwise, yeah regular arrows, even wood but best you have, until you get access to frost arrows.

So if you carry only one stack of arrows, use the best piercing arrows you have. However, if you have the room, a stack of fire arrows isn't the worst idea, if only because of Aboms and the rare daytime (or common night-time) Wraiths.

You also should not be getting hit by much in there. Draugr are so slow you can step back on their swing and then move in for a strike. Same with skeletons. Leeches are easy to avoid and are simple to kill with arrows from shore. Even Abominations are easy to get away from should you trigger one.

Only the spirits are a pain and are like guided missiles, but they only come out at night and you should not be in there at night until you are more comfortable with how the swamp biome works.

My early forays into the swap are really more around the edges of the swamp looking for turnip seeds and crypts. Once you find a crypt and get inside you can take your time (usually) and even set up fires to get rested again. Just stay focused on what you want to get done there early on.

Ah, I remember the days when the swamp drove me up the wall. Sweet nostalgia.