So, for fans of Shrouded in Sanity comes a brand new metroidvania, Usurper! While gameplay may differ from it's prequel, the same setting applies, of a Lovecraftian-flooded 1890's alternate history England. This time around, though, we follow the adventures of Saragat, 4th Knight to the great Queen Eleanor.

Just a general note for this guide, it will absolutely spoil events of the game and Shrouded in Sanity as well. So be warned! Also, this game is receiving updates constantly, so there's no gaurentee that this guide is done quite yet.

Gameplay advice! Rolling is unbelievably useful for regenerating gaurd. Also, GAURD IS NOT STAMINA. You can swing away to your heart's content, though it isn't necessarily a smart idea if you do - you will take the full hit, and it WILL hurt. Also, you can briefly generate a shield - it can be used to deflect some projectiles right back at their sender - for a gaurd cost however. The game is pretty good at acquainting you with it's mechanics, though.

The mandatory achievements in this game are pretty much solely boss-related: bosses are your major form of progression in this game, as they tend to unlock new abilities upon defeat. I will also be giving a little advice on how to handle these bosses, as well as their general location.


- The Law
~ The scales of justice in one. Also gorgeous hair...




This is the first boss of the game you are probably going to beat (I mean, you could try the Shoggoth, but that won't end well). Eraen is a human possessed in the rightmost portion of the town of Hazuth, which can be accessed from the upper right from the Core. Upon defeat, you obtain the Ring of Yog, which unlocks for you the ability to break through the red seals directly to the right of his boss arena. Note that you are likely approaching a boss when the number of corpses of Veimar tend to start stacking up in frequency. Now, as the introductory boss, he will serve as a very good test of whether you understand the basics of the gaurd system. His sword attacks are well telegraphed, and a simple roll through them will help boost your gaurd. However, he has two phases, one with Eraen himself, and the second being the Necromancer possessing him. The Necromancer offers faster attacks, but is still managable.



- The Faith
~ Shifting in time, but always the same.




Next up is the entity lurking within the Cathedral, found above and to the left of the Core. Merely play the organ, and the boss shall appear. Upon defeat, you get the Heart of the Seraph, which allows you to destroy all icy blocks with your attacks, and to be able to withstand the icy auras. This boss has really only two attacks in it's first phase. One is where it forms a circle of blades that it shoots out (wait until a complete circle has formed before dodging). It's second phase has it become a ground-crawling wreck of itself. Dodge through it's body, and be careful with it's big laser attack.



- The Torture
~ Complexity exploited for terrible effect.




Up in the torture chambers to the left of the Cathedral is where this boss resides. The torture chambers can only be accessed through the far left of the Crystal Graves area. Upon defeat, you get the Eater of Darkness, which helps light up extremely dark areas like the Catacombs. This boss is not too hard. Some of it's attacks can be avoided simply by just not staying too close to it, like when it pulls a blade out of it's back and starts swinging madly.



- The Regret
~ True weakness.




Found in the depths of the Catacombs is where Saragat first died and also his ephemeral killer. Here you face your queen, Eleanor... or so it seems. Besting this illusion yields you your shift blade once more, which allows for a short range teleport that can also go through narrow slots in walls throughout the Citadel. Worry not, you've already seen your true queen, but this apparition does not hold back. She is the first boss in the game with their own gaurd meter. She can do a running thrust attack, a big charge attack, a series of 3 swings, or summon clones that can shoot at you. Her main weakness is that she doesn't turn around during her attacks, so when she does attack, roll through and punish her back. This boss relies on quick reactions in order to survive.



- The Greed
~ Visually manifest.




The Biomass Storage of the Citadel carries this squishy abomination, who, upon killing, gives the Fragment of the Outsider. The Fragment allows for Saragat to walk through the mirrors in the Library, Biomass Storage, and the Roots. This boss is seemingly easy... it has a quick jump attack, and can spew... gunk at you, which is pretty much a free gaurd fill-up. However, upon defeat, it reanimates! The Mirror, mostly transparent and flying, is your true target. It spawns green gear objects that chase you and do massive damage upon contact, but are very slow. It is very easy to roll through them though. This fight's main difficulty comes from dealing with two targets.



- The Murder
~ Effective combat is unfair.




At the uppermost top of the tree in the upper-rightmost portion of the map is an assassin out for your blood. Slaying this hunter awards the Glyph of Flight, which, well, allows you to fly. This fight is mostly about using your shift blade for maximum effect. Whenever the Sniper's light goes from blue to red, be ready to warp the instant it is red. Most of the animation for using the shift blade has you immune to damage, which is pivotal to this fight. Also, this is the last platforming section of the game, and is the most difficult and punishing. Fall off the screen, and you start all over. When you finally do catch up to the boss, don't smack it around for too long, as it'll explode and teleport away and the chase begins again.



- The Eldritch
~ Knowledge from beyond.




The penultimate required boss! Found next to the Derelict, the relic you get this time is the Head of the Fog Eater, which allows for traversal of the fog and destruction of any large red blocks. This boss only has three attacks: a summoning of eyes that are dangerous to fly into, summoning pincer-tentacles after a short animation, and the Fog Eater straight up trying to drop itself on you. All these attacks do a lot of damage. When the Fog Eater drops itself on you, run. Being on the ground makes it easier to dodge. The Tentacle summon is especially dangerous, because if you are on top of multiple overlapping tentacles, it might even one shot you at times. This boss is rough, but not as hard as the final boss...



- The Navigator
~ Leadership comes in many forms.




The final obstacle before the Citadel can be sent back into space where it belongs. This boss has three phases, and can be highly punishing. However, every time a phase is beaten, you never have to do that phase again (thank goodness for that). Some general tips - if you've gotten this far, you should have a handle on the gaurd system. For the second phase when you're flying, you cannot regenerate gaurd unless you spam your fly key... which regenerates it one at a time. Instead, use your shift blade to avoid the lasers if things are going bad, it makes this phase more manageable. For the final phase, you can destroy any particular body part that is troubling you the most. If you destroy all of them, though, body parts will regenerate. The final phase can be quite the bullet hell at times, but if you win, you get to the ending! Which leads me to...

Now that the Navigator has fallen, it's ending time, and you have three potential endings to choose from. Do you accept Waltham, or reject his prescence?

- Ending C
~ That's not what happened in the end.




Sitting on a ledge, overlooking the Citadel, you converse with Waltham. This achievement is obtained by saying yes to Waltham's request instead of refusing. You choose to spend the rest of your life with a Waltham in your head, as equals.



- Ending B
~ Close enough, but not the truth of it.




This ending is by refusing Waltham's request, and then fighting him in combat! He isn't very difficult, especially in comparison to the Navigator. He has sword-summoning attacks just like the Navigator, and a lightning bolt attack very similar to the shaded cloak enemies found near the Derelict and the Capital, but instead summons 3 bolts instead. Waltham doesn't have very much health, and this fight should be a breeze!

Upon defeating Waltham, he fades away, fulfilling his promise of keeping you alive. He goes dormant, only to rise again potentially in times of great need...



- Ending A
~ The true conclusion...




The final, true ending is when you yet again refuse Waltham, but instead DIE in his boss fight instead. Upon your defeat, Waltham expresses surprise, but ultimately both Saragat and Waltham decide to remain united to face the ever-present threat of the Fog, which grows closer....

There's not too many hidden or optional achievements in this game, unlike Shrouded in Sanity. They are as follows:

- Brave or foolish...
~ Not in a position to negotiate.




In what is now apparently becoming a tradition, you are offered a choice at the beginning from Waltham: work by his side, or die. To get this achievement, say no. I dare you. Waltham will leave you as the corpse you were. What were you thinking?



- No escape
~ First time for everything...




You get an achievement for dying. I don't know how you wouldn't get this achievement, I swear. Optional only by technicality alone.



- Pugs, pugs everywhere
~ "The failure at the start require a delicate touch"




Remember that massive hole you fell down at the very beginning of the game as squishy Parasyte Waltham? When you get the wall-jump later in the game, head back here. Keep wall-jumping up and up. Go slowly, and you just might hear a curious sound coming from one direction... it might be worth investigating.

This achievements take an entire playthrough to achieve, so these are arguably the biggest time commitment out of all the achievements so far. Also, some of these can be downright brutal, so be warned and be ready to commit to these!

- No kill clear
~ For the pacifists out there.




This is the easiest of the playthrough achievements ignoring the recently added Eraen Mode. You can still level up, using the vitae canisters spread throughout the Citadel, as well as the plethora of Yth stones you find. However, this Pacifist requirement does NOT apply to bosses, so go ahead and hack them to pieces, you have literally no other option in order to progress. General advice being to just never, ever attack. It's that easy, pretty much. But if you make one mistake, the entire playthrough is wasted, so be extra careful. Also, pets are pretty risky in general, make sure you don't have one summoned, or have it on hold outside of boss fights.



- Level 1 clear
~ Yeah it's possible.




This is definitely harder now. No leveling means no scaling bonuses for your weapons or anything. So what then to do with all those Yth stones? Absolutely dump them into your pet(s) of choice, they will become a massive help in the DPS you put out over time. If you can't really do damage, make them do it for you! Vitae doesn't really mean too much, unless you want to buy spells, update the map you have, or increase devotion, none of which are that helpful for your survival to be honest. Your pets are your best option by far.



- No death clear
~ Yeah it's also possible.




Oh yeah, this is gonna be rough. No dying whatsoever, which means pretty little room for mistakes. Get very familiar with all the enemies in the game, the bosses too. Choose a weapon class that you are effective at. Level up Gaurd and Constitution frequently to make things easier. Your Yth stones are a valuable resource, spend them effectively. There's not too much advice I can offer: I haven't gotten this achievement yet either. It's a hard one.



- Lord Navigator, Eraen.
~ When he got bored of serving, he made them all kneel.




Upon beating your first playthrough, you now have the option of Eraen mode. This is more akin to a boss mode of sorts - all dialogue and story has been cut out, and you start the game with pretty much every artifact and upgrade sans the Blood of the Citadel. Your goal is to fight any boss you want in any order, and then beat the Navigator. No other restrictions, so this achievement shouldn't be too difficult, especially in comparison to the others above.

So that should be all the current achievements in Usurper for you! If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please let me know. This guide is, after all, a work in progress, so and suggestions and tips can be worked in with credit given. Thank Steve Gal yet again for making another wonderful game, and Jamie Warne for providing an even better soundtrack than before! But with our turn at Saragat coming to a close, Hito steps up, and gets ready to go Into the Fray...