"Inferno - Beyond the 7th Circle" is a sequel/spiritual successor to an earlier RPG, "The 7th Circle," by the same developer. The games are mechanically very similar--enough so that large chunks of this guide are directly cribbed from a guide I wrote for The 7th Circle. If you like Inferno and haven't played the 7th Circle, you owe it to yourself to try it as you'll most certainly like it too. Below are some of the differences between the games.

• Inferno eschews the straight "Proceed through Dungeon levels" format for a more traditional RPG. There are fewer "levels," though each is several times larger than a 7th Circle level and can be explored freely.
  
• There are NPCs and a "town" of sorts.
  
• Survival elements are added; you have to eat, drink, and rest or suffer status ailments
  
• There are more advanced and complicated puzzles in the dungeons.
  
• There is no permadeath like in Inferno unless you explicitly enable it (and you have to beat the game first)

7th Circle was a "run-based" game where each successive run your character would get stronger. In Inferno, very little carries over from game to game:

• Achievements (kill X number of enemies etc) net you "Hereditary Points" which you can put towards XP, Blood Drops, or Rarity bonuses in future games.
  
• Any spell formulas you learn are preserved from game to game.

Some of the metaprogression elements from the 7th Circle are incorporated in part in Inferno:

• The Deck of Doom is back, but rather than choosing a new deck each run, you can change the contents of your deck at any time.
  
• There's one "Blood Pillar" of a sort where you can use your Blood Drops to buy bonuses, though they're far less significant buffs than the Blood Pillars in the 7th Circle.

• Difficulty levels are very similar to the 7th Circle, but the highest difficulty level (Hell) adds an additional enemy for each battle, and gives each monster you face a random permanent buff.
  
• Enemy Zones of Control never overlap in Inferno. You'll always fight just one battle at a time, though some battles have several enemies in them.
  
• Bladed weapons got completely overhauled; everything is an axe now, and each weapon comes in an "Iron" or "Steel" version (with Steel being slightly better.) Critical rates and quality are more consistent (and overall slightly lower) and weights tend to be a tad higher.
  
• All other weapon types are virtually unchanged. Mauls, Sledgehammers and Scythes got damage nerfs but all other stats are identical--except for weapon weights, which are more consistent and have more reasonable caps. (ie. no crazy 1000+ weight Sledgehammers)
  
• There are more types of Throwing Weapons, but they're still a weak and largely supplemental weapon.
  
• Many spells can be charged with Blood Drops to make them more effective.
  
• There's a new type of spell, Rune Magic, that is customizable and consumes Blood Drops instead of SP.
  
• There's a "summon charge" bar that shows when your Necromancy summons will attack next.
  
• Equipment weight is much less important. In addition to equipment being lighter in general, weight doesn't tank your Reflex or Initiative score any more and only really affects your Stamina.
  
• Status ailments are much more consequential, as it won't be until the tail end of the game that you can get your saves high enough to ignore them. There are several new status ailments, and a few persistent ailments that last between battles until you cure them.
  
• All the ordinary enemies from 7th Circle return except for the Mad Clown. Another ordinary enemy, the Living Doll, got a rename and a slight sprite tweak. Several of the bosses do not return: Seth, Suicide Woods, The Horde, Psycho Doll, Killer Clown, and Pogo the Bear. There are two new ordinary enemies (four if you count palette swaps) and 5 new bosses.

• Tasks of the Dead (missions that give you Deck draws) and Blood Pacts (temporary buffs you can buy) are gone.
  
• Moon Phases are gone and replaced with a day/night cycle.
  
• There are no Nightmare Zones that prevent you from resting. There are no Safe Zones either; you create your own single-use Safe Zones by crafting Campfires.
  
• Summoned Servants (sell you items) and Oracles (sell you Deck draws) are gone from the Necromancy spell book, and are replaced with useful combat buffs, and a spell that lets you create Souls of the Damned.
  
• The spellbooks between the two games are mostly identical. Some spells that don't make sense for Inferno (e.g. "teleport to where your last character died") are gone, and others are added that aid with some of Inferno's new mechanics. (e.g. reducing hunger/thirst rate)
  
• Black Holes remain, but the old board game-style minigame is gone, replaced with a Picross-type minigame.
  
• There are lots of new types of terrain, like barricades, guards, resource harvesting spots, etc.
  
• Duels (optional battles that increase drop rarity) are gone. In their place are Doppelgangers.
  
• Lost Souls that appear at certain moon phases and give you treasure are gone, replaced with invisible spirits that can be summoned with a spell and give you a Deck of Doom draw
  
• Traps no longer summon enemies, but directly hurt you. There's never any reason to deliberately step on them (except for pit traps)
  
• Blood Drops are no longer the sole type of "currency;" there are also Gold Pieces which are used for trade. Monsters never drop gold, but Blood Drops can be exchanged for them (at an usurious rate)
  
• The Survivalism skill is broken into two separate skills: Survivalism and Hunting. The monster-hunting elements of 7th Circle Survivalism (finding Hide Strips etc) move to Hunting and resource-gathering elements are added to Survivalism.
  
• A new skill, Lockpicking, is added, as are locks to pick.
  
• Crafting is expanded. Unguents are craftable now and survival-related items are also craftable. There are several new types of crafting materials.
  
• Lots of new perks were added to each skill; every skill now has a Level 30 perk.
  
• Quite a few Traits were removed and replaced with new ones. You can also now have up to 4 Traits, gaining one new one every 10 levels. However Traits are far less potent in Inferno than they were in the 7th Circle.

Pre-built characters with stats and skills distributed based on a predefined archetype. (Soldier, Rogue, Summoner, etc).

Distributes all stat points and skill points at random. Tends to start out somewhat unspecialized, but random characters get 3 additional stat points that the other options don't. Though rare, it's possible to generate a random character with more than 3 skill points in a single skill, which is impossible with a custom or pre-built character archetype.

You get to distribute all of your skill and stat points yourself to make a custom-built character.



In addition to your stats and skills, you can pick a background for a starting bonus:

• Son of a Demon Hunter: Iron Battleaxe, 10 Throwing Knives, +1 Strength
  
• Heir of a Wealthy Family: 1000 GP, +1 Luck, +1 Intellect
  
• A Survivor in Hell: 3 Poison Oil, 15 Shuriken, +2 Speed
  
• The Faithful: 5 Green, Blue, and Red Herbs, +2 Mind, +1 Intellect
  
• Seeking for Revenge: 3 Souls of the Damned, a Fine Quarterstaff, +3 Intellect
  
• The Saviour of our People: Level 3 Light Head/Torso/Leg/Body armor
  
• Child of the Wilderness: 1 Bandage, 1 Antibiotic, 5 Fruit, 5 Vegetables, +1 Body

In a lot of ways, it doesn't matter how you build your character at character creation; almost no matter what you do your character is going to be worthless at just about anything. You can't distribute more than 3 points into any one skill, which is practically nothing. Stats you get a little more leeway with but you don't get much to play with.

Random characters have an edge; you get more stat points and with judicious rerolls you can sometimes start with enough skill points in a skill to get a perk.

Some general tips:

• Stat-wise, focus on survival. Invest heavily in Speed to get your Initiative and Reflex save up. Body and Mind are useful to get your Fitness and Willpower up too. Intelligence is more useful than Strength as increased magic power makes your healing spells better at the beginning of the game.
  
• Skill-wise, focus on boosting your magic paths to get access to more spells quickly. In a particular a point in White Magic and 2 points in Necromancy means you won't fail casting Cure Light Wounds or Summon Skeleton, two very useful early-game spells.
  
• If you're playing on a higher difficulty, your background is more important. If you don't pick "Son of a Demon Hunter" or "Seeking for Revenge" you'll have to take on your first battle unarmed, which can be difficult. (Survivor in Hell, while unarmed, can mitigate this a bit with poison/Shuriken)
  
• Starting with 4 Conjuration skill gives you a 50% chance to can use the RIFU spell on turn 1 to warp to the Shelter. (With random characters you can get Conjuration even higher) This is a great strategy for Hell difficulty as it lets you grind for items and some skills before fighting anything, doubly so if you start with the 1000 GP "Heir of a Wealthy Family" gives you. (Note: getting back to an area with manageable enemies in safety requires some forethought)

Each point gives: Melee damage +5%, Max Stamina +50, +35 Carry Capacity.

Comment: Important stat for anyone relying on melee damage, but even "pure" casters will want to invest in Strength in order to get their Stamina up. Carry Capacity is pretty much a non-issue outside of the very earliest stages of the game.

Each point gives: Magic damage +10%, Surprise chance +2%, Spell duration +.5 rounds (+1 round every 2 points)

Comment: Why magic is better than melee in this game. Scales up magic damage dramatically (also affects healing spells), gives you better spell duration and surprise chance--next to Speed, probably the most useful stat to invest in.

Each point gives: HP +200, Fitness save +2%

Comment: The HP bonus is not really that useful, but you'll want to get your Fitness save up early in the game. Once you get your Fitness save high enough you'll want to stop (or slow down) your investment in Body.

Each point gives: SP +150, Willpower save +2%, SP Regeneration +1

Comment: Similar to Body. The SP bonus isn't fantastic, but you want your Willpower save up early on, and the SP regeneration is nice too. Like Body, once your Willpower save is high enough you'll want to focus on other stats.

Each point gives: Initiative +50, Reflex save +2%

Comment: Best stat in the game. Initiative keeps enemies from overwhelming you, Reflex save prevents them from hitting you in the first place. While your effective Reflex save tops out at 90% it's worth putting points into Speed even past then, as it allows you to get hit with debuffs while still maintaining a high dodge rate.

Each point gives: Crit Chance +0.3%, Loot chance +0.5%, Item Rarity +0.2%. Willpower/Fitness save +.2% (1% every 5 points)

Comment: The effect for each additional point is barely noticeable, but it pays dividends over time. Especially important for anyone that uses melee as Luck will affect your critical chance much more than weapon skill or type.

Effect: A secondary stat; your effective "Saving Throw" against physical status ailments (Poison, Crippled, Bleeding, etc)

Comment: Phyiscal status ailments are pretty brutal, especially Poison. You'll want this stat as high as possible. Can exceed 100%, making you effectively immune to physical status ailments.

Effect: A secondary stat; your effective "Saving Throw" against mental status effects (Curse, Scared, Confused, etc)

Comment:Less important than Fitness as mental status effects tend to be less deadly than physical ones, but otherwise the same advice regarding your Fitness status applies.

Effect: A secondary stat; effectively your chance to dodge attacks from enemies, though the percentage isn't exact as enemies can make to-hit rolls over 100. (and so can you) While your innate Reflex value can go well above 100%, the effective rate caps out at 90% no matter how you go. The reverse is true as well; while your adjusted Reflex can go very low the effective minimum Reflex rate is 10%. Monsters similarly have a min/max Reflex of 10%/90% as well.

Comment: Most important save--and arguably, stat value--in the game. If enemies can't hit you they can't kill you. A high Reflex also effectively increases your Fitness and Willpower saves too, as enemies can't affect you with status ailments if they can't hit you in the first place.

Effect: Secondary stat that affects attack order in battle, along with Initiative. It appears that your Stamina relative to the enemy gives you a bonus or malus to your chance to attack next. If you have 0 Stamina there's a really good chance your opponent will get a lot of strikes in a row. Stamina is reduced in battle by moving, (costs a percentage of your total equipment weight) attacking with a melee weapon, (costs the weight of your weapon) casting a spell (costs a flat 100) or using a throwing weapon (costs a flat 50).

Comment: Important stat to keep an eye on in combat. Your bonus relative to the enemy appears to be absolute relative to the enemy; e.g. if your max stamina is 1000 and your enemy's is 2000 and you're both at maximum, the enemy will have more of a chance to act next. Very important for a melee character; less important for pure casters.

Effect: Secondary stat that affects attack order in battle, along with Stamina. Like Stamina It appears that your Initiative relative to the enemy gives you a bonus or malus to your chance to attack next.

Comment: Keep Initiative as high as possible. If you run out of Stamina but have good Initiative you'll eventually get a turn as your opponent's Stamina drains, but if you have low Stamina and low Initiative your enemy can rack up huge combos without you being able to react.

Effect: Secondary stat that reduces any incoming damage by .1% for each point. Caps out at 900 (i.e. 90% damage reduction)

Comment: Important for everyone. You want it as high as possible, so long as the weight you're equipping doesn't tank your Reflex and Initiative.

Effect: The total weight of your equipment. Influences the amount of Stamina used in combat. Can reduce your Speed if it goes too high.

Comment: Unless you go over your carry capacity Weight isn't too important, and is borderline meaningless for a character that doesn't intend to engage in melee much.

Each point gives: To-hit +2%, Critical +0.3%, Critical multiplier +0.05x

Perks:

• Special Attack (5): Blinds enemy (if they don't make their save)
  
• Cutthroat (15): Gain blood drops when landing a critical hit
  
• Master (25): Special Attack meter raises twice as fast
  
• Enhanced Special Attack (30): Special attack also causes Bleeding

Trained by: Attacking enemies with bladed weapons

Comment: Bladed weapons are powerful weapons that critically hit more than other types and tend to have better criticals too. They tend to be pretty heavy though.

Training advice: As with all weapon skills, if you do a significant amount of melee and choose this as your primary weapon type you'll probably max it on your own.

Each point gives: To-hit +2%, Critical +0.2%, Critical multiplier +0.07x

Perks:

• Special Attack (5): Confuses enemy (if they don't make their save)
  
• Shove (10): Unbalances enemy on a Critical strike (if they don't make their save)
  
• Master (25): Special Attack meter raises twice as fast
  
• Enhanced Special Attack (30): Special attack also causes Exposed

Trained by: Attacking enemies with blunt weapons

Comment: Odd weapons that either do OK damage and are light, or huge damage and are very heavy. Chance to critical and quality of criticals are really bad though they improve with skill better than other weapons. Ailments inflicted by blunt weapons tend to be better than other weapon types.

Training advice: As with all weapon skills, if you do a significant amount of melee and choose this as your primary weapon type you'll probably max it on your own.

Each point gives: To-hit +3%, Critical +0.2%, Critical multiplier +0.05x

Perks:

• Special Attack (5): Pushes back enemy 1 space (if they don't make their save)
  
• Extra Defense (10): Adds 15% Reflex when defending
  
• Knight's Run (20): Attacks performed immediately after advancing do extra damage
  
• Master (25): Special Attack meter raises twice as fast
  
• Enhanced Special Attack (30): Special attack also causes Unbalanced

Trained by: Attacking enemies with pole weapons

Comment: Well-balanced weapons that do good damage, have decent critical rates, better critical quality than any other weapon type, and can hit at range. High-end weapons are as heavy as high-end Blunt weapons but don't do as much damage. Polearms have great perks and Extra Defense make them an excellent defensive weapon type.

Training advice: As with all weapon skills, if you do a significant amount of melee and choose this as your primary weapon type you'll probably max it on your own.

Each point gives: To-hit +2.5x, Critical +0.2%, Critical multiplier +0.05x, +5 Damage

Perks:

• Special Attack (5): Attacks many times in quick succession
  
• Deadly Blows (15): Adds 50 damage to unarmed strikes
  
• High Kick (20): Unarmed attack can reach two spaces instead of one
  
• Master (25): Special Attack meter raises twice as fast
  
• Body Control (30): Adds 15% to all saves when unarmed

Trained by: Hitting enemies with your fists.

Comment: Weightless (obviously) weapon that takes a flat 50 Stamina to attack. More accurate than most weapons, and has some really great perks, but does very low damage. The Special Attack is fatiguing but does lots of burst damage; Unarmed strategy will revolve around it a lot. Unarmed attackers will need some alternate method of dealing with regenerating enemies.

Training advice: As with all weapon skills, if you do a significant amount of melee and choose this as your primary weapon type you'll probably max it on your own.

Each point gives: To hit +1.5%, Critical +0.15%, Critical multiplier +0.02x

Perks:

• Special Attack (5): Causes Bleeding (if the enemy doesn't make their save)
  
• Perseverant (10): Second attack always does max damage if the first one connects
  
• Master (25): Special Attack meter raises twice as fast
  
• Enhanced Special Attack (30): Special attack makes a third strike

Trained by: Hitting enemies with twin weapons.

Comment: Light weapons that do somewhat low damage, are very inaccurate and have really poor and somewhat infrequent criticals. Also requires twice the amount of metal scraps to upgrade. However the default double-blow is a nice perk. Tends to be quite powerful in the early game with decreasing effectiveness the further you get. Not very effective against regenerating enemies.

Training advice: As with all weapon skills, if you do a significant amount of melee and choose this as your primary weapon type you'll probably max it on your own.

Each point gives: To hit +3%, Damage +5%

Perks:

• Ninja (5): Causes Bleeding if all 3 Shuriken connect
  
• Boomerang Knife (10): 20% chance not to use up a throwing knife if you miss
  
• Heavy Hammer (15): Knocks enemy back 2 spaces instead of 1
  
• Bullseye (30): Throwing weapons always do max damage

Trained by: Hitting enemies with thrown weapons.

Comment: Fun but ultimately not very effective weapon type due to the extremely low damage. Is an auxiliary weapon type at best.

Training advice: Not that hard to max since metal scraps for ammo are relatively plentiful (and you can always cast Magic Stone) and throwing weapons do so little damage. Very time-consuming to do so though.

Each point gives: Light Armor value +1%, Light Armor Encumbrance -2%

Perks:

• Still Standing (10): Immune to Unbalanced when wearing Light boots
  
• Winterproof (25): Immune to Chilled when wearing Light torso armor
  
• Light Gear (30): When wearing a full set of Light Armor, +10% Reflex

Trained by: Getting hit while wearing Light armor

Comment: By the end of the game you'll likely max out your Armor Value with either type of armor. Slightly better than Heavy Armor because it's lighter but the difference is negligible. You can train both armor skills at the same time by wearing mixed armor types.

Training advice: Not that hard to train, but past a certain point your Reflex will be high enough to dodge most enemy attacks, and improving your armor skills makes it easier to dodge by reducing weight, making each skill level progressively more difficult to get.

Each point gives: Heavy Armor value +1%, Heavy Armor Encumbrance -2%

Perks:

• Iron Leg (20) Immune to Crippled when wearing Heavy leg armor
  
• Iron Head (25) Immune to Dumb when wearing Heavy head armor
  
• Heavy Gear (30) When wearing a full set of Heavy Armor, +150 Armor value

Trained by: Getting hit while wearing Heavy armor

Comment: Basically the same as light armor; Heavy armor has more Armor Value but you can max out your Armor Value rating with either type. Not quite as good as Light Armor because of weight. You can train both armor skills at the same time by wearing mixed armor types.

Training advice: Basically the same as Light Armor; all the advice there applies.

Each point gives: Max level of weapons upgrade +1, Level of armor crafted +1

Perks:

• Recycler (5): 10% chance to only use half resources when crafting
  
• Masterpiece Maker I (10): All crafted armor has one star of rarity
  
• Blacksmith's Luck (15): 5% chance to double effects of weapons upgrades
  
• Masterpiece Maker III (25): All crafted armor has three stars of rarity
  
• Master Armorer (30): Armor is crafted at Level 35

Trained by: Destroying items, crafting new items

Comment: The max level of weapons upgrades is largely irrelevant as the metal scraps cost past the first few levels spirals out of control. Perks are nice, and it's trivial to max out your Armor Value with Level 35 armor if you max out the skill.

Training advice: The easiest of the Miscellaneous skills to max most likely. You'll gain a significant amount of Crafting skill just from destroying stuff you don't want. You can train by crafting anything, but armor gives you better skill gains than thrown weapons or items.


Each point gives: Medicine effect +3%, Medicine duration (when applicable) +1 turn

Perks:

• Resource Optimization (10): 5% chance to mix two medicines instead of 1
  
• Healer (20): Every non-Mana/Health medicine restores 10% HP
  
• Advanced Medicine (10): Health Medicine also adds Mighty and Furious buffs, Mana Medicine adds Focused and Bright buffs

Trained by: Mixing medicines

Comment: Great skill. Buffing medicines drop off in usefulness but Health and Mana medicines are extremely useful throughout the whole game and the increase in effectiveness is noticeable. If you manage to max out the skill, the Advanced Medicine perk is amazing though you probably won't pull that off without a lot of grinding.

Training advice: Very hard to raise as components aren't that plentiful. You can grind it out by effective buying and selling of components at the Shelter but doing so is very tedious.


Each point gives: Avoid ambushes when resting +3%, Surprise attack chance +2%, Chance to get extra resources +3%

Perks:

• Trap Finder (5): See traps on the minimap
  
• Cook (10): Get 10% more nutrition from cooked meat
  
• Perfectionist (15): When you kill an enemy with max HP, +10% XP/Blood Drops
  
• Watchman (20): Halves confusion duration when ambushed during camping
  
• Herbalist (30): Gives additional herbs when harvesting.

Trained by: Resting, Collecting resources, making surprise attacks

Comment: Nice skill for the extra surprise attack chance, but otherwise not that useful. More useful in True Survivor mode than standard. You really want to reach level 5 to get Trap Finder, but after that you can forget about it (though Perfectionist is nice)

Training advice: The hardest skill to raise in the game by a long shot. You're not realistically going to max it without camping for days and days on end.

Each point gives: Chance to catch animals when trapping +3%, Chance to harvest monster organs +2%, Hide strips +1 after battle

Perks:

• Trap Maker (10): 10% chance to not consume a trap when hunting
  
• Corpse Examinator I (15): 25% chance to find resources (herbs, flints, etc) after each battle
  
• Hunter (25): Adds +20% damage to melee attacks on Beast-type enemies
  
• Corpse Examinator II (30): 50% chance to find resources (herbs, flints, etc) after each battle

Trained by: Trapping animals on the surface, killing enemies

Comment: Very useful skill for the additional monster organs and hide strips. Even if you're not going to use the organs/strips for pharmacology/crafting respectively, you can sell them.

Training advice: Extremely hard skill to raise. Gains from killing monsters are very, very slow. The best way to raise it is to trap animals over and over.


Each point gives: +0.3 seconds for lockpicking minigame

Perks:

• Damage Control I (10): Lose 0.4 seconds instead of 0.5 seconds for every mistake made during the lockpicking minigame
  
• Don't bother (15): Automatically bypass level 1 and 2 locks
  
• Damage Control II (25): Lose 0.3 seconds instead of 0.5 seconds for every mistake made during the lockpicking minigame
  
• Easy Path (30): Skip the first step in the lockpicking minigame

Trained by: Successfully picking locks

Comment: More or less an essential skill to get into locked chests and gates.

Training advice: Not hard to raise, but almost impossible to max. In fact you can't do it without excessive grinding in Forgotten Limbos--there aren't enough locks in the game to train it past the mid-20s otherwise. Fortunately it doesn't really matter as the skill you'll get naturally will be more than enough to give you enough time to pick virtually any lock.

Each point gives: Ability to cast higher-level spells

Perks:

• Poisoner (5): Adds 2 rounds to the duration of Poison
  
• Scholar (Black Magic) (10): Max SP +250
  
• Black Curse (25): Curses the enemy for 20 rounds at start of combat
  
• Snake's Blood (30): Immune to Poison

Trained by: Casting Black Magic spells

Comment: Mostly offensive magic--an interesting mix of damaging and debuffing spells, with more of a focus on the latter. Perks are mostly lackluster, though Black Curse is pretty great.

Training advice: Not hard to train as most Black Magic spells are pretty useful. If you focus on inflicting status ailments at all you'll probably want to rely on the lowest-level spell, Curse, a lot.


Each point gives: Ability to cast higher-level spells

Perks:

• Last Resort (5): Get Blessed if your HP dips below 10%
  
• Scholar (White Magic) (10): Max SP +250
  
• Divine Intervention (25): Random chance to be healed every round of battle
  
• Salvation (30): Become Blurred whenever you get hit

Trained by: Casting White Magic spells

Comment: Almost entirely buffing and defensive magic. Healing is useful, but the Restoration spell is where White Magic shines as it's the most efficient way to restore stamina. Great perks, too.

Training advice: You'll lean on healing spells a lot in the early game so this will naturally train high. Easy to max if you stand in one place outside of battle and spam Cure Light Wounds, but that's boring.


Each point gives: Ability to cast higher-level spells

Perks:

• Sub-zero (5): Freeze duration extended by 4 rounds
  
• Scholar (Elemental Magic) (10): Max SP +250
  
• Pyromaniac (15): Burning duration extended by 2 rounds
  
• Natural Barrier (25): Casts Ice Barrier on you every 25 rounds of combat
  
• Ice Lord (15): Freeze enemy for 10 round at the start of combat

Trained by: Casting Elemental Magic skills

Comment: Hands-down the fastest and most efficient way to kill enemies in the game. Mostly damage spells, but a handful of support and defensive spells as well. Great perks too.

Training advice: You might actually want to refrain from using your most powerful spells as killing your enemies too quickly will slow your skill gain. Still, Elemental Magic is so good at killing things you'll likely end up leaning on it a lot and maxing it without trying to.


Each point gives: Ability to cast higher-level spells

Perks:

• Scholar (Conjuration) (10): Max SP +250
  
• Mind Recovery (15): Recover 250 SP every time you kill an enemy
  
• Mind Regeneration (25): Gain +25 SP regeneration
  
• Sorcerer (30): SP regeneration every round of combat

Trained by: Casting Conjuration spells

Comment: Mostly out-of-combat support skills. Fantastic perks for any magic-using characters. Unless you're a melee-only character, you'll want to max out this skill ASAP for the Sorcerer perk.

Training advice: You'll max this skill without even trying simply through all the times you cast Magic Map.


Each point gives: Ability to cast higher-level spells

Perks:

• Voodoo Revenge (20): Does 10-60 damage to enemy every time it hits you
  
• Undead Control (25): Undead-type enemies have permanent Weakness debuff
  
• Taste of Blood (30): Get Vampirism buff for 10 rounds every time you crit

Trained by: Casting Necromancy spells

Comment: Unusual magic type that revolves around summons and manipulating them. Extremely useful in the early game as summons allow you to do occasional damage to enemies while you focus on defense or healing

Training advice: Even though most Necromancy spells are cast-once-and-forget-about-them, because of its utility in the early game, you'll likely see quick gains in this skill. Even after, with use of Anima Drain and Slave's Gift you may max it without any special effort.

At the beginning of the game you get to pick your character's Personality with a value on two axes. Once you pick you can't change it.

Wisdom/Pragmatism axis: Characters that lean toward Wisdom gain more XP but gain Skills more slowly. The reverse is true for characters that lean toward Pragmatism.

Ecstasy/Apathy axis: Ecstatic characters gain Adrenaline faster at the expense of SP regen. The reverse is true for Apathetic characters.

Personality Strategy:
A balanced personality is pretty decent. What you pick will largely depend on your character build and play style. A few considerations:

• Wisdom/Pragmatism is, in the long run, trading stat points for skills or vice versa. You can counteract the XP/stat loss from going Pragmatism somewhat with +XP items, Hereditary points, and Deck of Doom draws. There's no way to counteract the skill gain rate loss from Wisdom except with a lot of grinding.
  
• If you go full Apathy, you can counteract the Adrenaline loss a good deal with the Necromancy RESC spell. Keep in mind even if you're going full mage, Adrenaline is useful for entering Carnage mode and giving you blood drops.

You get to pick a Trait at the beginning of the game, and again at levels 10, 20, 30, and 40 at the Trainer in the Shelter. Traits can also be trained up to higher levels for (massive) amounts of gold. The values that improve with training are marked with an asterisk below:

Herbivorous: +3%* Food and Hydration level when you eat Fruit or Vegetables.
Rating/comment: 1/5: Worst trait in the game, even on True Survivor mode. Fruits and vegetables are even more uncommon than water and meat until much later in the game, and the bonus this trait provides is negligible.

Armor Expert: 50* Armor Value Penalty to any enemy you fight.
Rating/comment: 4/5: Great trait for a melee character. Doesn't increase your damage that much but every bit helps.

Plague Spreader: Unguents last for 2*strikes longer
Rating/comment: 1/5: Unguents are useful but not that useful, and the increase in effectiveness this trait gives is tiny.

Hatred: Adrenaline +10%* when combat begins
Rating/comment: 4/5: Nice trait since it gets you just a little bit closer to Carnage Mode for each fight.

Experimenter: Reduces spell failure chance by 10%*
Rating/comment: 2/5: This trait was much better in the 7th Circle. Still, it's useful early in the game to get higher level spells online faster.

Maniac: Increases Blood drops from battle by 10%*
Rating/comment: 3/5: Not a bad trait, but there are better way to get extra Blood Drops. (Read: Carnage Mode)

Blacksmith: Increases by 50%* the amount of metal scraps you get by destroying an item
Rating/comment: 2/5: Not so useful. Was a nice trait in the 7th Circle when Metal Scraps were scarce; in Inferno you can farm them pretty easily.

Defender: Defensive stance bonus +10*
Rating/comment: 5/5: Great trait, though it will eventually become obsolete when you naturally hit 90% Reflex save. Definitely a trait you should pick if you're going to do a Hell difficulty run.

Combo Master: Combo bonuses last 3* rounds longer
Rating/comment: 2/5: Not a bad trait for characters using light weapons like Martial Arts or Twin Weapons, but the bonus is really small.

Berserker: 2% chance to get Furious for 4* rounds when hit
Rating/comment: 1/5: 2% is awfully low and Furious isn't that good.

Leader: Your Summon Charge meter charges 5%* faster
Rating/comment: 2/5: Not a bad trait, but the speed difference is negligible, even once you boost your traits at the Shelter.

Northern Blood: Enemy is chilled for 3* rounds every time it hits you
Rating/comment: 5/5: Great trait; your enemies will be slowed all the time when you have it.

Slimy: Flee chance +10%*
Rating/comment: 1/5: Maybe OK if you're on a Hardcore run? You shouldn't generally need to flee battle if you know what you're doing.

Survival Instinct: Get the Stone Skin buff for 6* rounds after being critically hit
Rating/comment: 3/5: Stone Skin is a great buff, but once you max out your Armor Rating this isn't that useful. 6 rounds is awfully short too...

Mana Thief: Recover 3%* of your max SP every time you inflict a critical hit
Rating/comment: 3/5: Decent trait; there aren't many ways to restore SP. Pure mages might not be using melee attacks (and thus inflcting criticals) all that often though.

Witchery: Curse your enemy for 15* rounds after being critically hit
Rating/comment: 3/5: Not a bad trait for a character build oriented around debuffing enemies.

Explorer: Get 1* XP for every step you take
Rating/comment: 3/5: The XP you get from this trait is minimal, but it adds up. Good for cheesing the beginning stages of a Hell difficulty run.

Quick Reaction: Recover 25* Stamina every time you get hit
Rating/comment: 3/5: Decent trait for melee characters, especially heavy weapon users.

Specialist: Special attack charge at +20%* at the start of combat
Rating/comment: 2/5 Situational. Good for Martial Artists, not really worth it for everyone else.

Unstoppable: Recover 150* stamina every time you inflict a critical hit
Rating/comment: 4/5: Great trait for melee characters with high Luck.

Mage's Desperation: Recovers 20%* of your Max SP once per combat when Stamina hits 0
Rating/comment: 4/5: Stamina isn't a big issue for most mages, but as an easy method to restore a decent amount of SP, this is pretty good.

Blood Magic: Recover 3%* of your max SP every round if you're bleeding or below 10% HP
Rating/comment: 1/5: Bleeding or being below 10% HP should be extremely rare unless you're doing something very wrong.

Self Regeneration: 5% chance to start a fight with Regeneration for 10* rounds
Rating/comment: 2/5: Not a terrible trait, but kind of lackluster--you probably shouldn't be going into battle so hurt that you need regeneration.

Pyromaniac:5%* chance to start combat with your attacks fire branded
Rating/comment: 2/5: Not awful as making your enemies Burn is pretty useful, but you can probably find a better trait.

Mana Saver:5%* chance to cast spells for half cost
Rating/comment: 5/5: You can burn through SP very quickly in this game; any chance to reduce that helps.

Night Wanderer: +2* Intellect from dusk until dawn
Rating/comment: 5/5: A versatile trait that benefits just about any build.

Day Wanderer: +2* Strength from dusk until dawn
Rating/comment: 5/5: Another good stat-bonus trait; probably not quite as good as Night Wanderer though as Intellect is overall more useful than Strength.

Here's a list of the game's buffs and debuffs:

• Hasted: Speed +10
  
• Blurry: Reflex +20%
  
• Stone Skin: Armor Value +250
  
• Blessed: To-hit +25%
  
• Focused: To-hit +10%, Critical chance +10%
  
• Lucky: Luck +10
  
• Furious: Melee damage +25%, Stamina consumption -50%
  
• Bright: Intellect +10
  
• Mighty: Strength +10
  
• Vampirism: Heals user 2% of the damage done from each strike they make
  
• Adrenaline Rush: Melee damage +10%, Armor +100
  
• Regeneration: 1% Max HP restored every round

• Burning: Lose 5% of Max HP every round (mutually exclusive with other temperature effects)
  
• Warm: Lose 50 Stamina every round (mutually exclusive with other temperature effects)
  
• Frozen: Speed -15 (mutually exclusive with other temperature effects)
  
• Chilled: Speed -3 (mutually exclusive with other temperature effects)
  
• Poisoned: Does 10-60 x poisoner's level damage every round
  
• Sick: Strength -5, Speed -5
  
• Weak: Strength -8, Armor -100
  
• Dumb: Intellect -8
  
• Crippled: Speed -10. More Stamina than normal lost if you move
  
• Bleeding: -2% Max HP and -100 Stamina, but only if you move or attack
  
• Confused: Speed -5, Intellect -5, To-hit -20%
  
• Unbalanced: Reflex -20%
  
• Mute: Can't cast spells
  
• Cursed: Fitness and Willpower saves -40%, Luck -10
  
• Blind: -50% To-hit
  
• Scared: Can't advance in battle, -10% To-hit
  
• Drained: SP and Special Attack meters don't charge
  
• Exposed: -250 Armor
  
• Fever: Strength -10, Reflex -10%
  
• Entangled: Prevents moving or fleeing (motion/fleeing spells still work)

• Broken Leg: Crippled in battle until healed with a Splint at a campfire. Caused by falling down a pit without the "Light Feet" spell active.
  
• Disoriented: The minimap is fogged until resting at a campfire or for a few ticks without one. Caused by stepping on certain traps.
  
• Wounded Feet: Lose HP for every step you take. Cured by using Healing Powder at a Campfire. Caused by stepping on a Spike Trap.
  
• Hungry: Lose 1HP every step, restore no HP or SP while resting. Cured by eating. Caused by letting the Hunger meter drop to 0%.
  
• Dehydrated: Same as Hungry except you're also afflicted with "Dumb" in battle. Cured by drinking. Caused by letting the Hydration meter drop to 0%.
  
• Tired: Continually Confused in battle, Stamina starts at 0. Cured by resting. Caused by letting the Rest meter drop to 0%.
  
• Infection: Fever in battle until cured with Antibiotics at a campfire. Caused by drinking dirty water.
  
• Hypothermia: Chilled in battle until you rest at a campfire. Caused by running around in the rain too long.
  
• Open Wound: Bleeding in battle until cured with a Bandage at a campfire. Caused by ending battle with very low HP.
  
• Overburdened: Reduces Speed by 3 for each level of overburdening. Caused by equipping weight over your carry capacity; you gain 1 level of overburdening by going over at all, and an additional level for every 50 Weight you equip past that.
  
• Food Poisoning: Sick in battle until you use an Infusion at a campfire. Caused by eating uncooked meat.

The following is a list of all the weapons in the game--at least, all of those I've found. The stats below are for base-quality weapons. For higher-quality weapons, multiply their damage as follows:

• Fine: 1.25x damage
  
• Rare: 1.375x + 1 damage
  
• Excellent: 1.75x damage
  
• Legendary 2.125x damage

Medicines can be made from monster organs and Herbs you find throughout the game.

• Health Medicine: Restores HP. Made with 1 Monster Heart and 1 Green Herb
  
• Mana Medicine: Restores SP. Made with 1 Monster Brain and 1 Blue Herb
  
• Regenerating Fluid: Adds the Regeneration buff. Made with 1 Monster Heart, 2 Green Herbs, and 1 Red Herb
  
• Panacea: Cures all non-temperature temporary debuffs. Made with 1 Monster Liver, 1 Monster Tongue, and 1 Green Herb
  
• SPD Boost: Adds the Hasted buff. Made with 1 Monster Liver and 1 Monster Bowels
  
• STR Boost: Adds the Mighty buff. Made with 1 Monster Heart and 1 Monster Liver
  
• INT Boost: Adds the Bright buff. Made with 1 Monster Brain and 1 Monster Eyes
  
• Armour Boost: Adds the Stone Skin Buff. Made with 1 Monster Heart and 1 Monster Tongue
  
• Precision Boost: Adds the Focused Buff. Made with 1 Monster Eyes and 1 Monster Bowels

Souls of the Damned can be found in chests and act like a Necromancy summon. They can also be created with a Necromancy spell from skulls or bones. They're weaker than even a summoned Skeleton so there's usually not much reason to use them.


Unguents can be found in chests or crafted. They come in three flavors, and are applied to your melee weapon for a number of turns. During that period, if you hit an enemy with your weapon you have the chance to inflict a status ailment:

• Poisonous Oil: Inflicts Poison. Made with 1 Monster Liver, 1 Monster Tongue, and 2 Green Herbs.
  
• Liquid Nitrogen: Inflicts Frozen. Made with 1 Monster Brain, 1 Monster Eyes, and 2 Blue Herbs
  
• Burning Oil: Inflicts Burning. Made with 1 Monster Heart, 1 Monster Bowels, and 2 Red Herbs.

Unguents are most useful at the early stages of the game. Later on it's much easier to inflict said ailments with magic.


Thrown weapons take 50 Stamina to throw. Can be crafted, and Thrown Daggers, Shuriken and Hammers can be found in chests. Their effects and base damage before Throwing Weapon skill bonuses are:

• Sling Bullet: Single-shot. Does 25-125 damage. Made with 1 Metal Scrap.
  
• Thrown Dagger: Single-shot. Does 65-200 damage. Made with 4 Metal Scraps.
  
• Shuriken: Thrown and crafted in sets of 3. Each does 25-100 damage. Made with 4 Metal Scraps.
  
• Hammer: Single-shot, can knock back the enemy. Does 100-320 damage. Made with 10 Metal Scraps.
  
• Caltrops: Dropped on the ground, can cause Bleeding if an enemy steps on it. Does 50-150 damage. Flying or floating enemies are unaffected. Made with 3 Metal Scraps. Requires a Crafting skill of 5 to make.
  
• Fire Dagger: Single-Shot, can cause Burning. Does 200-400 damage. Crafted with 5 Metal Scraps, 1 Cloth and 1 Red Herb. Requires a Crafting Skill of 10 to make.
  
• Dynamite: Single-Shot, never misses and can cause Confusion. Does 500-1000 damage. Crafted with 1 Cloth, 1 Flint Stone, and 3 Red Herbs. Requires a Crafting skill of 20 to make.

Note that enemy Armor Value affects Throwing Weapons' damage.


Curative items can be used to heal permanent debuffs at a campfire.

• Healing Powder: Cures Wounded Feet. Made with 2 Green Herbs and 2 Red Herbs
  
• Antibiotics: Cures Infection. Made with 1 Monster Tongue, 1 Green Herb, and 2 Blue Herbs.
  
• Infusion: Cures Food Poisoning. Made with 1 Monster Liver, 1 Green Herb, and 2 Blue Herbs.
  
• Splint: Cures Broken Legs. Made with 4 Cloth and 2 Wood Pieces.
  
• Bandage: Cures Open Wounds. Made with 2 Cloth and 1 Green Herb.

Miscellaneous items used in exploration. Have to be crafted.

• Campfire Kit: Creates campfires, safe places to rest, prepare food and heal. Made with 5 Wood Pieces and 1 Flint.
  
• Lockpick: Used to pick locks. Made with 2 Metal Scraps.
  
• Trap: Used to catch animals for food. Made with 2 Wood Pieces and 5 Metal Scraps.
  
• Torch: Lights up the area, increasing your field of vision by 1. Made with 2 Cloths, 1 Wood Piece and 1 Red Herb.

Every time you gain a level, rescue a Spirit, or complete certain side quests, you get to draw a random card from your Deck of Doom. Each card gives you a different permanent buff, and your deck has to have 20 cards in it. You can choose what cards are in your deck at any time.

The 20 cards you start with are very weak. As you progress through the game you can find better ones. One strategy is to save your deck draws until you get a better-quality deck.


Skulls are very rare drops from specific chests and act as permanent buffs. They're useful though some aren't found until very late in the game.

• Black Skull: 10% chance to Recovers 25% of Max HP and SP on death. Worthless item considering how late in the game you get it (and 10% chance is not that high anyway).
  
• White Skull: You get a Focused buff for a few rounds at the beginning of battle. A nice bonus.
  
• Blue Skull: Regenerates .5% of your max SP every round. This adds up quickly and is very useful for mages.
  
• Red Skull: You get a Vampirism buff for the first few rounds of battle. Not really useful.
  
• Green Skull: Inflicts 5 rounds of Poison to the first enemy you face in combat. Can do much more damage than you might expect.
  
• Yellow Skull: Your Adrenaline level is bumped by 25% at the start of battle. Great bonus to have.

Level: 1
Formula: MALE
SP Cost: 180
Effect: Target is Cursed for 4 rounds. Target's saving throw is halved.
Comment: Very useful spell, especially later in the game and on higher difficulties. Used to "soften up" an enemy so you can hit it with other status ailments.

Level: 3
Formula: ANTO
SP Cost: 220
Effect: Deals 125-375 damage
Comment: Weak but very cost-efficient attack spell. More powerful overall than equivalent low-level Elemental spells.

Level: 4
Formula: MENE
SP Cost: 240
Effect: Buffs you with Mighty for 12 rounds (increases with INT) but debuffs you with Cursed for 12 rounds (decreases with INT)
Comment: The duration of Cursed will eventually drop to 0. A significantly better spell than Song of Might, the White Magic spell that also grants Mighty.

Level: 6
Formula: CENE
SP Cost:350
Effect: Blinds an enemy for 5 turns
Comment: OK spell in the early game, but eventually nothing will ever hit you anyway.

Level: 7
Formula: NUVE
SP Cost: 400
Effect: Deals 200-400 damage and inflicts Sickness for 5 rounds
Comment: Decent enough attack spell, though you'll move on to another quickly.

Level: 8
Formula: CONE
SP Cost: 400
Effect: Deals 250-500 damage and inflicts Confusion for 5 rounds
Comment: Solid attack spell; will be your mainstay for a while if you focus on Black Magic.

Level: 9
Formula: PEMA
SP Cost: 650
Effect: Causes Exposed for 10 rounds
Comment: Fantastic support spell for weapon-based combat, especially later in the game when enemies have high Armor Ratings.

Level: 10
Formula: ARVE
SP Cost:500
Effect: Brands weapon with Poison
Comment: The best of the three branding spells. Poison is great and scales with your level.

Level: 15
Formula: FOVE
SP Cost: 1000
Effect: Target is Poisoned and Weakened for 10 rounds
Comment: Strong debuff. Very powerful at higher experience levels.

Level: 18
Formula: VASE
SP Cost: 850
Effect: Buffs you with Vampirism for 5 rounds
Comment: Pointless. Vampirism heals so little it's not worth casting.

Level: 20
Formula: SUSA
SP Cost: 750
Effect: Steal 100 of the target's HP
Comment: Not very useful. Drains too little for the cost to be worth it.

Level: 21
Formula: ELVO
SP Cost: 800
Effect: Causes Confusion for 5 rounds, Unbalanced for 3 rounds, and knocks the target back
Comment: Amazing spell for a melee-focused character on higher difficulties. Reduces enemy's ability to dodge by a lot. Costly though.

Level: 22
Formula: ANPE
SP Cost: 500
Effect: Tallies up all the damage the target deals you in 10 rounds, then hits the enemy for the same amount of damage
Comment: For most enemies this isn't really all that worth it, but this spell is extremely effective against Dopplegangers.

Level: 24
Formula: SABE
SP Cost: 1000
Effect: Deals 150-250 damage 5 times and inflicts Sickness for 5 rounds
Comment: Not on par with the high-level Elemental spells, but one of the most destructive Black Magic spell in the game.

Level: 27
Formula: PIMO
SP Cost: 1300
Effect: Deals 20-40 damage a large number of times
Comment: Brutally powerful spell, but not very cost-effective.

Level: 30
Formula: BAAL
SP Cost: 850
Effect: When this spell is cast within 10 rounds of Inferno II and III, does massive damage
Comment: The most damaging spell in the game; will end any fight against a normal enemy and deal a large chunk of damage to any boss.

Level: 2
Formula: ANVE
SP Cost: 150
Effect: Cures Poison
Comment: This spell will save your life quite a lot early in the game. Poison is a very nasty status ailment to get hit with.

Level: 2
Formula: CUFE
SP Cost: 200
Effect: Heals 50-200 HP
Comment: The only healing spell you'll "find" until practically the end of the game. A lifesaver early on in the game. A great spell to Empower with blood drops.

Level: 3
Formula: RIBE
SP Cost: 180
Effect: Restores a large chunk of your max Stamina
Comment: One of the most useful White Magic spells in the game. Restores way more Stamina than just resting in battle.

Level: 5
Formula: BEDI
SP Cost: 300
Effect: Buffs you with Bless for 3 rounds
Comment: Useful on high difficulty levels where enemies have very high Reflex saves; every little bit helps.

Level: 7
Formula: AUSF
SP Cost: 450
Effect: Buffs you with Blurred for 3 rounds
Comment: Nice in the early game but drops off in usefulness quickly. Critical on Hell difficulty.

Level: 8
Formula: SATO
SP Cost: 350
Effect: Cures most status ailments
Comment: Great spell in general. Doesn't work against permanent status ailments though.

Level: 10
Formula: CAFO
SP Cost: 300
Effect: Buffs you with Lucky for 5 rounds
Comment: Since most Luck effects happen outside of battle, this spell really only gives you a +3.5% chance to deal a critical. Not much, but every bit helps.

Level: 13
Formula: CUGR
SP Cost: 450
Effect: Heals 250-500 HP
Comment: Heals more than Cure Light Wounds, but is not cost-efficient, so not great for after-battle healing. Found very late in the game.

Level: 15
Formula: MELE
SP Cost: 800
Effect: While this spell is in effect you get hungry/thirsty half as fast as usual.
Comment: OK spell if you're playing on True Survivor mode; not worth the cost if you're not.

Level: 17
Formula: CAVE
SP Cost: 600
Effect: Buffs you with Haste for 5 rounds
Comment: By the time you cast this spell, you might not need the extra 500 Initiative and 20% Reflex buff it gives. Still a great buff though.

Level: 20
Formula: CASA
SP Cost: 650
Effect: Buffs you with Bright for 5 rounds
Comment: Great spell, a mainstay of any mage. Boosts your magic damage by 100% and the duration of your buffs/debuffs by 5 rounds.

Level: 22
Formula: RASA
Effect: 500
Comment: Blinds an enemy for 5 turns. Deals 500-1000 damage to Undead enemies
Mostly useful as an Undead killer. The blinding is useful on Hell difficulty but you might as well cast the Black Magic CENE spell instead.

Level: 25
Formula: CAPO
Effect: 750
Comment: Buffs you with Mighty for 5 rounds. Unless you're ignoring Black magic entirely, cast Black Mass instead of this spell. It's much better.

Level: 30
Formula: CUMO
Effect: 900
Effect: Heals 1000-2000 HP
Comment: Powerful healing, but by the time you can cast this you'll probably be virtually unkillable anyway.

Level: 1
Formula: PIMA
SP Cost: 120
Effect: Does damage based on your Throwing Weapons skill
Comment: Odd spell. Basically a Throwing Weapon that's more powerful than a Sling Stone but less powerful than a Throwing Dagger. Notably casting this spell trains both Elemental Magic and Throwing Weapons.

Level: 2
Formula: LIFU
SP Cost: 170
Effect: Deals 150-275 damage and inflicts Warm for 8 rounds
Comment: Decent enough starting spell, but Warm isn't that great of an ailment to inflict. Cast Freezing Ray instead.

Level: 2
Formula: PIGE
SP Cost: 100
Effect: Cures Burning and Warm ailments
Comment: Warm is no big deal but Burning stinks, especially early in the game. This is a great spell for those times.

Level: 3
Formula: RACO
SP Cost: 250
Effect: Deals 175-350 damage and inficts Chilled for 5 rounds
Comment: The best overall direct damage spell early in the game. Chilled is nice to inflict too.

Level: 4
Formula: ARGI
SP Cost: 400
Effect: Brands weapon with Frozen
Comment: Great spell for melee characters, especially against enemies with high Reflex saves on higher difficulties.

Level: 5
Formula: BAGI
SP Cost: 250
Effect: Negates a single enemy attack
Comment: Good spell for low-level characters that can't tank hits just yet. Critical on Hell difficulty.

Level: 6
Formula: BOFU
SP Cost: 280
Effect: Deals 250-450 damage and inflicts Burning for 2 rounds
Comment: Great all-around damage spell. Cast this instead of Freezing Ray once you can. Even late in the game this spell is great against those pesky regenerating Plant enemies.

Level: 8
Formula: PUGI
SP Cost: 200
Effect: Inflict either Frozen or Chilled for 5 rounds
Comment: Fantastic spell for higher difficulty levels as it never fails to inflict one of the two ailments. Guaranteed reduction of enemy speed and dodging capability.

Level: 10
Formula: VETA
SP Cost: 250
Effect: Deals 200-450 damage and can knock the enemy back one space
Comment: A little more cost-effective than Fire Bomb but I prefer that spell for the additional Burning.

Level: 13
Formula: FUIN
SP Cost: 450
Effect: Deals 150-350 damage three times
Comment: This spell is where you start getting a little more offensive power. This will be your mainstay until you can cast Ball Lightning.

Level: 16
Formula: TOIN
SP Cost: 650
Effect: Deals 550-1100 damage and inflicts Confusion for 8 rounds
Comment: Use only if you want to Confuse the enemy; Thunder is a much more cost-effective spell for about the same damage.

Level: 17
Formula: ARFU
SP Cost: 500
Effect: Brands weapon with Burning
Comment: Great for killing those regenerating plant enemies. But if your Elemental Magic is high enough to cast this spell, you probably should just be nuking them with direct damage spells instead.

Level: 19
Formula: FUGO
SP Cost: 850
Effect: Deals 50-100 damage 20 times
Comment: Very powerful spell; depending on difficulty you can kill most enemies with two casts of this.

Level: 22
Formula: GOLA
SP Cost: 900
Effect: Deals 150-350 damage 8 times and inflicts Burning for 7 rounds
Comment: The damage output of this spell is even better than Ball Lightning but the spell animation takes an irritatingly long time.

Level: 25
Formula: TEGI
SP Cost: 1200
Effect: Deals 40-150 damage 30 times and inflicts Frozen for 5 rounds
Comment: The overall best damage-dealing spell in the game. Cost-effective and can one- or two-shot most enemies, especially if you Empower it.

Level: 28
Formula: TEIN
SP Cost: 2000
Effect: Deals 1800-4200 damage and creates cracks in the battlefield
Comment: Very damaging spell, but its best use is to create cracks in the floor to permanently Unbalance your target. Multiple casts can create cracks on up to 5 spots on the field.

Level: 30
Formula: ASTA
SP Cost: 850
Effect: When this spell is cast within 10 rounds of Inferno I and III, does massive damage
Comment: Part two of the "I win because I maxed Black Magic, Elemental Magic, and Necromancy" spell.

Level: 1
Formula: MAIN
SP Cost: 100
Effect: Shows the map of the floor you're on. Unexplored areas are not displayed.
Comment: This is probably the most useful spell in the game; you're likely to max out Conjuration just by casting this. Map it to a hotkey!

Level: 1
Formula: ESLI
SP Cost: 100
Effect: Teleports you out of a Forgotten Limbo.
Comment: This spell is unlisted but is the only way you can get out of a Forgotten Limbo. Fortunately its cost is very low.

Level: 3
Formula: BUMA
SP Cost: 250
Effect: Displays an arrow on the minimap pointing to the Shelter
Comment: This is probably the most worthless spell in the game. It's mainly here as a holdover from the 7th Circle where it still had some use (but not that much)

Level: 4
Formula: VIMA
SP Cost: 200
Effect: Lets you see through illusionary walls and shows the presence of any Spirits in your location.
Comment: Not as useful as Magic Map, but pretty close. Great for finding secret passages, though I guess you could just refer to the maps in this guide.

Level: 4
Formula: LUME
SP Cost: 300
Effect: Increases your field of vision by 1 space while active.
Comment: Nice spell, though more of a luxury as you can just use the minimap to navigate.

Level: 6
Formula: RIFU
SP Cost: 1000
Effect: Warps you back to the Shelter
Comment: You'll use this spell a lot. Fun trick: if you pump up your Conjuration to level 4 at character creation you'll have a 50% chance to cast this spell--you can warp to the Shelter turn 1 using it.

Level: 7
Formula: SAIN
SP Cost: 250
Effect: Reduces the chance of getting attacked while camping
Comment: Kind of pointless spell as ambushes are generally not a huge issue in this game. Maybe useful if you're grinding Survivalism?

Level: 9
Formula: PILE
SP Cost: 400
Effect: While this spell is active, traps will not go off. Also will keep you from breaking your leg when falling down a pit.
Comment: Very useful spell. You can easily avoid every trap in the game, but you'll have to drop down most pits you find to explore everywhere, and you'll definitely want this spell active when you do.

Level: 10
Formula: NENA
SP Cost: 350
Effect: If this spell is active when a battle starts, you automatically get first strike
Comment: While raising your Speed and Initiative is usually far more effective than relying on this spell, this is very useful on Hell difficulty runs.

Level: 12
Formula: APSE
SP Cost: 500
Effect: Opens any locks up to level 5.
Comment: Pointless spell; by the time you can cast this your Lockpicking skill should be high enough to let you to pick level 5 locks with no difficulty whatsoever.

Level: 15
Formula: CANE
SP Cost: 1000
Effect: Eliminates all enemies' Zones of Control while active
Comment: Useful spell if you want to bypass certain enemies. Can speed up the endgame somewhat if you're already unbeatable by that point.

Level: 17
Formula: MASG
SP Cost: 500
Effect: Displays the entire map of the current level, including unexplored areas.
Comment: Not a full replacement for the standard Magic Map spell as seeing where you haven't been yet is often useful. Still a great spell you're likely to want to hotkey.

Level: 20
Formula: BAMA
SP Cost: 4000
Effect: Creates a Campfire where you're standing.
Comment: Outrageously expensive spell, but useful on True Survivor mode where resources are scarce.

Level: 22
Formula: FUMA
SP Cost: 1500
Effect: Automatically flees from battle
Comment: Would be a lifesaver if you could cast this spell early on in the game. By the time you can cast this you probably won't need it.

Level: 25
Formula: VOAV
SP Cost: 350
Effect: Moves to the space directly in front of an enemy in battle
Comment: Great for closing the distance with a faraway enemy that you want to kill with melee attacks.

Level: 25
Formula: VOIN
SP Cost: 350
Effect: Moves to the space furthest from an enemy in battle
Comment: Situational spell; can be useful to lure enemies into caltrops or unstable areas of the battlefield.

Level: 3
Formula: EVSE
SP Cost: 250
Effect: Summons a skeleton to occasionally attack your enemy
Comment: Extremely useful spell at the beginning of the game. Cast this spell and you can go full defense while the skeleton slowly whittles down your enemy.

Level: 4
Formula: ANPA
SP Cost: 300
Effect: Deals 150-300 damage and fills the summon charge a bit
Comment: The charge is not much of a big deal; this spell is mostly here to act as an offensive spell to spam (and build Necromancy skill)

Level: 5
Formula: RISU
SP Cost: 1000
Effect: If a spirit is on the same tile as you, this spell will summon it. If you're on a corpse or pile of bones, this spell will convert it to a Soul of the Damned.
Comment: Mostly useful for summoning spirits. 1000 SP for a Soul of the Damned is so not worth it when you can summon a more effective skeleton for a quarter of the cost.

Level: 6
Formula: RESC
SP Cost: 350
Effect: Increases your Adrenaline level based on how full your Summon Charge is.
Comment: Fantastic spell; one of the best in the game. The best way to increase Adrenaline in the game--and the best way to get Blood Drops too, since you can use this spell to ensure that every battle you fight ends in Carnage Mode.

Level: 9
Formula: EVRA
SP Cost: 450
Effect: Summons a zombie spider to attack your enemy and inflict Poison.
Comment: Despite the low level, one of the best summons as Poison damage scales with your level.

Level: 10
Formula: OSCO
SP Cost: 250
Effect: Fills up the summon charge a little bit.
Comment: The amount this spell fills your summon charge is so anemic that it's not worth ever casting.

Level: 13
Formula: BAVO
SP Cost: 1200
Effect: Deals 15-30 damage every round until the end of combat
Comment: Doesn't do much damage, but it adds up. Good spell to cast once against hard-to-hit enemies.

Level: 16
Formula: EVZO
SP Cost: 750
Effect: Summons an undead to attack your enemy and inflict Sickness
Comment: OK for when you get it. Sickness isn't a great ailment to inflict, but the Undead deals a good bit of damage.

Level: 20
Formula: EVFA
SP Cost: 1200
Effect: Summons a ghost to attack your enemy and inflict Weakness
Comment: Weakness is pretty nice and the Ghost is powerful. A good upgrade from the undead.

Level: 25
Formula: EVGO
SP Cost: 1500
Effect: Summons a goblin to attack your enemy and inflict Curse
Comment: The Goblin deals good damage and Cursing the enemy so you can hit it with other ailments is always useful.

Level: 29
Formula: EVLY
SP Cost: 2000
Effect: Summons a demon to attack your enemy and inflict Burn
Comment: The Demon deals tons of damage, and Burn is very nice against annoying regenerating enemies. A solid spell, if expensive.

Level: 30
Formula: BAPH
SP Cost: 850
Effect: When this spell is cast within 10 rounds of Inferno I and II, does massive damage
Comment: Part three of the ultimate damage spell. It's somewhat overkill but if you can cast all three parts, why not?

RUNE is a special spell that you can customize at a Rune Altar. Casting RUNE costs no SP, but instead consumes Blood Drops.

RUNE is an offensive spell that does a base damage of 70-130 HP and costs 100 Blood Drops. You can multiply this damage by up to 50x. You can also add up to 4 status ailments to the attack and can increase their duration in increments of 3 turns, up to +12 turns. Increasing your multiplier, adding aliments and increasing their duration all incur an increase to the Blood Drops cost of the spell.

RUNE spell costs are broken down as follows:

Base cost: Increase Drop cost by +100 for each multiplier of the base damage, up to 5000 for 50x
Ailments: Increase Drop cost by +100 for 1, +930 for 2, +2200 for 3, +4330 for 4.
Ailment Duration: +150/+195/+255/+345 for each 3 turn increase for 1/2/3/4 ailments respectively.

Chests can be locked or unlocked. Locked chests you'll have to pick the lock of. There are three types of chests:
Random Items: These chests can drop any kind of item in the game, but their rarity is scaled to the area they're in--ie chests earlier in the game won't drop as good loot as later in the game.
Semi-Random Items: These chests have a random item, but of a predetermined type--e.g. you could have a chest that will always have a bladed weapon in it, but what bladed weapon you get will be random.
Special Items: These chests always have the same item every time you play the game. They're either cards for the Deck of Doom, or unique special items that give you permanent bonuses.

Start fights when you bump into them or their Zones of Control (9 surrounding tiles) Are normal, (Red) Elite (Yellow, stronger than usual), Hunt Targets (blue, also stronger than usual) or Bounty Targets (Purple, much stronger than usual). The Calm Enemies spell temporary removes their Zones of Control

Gates underground (and in one place on the surface) block your entry until the correct switch is pulled. Gates on the surface either require a specific key, or you need to pick the lock to get by.

Appear in dungeons and can be turned on or off. Mostly decorative, though some are used as part of puzzles.

Teleports you to a different area of the current floor. Some teleporters can be bypassed or deactivated by solving a puzzle.

Look like red landmines. Have a number of effects:
Explosion Trap: Does damage, but will never kill you, leaving you at 1HP instead.
Spike Trap: Gives you the "Wounded Feet" permanent ailment
Pit Trap: Drops you into the equivalent space in the Underground level, and gives you the "Broken Leg" ailment if you don't have the Light Feet spell active.
Disorientation Trap: Gives you the "Disoriented" permanent ailment

These are illusionary walls you can walk through. Casting the Magic Vision spell will allow you to see them.

Some walls have a slightly discolored brick in them--this indicates the presence of a secret door. If you click on the brick the wall will be destroyed and you can pass through.

Spirits sometimes appear at gravestones, but are invisible unless you have the Magic Vision spell active. By casting Rise of the Dead you can summon them, and they'll give you a Deck of Doom draw in response.

Forcefields block your path and usually have good treasure behind them. They remain until you complete the Black Hole that dispel them. Black Holes are minigames. They act more or less like a game of Picross; you're given a grid and have to click the correct tiles, guided by the hints on each row and column.

Eternal Flames block your way until you step on the corresponding Pentagram that opens them.

Blocks your path until you destroy it. Destroying it generates Wood Pieces and drains your Rest meter.

Blocks your path until you get the right side mission from the Shelter.

Gives you a power-up for 250 turns; either increased XP from fights, a stat boost, or random buffs when you start a battle.

Optional fights that block treasure. The Doppleganger's stats match your own so they can be very dangerous--in fact, usually are the most dangerous enemies in the game including bosses.

There are multiple types of resource gathering spots:
Herb/Vegetable: You can pick Herbs or Vegetables once per day. Some Herb spots remain consistent from game to game, and others are randomly generated.
Cloth scraps: Gets you cloth. These spots are periodically randomly generated and consumed when you use them.
Sticks: Give you Wood pieces. These spots are periodically randomly generated and consumed when you use them.
Crystals: Mined for Flints, Precious Gemstones (more rarely), or Shards of the Black Moon (even more rarely. Can sometimes be mined more than once before being destroyed
Trees: Harvested for Fruit (sometimes) and Wood Pieces.
Wells: Gives you Dirty Water. Wells are refilled every time it rains.
Snake: Only appears in dungeons. Give you a single Raw Meat.
Barrel: Only appears in dungeons. Might be empty, and might provide you with some Dirty Water.

Rescue prisoners and they'll return to the Shelter and (eventually) help gather materials for you.

Here are some general tips for the game:

• Start on Normal or Hard until you get a handle on the combat system. Bumping the difficulty up doesn't really make the game harder per se, just more tedious. Personally I find the tedium gets to be too much at around Extreme, but YMMV.
  
• At the early stages of the game, Necromancy summons will save your life. You might meet up with enemies that you never get a chance to attack because you're too busy guarding and healing. In these situations, summons will whittle your enemy down slowly.
  
• Try to end every battle with 100% Adrenaline so you can go into Carnage mode. This is surprisingly easy to do once you have access to a summon spell and the RESC spell.
  
• Make good use of your RUNE spell. Don't be stingy with your Blood Drops; you'll usually have more than you need, especially if you use the aforementioned tip to keep your Adrenaline up.
  
• Magic is straight-up better at killing things than weapons. It never misses, usually uses less Fatigue, doesn't have to deal with enemy Armor Value, and magic damage scales up twice as quickly with Intellect than weapon damage does with Strength. The only downside is that you have to deal with managing SP. Weapons aren't worthless, and in the early game when your SP regeneration is poor you'll need to rely on them, but if you want the easiest go of it, focus on magic.
  
• Never let your Stamina hit 0, and try not to get it too low as the lower it goes, the higher the chance your enemy will get more turns in a row.
  
• Pick a weapon type and stick with it. Enemies get better at dodging the further you go, and switching to a weapon type you're unskilled in mid-game is painful due to how often you'll miss with it.
  Any weapon type is viable, but Martial Arts or Twin Weapons by themselves can sometimes have issues with damage output against regenerating enemies later in the game.
  
• Unless your Reflex is naturally at 90, Always defend right before your opponent gets its turn; the additional Reflex goes a long way.
  
• The area around the Shelter has a good number of Herbs that regrow every day. If you're in a bind, you can farm the herbs and sell them at the Shelter in relative safety while you gather resources/medicines/etc and wait for the herbs to regrow.

At the start of the game, first thing you need to do is find the Shelter. You start in the northwest corner of the map and need to make it to the middle. Unless you started with a background that came with a weapon, you'll need to fight your first battle against a Wolf unarmed. After that, you'll find an area with some chests that have guaranteed weapons in them.

The path forward is winding but basically a straight one, and to get further you'll need to explore a short dungeon area to exit elsewhere on the overhead map, just west of the Barracks. You don't need to explore the Barracks but the enemies there aren't too tough and there are a few treasures and spell formulas there.

Proceeding beyond the Barracks you'll find an Eternal Fire blocking your path. The pentagram that opens this fire wall is a little bit south, past an elite enemy; step on it and your way past will be opened. You can go to the west and investigate an unmarked building as well, though the enemies there are a little tougher, and to completely explore it you'll need to fall down a pit and (probably) break your leg.

In the next underground area, in the northwest corner of the room right south of where you start, there's a secret door (opened by clicking a discolored brick in the wall) that opens a passage back to the northwest camp where you started. Not that there's much reason to go back there. Further into the area you'll be presented with your first "puzzle," a room with no exits and a message saying "Behind You." This is a pointer to another secret door, where you can find the switch to open the gate further. There are a few more gates to open beyond but it's relatively straightforward until you reach the exit up to the clearing the Shelter is in.




The Shelter is your main base in the game, but not all the amenities are available when you first get there. Here's what you can do in the Shelter:

Derron - The Merchant: Always available
Buys and sells materials for crafting. Accessible to anyone.

Kregar - The Demonologist: Always available
"Buys" your Blood Drops; gives you 1 gold for every 100 drops you give him at once. Every 40,000 drops you give him he'll unlock a permanent (minor) boost for your character.

Cedrick - The Mentor: Available at Trust Level 4
Gives you a new Trait of your choice when you reach Level 10, 20, 30, and 40. Will also upgrade all of your Traits for an increasingly exorbitant amount of Gold.

Samuel - The Magician: Always available
Sells you the formulas to every spell in the game. All spells can be found without using Samuel's services, but he can sell you formulas earlier than you could have found them otherwise.

Lenila - The Gatekeeper: Availalble at Trust Level 3
Will teleport you to a Forgotten Limbo for 1000 x your level Blood Drops. Forgotten Limbos are randomly-generated dungeons with loot and monsters scaled to your level. To get out of a Forgotten Limbo you have to cast the ESLI spell.

Alma - Food Storage Overseer: Always Available
Sells you food and water. The price increases every time you buy something from her. (Don't waste your money here, you can always find enough, even on True Survivor mode)

Jurya - Second in Command: Available at Trust Level 5
Allows you to allocate jobs to any Prisoners you rescued. Working prisoners will generate resources for you every day. This is the best way in the game to find resources, especially Metal Scraps.

Barroth - The Leader: Always Available
Gives you directions in your main quest, as well as side missions which you can complete for money, card draws and Trust.

The Shelter area in general is a good place to train some of your Miscellaneous skills. There are plenty of herbs that grow daily there--you can collect them, sell them, use the money to buy wood and metal, make traps, hunt animals a few times and then repeat the process as the herbs will have regrown. This will (slowly) build your Hunting and Survivalism skill, and if you can use any extra herbs to train Pharmacology as well.

Visit Barroth to get your first set of side missions; he'll send you to Old City to hunt some demons, rescue some prisoners, and kill a bounty target. Sidequests in this game always come in these sets of three, each for a different section of the map. You have to complete the Old City side missions and then after that, the Suburbs side missions before you can proceed further on the main quest. However you'll probably want to complete at least several more sets of side quests before tackling the main quest for the experience and loot.


After finishing the Old City and Suburbs side missions, Barroth will ask you to investigate the lab of a demonologist named Kruger. His lab was thought to be in the southwest, northeast of the Garrison. The lab is a long way away, and you can't even get there until you accept more side quests. At the very least you'll need to take the Cassandra quests.



Kruver's hideout is hidden behind a Magic Wall. There are Skolopendras and Blood Spirits down there so you'll want to be able to handle those before you go in. The sign outside tells you to watch out for the traps and the first room is full of them, but they're all damage traps so they're the least irritating of the trap varieties. The teleporter in the trap room will zap you right past them though.

The next section is a button puzzle that tells you to "look from above" to find the solution. Hint: there are spells that can show you this easily (the solution is in the structure of the dungeon itself, N, S, E, S)

After completing the first button puzzle you're presented with a slightly trickier one, where you're given a Latin phrase which means "No one is so old as to think he cannot live for one more year." Hint: the meaning of the phrase is not what's important. (solution: Look at the capitalized letters in the phrase, E S N E)

The next puzzle tells you to "pay respect to the totem." You're blocked by a teleporter which sends you back a few spots. Hint: The totem is important but you don't need to click it to solve this puzzle. (Solution: Walk backwards facing the totem and you can pass through the teleporter)

The next puzzle says that "the most obvious path is not always the one to the goal" and the hallway to the next room has a teleporter that will send you back. Hint: This one also can be easily solved by a spell. (Solution: There are Magic Walls you can walk through to the next room) Also note the presence of the secret door between the traps here.

The next room is the end of the lab; a note from Kruger says that he will be taken by the demons to a place called Dite. Go back to the Shelter to report.

Upon returning and reporting your findings, Barroth will have the entrance to Dite unlocked. It's right to the northwest of the Shelter.

Dite is a sprawling dungeon level below the Underground. After opening a few gates you'll find another button puzzle and Latin phrase as a hint. Again its meaning is irrelevant--it's basically a prayer to demons pulled from the lyrics of a song from an Italian metal band. (Solution: Look at the gray letters in the phrase: S, S, N E)

The next puzzle you'll find is six teleporters, 5 of which will dump you behind a line of traps and get you nowhere. Figuring out which is the correct one is relatively easy. (Solution: The telporter off the only alcove without a blood fountain is the correct one.)

The next puzzle isn't so much a puzzle as a series of Magic (illusionary) Walls you have to traverse from room to room. If you've got Magic Vision active all the time (which you might) this "puzzle" solves itself as all the passages will be visible.

The next puzzle's hint is "Only the Primes." You have 8 lableled levers, and the correct combination will open the gate forward. To reset the levers, walk into the teleporter in the eastern end of the area. (Solution: Hit the levers that are prime numbers: 2, 3, 5, and 7. Remember 1 is not a prime number!)

You'll have to explore a bit more to reach the next puzzle, which is one of the easiest--there are four hints, each guarded by an Elite enemy. Piece the hints together to find the button combination to open the gate. (Solution: Each hint is a number followed by a direction indicating the order--W, S, E, N)

There aren't any more puzzles in Dite until you reach the Prison where Kruger is being held. You'll have to unlock the cells there and go in, but when you discover Kruger he's already dead. You'll find a gem on his body which you'll need to take back to the Shelter.


When you go back to the Shelter and report to Barroth, he will tell you to head to the monolith in the northeast. It's somewhat of a hike to the monolith. It's in the Northern forest between the Barracks and Citadel, but to get there you'll need to first go southeast through the Palace. When you get there and insert the gem into the Monolith, it'll open a passage to the north which leads to Kruger's actual lab.

In Kruger's lab you'll find notes that hint at your next task--find Astaroth, the demon leading the invasion into Earth. You'll also find the three parts of the formula for Inferno, the most powerful spell in the game, though you likely won't have the skill levels to cast it yet. Back to the Shelter to report to Barroth yet again. Though you'll probably want to solve the puzzle in this area that gives you access to the White Skull. (Solution: Turn off all of the blood fountains in the room north of the teleporter except the one in the northeast corner)

Back at the Shelter, Lenila will tell you that in order to find Astaroth, you have to kill his four lieutenants, and will open a portal to the 7th layer of Hell where you can find them. From now on the 7th layer of Hell is accessible from Lenila in the Shelter, and is your next destination.

The 7th Circle of Hell is divided into four quadrants, one for each demon lieutenant: Rasheverak to the northwest, Purson to the northeast, Aamon to the southwest, and Barbatos to the southeast. You can take them on in any order, but if you want to find everything and don't want to backtrack you'll probably want to do Rasheverak's area before Aamon's.


Rasheverak's area is more complex than the other lieutenants' in that it has a few branching passages via teleport, but is still pretty simple and straightforward. It's got a few nice cards for your Deck and and is easy to navigate. Of particular note is one isolated switch towards the end of his area behind a series of magic walls; this switch opens a gate in Aamon's area.

Rasheverak himself is a bruiser and has a ton of HP and can do some significant damage, but probably not as much as a Doppelganger will. Fighting him is less difficult than time-consuming; so long as you've got a good supply of medicines and haven't completely neglected your Pharmacology skill you should be fine.

Purson's area is the simplest of the four; it's three large sprawling caverns separated by gates that need to be opened by switches. Gate #2 is blocked by a button puzzle--the combination is divided into two notes on the wall nearby. (Solution: Easiest button puzzle in the game: "West And East," "Then West and South.")

Purson is similar to Rashevarak in that he's a "strong damage sponge" type of enemy. His attacks seem to be a little less damaging than the other three demon lieutenants, but on the flip side he anecdotally seems to be the fastest so will act more often.


Aamon's area starts out straightforward until you run into a puzzle with 6 blood fountains and 2 totems. The way forward is blocked by a gate, but the switch to open it is blocked by a teleporter. You can remove the teleporter by turning off the right combination of blood fountains, and there are several hints near the switch that will indicate which you should turn off. Solution: Turn off both fountains facing the totems ("Blood never flows facing a totem" and then the one on the south side without the prisoner's mask in front of it. ("The prisoner was covered in blood")

Beyond the fountain puzzle is a gate with a sign saying "LXVIII,V" in front of it. This sign is a clue as to how to open the gate. (Solution: It's the coordinates of the switch to open the gate: 68, 5. This is accessible from Rasheverak's area.)

The next puzzle in Aamon's area is a button puzzle. The clue is the Latin phrase "ESNE tu vivus an mortuus?" ("Are you living or dead?") Like the other Latin-clue puzzles in this game, the meaning is irrelevant. (Solution: ESNE is the key--East, South, North, East.)

Aamon is like the other demon lieutenants--a huge pool of HP with powerful attacks. But he feels a little bit weaker than the others (except possibly Purson) in terms of his damage output, so is probably the least threatening of the four. By the time you reach this point in the game though you're probably pretty much unstoppable anyway though.


Barbatos' area is a maze, especially the first section. You might want to lean on your Magic Map spell to get your bearings as uniform nature of the maze makes the minimap difficult to use.

Barbatos himself attacks with fire and inflicts temperature ailments, so the Elemental spell Icy Rain might prove useful if he gets past your defenses. His attacks are damaging and he has a lot of HP so like the other demon lieutenants it's more like an endurance match.

Once you've killed all four demon lieutenants a gateway out of Hell spawns just northwest of the entrance point; use it to return to the surface. Report back to Barroth. After you do so you can visit Lenila to go to Astaroth's Lair, the final level of the game.


Astaroth's Lair is pretty straightforward--Astaroth himself is blocked by five gates. Each gate can be unlocked at the end of a separate mini-dungeon, accessible through a teleport at each tip of the star in a pentagram-shaped chamber. Each mini-dungeon is guarded by an Elite enemy--nothing as tough as the demon lieutenants, but potentially annoying (like a regenerating Green King.)

Astaroth himself is the toughest enemy in the game, as he is the final boss. He's very similar to his four lieutenants, just packs a bigger punch, is faster, and has more HP. He's a good candidate for the Inferno spell--and despite its power, you'll need several casts to finish him off.

The following are annotated maps of Inferno, complete with secrets and item locations.