Elex is viciously unforgiving when you first start and you're going to die over and over again. Seriously, even the weakest enemies will shred you if you don't learn how to fight, and more importantly, when NOT to fight. (Why is this game so hard?! Because Piranha Bytes are sadists who enjoy watching you howl your frustration into the cold, uncaring void of space, then smash your keyboard in an incoherent rage.) Who knows? It's just how Piranha Bytes games are. They're great believers in "meaningful progress", which means the gut-wrenching torment you experience between levels 1-15 will ultimately pay off and you'll become an engine of rampant destruction later on. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

Here's how to have less of an awful time:

At the beginning of the game, Jax is about as durable as a wet paper bag. Get used to the fact that you're going to die, repeatedly, for occasionally unfair reasons (like dodgy hitboxes and super janky animations you can't cancel), and quick-save constantly. Like, every thirty seconds. Make peace with this now, because until you level up significantly and have access to better equipment, it's not going to change much. If you can't make peace with it, quit and play something else. Piranha Bytes games are not for everyone, and continually screaming "WTF?! He didn't even touch me!" in a fit of apoplexy whenever you die will just give you high blood pressure and a stomach ulcer.

Melee combat is horrible. It's been horrible since Piranha Bytes first started making games, and it continues to be horrible. It's almost become their trademark at this point, and they should probably patent it or something.

It's supposed to work by timing your strikes in conjunction with the moving gauge in the bottom left of the screen, and then performing a combo whenever that gauge moves past the halfway point. However, you have such a paltry amount of stamina, the close-combat camera is so infuriating, and the hit boxes on both Jax and enemies are so dysfunctional, nine times out of ten you end up flailing away hysterically until you're exhausted, at which point whatever you're fighting stunlocks you and promptly beats you into the dirt. Like I said, horrible. You can make it considerably less horrible by turning off stamina in combat, and setting the camera to manual. You'll die often enough as it is, you don't need the game's counter-intuitive default settings making it 200% more likely. If you absolutely can't stomach melee combat without vomiting blood, use a bow or a gun instead.

Why Piranha Bytes stubbornly insist on retaining this abysmal combat system continues to baffle me, unless their goal is to have people actively hate their games. It's the developer equivalent of baking a delicious cake, but instead of decorating it with frosting and cherries, they cover it in barbed wire and anthrax. It really does boggle the mind. But anyway, moving on...

Travel with a companion. Companions are significantly stronger and more durable than Jax in the early stages of the game, and they make great meat-shields... even if enemies still tend to focus most of their aggression on Jax. Kiting an enemy by keeping your companion between them and you will usually prolong your life expectancy. Usually. (I don't recommend taking Falk until you've gained quite a few levels as he handles his flamethrower like a blind man having a seizure and has an annoying habit of setting you on fire in the middle of combat. Take Duras or one of the other companions instead.)

Most enemies have a ranged attack. Some of those ranged attacks will stagger you, poison you, set you on fire, etc., so don't think climbing on top of a boulder and pinging arrows at an angry spine hound is going to save you from being gutted. You'll just end up with a faceful of corrosive phlegm and die anyway. Enemies can and will kill you from off screen.

If you see a skull icon over an enemy's head (get close enough and aim your bow/gun at it), run. That enemy is considerably higher in level than you, and likely has stats and buffs that make it virtually impossible for you to damage, let alone kill. Molochs, slugbeasts, nightshades, and fighting colossi will one-shot you if they get close enough, so rein in that testosterone and come back when you're not feeling quite so suicidal. (If you've been lucky enough to find a high-level weapon reasonably early and you have the attributes to actually use it, you might be able to whittle a tough enemy's health down via hit-and-run tactics, but if something like a mountain troll hits you even once, expect to be reduced to an unsightly crimson smear.)

If you're badly outnumbered, run. Enemies in Elex will dog-pile you, and trying to fight while you're being staggered from all sides is futile, even with a companion to help out. Until you get some decent crowd-control gear (the PSI amplifier from the Clerics, area-of-effect magic from the Berzerkers, or a decent rocket-launcher from the Outlaws), it's safer to run or hide rather than fight. Sure, you could toss grenades at them, but killing enough of them before they get close enough to shank you is unlikely, especially at low levels. (Given the game's jankiness, it's also incredibly easy to blow yourself up.) Be smart rather than brave.

Use your jet-pack. If you want to find cool stuff that will make your time with Elex considerably less like punching yourself in the crotch, vertical exploration is key. A lot of really nifty gear is way up high on the tops of pylons, cliffs, or wind turbines. Sunglasses that highlight useful items you might otherwise miss, or a legendary plasma rifle that does 87 points of damage with each shot -- if you want phat loot, the only way is up.

Your attributes don't work the way you think they do. Dumping points into strength doesn't actually make Jax stronger in the conventional CRPG sense. All of your attributes basically function as a limiter on the quality of gear you can use. You can't wear heavy high-tech armour if your strength and constitution are too low. And you can't use that awesome laser rifle you found if your dexterity and intelligence aren't high enough. Figure out your equipment preference (high-tech/low-tech/scrap-tech) early on and raise your attributes accordingly.

Certain skills will make your life a lot easier. Everything in Elex is ludicrously expensive. Weapons and armour cost shards. Upgrading weapons and armour costs shards. Learning new skills costs shards. Basically, if you don't have enough shards, you're going to find it sphincter-clenchingly hard to progress in any meaningful way, and you're going to want to put your fist through your monitor in frustration. The best way to get huge pocketfuls of shards is to harvest trophies from dead enemies, and for that you'll need the Animal Trophies skill. You might think, "Yeah... I'd rather put points into ranged weapons or hacking, thank you very much." You can. Later. Investing in Animal Trophies will net you a lot of shards reasonably quickly, but you go ahead and remain a penniless hobo if you like and let me know how that works out for you. (Other useful skills include Lockpicking, Chemistry, Modify Weapons, Hitpoints, and Extra Stamina. I'd probably get Hitpoints after Animal Trophies, just to increase Jax's survivability.)

Stay close to home. The first major settlement you will visit is the Berzerker stronghold of Goliet. Do as many quests as you can in Goliet before venturing further afield. You get a ton of XP for completing quests versus killing enemies, so if you want to gain levels fairly quickly, finish those quests. Don't decide to scamper about the wilderness of your own volition when you're embarrassingly feeble, even if you take Duras with you, because you'll just die. Over and over again. So many times. It'll be like trying to play Dark Souls with your fingers glued to the desk. Do all the boring menial errands for the Berzerkers, gain a few levels, then start exploring. You'll spend less time swearing and more time having fun.

Choices have consequences. For real. This isn't Skyrim where you can be all things to all people and end up virtually omnipotent. NPCs remember what you've said and what you've done, both FOR them, and TO them, so don't expect to skip merrily across Magalan leaving a trail of misery and devastation in your wake without there being some serious blowback, both in terms of NPC interaction and story. Fortunately, the game will usually tell you when you've done something that is likely to have serious narrative repercussions, but just in case it hasn't sunk in yet: SAVE YOUR GAME!

Figure out which faction you'd like to join fairly early, then join them ASAP. Factions give you access to faction-specific skills that can make the game much easier (and a lot more fun), so don't hesitate. Commit. Once you do join a faction, you can't join any of the others, so make sure you're happy with your choice beforehand. You can't use magic unless you join the Berzerkers. You get access to some serious high-tech gear and the 'Suggestion' skill (think, Jedi Mind Trick) if you join the Clerics. And if Mad Max on chemical stimulants is more your pace, the Outlaws can hook you up. Whoever you choose to join, that choice is set in stone, so think hard about your playstyle and the kinds of weapons you want access to, because some things are mutually exclusive.

Upgrade your gear. Upgrading weapons, while expensive, will give the weapon in question a substantial damage boost, and you'll find the feeble cultivator bow you've had since level two is once again a force to be reckoned with. However, be aware that upgrading a weapon will also upgrade the attribute requirements necessary to wield it, so make sure your strength, dexterity, intelligence, etc. are high enough to justify the upgrade, or you're just wasting shards on a weapon you can't use for another six levels.

Whenever you can, buy/mine natural elex. (You need a jackhammer to mine any kind of ore node, including elex.) Once you have the chemistry skill, you can brew potions. Elex potions come in three strengths -- small, medium, and large. Small potions will give you 100 XP. Medium potions will give you two attribute points. Large potions will give you one skill point. All elex potions will raise your cold level, making you more logical and less empathetic, and if you chug them like an insane alcoholic, it can skew your cold level to such an extent that it impacts how the game ends. Bearing this in mind, elex potions are great for boosting your stats when you're desperately trying to meet the prerequisites for a certain weapon or skill. Just... don't go crazy.

Righto. I think that just about does it. If I think of anything else I'll be sure to make future edits, if I'm not busy dying over and over again in Elex 2. Feel free to add your own hints, tips, criticism (constructive or destructive, I don't discriminate), verbal abuse and gratuitous insults. This is the internet, and if I'm wrong about anything I don't doubt for a minute someone will let me know. Probably by calling me a loser and telling me to "git gud".

Best of luck and have fun.