First part of the game presents the player with a sort of tutorial section. You're taught the basics with a maze, allowing you to experiment with what you’ll encounter later on in the game. The main difference in Hard Mode is that the teleporter that restarts the level moves FAST. So to pass this first level without harm, follow this simple steps:

- Avoid stopping as much as possible. You'll be fully healed later on, there is no need to worry about taking a hit or two, as long as you do the run.

- Don't engage combat. There will be Fire Elementals roaming the maze, but the exp reward of beating them is not worth the time needed to do so this early in the game. It's better to just walk around them, since they need to stick near you to inflict damage. Consider that even if you beat one, they respawn once the teleporter hits you.

- Don't be greedy. You'll find a passage with coins scattered on the floor. This coins do not respawn, and are taken away from you once the teleporter hits you. You can take up to 24 safely, or 30 if you've made the previous part of the maze perfectly but be sure to run back up and keep on track if you don't wanna reset the level without any extra gold.



- Careful with the saw traps and the earth elementals. These are the most lethal traps in the maze, and staying in their way will easily make you die.

The first town will be peaceful at first, but it's just a stage of preparation on what's to come. You'll be greeted by your sister as soon as you reach the gates. BE SURE TO BE NICE TO HER. She has a present for you that'll prove quite useful in the early game.


Once you've talked to your family, be sure to talk to everyone in town. Some will ask you for money, some will give you quests. If you're generous and polite you'll be rewarded with exp points, so don't mind losing a bit of early gold. Also buy at least a couple of healing potions, even if 50 gold seems expensive, you'll find they cost 100 gold later on, and considering you can pause the game to heal, it can save your life.

Before leaving to the oasis, talk to your sister in the southwest corner of the city. She'll have a sling for you, and will give it if you've said the correct choices of dialogue.

Now you've walked out of tZaratan, the real challenge starts. The oasis is incredibly unbalanced for starters, so be careful. The enemies (Debbi and Wind Elementals) will spawn in groups of 4 and 3, and if they surround you, you're dead. Try to move around as fast as possible towards the oasis, and put yourself behind the bushes that have the purple berries. There, the enemies won't reach you, but you'll reach them.

Once you've done the berries quest, and if you don't reveal the presence of the mermaid, she'll allow you to heal on the waters of the oasis. This is the curative spot, that will help you save potions early game. Just walk over it whenever you're injured.

Consider that monsters can follow you into the waters, so it can be a good spot for killing monsters. Just a step in any direction and you'll recover all the health mid battle.






Overall it doesn't sound that bad, isn't it? WRONG. This oasis is a living hell, and you'll get to hate it later on, and just avoid any fight in it. I can't tell if it's the enemies scaling with you as you level up or error in the programming, but monsters in this zone will get more dangerous as you advance in the game. If early on Debbi get killed with 4 to 5 sword hits, this number increases to 10, 20, or near 50 as you come back later on. You can spend 5 minutes trying to clean up a pull of these beasts. So my advice is: Do the quest quickly. Go heal if you need it. Get out as fast as possible. You won't need the extra exp later on, quest themselves give many more than the monsters in the oasis. It's just a big waste of time staying here.

Once the turtle has left you on the reef, you'll have the real tone of the game ahead of you. Enemies in this island don't respawn, so don't be afraid of taking a trip back to the oasis to heal. The majority of the monsters you'll encounter here are skeletons and zombies. Although the skeletons are sturdy, both of them are quite slow. The trick here, as for combat in general, is to use your sling to spam auto-aimed attacks, and run a bit once they get too close. It's a slow method, but it serves it's porpuse. While you're moving around the island, be watchful for Thorn bushes, as they may hit you while you're avoiding the undead.

Aboard the ship there is an archer that does some damage, so it's better to take care of it fast. For this enemy, the best strategy is to hit him with the sword in close ranks, as he needs some distance to use his bow. Just rush him and deal with it fast.



Inside the ship there is still trouble. First two skeletons, for which I advice using the Solar Flare spell to kill them quickly, as there is no much room to avoid attacks. Then there's a sorceress, but this one can be destroyed with a bit of cheating. Just as you open the door, use the sling, even if you don't see her. She will take damage and shout her death dialogue, and no combat will ensue as you walk in the room.

The capital city of Zakhara has everything a man can wish, and even more. For starters, it has a way of making you rich. On the west side of the street, near the main plaza, you'll find a gambling spot that will make you forget about income for the rest of the game.

Just save game before you enter the store, and play guess the number. The mechanic is easy, 6 chances, just pick a middle bracket for each try and go for the closer number. Start with 50, if lower go for 25, then 12 or 37, and keep dividing until you get it right. If you run out of chances, load the game and start over. Or, if you wanna keep it legal, sail around for pirate fights until you get enough treasure for trying again. The game is simple enough if you play it right to get to thousands coins, which you can use to buy extra healing potions. For 200 a piece, try buying around 20, and abuse them in battle for restoring your health while you fight. You can also get some Sunfire shards, as it has the best area. With this resources, enemies won't pose a threat later on in game as long as you follow this advice:

- If you've 1/3 of health, heal yourself. Better be safe than sorry, and you can get as many potions as you need.

- Don't get yourself be surrounded by enemies. Hit them with the sword if you're close but retreat until they form a straight line or they move back to their positions. Many monsters will go back to where they start as long as they don't recieve attacks or see you, so you can use that to your advantage.

- It's better to hit an enemy from affar with sligs/spells than to use the basic attack. Until you've unlocked the third attack (swirl) your sword will be overall worse weapon than the sling or the spells. Also, many won't respond until 4 or 5 hits with the sling, allowing you to stack free damage without getting hurt.

- Spells do fixed damage that doesn't depend on your level, so they're good against powerful enemies early on. Lightning Bolt and Sunfire do the most, althought Sunfire does has more blast range (and will damage more enemies at once).

Hope this can serve you to avoid much of the troubles of this ARPG. As later on you gain levels and hitpoints you'll find yourself more resistant, turning the early Hard Mode into a normal gameplay. Just don't get in a fight with an Albino Ettin, that's suicide.

Enjoy the game!