While this guide is expansive, it is not a beginners guide on core mechanics and other systems in regard to how they work within FATE in explicit detail. However, it will briefly brush over certain systems and mechanics to provide more context to the overall game breaking / cheesing methods of three specific systems through their mechanics in different ways. Thus, this guide is primarily highlighting areas that will allow one to progress through higher difficulties. Hopefully, with more ease. If requested, more systems and mechanics can be extrapolated upon at later dates. For now, this guide is intended to inform players that are new, but somewhat familiar with FATE's systems and mechanics, and old players alike, who may not have known how these can all interconnect when manipulating them individually or collectively for a smoother gameplay experience.

When first loading into the game, it is best to start out with the first game (FATE), skip the second (Undiscovered Realms), play the third (The Traitors Soul), and the fourth (The Cursed King) for a more streamlined and still complete gaming experience. Importing a character into the next game is advised to do after completing the first game. Playing the second game, while fun, is made obsolete by having the third games gameplay improvements right from the start in FATE. On the other hand, one could start the second game for the intro sequence to get some lore and story threads linking it in its limited way to the third game. You won't miss out on different mechanics and items that aren't in the second game due to the remakes implementations of new things from the start (which were first introduced in The Traitors Soul), and the use of the prior towns and dungeons, respectively. An example of the game choice menu is provided below.



Upon picking one of the games to play, the subsequent sections will walk you through what to do, who to find, and where to find everything for the best and most productive start.

To find out about the games controls for both keyboard and mouse, and a controller, one has to be in-game to access this setting in the options menu. One can not access the controls menu while at the main menus option menu.

Controls layout: Keyboard and Mouse


Controls layout: Gamepad


Do note that these controls can not be remapped for either keyboard and mouse, or controllers. Also, controllers only display buttons for an Xbox controller and not for a PlayStation controller. On the Steam Deck, the controller layout is exactly the same as shown above.

After a couple of hours of playtime on the Steam Deck, it runs smoothly and, from what I've seen, does not have bugs specifically pertaining to Steam Deck use. Though, I have noticed, due to having track-pads on the Steam Deck, when moving the cursor in various menus, the cursor will over shoot whatever you are moving it towards. This is hard to explain, and a screenshot will not show this, but is easy to spot in practice when playing on the Deck. This is the only "bug" or oddity when playing on Steam Deck, otherwise, the control scheme is the same between it and controller on PC, and it plays the same. However, due to no option to increase or decrease UI size, text may be difficult to see when playing at 1280 x 800 screen resolution.

When loading into FATE for the first time in the Town of Grove, go to this merchant near the dungeon entrance for a fishing pole.

Then go to this spot to fish.


Once there, its fishin' time! Now, pull up your favorite TV show, movie, streamer, or Youtuber and start to fish. Due to the fishing mechanic being completely RNG based, it will take some time to fish up enough items to sell for money, or for a fish that permanently changes your pet into a new creature to materialize. However, it is necessary when trying to get a strong footing at the start of the game on higher difficulties, or hardcore mode.

Next, use this money to get whatever gear fits your character build and buy one of these two potions (if available, if not, save and exit then load back in and the merchants inventory will refresh), before entering the dungeon, which is vital for surviving since both have more than one use, and different amounts of healing (displayed below).

But where is the merchant you ask? Below is the location of the merchant who supplies both the scrolls and books, as well as potions and charms for all your adventuring needs.

Merchant:


Below are examples of different potions, called charms for the upgraded versions of each of the potion types, that one should get when starting out.

Healing Charm:


Major Healing Charm:


In each game in the saga, one is able to heal for free, Displayed below is the location for healer in The Town of Grove.

Dreya the Healer


Furthermore, fishing is possible at any level of the dungeon.



Multiple fishing spots in the same dungeon level are possible as well, all at random.

Also, if you find this merchant shown below in the original games dungeon at any dungeon level, they will sell all types of fish to give to your pet to either change them into another creature, or sell a fish to revert your pet to its original state, along with a fishing rod if one was not picked up at the start of the game.

As mentioned above; if one is starting out in the second games towns, here is where you will need to go to find a merchant for a fishing rod, as well as each towns fishing locations.

Typhon:

When starting out in Typhon, go to this merchant to purchase a fishing rod.


After purchasing a fishing rod, go to this location in order to fish.


Druantia:

When starting out in Druantia. head to this merchant for a fishing rod.


Upon purchasing the fishing rod, head to this location to start fishing.


After getting enough money, head to these merchants below to purchase gear and potions for the dungeons ahead, if not done already. Remember, fishing will take some time before sufficient amounts of gold have been accumulated for potions, spells, and gear. But make sure to grab the charms pictured in the previous section.

Typhon Potion and Scroll Seller:


Druantia Potion and Scroll Seller:


Each town also has healers that will heal for free (displayed below).

Typhon Healer:

Thrubnose Bloodletter


Druantia Healer:

Fundumgus


And there you have it as far as purchasing a fishing rod goes, as well as the fishing locations in each town and the merchants for potions, scrolls, and gear needed to start out strong at higher difficulties.

When starting out in The Cursed King, find one of these two merchants to acquire a fishing rod.

Winsa


Lizmo the Traveler


After purchasing a fishing rod, go to this fishing location located to the right of the merchant shown above on the other side of the pond (lake?).


Time to start fishing! This is the best early game way of gathering gear, fish for your pet, and money in The Cursed King like the other games before it.

You may also purchase the needed scrolls, books, and charms from the same merchants shown above in varying quantities and quality's.

If one is looking for a free heal, like in the previous games, visit this NPC below.

Asiya the Healer

Scrolls and books come in two forms, Town Portal and Identify. In scroll form, both will only have a single use (1), while books have ten (10) uses and can hold upwards of 20 uses per book, respectively.

Town Portal Scrolls and Identify Scrolls (displayed below) can be stacked inside each of their respective books which allows you to stack more inside a single book (also displayed below). To save some money, do not buy the 100 gold scrolls, instead buy the books that cost 500 gold for 10 uses versus 1. Once the book is low, you can fill it up with scrolls, but use only the ones found while in the dungeon. Alternatively, you can also just sell the books that are low for a new one.

Identify Scroll

Town Portal Scroll


Town Portal Book


Identify Book


Put each scroll into their respective book by selecting the scroll and then dragging it into the book (as displayed below).




Another feature with scrolls is that they can be equipped to the hotbar for quick use, excluding the use of the Town Portal and Identify spells, while books cannot be added to the hotbar.


The cheapest way of using both Town Portal and Identify comes in the spells of the same name. They are cheap and will save more money in the long run to further min/max your gold (their prices and what they look like are displayed below).

The ultimate ability is a skill every character of any build can use by pressing the Space-bar key. When used, a red circle should form and exploded outwards of your character (shown below).


However, this ultimate ability relies on using high amounts of one’s stamina, while also using a small amount of mana in the process. Thus, one should acquire this specific charm, the stamina charm (shown below), from one of the aforementioned merchants in previous sections.


The Ultimate skill is very useful in a pinch, especially at lower levels and when surrounded by enemies because it hits with a high amount of damage (stacking with enchantments and the critical-hit skill) and knocks them back, providing an opening to run away to teleport back to town if one has ran out of healing charms. This is especially useful at higher difficulties, mainly when playing in Hardcore Mode but also useful at Legendary difficulty.

Once geared up and ready to go, talk to anyone with an exclamation point (!) above their head to start a quest (max of 3) and start your adventure! Your FATE awaits, what does it hold for you?

What to look for when looking for a quest giver:


Below, I will explain how this system can be manipulated in your favor.

Save and exit the game to refresh quests until you find an item fetch quest. Accept the quest and find the item on the specific dungeon level, but do not turn in the item to the quest giver upon completion. Instead, go to the Journal (J key) and cancel the quest (displayed below).


Usually, the items requested are epic and above, and therefore sell for much more gold than their counterparts early on in the game. Now, either keep the item for switching out weaker gear, or sell it to a merchant in town for that sweet, sweet gold. In later games, different quest types are added, but become irrelevant and are advised against as to not waste time in order to maximize gold and EXP, or for min/maxing gear. Doing the above, fishing, or cheesing the enchantment system (explained in the next section) are the best ways to gather enough gold to supply oneself with whatever they desire to be ready for dungeon delving. In later stages of the game, however, due to ways that one can cheese the enchantment system in ones favor, accepting and canceling item fetch quests becomes obsolete and a waste of valuable EXP after a certain character level.

To maximize EXP gain, save and exit, then reload your save, to refresh the quests given and accept the highest EXP giving quest through trial and error. Not extremely efficient, but another helpful tool to utilize if one is struggling for levels outside of money and gear.

Another way to enhance EXP gained per dungeon level with quests is as follows: If the dungeon map for a specific level is not completely explored, one has the ability to accept more quests for the dungeon they are currently on, but has a bigger margin for error since quests for ones current dungeon level can be accepted without the possibility of being completed when a map is fully explored.

In conclusion, the intertwined nature of exploiting these two systems (fishing and quest types) provides a foundation to build upon to make it easier to be able to exploit the enchanting system later on.

The enchantment system can be accessed by finding one of these characters in the towns of Grove, Typhon, Druantia, or Ecktaban.

Riko the Enchanter in Grove


Crythos the Enchanter in Typhon


Bongo in Druantia


Natark the Enchanter in Ekbatan


Once these enchanters are found and interacted with, it's time to enchant! This enchantment system works like comparable games in the genres enchantment systems, but with some big differences.

First, one can have any of these seven possible outcomes, or a combination of several outcomes.

1. No enchantment(s)


2. Positive enchantment(s) (Buffs)


3. Negative enchantment(s) (Debuffs)


4. A combination of both as shown in the above screenshot.

5. (A) socket(s) for gems.


6. An enchantment wipe which removes both positive and negative enchantments on ones gear respectively. However, sockets do not get removed after receiving them on an item (as shown below).


7. Or, you can get a unique enchantment (denoted by their blue color after enchanting), which are the best enchantments one can receive for an item enchantment.


Second, one can enchant their gear with more than 3 - 4 enchantments per item, with 3 - 4 being the common standard for enchantment caps in many other similar games of this type, except for FATE. Here, enchantments can stack upwards of 40 -50 buffs and debuffs, respectively, per gear. Though, only 1 - 4 sockets can be enchanted on an item for different gear and weapon types.
Below is a small example of the variety and amount of enchantments on a single piece of gear one may have at any given time, though item enchantment lists can take up whole entire pieces of one’s screen, depending on the total amount of enchantments, that is.


Once one is at a high enough character level (typically lvl 25 or above), quality and quantity of each enchantment rises in a major way. Time to now brake the enchantment system to ones benefit.

Note, one can find better items early on through fishing or from fetch quests, but the amount of money required to do so and stack enchantments will be much higher for a lesser benefit overall when compared to having a higher level, and the funds are much better spent on charms and level suitable gear to maximize enchanting later. Leveling up your character, especially at higher difficulties, is quick and it won't take long to get to the point of braking the system. Another reason as to why one should wait is because better items appear at higher character levels and deeper dungeon levels with a much higher gold value floor. 10k or higher selling value is the optimal floor to start off at when wanting to enchant an item for better profit margins.

At any level, though, enchanting is one of the most RNG heavy gambles for any system in FATE. Meaning, the more enchantments one has, especially ones with many buffs, the higher the enchantment cost becomes, and is thus suited to pursue at higher levels due to this limiting factor at the start. On the other hand, upon a successful enchantment, the value of the item more often than not exceeds the cost of enchanting the item and will earn one much more gold in the process to focus on powering up ones preferred gear and weapon set.

Gems are also extremely useful and further stack on top of positive enchantments when the buff reaches its cap (typically 100% of X). Below is an example of one gem that is the top tier version, Superior Gems, and are the best ones to purchase, more so at the start of the game.

Your Pet:

A key feature of FATE is the pet you have traveling along with you. This pet has their own inventory for extra storage when delving, and they also have four equipment slots: one for earrings, one for necklaces, and two for rings. Use these slots to equip enchanted gear to your pet for maximum effect by increasing many skills and attributes further. By abusing the enchantment system, not only does it benefit you, but your pet, too.


If one is trying to heal their pet amidst combat, it does not work like the old versions of FATE. In the older versions, one could hold Shift and Right-click a potion or charm to heal their pet from ones character inventory, pet inventory, or the hotbar. In this remaster, one now must click the pet portrait at the top left of the screen in order to heal them (displayed below). Note, the healing potion or charm used will now be first used from the players inventory from left to right and top to bottom, and thereafter the hotbar from left to right.


Companions:

Companions are a great feature that was introduced in the last game of the series, but is sadly still pigeonholed in the last game and was one of the few things not retroactively implemented in earlier games with this remaster.

Go to this NPC to recruit a companion to accompany you through The Cursed King.


The max amount of recruit-able characters is capped at 4. You can also recruit other characters you have made that either started, or were imported to, The Cursed King, with whatever gear they are wearing at the time or what is also in their inventory. Companions can be hired starting at level 1 (if one has the money), and the subsequent three able to be hired at levels 10, 20, and 30. This makes the last game even easier to beat on higher difficulties when added on top of ways to exploit the game.

Below is an example of the companion recruitment screen, the cost of hiring one, and their various stats they come with, along with the ability to hire imported player characters (imported character option is displayed below).

When you are traversing through the dungeons, one will stumble upon three things: Shrines of Learning, Anvils, and Fate Statues.

Shrines of Learning:

Shrines of Learning randomly give or take away points in any attribute or skill at random.

What a Shrine of Learning looks like:


An example of a possible outcome from interacting with the Shrine:


Anvils:

Anvils act exactly like an Enchanter, with all of the same enchantment types described in the "Enchantments & Gems" section, but within the dungeon and can appear at random.

What an Anvil looks like in the dungeon:


Fate Statues:

Out of the three, Fate Statues are the best to have spawn in the dungeon. There are two outcomes one can experience, the most common being boss spawns, shown below. And the other outcome is loot drops in the form of Gems, sometimes being their artifact counterparts (yellow colored items), the best gem variant in the FATE saga.

What the Fate Statue looks like.


One possible Fate Statue outcome.

This section will be updated once I have made my way through The Traitors Soul and The Cursed King games in the FATE saga. Some of the differences have been noted in earlier sections, like Companions only being a feature in The Cursed King.

In this section, I will be compiling bugs that I notice, as well as ones left in the comments below, along with explaining what section this effect’s and how it effect’s any of the sections information. Thank you for your time and for reading this guide, and for also providing any feedback where applicable.

*The first bug one will encounter lies in the options menu: When turning off V-Sync, or turning on different levels of Anti-Aliasing, they do not work and will revert to the original settings upon exiting the game. V-Sync is always turned on, and Anti-Aliasing is always turned off.


*In the Starting Out: Fishing sections, please keep in mind that the time between bites is a bug wholly new in this iteration of the FATE saga, or, even worse, implemented by choice. So, fishing time is much longer in this remaster that was not the case in the older versions of the saga; however, it is still extremely viable to use this system to your benefit at the start of the game.

*In the Quests and the Enchantments & Gems sections, myself and others have noticed a bug with quest given bosses: quest given bosses, in this iteration of the FATE saga, are much weaker at higher difficulties and can be killed in 1 - 2 shots, where as regular enemies can take 2x - 3x the damage on average to kill. By abusing this bug, EXP gained by killing bosses can be stacked with EXP given through the quest, thus allowing a player to gain levels much faster to get to the point of further abusing the Enchantment system (described earlier via the Quests and the Enchantments & Gems sections).

*Another bug with quests pertains to the item one can get from fetch quests: upon canceling a quest, an item will still display a Q (used to mark quest specific items) in the top left corner of the item. They, for now, do not disappear (shown below). The Q would, however, disappear in the original versions of the FATE saga upon canceling a quest.


*In the Pets & Companions section, there is a bug when shift-clicking a merchant to get your pet to sell items to the selected merchant. Your pet will not interact with the merchant, so you will have to transfer whatever items you want to sell from the pets inventory into your inventory, and then proceed to sell said items. Hopefully, this gets addressed soon due to the tedious nature of transferring items between the two inventories.

*While in the dungeon, it is possible to place a town portal right next to the stairways leading down to a lower dungeon, causing the teleport to not be interact-able (replicated below). Thus, you will have to use the town portal spell, book, or scroll away from the staircase. After testing, placing a town portal next to a stairway leading up does not block use of the town portal scroll, book, or spell.


*This visual bug appears in the dungeons, and it seems to make certain enemies weapons super big and long, and yes, it looks like a weapon penis. Not game breaking, so its more funny than anything.


*This bug is a notification bug: When being notified about a pet gaining a new level, or, as the voice line goes "Your pet has increased in power" or "Your pet has increased in skill," most of the time your pet has not actually gained a new level, and can be replicated by simply checking your pets Stats screen for confirmation of a level truly being gained or not when hearing this notification. Not game-breaking, but is annoying to constantly hear this when your pet has not actually gained a level, increased in power, or gained a new skill.

*This bug (gross oversight?) involves the character stats screen: When looking at the stats screen, one will notice a stat not being displayed, Defense. This, for whatever reason, is not displayed in ones stat menu. In this new iteration, it seems, Defense was changed to Dodge, but only in name. Dodge was calculated based off of ones Defense, not the term for ones Defense, in the original games. Why this was a change they made, I have no idea, but figured this would help players out when trying to figure out what their Defense stat is; it definitely confused me.

Original FATE stat screen:


New FATE stat screen:


*This bug, or a dumb feature apart of the remaster, deals with the Identify Spell: When in your inventory and trying to use the Identify Spell, it simply does not work. One has to use the Identify Spell outside of the menu. When used, the inventory screen is brought up upon use of the spell, and can then be used in the inventory screen to identify an item, and only one item. In order to use it multiple times, one must close their inventory screen, use the spell, and rinse and repeat for every item the needs to be identified. I really hope this gets fixed due to it becoming a tedious task and nullifying the reason for having the Identify Spell in the first place.

*This bug pertains to an enemy: Shown below, the wrong enemy sprite is used for the Greater Gargoyle, and instead the Basilisk sprite is used.


*There is another bug pertaining to your pet: One is able to equip their pet with 2 rings, 1 earring and 1 necklace. Useful, right? Well, no, not in this version of FATE. For whatever reason, any equipped items have to be unequipped and then equipped to be used, but the problem doesn’t end there. Every new screen you go to, basically after every loading screen, you have to repeat this process. Every. Single. Time. Probably the most annoying bug in this game thus far, besides the one described below.

*This bug pertains to the enchanting: When enchanting, one can get an item enchanted without anything being applied, and therefore waste money. (Screenshot will be provided in the near future).

While this guide is not fully complete, the above information will allow you to start out at higher difficulties with a better footing to progress through the game more easily. Thanks for taking the time to check this out, and I hope it was helpful to old and new players alike.