The trend of action-packed roguelikes has seen a surge in recent years, and it doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon. Wizard of Legend for Nintendo Switch, despite the fairly generic-sounding title, is a fast-paced roguelike dungeon crawler that's packed full of enchanting magical spells and tough-as-nails foes.
If you're in the mood for a game that's a tad reminiscent of Diablo 3, then Wizard of Legend is definitely one you should pick up. However, fair warning: it's incredibly difficult, but here are some tips and tricks to help you get through it!
Learn the basics
Since Wizard of Legend is a roguelike, it moves at an incredibly fast pace and the enemies you'll encounter can hit pretty hard. In fact, you'll probably die a lot.
If you're just a natural at any game, then Wizard of Legend may only take about eight hours or so to complete, but more if you're a completionist. But I'll tell you now that it's hard, and for most of us, even though it's a short game, a lot of time's needed to master it.
Here's some basics that you should follow if you want to survive:
- Take it slow. Wizard of Legend is fast-paced, and when enemies appear, you could be moments away from death if you're not careful. Try taking a slower approach and explore cautiously, sniping enemies from afar with ranged spells and kite them around, using the environment to protect yourself.
- Learn the enemies. You're going to die a lot, this applies to any roguelike. It's best to use the first several (or dozen) attempts to learn what each enemy type does, and practice your own movement patterns with those enemies to avoid their attacks.
- Strategize your targets. After you learn the enemy types and their attacks, you should prioritize which ones to take out first. For example, the archers can snipe you pretty good and do a good amount of damage, so I'd recommend taking them out if you can. Or if there's a spellcaster who does annoying AoE attacks that hurt, you should get rid of them first.
- Use the environment. As you explore the dungeons, there may be objects that get in the way of hitting your foes, or they can provide excellent cover against annoying enemies. You can break almost any object, including barrels, lamps, paintings, crystals, and more. Use the walls and barriers as cover against enemies, and push enemies off ledges and into the pits below.
Buy spells and gear
While the game is heavily reliant on your skills in a fast-paced environment, having the right gear helps too.
There's a lot of different builds that you can make for your wizard in the game. Here's some tips to get started with finding the right one for you:
- Invest in robes. Each wizard has their own wardrobe for holding their stylish robes. But did you know that these robes do more than just look good? They provide you with beneficial passive abilities, like faster move speed. Figure out your play style, and make sure you have a robe to go with it. For example, if you like close combat, a robe that boosts defense is nice.
- Experiment with spells. Before you start each procedurally generated run, you can explore the town's shops for new gear. If you have the funds for it, buy a few spells to add to your arsenal and try them out. There's five elemental arcana (fire, ice, earth, lightning, and wind), and they all have their own benefits. Fire spells hit for more damage, while ice and lightning have additional effects like freeze and stun. Grab a few and figure out the kind of play style you want, and then create a build that revolves around that.
- Know your relics. Relics are powerful objects that grant you benefits just by equipping them before going into the dungeon. These objects can poison foes, slow them down, provide more defense, increase movement speed, or even lower the cost of relics, so you can buy more for cheap. They're great for complementing your preferred builds with some extra oomph.
Know what to buy and when
As you go through the dungeons, you'll encounter some merchants who are able to sell you arcana spells, relics, or items. Knowing the proper time to buy each item is key if you want to progress.
- Buy a health potion instead of arcana or relics. If you're running low on health, then you should buy a health potion at the merchant if you see it instead of a relic or spell. Doing so extends your survivability, giving you more of a chance to reach the next floor or getting through a boss fight.
- Grab life leech and health orb drop relics the moment you see them. Going along with the tip above, if you see relics in the shops (before or during) with these benefits, grab them! Anything that prolongs your chances of survival are huge must-haves in this game.
Figure out your play style
There are five arcana types in Wizard of Legend: Fire, Water, Lightning, Earth, and Air. There are benefits to each type, but if you want to play effectively, it's best to create a build that revolves around one element.
- Use Earth for a defensive style. Earth arcana can reduce damage taken from foes, leave spikes behind in your trail to damage enemies who stalk you, which is rather useful.
- Utilize water and lightning to slow and stun. While the damage dealt may not be as much as, say fire, being able to slow or stun opponents for a brief moment could change the tide of battle. Plus, lightning attacks have fairly good range on them and are easy to use.
- Buy all the arcana. I'd recommend buying arcana as they come along, and as long as you have money for them. Having a variety increases your build options, and who knows? Sometimes a combination of arcana works well together, but you won't know until you try it out!
Become the wizard that legends speak of
Wizard of Legend is definitely a tough game, and it's not for the faint of heart. But when you go in armed with these tips and tricks, the game should be more fun than frustrating. Remember, it's mostly about experimentation, patience, learning, and practice.
