Summary
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnis yet another Soulslike among Soulslike, butFlintlockis one of the rare ones that actually uses the Souls games as a foundation and then builds its own unique game on top of this foundation. While the obvious Souls inspiration can be seen inFlintlock: The Siege of Dawn, there’s a whole lot it does differently.
The game’s story is unique, the core combat is different fromother Souslikes or even Souls-lites, there’s a heavy emphasis on platforming and exploration, and the game even hasa lot of open-world mechanicsas well. Because of this, players who went into playingFlintlock, expecting it to be a Dark Souls clone,are probably struggling with the game. To help out, let’s go over some early-game and beginner mistakes that players should avoid, if possible.
8Barely Using The Block & Parry System
It Takes Some Getting Used To
A lot of people have gone intoFlintlock: The Siege of Dawnthinking it’s just going to be another Soulslike and therefore should be played the same way as most other Soulslikes. However, these same people have likely found themselves struggling withFlintlockas a result as the general ‘dodge attack, swing a couple of times, dodge attack’ gameplay loop doesn’t really work in this game.
As it turns out, this game tries to do a lot of things differently from most other Soulslikes, and that also applies to the combat system. While players can dodge attacks pretty consistently, it’s not the best way to play defensively. Once they actually sit down and learn both the blocking and parrying system inFlintlock(including using their flintlock pistol to interrupt Break Attacks) they’ll find that the game is a lot easier overall when it comes to combat.
7Not Utilizing The Priming & Parrying System Enough
Some Enemies Are Just Better to Prime Instead
While the previous entry went over just how important the parrying mechanic is inFlintlock, that doesn’t mean parrying in this game is easy or intuitive by default. A lot of enemies have attacks that are incredibly difficult to parry, and the attacks the player can’t parry (AKA Break Attacks) tend to only flash red once it’s too late to do anything but ‘eat the hit’ if the player was trying to time their block appropriately.
This is all to say that, just because the parrying system is incredibly strong once a player gets good at using it, doesn’t mean that it’ll trivialize the game overall. In fact, a lot of the Break Attacks in this game are easily avoidable with a last-second dodge, even if the game itself says they shouldn’t be. But, the unfortunate part is that not all Break Attacks work this way, and some of them sort of follow the player and catch them at the end of their dodge. So, players will need to learn, comprehend, and understand the parrying, blocking, and Priming mechanics of this game to truly excel.
6Misunderstanding The Importance Of Interrupting Break Attacks
Pretty Much the ‘Core’ Defensive Option
Next up we need to talk about the Pistol Interrupt system inFlintlock: The Siege of Dawn, as this system is much more integral to the core gameplay loop than it might first appear. Giving players the ability to interrupt any enemy attack by shooting the enemy during said attack animation is pretty generous, and can make the game feel a bit similar to something likeBloodbornein terms of the core combat loop.
However, making sure to use Nor’s flintlock pistol to interrupt Break Attacks, when they shine red in particular, is especially important. Not only does this always deal a substantial amount of damage to said enemy (typically around the same amount as 2-3 melee hits), but it’s incredibly fast to use, meaning players can react to an incoming Break Attack very late and will typically still get the interrupt anyway while most other reactions would have caused them to get hit by the Break Attack regardless.
5Misunderstanding Where Conscript Buttons Are Used
It’s In Your Inventory
Conscript Buttons are an item players will start finding inFlintlockpretty early on. They’re always found on these sparkling skeletal remains, and these skeletons are often hidden away in areas Nor will need to platform up to to reach or hidden in areas players wouldn’t commonly stumble into. Collecting these Conscript Buttons might seem like something that’ll eventually be worth it once the NPC quest to collect them appears, but that’s a misunderstanding.
As it turns out, these aren’t items that Nor will eventually sell to an NPC or give to them for some side quest, they’re the equivalent of the Golden Runes inElden Ring. To elaborate, they’re essentially a bundle of the in-game currency that players can pop at any time, typically to get them to the next threshold for a Skill, Upgrade, or item. So, go into Nor’s backpack and use these Conscript Buttons when needed, don’t be like us and only realize that’s how these items work 8+ hours into the game.
4Not Priming Armored Enemies
It Makes Them So Much Easier to Handle
There are three main ways by which Nor can deal with armored enemies inFlintlock: The Siege of Dawn(at leastwithout modding the game). One is by simply hitting them until they die, the other is by using parries/pistol interrupts to deal steady damage, and the third is by Priming the enemy using the game’s Prime system ripping their armor off with the subsequent Critical Attack.
This third method, at least for armored enemies with a lot of health, tends to be the best route. As long as players get the Priming Gauge filled a single time and attack during this period, they’ll rip the opponent’s armor off, making them a lot more susceptible to damage as well as CC effects such as Enki’s move where he pulls them into the air and more.
3Ignoring Enki’s Options
Enki Should Always Be In Action
Another mistake we constantly see newerFlintlockplayers making is not utilizing Enki enough in combat. In the bottom right of the screen, players can see how many charges they have to make Enki attack an enemy as well as the progress of their meter to use their Withering Ability. Essentially, if there are Enki charges up, players should be using them. This is a miniature god after all, and as such he’s pretty dang powerful.
Both the Curse of Death and Priming mechanics that Enki is innately tied toare just too useful not to be utilizedand there are too many other skills that synergize with using Enki in combat to ignore this adorable little creature.
2Focusing Too Much On Main Story Progression
Exploration Is Incredibly Important
Exploration inFlintlock: The Siege of Dawn, isan aspect of the gamethat players don’t interact enough with early on, and as such the game is a lot less exciting and forgiving as a result. Exploration in this game is everpresent, and it impacts so many different systems. For example, by exploring, players can gain:
If players don’t explore inFlintlock, they’re only limiting themselves both in the strength of their build and in the number of different playstyles at their disposal. Because things like Armor Pieces can grant Nor unique effects (such as additional range on melee attacks), finding even one Armor Piece can completely change Nor’s overall playstyle. and that’snot even including the Armor Set Bonusesthese Armor Pieces can grant Nor.
1Investing Too Heavily In One Specific Skill Tree
You’ll Want to Split the Investment at Least a Little Bit
The final common mistake we see in this game is when players invest too heavily into one side of Nor’s skill tree early on without getting the basic Skills first for each branch. The Dodge Attack in the Steel Tree, the Enki Attacks/Curse of Death in the Magic Tree, and of course the Pistol Interrupt and Charged Flintlock Shot in the Powder Tree are all core gameplay mechanics that will end up making the game feel much tougher if they aren’t invested in ASAP.
While heavily investing in, say, Steel early on can lead to easier or more satisfying melee encounters, it’ll limit the options Nor has access to at all times, and it’ll end up building bad habits for the rest of the game going forward.
