SURVIVAL is the name of the game in A Plague Tale: Requiem as you play as siblings Amicia and Hugo trying to find a path across plague-ridden France.
Not only was the black death rampant in the 14th century, but it is also in the midst of a war, and cultists and slavers try to kidnap you at every turn.
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If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, when Hugo gets depressed, swarms of rats break through the Earth’s crust.
It’s okay to struggle when your main weapon against all this is a simple sling.
Check out our top five tips to get the most out of A Plague Tale: Requiem:
Stick to the playstyle that suits you
Like in many RPGs, Amicia will gain benefits based on how she completes each enemy encounter.
Aiming for stealthy take-downs will gain experience in ‘Prudence’, while straight-on assaults will give her ‘Aggressive’ experience.
There are a limited number of combat sections, so it’s important to stick to one style of tackling each encounter in order to gain access to a powerful ability in that category.
Both Prudence and Aggressive are strong playstyles and we favour these over the third type, ‘Opportunism’, which is related to Amicia’s crafting prowess.
Here are all the skill trees so you can choose which to focus on.
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Prudence
- Light Footstep: Amicia makes less noise when moving and so is less noticeable by enemies nearby.
- Nimbleness: Thanks to a better sense of balance, Amicia moves faster when crouching.
- Throwing Stance: Amicia improves her body positioning to throw items farther.
- Armour Piercer: Amicia can backstab armoured enemies with a knife as she can now spot their weak points.
Aggressive
- Grappler: Being conscious of her surroundings, Amicia can push enemies into fire or rats when she attacks in melee, killing them instantly.
- Recovery: Keeping her calm when she is attacked, Amicia recovers faster from blows.
- Vital Points: Knowing their vital points, Amicia strangles enemies with her sling faster and more quietly.
- Quick Fingers: Being more dexterous, Amicia reloads and uses her weapons much faster.
Opportunism
- Alchemy Knowledge: Thanks to a better knowledge of alchemy, Amicia crafts alchemical ammo faster.
- Nothing Lost: Optimising her alchemical craft, Amicia has a chance to save one resource she uses when she crafts alchemical ammo.
- Material Division: Being more meticulous, Amicia obtains pieces when she crafts alchemical ammo.
- Pure Product: Perfecting her art, Amicia crafts one more alchemical ammo with the same resources.
Running away is often the best strategy
If you accidentally get spotted by an enemy, there is absolutely no shame in running away as fast as you can.
Taking on unnecessary foes can waste your resources, and enemies lose sight of you pretty easily.
You can make your life even easier by running through a bush and crouching on the opposite side.
Most of the time the AI will enter the bush and then quickly give up the hunt and walk off.
This will allow you to go back into stealth mode. However, if it’s a small bush, they may still spot you.
Use Exsanguis and Tar to buy you time
If thrown at an enemy, Exsanguis creates a small cloud of dust that will give you a few seconds to run away.
While it’s meant to be used to put out fires, this secondary effect can be particularly helpful when overcome by enemies.
If you combine it with a pot, the dust will affect the whole area giving you even more time to get away.
In a similar way, Tar can be thrown at an enemy for a few seconds of distraction.
It distracts enemies for a shorter time, but you can then light it on fire for heavy damage. You can also then use a follow up attack to take them out.
Armoured enemies can’t be killed this way, but it will delay them for a lengthy period of time.
Tar won’t work on shielded enemies, but Exganuis pots can be effective if aimed at their feet.
Spend time hunting for scrap
There are four more talent trees in the game which are upgraded when Amicia hunts for scraps and tools.
However, you cannot max out all four in a single playthrough, as there isn’t enough scrap in the fame.
We recommend attempting to maximise the ‘Instruments’ tree first, as it will allow Amicia to complete upgrades without tools.
In each section you can find a hidden treasure chest which requires puzzle-solving and tactical combat to reach, but the effort is worth the scrap.
Always keep a Knife on you
Every so often you will come across a locked workbench requiring a knife to open it.
Inside will be a large amount of scrap, tools and crafting materials, alongside the opportunity to upgrade your gear.
While knives are useful in combat, they are even more useful in these situations.
If you are low on knives, resist the urge to use one when attacked.
While this can result in a game over, it’s worth going back to the last checkpoint in order to save your knives.
Written by Junior Miyai and Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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