ANNO: Mutationem is, first and foremost, a game primarily focused on combat. And that combat genuinely feels good here. However, there are a number of elements that may be lost on new players. Thankfully, we have some quick tips that will get you dodge rolling and parrying in no time.
Whether you are wondering how to best utilize your weapons, or wanting to squeeze every last drop of damage out of your opponent, we have you covered. Check out these great tips and tricks to help you hit the ground running, or at least hit your opponents and ensure it counts.
Dealing With Flying Opponents
At a certain height, your best option is going to be your guns. However, a number of flying opponents like to hover in place at jumping height. These flying opponents are best dealt with by hitting them with your greatsword midair. The air combo keeps you airborne, and every standard flying enemy will die with one or two swipes.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the burger (which can be purchased in Skopp City) will greatly increase the damage your gun does for a brief amount of time. While the burger is too situational to be worth keeping in your backpack in the early sections of the game, once you have unlocked a few extra spots in your backpack it may be worth keeping a pocket burger around for the moments when you are dealing with multiple flying opponents.
Invest In The Parry
This is a super-effective way of stripping enemies of their armor. Not every attack can be parried, but most can be. Since the enemies typically telegraph their attacks, you will be able to get a lot of mileage out of this combat technique.
The further parry buffs on the weapon tree are also pretty nice, given that you will be able to land the parry so often, but they aren’t mandatory. However, while you could definitely play through the entire game without the parry, it is highly recommended that you pick it up. On a side note, it is also really satisfying to use.
Light Sword: Shadowstep
Here Ann lunges forward, moving through enemies and dishing out damage along the way. This is superfast and can act as a superior means for getting behind your opponent (as it does damage). You are also going to have to unlock it if you want to progress the single sword skill tree.
Unfortunately, there is a downside. Due to the inability to switch your movement to the d-pad, and the cumbersome nature of controlling a 2D game with an analog stick, it is quite easy to accidentally trigger this attack when you are out of harm's way (and putting you into the path of danger). Once this attack is unlocked you are going to have to be super careful when moving forward and attacking in order to not accidentally trigger your Shadowstep attack.
Kick ‘Em When They’re Down
When you stun a powerful enemy, you typically are given the opportunity to land your fatal blow, but before you do so you should get a few normal attacks in. Their shield will be down, so the damage you do will not be direct to their health pool.
This can be the difference between having to fight another cycle of a boss or not. Also, after you have landed the fatal attack, and their shield is still recharging, you can typically get a few more attacks in that will deal unmitigated damage. This is super important late in the game when you are fighting bosses who can get a little spongy.
Nonexistent Cancel Windows
There doesn’t appear to be much in the way of a cancel window. So, generally, you don’t want to ever use high commitment attacks unless your opponent is stunned, or committed to their own attack. This means that you are going to be primarily using your single sword or twin swords.
The greatsword is mainly there to whittle down shields on boss characters. Trying to use the greatsword against the smaller enemies is typically a mistake, as you are going to be committed to long attacks, which will leave you vulnerable.
Stay Tactical
Outside the Shadowstep attack, your grombits are probably going to be better spent on the tactical side of the skill tree. Truth be told, most of the expertise upgrades (which unlock new attacks) give you high-commitment moves which just leave you too vulnerable. The bladestaff, as cool as it looks, just feels inferior to the standard form of the twin blades.
We aren't going to look down on you for unlocking some cool moves and having a good time with them, but when the tactical skills do everything from making your ranged weapons faster to improving your parry to giving you more time in your transformed state, it just feels like those grombits could be spent better on that actually useful stuff.
Make Your Opponents Hit Each Other
While this isn't true for all enemies, some enemies have attacks that will hit their allies. This is exceptionally useful later on in the game when you are dealing with the giant mechs that shoot missiles. The missiles are able to hit their allies, which means that you can roll past their friends and let them act as a shield for you.
Some of the robots you will encounter also shoot a powerful laser that will similarly wipe out their allies. Stay aware of which of your enemy's attacks are causing friendly fire, and take advantage.
Invincible Roll
This is an integral tool for getting around an enemy’s attacks. The roll will make you completely invincible, which will help you move through projectiles. However, one thing to keep in mind is that there is a short cooldown at the end of the roll.
This means that after you roll, and have regained control of Ann, you won’t be able to roll again for a brief period of time. This isn’t a huge deal in the early goings, but later on, when you need to avoid multiple projectiles in quick succession, you will need to keep this in mind in order to time things accordingly.
Using Items Mid-Combat
While you can select items during combat by using the D-pad, this can become extremely hectic once you have a number of items on your belt. So, if you are in the middle of a boss battle, and you desperately need to heal, you should use the item menu. That's right, you can pause the action, select an item from your inventory, and use it. This is a real lifesaver in some of the more intense boss battles.
You can also use your other items this way. So, if you stun a boss, and want to increase your attack power so that you can do more damage, it makes sense to pause and select the Erythropoietin there. Otherwise, if you try to select it with the D-pad in real time, you will waste precious seconds of time sifting through your items.
Unleashing Your Inner God
Part-way through the game you will receive the ability to transform into a powered-up form. This ability is extraordinarily powerful, as it makes you invincible, substantially increases your damage, and heals you all at the same time! The best way to use this ability is to hold off until you are severely injured, then trigger it.
Ann's transform ability also has two upgrades available in the talent tree. You would be well-served to make these a priority. They are relatively pricey, but this is one of your most powerful tools, and it will be a godsend for some of the more brutal late-game encounters.
When building meter for the transformed ability, focus on using your twin swords, as they build meter the fastest of all the weapons.
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