Eldritch Tips and Strategies

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Eldritch can seem ugly and hard, but it's fun game once you push through the learning curve.
For a game with so many right angles, it feels surprisingly non-Euclidean!  I was pretty
underwhelmed th first two times I tried the game out, but the third time it really clicked...
it's now a definitefavorite.

Here are a few suggestions to make it up that initial ramp.  Some of these might be considered
spoilery, but if they get you to actually play the game, who's going to kick?

(1) _Don't_ loot bodies until you're better at the game.  Looted enemies respawn; by clearing them
out, you buy yourself breathing space.

(2) Conserve your health at all costs...gaining it back is a slow slog. Spend bullets to save
health by killing annoying shooters, particularly those that fly. Fountains (the live ones, with
bubbling water) permanently increase your health. Find them ALL!

(3) The Destruction Amulet is overpowered: it increases revolver damage, and lets you punch
through any wall. Use it and abuse it, but weigh each bullet expenditure carefully.

(4) Pay attention to the audio, it tells you when enemies are around.

(5) Sneak! Crouching is your friend, do it if there is *any* doubt whether the area is clear.

(6) The best weapon combo is dagger and revolver, get them and keep them. Use the revolver
only when necessary, but then use it remorselessly.  Rocks and bottles will get you by until
then. (Check the bar in the starting world so you don't enter Dagon-1 empty-handed.)

(7) When you're ready to attack with the dagger, watch your timing. Sprint to the attack and
time your strike.

(8) Clear the floors methodically. The maze is three dimensional, so you may have to work
your way down and up. Judicious use of the Destruction Amulet can greatly shorten paths, but
don't spend too many bullets. If full exploration means you'd take damage, preserving your
health is more important. You'll REALLY want those bullets when you get to the Endless
Library.

(9) The Medical Kit gives you a extra chances after death, and greatly improves your
survivability...it's your best bet when you're starting. The Tinning Kit lets you regain
health, but enemies will respawn when you use it. Campfires are too rare in the main
game to make the Camping Kit worthwhile.

(10) Jump Boots, a Lockpick Kit, a Destruction Amulet, or the Knock spell make keys
unnecessary.  This is can relieve some pressure while you're learning the game. (Cleaning
out bank vaults gives you lots of artifacts to spend.)

(11) Experiment with all the spells; Cloak, Hypnotize, and Materialize (and Knock, when
you're starting) are good to teach you different strategies.  Not Summon, though. Ever.

(12) With care, the Materialize spell will let you trap shoggoth and those annoying,
spindly, resurrecting enemies. But running is often as good. 

(13) Don't try to kill (or even neutralize) everything...preserving resources is more
important.  Only take the risk if you're going to get something more in return. (A
safe area where you are guaranteed not to take damage counts!)

(14) Stick with the main game, beginning with world Dagon-1 and its fish-people, to
start. This is as gentle as Eldritch gets.

(15) The Hallowe'en world (enter through the Jack-o-lantern in the starting library)
is brutal, but speed-running it to get some equipment before playing the main game
makes everything easier. (Get comfortable with the main game first, though.) Find the
fountains if possible for extra health; if you die during a pre-game run from the
bloody undying shoggoths, you aren't out much time. Do it again.

(16) When you're ready to for the Mountains of Madness, climbing boots are _essential_
to avoid icicle damage. Play the Hallowe'en level or the main game (or both!) to get
them. You can play through everything, and as long as you don't win, you can take
everything you've gained to the Mountains.

(17) When you're comfortable moving around without being ambushed, loot judiciously.
The fish people in the Dagon worlds go down really easy to the knife, ditto the
(non-shooting) spiders. You can net lots and lots of artifacts by looting them every
time they respawn. A great place to do this is at the bottom of world Dagon-#, where
a huge number of fish-people are swarming around the ziggurat.

(18) You can go back up to worlds you've visited previously...say, if there's
something at a store that you didn't have enough artifacts for the first time through.

(19) You NEED a Destruction Amulet and a Medical Kit. (Try other combinations after
you've learned your way around.) Conserve your artifacts until you can purchase them.

(20) On the other hand, stores are reliable ways to get both bullets and healing (meat).
When you start trying to maximize, you'll want to make sure you buy EVERY gun available
for its bullets, and keep your health as topped up as possible.

(21) The Dagon worlds are pretty straightforward; the only real pain is shoggoths on
Dagon-3. Use these to get as many resources stocked as possible. When you're starting
out, don't try these strategies on the Nyarlathotep worlds! Forget everything except 
neaking through as fast as possible and surviving...while staying out of view of the
statues. Materialize can block their vision!

(22) The upper floors of the starting Library world have more plants that can give you
health. Figure out how many bullets you're willing to expend to be healed.

(23) Don't try for the "true" ending until you've completed the game at least once.
And even then, wait until you've cleared EVERYTHING to go back to the shadow worlds
for the items you need.

(24) Use a keyboard and mouse, not a gamepad. You're not an animal.