Beginner Mistakes To Avoid In Realm of Ink

Realm of Ink is yet another entry in a long list of roguelikes with a small twist, but this one takes place in a Chinese-inspired realm. It shares a lot of similarities to Hades, in a good way. It features a few different biomes, multiple unique bosses, interesting enemies, and room progression that is quite similar to the one found in its Greek brother, though it has a distinctive lack of mythological gods in the mix.

The game has a few distinguishing features, namely its inky artstyle, unique setting, and a very cute animal companion. The difficulty curve isn't very steep, making it great for beginners; however, there are a few things that new Realm of Ink players should keep in mind when starting their roguelike journey.

Featured image, best talents to unlock first in realm of ink

Realm of Ink: Best Talents to Unlock First

There are 33 talents in Realm of Ink that act as a form of metaprogression, but which ones should you unlock first?

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By Huzaifa Haq

1 Standing Still is a Death Sentence

Those Who Wait, Don't Stay Long

In most games that feature swarms of enemies coming after the player, staying in one place for any appreciable amount of time is a guaranteed way to see the precious HP bar go down at an alarming rate. Even in the early stages, enemies are unforgiving and will suck out the player's soul if they don't move out of the way.

The best practice is to keep the joystick pointing in one direction or the other (or hold down the direction button in the case of a keyboard). As long as the player keeps moving, enemy attacks will miss.

2 Ink Gems Aren't For Show

Be Careful What You Upgrade

Players can obtain Ink Gems in their forays out in the wild as they attempt their escape. These gems grant players active and passive abilities that help them in their run.

Gems come in different rarities: common, rare, epic, and legendary.

Most of the gems that players find in an Ink Gem chamber will be common, but rare gems come up relatively frequently. To get higher rarity gems, players need to upgrade the ones in their inventory.

When presented with a gem, players have an option to salvage it or swap it into one of their two ink gem slots, replacing an existing power. Salvaging gems grants the player upgrade resources that can be used to upgrade the gems in their arsenal. However, the upgrade material obtained from salvaging a gem of a given rarity is much less than the price of bringing a gem up to that rarity. The first ink gem is almost never worth the upgrade material. Holding out for a good gem is key to constructing an ideal build.

3 Shop Mogul

Sample It All At the Right Time

There are three vendors that players can visit before they start a boss fight, i.e., a cook that heals the player, a vendor that gives the player perks, and a floating lady that can upgrade ink gems. These only appear right before a boss fight.

It's a good idea to spend some of the resources earned from different rooms in this town of vendors to get ready for the upcoming battle. However, this depends entirely on the players' build. It can be wise to hold onto wealth for a little longer if the upcoming fight isn't very tough, or if the player's build is good enough to handle it without any additional upgrades. Having more money for the future is always a good thing.

4 Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Focus on One Goal

The build that a player will have in any given run is up to the RNG gods. It is partially dependent on the character the player chooses at the start, along with the talents they unlock on the Talent Stele as well. Regardless, there is a lot of variety in the final build that players end up with due to the inherent randomness of roguelikes.

This doesn't mean that there is no method to the madness. Beginners often make the mistake of getting a little bit of everything, without considering the benefits of betting it all on one or two factors. When presented with the choice of upgrading one ability a lot, or upgrading all abilities a little, the most optimal choice is the first one.

5 Virtuous Greed

Nothing Worth Having Is Easy To Get

There are special rooms found within Realm of Ink that players can challenge for additional rewards. These rooms, denoted by a purple theme, are much harder to clear than the other rooms in the same biome. They offer a unique challenge, whether it be tougher enemies, a survival gimmick, or a defend the tower time attack.

There are times when players should take these rooms, and there are times when they should be avoided at all costs. Never go to these rooms when struggling with normal rooms. They should only be challenged when the player is cruising along without any problems, otherwise they can ruin the run completely.

6 Upgrade, Upgrade, Upgrade!

Skill + Meta Progression

There are two ways to get better at a roguelike game.

Get familiar with the gameplay mechanics. This involves learning the right timings for dashing, the proper attacking combos, and learning the cues for enemy attacks to dodge them.
Spend resources for meta progression. In Realm of Ink, players can use the resources they obtain inside runs to upgrade their character outside of them in the world's hub area.

Whether it's buying new talents at the Talent Stele, unlocking new skins, or upgrading Momo to deal as much damage as possible, there are many ways players can upgrade their overall abilities. Since all of these methods take up different resources, players shouldn't forget to upgrade them all.

Additionally, there is no point in hoarding resources for a mass upgrade. Incremental upgrades will help slightly increase the player's combat power, letting them farm resources at a faster rate, so they can progress faster.

7 Haste Makes Waste

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

The hardest part about roguelikes is being patient. There is a lot of movement and many ways to deal damage, but the core of any game in the genre is the same: Hit without getting hit. When the player hasn't progressed a lot, this is difficult to achieve, especially without a lot of prior experience in the genre.

The solution is quite simple – be patient. It can be very tempting to rush into battle as soon as the new room loads and the enemies spawn, but that is a mistake. Play slowly and deliberately and learn how to dodge the attacks of surrounding enemies before attacking them. The same principle applies to bosses. Play cautiously without getting greedy for a quick kill and utilize the small windows between enemy attacks to get a few hits in. Trading hits is very bad because the boss will always deal more damage than the player, and the player needs to kill multiple bosses to win a game.

8 Never Too Old To Learn

Attack Patterns, Enemy Types, Weaknesses

The easiest way to improve is to spend some time learning about the game. Failing is normal, and dying isn't anything players need to feel bad about. However, dying without learning anything new is why so many players find it difficult to finish runs successfully.

Players should know what types of enemies will appear in different biomes. This will help them determine the kind of playstyle they need to adopt to have the best impact. For bosses, players should memorize their attack patterns and movesets to properly fight them. When players methodically learn one biome and boss at a time, they will end up winning the game before they know it.

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