Miasma Chronicles tips for beginners
Miasma Chronicles is a turn-based tactical RPG with stealth and exploration elements baked into it – and it’s challenging. New America, the post-apocalyptic future version of the US the title is set in, is a harsh and dangerous place with all sorts of dangers. The mysterious Miasma has not just transformed the world on the surface, it has greatly impacted the ecosystem: mutated frogs in tribal wargear seek to destroy what’s left of mankind, trees have awakened to become nightmarish versions of Lord of the Ring’s friendly Ents, and – as always – some humans are determined to make life even more difficult for other people by turning criminal.
You not only have to survive in this world – you’re looking for a very important person who is not just special to you, but is regarded as the key to change the Earth’s fate for the better. We have collected a few beginner tips for Miasma Chronicles here to make the start of your journey easier.
Miasma Chronicles tips: Keep your eyes open
While battles are turn-based affairs, exploration in Miasma Chronicles happens in real time and allows you to freely roam the levels. It can’t be overstated how important this part of the game is. Exploration is mainly how you get many useful items and new gear, so be sure to grab anything you find and keep your eyes peeled for areas that might be closed off – some areas are locked behind access cards you find somewhere else in the region, others are secured by a keypad.
Keypads all require a three-digit code to unlock, for which you can usually find clues on the keypad itself or nearby in the environment – examples for these types include the Gator Zone keypad and the Widow’s Mine keypad.
The Bearded Ladies / 505 Games
Another reason for keeping your eyes open is that terrain plays a key role in combat. If you find a nicely defensible high ground, a loudspeaker, or some explosive barrels, take note of that for the battle plans you’ll be drawing up.
Miasma Chronicles tips: Be sneaky
Sure, you could march into a settlement of mutated frogs guns blazing, but that’ll make things unnecessarily difficult for you. Switch to sneak mode by clicking your left mouse button and your party will move around without making a noise – even rusty old Diggs. Bushes hide you entirely and allow you to get up close and personal to enemies, if you so desire. Don’t panic if you briefly get into an enemy’s line of sight: They won’t be alarmed immediately and you have a very short grace period to get out again.
If need be, split up your party with the space bar. You can always press tab to switch between characters and station them behind some cover by pressing the right mouse button to keep them in a hidden position while setting up an ambush, which you can trigger by pressing F.
The Bearded Ladies / 505 Games
Using silent weapons and abilities, you can take down isolated enemies without alerting the rest of them to reduce their numbers. Just make sure you and your victim are outside anyone’s line of sight. You can make noise deliberately to lure opponents into an ambush position as well by activating loudspeakers found on the map or throwing a glass bottle from your backpack..
Miasma Chronicles tips: Scout and react accordingly
Preparation is key to Miasma Chronicles’ battles, as we’ve learnt above. That includes collecting information on your enemies and adapting your own characters accordingly. You can hover your cursor over foes, which will pop open an overview of their abilities and weaknesses on the right side of the screen. Be sure to keep these things in mind – know thy enemy, and all that.
Armed with that knowledge, go over the terrain you scouted earlier and choose the best spot to fight. Then check your characters’ skill decks and loadouts and make any adjustments that may be necessary. Remember that you can freely swap around any gear between characters aside from Miasma Abilities, switch modifications on weapons, and reconfigure your skill decks when you’re out of combat. Fighting some enemies with a weakness to fire? Make sure you have the skills with fire damage unlocked. Expecting to get swarmed by melee meatshield opponents? Bring Overwatch to the battlefield to hold back the tide.
You precisely prepare your weapons and skills based on the enemy you’re facing and the terrain you’re fighting in. Draw up a sound plan and you’ll have won half the battle before it even started.
Miasma Chronicles tips: Play the flanking game
Flanking is key to winning battles, as it provides you with bonus damage whenever you hit an opponent from behind or the side – plus, that’s probably where they don’t have cover, giving you more accuracy. Speaking of cover: keep your character behind it at all times. Your foes often hit even harder than you and your characters are a relatively squishy bunch, so minimize the risk of being hit.
The Bearded Ladies / 505 Games
Each character has a rage meter, which slowly fills up as you fight. Once it’s full, the character will be enraged, gaining a 100% critical hit chance on their next shot. In Miasma Chronicles, any amount of critical hit chance above 100% is converted into additional critical damage on a hit, which means that an enraged character’s shot has enormous damage potential and should not be wasted. Be smart about using those high-damage shots to make combat easier.
