Beforehand[]
This is a repost of NotPigeon's guide on the Gamepotusa forums. Reposted only due to the fact that the NA version closed and down and this guide does a good job on explaining the about the game.Also I take no credit for this~Nothing
Intro[]
When you're just starting, FEZ can be a very frustrating game. You can't hit anything, people are yelling for no apparent reason, and whenever anybody on the other team so much as looks in your general direction you explode. Don't worry, it happened to the rest of us, too. I've been there, and I'm here to help.
None of the information I'm giving is new. It can all be found on the website and all the forums. There are a number of very good guides around, so I'd recommend you read those, too. What I'm doing here is simply collating information and creating a little overview of the more arcane mechanics to help newer players get over the 'hump' and enjoy the game with as little frustration as possible. While some information will be all over the place, my main focus here is on helping people understand some of the less intuitive and, to be honest, incredibly annoying elements of FEZ that are nonetheless vital to playing well and having fun. If there's anything you want to know or don't understand, don't hesitate to ask about it.
With all that out of the way, let's finally get started.
Section 1: HELP I'M DROWNING IN GENRES[]
Many people come into FEZ not quite understanding what they're getting themselves into. FEZ is a huge mishmash of genres, and the advertising makes it look like your typical free-to-play anime MMO. If that's what you're expecting, you're going to be highly disappointed. Why?
A. FEZ IS A SHOOTER[]
This is the single most important thing to understand: At the very core, after you strip away the (incredibly dense and complicated) string of gameplay elements, this game is a shooter. Movement and attacking are all done in a real-time, action-oriented fashion. There is no targeting system, no taking turns, no players 30 levels above you that are statistically impossible to beat. If you're expecting Runescape, you're going to get your *** handed to you on a silver platter.
B. FEZ is an RPG[]
That said, there are RPG elements, and they're extremely important. There are stats (but they're not that big a deal), there are levels (also not a big deal), there's gear (a bigger deal but still not that big), and- most importantly- there is character building (a Very Big Deal). You have to be careful when you're building your character, or you're going to be gimped to all ****. But more on that later.
C. FEZ is an RTS[]
This is for all you run-and-gunners out there. Strategy is extremely important- resource management, territory control, exploiting holes in the enemy's defense and patching up your own. If you're just heading to the biggest mass of enemy-colored dots, you're not helping anybody.
D. FEZ is a game about politics[]
Think before you act. The things you do can and will piss off the other nations, and when you piss them off you better believe they're gonna retaliate.
E. FEZ is an MMO[]
Remember, those dead eyed, badly textured, bizarrely clothed anime things around you are people, too. For better or for worse, they're your team. You've got to work with them as well as you can. No matter how good you are, you live and die on the backs of your allies.
Section 2: Communication Breakdown[]
Piggybacking off "FEZ is an MMO," communicating with your team is vital. Here are some tips to help you do just that.
A. Autorun is your friend[]
This is easy enough. Press R and your character will start moving forward, even if you're not pushing any buttons. This lets you move and type at the same time. Make good use of it to chat and strategize while you're going where you need to be. Oh, but make sure you use the mouse to steer yourself if you're about to fall off of a cliff or something.
B. Tell us where things are.[]
Typing <pos> will insert your current coordinates. It works in macros, too. Be sure to use it when calling things out- knowing there's a giant doesn't help us if we don't know where the giant is. There are a couple of other commands like this- in particular, <cry> is useful for when you're mining for something, while <hp> and <hpp> are good for when you're a summon.
C. I want YOU! To join a corps.[]
One of the best ways to learn the game is to get help from experienced and friendly veterans, which means joining a corps. Corps are basically the FEZ equivalent of a guild. Joining one puts some extra text over your head, lets you chat with other members of the corps, and lets you see what maps people are on so you can go help out. Watch the players around you and see who's skilled, who communicates, and just generally who knows what they're doing. You'll generally see that these players are in one of a handful of corps. Most corps will gladly invite and work with new players who are willing to learn, and having experienced players to back you up is a big help until you find your footing, so don't be afraid to ask for an invite. Plus, the armor you get for being in a level 2+ corps (as well as the upgraded version you get for having 100 points in a 4+ corps) is better than most equipment at similar levels.
D. CHIMERAS. ARE. IMPORTANT.[]
You died and got kicked back to your spawn. Total BS, amirite? So, you're heading back towards the biggest cluster of dots, formulating your next forum post about how broken Disarm is, when all of a sudden you bump into this ugly son of a *****:
"Gee," you think, "I wonder what kind of summon THAT is?" You figure that, seeing as the tutorial didn't say anything about it, it's probably not important. Besides, your base has half a bar over the enemies', and it's not even going for obelisks. What could it possibly do?
That, my friend, was a Chimera, and it is quite possibly the single most important summon. The tutorial and game mechanics make it seem like the Dragon is the tide turning summon, but it really isn't; if your losing badly enough that you're getting dragons, it's already too late. No, the real game changer is the Chimera. If it gets to your base, it can do an entire bar of damage. That's 1/3 of your base's HP, just from a single summon. If you see one, you need to call it out. Follow it, do whatever you can to slow it down, and spam your "OH GOD THERE'S A CHIMERA HERE" macro. Similarly, if your team summons a Chimera, assist it in whatever way you can- whether by accompanying it and helping it with your enemies, or by keeping the other team busy somewhere else. It could be the difference between victory and defeat.
...
Now, at this point, you're probably going "Hey, that wasn't very useful at all!" And you're probably right! That's because the forum has a character limit, so the good stuff got lumped into the second post. Sorry!
Section 3: how do i shot dudes?[]
Alright, now we're finally to the real meat and potatoes of this little guide. That other stuff's important, but it's not really what you want to know, is it? You want to know why your attacks won't connect and why you're getting your big bad 2 hander *** beat by Scouts. Well, I'm happy to oblige.
A. We do not have infinite skill points![]
You only get skill points up to level 35 (40 points total), and the last couple take an extremely long time to earn. However, when you're first learning your skills, it's easy to assume that you'll eventually be able to get them all and just stick your points anywhere that sounds interesting. It's a simple mistake, but it has a huge impact on your ability to play. Learn what the different skills do and what the progressions are, and if you have to, remake your character with a proper build. This skill planner is a great tool, but keep in mind that it's in Japanese and has a number of skill chains that don't actually exist in this version. Also, when you're actually applying your skill points, focus on obtaining as many of the skills you want as early as you possibly can. You should have all your skills learned by the mid-to-late 20s; after that, you can put points into maxing things out.
B. Gamepot hates melee attacks[]
This is, by far, the #1 most important thing for a Warrior or dagger Scout to know: Melee attacks will never hit an enemy moving away from you. This goes for everything- Smash, Shield Bash, Arm Break, even chasing skills like Viper's Bite and Strike Smash. If you're in range of someone but they're moving away from you, they'll be out of range by the time the attack connects, and understanding that is the key to succeeding as a melee class.
So, how do you actually hit people? Well, there are a couple of ways. If you're standing directly inside of someone and you aim in the direction they're moving, your attack will actually connect. That's only practical in maybe 5 out of 100 situations, but hey. Now, for the other 95% of the time, you'll have to rely on something else. The best thing to use is slowdown; if your target is slowed through Leg Break/Earth Stamper/Ice magic, you can catch up to and successfully attack them. The other most effective method is to wait for them to jump/dodge. You have almost no horizontal movement while jumping, so it's extremely easy to catch a jumper on the way down. Sidestepping is a bit trickier, but since it isn't actually faster than regular movement, you can still hit them while they land- unless they dodge downhill, that is. You can also hit them while they're stunned/rooted, or if you sneak up on them during skill execution. Dagger Scouts have a fairly easy time with this, since they can creep up on people with Hide and open with Leg Break to make sure they can't run away. Also, AoEs (even small ones like Void Darkness) will hit people who are fairly close to you.
C. FEZ is a trip back in time.[]
Playing FEZ is like going back to the olden days of online shooters, back before the Manhattan Project invented lag compensation. This game uses a crappy, clientside hit detection scheme that I'm told is similar to GUNZ. What this means is that you need to aim where your target is going to be several seconds from now, not where they actually are. Leading is an inexact science, but you'll get the hang of it in time.
D. FEZ is a fighting game[]
You've probably already figured out flinching, but there's another, more subtle but equally frustrating mechanic at work. Whenever you hit an enemy, they become temporarily invincible for half a second or so- any allies who hit them in that timeframe will have their attacks phase through. This is most obvious when dealing with people who are stunned or being flinchlocked.
E. Lag happens[]
There are some people that you just can't hit because of ridiculous lag. It's annoying as ****, but you've got to learn to deal with it. If you can't just ignore them, whittle them down with huge, expensive AoEs or bring in allies- if you've got enough people spamming attacks at someone, one of your teammates is bound to hit the invisible point nowhere near them that actually counts as a hit.
F. Knockback is for CHUMPS[]
There are a couple of skills (Crumble Storm, Piercing Shot, Ice/Lightning C) that, when used, are guaranteed to blow your enemies away, even if they're Emboldened Warriors. Because of the defensive nature of these abilities, they usually have a considerable AoE that makes it very tempting to rely on them, especially early on when aiming is hard. However, you really shouldn't. Enemies take no damage while being knocked back, and once they get back up they basically get a free attack before they stop being invincible.
Section 4: Classy as ****[]
Well, I'm just about ready to wrap up here. First, a couple of quick class-specific tips:
A. Combos[]
If you're a bow Scout, the most powerful tool in your arsenal is your ability to 'combo' enemy Scouts, Sorcerers, and un-Emboldened Warriors. Basically, when you hit an enemy and cause them to flinch, they temporarily stop moving. If you rattle off your attacks quick enough, you can hit them again as soon as they stop flinching and keep them stunned while you farm PC damage off of them. The standard combo opener is Blaze Shot.
B. Debuffs>Punishing Strike[]
For god-knows-what reason, the vast majority of dagger Scouts running around are Punishing Strike spammers. They only ever use Hide and Punishing Strike, and maybe Arm Break if they really have to. Because their only plan of action is "use Punishing Strike," they'll re-hide at any opportunity, even if they have a status effect giving away their position or an enemy is looking straight at them. Please don't be like them. 9 times out of 10, hitting somebody with Leg Break, Arm Break, Guard Break, and Power Break is just as or even more effective than using PS on them, but it uses less Pw, is far less likely to be interrupted, and gives you extra PC damage to boot.
C. Hellfire thinks it's all that, but it's not![]
As a Sorcerer, it's tempting you use your D-level attacks all the time- Hellfire and Judgement Ray do a ton of damage, and Blizzard Caress can freeze a ton of people all at once. While they're certainly useful, don't rely solely on them. They chew up a ton of Pw, which makes the risk of being interrupted while casting them much greater and leaves you extremely vulnerable afterwards. Sometimes it's better to save 48 Pw and just use Fire Lance.
D. EMBOLDEN[]
Lastly, a word of wisdom for warriors: Embolden is possibly your greatest asset. You're a frontline class, and you need Embolden so you won't get winged by somebody's attack and have your Dragon Tail, Smash, Stun, or whatever canceled. It only takes a couple of seconds to cast, and you'll look like an idiot if you don't.