Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalonis anopen-world action RPG heavily inspired by games fromThe Elder Scrollsfranchise, especiallySkyrimandOblivion. It emulates these games not only in scope, but in depth as well, making for a lengthy adventure across a vast landscape that takes 50-70 hours to complete.
Because there is so much to do in this game, the tutorials and in-game hints do not go over every little aspect of it, trusting the player to understand what to do from contextual clues and general game sense. That, however, doesn’t always work out, especially as some of the mechanics that go unexplained aren’t typically found in titles like these, resulting in some confusion. This list goes over some tips and tricks to help beginners toTainted Grail: The Fall of Avalonget started on the right foot.
8Pick Up Everything
Carry Weight is an Easily Solvable Problem
One thingTainted Grail: The Fall of Avalondoes right is understand what players of games like these want: the ability to loot anything and everything without being punished for it. The items, which do not appear much at first glance, are often used in key recipes for potions, food, and crafting are almost always worth picking up. To facilitate this playstyle, not only does the game offer plenty of items worth getting scattered around the entire map, but it also makes it incredibly convenient to do so.
The main way it accomplishes this is by providing players with a free storage space called a Stash to dump all of their items in. Since this storage is shared across multiple chests in major locations in the game, it’s extremely convenient.
7Keep All Items in Stash
All Items Stored in the Stash are Global
A huge quality-of-life feature ofTainted Grail: The Fall of Avalonis the fact that all items stored in the player’s personal Stash are available for use at crafting stations anywhere. Additionally, players can choose the option “Sell from Stash” when talking to any merchant in the game to sell these items without having to go back to the Stash physically and carry them back.
This means that if a player stores all of their Iron Ore in the Stash, they can craft armor at the Grindstone with that Iron Ore as if it was in their inventory. This eliminates a lot of the carry weight problems that are typical ingames likeSkyrimandOblivion.
6Equipment Weight Slows Movement
Fat-rolling is Very Much a Thing
In Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, the combined weight of equipped armor is tallied together and displayed as “Weight” in the Equipment menu. If this weight is below a certain threshold, it will be considered “Light,” which gives the character +20% to mana regen, stamina regen, attack speed, casting speed, dash speed, and movement speed. If it is “Medium,” this +20% bonus is removed. If it becomes “Heavy,” these stats receive a -10% debuff.
Additionally, the dash counter, i.e., the number of times a player can dash in quick succession, is also dictated by Weight. Players can dash three times at Light Weight, two times at Medium, and only once at “Heavy.” This mechanic is clearlyinspired byDark Souls, which also inspired the game’s bonfire system.
5Exhaust Dialogue Options
Quests are Often Locked Behind Dialogue
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon’s world-building is one of the game’s strong points. From the setting to the storyline to the NPCs players talk to, there is always something to discover. In the case of NPCs, that something is often quests, only available by hearing everything they have to say.
Additionally, these dialogue options are always the telltale bright yellow color the game uses to indicate important quests. Some of these quests even have some excellent rewards, including new recipes for food, potions, and equipment.
4Spells Have Two ‘Modes’
Light Cast and Heavy Cast
All spells inTainted Grail: The Fall of Avalonhave two effects: Light Cast and Heavy Cast. Light Cast is used when players tap the attack hotkey for the hand where the spell is equipped, whereas Heavy Cast is activated by pressing and holding the same hotkey.
Depending on the situation, Light Casting can sometimes be straight-up better than Heavy Cast, even though Heavy Casting typically uses up more mana. In the case of Blood Transfusion, for example, Light Casting shoots a projectile that inflicts bleeding, and Heavy Casting is a channeled spell that slowly drains health from the enemy. In this instance, Heavy Casting is only worth it if the player needs to recover health. Otherwise, Light Casting is more damaging.
3Always Carry a Shovel, Pickaxe, and Woodcutting Axe
Essential Tools are Mandatory
Tools like Shovel, Pickaxe, Woodcutting Axe, Fishing Rod, and Binoculars are all crucial items that are needed to get special resources from the world ofTainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. A Shovel is used to dig up chests, which often contain very powerful loot. Pickaxes are needed to mine Ores needed for many crafting recipes, and a Woodcutting Axe is needed to get Wood, another important crafting ingredient.
Fishing Rods are obviously used for fishing, and Binoculars are used to scout faraway locations from a distance. These tools can easily be purchased from Orlaith, the merchant just to the right of the Horns of the South Keep entrance.
2Use Food to Heal Outside Combat
Reserve Health Potions For Heated Battles
Other than rest, there are three main ways to heal inTainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon: potions, leeching enemy health, and food. Health Potions work instantly, recovering a specified amount of health with a snap, and should be hoarded to be used in combat encounters. Draining life from enemies only works if there is someone or something to siphon health from.
The most efficient way to recover health outside of combat is to use food with health recovery effects. Food items like Mashed Potatoes, Cabbage Rolls, and Beggar’s Fare are not only easier to make compared to Health Potions but recover more health individually.
1Statues Give Free Skill Upgrades
Look for Large Statues in Major Locations
In various locations across the world inTainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, there are large statues with a plaque that, when interacted with, give players a free upgrade to skills like Lockpicking, Theft, Magic, and others.
The very first example of such a statue is in the main square of the very first settlement, Horns of the South. Players will visit this location as part of a main story and should not miss out on getting a free +1 to Two-Handed from the statue.
