Bound by Flame is a third-person action-RPG that shares similarities with other games in the same genre. However, there are also several unique aspects of the title that set it apart from the crowd. For instance, some side quests have a time limit. You can’t dilly dally or else you will miss out on completing these quests. As you begin to play the game, learning about these unique aspects will help you with combat and game progression early on.
Warrior Stance
When you first begin the game, you have access to two attack stances. The first stance is the Warrior Stance, which equips your character with a two-handed longsword. The Warrior Stance gives you access to parrying and guard breaks, but your movement is slowed. This stance should be used any time you face off against an enemy who has some sort of shield, or against large groups of weak enemies that can be easily dispatched with the Warrior’s charge attack.
Ranger Stance
The Ranger Stance switches from the longsword of the Warrior Stance to a dual-wield combat style with two smaller blades. You lose the ability to parry incoming attacks, and instead replace it with the ability to dodge. However, you also lose the ability to guard break, which isn’t replaced by anything similar early on. If you’re fighting an enemy who attacks slowly, this fighting stance is perfect. You can attack almost nonstop while using the dodge ability to avoid the slow attacks of the enemy, then immediately counterattack.
Guard Break
While in Warrior Stance, you can use a guard break which essentially stuns an enemy. You can upgrade this ability through the skill tree to make it more potent, but early on it works especially well against enemies with shields. Use the guard break every two or three attacks to avoid getting your attacks blocked by the opponent’s shield. When timed properly, some enemies won’t be able to get any attacks off, making this one of the best techniques early on.
Dodge
The Ranger Stance replaces the guard break ability with an agile dodge. While the dodge ability works well against any enemy, it is best used against enemies that have slow but powerful attacks that can be difficult to block or parry. You can use skill tree upgrades to make it easier to time a dodge, offering a counterattack with precise timing, but that’s not a necessary skill to have at the beginning of the game. Instead, you can dodge whenever you see an attack coming and avoid almost all damage from a single enemy. Things get a bit trickier with multiple enemies, but the dodge still works well with proper timing.
Charge Attack
While in Warrior Stance, you have access to a charge attack. The longer you charge the attack, the more powerful it gets until it reaches a maximum charge. The attack has a lengthy animation, but it works very well against a large number of weaker enemies. As long as you have room to move away from the enemies, back off, then face the advancing foes.
Begin to charge the attack and wait for the enemies to get within range. As soon as they enter attack range, unleash the fully charged attack to inflict significant damage on any enemy within reach. Back away and repeat the process until all of the enemies are down. Keep in mind, you are vulnerable to attack during the charge, which makes this attack less useful against enemies with ranged attacks.
Ranged and Magic Attacks
When you first begin the game, you have access to a crossbow. During the first boss battle you learn ranged magic as well. Both of these attacks allow you to engage an enemy from a distance, but they’re also limited by the number of crossbow bolts in your inventory, and your mana supply. Both can be replenished, but in the heat of a battle you need to use these attacks sparingly. It’s best to save them for times when you’re engaging multiple enemies and need to lower their numbers before moving in. Use ranged attacks to take out any shieldless foes, then switch to Warrior Stance and move in to use guard breaks in order to finish off the remaining enemies.
Enemy Priority
There are many points throughout the game in which you must face off against a number of enemies at once. In many cases, some enemies will be weaker than others, some will have shields and you may even have allies to assist you. Always target the weakest enemies first. In most cases these are enemies without shields or ranged weapons. Stay on the move as you take down these weaker foes to avoid attacks from the other, strong adversaries.
Once the weaker enemies are down, focus on the ranged attackers. More often than not, these enemies have very little armor and go down with ease. With the ranged enemies out of the way, you can now focus on the stronger foes. Target enemies with shields first, as they tend to be the most troublesome. Switch to Warrior Stance and use guard breaks to prevent the enemies from blocking, then pummel them with attacks while they’re staggered.
At this point, the only enemies remaining should be the slow, strong, brutes. However, with the rest of the enemies down, you can take your time and make sure you avoid the damaging attacks of these strong enemies. It’s generally best to switch to Ranger Stance so you can move around in a more agile fashion, making it easier to avoid the attacks from these stronger enemies.
