Moonlit Moat

J

Light attack. Press again in rhythm for a three-hit combo.

K

Heavy attack. Slow, but breaks guards fast and makes the target Rend (bleed) for four seconds, up to three stacks.

Space

Jump. In the air, J slashes (twice per jump) and K plunges; two slashes then a plunge is Skyfall. A plunge costs stamina and leaves you open for a moment when you land.

L

Roll (X works too, unless you bind X to something else). You can't be hit for the first part of it. Roll through an attack that would have landed and you enter Flow: stamina returns twice as fast and every hit crits for a few seconds. Press J late in a roll or just after it for a lunging Roll Slash, or K for a Roll Cleave that hits all around you and knocks creeps back.

2× dir

Slide: tap a direction twice to slide that way while still facing your target. Attack during the slide for a Slide Slash, heavy for a Slide Cut. Turn it off under Controls in the pause menu.

G

Moonhook, from level 8: throw a tether at the foe you face or have locked, up to 15 m. On a hit you are pulled in for three fast slashes; the last one stuns ordinary foes and staggers bosses. Costs 30 mana, 10 s cooldown, spent even on a miss.

H

Blade Spin, from level 20: spin with your sword out for three seconds or more, hitting everything around you. You can steer while spinning, take less damage, and can't be knocked back, frozen or slowed. Costs 50 mana.

Shift

Block. Tap it just before a hit lands to parry and stun him. Your next hit within two seconds is a Riposte for double damage.

F

Drink a flask. Three per fight, and you stand still while drinking.

U

Cast a moon bolt. Costs 30 mana and homes in on him.

Ranks

Dagger, bolt and volley hit harder every level and gain a rank at levels 6, 12 and 18: more blades and bolts, piercing, a burst on impact, bleeding. The skill bar shows the rank.

R

Lock the camera on him, or let it go.

T

Switch which enemy you're locked on to.

Y

Throw a dagger. Fast, costs a little stamina.

I

Arc Volley: five homing bolts. Unlocks at level 3, costs 50 mana.

O

Warden's Leap: jump onto a target or up onto the roof and slam the ground. Earned by beating the Warden.

E

Open a chest, use the Moon Shrine or a World Gate, or ride and leave a beast.

Riding

The beast keeps running while it fights. J claws twice, then a third J rears up and stomps. K rampages forward. Y U I O are the beast's four skills. Space pounces; in the air J swipes and K slams down. L dashes, and J or K after a dash tramples.

P

Open your hero sheet to spend attribute points.

B

Open your bag to equip swords and charms.

N

Upgrade your sword when its edge bar is full.

After the Warden falls, the red ward on the stairs beside the gate breaks. Climb to the roof to face two queens. Vesthra the Gorgon sweeps her tail all around her, lunges, and fires a stone gaze down a long red lane: turn your back or roll before it lands, or you are frozen in place. Nyxara the Thorn Empress floats out of reach, throws fans of thorns, calls a burst of briars under your feet, and vanishes to the far side of the roof when you get close. Kill one and the other gets faster. Die on the roof and you start again at the foot of the stairs.

Beating the Gorgon and the Empress does not end the game. It is an Ascension: the edge of the land moves out with new forest, ruins and chests, creeps grow fiercer, and after three minutes the queens rise again in the land, stronger; climb the roof to call them to the throne for the next Ascension. Every couple of minutes a mythical creature wakes far from the castle, marked by a red diamond on the map: the Minotaur, the Oni, the Manticore, the Basilisk, the Kitsune, the Cyclops and the Hydra as the world tier rises, and after an Ascension, three tyrants of their own. Each one drops a relic and a large bounty.

Cinderwing the dragon circles the castle setting off fireworks. It leaves you alone unless you hit it. Hit it and it fights back for a while with fireballs and fire breath. Drive it off and it drops a big reward, then returns a few minutes later.

Hits from behind a creep are backstabs and hit harder. Fen Stalkers circle you and lunge down a red lane; their bite poisons, and poison ticks through armour until a flask cures it. Thornbacks guard their front: a hit on the shell does a third of its damage, so parry or heavy-hit them to stagger, or get behind them. Relics are passive keepsakes you can carry three of; they drop from gilded and crystal chests, ancients, elites, godlings and the Warden. Drop one from the hero sheet to swap it.

Crawlers and wisps roam the meadow. Kill them for gold and experience, and sometimes a pod. Each level gives two attribute points (P). Treasure chests (E) are spread across the map and upgrade from wooden to iron, gilded and crystal the longer you leave them. The world tier rises every two minutes, so the bosses get stronger the longer you wait.

The Sundering: the World Heart has cracked and every world holds a shard. The Gate Warden guards the moat's. Beat it and the World Gate beside the Moon Shrine opens onto Veyra, a violet grove under three moons: walk over three Lumen Seeds, then face the Hive Matron. Next is Neon Verge, a smog-lit city: stand beside three relay terminals for three seconds each to hack them, then face Director Halvane. Last is Ashfall, a dead town under falling ash: press E beside three survivors to lead them out, then face the Rot Sovereign. Each guardian you beat carries you on to the next world, and you can travel back through any World Gate (not mid-fight, during a hunt or from the spirit realm).

Every few minutes a rift storm may tear you into another world, open or sealed, for 75 seconds before dropping you back where you were. After the last shard the game keeps going: tiers rise, the Warden hunts and the Veil still opens.

The pond is shallow. You can wade through it, but slowly.

• Green pod: +35 health
• Blue pod: +50 mana
• Red pod: 1.5× damage for 15 s
• Yellow pod: faster moves and rolls for 15 s
• Electric pod: armour filled to max

Pods grow on the bushes and ripen in a few seconds. Walk into a ripe one to take it. It grows back later, sometimes as a different colour.

1. Red marks on the ground show where his next attack lands. The bright patch fills up as the hit gets closer.
2. Fill the orange bar under his health and he staggers. Staggered, he takes extra damage.
3. Below half health he moves faster, sends shockwaves along the ground, and leaps at you.

1. Render a normal 3D scene. Switch View to Raw to see it.
2. Cut the screen into square cells.
3. Average each cell's colour and brightness.
4. Pick a character by brightness, from   (dark) through .':-=+*ox%# to @ (bright).
5. Where brightness jumps between cells, swap in | - / \ so shapes get outlines.
6. Tint the character with the cell's colour.
7. Water: a second camera is placed below the surface, its view is drawn first, then rippled into the lake.