General Tips
- Try to kill enemies with stealth whenever it is possible. A successful stealth kill will down enemies for good and thus not only saves ammunition but also matches and possibly some health.
- Use melee attacks as a primarily defensive move; it can stun regular enemies for a second or so, and sometimes it can stop an incoming attack. Always collect axes and torches to defeat enemies. Torches can set multiple enemies on fire at once, as long as they're packed close together.
- When you enter the save hub (via cracked mirrors), note that you will lose any melee weapon(s) you may have collected from enemies. It's best to use them on any remaining enemies first, if there are any.
- Use the shotgun as a crowd-control weapon and try to shoot enemies packed together, as its burst spreads through the area. This usually knocks down several enemies at once but won't kill them. Rushing over towards the enemies and setting them on fire can save you a couple of rounds.
- Consider disarming as many traps as you possible can early in the game. The parts you get from them will be useful throughout the rest of the game since you use them to create bolts for the Agony Crossbow. Since bombs later in the game will become increasingly difficult to dismantle (with smaller blue bars), collecting parts from them early on will pay off later. Always dismantle bear claws and wire traps, unless you can lure enemies towards them.
- Consider upgrading your life only when you're severely hurt. The upgrade will instantly restore your health bar completely. The same naturally applies for using Medical Kits.
- Don't bother wasting matches on enemies you've stealth killed. If you've blasted an enemy's head off (two-headed enemies excepted; those must lose both heads) they will never come back to live again either. This guide will furthermore tell you which 'corpses' come alive and which bodies won't.
- As a further rule of thumb; when an enemy drops an item, it's dead and you won't need to waste a match on it.
- In the first couple of chapters, it's smart to upgrade matches, handgun ammo and syringes stocks. These updates aren't too pricey and you would otherwise come across too many items you'd have to leave behind, which is just a plain waste.
- In the middle portion of the game, upgrades such as weapon damage output become more important. Being able to carry the maximum amount of bolts is also very useful, as is upgrading the power of exploding bolts.
- Later in the game you will want to focus on increasing the power of some of the newer weapons you have collected, such as the Sniper Rifle and the Magnum. Upgrading your stock beyond a certain point becomes quite pointless, or at least loses its priority. It's still useful to max out Syringes, but the level 5 upgrades for ammunition don't get priority over upgrades such as increased health, dashing and increased healing power for syringes. Those upgrades make especially boss fights a little easier.
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