Great game! Only problems I had were 'unlocked all character's skills' achievement and defeating Father Otis achievement not unlocking, despite having Zofia's (final boss) medal and how often attacks miss but nothing save scumming can't fix! Restart turn until your attack hits/maximize damage or healing (quick save after each successful hit/quick load if you miss or roll low). In some battles, every point helps and could make the difference in saving action pts. Cause it's unfortunate if an enemy survives with like 2 HP, forcing you to waste another attack on them.
Throwing corpses for instance is very action efficient. Without moving, you can throw up to 5 per turn. If a melee character can't reach an enemy to attack, you can spend their action to pick up and throw corpses either at a nearby enemy or stack them on a tile next to another character for them to throw at the enemy. Casirim can't pick up corpses and the heavy objects but he can still shove a character next to a corpse (if they have no more movement pts but still have action pts for grab) or into range so they can attack enemies.
Likewise, objects can be thrown to injure enemies or block their movement path so they take longer to reach you or force them to funnel through 1 section rather than all at once. Any combination of 3 corpses/objects acts as a blockage that enemies must walk around. A table or counter with 1 corpse/object on each tile suffices as a blockade. Alternatively you can use bodies to climb up faster. The Church has stairs that take several movement pts to walk up but you can toss a corpse on the altar nearby and climb up from there instead.
During the Bandit boss, you can pick up the stump chair by the stairs and toss it up to the second floor. Have Tevoran use Berate to get everyone up the stairs fast, though make sure the tiles you put them on are out of melee range. Let the bandits come to you and then shove them off the ledge. They will try to climb back up but you can then toss that stump to block the stairs. Ysabel can then snipe them at her leisure. Her Limb Breaker skill and Vadim's Kidney Jab will make enemies run away from you or jump down themselves.
For the Boris boss fight, you can cut the rope at the nearest pillar to drop a chandelier on enemies beneath it. Manipulate Boris underneath it and cut it. There are bookcases in the Church levels which you can stand to the side of and tip over to crush the priests. If enemies are next to them, you can shove them into range before dropping it onto them. Tevoran's Mockery forces all enemies to head towards and attack him. Use that and shoving to gather many enemies (2 to 3) to be crushed for up to 40 dmg.
Skills:
You can forget skills during rest periods between battles to refund skill pts to spend on other skills. You can also spend pts during a battle if you need something for the situation. In order to have the easiest time in this game, you need to get Flawless Victory in each battle and kill all minions before taking out the boss. So play smart to keep your characters from dying. Avoid lining up characters because that's just asking for them both to be speared/nunchucked. Often it's better to let enemies come to you to save yourself from 1 turn of dmg that running at them would get you. Though if there's one or two enemies in the corner nearby your starting position by themselves, you can have everyone rush and obliterate them. As it's better to have nothing at your back than be flanked from both sides.
Remember you can shove enemies down stairs which keeps them away for a turn or two if they have too much HP to finish in 1 turn. Ysabel and Vadim can stun an enemy and Casirim can slow one (prioritize the ones with special attacks) each to temporarily neutralize another threat. With these tactics, you can thin out a group and hopefully kill the rest before the others can return.
SP regeneration is pretty forgiving so if you're full, might as well spend them on skills. Tevoran has slow regain though and for Casirim or Oksaka it might be better to Slow Dart/White Bolt to help cripple/finish off an enemy than waste pts on topping a character's HP off.
Ivan should have Spear Plus skill. Try to line up 2 enemies (have characters like Casirim shove them in place) to maximize his spear dmg output.
Ysabel needs Limb Breaker for stunning enemies with specials or bosses. Get her 1st dmg passive around the 2nd episode and the 70 pts one in the 3rd/4th episode.
Vadim needs Kidney Jab. You can go without Brag until the final boss but it's your call.
Tevoran needs Mockery and Berate has value in some battles, one notable example: vs Train Guards to quickly shove them down the stairs, have everyone move in to block them from going up, and surrounding them so they can't attack you. Dart Cleaver is a godsend for the final boss who has archers and turrets shooting at you. (Vadim with Boris Ring and Brag is also great for drawing attacks if you save scum and reload until all attacks miss him and then quick save; Molotov can't be dodged so either avoid clumping your characters in a 3x3 area or have Tevoran use Mockery to tank it). Retaliate won't work against Spears/Nunchucks/Ranged so it's not useful imo except against the Redshield brothers.
Casirim give him Healing/Slow Dart. He's frail so keep him away from attack range but close enough to heal allies. Or Hit-and-run tactic like Ysabel where you walk 2 steps, shoot to heal ally or slow enemy, then run back. In worst case scenario, have Tevoran use Mockery to prevent enemies from finishing off near dead characters.
Oksaka needs single Heal, White Bolt, Celestial Drive vs the brothers, Haste for Train battle, and her Unnatural passives.
Spending your Etoleks wisely:
If you play carefully, save scum for every maximum dmg output/healing, you won't need to buy any consumables. I went through the game only using two moldy bread (against Boris) and used Casirim/Oksaka for free healing. This saves you a lot of money for buying the stuff that actually matters.
There are 5 Secrets in the game. They give you accessories, consumables, and much need Etoleks. Consult the walkthrough for their locations but they're definitely worth getting. Besides the Thief Gloves, it's best to thin out the enemies first before heading to their spot on the battlefield and grabbing them.
Ivan: Only buy Greasy Jacket (+1 movement). He's tanky enough to survive with his default armor til then so long as you don't rush right at the enemies alone. Spears are dropped by enemies and punching is too weak.
Isabel: buy her a Sturdy Crossbow and then later upgrade to Refined Crossbow. With her dmg passives, she's your best dmg dealer. Positioned properly, she can stand there and snipe twice per turn where others have to walk close to the enemy. Give her the Spiked Helmet when it drops.
Tevoran: He can use wooden swords until you can buy Refined Sword. Have him wear Chain Leather until a late game enemy drops Plate armor. Then you can pass that Chain Leather to Ysabel. Remember he can attack two lined up enemies or an enemy one tile away from him. You can have Ivan spear them first, then have Tevoran walk up to give them a second helping of pain.
Vadim: All he needs is Boris Ring. His evasion is his greatest armor. Rogue outfit is okay but you'll get one for free in chapter 2. You get a free Switchblade from Lazlo and latter an enemy drops Steel dagger for free. Then you can pass his Switchblade to Ysabel.
Casirim: Nothing. His darts are too weak to bother upgrading his atk. He can only wear low weight armor which give little defensive value for their price in this chapter. The best you can do is keep him away from attack range and occasionally Slow an enemy.
Oksaka: You already have a Deacon robe for her when she joins. Definitely buy her Priest Robe for the final boss. She hits harder with White Bolt so no Sickle upgrade for her. Blessed Girdle (a secret accessory obtained in the Church) is best on her since she spams skills the most.
