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ELEX II looks every part the modern open-world game. Beneath its impressive veneer however, it's a complex RPG that will be familiar to those who have played the developer's past games, but maybe daunting for those used to more formulaic open-world games with map markers, simple progression systems, and conveniently level-scaled worlds.
ELEX II isn't a game that holds your hand, so we're here to - if not hold your hand - at least send you off on some training wheels with these five tips.
Don't try to win every fight
You'll probably realise this the hard way after getting one-shotted by a troll you tried attacking with a lead pipe, but ELEX II's world doesn't scale with you; there are weaker enemies wherever you go, and there are tougher ones, and you should assess each one from afar before deciding your approach.
The more an enemy's health bar is divided into 'chunks,' the more health they have, while the number of skulls above their heads gives you an idea of the danger they pose to you.
Not that a tough enemy in your path should force you to head home with your tail between your legs. Press the 'sneak' button to try and get by unnoticed, fly by on your jetpack to evade trouble, or…
Bring a companion along, at least at the start
It may be a tough thing to admit, but the companions available to you in the early game are kind of stronger than you. On the bright side, that makes them great if you're after a bit of early-game power-levelling.
Your first companion will most likely - though not necessarily - be Caja. As a spellcaster with some powerful fire magic, she has an explosive mix of direct damage and damage-over-time spells that let you kite around and kill enemies you definitely wouldn't be able to solo. Some foes like Wetlurkers and Raptors give the same amount of XP as early quests, so bring her along for those early excursions.
Power through the early quests
Another great way to level up quickly in the early game is to do quests, which offer 200-500XP upon completion. They're relatively simple, and offer a faster way of levelling than farming low-end enemies (besides, many of the quests involve fighting those same enemies, except with the extra reward of quest completion XP).
One invaluable early quest gets you to visit the cities of the game's five factions, which is not only a great way of getting a bunch of XP and learning the lay of the land, but vital to learning which trainers specialise in teaching which abilities.
Which brings us neatly onto our next tip…
Find the ability trainers in each city
If you just hang around the starting region, you'll soon find that while you're levelling up and increasing your attributes you don't have a way of spending those precious ability points you get each time you level up.
That's because you learn abilities from specific trainers specialised in those abilities. You'll find most trainers throughout the game's cities and outposts, but you'll need to chat to the locals of these cities to track them down.
As good an incentive as any to head out there, explore, and mingle with the folks of Magalan…
Work out which Abilities you want before picking Attributes
From the start of the game you can see every obtainable ability for Jax in the Abilities menu. This is a great way to gauge the kind of build you want to create, focus on certain abilities, and allocate your attribute points appropriately.
Unlike many RPGs, ELEX II incentivises you to redistribute your skills pretty evenly (though of course you can min-max too). For instance, Intelligence not only dictates your ability to cast magic, but is also used for crafting and abilities that reduce the skill requirement for guns and melee weapons.
So study those attributes and abilities carefully before committing (because once you do, you can't undo your choices!).
And with that, you're ready to explore the world of Magalan. Grab ELEX II today, and get out there.
