Nine Sols: Beginner's Guide

Nine Sols’ combat system is unrelenting, requiring you to be very comfortable with its mechanics for you to beat it in Standard Mode. If you are new to metroidvanias, you may find yourself feeling lost at many points in the game. Here are 10 tips that will help you get through the game easier.

Get Health Upgrades

When you start out, almost any enemy can kill you with as little as two hits! So it is important to have a larger health pool so you can allow yourself some room for error. Additionally, as you progress the game, you will find that enemies become more dangerous either by how often they attack or how much damage they do with each attack, so you must not ignore health upgrades unless you want to be one shot!

You can upgrade your health bar by bringing poison to Shennong. He will offer you Medicinal Brew for every 2 poison items you bring to him. You will find Shennong at the Pavilion after you complete his first quest.

 

Your Medicine Pipe lets you heal when you press up on the d-pad of your controller. The more you have the more times you can heal. You can increase your max Pipe Vials by buying them from the 3D Printer at the Pavilion.

Remember to Dodge

 

While this game is all about parrying, considering how your ability to punish with talisman relies on your parries, you must use your dash every now and then until you are comfortable with your enemies’ attack patterns. Sometimes, it is simply ideal to dash away from an attack for better positioning or through your enemy to pull off a Shadow Strike. Remember, you can’t keep parrying if you’re dead.

Explore Areas You Have Passed

 

It is a good idea to explore areas you have passed because it is likely that you have missed some things on your way. After obtaining a map chip of an area, the map shows you the items you have missed in each area. You must press Y on the map while hovering over it to see the detailed map. Exploring gets you more currency, jades, and side quests that will help your run. You should do this especially if you are trying to get the true ending.

Go to the Pavilion

Every time you acquire a new item, have enough Jin to buy something, encounter a new NPC or defeat a Sol, it is recommended that you visit the Pavilion. ShuanShuan will tell you about the item you give him and if its related to any treasure! Plus, you should spend your Jin whenever you can because you may die and lose them otherwise. If you don’t visit the Pavilion often, you may miss out on certain upgrades and unlockable items.

Use All Your Utilities

 

As you progress through the game, several mechanics will be introduced to you, such as the jump parries, the bow, the talisman, and the charged parry. You will also gain access to certain moves through skills like the Skull Kick and Cloud Leap. Jades also require you to modify your playstyle slightly if you want to get any use out of them. Each of these tools serves a function, so you must get comfortable with and remember to use all of them in fights to increase your chances of beating a tough opponent.

Don’t Spam

This may seem counterintuitive after I just mentioned how you must use all your tools but spamming them willy nilly won’t get you anywhere. Despite being a soulslike, this game doesn’t have any builds where you can just tank all the damage and spam the most powerful moves to win. Your only choice is to learn the mechanics and stay calm. This game rewards patience and keen observers rather than button mashing. You will have the best results if you focus and observe attack patterns and strike when the time is right!

Run!

 

If you have cleared an area, or if you feel like you are just close enough to a node, run right to it! There is no shame in avoiding certain combat situations. If you are running back to a boss, there’s no reason to fight those enemies in the way unless you have no choice. It’s also never a bad idea to make a run for it through an area just to see what’s out there. It helps you prepare for what’s ahead.

Take a Break

Nine Sols is incredibly difficult, and you will be dying a LOT. You may lose a bunch of Jin and Exp you found, or die right before you find a node, or die while the boss has a sliver of HP left. There are plenty of ways to die which can chip away at your patience and lead you to make worse and worse decisions. If you find yourself starting to get frustrated after a few hours of playing, you should ask yourself if you need a break as a clearer mind helps you play better.

Story Mode

 

If you feel like tackling the steep learning curve of this game isn’t something you want to spend your energy on, that’s okay! The world of Nine Sols is beautiful, the story is engaging and the music is a total bop. Nine Sols is just as fun when combat takes a backseat. Feel free to switch to Story Mode which makes the combat easier and more approachable for everyone. Do note that once you switch to Story Mode you can’t go back to Standard Mode.

Dying is Part of the Process

 

Nine Sols is one of the hardest games I have ever played. This will be the case for many gamers. You should expect to die pretty much everywhere as you try to get the hang of this game – it’s just part of the souls-like experience. If you are able to be patient and bear with the dying, it will feel all the more rewarding when you inevitably make progress.

Check out my Nine Sols Review and other guides for Nine Sols below:

- Nine Sols: How to Get the True Ending
- Nine Sols: How to Find the Abandoned Mines
- Nine Sols: How to Find the Treasure Hidden in Immortal's Portrait