The town of Redfall in the United States is no longer what it used to be in Arkane Austin’s latest title. What once was a peaceful island town with beautiful vistas and plenty of history turned into a devastated town where vampires roam free in search of what they crave most: blood.
As soon as the main campaign starts, cryptologist Devinder, student Layla Ellison, engineer Remi and former US special forces veteran Jacob need to adapt to this horrific situation as quickly as they can if they don’t want to turn into bloodless husks. Here are a few tips to help the four heroes of Redfall to stay ahead of their enemies, better understand how the game is supposed to be played, and how to make the best out of some of the most unique mechanics Arkane Austin crafted for its latest title.
Be Stealthy
When it comes to weapons and loot, Redfall is pretty generous from the very start, offering players a variety of different firearms to fight off crazed cultists and the many vampires roaming the town. While the temptation to pull the trigger may be irresistible, you must never forget that you are constantly outnumbered. Cultists and other human enemies, for example, always move in groups and may be supported by snipers, so fighting them head-on is practically suicide. Sure, you may take a few of them down with well-aimed headshots, but you will eventually be swarmed by them.
So, while Redfall isn’t technically a stealth game, you will want to be stealthy at all times. Every time you reach a new area, especially areas with main mission objectives, make sure to crouch and move around silently to survey it and plan a strategy. A stealth approach comes with multiple benefits, no matter which character you are using, as every human enemy goes down with a single melee attack if they haven’t been alerted of your presence. Once you reduce their numbers, you can fight the remaining ones openly without having to worry about getting overwhelmed. This strategy, sadly, does not work with vampires, but they tend to come in much smaller and more manageable groups.
Explore, Explore, Explore
Featuring an open-world setting, Redfall gives the players plenty of freedom in how to approach its many challenges. As there is no better, proper way to do things, experimenting is extremely important. And to experiment properly, thorough exploration is almost a requirement.
Exploring the town island to the fullest will not just help you complete main and side missions with ease but will also make the game more enjoyable. Loot, for example, is found almost everywhere, and as enemies become stronger, you will also need more powerful weapons and money to restock ammo and purchase items at the main base, money that is obtained automatically by collecting loot. There are some ways to get dirty rich fast without exploring every nook and cranny of Redfall, but these are not very effective at the start of the main campaign, so you will want to collect as much as you can, at least in the beginning. Exploring Redfall will also allow you to find a variety of additional documents that further develop the story and the events that led to the vampiric invasion, so looking around really pays off in a lot of different ways.
Money Makes The World Going Around
As mentioned above, money is quite important in Redfall, as it allows you to restock ammo and purchase a variety of items at the Fire Station, the game’s main hub. Money can be used to purchase weapons as well, so you will eventually be forced to choose what to buy between a shiny new firearm or medkits, lockpicks, and Rewire Kits.
At the start of the game, and possibly even further in the campaign, what you shouldn’t be buying are weapons. Redfall is pretty generous when it comes to weapons, and exploring around will allow you to get all the firepower you need to take down all the enemies you will find on your path. Additionally, lockpicks and Rewire Kits allow you to explore more thoroughly, which means more weapons and more loot. More often than not, the weapons you can find around Redfall are much better than those you can purchase at the Fire Station, so no matter what you do, keep the money for more useful stuff, even if you are swimming in it.
I Wish I Had A Safehouse…Or Three
As you thoroughly explore the town of Redfall, you will notice that each district of the town island features a locked Safehouse, which can be unlocked by reactivating its power to turn on UV lights to keep vampires away. While doing so may not feel much beneficial at the start of the game, you will want to unlock as many Safehouses as you can for a variety of reasons.
Safehouses not only offer some respite from the vampire-infested streets of Redfall (and much-needed medkits) but also provide a lot of other tangible benefits. Once unlocked, a Safehouse becomes a fast travel and respawn point, so you will be able to use them to get back in the action faster if you have been killed and to reach any main or side mission objective faster. Safehouses also offer new quests that will lead you face-to-face with Vampire Overlords, whom you will eventually have to take down as part of the main story. As such, unlock Safehouses as soon as you can to create a network of fast travel points that will make the campaign flow much better, cutting traversal time that could be used to do much more meaningful activities.
Become A Vampire Nest Clearing Specialist
One of the more meaningful activities that you could be doing in Redfall instead of running from one side of the town to the next to reach your next objective is to clear Vampire Nests. While it may not sound like a terribly fun activity, there are a few reasons to bring the fight straight to the vampire’s doorstep.
Vampire Nests are procedurally generated dungeons where you will have to take out, surprise surprise, vampires to reach the deepest part of the nest to destroy its heart and get rid of the blood-sucking foes inside permanently. The main reason to do so is to get your hands on more Blood Remnants, equipable items that increase your maximum health and provide a variety of very useful perks, such as increased damage and so on. These will prove to be invaluable as the campaign proceeds and enemies become much more powerful, so make sure to take the time every now and then to clear some of these nests.
Before you head into a Vampire Nest, however, do not forget the basics of Redfall’s vampire slaying. Having a weapon equipped with a stake is only the start, as a UV gun, for example, can be way more effective than any regular firearm for the ability to turn vampires to stone. Once they are turned, don’t waste your ammo: hit them with a melee attack, and watch them say farewell to their unnatural life!
