Venturing out into Athia might seem daunting the first time players start up Forspoken, but with these simple tips, Frey Holland’s chances of survival and returning home to New York will drastically improve.
Keep up the Flow
One of the first traversal abilities that Frey Holland unlocks with the power of Cuff is that of Flow, a simple magical parkour move that’s completed simply by holding down the circle button while running forward. Each time the circle button is pressed, Frey takes off in a burst of speed that rapidly drains her stamina. The second movement upgrade bestowed upon the player is that of the Shimmy. Each time Frey takes off in a bounding jump, pressing X at the moment she touches the ground lets her spring forward in a sudden boost of speed. Timing can initially be tricky, but keep a close look for when Frey’s shoes are level with the ground and wait that brief second before pressing the X button to Shimmy forward. With practice, this will come naturally.
Swap out the Support
Frey will have a large roster of Support spells to aid her in combat from each school of magic she acquires from the Tantas. Support spells don’t cost any sort of MP (thankfully, Frey is enough of a badass that such a resource isn’t necessary in Forspoken), but they do operate on cooldown timers. Rather than waiting for your Tendril or Disperse to become usable again, make a habit of holding down L1 and swapping to another spell in the meantime. One accessibility option players can choose allows Frey to automatically swap to the next available Support spell, so picking up that option can leave one less activity to juggle during combat.
Seek out Refuge
Refuge and Belfry Towers are both in plentiful supply around the land of Athia. Not only are these landmarks to help chart your course across desolate landscapes, but these also function as fast travel points throughout the world of Forspoken. Belfry Towers come with the added bonus of expanding Frey’s Scan ability (Up on the D-Pad) to a wider range and locate points of interest while Refuges allow Frey to rest and recover health, craft/upgrade her gear, pet the magical cats she comes across, and pick up spell challenges from the library to unlock powerful enhancements to every spell she can learn.
Loot Smarter, not Harder
As is typical with open-world adventures, crafting materials are bountiful and will quickly fill Frey’s bags. However, players won’t have to mash the Triangle button whenever they come across a cluster of grass or crystal shards dropped from a broken foe. Instead, consider these two tips to make looting an automatic venture. One accessibility option allows Frey to automatically loot any drops she walks near. This alone saves one to two seconds per material and when you’re gathering drops by the hundreds, just consider the time saved. Secondly, the Burrow support skill sends out tendrils that automatically loot everything in the immediate radius. This can be acquired as early as Chapter 4 as players venture into the region of Praenost. Venture out to the easternmost regions until you reach Brass Hollow. From the Belfry, head east and slightly north to reach the Fount of Blessing that grants Frey the fast-charging Burrow spell that makes snatching up loot a breeze.
Get Rewarded
Forspoken has no shortage of side activities to distract Frey Holland from following the critical story path (over 550, to be exact), but most aren’t essential. Rather than completing any activity encountered on the path, check out the region map and preview what rewards will be offered to the player. For example, some spells only become available upon visiting specific mana fountains you can track down on the map.
If all you’re looking for is enough to complete the platinum trophy, keep an eye out, especially for activities that reward Frey with a new piece of equipment or nail design. Finding Old Coins, however, should be something to keep an eye out for in various treasure chests or perched in precarious locations; 64 will be necessary to purchase a crafting item that helps restore Frey’s original attire to fighting shape.
Above all, enjoy experimenting and freerunning across the world of Athia. Hopefully, these tips will help you hit the ground running but if you have any other tips to share with the Wccftech community, feel free to share your own suggestions in the comments below!
