You awaken on a creaking ship, the air thick with salt and dread. A storm rages, and before you know it, you’re washed ashore on a cursed island, alone, battered, and surrounded by horrors that want you dead. Welcome to Salt and Sanctuary, a brutal 2D action RPG that blends the punishing difficulty of Dark Souls with the exploration of a Metroidvania.
What you’ll find in this Article
If you’re new to this grim world, don’t worry, I’ve got your back. This Salt and Sanctuary Beginner’s Guide is packed with everything you need to survive, from character creation to boss-slaying strategies, all written in a way that feels like a friend passing you a controller and some hard-earned wisdom. Let’s dive into this salty adventure and ensure you come out on top.
What Is Salt and Sanctuary?
Salt and Sanctuary is a love letter to fans of challenging games. It’s a 2D action RPG with hand-drawn visuals, a sprawling skill tree, and mechanics that echo Dark Souls while adding platforming and Metroidvania-style exploration. You’ll explore a haunting island, fight grotesque monsters, and collect salt, your currency for leveling up and upgrading gear. The game’s difficulty is relentless, but its depth and rewarding gameplay make every victory feel epic. Whether swinging a massive greatsword or casting arcane spells, the game offers endless ways to play. Ready to get started? Let’s break it down.
Getting Started: Character Creation
Choosing Your Class
You’ll face the character creation screen when you boot up Salt and Sanctuary. Don’t stress too much about picking the “perfect” class, it’s more like choosing a starting vibe than locking in your fate. Each class comes with preset skills and gear, giving you a head start in a particular playstyle. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Warrior: A solid pick for beginners. You start with decent armor, a sword, and a shield, making you sturdy and straightforward to play. Great for learning the ropes.
- Mage: If you love casting spells, this is your go-to. You’ll start with a staff and basic magic, but you’ll need to be cautious; mages are squishy early on.
- Cleric: A mix of melee and divine prayers. It’s a versatile choice if you want to heal or buff while still smacking enemies.
- Hunter: Focused on dexterity, with a whip and crossbow. It’s trickier but rewards precise players.
- Knight, Paladin, Thief, and Pauper: These offer variations on melee, ranged, or hybrid styles. The Pauper is a “hard mode” class with minimal gear, so maybe avoid it for your first run.
The class you pick only sets your starting point. The game’s massive skill tree lets you pivot later, so a mage can become an archer or a warrior can dabble in magic. If you’re new, I recommend the Warrior for its simplicity and durability. It’s forgiving while you learn the game’s brutal mechanics.
Starting Gifts and Customization
After picking a class, you’ll choose a starting gift. These are items like rings or consumables that give you a small early-game boost. The Grasping Ring, which increases salt gain, is a solid choice for beginners since it helps you level up faster. Don’t overthink this either, most gifts can be found within a few hours of exploration.
Customize your character’s appearance and origin as you like; these are purely cosmetic and won’t affect gameplay. Once you’re done, you’ll be tossed into the game’s opening sequence, waking up on a ship that quickly goes south (literally and figuratively).
Understanding the Basics
The Island and Exploration
After the shipwreck, you wash up on the Shivering Shore, the first area of the game’s sprawling, interconnected island. Think of it as a giant puzzle box, zones are linked by shortcuts, hidden paths, and locked areas that require special abilities called Brands to access. These Brands, earned through gameplay, let you jump higher, cling to walls, or pass through barriers, opening up new areas and secrets.
Exploration is key. Every zone is packed with hidden items, shortcuts, and lore tucked away in environmental details or NPC dialogue. Bottled messages left by other players offer hints (or trolling), so read them but take them with a grain of salt. If enemies in an area feel too tough, you might be underleveled or in the wrong zone. Backtrack, grind some salt, and try again later.
Salt, Gold, and Sanctuaries
Salt is the lifeblood of your progress. You earn it by killing enemies, and it’s used to level up, upgrade gear, or buy items. Gold, a secondary currency, is less critical but handy for purchasing from merchants. When you die (and you will die), you lose all your salt, which turns into a bat-like creature or gets absorbed by the enemy that killed you. To reclaim it, you must return to where you died and defeat the creature or enemy. Die again before recovering it, and that salt is gone forever. Pro tip: Spend your salt as soon as you can to avoid losing it.
Sanctuaries are your safe havens. These checkpoints let you rest, replenish health and focus, level up, and interact with NPCs like merchants or blacksmiths. Kneeling at a sanctuary respawns all enemies but saves your progress. Each sanctuary is tied to a Creed, a faction that offers unique items and upgrades. Stick with one Creed to boost your devotion level, unlocking better rewards, but be cautious, switching Creeds can reset your progress and lock you out of certain benefits.
The UI and Core Stats
The game’s user interface is straightforward but crucial. Your health bar shows how much punishment you can take before dying. The stamina bar governs actions like attacking, rolling, and blocking; manage it carefully, as running out leaves you vulnerable. Focus, the white bar below stamina, powers spells and prayers, but doesn’t regenerate on its own. Use items or rest at a sanctuary to restore them. Depleting focus causes fatigue, reducing your max stamina until you recover.
Other key stats include:
- Attack: Determines your weapon’s damage output, tied to the weapon’s scaling and your stats.
- Drop Rate: Increases the chance of item drops from enemies.
- Equip Load: Affects how much gear you can carry without slowing down. Higher equipment load means faster movement and rolls.
Keep an eye on these as you build your character, as they’ll shape how you tackle combat and exploration.
Mastering the Skill Tree
The Tree of Skill is the heart of Salt and Sanctuary’s character progression. It’s a massive web of nodes that let you customize your character with incredible depth. Divided into branches like Strength, Dexterity, Magic, Wisdom, and Endurance, it offers hundreds of combinations to suit any playstyle. Here’s how to approach it without getting overwhelmed.
Planning Your Build
The skill tree can feel intimidating, but it’s designed to be flexible. Each level-up grants a Black Pearl, which you spend on nodes to unlock new abilities, stat boosts, or equipment proficiencies. Focus on one or two attributes to keep your build effective:
- Strength: Ideal for heavy weapons like swords, hammers, and axes. Great for tanky melee builds.
- Dexterity: Boosts light weapons like daggers, whips, and bows. Perfect for fast, agile characters.
- Magic: Enhances spell damage and focus for mages wielding staves or wands.
- Wisdom: Powers prayers and miracles for clerics, offering buffs and healing.
- Endurance: Increases stamina and equipment load, great for heavy armor users.
For your first playthrough, stick to one primary attribute (e.g., Strength for a warrior) and maybe a secondary one (e.g., Endurance for more stamina). Spreading points across too many stats will make you weak in the late game. If you’re unsure, a Strength-based warrior build is beginner-friendly, letting you wield powerful greatswords like the Jaws of Death, which you can snag early and carry through the game.
Class Skills and Weapon Proficiencies
The skill tree includes class skills that unlock specific weapon types. For example:
- Swordfighter: Enables swords, which are versatile and scale well with Strength.
- Pikeman: Unlocks poleaxes, spears, and reapers, great for hitting multiple enemies or keeping distance.
- Hunter: Grants whip proficiency, which pairs well with ranged offhand weapons like crossbows.
- Archer/Marksman: Unlocks bows and crossbows, best as secondary weapons for kiting enemies.
- Berserker: Allows hammers and axes, which hit hard but are slow.
- Magus/Cleric: Unlocks staves, wands, prayers, and spells for magic-based builds.
You can mix and match; nothing stops a mage from picking up a greatsword if you invest in the right nodes. Just plan, as Black Pearls are precious, and disrespecting them isn’t an option. If you mess up, don’t sweat it; you can always start a new character with a better understanding of the system.
Combat: Surviving the Saltstorm
Combat in Salt and Sanctuary is brutal but satisfying. It’s all about timing, positioning, and resource management. Here’s how to stay alive.
Basic Mechanics
You’ll spend most of your time dodging, rolling, blocking, and attacking. Rolling grants brief invincibility frames, letting you pass through attacks if timed right. Blocking with a shield reduces damage but drains stamina, so use it sparingly. Parrying, if you’ve unlocked the skill, opens enemies for a devastating riposte, but it’s risky and requires precise timing.
Weapons have unique movesets and combos, so experiment to find one that clicks. For example, greatswords are slow but deal massive damage, while daggers are fast and great for combos. You can equip two weapon sets but must switch between them, so choose complementary pairs (e.g., a sword for melee and a crossbow for range).
Spells, Prayers, and Imbues
Magic users rely on focus to cast spells or prayers. Spells require a staff or wand and are slotted as ammo, while prayers and incantations go in your item bar and don’t need a weapon. Be mindful of elemental imbalance; using too many spells of the same element (e.g., fire) in a row can damage you. Alternate elements or use the Link of Fire item to negate this.
Weapon imbues add elemental damage (e.g., fire or poison) to your attacks. These are consumables but can be bought or found, so apply them strategically for tough fights. Charms and rings also boost your build. Rings offer passive bonuses like increased damage or health regen, while charms enhance weapons with effects like extra elemental damage.
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Tips for Staying Alive
- Manage Stamina: Don’t spam attacks or rolls, you’ll be left defenseless if your stamina runs dry.
- Learn Enemy Patterns: Every enemy, especially bosses, has predictable moves. Watch, learn, and exploit openings.
- Use Health Poultices Wisely: These heal you but leave you vulnerable while drinking. Use them in safe spots.
- Dodge Through Attacks: Rolling through enemies or their attacks can position you for a counterstrike.
- Clean Your Inventory: Sell or store unneeded items to free up space and earn gold.
Navigating Boss Fights
Bosses are the ultimate test of skill. They’re huge, fast, and hit like a truck, but everyone can be beaten with preparation. Each boss has unique elemental strengths and weaknesses check bottled messages for hints or experiment with different imbues. If a boss is too tough, grind salt in the previous zone, level up, and upgrade your gear. Memorize their attack patterns, as they don’t change, and take breaks if you’re frustrated. A clear head makes all the difference.
A great early-game weapon for Strength builds is the Jaws of Death greatsword, which dishes out massive damage and scales well. For mages, the Sierra Staff is a reliable choice for spellcasting. Always check a weapon’s stat scaling (A is best, E is worst) to ensure it matches your build.
Exploration and Progression
Brands and Backtracking
Brands are game-changers. These movement abilities, like wall-climbing or shadowflipping, unlock new paths and secrets. Whenever you get a new Brand, revisit earlier zones; you’ll often find hidden items, shortcuts, or even new areas. Exploration is rewarded with gear, salt, and materials for upgrades, so check every nook and cranny.
Upgrading Gear
Visit blacksmiths at sanctuaries to upgrade weapons and armor using salt and materials dropped by enemies or bosses. Upgrades boost stats, but materials are rare, so focus on one or two weapons. Transmuting gear into new forms can yield powerful results, but check the new item’s stats first, some transmutations are downgrades.
Creeds and Devotion
Each Creed offers unique benefits, like special weapons or spells. Completing tasks for your Creed (e.g., turning in enemy materials) raises your devotion, unlocking better rewards. Switching Creeds resets your devotion, so choose carefully. If you want to purge a sanctuary to claim it for your Creed, use a Crystal Spear or Stained Page, but be ready for a tough fight against its NPCs.
Tips and Tricks for New Players
This game is tough, but these tips will keep you sane:
- Don’t Hoard Salt: Spend it on levels or upgrades to avoid losing it to death.
- Farm When Needed: If enemies or bosses are overwhelming, grind salt in easier zones to level up.
- Check Chests Carefully: Some are mimics that’ll eat you alive. Attack them first to be safe.
- Use Stone Guides: These let you fast-travel between sanctuaries with guides, saving time.
- Naked Leap: Unequip armor for a faster, farther jump, great for tricky platforming.
- Slide Down Ladders: Hold the “interact” button (R2 on controllers) to slide quickly.
- Watch for Gravestones: These show other players’ deaths, warning you of nearby dangers.
Multiplayer and New Game Plus
Salt and Sanctuary offers co-op multiplayer, letting you team up with a friend via a Soul Sword at a sanctuary. It’s a blast for tackling tough bosses together. You can also mess with other players online, though co-op is usually more fun. New Game Plus ramps up the difficulty and lets you carry over your progress, perfect for testing new builds or chasing missed items.
Final Thoughts
Salt and Sanctuary is a punishing but rewarding journey. You’ll die a lot, but each death is a lesson. Experiment with builds, explore every corner, and don’t be afraid to start over if your character feels off. The island is vast, the bosses are terrifying, and the satisfaction of overcoming them is unmatched. Stick with it, and you’ll be a salty veteran in no time
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