Surviving the Circle of Doom

Published January 14, 2008

Kingdom Under Fire™: Circle of Doom brings a full suite of features to bear on both in-game action and character customization. We've braved the Circle of Doom to provide you with the following tips and tricks to keep you well informed and prepared with some quality tactics.

The chain's got some serious reach.

Synthesizing Education

The system for synthesizing items lies at the very core of the game's in-depth character customization options, though it takes a bit of understanding to fully appreciate just how to work the system. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• No limits: There is no real limitation on what items you can synthesize. Whether you're shooting for a HP jump by synthesizing your armor with a simple Red Potion, or you're combining exotic weapons and armor, every combination is possible.
• Rule of thumb: As a general rule, the most potent results are achieved when synthesizing similar items together (such as two Pendants of Illumination). But don't necessarily feel compelled to hold out on synthesizing an item until you can find another replica (see "No limits" section above).
• First choice: The item you first select is the type of item you'll end up with after synthesizing. For example, if you combine your Odachi sword with a pair of magical earrings, the power of the earrings will be transferred, but the earrings themselves will be gone.
• Results: While experimentation is always fun, there's no need to waste items. The Result window on the right-hand side of the Synthesis Menu breaks down precisely what item or weapon will be created after the synthesizing process.
• Diminishing percentages: Every time you synthesize an item, you reduce the likelihood that a correct synthesis will take place the next time with that item, so make sure you select an excellent upgrade for synthesizing the first time around.
• Ability stacking: You can and should stack similar abilities onto an item when given the chance. Each level of ability adds its own value on top of the item's current level, so adding Level 2 Darkness to a Level 4 Darkness weapon will produce a Level 6 Darkness weapon.

This is going to be good.

Ability Learned

Upgrading your special abilities is a must, though the path to skill education can be a little confusing. Here's what you need to do. Choose the Sleep option when you encounter a vendor, and once the dream sequence has loaded, stand in front of the character highlighted in the dream sequence, then hit A to talk with them.

From there you should be able to select "Learn a new Ability," from the dialogue menu. Each new ability has several prerequisites, namely killing specific monsters in order to learn and use the new ability.

Try picking among the novice, intermediate and advanced skills based on where you are in the game. For example, if you're still working your way through the forest, select a novice skill whose prerequisites should include enemies you're either already facing or will be shortly. Finally, once you've selected the abilities you'd like to learn, press Back and then Wake Up from the menu to get back into the game.

So pretty, but even more devastating.

After Battle Survey

Each and every skirmish carries with it substantial rewards in the aftermath. Be sure to scour the battlefield for gold, trinkets, weapons, and armor. Even if you don't intend to use much of the loot, you can always sell it back to a vendor for some much needed gold. You never know when you're going to find a substantial upgrade, so take a gander at the inventory screen at least once after every two or three battles to make certain your hero is sporting the latest and greatest gear.

Ranged Insurance

Even if your hero doesn't normally utilize a ranged weapon or if you just don't like ranged weapons, always keep one in your inventory just in case. Often you'll encounter enemies much easier to deal with at a distance, and more importantly, boss encounters can even require ranged attacks, so always keep such a weapon handy.

Combo Experimentation

You'll need to do a bit of experimentation to discover each hero's most powerful combinations. Take the time in the early going to pay attention to your button and directional presses with the left control stick, especially when dual wielding weapons. You may be surprised at what you uncover.

There's some bloody leverage at work here.

SP Regen

Every slice, dice, and shot reduces your Skill Point meter, and in the early going, this can lead to a lot of empty time mid-battle. No one wants to stand powerless, avoiding enemy attacks while they wait for their SP to regenerate. Your first priority in upgraded gear should be SP regeneration, not extra HP or even special abilities.

Why Luck?

It's tempting to pass by the Luck attribute when allocating your attribute points, but don't discount the value of this admittedly vague statistic. Luck helps power all manner of variables, including, among much else, the cost of synthesizing your equipment and the percentage chance you resist debilitating effects like Fear, Confusion, Fatigue, and Venom.

Potion Stocks

Speaking of Status Effects, your encounters with vendors like the Idol of Greed, Love and Death would be well spent by stocking up on Antidotes, Antistatic potions, Holy Water, Ice Water and whatever else is necessary for keeping you Status Effect free.

Don't just buy indiscriminately (they're expensive after all), but instead consider what enemies you'll face and which Status Effects they'll use against you. If you're just starting out in an area, pass on buying potions from the first vendor you see and wait until you've got a good read on what challenges you're facing.

This bit of battle lore should help your hero as they attempt to regain the Age of Light. Fight on!

Article by Ryan Treit