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Stunlock Studios’ newest title is V Rising, a survival-crafting game that puts players in the shoes of a vampire who’s looking to rebuild a lost empire. The gameplay is polished and the early access build seems to be fairly stable by all accounts. However, as with any new game, players are somewhat confused as to how to progress in the game. Whether this is through finding a specific material in the world or surviving the elements as a vampire, many players could benefit from a few tips and tricks.
We’ve compiled our top six tips to navigate the early game of V Rising. These tips won’t be anything complex related to much beyond the first few hours of the game. Although, they are important to learn and remember as players progress through the world of Vardoran.
Avoid the sun
Chances are your first death in V Rising came at the hands of the giant fireball in the sky. The sun plays a major role in this game, given the fact that you’re a bloodsucker. In most fiction, a vampire’s main weakness is sunlight, and this remains true in V Rising. We’ve written a separate guide on the best ways to deal with the sun but essentially, you want to stay in the shade as much as possible. Even if this means getting under a tree, you need to stay under any form of shade during the daytime hours.
However, the sun moves with the clock as the day goes on, so your shady spot won’t always be shady. To combat this issue, mainly in your base, you can construct a Mist Brazier. When filled with bones, this structure emits a mist that stops all sunlight from penetrating through to a certain area. Filling your base with these will ensure that you can continue to work in your base throughout the day. If you want to go out into the wilderness, stick to the trees.
Learn the differences in equipment
One of the earliest tasks you have to complete in V Rising is crafting different kinds of gear. From armor to weapons, this gear will allow you to gather resources and fight enemies more efficiently. Speaking of efficiency, you want to learn the different traits each piece of your gear possesses.
For example, if you look at the axe’s traits, you’ll see that it has a 25% bonus damage to lumber. Basically, this means you want to use your axe to chop down any trees. The same goes for the mace and stone, the sword and vegetation, and the spear for combat. The spear is arguably one of the most important items to craft in the early game. V Rising doesn’t have a specific mission for it early on, leading players to believe the sword is the best weapon for fighting enemies. However, the spear has 25% bonus damage against enemies, making it the best choice for combat. You can craft it at a workbench using copper ingots.
Monitor your blood type and level
An underappreciated aspect of V Rising is your blood type and your overall blood level. At the bottom of your screen, right in the center, there is a sphere with blood in it. This determines what your current blood level is. You want to keep the level as high as possible to ensure you don’t start withering away and lose health. You can consume rats and feed on enemies if they’re at a low enough HP to restore your blood levels.
Feeding on enemies can also change your blood type. You can see which blood type you currently are by hovering over the sphere of blood on your screen. Depending on the enemy you feed on, you can alter your blood type, all of which offer different bonuses for various situations. For example, if you feed on a “Worker” type enemy, your blood type will change and increase the amount you gather and mine out in the world. To feed on an enemy, get them to a low portion of their HP and then hit “E” when the game prompts you to “feed.” You don’t want to do this with other enemies around, as you’re vulnerable and can be hit during this process. Although, you can also interrupt it if you wish. Feeding on an enemy kills them, so it serves two purposes.
Understanding the Blood Altar
Once your base is up and running with the Castle Heart, you can begin to craft different stations. One of these stations is called the Blood Altar, which is a vital addition to your base. The Blood Altar is essentially V Rising’s boss tracker. By interacting with it, you can see all of the available bosses in the area you’re currently in. These bosses are able to be tracked, provided you meet the level requirement to take on the boss.
After you start tracking a boss, you will see a blood trail start forming in the air. This blood trail points in the direction that you need to go to find the boss you’re tracking. While it’s a bit finicky at times, following the blood trail is usually straightforward. Follow the direction it’s facing and with enough luck, you’ll stumble across the boss you’re tracking. As you defeat bosses, more and more content will be unlocked for you back at your base. Also, the boss you have defeated will unlock different abilities and skills for you to use.
Use the map to your advantage
Unlike other survival-crafting games, such as Valheim, the map in V Rising isn’t procedurally generated. Instead, there are set locations for all points of interest, bosses, and other places in the game. If you open the map, there will be different yellow circles marking exactly where you can find various points of interest. You will need to explore the map in order for it to become clear and present the points of interest. Markers will also pop up as you discover different locations, like caves and teleporters.
One of the best features of the map is that you can see which resources are available in the different areas of Vardoran, V Rising’s world. Hover over the points of interest to see what might be located there if you decide to venture out. Of course, some resources, like leather or a whetstone, might still be difficult to come across even with all of this information.
Decide which enemies to take on
If the sun doesn’t kill you, then V Rising’s enemies will surely force you to respawn once or twice. This is usually because you stumble upon an enemy that’s a much higher level than you. It’s unclear exactly how enemy levels work in V Rising compared to where they are on the map. There seems to be a chance for any leveled enemy to spawn anywhere on the map. This can present a huge challenge for you if you don’t understand how enemy levels work.
If an enemy has an orange or red health bar, then they are considered a higher level than you. While you can probably still fight and kill these enemies, it will be difficult and consume quite a bit of your HP. If you run into an enemy with a skull by their name, they’re considered a much higher level than you and it’s wise for you tuck your tail and run if you happen upon an enemy of this caliber. One common enemy with a skull by their name that you’ll likely come across in Farbane Woods is the Stone Golem. If you’re unlucky enough to see an enemy like this, your only choice is to run fast and far.
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