Hexx - Beginners' Guide By Roy Sims Here are a few general tips for starting players off on the right foot in Psygnosis' 'Ultima Underworld style' R.P.G. for the PC. The single most important thing that a beginner can do when playing Hexx is ensure that they choose a balanced party at the start. Have two Fighters at the front, and a Ranger and a Wizard at the back. It's important to get this correct as you can't change the party formation once you enter the game properly. I finished the game successfully with 2 Chaos fighters up front, but I'm not convinced that it makes any real difference in the end which discipline they follow. Having chosen the party and entered the first dungeon (The Keep), you should make buying Ethblade scrolls your first priority. These scrolls are invaluable in the early stages of the game, allowing you to build up combat experience easily and therefore go up a few experience levels within a relatively short time. Remember that each character must have a free hand if the Ethblade scroll is to be used to its maximum effect. (Ethblade is a spell that creates an extra etherial weapon in each character's hand. They can then strike twice in each combat turn thus shortening the length of battles and reducing the chances of the party getting hurt). Naturally you can gain this spell in your spellbook later on. One other thing to remember about the Ethblade spell (and others like it) is that they can be nullified by certain magic and they will also expire if your party rests. Keep a good supply of them with you at all times. If you feel like spending some money in the early stages of the game, equip your Ranger with a bow and some arrows. Normal arrows are cheap but don't do much damage. Elf arrows are better if you find a shop that sells them. (Much later on you will come across various bows that will fire off the arrows at a much faster rate. You will also find the lethal Hail of Doom. These arrows are the very best you can buy). The only drawback of arming a character in this way is that they won't be able to benefit from the magical Ethblade spell as both their hands will be used already. However, as long as the front two fighters are armed with Etherial weapons you should be okay. Your Wizard should carry the torches in the early stages until someone gains the Torch or Trueview spells later on. A Wizard isn't much use at fighting with weapons anyway so he won't add too much to a battle with an Etherial weapon. That doesn't mean he can't be useful though. He excels at casting both offensive and defensive spells during a fight. If you really become desperate you can always cast another Ethblade scroll later and let him use a staff (or Battlestaff) along with his own Etherial weapon. You are bound to have a few characters die in the early stages. This isn't a problem, as you can easily find a few regeneration rooms dotted around the Keep. There's one close to where you start the game. Just remember that when a character is dead, they won't gain any experience points from any monsters that are vanquished during that time. Try and resurrect them as soon as possible else they will fall behind the other party members when it comes to going up in experience levels later on. If you can survive without it, try to avoid spending money on expensive armour for as long as possible. Basic leather armour will do at the start, and you will come across lots of free armour just lying around later on. You also shouldn't ever need to buy food. Food can be collected in abundance throughout the game. When fighting monsters, don't try to take on more than one at a time in a wide open space. Stand in a narrow corridor entrance and fight them where you can see them. However, if you are fighting just one, try moving around during the fight. Standing still will make your party an easy target! Just keep the monster in sight at all times. Due to the design of the maps, you will come across a number of monsters that are in an area inaccessible to you for now. If you can see them through an open corner (say between two pillars standing at 90 degrees to each other) you should be able to fight and defeat them without them being able to retaliate! This is especially true if your party is armed with bows and arrows. Just activate combat mode and your party will start hitting at the monster if it's close enough. Arrows should be used if the monster is out of reach for close range weaponry (swords etc). This makes things much easier and even trivialises some parts of the game later on (e.g "Run the Gauntlet"). One other useful tip concerns levels or regions which do not allow the use of magic. They can scupper the advantage of using lasting spells (like Ethblade in combat). Fortunately there is a way around it. Standing directly in front of a staircase or right next to (or even within) a door frame will allow you to cast your lasting spells (e.g Ethblade, Antimage etc). However, don't move from this strategic spot else the spells will be immediately cancelled. If the area has lots of monsters, simply wander through the level until you find the monsters then run back to where your strategic spot is (which should preferably be where you can't get attacked from behind!). The monsters will be lured to this point and you can then cast your spells, stand still and fight them as normal. If you keep these points in mind from the start you will find your party making progress quite quickly, with less and less trips needed back to a Regeneration room as the game goes on. - o -