Barrow notes and hints

on 2023-01-15

Basic Instructions

  • Every character and action has a tooltip - hover the mouse over the right-hand side for detailed info
  • Tooltips for monsters often contain helpful strategies
  • traditional bump-to-attack will work, but you can also use the J/K/L keys for special attacks
  • likewise, X/Space allow you to skip a turn, N lets you perform Fend in Ready stance, M lets you Block in Guard stance
  • every monster in view has a target number - press the number on your keyboard to target that monster
  • Every creature in Barrow has EP, or Stamina, that is used for special attacks such as Smash or Bash
  • The player character also has stances, that change depending on the last attack used
  • Monsters have stances as well, but they are static
  • The three stances are Ready, Guard, and Power
  • Different stances and attacks have strengths and weaknesses against each other
  • There are three offensive actions: Melee, Smash, and Bash
  • There are three defensive actions: Wait, Fend, and Block
  • Not every move is available in every stance
  • You can recover HP by Waiting outside of combat - but waiting consumes your food supplies
  • If you return to town, you can buy more food or equipment upgrades
  • Make sure to upgrade your equipment, enemies become stronger as you descend
  • Buying a pack upgrade will let you store more food
  • A long rest in town will respawn all enemies and treasure in the dungeon, and reset layouts

Advanced Hints

  • Your basic melee attack costs no stamina!
  • If you are Stunned, use the wait or movement keys to recover stamina
  • Wait recovers EP, and cannot be interrupted
  • Fend is strong against Smash
  • Block is strong against Melee attacks
  • Bash is costly, but very effective against Block
  • Stamina can also be depleted by an opponent's attacks
  • If your stamina is reduced below zero, you are stunned, and must recover
  • Exploiting Stun is a highly effective tactic against defensive enemies
  • Enemies' behavior varies dynamically based on their stamina
  • Every enemy has a hidden stamina threshold, and will recover when they are below that threshold. Some enemies are conservative, others will burst you down as fast as they can.
  • When an enemy has low stamina, they are more likely to wait and recover
  • You can descend to the deepest level reached from town, even after a long rest

Spoiler-level Tips

  • To defeat the hobgobling and goblin knight, use Bash to stun-lock them
  • To defeat orcs, try using Smash attacks to deplete their stamina
  • To defeat the troll, use fend until it is exhausted, then melee
  • To defeat the final boss, use fend until his stamina is below 30, then melee
  • There is a cheat mode hidden on the main menu, just scroll down
  • Cheat mode starts you with enough coins to buy every upgrade, and lets you descend to level 4 immediately