Tips & Tricks — 20 Essential Tips for New Players

The Relic: First Guardian is demanding — 70-80 Brutal boss fights, no levels, and a stamina economy that punishes panic. These 20 tips are grounded in confirmed mechanics (stamina-for-defense, cooldown skills, relics, unique gear) rather than invented specifics. If you have not started yet, read the Beginner Guide first.

Combat Tips

1. Attack constantly — attacks cost zero stamina. This is the game's signature rule and the biggest adjustment from other soulslikes. Offense is free; your stamina bar exists only for dodging, blocking, and parrying. 2. Treat stamina like a health bar. Every dodge and parry drains it. Engage bosses only with a healthy bar, and back off to recover when you dip low. 3. Learn to parry early. The timing window is generous (confirmed by launch reviews), and parries stagger enemies. Practice on slow, telegraphed attacks in the opening areas. 4. Identify each boss's gate type fast. Some fights are parry-gate (break guard with long parry chains); others are dodge-gate (unblockable attacks that ignore blocking). Wasting stamina on the wrong defense is the top cause of boss deaths. See the Boss Strategies guide. 5. Never block or parry unblockables. When a tell reads "heavier" than the combo's other hits, dodge it. Confirmed: unblockable attacks exist and only the dodge answers them. 6. Use skills on cooldown. Skills run on timers, not mana — an unused skill is wasted DPS. Open fights by firing your long-cooldown skills so they recharge mid-fight. 7. Do not fish for staggers. Enemies rarely stagger and have no visible stagger bar. Openings come from parries and dodging through combos, not stun-locks.

Progression Tips

8. Buy HP and stamina nodes early. Skill trees (12 total, two per weapon family) are bought with Relic Energy — and some nodes raise health and stamina directly. It is the cheapest survivability in the game. 9. Expand relic slots as soon as possible. Find Shards of Awakening and bring them to Elisa at any camp — every new slot makes your build more adaptive, which is the game's core survival strategy. 10. Hunt temple altars for Shards of Esser. You start with 3 potions; Shards of Esser (found on altars, e.g., in the Faded Mist Forest) raise your potion capacity. More potions = more attempts per run. 11. Explore everything before a boss. Hidden paths hold relics, uniques, and secret Brutals. The game's difficulty curve assumes you looted — a well-explored player is effectively playing on an easier mode. 12. Clear "Events" as you find them. Events (the game's side quests, from NPCs or the environment) reward valuable gear that the critical path does not offer.

Economy & Upgrade Tips

13. Keep every unique item. Every weapon and armor piece appears once — no duplicates, no re-drops. Selling or discarding a unique is permanent. 14. Check Drawbacks before equipping. Some powerful items carry Drawbacks (e.g., stamina loss or a weakness). A "free" stat boost often has a tax — decide consciously, especially for stamina-taxing gear. 15. Forge selectively. Blacksmith upgrades use materials and currency (exact costs unconfirmed). Since items never re-drop, commit to weapons you intend to keep. 16. Do not trust material tables yet. Guides claiming exact upgrade costs, dismantling recipes, or "daily reset" farming zones are unconfirmed. Verify costs in-game before spending.

Exploration & Story Tips

17. Read letters, murals, and item text. The game tells its story through the environment — reading is both lore and discovery (notes hint at what is nearby). 18. Return to cleared areas. The world changes as you progress (bosses open new states). Revisits are a low-risk habit — checking costs nothing. 19. Check temple altars and off-path ledges. Confirmed systems (potion shards, relic shards, uniques) live in exactly these spots. 20. Be skeptical of other guides. The launch is days old: guides naming bosses, runes, artifacts, levels, or co-op are largely speculative or fabricated. Verify anything specific in-game before building around it.

The Three Biggest Mistakes to Avoid

Panic-dodging against unblockables — stamina wasted on the wrong defense ends fights.
Skipping exploration — uniques and relic shards are hand-placed; the world is the progression.
Trusting "leveled" guides — there are no levels; any guide assigning them is not credible.

Common Questions

Q: What should I do first?

A: Learn the parry, buy HP nodes, collect potion shards, and explore your starting region fully.

Q: Is there an "easy mode"?

A: No confirmed difficulty options. The real difficulty reducers are defensive play, exploration, and relic adaptation. See the Difficulty Guide.

Q: Can I play with a friend to make it easier?

A: No — the game is single-player only. See the Co-Op guide.

Q: What is the single best tip?

A: Swap your relic loadout before every boss — it is the game's designed prep loop and its biggest difficulty lever.

Beginner Guide — First hours, step by step
Combat Guide — Stamina, parry timing, and the combat economy
Runes & Relics Guide — The fragment system
Upgrade System — Slots, shards, and forging