Solasta: Crown of the Magister, or just Solasta, is the new kid on the CRPG block with old school roots at its core.
Based on the 5th Edition D&D ruleset, Solasta aims to bridge the gap between pen-and-paper and digital RPGs more than ever before. The game is currently out on Steam in Early Access so you can already get to rolling characters and taking on epic quests.
Before you do that, though, we’ve got 5 top tips in this Solasta guide to help you get started.
Diversity is king
Experienced CRPG fans may be familiar with this first tip but it bears repeating. Having a diverse selection of classes in your team is the key to victory. Now, you could go around with a group of just knights or wizards and have a jolly good time of it. The game won’t stop you from doing this because every encounter can be approached in a variety of ways.
A lot of fights, though, will play out a lot more favorably if you’ve got characters of different classes in your roster. For instance, Fighters can only deal with a single enemy at a time, so you’ll need a class that can deal with larger swarms of baddies.
Step into the light
This isn’t immediately obvious but as Solasta: Crown of the Magister is based on the 5th Edition D&D rules, it includes one often overlooked mechanic: light. A lot of your encounters will occur during the wee hours of the night. Fighting enemies when it’s dark will put your party at a severe disadvantage. Always be sure to light fires, torches, and braziers as you roam the streets of whatever town you’re in. Even fighting under low light conditions can affect your rolls greatly.
Tools of the trade
Solasta is a dice roll type of game at its core. This means that luck can and will play a big role in a variety of situations, including unlocking doors and chests. When you attempt to use a set of thieves’ tools to open up something, you’ll likely fail your dice roll. Should this happen, don’t give up just yet. It’s a nice idea to at least let each of your party members have a go at using the tools. Maybe the dice gods will take a shine on one of them.
Real time
Time works very much like in the real world in Solasta. When you set your party on a five-day journey, for instance, this is going to take them a few hours to complete. These long travels need not be wasted, though. You can have party members craft items such as potions in bulk. That way, you can make the most of those long treks and save yourself a pretty penny from buying what you need from merchants. Be sure to enable pausing after crafting ends so you can check on your supplies.
Pay attention, class!
Solasta has a pretty good set of tutorial moments that help you get to grips with the rules it’s based on. Don’t ignore the initial tooltips and nuggets the game throws at you, especially if you’re quite inexperienced with the CRPG genre. Even if you played a few games, it’s never bad to refresh your knowledge.