Introduction
This is a beginner's guide to your first playthrough of Salt and Sanctuary. We will focus on melee, in particular a Strength build. Here are some tips to keep in mind as you explore the game.
- Choose Knight as your starting class. You will be given a sword and shield. The sword will be used for a couple of early game areas, after which you will swap to the Warhammer. As for the "Effects", choose the Amber Idol. The item will be used later on to transmute the Warhammer to a weapon that you will take to endgame.
Magic is over-powered. Feel free to experiment with a magic playthrough, instead of a melee playthrough. You might find the following mage playthrough useful:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrVnpjDgCga1-hXDi6hjC_A7S0QlPaNCC
Try to defeat the very first boss, The Unspeakable Deep. The boss is optional, but defeating it would reward you with the Drowned Tome, in addition to a huge amount of salt and other items. Having the Drowned Tome early would allow you to max out your main weapon early.
- Be mindful of your equip load and movement speed. Less than 25% equip load gives you the fastest movement speed and rolling animation. Between 25% and 50% equip load, you would have normal movement speed and roll animation. From 50% to 75% equip load, you would have medium movement speed and roll animation. Being over 75% equip load would result in you being encumbered. Your character would have the slowest movement speed and roll animation. At 100% equip load or more, your character would not be able to roll at all and you would move at snail pace. Generally, you should aim to be less than 70% equip load. Various jumps and platforming are difficult to make unless your equip load is as low as possible.
- Various items called Stone Blacksmith, Stone Merchant, Stone Guide, etc. are scattered throughout the game. Offer each of these items at a sanctuary to spawn the corresponding NPC. The Stone Blacksmith spawns the Blacksmith NPC, the Stone Merchant spawns the Merchant NPC, the Stone Guide spawns the Guide NPC, and so on. Strictly speaking, you need only one of each of these stone NPCs because you can use the services of the Guide NPC to travel to the sanctuary where you spawned the appropriate NPC. For example, you might want to spawn the following NPCs at the sanctuary of Shivering Shore: Merchant, Guide, Cleric, Mage. Each of these NPCs sells useful consumables, some of which are effective against many enemies and bosses. The Guide NPC is the most useful because he allows you to travel to any sanctuary where you have rested. He also sells the Calling Horn, a consumable that allows you to teleport to any sanctuary where you have spawned a Guide NPC. The Bell of Return, a consumable sold by the Merchant NPC, allows you to return to any sanctuary or shrine at which you last rested. If you are to repeatedly spawn an NPC at multiple sanctuaries, you should spawn the Guide NPC. As another example, you might want to spawn the Alchemist NPC, the Guide NPC, and the Leader NPC at the sanctuary of The Village of Smiles. The Blacksmith NPC is already located at the sanctuary of The Village of Smiles, hence no need to offer the Stone Blacksmith there. The Blacksmith NPC can upgrade your weapons and armour pieces, while the Alchemist NPC can transmute your weapon to a higher class, thus dealing more damage output. Offer various items to the Leader NPC to deepen your creed devotion and receive a reward of your choosing. Anytime you need the services of an NPC, use a Calling Horn to teleport to the sanctuary of Shivering Shore or the sanctuary of The Village of Smiles.
- The most useful armour set is the Lamprey set. Each piece of the set can reflect a percentage of physical damage back to the attacker. The auxiliary effect also works even if you block a physical attack with a 100% physical block shield. The Lamprey set is found on a platform at Sunken Keep. You must defeat one of the bosses of the area to obtain a key that unlocks the passage leading to the armour set. You also require two brands to allow you to navigate to the set. To properly use the Lamprey armour set, you must invest Black Pearls in the skill Class 4 Heavy Armor.
- The most useful shield is the Ashen Effigy, found near an entrance to the Ziggurat of Dust. The shield can block 100% of arcane and holy damage. The shield also has high defense against physical and other elemental damage. To effectively use the Ashen Effigy, you must invest Black Pearls in the skill Class 4 Shield.
- Farm enemies for salt to help you level up and invest in skills you care about. Enemies also drop gold. Spend gold in the shop of the Merchant NPC to buy various collections of salt, e.g. Bag of Salt, Case of Salt, etc.