Elex Elex Tips - Berserker Build

Pladio

Guardian of Nonsense
Staff Member
Moderator
Original Sin Donor
Joined
November 13, 2006
Messages
9,177
Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
Hello all. So since I finally have my new pc I have started a game of Elex and it's running great on max settings. I have no stutters or anything.

I am planning to run through the game as a smart Berserker, but with stealth and lockpicking as well. Plan is to go full-on melee if possible at all.

I was wondering what hints/ tips you'd have for character development.

If you could avoid spoilers that would be good, but I wouldn't mind knowing if any skills or attributes are useless.
 
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
9,177
Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
*Disclaimer on my tips : I play only Ultra mode so I needed a bit of min/max and I felt useless for the first 15 levels or so as even killing a rat was hard."

If you are going melee then Berserker is the best option. Good choice.
Both Sword/Shield and 2H is viable, but pick early and stick to it. Don't try and Jack of All trades.

Oddly 2h swords have Dex as a secondary stat so it almost assumes you will use a bow.

Lockpicking level 1 is good very early but don't invest in LP 2 or 3 until near end game and you've got nothing left you want. There is an amulet that gets you one free LP level (so you can do L2 chests) and there are very few L3 chests in the game.

Animal Trophy is a godly skill because it increases the drops from killing (therefore the cash recieved). I rushed it to level 2 right away which is part of the reason I coudln't kill anything till much later.

Attributes are essentially useless on their own. Only spend them if you want to get a skill or equip gear. Example... If you have 10 STR or 20 STR, your damage doesn't change. But 20STR will let you equip a better axe. Just horde attributes till you know what you want to spend them on.

Pickpocket, LP are your next best money makers. Don't bother investing into any of the pickpocket secondary skills (like PP twice) until you have skills to blow. Its not worth it.

Melee Damage skills worth it.
Jetpack attack worth it.
Stamina 1/2 worth it.
Chemistry worth it.

In classic PB fashion, don't join a faction or make any major game decisions till you have explored all the other factions and done their 'intro' quests first.

Personally love the game and done Berserker and Cleric Ultra mode playthroughs.
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
2,871
I just wanted to add one thing: "Enchant Weapon" is a bit hard to figure out (only works on Berserker specific weapons, and only at a workbench or some such thing), but it's extremely strong. Elemental damage is much stronger than physical damage against most enemies.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
Not really. It's worth keeping in mind that the game is exceptionally hard in the start. We're talking old school difficulty levels. Getting the first companion early on (requires a few quests) is well worth it if you keep getting flattened.

Oh yeah, and don't be afraid to run from stuff. There are virtually no "low level areas".
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
Agree with Maylander.

While you can complete the game if you side with any faction right away, in classic Piranha Bytes fashion, you get more XP and items if you don't make any major quest decisions till later. You'll be able to tell if its a major quest decision.

As for skills, personally I went Animal Trophies x2 right away, used a lockpick+1 amulet and a pickpocket+1 amulet till much later.
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
2,871
I would also add Chemistry as a must-have skill and one that you want to get fairly soon. You can't craft any potions without it.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
39,129
Location
Florida, US
True, and unlike in most games, chemistry (basically alchemy) is really strong in ELEX. They changed the permanent potions a bit to now add "cold" on use I believe, but even in small doses they're still exceedinly powerful.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
I am trying to keep my cold down as a Berserker as I don't want to use Elex at all (unless I feel I need to).

I am now level 14 with acceptance into both Outlaw and Berserker factions open to me. I have upped my skills to hold a chainsaber and what a difference those 10 extra damage points make. I can beat enemies I couldn't dream off just a bit earlier.

Is it just me or are the quest directions really bad in this game ? I have no way of finding things without quest markers.

One quest was with Volkram or something who said I needed to look for his prisoner nearby as he escaped with his weapon. If not for the quest marker, I would never ever have gone there, because I had seen reavers in that area which I thought I would need to leave for much later in the game.

With a bit of flying and Caja's fireballs I managed to kill them, but I wouldn't have gone there without the marker. I tend to explore around the markers finding and completing some other quests but it does seem like directions need some improvement.
 
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
9,177
Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
Are you playing Berserker because they are special fun or because they are a challenge ?
(someone who knows nothing about Elex so be gentle with response)
It's because it's the faction most interesting to me for a first play through the game.

I tend to like norse things and they also seem to be the greens of the game which seems like fun.

I was also thinking of going a melee character and as far as I understand, the other factions are more ranged. I also believe I read the clerics are overpowered.

The outlaws don't appeal to me at all. It doesn't fit me really.

For example one of the first quests I did with the outlaws was to kill a slave owner and help a scrapyard person. The outlaws just feel too ruthless for me.

If I ever play the game again I may go for the clerics. Although I rarely play games multiple times unless they are pretty short. As far as I understand this game is around 100 hours long, so unlikely for now.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
 
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
9,177
Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
Clerics have some unique, hidden quests that give some backstory on the state of society and what not, and they're incredibly powerful, so they might be worth it. I wouldn't bother with Outlaw unless you're drawn to the Mad Max vibe. You'll get all the good stuff while being a Berserker.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
Clerics have some unique, hidden quests that give some backstory on the state of society and what not, and they're incredibly powerful, so they might be worth it. I wouldn't bother with Outlaw unless you're drawn to the Mad Max vibe. You'll get all the good stuff while being a Berserker.

Yeah, I was thinking that may be the case with them talking about the Old World and stuff, but I am not in the mood for them at the moment.
As I said, if I do replay, I would go with Clerics.

I think I will keep my save before choosing the serkers for a future playthrough.

At the moment, I am now quite a bit stronger thanks to just a slight weapon upgrade. I still need some help with things but I can relatively easily beat many humans. It's a very quick curve once you do start putting points in combat. I think that if I hadn't spent so many points on intelligence and cunning for pickpocketing and trophies, I would have been able to kill many enemies very easily by now.
 
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
9,177
Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
At the moment, I am now quite a bit stronger thanks to just a slight weapon upgrade. I still need some help with things but I can relatively easily beat many humans. It's a very quick curve once you do start putting points in combat. I think that if I hadn't spent so many points on intelligence and cunning for pickpocketing and trophies, I would have been able to kill many enemies very easily by now.

Yes you are right. The reason I suggested pickpocket and lockpick at the beginning is so you don't have to backtrack to so many areas. As well because there are very few respawns in the game, Trophies I and II will get you earning cash right from the beginning.

Agree w/ what you said about outlaws.
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
2,871
Yes you are right. The reason I suggested pickpocket and lockpick at the beginning is so you don't have to backtrack to so many areas. As well because there are very few respawns in the game, Trophies I and II will get you earning cash right from the beginning.

Agree w/ what you said about outlaws.

Yea, I am not saying they're bad choices, but the people who complained about combat being difficult likely invested too much time investing in out of combat skills.
 
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
9,177
Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
So, I finished the game. I think Elex was really fun and brought back some good PB times. I feel like it was a good return to PB games in many aspects I thought were just not at the right level in Risen.

I played as a Berserker, but in reality, I didn't. Like in Gothic 1, more than half the game is spent in Chapter 1 doing quests for all factions. I tended to do things in a more 'Berserker' way most of the time, but I still completed most Cleric quests to help them and many Outlaws quests too.

I also actually think that Elex has one of the better game economies I have played in a very, very long time. In many games, money is either too plentiful or not enough.
I tended to have just enough money for what I wanted to buy when I wanted to buy. I only went pickpocketing 1, lockpicking 2 and animal trophies 2 by the end of the game though, so I am sure you can abuse the system if you really want to.

As per usual in Gothic games, the starting combat skills are shit, but once you invest some points you tend to do a lot of damage rather quickly. One of the negatives for me was that due to being able to move up the ranks so quickly after having done all the quests essentially, I moved from no armour to Paladin armour in the space of a few hours. In Gothic 1 and 2, the armour was what gave me the real feeling of progression. In this game, it didn't as much.

On the other hand, I felt the weapons did make a significant difference in the damage output, which meant crafting was actually useful and done quite well.

I think another point is the Elex potions. I didn't use any as I wanted to be a full emotion Berserker. I managed to do that quite easily in the end on Normal, but I think that I would probably play on hard if I were to use those potions. They are probably too much of a game changer to be allowed to be used just with a change in Cold. I think it would have been good to add some kind of negative effects to it, such as losing HP or more lore-friendly would be to lose Mana.

Anyway, all in all a really fun game. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes PB style games and if you haven't played any before, I would recommend playing it anyway, but focusing on Combat skills first to be able to kill things.

Last thing, I think that they made all weapons work. It just seems like everything is viable, whether that's melee, ranged or magic. I think that's quite good for people who only like it one way.
 
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
9,177
Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
I agree. I think it's an excellent game for people who enjoy PB games. Their best in years. Perhaps since Gothic 2.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
No, but it has been confirmed. That's all we know at this point.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
I got pretty bored with it, but definitely got my money's worth before that. I still have only finished Risen 3 of all the PB games.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
8,821
Back
Top Bottom