This document © Copyright 2002, CelticWolf. Don't try to steal from it. That would force my friends and I to have to hunt you down. ============================================================================= Player's Guide for LEGACY OF KAIN: SOUL REAVER 2 Released for PlayStation2 by Eidos Interactive and Crystal Dynamics As written by CelticWolf ============================================================================= Contents: 1. Version History 2. Introduction to the Guide 3. Introduction to the Game 4. Character Bios 5. Game Controls 6. Weapons Information 7. Combat Tactics 8. Game Walkthrough A. Inside the Sarafan Stronghold B. Touring the Cathedral C. To the Pillars of Nosgoth! D. The Reaver Door E. Entering the Swamps F. The Dark Forge G. Back to the Stronghold H. The Light Forge I. Re-entering the Stronghold J. Into the Future K. In Search of Janos Audron L. A Path Through the Mountains M. The Air Forge N. Back to the Past O. The Road to Janos Audron's Retreat P. Inside Janos' Home Q. The Fire Forge R. Yet Another Trip to the Stronghold S. Reunion at the Sarafan Stronghold T. The Final Battle 9. Bestiary 10. GameShark Codes 11. Frequently Asked Questions 12. Reader's Tips 13. Contact Information 14. Legal Information 15. Credits and Acknowledgements 16. Closing Statements* * -denotes an uncompleted section of the guide ============================================================================= 1. VERSION HISTORY ============================================================================= Version 1.1 (April 6, 2002)- Finished at last. I will still be taking any contibutions that readers want to contibute for a little while. My final version of this guide will be released 3 months from now, giving people plenty of time to send in info to be added. Version 0.73 (March 27, 2002)- Yes, I know it seems strange that I wrote the Final Battle section before the others, but as I said, I have already beaten this game a few times and it was a short, easy to write section, so I figured I'd go ahead and get it out of the way. I also managed to get the Combat Tactics section done, such as it is, and if you take a look at the bestiary, it has been revised and is a bit more informative than it used to be. Last but not least, I have finished the walkthrough up to the Air Forge. Version 0.55 (March 9, 2002)- Sorry it took me so long to get this update posted, but my unit is busy prepping for deployment. For some reason the Army thinks that my priority is military crap. Oh well. Went through and found a bunch of typos. So sue me. I fixed them, but there could be a few more. As I find them, I will remove them. Also found a few discrepancies in the weapons section, so I fixed them as well. As for the guide, I have managed to finish up to the mountain path. Hopefully I will be able to focus some more on this guide now that we are back from training, assuming we don't get deployed to Afghanistan. Version 0.40 (January 12, 2002)- Finished the walkthrough up to the Light Forge, and got the Bestiary completed. I plan to have the walkthrough up to the Fire Forge finished tomorrow, but I have some other things I need to take care of as well, so I might not make it that far. Oh well, we'll see what happens. Still have no questions for the FAQ section. Hopefully I will have a few soon. Version 0.35 (January 10, 2002)- Well, I have worked my butt off on this guide for the last two days, and I have managed to complete most of it. Got the beginning of the walkthrough done, along with pretty much everything else in the guide. I still need to work out the bestiary and combat techniques sections, but that can come later. For now I am going to focus on finishing the walkthrough, and I will add bits and pieces to the other sections as I go along. Version 0.12 (January 8, 2002)- Not sent in to GameFAQ's. This is the guide in it's foremost preliminary stage, mostly comprised of notes that still need further expansion. Still working on getting the Legal stuff worked out...this is my first guide after all. That's all I need is a gigantic lawsuit heading my way because I missed something important. ============================================================================= 2. INTRODUCTION TO THE GUIDE ============================================================================= A quick note about my FAQ's: I write FAQ's to assist other players in their game, not to show off my renown ASCII artwork abilities (which they aren't). If you are reading this FAQ solely in hopes of seeing some nifty artwork created within the confines of ASCII's limited character support, then you are reading the wrong FAQ. This does not mean that I will not endeavor to include such artwork where I deem it to be necessary, nor does this mean that I will not, from time to time, include such artwork just for the heck of it in my FAQ's. It simply means that I consider the guide itself to be the most important part of the FAQ (naturally), and refuse to waste valuable time creating ASCII images that serve no real purpose when I could be improving the guide for my readers. 'Nuff said. What this guide is, however, is a detailed walkthrough meant to lead the player step by step through the world of Nosgoth, but without giving out the key plot points or spoiling the story. If that is what you seek, then you have come to the right place. I have already played through and beat the game a few times, so I should be able to complete this rather quickly. Hope you all enjoy the guide! -CelticWolf ============================================================================= 3. INTRODUCTION TO THE GAME ============================================================================= In this game, you play Raziel, a former Sarafan Warrior whose corpse was resurrected by Kain as a vampire, and who was later cast down by his creator to become the scourge of the vampires, reaper of their apostate souls. The game picks up where the first game left off, Kain and Raziel confronting each other within the confines of one of Moebius's Chronoplast Chambers. Driven by the fatalistic visions revealed in Moebius's time-streaming chambers, Kain activates the portal that will propel him and Raziel far into Nosgoth's forgotten past. Free will, Kain argues, is an illusion. Their fates are intertwined in ways that Raziel has not yet even begun to fathom... Journey with Raziel as he tracks down his murderer through Nosgoth's history, and as he realizes that his destiny is far more deep than he ever imagined. ============================================================================= 4. CHARACTER BIOS ============================================================================= -RAZIEL- The story's Dark Hero. Raziel was the first-born of Kain's brood of vampires, and being such, he is nearly as old as Kain is. Raziel achieved a high-degree of vampiric evolution, and ended up serving as Kain's first- lieutenant. This all changed, however, once the proud Raziel revealed to Kain his latest evolution - a pair of bat-like wings. He was the only vampire in Nosgoth to reach such a state of evolution, surpassing that of even his creator, Kain. In what appeared to be an act of egotistical sadism, Kain ripped Raziel's wings out of his back and sentenced him to be thrown into the Lake of the Dead where he would burn forever. His flesh dissolving as he fell through the murky Abyss, he finally reached the bottom, a mere shell of his former self. As the pain subsided, he realized not only that he had survived the descent, but had also been delivered to the deepest part of the Underworld. The Elder God revived Raziel, and sent him forth as a reaper of souls - his very own Angel of Death. Raziel's return to Nosgoth found him hardened by his desire for revenge...and a thirst for the souls of vampires. Kain led Raziel to slay his former brethren each in turn, and once that had been done, he led Raziel to the Pillars of Nosgoth, where he raised the Soul Reaver against Raziel. The blade, however, broke against Raziel and bound itself to him, in wraith-form, becoming his symbiotic weapon. Afterwards, Kain retreated to the Chronoplast chamber where this game begins. -KAIN- Kain was born into a dying Nosgoth. He was the son of an aristocratic family, and he lived the life of a nobleman, privileged and rich. He never realized his uncovered destiny until long after it had already begun to unfold. Full of ambition, but at a complete loss for direction, Kain roamed the land of Nosgoth until one fateful day, when he was ambushed by a group of assassins and coldly murdered, ran through by his killer's sword. Kain awoke in the Underworld, accompanied by the Necromancer Mortanius. The Necromancer had an offer for Kain, and the young nobleman's hunger for revenge clouded his ability to look into the cost. Mortanius drew the sword, still imbedded in Kain, and relinquished it to him. Upon taking the hilt, Kain was forever transformed. He was reborn into Nosgoth as a vampire. After Kain had exacted his revenge, he proceeded down the line of his Fate, eventually triggering a chain of events that would destroy the entire vampire race. As the sole surviving vampire, Kain finally comes to realize his ultimate destiny - to become the Balance Guardian. However, to fulfill his role and restore balance to the land, he must willingly sacrifice himself, thereby condemning the vampire race to extinction. Unwilling to be the tool for his species' annihilation, he rejected the offer to restore Nosgoth, and chose instead to rule Nosgoth in its damnation. -MOEBIUS- Perhaps one of the oldest members of the Circle of Nine, Moebius, also known as the Time Streamer, serves as the Guardian of Time. This position gives him the ability to alter time and history. Moebius played a key role in Kain's journey as a young vampire. Initially, he disguised himself as a harmless old being known only as the Oracle. In this way he was able to track Kain's every move, eventually leading him into a battle between Ottmar's Army of Hope and the Legions of the Nemesis. Trapped, Kain had no choice but to use one of the Time Guardian's devices, propelling him 50 years into Nosgoth's past. Seizing this opportunity, Kain assassinated King William the Just, who was destined to become the Nemesis. In doing so, history was altered, and the king died a martyred saint, thus re-awakening the humans' hatred of the vampire race. His mission completed, Kain returned to his time to realize that he had been a pawn of Moebius all along, who was the leader of the armies that were rallied against his species. Kain eventually exacted his revenge upon the Time Streamer, beheading him as punishment and retribution for the vampires he had executed under the guillotine, but not before Kain was the last surviving vampire in Nosgoth, and the cause of his own species' near-extinction. Raziel is aware of Moebius's reputation, and is careful in his consideration in having Moebius as an ally. -ARIEL- Before Kain's time, Ariel, a powerful sorceress, governed the Circle of Nine as the Guardian of Balance. However, she was coldly assassinated by the Necromancer Mortanius, who had been possessed by some kind of demonic spirit. Her murder drove the Guardian of the Mind, her beloved Nupraptor, insane with sadness and despair. As the Guardian of the Mind, his madness unleashed a devastating shockwave, drawing all of the rest of the circle into his insanity. No longer themselves, the tainted guardians turned their powers to darker deeds, and abandoned their duties as the Guardians of the Pillars of Nosgoth. The Pillars, bound to the renegade Guardians symbiotically, absorbed the corruption themselves and fell into decay. Until the balance can be restored, Ariel is doomed to haunt the fallen Pillars. She attempted to persuade her successor, Kain, to sacrifice himself to restore the Pillars, but failed to do so. She blames him for her torment, as it was his decision that condemned her to her fate. -THE ELDER GOD- His origins are a mystery to almost the entire population of Nosgoth, as most of Nosgoth isn't even aware of his existence. He lurks deep in the remote areas of the murky Underworld. It was he who pulled Raziel from the Abyss and unleashed him onto Nosgoth as a devourer of souls. His primary concern is for Raziel to find and destroy Kain, thereby restoring Balance to the Pillars of Nosgoth. But, is this his sole thought, or is there more that he conspires in secret? -JANOS AUDRON- Reputed to be the most ancient and powerful vampire to have ever existed, not much is known of Janos Audron. He was perhaps the most hated enemy of the Sarafan warrior-priests, an order dedicated to the extermination of the vampire race. He was, therefore, fated to become their primary target. Stories say that Janos preyed on the helpless villagers of Uschtenheim, until the Sarafan finally found him and executed him, ripping his still-beating heart from his body. Afterwards, his heart became known as the Heart of Darkness, rumored to have the ability to restore vampiric unlife. -VORADOR- Vorador is most ancient and powerful of Nosgoth's surviving vampires. He has lived to see his kind oppressed and persecuted throughout Nosgoth's history, and has come to despise the human race, regarding them as little more than brutish cattle. He believes that vampires' only hope of survival is to stay out of the affairs of mankind. During the Crusades of the Sarafan, he infiltrated their stronghold and killed six members of the Circle for their part in sponsoring the extermination of the vampire species. Afterward, he hid from the world and forever renounced the affairs of humans. Almost five hundred years later, Kain's assassination of William the Just against the council of Vorador, who had told Kain that the only chance for vampires' survival was isolation from humans, re-kindled mankind's hatred of vampires. History had been broken and was never allowed to fulfill William's destiny to become the evil Nemesis. Ultimately, this led to the annihilation of all vampires, as Vorador was eventually hunted down and beheaded by Moebius and his army of vampire hunters, leaving Kain the sole-surviving vampire in Nosgoth. ============================================================================= 5. GAME CONTROLS ============================================================================= D-Pad: Same as left analog stick Left Analog Stick: Move Raziel; Select menu item Right Analog Stick: Rotate Camera Triangle Button: Powerful attacks; Aim/shoot while in look-around mode Square Button: Action; Light attack Circle Button: Devour soul; Double tap to activate/deactivate the Reaver X Button: Jump/Swim; Accept menu item L1 Button: Block L2 Button: Crouch L3 Button: Not used (unless you're cheating) R1 Button: Sneak; Target enemy R2 Button: Enter look-around mode R3 Button: Not used (also unless you're cheating) Select Button: Open Select menu Start Button: Start game; Pause/Resume game R2 + Triangle Button: Aim/fire projectiles L2 + Square Button: Drop an object or weapon L2 + X Button: High jump; Speed burst while underwater Jump + X Button: Glide Action Commands: Pick up objects or weapons Operate switches Pull, push, or rotate objects Select Menu: Display Map Shift Planes Summon/Dismiss Soul Reaver ============================================================================= 6. WEAPONS INFORMATION ============================================================================= The weapons in Soul Reaver 2 are numerous and varied. I would say this, but then I would be lying. There are two basic types: swords and pikes, and they work pretty much the same, although they vary in speed, range, and power. In addition to these there are, of course, your claws and kicks, and the Soul Reaver itself. Now for a bit of info about what each one is: There are various swords located throughout the game. Some examples are the falchions dropped by many of the modern-day vampire hunters, the short swords dropped by the Thralls, and the Sarafan's longswords. Despite the fact that these swords differ so much in reality, in this game they all have the same range and damage capability. Funny, huh? The short sword has the same range as the longsword. Oh well. Every game has its quirks, I guess. Swords, regardless of type, are not as fast as claws, but they dish out more damage. While a sword is equipped, you can press square or triangle while standing next to a stunned enemy to have him beheaded. Gratuitous decapitations, anyone? The pike family of weapons includes pikes, tridents, spears, and halberds. Also included in this family of weapons are the axes that you find once in a while. Again, while these weapons vary greatly in the real world, they are the exact same in this game. The only variant is the axe, which is slower but deals greater damage than other pikes. The pike family of weapons all have the same range which, incidentally, is the longest of any weapon in the game (unless you consider Reaver Bolts a weapon). They are slower than swords, of course, yet cause more damage. These weapons finishing moves are also executed by pressing square or triangle next to a stunned enemy, whereupon Raziel will proceed to impale them for a moment or two. Note that this move will cause your weapon to be dropped, so don't go running off without it! OK, now comes the really pathetic part. Torches can be used as a weapon, if you are in such dire straights that you must have a weapon but don't want to pick up any of the exceptionally numerous weapons that can be had from the vampire hunters, demon hunters, etc. which are located around every corner. Torches function similar to swords, but don't have as much range or damage dealing capability. For better results, throw said torch at your intended victim and use your claws to finish the job. The finishing move for torches, which work the same way as the other two, causes Raziel to ignite the poor victim. This ruins the torch completely, so just leave it behind and find yourself a decent weapon. OK, claws. Basically, you punch people. And then you kick them. After that, punch them some more. Your natural weapons are the fastest in the game, and much better to use in battles than, say, a torch. At times I think they are perhaps the best weapon you can have. They don't deal as much damage as a sword or pike would, but they work. Their greatest benefit is their incredible speed. The finishing move for this weapon causes Raziel to "Janos Audron" someone, ripping their heart out of their chest. The Soul Reaver really deserves its own section, but I don't feel like making another section, so it'll just have to deal with it. Alright, what can the Reaver do? Well, a better question would be what does it _not_ do. Properly charged, the Reaver can kill enemies in a single hit, break down doors, light your path for you (so that you don't need to resort to using torches as a weapon), lure enemies closer one at a time, plus it is the only weapon in the game that can take care of those dratted Sentry Eyes or follow you into the Spectral Realm. The Reaver's range varies from sword distance, to pike range, to far across the screen. With all of these great benefits, you must be thinking: "What's the catch?". Glad you asked, or you wouldn't make it very far in this game. While in the first game the Reaver could only manifest in the Spectral Plane, and could only be brought to the Material Plane when Raziel's health was full, shortly after this game begins it gains the ability to manifest when and wherever Raziel pleases. In exchange for this power, the Reaver becomes a devourer of souls. So, if you kill an enemy with the Reaver, Raziel cannot regain health by reaping the soul. For those of you who attempt to be clever and switch weapons before dealing the finishing blow, the Reaver has already planned for that. The health that you will regain from a soul decreases with every hit you deliver with the Reaver. Not only that, the Reaver now has a mind of its own. It is in charge, not Raziel. See that nifty little circle slowly working its way around the health spiral? Well, if it manages to form a complete circle, the Reaver takes control and saps Raziel's health, returning him to the Spectral Plane. You need not worry about the Reaver in the Spectral Realm. The overabundance of energy there manages to satiate the hungry blade. Raziel must exercise caution when using this weapon, else his soul will be the one reaped. As you proceed through the game, you will enter Forges, sacred places where the wraith-blade may be imbued with elemental power to assist Raziel in his quest. There are four forges: Dark, Light, Air, and Fire. Here is what the Reaver can do with each elemental power: The Dark Reaver: Reaver bolts fired while the wraith-blade is charged with the elemental power of Darkness can blind Sentry Eyes for a short period of time, allowing Raziel to pass by without getting fried. The blade itself can activate Shadow Bridges. The Light Reaver: Bolts fired while the Reaver is charged with Light will activate those crystals you find above so many doors, thereby unlocking them. It also illuminates an area around Raziel similar to a torch. Note that the blade can be summoned while gripping another weapon. Having light will not force Raziel to go hungry. The Air Reaver: One of the most useful powers you will find. Bolts fired from the Air Reaver can destroy weakened doors. It can activate Air Plinths, creating updrafts that will allow Raziel to have a greater flight time while gliding. Last but not least, the power of Air allows free movement in the Swamp, so there is no more need to leap from stone to stone. The Fire Reaver: It creates a torchlight effect just like the Light Reaver, and activates Fire Plinths. That's about it. Big deal. ============================================================================= 7. COMBAT TACTICS ============================================================================= Really, the game's combat system is so ridiculously simple it is almost pathetic. The only things you will ever really need to know is how to attack and how to sidestep. You might, and I emphasize might, need to do a quick retreat once in a while, but for the most part a simple sidestep will enable you to get into a position suitable to counter-attack. Attacks vary based upon the weapon you are using. As mentioned above, pikes have range while swords and claws have speed. Generally, I prefer speed to power, and therefore I will take a sword before I take a pike. In some cases, I won't take a weapon at all, but will use claws to launch an almost never- ending series of attacks so that my enemy will never get a chance to launch an attack of its own (see Reader's Tip #1). Mostly, this kind of strategy will work, but some enemies, such as demons, have a nasty habit of being able to dodge your attacks, leaving you open to their more devastating maneuvers. As you make your way through the game, you will need to take into account the advancing skills of your opponents. At this time, you need to wait for the enemy to attack, then dodge it and use an attack of your own. Another good thing to keep in mind is the fact that you can use a Reaver or Force bolt to lure an enemy closer to you. This enables you to separate the larger groups of enemies so that they cannot gang up on you and prevent you from being able to attack. In the late game, charging headlong into a multitude of demons and hunters that are fighting amongst themselves is a very good way for Raziel to commit suicide. Your best bet to survive such an encounter is to either a) Run away and don't even bother messing with them at all, or b) Use a Force/Reaver bolt to bring one or two of the enemies to you while the others continue fighting each other. That's about all you need to know about combat. Find a weapon you like using and master using it. Weapons define the combat system more than anything else in this game. Master using a weapon and you have pretty much mastered combat. The only other hint that I can give you is that hunters, in their various forms, can't swim. If you are close to a lake or anything else that is deeper than a puddle, you can kick them into the water to kill them off quickly. Use terrain to your advantage if you can. ============================================================================= 8. GAME WALKTHROUGH ============================================================================= I have done my best to keep this guide as informative as possible while retaining the mystery of the story for players to discover on their own. If there are any circumstances where this is not possible, I apologize. OK then, time to get started... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A. Inside the Sarafan Stronghold ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once you finally control Raziel after all of the opening cinema scenes, head through the wooden doors. There's not much else you can do but that. The one Time-Streaming chamber is locked, and Raziel won't be able to enter until later. After heading through the doors, you can take a weapon from the left wall if you want, or stick with your claws. Said weapon is a halberd. Continuing down the hall, you will encounter your first enemy, a sword- wielding vampire hunter. After doing away with him, you can discard your halberd (if you picked it up) in exchange for his sword. If you used your claws on him, then you can take the sword for free. He won't argue. Continue down the hall and kill off the next hunter. After you dispose of him, the door to the next area will magically unlock. Go through the now unlocked door, and choose to be a morbid kind of guy and kill the hunter waiting there, or be merciful and let him live. It doesn't really make a difference which you choose. Head through the eastern door, and kill off the pike-wielding vampire huntress there. Go through the next door. Head down the hall, killing or sparing enemies as you see fit. Once you reach the next door, head through it. There is a cinema scene to start off this part of the Sarafan Stronghold tour. After watching it kill off the three hunters, and a gate will open in the northeast part of the area. There are three ways out of the courtyard. One is the way you came in, one is the gate you just opened, and the other door is locked. Guess where you have to go. If you should happen to die at the hands of the hunters, shame on you! There is a planar portal in the middle of the courtyard. Head through the gate to find yet another gate. You will have to switch to the Spectral Plane in order to pass through. After refilling your health, return to the Material Plane through the portal in the middle of the Cathedral. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Touring the Cathedral ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once you have returned to the Material Plane, you will find yourself in a large chamber complete with eight guards, and you will regain control of the Soul Reaver. You can either leave the poor mortals alone, or you can end their existence. After dealing, or not dealing, with them, head to the unlocked eastern gateway, and go through it for another entourage of cinema scenes. Once the scenes are finished, head through the southern door into the tomb of King William the Nemesis...er...Just. A pivotal moment in the game occurs here. Have fun watching Moebius piss on himself. Afterward, explore the area to trigger some more cutscenes about the infamous vampire Janos Audron. Exit through the southern door. Kill the hunter, and then head through the door into the Sarafan Shrine, where Raziel and his vampiric brethren are memorialized in their Sarafan selves. Once you enter, some hunters will do a death from above style attack, and the exit will be gated off. Show them the error of their ways, and then find the staircase to the second level. Head through the exit in the southwest corner. Follow the hallway until you reach the double-doors. Open them and head out into Nosgoth in it's uncorrupted, pristine past. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- C. To the Pillars of Nosgoth! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wow, these sections are short! Oh well...watch Raziel be overwhelmed by the former beauty of Nosgoth, and then get ready to head to the Pillars, which stand to the northwest. Take a quick swim and head to the wheel-looking thing. There's another door here towards the south-side of the lake, but you cannot unlock it...yet. Once Raziel gets onto land, a short scene will ensue explaining checkpoints. Use the action button to use the wheel-looking thing to open an underwater gate on the northern side of the lake. Swim through it. If you don't like swimming you can switch to the Spectral Realm. Water has no substance there, so Raziel will fall through it like air. There is a planar portal on the lakebed once you get your health charged up. Once you are on the other side of the wall, head to the obelisk on the left. Some more scenes ensue, explaining the use of save points. Save or don't save, then head up the platforms to the east by high jumping and gliding. There is another cinema scene here. Afterwards, continue down the path and do as you will to the vampire hunters you encounter. There's only 8 or so. Head over the bridge and continue along the pathway. A pissed-off puppy attacks you, but you can't easily elude them so kill it off. His owner tries to deal with you after the dog fails. Kill him too, just for spite, or you can leave him alone, if you are choosing to be a humane angel of death. Keep going down the path. You will come to a shrine as you proceed, and a hunter awaits nearby. There is a portal into the Material Plane at the base of this shrine. As you continue, you will reach a stream with another dog and a cannoneer on the other side. You can either kill them with force bolts, or Reaver bolts, or claws, or whatever. Activate the checkpoint here and then head up the north stairs. Follow the wooden bridge, and kill the cannoneer at the end of it for being insolent. Watch the cutscenes here and then deal with the two hunters and their pet dog that guard the gate. Press and hold the action button at the lever to unlock the gate, then head through to find the Pillars. Loooong cinema scene here. After watching it, and probably becoming confused if this is your first time through this game, head north until you find a pair of columns with a Spectral Plane glyph on them. Follow the hint and go into the Spectral Plane to reveal a stairway, then head up it to continue down the path. Switch back to the Material Plane once you reach the portal, then continue to the next checkpoint. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- D. The Reaver Door ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- After activating the checkpoint, continue the way you have been going until you reach a cool-looking door that has a Raziel and a Reaver painted on it. This is the first of the Reaver Doors that you will find. Turn your Reaver on and use the action button to watch the door unlock in a cinema scene. Should you find yourself back in the Spectral Realm, there is a planar portal right next to this door in the caves. A simple rule for this area is to follow the glowing crystals. Another note, you first encounter Shades in this area. Nasty things, Shades. They leave you no soul, they have long range attacks, and they can follow you into the Spectral Plane to finish you off if you goof around too much while fighting them. They aren't very tough, though. The Reaver can kill them fairly easily, just watch that meter! There are 7 shades awaiting you on this path. Either dodge by them or kill them. I prefer the former. There really isn't a point in killing them, since they are soulless. Dealing with them will only sap Raziel's health that much more, since taking the time will slowly drain Raziel, and their attacks will drain even more. Just do some fancy footwork and go around them. If need be, kill a few of them, but don't get too caught up in it. Follow the path until you come to an area that lies beneath the Pillars. Another long cinema scene begins, between Raziel and his maker, the Elder God. After the cinema, save your game at the save obelisk if you like, and then head into the water. Dive down to the bottom if you want to hear the Elder God's opinion. On the eastern side of the area, you can see a pair of those glowing crystals marking the entrance to the next tunnel you must follow. After surfacing, beat off the three shades that are waiting for you, and then head up the ramp on the east wall. There's a gap at the top that you must leap across before continuing northward. As the path begins to turn on an easterly direction, you will encounter...a shade! I wager you are growing sick of them by now. Don't worry. There's more of them. Follow the eastern route, and encounter...yet another shade! Off to the northwest there's a cliff. If you want to look before you leap, use R2 to have a gander. Guess what? At the bottom of the cliff there's...another shade! Jump down, and either kill the shade or run and hide in the water nearby. The water is your next path, anyway, so you might as well run and hide. Head for the inundated statue. Swim past it and head for the northern tunnel, lit by a pair of those crystals. This part is irritating if you are new to swimming. This area can only be passed in the Material Plane, and navigating it can get tricky. From the entrance, head for the next crystal, and then for the next crystal, and then for the next crystal, and then for the next crystal. Catch all that? If you need to, pause at each crystal to gain sight of the next crystal, and use your compass to prevent unnecessary, and confusing, backtracking. Once you reach the fourth crystal, you will see four circular things arranged in a triangle. From here, look up and to the northeast. You will see another series of crystals above you. Follow these in the same way you followed the others. Go to the top of the cave, and go through the tunnel. Follow it to the east, and then straight up out of the pool. Scream at the pool for being such a pain, and then say goodbye, or good riddance if you prefer, for now. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E. Entering the Swamps ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section is probably going to be insanely short. Once you are finished cussing at the pool, grab a torch from the wall if you really need it, and then head off into the swamp. Raziel slows down significantly in the swamp, if you force him into the water. Stick to jumping from rock to rock. There is a Time-Streaming Chamber nearby. Head for it, pass by a checkpoint, and eliminate the hunter there. Another hunter will approach. Do as you will. There is a Material Plane portal located near here. Just head east from the checkpoint until you find it. The area is over-watched by a number of Sluagh, though. Continue through the swamp until you reach a door that Raziel has to kick open. In this next area, there are three hunters and a save obelisk. There is a short cinema here. Head to the obelisk, where you can save your game if you choose. There is another planar portal located here. Once you are done at the obelisk, continue past it and deal with a few hunters and a dog. Climb the wall illuminated by the two braziers after you deal with another hunter. There's a cannon wielding hunter just over the wall. If you look at him, he will answer by firing off some shots at you. Either jump off the wall and fight the hunters there, or land on his little area and kick him off to join his buddies below. After dealing with these hunters, head for the porch area. There is a checkpoint here and another Reaver Door. Open it and enter the Dark Forge. Yep...it's short. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- F. The Dark Forge ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK...the first really long section there is. Puzzles abound in the Forges, so get ready for them. Head down the corridor, and encounter a Thrall. Kill it off and drop any weapons you might be carrying to grab the key it leaves behind. Place the key in the door, and continue to the right. Don't bother grabbing your weapon again. Switch to the Spectral Realm and phase through the gate blocking your path. Avoid or kill the Sluagh and run for the end of the room. Head up the stairs and through the archway, then head to the east. Keep going this way until you reach the planar portal. Backtrack to the room where you came through the gate. Try to avoid fighting the Thralls that are going to leap out of the ground to attack you. Head to the east or west wall and climb up. A cinema ensues. Head to the north stairway, where a sorcerer Thrall waits for you. Don't try to fight it from long range. It'll win. Move in close and it will probably run. Kill it with your claws, or use one of those staffs located on the walls in the area. Continue down the path until you reach a ledge. Jump and glide to the next platform, where you will jump to the stairway. Continue along, where there will be a short cinema scene. This is the Dark Forge room. Jump down. There is a planar portal located in this room south of the light reflector that looks like it was pulled straight from The Mummy. Move to said reflector and use the action button to turn it until it points at the eastern wall. Doing so will cause a door to open. Go through the door, natch. Kill the Thralls as you proceed, and then switch to the Spectral Realm to pass through the gate blocking your way. Follow the hall until you reach a large room with a big platform sticking out of the middle. The planar portal you seek is on the east side of this room. As you switch planes, a cut scene will reveal the secret in this room. Go to one of the scalable walls on the north or south walls, avoiding the numerous Thralls that want to play. Jump and glide to the center platform, then switch to the Spectral Plane so you can make the next jump to the eastern platform. A planar portal waits nearby. After you plane-shift, a gate will close and you will be assaulted by a Thrall. Finish him off, and grab the key. Place said key into the southern door to continue. In the next room, you will see four columns with another reflector in the middle. Switch to look-around mode, and look up. Fire a Reaver bolt at the symbol there to shed some light on the situation. Move to the now active reflector, and turn it so that it faces the western wall. In the southwest corner of the room, you will see a column. This column is moveable. Grab it with the action button, and drag it until you see a cinema that shows it is in the right position. From the northwest column, jump and glide into the next room. Pick up the disk in this room with the action button. Go west, young man. In the next room, you will see a door with the same symbol on it as the disk. Go to this door, and it will open automatically. Move through the Forge room to the empty claw-holder at the north end. Place the disk with the action button. Return to the Forge room and rotate the reflector until it shines on the west wall. Follow the newly opened path and phase through the next gate. Continue north until you reach the next planar portal. Head back to the room you were just in, where you will be attacked by some Thralls. You must kill the sorcerers at a minimum, or you will probably never make it up the wall you must climb. Head south toward the next reflector. Turn it so it shines toward the reflector at the north end of the room. Head north, and grab the pillar on the west wall. Pull it until a shadow bridge appears. Jump onto the bridge, and fire a Reaver bolt at the symbol in the ceiling. Jump to the platform with the reflector on it, and face it to the eastern wall. High jump into the passageway that appears. Continue until you see a sundial. Go to the left side of the sundial, and push it twice so that it is pointed right of the hole in the floor. Watch as the Dark Forge comes alive! Drop through the hole, and move to the Forge. The Reaver will prove once again who is the true master, and imbue itself with power. All Dark Elemental fonts in Nosgoth are now active. Raziel's health spiral will grow larger as well. Once you are finished forging the blade, exit through the southern Reaver door and proceed to the Dark Reaver door. Exit the door back into the swamp, and prepare to head all the way back to the stronghold through that irritating, shade-laden pool from earlier. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- G. Back to the Stronghold ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- After going through the Dark Reaver door, head down the corridor until you reach the Reaver door that leads out into the swamp. There may or may not be Thralls waiting for you as you proceed. Once you exit, there will be a decent size cinema scene awaiting you. After the cinema, head down the southern stairs and turn west. There might be a couple of hunters in this area, depending on whether or not you killed them earlier. If you didn't kill them, you can avoid them now if you choose. Once you find the Time Chamber, head to that horrid pool of water and jump back in. Swim down, and head back to where you saw those triangle-arranged circle things. Keep following the crystals the same way you did earlier. Once you reach the statue, head up and jump to the surface. Guess what? There are Shades here! Wheee! Shades! One good note, if you took the time and effort to slay them earlier, then you won't have to deal with them again, unless you have saved your game and restarted since then. Well, if they have returned, you can either run past them...again, or you can kill them off now. It will be a bit easier this time because of your increased health at least. Climb up the wall, and head back down the path to the next pool of water, the one that leads back to the lair of the Elder God. Head back to the lair, and watch the cinema scene, then head over to the save obelisk if you want to save your game. Head back through the southern pathway, and into the cave system. Again, if you have saved your game and restarted, or didn't deal with them earlier, the Shades will be there waiting for you. Dratted things. Once you reach the Reaver door, head through it, unless you want to sit looking at it. :) Continue your way along the path heading back to the Pillars. Pass the Pillars and head for the stream where you encountered the cannoneer and his pet dog earlier. There is a Dark Elemental font here, in case you have lost the Dark Reaver. There is also a font near the next door you are going to have to open. but there's no time like the present to prepare yourself. After imbuing the Reaver, head down the western path or jump off the waterfall. Follow the path leading back to the Sarafan Stronghold. There may be a few vampire hunters here for you to dispatch, if you so desire. Once you reach the lake, you can save your game at the save obelisk, which lies westward, or you can immediately head through the underwater gate and then head south, towards the Reaver door on the south side of the lake. Once you reach the door, which you will need the Dark Reaver to open, enter it and prepare to solve the mysteries of the Light Forge. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- H. The Light Forge ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alrighty, then. Time to bust open the Light Forge. After entering the Dark Reaver door, follow along the hallway, where you will be accosted by a few Thralls. Once you reach the next room, jump and glide to the platform in the center of the room. You will notice that there is a Dark Element symbol right on the northern side of the platform, so if you managed somehow or another to lose the Dark Reaver between the Dark Reaver door and here, you will need to re-imbue the Reaver. There is a Dark Elemental font located on the floor of this room, between the stairs to the south. A Shade guards it though. There is also a Material Plane portal in this room, between the platform with the Dark symbol and the north wall. Once you have the Dark Reaver, if you didn't already, stand on the symbol and use the action button to trigger a Shadow Bridge. Head across the bridge and switch to the Spectral Plane to phase through the gate that blocks your path. The planar portal is pretty much right in front of you, right next to the next checkpoint. There are a couple of Thralls that want to play in this room, so you can kill them or move on to the northern door and head through it. This door leads to the Light Forge Room. There are a pair of Dark Reaver doors here, but since it was required to switch planes in order to phase through the gate, we need to locate a Dark Elemental font to re-imbue the Reaver. Shift planes again, and phase through the northern gate. Head north through a long corridor, killing off the Sluagh that are there if you need health. There is a Greater Sluagh in the next hallway, so either avoid him or kill him with crouching attacks. Normal attacks go right over him. The hallway ends in a room with a Sentry Eye. There is a planar portal here, mercifully out of the Eye's range. Switch back to the Material Plane here. Once you shift, some punk Thrall rises up to try to fight you. Unfortunately for him, his brain is in a state of decay and he forgot to think about the Sentry Eye, so he gets zapped back into oblivion. That cool looking thing on the pedestal is what you need to re-activate the Light Forge, but because of the Sentry Eye overlooking it, we will have to return here later. Head back to the south, through the long corridor. There are some more Thralls here waiting on you, but unfortunately they are not within the Sentry Eye's range, so you are going to have to finish them, unless of course you just want to skate by them and leave them alone. Once you reach the room with all of the columns, head toward the reflector in the southwestern part of the room. Pull the reflector along the groove in the floor to open the door to the north. Go through the door, and continue down the hallway. Once you reach the next room, you will be blocked off by a gate and a pair of Thralls will rise to attack. Target the one holding the reflector, and kill him to make the other Thrall hide again. Grab the reflector and head back to the room you just came from. Head to the southeast corner where there is an empty reflector holder. Place the reflector using the action button. After placing the reflector, head east toward the next reflector. Kill those dratted sorcerer Thralls. The east reflector isn't doing anyone any good by shining onto a wall, so turn it so that it shines on the door to the north. Go through the door and deal with the Thralls. There is a gate at the end of this hallway that you will need to switch to the Spectral Plane to pass through. When you shift, you will see a short cinema scene that shows the location of a Dark Elemental font and the opening Raziel must somehow get to in order to leave the courtyard. Jump onto the column closest to the gate you came through using the ledge on its north side. Turn to the east and high jump and glide to the ledge on the arch. If you fall or miss, just clamber back up the column and try it again. Once you get to the arch, climb to the top of it and jump-glide to the next platform, which lies to the west. You can see it easily due to the braziers which are on each side of it. Follow the corridor to the west, avoiding the Sluagh or fighting them if you want. As the hallway turns to the south, there is a planar portal right next to a Shadow Bridge plate. Unfortunately, we have to go all the way back to the Dark Elemental font in the previous room to imbue the Reaver. Shift planes and head back down the corridor. As you proceed, you will be attacked by some Thralls. Do as you will. Once you reach the room, jump straight off the ledge and kill off the sorcerer Thralls that were trying to ambush you at the base of the ledge. After doing away with them, head toward the Dark Elemental font, and kill the Shade guarding it. Re-imbue the Reaver with Darkness. The landscape has changed in the Material Plane, so in order to reach the next platform, you will have to pull out a section of the western wall. Use the block to reach the western hall, and head for the Shadow Bridge, Dark Reaver in hand. Trigger the Shadow Bridge and carefully head for the other side. If you fall, you will have to restart this part of the puzzle. A sorcerer Thrall on the other side of the bridge tries to knock you off of the Bridge with a fireball, so dodge it and then kill him for being insolent. Afterwards, follow the corridor to the south. As you approach the next gate, a gate will close behind you and a few Thralls will rise to do battle. Once again, to make the lesser Thralls go away, target and kill their master, the one holding the reflector. Grab the reflector and head south, jumping down the next ledge, and place the reflector in the empty holder. Head to the east and open the Dark Reaver door. Jump the gap leading to the north reflector, and head east into the next room. Return the reflector you drug to open the door back to its original position, lighting a crystal in the Light Forge room. Then head to the next reflector, the one you had to turn, and face it to the south. Go south, and jump-glide across the pit. Use the Dark Reaver to remove the pillar that is blocking the light. Continue to the south, and then turn west to open the Dark Reaver door there. This will light the second crystal and open the gate in the Light Forge room. Go into the Forge room, and go through the gate heading back to the place where the Sentry Eye guards the emblem-key to the north. Thralls will try to bar your entry into the Sentry Eye room. Kill them off and proceed. Once you reach the Sentry Eye room, a pair of Greater Thralls will rise to attack. Either kill them yourself, or kick them into the range of the Eye to have it do your dirty work for you. After the Thralls have been dispatched, use a Dark Reaver bolt to blind the Eye, and then quickly, and let me emphasize quickly!, grab the key before the Eye returns back to zap you. With the emblem-key in hand, Thralls will no longer attack you. Place the key into its slot on the Forge to re-activate the Light Forge, then Forge the Reaver using the action button. Your health will increase again, and the Light Elemental fonts will become active throughout Nosgoth. Head south from the Forge toward the gate, where a few Thralls may be waiting for you. Open the gate with the Reaver, then exit the Forge room. In the room with the first Shadow Bridge you activated, you will notice a crystal above the door to the south. Fire a Light Reaver bolt at it to open the door, and follow the corridor back to the lake. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Re-entering the Stronghold ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jump into the lake and swim to the gate control wheel. Activate it to re-open the underwater gate, and swim through. Head over to the save obelisk to save your game, and then position yourself so you can fire a Light Reaver bolt at the large crystal over the double doors. If you don't have the Light Reaver, you can find a Light Elemental font along the northeast part of the lake, by following the series of platforms there. Swim into the stronghold, and head for the western platform. Your goal is to reach the Time Streaming Chamber that had the crystal over the door that was in the room that Raziel started the game in. Remember? If you want to do things quickly, simply avoid all enemies that you do not have to kill to open doors. Follow the path as it leads to the west, and turns to the south. A couple of hunters are along this path, but they are easily defeated. Go through the door, and kill a few hunters to unlock the double doors. This leads to the Cathedral. Kill or avoid the hunters here, and head for King William's crypt. Long cinema scene here. After the cinema, you can locate a Light and Dark elemental font outside the crypt, and then continue to the southern door. Follow this hallway and kill or avoid the hunters on it before you reach the door at the end. Proceed through it. Deal with the three hunters here, and head down the western hallway to the door there. Go through said door. Gates close in the next room, so you must kill the two hunters here in order to proceed. After killing them, continue through the next door to the west. Follow this passage into the courtyard. Either kill the enemies here, or run down the western hall and through the door. The Material Plane portal from the beginning of the game is still here, so if the hunters manage through some miracle or another to kill you, you can return through it. There are a couple of Greater Sluagh roaming the area, though. Another group of enemies lie in wait here. Deal with them before continuing you westward journey. In the next room, yet more hunters wait for you, but you can choose to ignore them and head through the south door. The next hall has a Light elemental font at the end of it, which you will need. The door that you enter through has a guard pretty much right next to it, so you might have to sidestep quick to avoid taking a cheap shot. Around the corner are a couple more hunters, so dispatch them and continue through the northern door. The next room has no enemies, so just fire off a Light Reaver bolt at the crystal and proceed through. Watch the cinema scenes, and enter a whole new Nosgoth. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- J. Into the Future ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This isn't exactly where Raziel wanted to turn up, so at this point you can pretty much guess that his remote belief that maybe Moebius was helping him has faded to nothing. Of course, for this entire game Raziel has not ever really known who his true friends are, or if he even has any. The stronghold has long been deserted, and Raziel finds out why when two demons show up out of nowhere and attack. Worse, they put up demon barriers, so Raziel has no choice but to fight in the limited space available. Deal with them, and then proceed through the double doors. Continue to the west, and deal with the demons as they phase in to attack. Down the hall you will see a pair of Demon Hunters attacking a Lightning Demon. Do not interfere with their battle, unless you like being ganged up on. Proceed through the northern archway. Toward the end of this hall, you will witness a Demon Hunter getting slain by a pair of Lightning Demons. Reap the hunter's soul if you need the health, and brace yourself for combat versus two of the fastest demons there are. The best strategy to live through this fight is to peg one from a distance with a Reaver bolt, drawing it closer so that you do not have to fight both of them at once, which could almost be considered suicidal. You can try to sneak past them, but then you will risk being seen by both of them. After dealing with the demons, head east toward the Cathedral. As you go, you will be attacked by another pair of Acid Demons, who erect barriers to hinder Raziel's escape. Fight them off, and continue your journey through the east door. Coming up is one of the most difficult battles Raziel has had yet. As you go into the courtyard, not one, not two, but three(!) Lightning Demons warp in and kill the three hunters standing guard. LET THEM FIGHT! Do NOT let yourself be seen, or you will die. Having to fight off six enemies at once, especially when three of them are Lightning Demons, is like strolling up to the Grim Reaper and daring him to do his work. Once the demons have slain the hunters, they turn on you. If you were lucky, one of them -might- have been slain by the hunters, but this is highly unlikely. Dodge as best you can, and counter. Should you be slain, the Material Plane portal is still located in the middle of the yard. Don't dally around though. Remember, the demons have the luxury of being able to chase you into the Spectral Realm, and that is the last thing you need. Head for the eastern hallway. This was once barred from entry, but in this time demons have torn through them, so you can pass now. Head through the gateway and proceed to the next room. In this room, a pair of cannoneers will attack, surprisingly without backup. Dispatch them to unlock the east door. Head through it, and prepare for another potentially difficult battle. If you thought the fight against the three Lightning Demons plus Hunters was tough, you are in for some significant trouble. Head down the passage until you see a battle taking place. Don't be a hero. You will not survive if you try to take on everybody at once. You face three Demon Hunters, four Lightning Demons, and two Acid Demons. Choose one, fire a Reaver Bolt at it and wait for it to come to you. Finish it off while the demons and hunters further down fight each other. Taking them all on at once is suicide...unless of course you have turned on the invincible GameShark code, you dirty little cheater. After dealing with the pest problem, head through the northern passage. As you continue toward the cathedral, you will be attacked by a couple of those annoying Lightning Demons. Finish them off and head into the cathedral. Inside, Raziel finds a statue of Moebius holding aloft the severed head of the vampire Vorador, finally verifying that Raziel has been sent to the future. Raziel recalls that the path to Janos Audron's retreat was blocked in the past, and hopes that in the future the way might be free for passage. After the cinema scenes, you won't make it very far before having to fight two more Lightning Demons, so dispatch them and proceed. There is a Dark and Light Elemental font here, so imbue your Reaver with either one, though you should probably take the Light Reaver given the darkened state outside. After fixing up the Reaver, head through the gates to the west, and kill off the demons that await you there. There is a planar portal in the Spectral Realm located near the eastern door of the room, plus plenty of roaming souls to reap if your health is running short. After killing them, proceed west out of the cathedral through the double doors. Here, Raziel runs into the spectre of Moebius, who immediately starts babbling about how Raziel was a direct cause of this future due to his refusal to eliminate Kain. Raziel proceeds to attempt to reap Moebius' soul, whereupon the cowardly little bastard vanishes. Pity. I would have loved to see Moebius had by both Kain and Raziel. Arrogant prick that he is. Anyway... Proceed north toward the stronghold exit, and be attacked by three more Acid Demons, who, in their infinite malice, raise barriers to hinder escape. Kill them and move out into Nosgoth's stormy future. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- K. In Search of Janos Audron ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, the goal now is to move back to the swamps, which means we have the wonderful pleasure of journeying through that damned pool again, complete with the blasted Shades. *sigh* Onward! With any luck, you still have the Light Reaver. If not, there is a Light Elemental font in the southeast corner across the water. The main reason you want the Light Reaver is the illumination that it provides. After acquiring the Light Reaver, move to the save obelisk, where you can save your progress if you so desire. There is a Material Plane portal in the same spot on the lakebed. From here, you are going to head up those ledges and onto the path leading to the Pillars of Nosgoth. For the most part, nothing has changed, so it won't take a great deal of time to get to where you need to go. Proceeding north on the path, you will encounter a couple of axemen with cannoneer support. Kill them if you wish, and move on. As the path turns to the west, you will have to deal with yet more hunters. First come a pair of axemen, then some cannoneers, and last but not least a swordsman on the bridge. Moving along past the bridge, you will encounter some swordsmen and their pet doggie. Note that rocks now block the path that used to be there, so instead you will have to use the toppled column next to the waterfall to climb up to where you can jump to the next area, which contains a Dark font and another checkpoint. You don't need the Dark Reaver anytime soon, so keep the Light Reaver for now so that you can see what you are doing, assuming you haven't lost it. Continue toward the Pillars. Once you reach the stairs, you will encounter your first Gas Demon. Easy fight, as long as you don't sit there looking at it whilst daring it to gas you. The gas attack is quite powerful, so move in close and fight it where it can't use that attack against you. After killing it, move up the stairs and cross the bridge, where another Gas Demon awaits. As you move along the path, you will come to a little group of trees. Another Gas Demon stands here. Keep on going, and once you see the gates to the Pillars, another demon will phase in. You will have to deal with yet another demon just before you reach the unlocked doors to the Pillars. Watch the cutscenes between Raziel and Ariel, and refill your health. The planar portal you need to reach is further along the northern pathway. But before you can get there... A Fire Demon phases in! These guys are tough, plus you have the disadvantage of being in the Spectral Realm already, so if he kills you, you must go back to the last checkpoint you activated. Not cool. If you are running low on health, move back to the Pillars post-haste and refill your life. Further to the north, Raziel will have to face a Gas Demon. You should have full life when you reach the planar portal, but if you don't, there are some Sluagh further along to replenish your health. Continue on after activating the checkpoint. Just before you reach the Reaver door leading to that god-awful land of Shades, a Gas Demon will phase in to tango. Kill it off, and move back into the caverns for the third time. This trip is even less fun than the last two. The soulless Shades still lurk in the area, and they have been joined by their less than pleasant friends. Try not to die in here...the Demons _and_ the Shades can chase you back to the Spectral, and that is not a good thing at all. OK, then, off we go! Down the hall from the Reaver door, you will have to fight two Shades and a pair of Acid Demons. Fortunately, the Acid Demons cannot follow you into the hallway, so if you are getting your derriere handed to you retreat back into the hallway and kill them with Force/Reaver bolts. Unfortunately, you won't have this advantage further into the caves. By the way, if you die, the portal is next to the Reaver door, just as before. Moving to the east along the path you will encounter another Shade, and an Acid Demon decides he wants to play too. After eliminating them, move along and you will run into two more Shades, and before you reach the stairs, you will have to fight two more Acid Demons, who will erect demon barriers to prevent you from running. Go down the stairs, dodging or fighting the Shades along the way. A planar portal is located here at the bottom of the stairs. Another meeting with the Elder God. Whee. After the cinema, a pair of Acid Demons will attack. You can either fight them, or dive into the water where they cannot follow you. The save obelisk is still in the same place, so you will probably want to save your progress before proceeding. There is a planar portal located on the platform above the Elder God. After you move through the tunnel and surface, two more Acid Demons will phase in and attack. Keep following the path, and you will be attacked by two more Acid Demons. Jump off the cliff and head to the spot where that little pool used to be. If you sit there too long, some Shades will attack you from long range. So don't just sit there! Jump into the hole, and then proceed to the southeast where a Dark Elemental font lies. Kill the guardian Shade, and imbue the Reaver. A planar portal is located at the base of the southwestern statue. Head for the tunnel marked by the two crystals. Instead of having to swim the whole way, Raziel will have to surface and fight a Shade before heading back into the water and moving along. At the fourth crystal, swim up. After you surface, turn to the southwest. Jump out of the water and pull yourself up to the ledge, and follow the path. As you proceed, an Acid Demon will attack. From the higher ledge, you should be able to see a platform with a Shadow Bridge activation plate on it to the northeast. Jump-Glide to this platform, activate the bridge, and move across quickly. Further to the northeast, you will encounter another Acid Demon, and after you kill it, you can climb the wall leading into the swamp. Congratulations! You have faced off against about a dozen Shades and Acid Demons and lived! Well, the swamps have a new tenant: Mutants. See the bestiary for details on these things. Kill off the two Mutants at the entrance to the swamp, and move on to the checkpoint. After activating it, move over to the Time-Streaming chamber. Raziel ponders how to get into the past, and the game continues. To the west of the checkpoint, there is a Light Elemental font, so you can imbue the Reaver and make it easier to see. Follow the path and kill the axeman that guards the gate, and then head to the south where you can fight another pair of Mutants. Further along the path near the save obelisk lie two more Mutants that you can kill or spare. A planar portal lies in front of the obelisk. After saving, head north where you will face two axemen and a cannoneer before reaching the path that used to be blocked. Time to go into the mountains toward the ruins of Uschtenheim. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- L. A Path Through the Mountains ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a wall to the north that has a mutant nearby. The mutant will attack you if you stick around too long, so you can either kill him for the soul if you need health, or just climb the wall and leave him behind. Shortly after climbing the wall, you will pass by a checkpoint. Continuing down the path, you will come to a cliff overlook, where you can see two swordsmen, two cannoneers, and an attack dog on the floor below. The cannoneers will fire off a few shots at Raziel if they see him on the ledge, as would be expected of them. Jump down to the floor and deal with the Hunters. In the Spectral Realm, nearby the waterfall, there is a planar portal. There are lots of Sluagh and random souls in this room, making it a very good place to stock up on health should you need it. After finishing in this room, you need to climb the wall to the north, which is flanked by two torches. At the top of the wall, the path you are taking will fork, with one road leading to the southwest, and the other heading off to the west. You need to follow the western route. This route, however, has been occupied by some Lightning Demons, so you will have to deal with them before you reach the next overlook. After dispatching the demons and reaching the overlook, jump down the platforms and continue along the path. Doing so will bring about the attack of a dog, and shortly after you will run into four Hunters. Said Hunters are two swordsmen, a cannoneer, and an axe bearer. Kill them off if you wish, then continue along the path near the western wall, or climb up the wall to the north. Continue along the path. This path leads to the closed gates of Uschtenheim. High jump to the top of the gate, and kill the swordsmen that are waiting there. After killing them, which is necessary, move to the lever and pull it, holding it until the gates have fully risen. Jump back down and head through the gates into the town of Uschtenheim. After entering the city, an Acid Demon will attack. Deal with it and move to the north, where you will find a swordsman Hunter doing guard duty for the church. Kill him off and head inside, where you will find a save obelisk, should you want to save your game. There is a fountain west of the church where you will find a planar portal in the Spectral Realm, although the dark mountain city has been overran by Sluagh of various types. Once you are finished here, head back to the church where you can imbue your Reaver with Light, which will help on the path ahead. After imbuing the Reaver, head along the path to the left side of the church. Once you get behind the church, you will be accosted by a dog and two Hunters. Kill them off if you like, and then head out of the open gates, back into the mountains. As you follow the trail, an Acid Demon will phase in to attack, and erect Demon barriers to keep Raziel from running. Kill it and proceed to the next overlook, where you need to prepare for a potentially difficult battle. From the overlook, you can see an attack dog and four swordsmen below, with cannon support located on the northeast and southern ledges. But that's not all! Once you leap into the clearing for battle, two Acid Demons will phase in and attack. If you should die here, the planar portal you will need to use is located on the southern ledge where the cannoneer stands. The Spectral Plane here is full of Sluagh, and if the Acid Demons weren't killed, they will follow you as well. It might be a better idea to kill off the Acid Demons first, thereby insuring that you won't have to worry about them in the Spectral Plane if the Hunters kill you. After the battle, you will need to go to the west wall, which is guarded by a cannoneer that has gone astray and left his support along the top of the wall. Show him the error of his ways, and then climb the wall and kill off the three swordsmen that await. After killing them, head to the northeast and fight two Lightning Demons that erect barriers to prevent your escape. After finishing them. continue along the path, where you will encounter Kain and a cinema scene at Janos' Retreat. Once you have finished watching the cinema scene, jump into the water and move toward the Light elemental font located in the southwest. This font is being overwatched by an Axeman, so kill him off to proceed. The planar portal in this area can be a pain in the butt to get to. If you get knocked into the Spectral, you will have to go to the lakebed and locate the column closest to the Light elemental font. It should have a ledge and a set of stairs that you can reach. Climb to the top of this column, and glide to the southeast, where you will find the column closest to the entrance. From this column you can glide back to the entrance and move to the portal. Continue down the path along the southwest wall and jump to the platform, where you will be assaulted by a Hunter. After you kill him, continue down the trail to the west, where you will spot a few more Hunters. As you come closer, a pair of Lightning Demons will phase in and attack. Let them and the Hunters kill each other off, then move in and finish what's left. From here, climb up the wall to the north. As you reach the top, a pair of Hunters armed with cannons will attack. Moving in to kill them causes a pair of Fire Demons to phase in and attack. Therefore, you should run away and let the poorly armed Hunters have their arses handed to them by the demons, then move in to kill off the demons themselves. Just be careful. Fire Demons shouldn't be taken lightly. After fighting off the demons, climb up the northern wall. Three Hunters, two swordsmen and an axeman, request you to slay them. Grant them their wish, then proceed down the path to the west, which leads to the Air Forge and yet another nasty fight. Approaching the Forge entrance entices three demons to attack you, and to make things a little more fun, they erect Demon barriers to bar your escape. The demons you face are two Lightning and a Fire Demon, which isn't a lot of fun for you. In my own humble opinion, the Lightning Demons take precedence, seeing as how trying to hit the Fire Demon whilst two Lightning Demons are zipping about all over the place is rather difficult. If the demons prove to be a bit too much for Raziel and he gets knocked into the Spectral Plane, it would probably be a good idea to run up the stairs to the checkpoint to keep Raziel from having to go all the way back to the last checkpoint, which was located waaaaaaaaay back at the very beginning of this section. After dealing with the demons, move to the nearby Dark elemental font and imbue the Reaver. You will need it if you plan to enter the Air Forge, seeing as how it is being overwatched by a Sentry Eye. A planar portal is located at the base of the stairs at the Forge entrance should the Sentry Eye manage to zap you. After getting past the Sentry Eye, enter the Forge and get ready to get a new Reaver. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- M. The Air Forge ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, this will probably be the longest section of this guide. The Air Forge is unlocked in three different sections, each of which is chock full of puzzles. On we go! After you enter the Air Forge, take either staircase located on the east wall. To open the door to the west, you must hit the stone on the little pedestal with a Light Reaver bolt. Of course, we don't have the Light Reaver right now, so we must go to a Light font to get it. There are two Light fonts in this room, one in the northeast corner and one in the southeast corner. Regardless of which one you choose to use, you will have to deal with one of those cursed Shades in order to get the power from the font. Kill the Shade and imbue the Reaver. After obtaining the Light Reaver, move to the Light Elemental symbol located on the floor and fire a Reaver bolt at the stone. Doing so will open the door, revealing a gate that you will have to phase through. Switch to the Spectral Plane and phase through the aforementioned door. On the other side, three Sluagh wait for you. After dealing with them, or not dealing with them, head north along the corridor to reach the planar portal. The portal is guarded by a Greater Sluagh, and a checkpoint lies nearby. Shift planes and head down the western hallway. As you proceed, you will be attacked by a couple of annoying Lightning Demons, who will erect barriers to stop you from leaving. After killing them, proceed down the path until you come a door. As you approach the door, a Greater Thrall and two Sorcerer Thralls will rise out of the ground to fight. As usual, killing the Greater Thrall causes his underlings to retreat back underground, but unlike other battles, killing the sorcerers while the Greater Thrall still stands will only cause another one to rise in its place. This is an excellent place to regain your health, as you have a never-ending supply of souls to feed upon. Once your health is full, kill the Greater Thrall and use its emblem key to move through the next door into the main Forge room. There is a checkpoint in this room pretty much right next to the door you enter from, so go ahead and trigger it before continuing, in case you run into opposition that is a bit more than you can handle, or in case Murphy's Law kicks in. The main Forge room has a pit with a large column coming out of it, with a platform on top of the column that is being overlooked by two panther head statues. From here, jump down to the bottom of the pit. The bottom of the pit is complete with three climbable walls, a Light and a Dark font (which in turn are complete with guardian Shades), and three spiraling hallways; one flanked by blue crystals, one by red crystals, and one by green crystals. The walls are adorned with the symbol of the Reaver, the Dark element, and the Light element. In the Spectral Realm, there is a plethora of lost souls on the bottom of the pit, as well as a planar portal. Steps appear about midway up the column in the Spectral Realm, making it easier to travel to the top of the pit. For now, choose any one hallway and head down it. At the end of each hallway is a sacrificial altar upon which is a victim. The altars are in turn overlooked by the statue of a random deities' head. Upon inspecting the bodies, you will notice that the heart in each one is missing. Your task is to restore the hearts to their proper victims. Head back to the central pit and climb the wall marked by the symbol of the Reaver. We are going to get the blue heart. A Shade guards the Reaver door at the top of the wall, and through the door await Thralls. Dispatch the blasted Shade, and go through the door. There are weapons located on the walls of the next room, all of which act as pikes. As you move toward the door to the north, three Thralls will rise to do battle. Kill the Greater Thrall to steal his emblem key and place it in the next door to proceed. Move down the hallway into the next room, where Raziel notices a dark opening in the wall to the north. If you have the flying code turned on, you can just fly up there and get what you need. Otherwise, you have a long ordeal ahead of you. The rooms eastern and western walls have columns running along them, with the middle column bearing a plane shift symbol. These two columns are being guarded by Greater Thralls. To reach the upper level, you must shift planes and use the steps that appear in each of the columns to climb up. Shift planes and move over to the eastern column. There are two Lesser and a Greater Sluagh in this room, so you can use them to replenish your health before continuing to the next planar portal. After refilling your health, climb the eastern column and use the planar portal there. Move north toward a Dark elemental font which is guarded by a Shade. Kill the little bugger and imbue the Reaver with Darkness. Head back down the path to the rusty looking handle things on the statue's mouth and use them (push the square button). The mouth opens and exhales a continuous gust of wind. Rotate the camera so that it is facing to the northwest and stand in front of the air current. Take a running jump and then glide. The gust of wind behind you should help you to reach the next walkway. If you fall or miss the walkway, you must reshift planes and climb back up the eastern wall to regain the Dark Reaver before continuing. Once you reach the next walkway, head southwest up the steps _carefully_! A Sentry Eye overlooks these steps, so if you go rushing headlong into the room you will find yourself back in the Spectral Plane again, and you will have to go all the way back to get the Dark Reaver again. Blind the eye with a Reaver bolt and move past it and around the corner to the left, where you will find a staircase going down and a Shadow Bridge plate. Activate the bridge, but do not cross it yet. Jump and glide to the west platform and run to the Light elemental font, which is guarded by a Shade, of course. Kill the dratted Shade and imbue the Reaver. From here, head back up the path to the next set of rusty handles, and open the other mouth. Jump and glide across the room to the other walkway where the Dark font is. DO NOT go to the southwest as you did before. You will be fried by the Sentry Eye since you cannot deactivate it anymore. Instead, turn right and run up the steps to the Light Reaver door and go through it. There is a Thrall here waiting for you, but you don't have to fight it to proceed. If you do choose to fight it, be careful about how far you move down to the west, seeing as the Sentry Eye is still there waiting for you. If you want, you can use a Reaver or Force bolt to knock the Thrall into the range of the eye, thereby getting rid of it. After you get done with the Thrall, move across the Shadow Bridge quick, fast, and in a hurry. It probably won't be there for too much longer. The bridge leads you to the dark chamber you spotted earlier. Did you know that the Light Reaver doubles as a flashlight? Once inside the chamber, charge a Reaver bolt and use the light to search the wall until you see a crystal. Fire a Reaver bolt at it and the room lights up. A cinema scene shows the blue heart coming out of a picture of a winged vampire. Grab it and carry it to the bottom of the pit. From the pit bottom, head down the hallway flanked by the blue crystals, which is to the west. Run down the hallway and use the square button to place the heart into its owner. The godhead activates and devours the victim's soul. If you didn't match the colors right, the godhead does not accept its offering and instead zaps Raziel back into the Spectral Plane. He must re-do this entire part of the Forge. The same applies to all the other godheads as well. Assuming you got the heart into the correct victim, a current of air now rushes up the hallway, creating a very small updraft in the pillar room. One down, two to go. Now for the red heart. In the main pit, move to the Dark font and kill the guardian Shade. After you imbue the Reaver with Darkness climb up the wall adorned with the Dark elemental symbol. Follow the hall at the top of the wall, and move through the Dark Reaver door after you kill its guardian Shade. The next room holds a contingent of Greater Thralls, three of them, to be exact. Kill them off to get the emblem key necessary to open the next door. The door leads to a hallway heading to the west. In the next room, Raziel will notice another one of those dark corridors that hold the hearts needed to restore the Air Forge on the western wall. Two Greater Thralls will attack you, one from each side. Kill them and proceed under the archway into the next room. As you pass under the archway, a Sentry Eye activates and begins guarding the room you just came from, thereby keeping you from going back that way. The room holds two more Greater Thralls, but you can kick them back through the door and allow the Sentry Eye to kill them for you. There is a Dark Reaver door on the western side of the room, but it is out of reach. Climb up the ledges on the southern wall to reach a set of stairs and a Shadow Bridge plate. Be sure that you don't accidentally wander into the range of the Sentry Eye. If you should get blasted by the eye, there is a planar portal on the southern platform just before you reach the stairs that lead up to the Shadow Bridge plate. There is an alcove on the northern wall that holds a Dark font so you can reimbue the Reaver. Once you are on the plate with the Dark Reaver, activate it and run across as fast as you can and pull out the block at the end using the square button. Push the block so that you can reach the previously inaccessible Dark Reaver door. Jump onto the block and go through the door. There is a Light font in this room, and of course it has a guardian Shade. If you want, you can kill the Shade now, but you need the Dark Reaver for one more thing before you get rid of it. Turn around and hit the Sentry Eye with a Reaver bolt to turn it off, then quickly imbue the Reaver and haul yourself as fast as you can through the door. You must be quick...the eye doesn't stay turned for long. If you are too slow and the eye catches you, just use the planar portal before the Shadow Bridge plate to get back and reimbue the Reaver in the previously mentioned northern alcove font. Once you get into the room past the Sentry Eye, move up the ledges on the side of the archway to the highest level. There is a current of air that flows across the room to the darkened room, so jump and glide across to reach it. Once inside, use the Light Reaver to activate the crystal, revealing the red heart. Grab it and return to the pit. The Sentry Eye deactivates once you get your hands on the heart, so you need not fear it frying you any more. The hallway flanked by the red crystals is where you need to go next, and it lies on the eastern side of the pit. Head down the hall and replace the heart into the sacrifice. The godhead activates and accepts its offering, sending yet another stream of air through the hall and into the pillar room. Note that with the added aid of this new current, the updraft in the room has increased, and you can now jump and glide to the top of the climbable walls. Our last objective is to restore the green heart to its proper altar. Move to the Light font and kill the Shade if you haven't already. Afterward, either jump and glide to soar up to the top of the wall bearing the Light elemental symbol, or climb it. Once at the top, kill the Shade guarding the Reaver door, and pass through it. This room holds two Greater Thralls. Kill the one that holds the emblem key and use the key to open the next door. The next room has the last darkened chamber high on the southeast wall, and there is a skull mural breathing a constant stream of air across the room. Surprisingly enough, no Thralls show up...yet. Move to the southern wall and use the ledges to climb up to the second level. Now the Thralls show up. On the far side of the room, a pair of Sorcerers rise from the ground and start firing off energy bolts at you. Don't even bother with them now. Your primary concern is the activating the Shadow Bridge plate in front of you. The only problem is the fact that the Dark font is all the way on the other side of the room, and the headwind makes it impossible to reach. Shift planes and then jump glide across to where the Thralls await your attention in the Material Plane. The planar portal lies to the northeast, in the righthand corner of the platform. Shift planes again after refilling your health, and teach those Thralls some close-hand combat maneuvers. After dispatching the Thralls, turn your attention to the Shade guarding the Dark font. Finish it off and imbue the Reaver. From here, jump and glide back across the room to the Shadow Bridge plate. You must be quick here. Move to the Light font and kill its guardian Shade. Do NOT imbue the Reaver. Turn around and activate the Bridge, then imbue the Reaver and haul tail across the bridge before it disappears. Use the ledges on the arch to pull yourself to the top level of the room, and then jump and glide across the room to the dark chamber, with a small amount of added assistance from the wind. Note that if you fall, you must re-do this entire puzzle yet again. To help you make the jump, orient the camera so that it is directly behind Raziel. Activate the crystal and grab the green heart, then move back to the pit. The hallway marked by green crystals lies to the north. Move down the hall, place the heart in its victim, and watch the scene for the final time. Move back to the pit, and jump glide using the strong updraft to carry you all the way back out of the pit to the top level of the Forge. One more task waits. Use the Light Reaver to fire a bolt into the mouth of the panther head that is glowing with bright energy. This activates the head, and it begins breathing a stream of air onto the Forge. Now, jump back into the pit and imbue the Reaver with Darkness. Jump and glide back up and out of the pit to the top yet again, and fire a Dark Reaver bolt into the mouth of the second panther head. Watch as the Air Forge comes to life, and then imbue the Reaver with Air. Raziel's health spiral will increase as usual. Your exit, however, was blocked when the Forge reactivated. Activate the Air Plinth, which looks like an arrangement of circles in a triangular shape, and use the updraft to reach the circular opening above the door. Follow the path to the east. This path takes you past a checkpoint and to a rather unstable door. Fire a Reaver bolt at it and watch it crumble from the power of Air. With the Air Reaver in hand, Raziel knows that he can enter the Time Streaming chamber in the swamp, and use it to return to Nosgoth's past to meet the vampire Janos Audron. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- N. Back to the Past ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alrighty then. Exit the Forge and deal with the Hunters that have decided to amass a futile resistance against your being, those being four swordsmen and one axeman. Also, be careful of the Sentry Eye that still sits in eternal vigilance guarding the Air Forge. After slaying the Hunters, head back toward the town of Uschtenheim. At the first overlook you reach in the mountains, two swordsmen Hunters have returned and made camp, so jump down and kill them off then head south. You will inevitably encounter a pair of axemen Hunters as you proceed. Deal with them and continue on your path to Janos' abandoned lair. Another Hunter waits for you at the cliff that overlooks Janos' old home. From here, you are going to have to use the stones to get back to the path to Uschtenheim. From the overlooking cliff, jump and glide to the eastern island of rock. Once on top of the rock, run up the stairs and then jump and glide to the southern platform. Once on top of there, jump and glide to the path leading to the town. Along the path you will encounter yet another axeman Hunter, but a Lightning Demon warps in to deal with him. Let them duke it out, then finish whatever's left over. Another Hunter lies in wait further down the path. From here, keep going down the path, and a pair of Lightning Demons will warp in and destroy an ill-fated swordsman Hunter. Kill the demons that are left, then continue down the path. This path eventually leads you to an overlook where you will be able to see a contingent of Hunters awaiting you. You don't have to fight them if you don't want to, instead just blow right by them and climb up the southwestern wall. The wall has a guardian Hunter though, not to mention the three Acid Demons that warp in and attack. Deal with them and continue. This path leads directly to the gates of Uschtenheim, where an axeman waits for his death. The gates have been closed again since your past visit, so high jump to the top and kill the two Hunters there so you can activate the switch to open them. Behind the church are another pair of Hunters, although you don't have to fight them if you don't want to. The fountain nearby has a lone Attack Dog near, apparently looking for a place to do his business. You will probably have to kill him, but if you can get by undetected, more power to you. The save obelisk in the church has had a guard placed on it in the form of two swordsmen Hunters. Kill them to save your game and continue. You might wish to imbue the Reaver with Light beforehand, although it is not a strict necessity. After finishing in the church, follow the road leading out of Uschtenheim. This gate is also closed, so you will have to open it with the switch. Follow the mountain path as it turns to the south, and it eventually leads to a decent sized room. A company of Hunters lie in wait here, consisting of a lone swordsman, two axemen, a cannoneer, and their pet dog. Rumble with them and then continue on to the south. This path eventually turns to the west, where you will need to jump up a pair of platforms before continuing down the path, which leads to another Hunter guarded room. This room has two cannoneers and two swordsmen. Kill them if you wish. The path you need to get to is to the south, but the ledge is too high to jump to. Instead, follow the path along the northern wall and kill the cannoneer stationed there. Head toward the brazier and then jump down to the path. Westward lies the swamp, and another checkpoint. Below the overwatch, a pair of axemen and a pair of mutants wait. Unlike demons, whom the "Demon" Hunters will team up with to kill you, Mutants draw their complete and undivided attention. From the overlook, head south to the next save obelisk. On the way you will encounter a cannoneer, two more axemen, and another Mutant. Deal with them, or ignore them and proceed to the obelisk. Nearby the obelisk is a newly activated Air font. You can use this one if you wish, making it easier to navigate the swamp as it will no longer slow you down, or you can keep the Light Reaver (if you still have it) to see with. There is another Air font located in the vicinity of the Time Streaming chamber where you must go. A planar portal is still located at the obelisk. From the obelisk, continue southwest and encounter another Mutant. Kill it off and then continue down the path as is turns to the south. A little bit further, you encounter two more Mutants. Ignore them if you wish, and keep going along the path as it leads to the open gate. The other side of the gate is guarded by a lone axeman. Another pair of Mutants lurk nearby the Time Streaming chamber. If you decided to keep the Light Reaver, or if you somehow lost the Air Reaver, the Air font you need is located on top of the center building. Once you get the Air Reaver, fire a Reaver bolt at the weakened chamber door, and proceed inside. There is an Air Plinth located inside of the Time Streaming chamber, so use the Reaver to activate it. Use the updraft to help you across the pit to the north. If you are falling too fast, there are ledges on either side that you can aim for without having to float across the entire room again. If you miss entirely, climb back up the wall and try again. Once across the pit, head north until you reach a fork in the path. It is absolutely imperative that you go right here, or else you will end up in the exact same place you would have reached going left. Enter the chamber and watch the cutscene as Raziel fumbles around with the controls and sends himself somewhere in time, relying on fate to send him where he needs to go. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- O. The Road to Janos Audron's Retreat ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fate is on Raziel's side, and he arrives far in Nosgoth's past, during the Sarafan's beginning days. He now seeks to find Janos himself, assuming that he has indeed arrived at a time that is not too late. The Time Streaming chamber's layout has not changed, so head out of the room, which leads into the circular hallway, which leads to the pit, which leads to exit, which leads to the swamps, which leads to another cutscene. Head to the checkpoint nearby, and then continue to the path lying to the northeast. If you need to refill your health, go to the Spectral Plane and do so. Your exit portal lies to the east of the checkpoint. If you do go to the Spectral Realm, reimbue the Reaver with Air before continuing. The northeastern path leads to a gate which you will open. After opening the gate, proceed to the save obelisk. The planar portal is still located here in case you need health again, and an Air font is located nearby to re-imbue the Reaver if you have lost the power of Air. Head toward the mountain path you just came from in the future. The path is no longer open to climb, but the Air Plinth there helps you reach the path. Move along the path until you reach a Sarafan camp consisting of three pikemen and three swordsmen. Fire bolts at them, or run past them to the wall to the north. Once up the wall, continue down the path towards Uschtenheim. On the way, you will encounter three swordsmen and a sorceress. Once you reach the pair of platforms and cross them, a swordsman will attack. Around the bend from here are four more Sarafan, two swordsmen and two sorceresses. After dealing with them, proceed up the path along the western wall. This is the path leading back to Uschtenheim. Along the way, you will face a few more Sarafan warriors: a swordman and a pikeman. Once you are finished with them, head to the city gates and kill the Sarafan guarding the lever to open said gates. The town of Uschtenheim is flooded with Sarafan warriors that are apparently awaiting a chance to challenge the most ancient and powerful vampire to have ever existed. You will likely have at least one fight as you move through the city, but that all depends on how sneaky you are. Head to the church and save your game. Continue along the path to the retreat and have your authority challenged by three more Sarafan pikemen. Open the northern gates of the city and be challenged yet again by two more pikemen. Send them to play with their buddies, and continue. The next room is inhabited by a number of Sarafan. Three pikemen, a swordsman, and a backup sorceress. Another swordman is located near the planar portal area. You can fight these guys, or just run and climb up the wall to the northwest. Nearby the next checkpoint are more Sarafan. You might want to kill the sorceress, since her fireballs will prevent you from climbing the next wall. The pikemen you can leave alone if you wish. Climb up the wall to the north, where you will be accosted by another set of pikemen and a sorceress. Deal with them and proceed to Janos' retreat, where there will be another cinema scene. To the north there is a hole in the ice. Head through it and you will find a plane shift emblem. Shift planes to proceed, of course. The planar portal is located just within the entrance to Janos' home. Swim through the tunnel and find yourself on the ground floor of the retreat. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- P. Inside Janos' Home ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nearby the startpoint of this level is a checkpoint. Beyond there is a basin filled with blood. Nearby the northern wall is a chalice that is being looked over by one of those dratted Sentry Eyes. Another empty basin is located on the upper level. If you should run low on health, or have a nasty encounter with a Sentry Eye, the planar portal is located in the southeast corner of the room. You need the chalice that is being guarded so that you can fill the second basin with blood from the first basin. To do this, you must first obtain the Dark Reaver to blind the Sentry Eye. On the second level is an Air font. It is located to the north from the empty basin. Jumping across the gap will not trigger the Sentry Eye. Imbue the Soul Reaver, and take any path leading to the tunnel on the southern wall. At the end of this tunnel is a weakened wall, which you can break through with an Air Reaver bolt. Head through the new door, and head to the northeast, where you will find two Sarafan on a raised platform. The Dark font is located on the platform above the Sarafan's position. Move to the Sarafan occupied platform and kill them. Activate the Air Plinth and glide to the upper platform where another Sarafan awaits. Kill him and then imbue the Reaver with Darkness. Move back into the stronghold using the tunnel you used earlier. Blind the Sentry Eye and quickly grab the chalice it was guarding. Move to the blood-filled basin and fill the chalice, then move to the second level and pour the blood into the empty basin, creating a new ramp to the upper level. Move up this ramp and follow the path into the mountain. Another cutscene ensues, in which Raziel views the chamber of Janos Audron. A Light font is found on the ground floor of this new area. Move to it and imbue the Reaver. After that, head up the southern ramp to the next level. Your objective is to bring a chalice of blood from the basin in the southern area to the empty basin in the tower to the northeast. However, you cannot glide while holding anything, so you have to activate various bridges using a series of Light Crystals. Jump and glide to the tower to the northwest, and then turn left and move across the walkway to the midpoint. Look to the south, and you will see two Light crystals hanging from the ceiling. You must fire a Reaver bolt through both crystals (in one shot) to activate the bridge you need. Move back to the southwest tower, and cross the bridge you just created. A Greater Thrall will attack. Kill it to obtain the emblem key to open the next door. You can now return to the basin in the south and grab a chalice of blood. Return with it to the northeast tower and empty it into the empty basin. Doing so causes a new stairway to form, along with a bridge to the Air font and a new Air Plinth on the bottom level. Move to the Air font and kill the guardian Shade. Imbue the Reaver and head to the top of the new stairway and shatter the door there. Continue through the door and climb the set of stairs. Follow the passage to the next cracked door and break it. Further back along the path you just came from is another set of Light crystals, located to the west. Return to the ground floor, turn the Air Plinth on, and imbue the Reaver with Light. Use the Plinth to return to the upper level, and fire a Light bolt at the crystals. Doing so creates another bridge. You can now access the next basin to fill. Grab a chalice and fill it in the last basin you filled. Return with the chalice to the third level and follow the path across the new bridge to the northeast tower, where another hungry basin waits. Filling it creates a bridge to the Dark font and another Air Plinth. Imbue the Reaver with Darkness and continue toward the southwest tower, where a Sentry Eye keeps guard to the west. Deactivate the Eye and kill the Thrall to obtain the next key. Use the key to open the door to the northwest tower, where you will find your next basin to fill. Return to the far eastern corridor and grab a chalice and fill it in the basin in the northeast tower. Carry it back to the empty basin and fill it to create a new stairway to the fourth level. At the top of these stairs, turn to the right and head east a short ways. If you look to the south between the columns you will see another set of Light crystals blocked by a stone bearing the Air Element symbol. Move back to the Air font on the second level on the north wall and imbue the Reaver. Activate the newly formed Plinth and use it to return to the third level of the northwest spire. Climb the stairs and move to the area viewing the crystals. Fire an Air bolt at the stone, killing it and opening the way for a Light bolt. Move back to the ground level to get the Light Reaver. Move back to the new Air Plinth and use it to go back to the third level of the northwest tower. Move back to the crystals and create a new bridge. You must now unlock the eastern door. To get the key, head toward the locked door and turn to the south along the platform. Jump across to the east from there and kill the waiting Thrall to the left. Grab the key and return to the east door and unlock it. After unlocking the door, turn around and head for the passage along the east wall. At the view between the north and southeast spires are two more crystals, one of which is swinging. To activate the next bridge, you must time your shot so that it passes through both of the crytals at the same time. Almost done. Return to the second emblem door, which is opposite the last door you opened (it is located to the west). Unfortunately, the key is on the other side of the locked door. To get there, you have to jump and glide through the archway to your immediate left. Kill the Thrall and grab the key to open the door. Return to grab a chalice from the northeast corner, then head to the west to fill the chalice in the basin. Climb the stairs and turn to the left, then follow the passage to the next empty basin, which you then fill. This creates a bridge to the northwest tower. Return to the northeast corner and grab another chalice (what?!? No Light crystals?!?), and head back to the basin you just filled. Fill the chalice, and head east to the northeast tower, then continue on to the southeast tower. From here, go west to the empty basin in the middle of the platform. Fill it, walk up the new stairway, and enter into Janos' abode. After a lengthy cutscene, Janos sends you to the Fire Forge, located right next to his domicile. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. The Fire Forge ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fitting that the weakest Reaver element would have the shortest Forge to solve. The only thing that makes the Fire Forge a pain is the fact that you must transport torches to and from the areas without accidentally gliding through or falling into the blood in the Forge, which will cause the requisite torch to extinguish. Let's get started. From the entrance, the Forge lies to your left. In the pit below, there are a bunch of columns with elemental fonts and unlit braziers on them. Statue heads line the side of the room, with blood dripping from them. A Light crystal is dangling from the ceiling. To the southwest is a save obelisk, so you can save your game before you proceed. The planar portal for the Forge is located to the north on the ground level, between the brazier and torch holder. Head to the north wall of the room, where a fire is burning in a brazier. Along the wall you will find several unlit torches, which for the first time in the game have actually found a purpose. Grab a torch and light it in the burning brazier. Lighting the torch causes the room to fill with blood, forcing you to jump from platform to platform in an effort to reach the unlit brazier to the south. Once you reach the brazier, light it and platforms will shift, allowing you to reach a Light font in the north. Move to it and imbue the Reaver with Light. From here, aim up and fire a Light bolt at the crystal hanging from the ceiling. This will drain the blood from the room for a period of time, allowing you to reach the Air font on the ground level. Move to the ground level and imbue the Reaver with Air. Once the blood begins to rise again, you will need to swim to a platform with an Air Plinth on it. Activate the Plinth, and the rest of the Plinths in the room will follow suit. They also shift so that the northernmost pillar is highest of the three and the southernmost pillar is the lowest. This allows you to glide and catch the updrafts from each one. Move to the south wall and grab a torch, then light it in the southern brazier. You must now jump and glide using the updrafts from the ascending columns to reach the northern unlit brazier. If you fall, your torch goes out in the blood and you must try again. Once you light the north brazier, the blood rises again, covering all of the pillars except for the Light and Air font platforms, and the platform Raziel is standing on. Head to the Light font and imbue the Reaver. After doing so, return to the northern platform. Fire a Light bolt at the crystal to drain the room again. Grab a torch and light it, then jump and glide south to the exposed Air Plinth. You must now run a zigzagging course through the room before the blood rises to cover the Plinths and without gliding beneath one of the blood streams coming from the statue heads. If for one reason or another your torch is extinguished, you must start this part of the puzzle again. Once you have reached the southern platform, move to the Forge and ignite it with the torch. The Fire Forge is reactivated, and the Reaver is forged. Your health meter will increase one last time. Save your game, then move to the Fire Reaver door and open it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- R. Yet Another Trip to the Stronghold ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Raziel arrives back inside of Janos' room just in time for a cutscene. After the cinema, Raziel decides, for reasons you will discover, to return to the Sarafan Stronghold where this game first began to exact a small bit of revenge. Of course, this means we have to go back through Uschtenheim, into the swamps, back through that blasted Shade-laden hole, through the Elder God's lair, through the caverns, back to the Pillars, and then on to the Stronghold itself. You should probably know the way by now, but there are a few slight changes. As you leave the stonghold of the fallen vampire, it collapses to the ground and sheds debris all over the ice. Move to the south and leap to the top of the platform bearing the Sarafan flag. From here, you must glide to the far southern column from the broken stairs. From the column, you can reach the path leading back to Uschtenheim, but... As you proceed, a couple of our best friends from the future decide to pay a visit, as two Gas Demons phase in to attack. Raziel realizes that someone is trying to hinder his progress, and that the demons are their design. Anyway, kill the two demons and proceed. Along the way, you will encounter a couple Acid Demons and three Lightning Demons. After the Lightning Demon fight in the first room you reach, you can re-imbue the Fire Reaver if you lost it in the font here. After slaying the Lightning Demons, move to the western wall and climb up it to head back to Uschtenheim. As you enter the city, you will see a cinema showing parts of the city being blocked off by Fire Demon barriers. Before you can encounter any Fire Demons, though, you must first deal with a Sarafan swordsman and a sorceress. There is another sorceress and a pikeman waiting on the other side of the city walls. The planar portal here is located on the ledge above the canyon floor. Approaching the church is the cue for a group of Fire Demons to attack, three in number. They also place up demon barriers, meaning you have to deal with all three of them before you can continue. If your fight goes badly, move to the save point inside the church before you die so that you don't have to go too far back when you continue. A fire font is in front of the church if you need to get the Reaver again. Once the demons have been slain, move to the south gate. Use the lever to open the gate and head into the mountains. At the overlook position, you will see four Sarafan waiting below. Jumping down below causes a pair of Fire Demons to warp in and attack. Take this time to scream in fear and haul your butt back to the top of the wall where you came from, then watch the Sarafan get beaten. Once the fight is over, jump down and finish what is left, or fire Reaver bolts to kill off what is left. Jump up the twin platforms and kill the awaiting swordsman and sorceress, then prepare to meet the game's most powerful enemy. In the next room area, you encounter a Black Demon. Once you have beaten it, follow the path along the western wall to proceed to the swamp. If the Black Demon squashes you, there is a planar portal to the southwest, and a Fire font is in the area as well. The path along the west wall turns to the southwest and heads into the swamp, where a contingent of Sarafan await you. Fight them if you wish, and then head to the south. Three more Sarafan guard the save obelisk, and another one is patrolling further along the path you must take. There's an Air font here that you should use. You will be needing the Air Reaver shortly. The northern gate is guarded by four Sarafan pikemen, so kill them for their insolence. After that, move past the Dark Forge and the Time Streaming chamber to the Shade-lair that you have been through two or three times already. As you approach, another Black Demon shows up. Kill it and head down the hole, where you will encounter...A Shade! Kill it and proceed west. Jump down to the Air Plinth on the ground level, where you will encounter... more Shades! Head to the southwest and pull yourself onto the platform where you will encounter...yet more Shades! As you drop down to the entranceway, you will encounter...three more Shades! In the statue room, you will have to face a pair of Acid Demons on the ground level to reach the Air Plinth you need to activate. Kill them and move to the Plinth and activate it. If you have lost the Air Reaver, a font is to the northeast, but it is guarded by another pair of Acid Demons. A planar portal is located on the opposite side of the statue from the Air Plinth in case you need health or just got your butt kicked by the 20 or so Shades and Acid Demons you have encountered. Ride the updraft from the Plinth to the southwest ledge and climb to the top of the statue on the wall. Jump and glide to the western ledge, and then head southwest, jumping two more hard to see platforms. Climb up the wall with the crystal and encounter...more Shades! Follow the path and jump into the water. Surprisingly, there are no Shades here. Swim through the tunnel to the west and into the lair of the Elder God, where there will be another less than pleasant meeting with old squidy. He is angry at Raziel for failing in his mission, but Raziel doesn't overly care, as usual. Head to the save obelisk and kill the Shades that wait there for defiling the area. After saving, head to the south up the stairs. As you go up he stairs, you must face four more Shades! As you follow the caves back to the Pillars, you will face still more Shades, and the occasional Acid Demon. Exit through the Reaver door and follow the path that leads to the Pillars. There are five more Shades along this path, with the most difficult battle of the game waiting not too far ahead. Be absolutely sure to trigger the checkpoint just outside the cave. Hold on, let me emphasize that again: MAKE *SURE* YOU TRIGGER THE CHECKPOINT BEFORE LEAVING THIS AREA!!!!!! OK, that's better. Run past the Shades, as you need every bit of health you can get. As you approach the gates leading back to the Sarafan Stronghold from the Pillars, not one, not two, but three (!) Black Demons rise from the ground and attck. Ewwww. Kill them off, but be very careful. As you deal with one of the things, another one might charge or throw Fireballs at you. If you die, you can retreat to the Pillars to gain some health, and if they beat you again, you won't have too far back to go. After killing them, head through the gates back to the Sarafan Stonghold, where you will run into a good number of Sarafan. Follow the trail and deal with yet another swordsman. Near the checkpoint and Dark font are three more Sarafan. Don't bother with them, just jump down the south waterfall and deal with the sorceress and two pikemen here. Head down the path leading to the bridge, and kill the pikeman and sorceress there. Under the bridge is a Fire font. Use it to imbue the Fire Reaver, which is about to see it's second and final use in the game. Continuing along the path leading to the lake, you will encounter some more Sarafan. Kill them and jump onto the frozen lake. If you don't have the Fire Reaver, imbue it in the font on the eastern ledge. Head to the wheel-looking thing and activate the Fire Plinth there to melt the ice in the lake. Then imbue the Light Reaver in the font on the northern cliff. Move back to the gates and fire a Light bolt at the crystal to open the way inside the fortress. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- S. Reunion at the Sarafan Stronghold ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, incredibly short section here. It's time to meet some of Raziel's old buddies, brothers of his in two separate lives. Swim into the Stronghold and swim to the western walkway, killing the sorceresses that wait for you there. Follow the path and deal with a pair of swordsmen before the next door. Entering this room causes a gate to drop and you must fight two swordsmen and a sorceress. Kill them and head through the southern door into the cathedral. Head down the hallway and then go through the eastern door, where Raziel will encounter Moebius for one last time, accompanied by Malek, the Guardian of Conflict in this era. Cutscene here explains the first cinema scene in Blood Omen 1, why Malek didn't come to the aid of the Circle as they were getting killed by the vampire Vorador. This cutscene also gives Raziel the physical Soul Reaver, which he becomes incapable of dropping. Exit through the eastern door. In the courtyard, Raziel faces two of his Sarafan brethren that are destined to be raised as Kain's brood. These two will be the weakest of the vampire lieutenants. Kill Melchiah and Zephon, then continue along the corridor on the north wall into the cathedral. Killing Melchiah and Zephon awakens the Reaver, and the blade takes the soul and the blood from the enemies it fells. The blade also heals Raziel quickly of any damage he takes. Raziel cannot shift planes anymore. In the cathedral, Raziel finds Dumah and Rahab. They die quickly and easily, and then you can go through the eastern gate and into the inner sanctum. In this place, you encounter Turel, who had helped hurl Raziel into the Abyss so long ago. He also dies quickly and easily. After you kill Turel, the southern gate rises and you can go through the door. Head through said door and down the next hall and through the door there, where you will meet your final confrontation. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- T. The Final Battle ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- You know, I might should not have even made this a section. There is only one possible outcome of this fight, since the combination of the wraith blade and the Soul Reaver itself has made Raziel completely invincible. But what the heck? Alright, the final battle... Raziel faces himself. Well, his Sarafan self, to be exact. In any other circumstance, this might have been a difficult fight. Raziel makes any other hunter look like a complete wuss. His defenses are top-notch, and it takes quite a few hits to finish him off. Nevertheless, you can do this fight however you please, either running up and just hacking away until he falls over, or by being a calculating assassin that counters every futile move he throws at you. Either way, history cannot be altered, and the Sarafan Raziel will die, slain by himself. Raziel finally sees the chilling elegance of his creator's ways. Kain led Raziel back to a time where he would ultimately kill himself, and all of his vampiric brethren, only to be raised later as Kain's servants. After performing what could be considered suicide without killing yourself, watch the game's final movie and see if you can read past all of the cryptic babble and figure out what the heck Raziel and Kain are talking about. I know I was confused the first 10 or so times I watched it! What an ending! At least they left room for yet another sequel... ============================================================================= 9. BESTIARY ============================================================================= There aren't that many different types of enemies in this game. Well, let me rephrase that. There are a whole bunch of different enemies per se, but they are mostly variants of one particular type of enemy. For example, there are many different kinds of hunters, but despite their slight differences they are basically the same. A large group of them use the same tactics, but their skill at blocking, attack power, and defense vary. In a few rare instances, they posses a different attacking style or even attacks. Statistics are based on a 5 point scale, with 5 being the most highest score, as would be expected. I have tried to make these scores reflect the actual abilities of the creatures as closely as possible, but their may be a few discrepancies. Feel free to contact me if you feel that a stat is blatantly incorrect, so that I may correct it to provide a more accurate guide for my readers. Overall scores reflect not only the unit's other stats, but also their difficulty based upon their record of appearance. For example, sorcerer Thralls have a higher overall difficulty rating due to the fact that they always show up in large groups of other Thralls of various assortments. They also tend to appear further away than the rest of the Thralls that they are supporting, making them harder to get to without dealing with the other Thralls first. While you are busy with them, the sorcerers stand back and plink you to death. HUNTERS: Hunters come in three basic types. Vampire hunters are found at the beginning of the game, during the time of the Pillars corruption. Most of these hunters are the hired mercenaries of Moebius's army of vampire killers, formed after Kain slew King William. Demon Hunters, while classifiable as an entirely different enemy, are much the same as vampire hunters, although they are a bit stronger and tougher than their vampire hunting forefathers. They are found in a future Nosgoth, where the vampire menace has been exterminated and the army has evolved to deal with the demons that have started appearing. Last, but certainly not least, are the Sarafan themselves. These elite warriors are found toward the end of the game, and are very skilled combatants. Hunters generally have three different classifications. First off are the sword wielders. Vampire hunter swordmen are a bit more powerful than their pike wielding sisters, but they do not have as much range and their attacks are slower. Odd, Raziel's pike attacks are slower than his sword attacks, but their sword attacks are slower than their pike attacks...oh well. Demon hunter swordmen have powerful attacks, plus they are very tough. They do not excel at close-hand combat, but they are better at it than vampire hunters. Sarafan swordmen are not as fast as the Sarafan pikemen, but they are incredible short and medium range fighters. They are highly skilled at blocking and countering, plus they have a great deal of health. VAMPIRE DEMON SARAFAN Strength: 3.0 Strength: 3.5 Strength: 3.75 Speed: 2.5 Speed: 2.75 Speed: 3.0 Defense: 2.0 Defense: 2.5 Defense: 4.0 Health: 2.0 Health: 3.0 Health: 3.5 Overall: 2.5 Overall: 3.0 Overall: 3.5 Pikemen hunters are generally quicker than the swordmen. Vampire huntresses all wield pikes, and they are very quick and have good range. Their attacks are hard to sidestep because they have a wide arc. Demon pikemen wield axes, so their range suffers a bit. They make up for it in increased combat power and health. Sarafan warriors wield tridents, and they are very quick and have decent attack power. They have even more health than the demon hunters, as would be expected. VAMPIRE DEMON SARAFAN Strength: 2.5 Strength: 3.75 Strength: 3.0 Speed: 3.0 Speed: 2.5 Speed: 4.0 Defense: 2.0 Defense: 2.5 Defense: 3.5 Health: 1.5 Health: 3.0 Health: 3.5 Overall: 2.75 Overall: 3.0 Overall: 3.5 For long range support, hunters call on cannon wielding soldiers, with the exception of the Sarafan, who recruit sorceresses. All of these enemies have incredible range, of course, but no melee skills whatsoever. They make up for their lack of melee strength by not going hardly anywhere without some kind of support. Sarafan sorceresses are very frail in particular, easily killed with a hit or two from a force bolt. However, trying to hit one while auto- facing is nearly impossible, and their fireballs travel at a higher rate of speed than the cannonballs, making them a little bit harder to dodge. VAMPIRE DEMON SARAFAN Strength: 1.0 Strength: 1.5 Strength: 1.5 Speed: 2.5 Speed: 2.5 Speed: 4.0 Defense: 1.5 Defense: 1.75 Defense: 1.0 Health: 2.0 Health: 2.5 Health: 1.5 Overall: 2.0 Overall: 2.25 Overall: 1.75 ATTACK DOGS: Not an impressive enemy. The only real thing that they do have is an ability to sense Raziel from a greater distance than typical enemies. Where this could be a considerable weakness, as they single themselves out, they tend to warn the people that they are pulling guard with. Since they single themselves out, killing them is not much of a chore. They will sometimes manage to sidestep Raziel's attacks, but it doesn't happen too often. Apart from that, their low health and minimal strength make them easy targets. Their only strength is their speed, but unless you plan on running from them, which is almost impossible, they really don't get a chance to use it to their advantage. Strength: 1.0 Speed: 4.0 Defense: 1.5 Health: 1.0 Overall: 1.25 SLUAGH: Sluagh are your typical Spectral Realm enemy, and being such, you will have to deal with quite a few of them. Sluagh come in two types, lesser and greater. Lesser Sluagh are entirely to weak to pose much of a threat to you, but they are more of a danger than an Attack Dog is (then again, what isn't?). They have very little strength, and even less health. The only thing that keeps them alive is their ability to dodge most of Raziel's attacks and the fact that they tend to attack in groups, allowing them to surround Raziel and prevent him from attacking. Still, a constant barrage of attacks against them will eventually finish them off. Greater Sluagh are quite dangerous. These guys can kill you off in a hurry if you let them surround you. Their attacks deal more damage than a lesser Sluagh, and they are more aggressive. For the most part, they show up with groups of lesser Sluagh, which makes things a bit more difficult when dealing with them. Their defense is great, seeing as how they don't even have to attempt to dodge most of Raziel's attacks and still manage to avoid contact due to their low stature. They are capable of sidestepping some of Raziel's attacks, but they don't do so too often. They also can take more of a beating than lesser Sluagh. Their attacks are easily sidestepped, though. LESSER SLUAGH GREATER SLUAGH Strength: 2.0 Strength: 3.5 Speed: 3.0 Speed: 2.5 Defense: 3.0 Defense: 3.5 Health: 1.5 Health: 2.5 Overall: 2.25 Overall: 3.25 SHADES: Shades are irritating. I hate Shades. They are the only enemies in the game that you will not get a soul from, plus they have long range attacks to accompany their claws. Their translucent nature makes them difficult to spot, and they tend to show up in groups. Not only that, they can chase Raziel back into the Spectral Plane and finish you off if you don't take them seriously. Fortunately, they aren't very tough, and cannot stand against a charged up Reaver. Just be careful that the Reaver meter doesn't fill up and drain you. Apart from that, they are perfect targets for the Reaver, since it will not rob Raziel of a soul for killing them with the wraith-blade. Shades can be found guarding most of the game's elemental fonts. Strength: 1.5 Speed: 2.0 Defense: 2.0 Health: 1.5 Overall: 2.75 THRALLS: Thralls are basically undead vampire hunters that guard the sacred places of Nosgoth. Mostly, they wield short swords that deal a fairly decent amount of damage. They are significantly quicker and more agile than vampire hunters, and they employ decent defensive capabilities, blocking some of Raziel's attacks every now and then. It does not take more than two or three hits to slay a Thrall, however. It is fairly difficult to sidestep a Thrall. Apart from the sword bearing Thralls, there are sorcerer Thralls. Sorcerers behave like any other long-range combatant. They run when forced to engage in melee combat, but will fight if they are backed into a corner. Unlike other long range fighters, however, sorcerer Thralls regularly show up in many numbers, either as support for lesser and greater Thralls or as a part of a group of sorcerers. This makes them more of a pain to deal with, as you have projectiles constantly coming at you from many directions at once. Another favorite tactic of the sorcerer Thralls is to guard ledges, launching energy balls at Raziel as he tries to cross bridges and the like, thereby giving him very little room to maneuver and causing him to have to restart entire parts of the dungeons all over again if he falls. Finally, there are greater Thralls. These Thralls tend to guard the places of higher interest in Nosgoth's shrines, usually found guarding emblem keys and Forge keys. They usually show up with a few lesser Thralls, but the lesser Thralls will retreat back underground if their leader falls. These Thralls are large, towering over Raziel and bearing much greater strength than normal Thralls, as the name implies. They employ much more advanced defensive capabilities than their lesser brethren as well. They aren't as fast as lesser Thralls, and are easier to sidestep. LESSER THRALL GREATER THRALL SORCERER THRALL Strength: 2.5 Strength: 3.5 Strength: 1.0 Speed: 3.5 Speed: 2.5 Speed: 3.75 Defense: 2.5 Defense: 3.5 Defense: 1.0 Health: 1.5 Health: 3.0 Health: 1.5 Overall: 2.75 Overall: 3.5 Overall: 2.25 MUTANTS: Mutants are not an overly impressive enemy, but they can mess you up in a hurry if you aren't careful. They have a great deal of strength, and a good deal of survivability. Their deformity, however, causes their attack range and speed to suffer greatly. Deal with them with any weapon other than your claws or a torch, and you shouldn't run into a problem. That will keep you out of their attack range. Just be careful that another one doesn't sneak up on you while you're not looking! Strength: 4.5 Speed: 1.5 Defense: 1.5 Health: 4.0 Overall: 2.5 DEMONS: Demons are the most powerful and dangerous enemies that Raziel will encounter on his quest. They may not be able to take Raziel down in a single hit like a Sentry Eye can, but they come pretty darn close. To make matters worse, they have a bad tendency to attack in numbers, and also place barriers up to prevent Raziel from retreating. Do note, as long as you make your presence unknown they will tend to square off against the Demon Hunters. If you do anything that brings you into notice, the Hunters and the Demons will miraculously forego their differences and team up against you, which is not a good thing at all. Demons can follow Raziel into the Spectral Plane like a Shade can, but at least they relinquish a soul upon death. Lightning Demons: These guys have some strong attacks, and they are quick. Running from them can be quite difficult. It is best to side-step and counter these fiends, rather than attack them and have them side-step and attack you. If they hit you with their claws, they will get a free attack when they shock you before throwing you to the floor. They are one of the most formidable of the demon group. While they do not posses the raw strength of the Fire Demon and Black Demon, they are significantly faster, making them harder to hit and dodge. Don't play too long with them...in fact, don't play at all. Kill them off quickly, or they will kill you. Darwinism at it's best! Strength: 4.0 Speed: 5.0 Defense: 4.5 Health: 3.5 Overall: 4.5 Acid Demons: Formidable close-range fighters, bearing a great deal of power in their bladed forearms, a powerful acid mist attack, and excellent defense. They tend to block a great deal of your attacks. Sidestepping them is also not a guarantee of safety, as some of their attacks will connect regardless of your dodge attempt. The best way to defeat them is to mix up your combat, striking high and low and sidestepping whenever you can. Strength: 4.0 Speed: 3.0 Defense: 4.5 Health: 3.5 Overall: 3.75 Gas Demons: Gas demons aren't great fighters, possessing weak blocking skills and hardly any speed. Sidestepping them is easy. On top of those weaknesses, they have a very short range for their physical attack. While the short range is a weakness, it rarely applies because they tend to focus on using their gas attack, which causes a significant amount of damage and has decent range. Strength: 3.5 Speed: 2.5 Defense: 2.0 Health: 3.0 Overall: 3.0 Fire Demons: These huge demons are one of the most powerful enemies you will find. They can throw fireballs for long range attacks, breathe a potent flame at medium range, and a powerful charge attack for short to medium range conflict. They can also send out little demons that swarm and attack Raziel, but they only require a single hit to kill. Don't stand toe to toe with a Fire Demon. You will lose. Do not commit yourself to an attack. If they block it, you will get pounded. Sidestep and counter these giants, using their utter lack of speed against them. Strength: 5.0 Speed: 1.5 Defense: 3.5 Health: 4.0 Overall: 4.0 Black Demons: The deadliest enemy that Raziel will encounter. Period. They tower over Raziel, and their attacks can near kill in a single hit. Much as the Fire Demon, they posses charging attacks that deal an incredible amount of damage, fire breath, and fireballs. Their fireballs are fast, and not as easy to dodge as the Fire Demons'. They also have the same weaknesses, so exploit them. Once again, do not try to trade blows with them. They have a great deal of health and will rip Raziel to shreds long before they even get tired. You will only encounter these demons a few times toward the end of Raziel's journey, but be prepared to die when they do show. Know the fastest way to the planar portal closest to you so you can get back to the Material Plane. Fighting them in the Spectral Plane only increases your chance of having to go all the way back to the last checkpoint. Strength: 5.0 Speed: 1.0 Defense: 4.5 Health: 5.0 Overall: 5.0+ SENTRY EYES: Ummm...sentry eyes. Well, they have significant toughness, seeing as how you can't kill them at all. And their power! Don't get caught by one, or you won't live to tell about it. One hit from these things sends Raziel on an express trip to the Spectral Realm. Fortunately, you don't need to worry about them zapping you there. A Dark Reaver bolt is the only thing that can deal with them, and even then it is only a temporary measure. Don't stick around waiting to see what will happen. Just run by and don't look back. Strength: N/A Speed: N/A Defense: N/A Health: N/A Overall: N/A ============================================================================= 10. GAMESHARK CODES ============================================================================= For those of you who feel the need to sit around entering lines of code for who knows how long just to make the game easier, here you go! All of these codes were provided courtesy of GameShark.com (http://www.gameshark.com). (M) Must Be On:----------------------------------------------EC8D06281440C244 Flying Raziel:-----------------------------------------------0CB14DE81456700C 1CB153B0D6FFC020 Matrix Jumps:------------------------------------------------1D6CC3381456E7A8 Press L3 to become Invincible:-------------------------------0CB14DE81456B00A 4CB63DFC1456E7A5 Press R3 to turn off Invincible:-----------------------------0CB14DE81456B010 4CB63DFC1456DFA5 Press L1 + D-Pad Up to Activate the Dark Reaver:-------------0CB14DE81456ACFC 4CB39F901456D7A5 0CB14DF41456ACFC 4CB39F901456D7A5 Press L1 + D-Pad Right to Activate the Light Reaver:---------0CB14DE81456ACEC 4CB39F90145607A5 0CB14DF41456ACEC 4CB39F90145607A5 Press L1 + D-Pad Down to Activate the Wind Reaver:-----------0CB14DE81456AC4C 4CB39F90145627A5 0CB14DF41456AC4C 4CB39F90145627A5 Press L1 + D-Pad Left to Activate the Fire Reaver:-----------0CB14DE81456AC8C 4CB39F90145667A5 0CB14DF41456AC8C 4CB39F90145667A5 A few notes about these codes: The Reaver codes are there solely for the purpose of making the need to hunt down Elemental Fonts unnecessary. If you activate any Reaver that you are not supposed to have and go into a cinema scene, there is a chance that the game might lock up on you. Also, certain events are triggered by the activation of fonts. These codes not only give you the Reaver, but will also activate all the fonts located throughout the game of the type you activated (if you activate the Dark Reaver, then all Dark fonts in the game are activated), regardless of whether the Forge is activated or not. Activating Reavers too early in the game causes the game to react as though you had already been to places that you might not have been, and thereby you miss large portions of the story. You will need to have a full life spiral in the Spectral Realm before you activate the Invincibility. If you don't, then you will be stuck in the Spectral Realm forever! Bwahahahaha! OK, you will only be so confined until you turn the Invincibility off so that you can refill your health again. While flying is fun, you might miss some important parts of the story while you're off doing your impersonation of the Lost Boys gang. Be careful not to overly abuse the power, or you will end up confused (ie, you cannot reach Janos Audron's retreat if you are playing the game normally, however, if you are flying, then there is no problem. Going to his retreat early could cause game problems). With the "Matrix Jumps" code activated, when Raziel jumps, he'll freeze at the top of his jump (kind of like Carrie Moss did in the very beginning of the movie before sending that one guy crashing into a wall). Tap jump several times to return to the ground. The "Flying Raziel" Code WILL NOT work with this code active. ============================================================================= 11. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ============================================================================= Q. I am having trouble getting out of the Dark Forge! I use the Reaver, and then the door doesn't open and the keyhole disappears. What do I do? A. Reset the game. Unfortunately, that is what you have to do. Apparently, there is a nasty little glitch in the game that will prevent you from leaving the Dark Forge if you mess with those birds that turn green and disappear when you get close to them. Guess the EPA got angry about killing the dogs and decided to force Eidos into punishing those that like to mess with the wildlife. When you go through it again, avoid the birds. Q. Are any secrets unlocked by defeating the game? A. Afraid not. At least not that I know of. You could beat the game in 5 minutes without getting hit once, which would be quite impressive, and you wouldn't get anything more than the next man. ============================================================================= 12. READER'S TIPS ============================================================================= Thank you to Bryan Anderson , for the following trick: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your comment about Raziel's claws being perhaps the best weapon in the game inspired me to share a trick I know. Raziel's claws are actually capable of delivering a nearly unblockable 100% damage combo. All you have to do is dodge your enemy's attack once then hit Light Attack, Light Attack, Strong Attack, Light Attack, Light Attack, Strong Attack, etc. If the first attack lands, well, lather, rinse, repeat and they'll die without being able to fight back. Yeah, I know it's cheap, but it's effective. Note, however, that their buddies can stop your combo if they decide to jump in. This combo works equally well against all enemies in the game, and is, in fact, the easiest way to dispatch the horned demons. There is a similar trick with the Soul Reaver, just alternate between Light and Strong until the bad guys disintegrate. The Reaver trick doesn't work as well on the horned demons as the claw trick, though. Besides, if you kill them with your claws and then perform the finishing move, you get to see Raziel snap the big guys' necks. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ============================================================================= 13. CONTACT INFORMATION ============================================================================= OK, if you feel the need to send in your comments, complaints, suggestions, ideas, criticism, contributions, corrections, gripes, hate mail, threatening letters, etc., you can reach me at the following places, in order of preference: E-mail: celtic_lupus@yahoo.com IM Services: Yahoo! Messenger: celtic_lupus MSN Messenger: radagast15@hotmail.com ICQ: 98057442 Yes, I am very well aware that I have a second e-mail address listed here, but any e-mail relating to FAQ's sent to that address will be prone to immediate deletion. Why? Because I went through the trouble of establishing a whole new address at Yahoo! so that I can easily keep my mails separated. It makes it much easier for me when all of the e-mail relating to FAQ's are kept separate from my everyday, business-related e-mail. It also insures that you will get a quicker response, since I do not have to wade through hundreds of e-mails searching for ones that are from my FAQ patrons seeking help or offering advice. A few quick pointers here, before you send anything: 1. Make your subject line specific. It helps to know what game you are talking about and what the contents of your letter are. If I can't easily figure out what it is you're talking about, don't be surprised if you don't get a response. 2. Don't send me questions that are already answered in the guide. They WILL be ignored. It makes all of my work futile if I am going to type up a huge FAQ and then have it completely ignored. Read the guide first. 3. Don't ask me to send you the guide. I didn't submit it to GameFAQ's page just because I was bored. 4. If you are going to send criticism, try to keep it constructive. It won't bother me to get e-mails that say: "Your guide sucks!". They will simply be ignored, and then your time and mine will have gone to waste. 5. Don't send me anything in any language other than English. It will be ignored, for the main reason that I can't comprehend it. Don't expect me to go out and buy a bunch of foreign language dictionaries and grammar books to attempt to translate your e-mail and send a reply. 6. I realize that many of you might wish to send in your contributions. I encourage this, but there is one outstanding stipulation. Don't send me anything that even remotely resembles a walkthrough. Why? Games aren't cheap, and the only way that I can acquire them is by working hard every day and spending my paycheck to get them. It kind of ruins the fun factor for me when someone who is much further along in the game than me sends me stuff walking me through parts of the game that I haven't even had a chance to figure out for myself yet. Just don't do it. It's irritating. 7. Last but not least, please do not send any messages that are typed in all caps. You know, don't hit that key called "Caps Lock" and then type up a message that looks SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THIS. I have trouble reading material that is typed in such a manner, ergo it will be ignored. I want to thank AdrenalineSL for her Do's and Don'ts list. It gave me an idea of problems that have been encountered already and allows me to better prepare and protect myself from junk e-mail. You rock! That being said, if your messages adhere to the given regulations, then there should be no problem, and I will send you the requested information as soon as time permits. Regulations will be amended at a later time to include anything that hasn't been covered yet, if the need arises. ============================================================================= 14. LEGAL INFORMATION ============================================================================= This document is © Copyright 2002, CelticWolf, except where stated otherwise. All rights reserved, to include the right of reproduction of this document in any form. You may download the file through a web browser onto a single computer for your personal, non-commercial use only. You may not permit anyone else to modify the file or use it for any commercial purpose, display, performance, sale or rental. It absolutely cannot be decompiled, disassembled, modified, or used to create derivative works based on the documentation in any way. Copyrights may not be removed or modified. Information contained within this document is the property of CelticWolf, and may not be reproduced, published, modified, uploaded, transmitted, or distributed in any way, without the author's prior written permission. The author does grant any express or implied rights to you under any patents, copyrights, or trademarks. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form without prior consent of the author. If you have any errors or inaccuracies to report, contact CelticWolf. Currently, the only websites authorized to host this FAQ are: -GameFAQ's (http://www.gamefaqs.com/) -Cheat Happens (http://www.cheathappens.com/) No further hosting is authorized at this time. Prospective hosts for this or any other FAQ published by CelticWolf should contact the author for approval. Approval will be granted on a case by case basis, after the author has done a review of the site for content and ease of use. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Crystal Dynamics, Legacy of Kain, Soul Reaver, and the related characters are trademarks of Crystal Dynamics. Crystal Dynamics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eidos Interactive. Eidos and Eidos Interactive are registered trademarks of Eidos Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved. GameShark is a registered trademark of InterAct Accessories. Codes found in this guide are © Copyright 2001, GameShark.com and InterAct Accessories, Inc. All rights reserved. All codes found in this guide have been added with the permission of GameShark.com and InterAct. CelticWolf is in no way related to or affiliated with Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., Eidos Interactive, Inc., InterAct Accessories, Inc. or any of their affiliates. He is pretty much a loner. The author makes no claims to the creation of the story nor any of the characters of Soul Reaver 2 or the Legacy of Kain series. ============================================================================= 15. CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ============================================================================= Well, first off I would like to thank the contributors and staff of GameFAQ's.com. Your work has really helped me to determine that I would like to join the ranks of strategy guide authors here, and to bring this, my first FAQ, into fruition. Chief among these is AdrenalineSL, perhaps the one driving factor that induced me to undergo such a challenge. I hope that I can live to the standard that she always sets in her guides. As I said before, you rock! A special thank you to Dr. Atomic at GameShark.com for allowing me to post the GameShark codes in the FAQ. I look forward to working with you again in the future. Thanks a lot! Thanks to Bryan Anderson for providing my first Reader Tip! The combo works great! ============================================================================= 16. CLOSING STATEMENTS ============================================================================= Well, I have a newfound respect for the amount of work that is put into releasing one FAQ, but that isn't going to stop me from doing this again. I am working on an FAQ for Blood Omen 2 even as I finish this one, and I plan to make one for Drakan: The Ancient's Gates soon as well. Sorry it took me so long to finish this, but I wasn't exactly planning on everything that has happened Army-wise since I released the first version. I will try to release guides closer to the release date of the game itself from this point out. This guide was a bit late in the making, and most people were already done with the game when this was released. But I made it anyway. Take that. Well, I am going to be heading out from here then. See you again in three months, when I will release my final version of this guide. Deadline for any info you want to add is July 1, 2002. Thanks a lot to all of my readers, and be on the lookout for the spoiler-free FAQ of Blood Omen 2, coming soon!