Hello, dear reader, I hope you’re having a good day. I’ve been playing Bastion on the Lunar Nebula LLC Gaming Channel on YouTube. I’m updating those Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Here’s a summary of a few of my tips and tricks on the game.
I’m not being paid to write this blog, and it contains the information as accurately as I could research it. I think the game’s age rating is appropriate (12+ on App Store). It contains some heavy elements, tragic back stories, and some mild references to drugs and alcohol. You can think of it like an old Western show with fantasy elements.
- Auto-targeting on iPad is amazing for defeating enemies. The less you have to do to keep the Kid (the main character) alive, the easier it is to keep him alive. The iPad controls automatically make the Kid attack. This makes ranged weapons incredible. All you have to do is focus on dodging, blocking, and using your skills.
- Auto-targeting isn’t amazing at destroying obstacles. If you want to avoid any damage from stab weed in the game, you can switch to classic controls in order to shoot the poisonous obstacles from afar. The auto targeting won’t work on obstacles until you get close.
- The Breaker’s Bow is amazing. Combat early in the game can be made much simpler by upgrading the Breaker’s Bow fully. It’s one of the first weapons that you can fully upgrade and it is good throughout the game.
- Melee weapons on iPad aren’t the best. Auto-targeting makes the Kid’s attack timing impact your ability to dodge. He will seamlessly move into his next attack even if he is about to get hit by an enemy. It’s one of the reasons I prefer the War Machete over the Cael Hammer, if I have to use melee weapons. The war machete’s attacks are so fast you can sneak in a dodge roll at some point during his hits. Generally, I prefer ranged combat to avoid taking damage.
- You can gain more Experience Points (XP) by saving skill uses and avoiding damage. Bastion has the nice feature of letting you gain XP instead of more health or skill charges from the recharge potions in the game. The blue and yellow pots will give you 10 XP apiece (without modifiers) if the potions are unnecessary to you. It rewards players for their skilled play with faster leveling. If you’re doing fine on a boss, avoid using your skills. Lots of potions drop down during boss fights and it’s a nice way to gain more experience points.
- You can roll in midair after being knocked out in order to recover. Some enemies will send you flying into the air. You can use your dodge roll command (double tap the screen with iPad controls) to control your descent. This also applies when you get launched by some of the platforms in the game. In the Who Knows Where level you can use the platforms to launch you out of danger, then use your roll while airborne to cover more distance.
- You don’t need to buy every upgrade in the Restore/Lost and Found. You should be able to find all of the weapon upgrades by progressing through the story and completing Proving Ground challenges. The Restore lets you save time and upgrade early.
I hope this information helps you in your quest to find the Cores, and complete the Bastion, dear reader. Feel free to comment and give more advice. I have videos on my YouTube channel, Lunar Nebula LLC Gaming, if you want more info or if you want to see the game for yourself. Have a good day and may the Bastion never fall!
by Brian Petrilli AKA Jalinon