Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnis an upcoming Souls-lite game that blends the challenging, methodicalcombat design of Souls gameswith more traditional RPG features, like difficulty options. Furthermore, players won’t just be swinging swords and dodge rolling; they’ll have numerous skills to choose from and gear sets to equip that have some game-changing interactions. Uncovering synergies that mesh with a preferred playstyle is one of the most fun parts of an action RPG, and sinceFlintlockis by no means a walk in the park, players will want to consider every advantage when devising their build.
Game Rant spoke withFlintlock: The Siege of Dawngame director Simon Dasan about the team’s approach to gear, skills, and build variety, and he assured us that players will have a breadth of viable ways to develop their characters. With access to melee weapons, gunpowder, and Enki’s magic,Flintlockprotagonist Nor has quite a few tools up her sleeve, and it’ll be up to players to decide how best to utilize them.
Flintlock Wants All Playstyles To Be Viable
When asked about the pros and cons of leaning toward gunpowder or magic-based builds, Dasan says that A44 wanted every playstyle to be viable inFlintlock. Naturally, there may be times when an enemy will be tricky to defeat with either ranged weapons, magic, or melee weapons, but for the most part, players shouldn’t worry about having made the wrong build choices. This certainly contrasts with someSoulslike games where opting for a particular buildis essentially playing the game on hard mode.
We want people to be able to play their way, and have it be fully viable. There aren’t really many pros and cons from a gameplay perspective, just what suits a player’s playstyle. We really encourage people to explore different weapons, armors, Witherings, and skill builds! A player’s choice of gear and their associated perks will really help them lean into their preferred playstyle – like finding gear that gives you more gunpowder charges quickly, or some that let you unleash Enki’s magic more often.
For example, some members of the development team leaned all the way in on Enki’s magic, with enemies exploding in magical energy when defeated which then primes other enemies to explode too – it’s a really satisfying character build to lean into if that’s how you want to play.
Players with a flare for the supernatural might get a kick out of investing fully into Enki’s magical abilities, hurling debilitating curses at enemies and even causing them to explode in satisfying chain reactions. Enki also has access to several different Witherings–Enki’s ultimate abilities–that have devastating effects in combat. Thanks to some vastly different possible builds,Flintlocksounds like it’ll havesome solid replayabilityas players explore new ways to topple the Gods.
Some Flintlock Skills Are Game Changers
Irrespective of any particular build, some ofFlintlock’s skills just sound downright fun to have unlocked. One skill that Dasan singled out was Poised Shot, which is essentially a ranged parry. Players who have just gotten through counterattack-heavygames likeSekiroorLies of Pand are looking to scratch that perfect timing itch will probably want to unlock this skill along with some powder-based gear sets to enhance it further.
Personally, ‘Poised Shot’ is one of those skills that stands out as it can really change the momentum in the fight to be in your favor. After you unlock the skill, you may perform an interrupt attack on an enemy by using your firearm right before they attack (instead of using your melee weapon). Not only does it do increased Powder damage, and let you use any Powder-based perks that your gear might be specced for, but you get a counterattack against the enemy as well to do even more damage.
Speaking of gear sets, Dasan also pointed to the Irregular gear set, which unlocks the Bloodrage skill and increases players' melee range. Only a few skills and gear interactions have been shown off so far, so it’ll be fascinating to see the many unique ways players can develop Nor into a Gods-killing machine whenFlintlockreleases.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
WHERE TO PLAY
From games studio A44, makers of Ashen, comes an explosive Souls-lite, where Gods and guns collide in a battle for the future of humanity.The Door to the Great Below has been opened unleashing the Gods and their armies of the Dead. The lands of Kian are besieged, the city of Dawn is on the brink of destruction. It’s time for the Coalition army to fight back. Embrace vengeance, gunpowder and magic as you embark on an epic journey to defeat the Gods, close the door and retake the world.Kill all gods.Your battle begins now.
