Starting Tips for The Bard's Tale 4 Game The Bard's Tale 4 Guide and Walkthrough

Below you will find useful tips that come in handy at the beginning of the game in Bard's Tale IV. This is a chapter dedicated to players who want to familiarize themselves with the basic rules and mechanics of the game.

• Save Games
• Collect all items you can find
• Maintain control over your character development
• Test the might of your opponents
• Heal your team regularly
• Don't wait until enemy sees you

Save Games

In Bard's Tales IV you cannot save the game at any time. However, there are appropriate lanterns scattered in different places on each map. Their number depends on the size of the location. The vast majority of them is located in places that you visit while performing quests from the main plot. This way you won't have to reload too far in case of failure.

Activated and used lantern - spot where you save your game.

The problem starts when you decide to leave the main path in favour of exploration. During a single visit to a map, you won't be able to save game twice using the same lantern. So if you save the game before you leave the main path and you don't find another save point, you will have to play on one save until the next stage of the storyline. If you die during a particular stage, all your progress will be lost. Therefore, save game only when you are absolutely sure that the incoming combat may cause you a problem.

Collect all items you can find

Watch your surroundings carefully. Every chest you can loot is highlighted. This makes it difficult to miss them. Check every chest you may find. Do the same with loot from enemies you defeated. You will find many useful things in them that will make your gameplay easier, such as:

1. Food - this is the type of items that are very useful in the initial stages of the game. It allows you to regenerate a certain amount of health points. This applies to all members of your team.
2. Weapons and armors - weapons can be found next to the defeated opponents. Depending on your opponent's level, they have different stats and modify different character stats. Some of them can be used by your team members. Sell the rest to the merchants you meet to earn extra money.
3. Useful items during exploration - these are all kinds of equipment that make it easier for you to explore the areas and fight, for example a lockpick required to unlock closed doors. They are disposable, so you need to retrieve on a regular basis. You can also craft them.
4. Crafting resources and raw materials - these are various types of items that can be used to produce many types of practical items. Check the "Crafting" panel in your inventory to get information about recipes and blueprints for each item.

Maintain control over your character development

Once you have accumulated enough experience points, you will be promoted to level up your character. The progress of character is only visible after the end of the fight, when experience points are awarded. In case of level up, you will only see a message in the top left corner that you have obtained free points to spend. This message is quite easy to miss, so after each fight, you have to check it carefully. Also, check the experience bar and the corner of the screen. This way you won't miss the right moment to choose another skill.

Test the might of your opponents

In Bard's Tale IV, the difficulty level of the fight is marked with the appropriate colors. You have to check carefully before each fight, which colors are visible on your enemies. This way you will avoid a fight that may end deadly for your team.

Opponents with yellow glow are going to have similar level as yours. You can easily start a fight with them.

The following glows and color markings were introduced in the game to describe enemy threat:

1. Green - this is a group of opponents that has a lower level than your team. This means that you shouldn't have any problems with defeating this group.
2. Orange - these are opponents at the same level as your team. You still have a chance to win, but the fight will be more balanced.
3. Red - don't even get close to these opponents. They have a higher level than your team and their attacks are very strong. In some cases, they may cause the death of one of your team members, with a single blow.

In addition, your chance of victory is also commented by the team members. Before each fight you will hear their opinion about your chances of winning.

Heal your team regularly

Your team is not healed in automatic manner. This means that after each combat your team has the same number of health points as it had at the end of the duel. If you decide not to heal the team, they will start another fight with fewer health points. This will make it much more difficult for you to complete the task. It may turn out that the members of your team have so few HP that attacks of your opponents will cause instant death. Even in cases where your opponents are colored green.

That's why you have to renew your team's health points after every fight. You can do this by saving the game, or eating different kinds of food. In the latter option, the quality of food is also important. Basic food ingredients restore a small number of health points. However, you can produce better quality food from them, which will restore more health points. These recipes can be found in the "Crafting" panel, which you can access from your inventory.

Don't wait until enemy sees you

Most of the enemies you come across either don't stand towards you or patrol a specific area. In both cases, you can take them by surprise. This works to your advantage, because your opponents won't form a battle formation. They will have to sacrifice a turn to create a formation. During this time you will be able to attack them freely. This will increase your chances of success and save your team from additional damage.