Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is a challenging Metroidvania that provides an abundance of action-packed combat, compelling secrets to uncover, and worthwhile upgrades to invest in. Itâs a lengthy and complex adventure, and even the early part of the game will throw a lot at you to keep up with. As such, here are some tips for the opening hours of Ender Magnolia
Break glowing boxes for materials
Materials, Ender Magnoliaâs primary currency, will let you buy items at the Craftery, which is accessible fairly early in your adventure. A tooltip will eventually let you know that you can break boxes around the map to earn additional Materials, but by the time it gives you this information, you may have already passed up a handful of them.
So, hey, I just figured Iâd let you know to keep an eye out for boxes with a glow around them because Iâm a nice guy who wants you to be able to afford to buy the first Magic Vial from the Craftery, which will net you an extra Relic slot. Youâre welcome. No, really, donât sweat it.
Put Yolvan to good use
During the gameâs opening hour or so, youâll fight Yolvan and earn him as a Homunculi that you can equip. Since he fires projectiles, assign Yolvan to your shoulder button attack slot so that you can hold his attack down while you use melee attacks, too. This can massively improve the speed at which you deplete the Break Gauge of basic enemies, allowing you to pummel them into submission.
When the Craftery begins selling Mixed Parts (pretty early on), make sure to buy some and use them to purchase Yolvanâs Eviscerate ability to make him even more of a force to be reckoned with. Holding down the button for this ability will unleash a tornado attack that stuns several enemies at once while dishing out surprisingly good damage in the process. Since it can hit multiple enemies at once, itâs a pretty great upgrade over his basic attack in most scenarios.
Always keep Muninn out
Youâll get Muninn when exploring the Magicite Mine. This Homunculi can be equipped and summoned to accompany you passively. Unlike most Homunculi, this means you donât have to press any buttons to make Muninn attack. Instead, it will fly around behind you and occasionally auto-attack foes.
While this Homunculi doesnât deal significant damage, it does help to chip away at the Break Gauge of your enemies without you having to micromanage any cooldowns or remember to press any buttons.
And, of course, if youâd like Muninn to bug off, just hit the assigned button again to send it packing. But, like, why would you not want the help? Are you too good for a friendly owl pal? Donât be like that.
Donât miss the Helix Crystal Relic
Youâll start the game with only a handful of replenishable healing wards, so a bit of passive healing sure would be nice, right? Luckily, you can grab the Helix Crystal early in the game, which will heal you for 3% of your total health every time you defeat an enemy. It may not sound like much, but there are a lot of enemies that are fairly easy to defeat along your path, so it certainly adds up.
When youâre ready to get it, play until you get the Lower Stratum Key a few hours in, then fast-travel back to the Abandoned Attuner Tent. Head left from the Abandoned Attuner Tent, and open the door to access the Magicite Mine. Inside, head down the slope and all the way to the left until you encounter a rather large foe. Defeat him and grab the Helix Crystal.
Lower the difficulty if youâre struggling to git gud
While Ender Magnolia is designed to challenge you, itâs perfectly fine if you decide youâd like to reduce the degree to which it does so. Luckily, you can adjust the difficulty when resting at a Respite. You can opt to select from multiple presets, or you can manually adjust various aspects of enemy difficulty, such as health, attack frequency, and more. Do what feels right to you. Iâm not here to judge.
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is available now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
