After successfully completing the game solo with maximum brightness settings in Ship of Fools, I would like to share some helpful tips to enhance your gameplay experience. These suggestions are based on my 30-hour journey and can contribute to your overall enjoyment and progress in the game.
Beginners Tips
Here are some tips if you just started the game:
- One of the first things you should do is unlock Shelbie. He is a highly valuable character who increases your damage and rate of fire. To unlock him easily, complete an encounter without firing a cannon. Avoid putting ammo in your cannons and instead use the charged-up paddle to deflect enemy projectiles back at them.
- Before diving into serious gameplay, make a few trial runs to familiarize yourself with the map. Plan your route strategically, aiming for Trinkets and Artifacts.
- Experiment with Cursed Chests and Artifacts. Once you clear out the zone boss, you will receive a powerful trinket that can significantly improve your run.
- When encountering Cursed Chests, avoid The Dark Cannon (which disables one of your cannons) and The Dark Plank (which prevents ship repairs). These curses can be detrimental during boss fights.
- Ensure you always have an ample supply of planks on your ship for repairs.
- Scavenge for as many tendrils as possible to acquire permanent upgrades.
- Invest in ship HP and cargo space at the Soup Shop.
- At the Blacksmith, prioritize investing in Sentry upgrades. While there will be more cannons to unlock, having a sentry on board is consistently beneficial (especially when playing offline).
- Save bombs for large groups of enemies or boss fights, as they regenerate slowly.
- Keep an eye out for trinkets that increase projectile damage, critical hit chance, and ammo capacity in that order of priority.
- Search for items in the water, such as chests, harpoons, planks, and gold.
- If your ship sustains damage, use your harpoon to recover some planks from the water.
- Hone your paddle skills to effectively deflect enemy projectiles, as this skill becomes increasingly valuable later in the game.
- After defeating the first boss, you can recycle an item, including artifacts, ammo, or even trinkets. Simply open your inventory, drop the item, and then pick it up again.
- After defeating the second boss, you can duplicate any item, including trinkets. Take advantage of this duplication ability.
- Consider having The Barracuda (for attack speed), The Pearls (for ammo capacity), and The Shell (for damage) artifacts on board for most runs.
- Destroy crates you come across on islands as they may contain valuable resources.
- When it comes to ammo, the Potato Bag is highly recommended for its large clip size and ricochet effect. Also, consider seeking ammo types with spread or splash damage. Use external resources like Wikipedia to identify various ammo types.
Pro Tips
- Adapt your build based on the randomness of the game. Avoid fixating on specific trinkets or artifacts as you may not always obtain them.
- Complete the Siren Quest in the first zone. There’s a 20% chance of receiving the Holy Chest Artifact as a reward after defeating the boss and giving the item to the Siren. The Holy Chest Artifact doubles your rewards, including trinkets and artifacts, making it highly beneficial.
- Combine the Warrior Sculpture trinket with Big Bullet, Silver Bullet, or any critical hit chance item to eliminate the need for reloading and automate your ship’s firepower if you have only sentries.
- When playing offline with two sentries, prioritize manual control of cannons only when overwhelmed. Focus on scavenging from the water, deflecting projectiles, and reloading. This strategy proved successful in completing the game.
- The Light Purse and Light Coin trinkets can significantly simplify your gameplay experience.
- Once you unlock pearls and bring them from the shop to your ship, make the most of that particular run, as pearls won’t appear again in the Pearl Shop once unlocked.
- Invest in upgrades from the Old Man that allow you to use the Siren Pools twice.
- Some highly effective ammo types include Gold Nugget, Poison Dart, Maracas Duet, Frozen Wave, and Rusty Seablade.
- Strive to collect as many trinkets as possible, as they may come in handy at unforeseen moments.
- For the final boss, position your cannons on the portside of the ship and take a few shots while the boss is spawning or respawning. Sometimes, you can defeat the boss before the monsters even spawn.
- In my runs, I exclusively used Shelbie and Quill characters.
- Acquire the following trinkets for a smoother run: Dragon Statuette, Popshells, Searemonial Dagger, Warrior Sculpture, and Cursed Rewards.
- If you need more cargo space, you can discard The Beacon Artifact.
- At the second Siren Pool, you can duplicate tendrils.
- Avoid empty tiles on the map, as you have limited time and movement due to the storm.
- Extinguish any fires on board your ship to prevent them from spreading.
- Pay close attention to the effects of each brightness level and prepare accordingly.
- Once you unlock the “Slot Machine” for shops and have a surplus of tendrils, you can easily acquire most trinkets and build your desired loadout.
- Beware that skeletal enemies have revenge shots, meaning they will launch a projectile at you upon being killed.
This guide about Ship of Fools was written by
Madness.
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