Summary
As the sea of Soulslikes continues to be flooded with more and more games, each of them is required to do anything in their power to set themselves apart from the rest.Enotria: The Last Songis the latestSoulslike gameto grace the stage, and while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it does have at least one unique system that defines it.
Enotria: The Last Song’s elemental system is one of the most fundamental building blocks of its gameplay, so players must know how it works before they head into the fray. In some ways, players who have had experience with elemental affinity systems in the past may findEnotria’s to be familiar, but it is quite different in others.
The Ins and Outs of Enotria: The Last Song’s Elemental System
The Four Elements of Enotria: The Last Song and What They Do
The four elements ofEnotria: The Last Songfunction similarly to any common elemental affinity system, with some unique twists. Firstly, each element inEnotriacauses the buildup of a particular status effect, but since they aren’t common elements like fire, water, and earth, their status effects are a bit different from most other elemental affinity systems. Additionally, three out of four ofEnotria’s elements are “give and take” elements that behave similarly toHades 2’s Chaos boonsin that they provide unique benefits in exchange for a debuff.
Vis
Dizzy
Increases damage dealt as well as Stamina regeneration, at the cost of lowered defenses.
Fatuo
Wicked
Elemental Power is increased, but attackers are healed upon landing a hit.
Gratia
Radiant
Health recovers over time, but getting hit triggers a powerful explosion that can knock the attacker backward, ending the status prematurely.
Sick
Causes continual health loss until the effect expires.
What truly setsEnotria: The Last Song’s elemental system apart from the elemental affinity systems found in other games is that both players and enemies benefit from and are hindered by the game’s various status effects. For example, when the player is inflicted with Dizzy,their damage and Stamina regenerationare increased, but their defenses are lowered. This applies to enemies as well, meaning inflicting status effects on enemies inEnotriaalmost always comes with a unique trade-off that players need to be willing to make. Inflicting Wicked on an enemy with the Fatuo element will grant players healing every time they hit an enemy, but it will also increase the enemy’s Elemental Power.
Taking Advantage of Enotria: The Last Song’s Elemental System Is Essential to Success
Enotria: The Last Songcan be a challenging game, but in a way that is much different from other Soulslikes. WithinEnotria’s first hour, players will begin to see just how necessary learning the ins and outs of the game’s elemental system is, as their success all but depends on it. As they venture out intoEnotria’s sizable and saturated world, players will frequently encounter enemies who have an innate elemental defense that makes them immune to a particular element. An enemy with innate Fatuo defense, for instance, is immune to the Fatuo element, thereby encouraging players to use a weapon or skill (Ardore) the Fatuo element is weak to.
Malanno
The best way to take advantage ofEnotria’s elemental systemis to identify an enemy’s innate elemental defense by examining the symbol above their health bar, and then either infuse a weapon or use an Ardore with the element the enemy is weak to. One of the game’s first examples of this system in action introduces players to an enemy with innate Fatuo defense, so using a Gratia Ardore or Gratia-infused weapon against the enemy is the best form of action. Furthermore, Gratia is weak to Malanno, Malanno is weak to Vis, and Vis is weak to Fatuo.
