Forspoken Combat guide: 5 tips for beginners

Use these tips to gain an upper hand in combat (Image via Square Enix)
Use these tips to gain an upper hand in combat (Image via Square Enix)

Forspoken has many mechanics that assist gamers in having a smooth experience. From using various magic spells in sticky combat situations to scanning the battlefield before approaching an enemy, players have as much freedom to play Forspoken as they desire. There are, however, some aspects of the game that newcomers should stick to for a while before resorting to advanced tactics.

Forspoken is the latest RPG by Square Enix and developed by Luminous Productions. The game is focused on using magical abilities to traverse the world of Athia and fight enemies. It has a unique combat flow as it fuses parkour with offensive magic spells. This might take some time for some players to get used to.


Combat tips to make things easier in Forspoken

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Forspoken puts you in the shoes of Frey, who gets teleported to a new world of Athia. This magical land looks excellent on the outside, but Frey learns that the land is corrupted by a mysterious anomaly called ‘Break.’ Thus begins the journey where you must battle the corrupted beasts and encounter varied characters across the vast open world.

At first, it might get overwhelming with the numerous spells, parkour abilities, and other aspects being introduced to you. However, there are ways to make combat much simpler to understand and use in the many battles you will be partaking in Athia.

1) Do a quick Cuff scan before a battle

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Though the game is more combat-oriented, it does give you the option to get a feel for the impending fight. Hence, you can use the Cuff scan to gauge the enemy count ahead of you.

You can use a Cuff scan by pressing up on the D-pad. This emits a pulse and marks the enemies in your vicinity. You can press the same button again to have a much closer look at a particular creature.


2) Play around with accessibility settings

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Forspoken comes with tons of accessibility options. For instance, you can switch to the auto evasion option in settings. This will allow Frey to use a magical ability to dodge incoming attacks automatically.

This frees you from using the O button for any other spell. You can even opt for settings to switch to another support spell automatically. This is particularly useful since support spells require a cooldown time to be cast again.


3) Alternate between support and attack magic spells

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Support spells have a recharge time associated with them. In the meantime, you can use attack magic spells. This is because landing hits on enemies decreases the cooldown timer of the support spells.

It is thus wise to keep alternating between attack and support magic types. You can also use the parkour abilities to create some distance between Frey and the enemies or dodge them with Zip to have enough time for a spell to recharge.


4) Watch out for Mana pools

Walk through Mana pools to collect Mana (Image via Square Enix)
Walk through Mana pools to collect Mana (Image via Square Enix)

Mana pools appear as white and blue glowing lights on the ground. You will see them scattered across the open world and labyrinths of Athia. Mana is an important currency in Forspoken, used to purchase and upgrade magic spells. You can buy more skills from the magic menu and peruse the upgrade tree to see which spell suits your playstyle.


5) Complete spellcraft challenges often

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Upgrading your spells is not a straightforward process in Forspoken. Apart from spending Mana, you can complete a set of challenges associated with each spell. At any given time, you will be able to pursue three challenges.

Make sure to complete them all before deselecting them. This is because any progress you might have made in that particular challenge will be reset if you discard it.


Forspoken has a diverse cast of characters who add weight to the narrative. Apart from the unique creatures in the game and the free-flowing parkour, the onus falls on the story to elevate the game’s experience.

The game has a variety of magical spells intertwined with parkour mechanics that make it stand out on its own. Critics and fans admire this aspect of the game. Since traversal forms a big part of exploring the world of Athia, Square Enix has ensured robust mechanics to support the other aspects of the game.