What this guide is about

 
The combat is, undoubtedly, the most misunderstood aspect ofPhoenotopia. If you would scroll to look at the negative reviews, this is probably the only thing people don’t like about this game. Being perhaps the biggest challenges, I am here to explain how you can overcome them with much ease. 
 
A quick disclaimer – Just because people are vocal about it, doesn’t necessarily mean the combat in Phoenotopia poorly designed. Rather, not everybody enjoys it equally, which is perfectly understandable. While I do love the combat, obviously, the main reason that this guide exists is because I want to introduce to more people the way I enjoy combat, and to hopefully turn their experience in combat from endless frustration to easy satisfaction! 
 
Read Also: 
* https://steamcommunity.com/app/1436590/discussions/0/ 
* My https://www.reddit.com/r/phoenotopia/comments/l1be7b/my_pretty_long_essay_about_why_i_love_phoenotopia/ and https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198303265354/recommended/1436590 for the game 
 
(this part is to be transferred to the “Controls and Movement” guide when it’s finished) 

The control scheme I am using

 
(It is the same as the default scheme on Nintendo Switch, but with the LT/LB swapped) 

Buttons	Actions
D-Pad & Left Stick	LEFT, RIGHT, UP, DOWN
Right Face Button (Nintendo-A)	CONFIRM/TALK and ATTACK
Down Face Button (Nintendo-B)	CANCEL/BACK and JUMP
Left Face Button (Nintendo-Y)	TOOL
Up Face Button (Nintendo-X)	TOOL ALT
Left Trigger (LT)	CAMERA
Left Shoulder Button (LB)	SPRINT
Right Trigger (RT)	CROUCH
Right Shoulder Button (RB)	GRAB

I will still referring to the controls by the actions to minimise confusion, don’t worry. 
 
 

The Basics and General Ideas (currently under renovation)

 
Let’s go over the basics real quick before beginning the actual guide. 
 

Basis of Discussions

 
The followings are things that many players may have missed, but pretty vital in understanding the Combat. Think of them as the overview of this long comprehensive guide: 

• Enemies have clear and fair hitbox 
• *Enemies NEVER deal contact damage, and have very predictable “attack-idle” cycles 
• The quicker you finish a fight, the less damage you may take; avoid healing mid-fight 
• Honey Brew exists for a reason, so use it for mandatory difficult battles 
• Melee Combat excels at high-damage output and low stamina-cost 
• Ranged Combat excels at rapid-damage output regardless of distance

* For enemies with unique attack patterns that aren’t just “flying straight” 
 
If you are already aware of all these, chances are you probably are pretty decent in Combat, and don’t need much help from this guide. 
 

Reading the guide takes minutes, executing takes seconds

 
This guide is pretty long, not gonna lie. The reason being how Phoenotopia handles Combat quite uniquely, plus the tight (and still responsive) controls. A fresh sight for its genre, but you may have to get familiar with the Combat from the ground-up. 
 
Now, even when I am the author of this guide, I don’t actually keep all these lengthy explanation in mind. Instead, I kinda just follow a simple Decision Tree based on the rules explained later: 
 
(PNG – Decision Tree) 
 
It’s actually pretty simple once you understand the reasoning. Again, you may skip to the Summary if you are already confident in all these techniques, and can stick to your enemies and stay offensive all while dodging attacks simultaneously. 
 
(And no, “brute-forcing without understanding” is rarely the best solution.) 
 

Your first combat options

 
The first weapon you obtain is a basic Wooden Bat, with 3 attacks available: 
1) Normal Swing 
2) Aerial Swing (ATK +2) 
3) Charged Swing (ATK *2 +2) 
 
(GIF – Punching Bags) 
 
After reaching the second region (Atai), you are highly recommended to purchase a Civilian Crossbow, with 2 attacks available: 
1) Grounded Shot 
2) Mid-air Shot 
 
(PNG – Comparison Attacks) 
 
Melee Combat is generally more effective, while Ranged Combat is generally less risky. More will be explained in details in their own sections. 
 

Stamina Management

 
(Stamina is referred to as “Energy” in this game) 
Most notably, sprinting and attack with melee*/ranged weapons consume stamina. I usually distance myself with just normal walking, this way I don’t have to sprint mid-combat. In addition, I also avoid attacking while waiting for my stamina to regenerate until it’s full, since interrupting the process is not time-efficient. 
 
In addition, several consumable items (e.g. Honey Brew) provide Gail a temporary stamina-boost effect. It is advised that you keep at least one stack on you at all time in case an enemy gauntlet/boss fight comes up, as you want to be more prepared for these difficult fights. 
 
* Can be turned off via Accessibility Options 
 

Categorising the enemies

 
All the enemies in Phoenotopia never deal contact damage unless they have no other attacks. My preferred way of categorising enemies is based on how your attacks affect them: 
1) Stunned whenever hit 
2) Stunned whenever hit with powerful attacks 
3) Cannot be stunned 
 
(PNG – Comparison Enemies) 
 
Most enemies in this game belong to Type-1, from the delicate slime to the jumping toads. It’s apparent that the most effective way of handling them is often stun-locking them until they’re dead, but what if you are facing tougher enemies that do not flinch from your Normal/Aerial Swings? 
 
While Type-2 enemies are still possible to stun-lock given enough practice, there also exist Type-3 enemies that never flinch from players’ attacks. Each encounter with the toughest foes is like a mini-puzzle on its own, and the next best option is to whittle down their health with Melee and/or Ranged Combat. Learn your foes, and be patient! 
 
 

Lesson 1 – Stun-locking

 
To put it simply, the concept of stun-locking is to keep hitting them before they get a chance to attack. 
 
Whether you are using Normal Swings, Aerial Swings, Charged Swings, or the Civilian Crossbow, each of them has its strengths and weaknesses. While the general idea remains the same, you want to use the one that suits the current situation best. 
 

Stun-locking with Normal Swings

 
Normal Swings are the quickest to execute, but they are also quite risky since players may form a bad habit of button-mashing, which locks Gail in place while swinging. In addition, the damage degradation is also making consecutive swings less effective. 
 
The best use of it is to dish out the first hit quickly to initiate a stun-lock. Swinging rapidly may also dispel projectiles in a pinch. 
 

Stun-locking with Aerial Swings

 
Aerial Swings are likely the hardest to learn, since the execution requires you to tap JUMP and then ATTACK soon after. 
 
That being said, it is very energy efficient as you are dealing extra damage with it, and this attack is not affected by damage degradation at all. 
 
(GIF – Ninja Bandits) 
 

Stun-locking with Charged Swings

 
Charged Swings require being familiar with the timing, and you also have to make sure you won’t be interrupted during the one second of charging. 
 
However, on top of the greatly increased damage, it is the only way in early-game to stun-lock even the tougher Type-2 enemies. Start charging as soon as you land a hit, and you should have little trouble keeping the chain going. 
 
(GIF – Axe Bandits) 
 

Stun-locking with Crossbow

 
As expected, crossbow bolts are not as powerful or fast, and they do require more energy than swinging your bat. 
 
Still, this allows you to attack from a safe distance, and perhaps even to handle foes from both sides of the screen. 
 
(GIF – Crossbow Knights) 
 

Closing Remarks

 
Stun-locking your foes is usually the most efficient way to deal with them, especially if you turned on the Accessibility Options that allows you to swing your bat at no energy cost and disables damage degradation. 
 
But what if you are facing against the tougher Type-2/-3 enemies? Understanding both your foes and the essences of the Combat mechanics themselves would most certainly be helpful. 
 
 

Lesson 2 – Knowing Your Opponents

 
While this goes without saying, rushing in blind without knowing who you are up against is often a bad idea. One of my favourite aspects in Phoenotopia is the big variety of enemy designs and the attack patterns that are unique to each of them. 
 
Even though it is not easy to summarise all the enemy characteristics within one section, I will try describing the general ideas of how I handle them. 
 

The straight-forward enemies

 
Certain enemies can only move/fly straight, and these are the only foes with no attack pattern at all. As a result, they are the only enemies in Phoenotopia that can deal contact damage. 
 
There isn’t really a strategy against these guys because you can just easily move out of their paths. 
 

The attack-idle enemies

 
This is how most enemies behave in this game – When the enemy sees you, it would pick a random attack, and then wait for a couple seconds before attacking again. 
 
Depending on its patterns, some enemies may move out of the way when attacking. As such, it is generally a good idea to only hit them during the few-second gap that they are idling. In other words, dodge out of their way when you know the enemy is about to attack, instead of taking the risk to attack. 
 
(GIF – Boar Cub) 
 

The attack-idle bosses

 
Similar to what’s described above (but for bosses), these bosses have more different attack patterns and much higher health. Expect a more drawn-out and difficult battle. 
 
The strategy remains similar – attack when you know they are not going to. BUT! In addition, these bosses always have attacks that render them susceptible, so utilising these opportunities is the key of a quick fight. 
 
(GIF – Slargummy) 
 

The puzzle bosses

 
These bosses are the rarest and most unique foes in the game – They cycle through their attack patterns in a fixed order in each fight. As such, all these bosses are like mini-puzzles on their own, so I think it’s best for you to figure out how to solve them yourself. 
 
 

Lesson 3 – Melee Combat

 
The key of Melee Combat is perhaps the hardest to grasp. You often need to face the danger head-on, and strike within the tight windows of opening. Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee! 
 

The spirit of Melee Combat lies in timing, not range

 
Again, what sets the enemy designs in Phoenotopia apart is that all enemies with attacks cannot deal contact damage to you. You can get as close to them as you want, and you only need to move away when they are about to attack. 
 
One of Gail’s greatest strength is her mobility, and the ability to jump very high, which obviously allows for jumping out of harm’s way with ease. Aerial Swings take full advantage of this by letting players maintain horizontal movement, as opposed to locking Gail in place like with Normal/Charged Swings. And the bonus +2 damage is always nice. 
 
(GIF – Spear Knight) 
 
I would also like to address that some people are having trouble with the short range of the bat. As mentioned, the lack of contact damage from enemies allows you to step right on the toad’s toes unscathed, so I personally think that “having extended range” will not help as much as “knowing when to dodge”, especially against tougher foes. 
 
(GIF – Spear Knight) 
 
(Ahem, unless your goal is to intercept an angry Knight charging at you, highly not recommended btw) 
 
In summary, Melee Combat shines when you can predict how your foe moves so to sneak in your attacks between theirs. 
 
 

Lesson 4 – Ranged Combat

 
While more elaborated, the execution is pretty straight forward. The general idea is mostly similar – Move your feet, not your gun! 
 

The spirit of Ranged Combat lies in positioning, not aiming

 
One thing to keep in mind for the Ranged Combat in Phoenotopia is that you do not have a machine gun. In games like Terraria and The Binding of Isaac, streams of bullets go towards wherever your mouse is point at. Here, however, each shot requires “commitment”, so the key idea is to shoot quickly and hit the mark. 
 
First and foremost, the timing still needs to be kept in mind, since you don’t want to fire a bolt when the enemies are about to attack and move out of the way (though their AI never intentionally dodges incoming attacks). Especially when you are attacking from a distance, your attacks take some time to reach them, you want to act fast against fast-moving enemies. 
 
Second, avoid doing “precise-aiming” in the middle of combat. While the game support 360˚ aiming, you likely only ever need to aim forward, 45˚ upward, and straight up most of the time. In other words, I find aiming with D-Pad/Keyboard often more preferable than Analog-Stick/Mouse – The less time you spend on fine-tuning your aiming angle, the more shots you can get into your foes. 
 
(PNG – Comparison) 
 
And lastly, position yourself appropriately, which is how you can hit your foes consistently even without “precise-aiming”. Fighting big boars near small hills? Stand at the same level to shoot straight forth. Fighting Turrets hanging from the ceiling? Stand right under them to shoot directly up. Instead of keep aiming at odd angles, stand where you can aim with ease. 
 
(GIF – Smart Turret) 
 
A quick follow-up to the last point – If you cannot find quick footing at the same level as your enemies, it’s also pretty quick to simply do Mid-air Shots instead of aiming with Grounded Shots, similar to the classic Mega Man style. Again, less time aiming means more time attacking. 
 
(GIF – Boar) 
 
Before I move on, I also want to share a strategy in dealing with fast-moving targets. Intuitively, people may try to aim towards moving targets like in other shooting games, but this is often not ideal in Phoenotopia as mentioned at the beginning. Again, enemies usually cycle between “attacking” and “idling”, which means you want to position yourself when they’re attacking, and time your shots to hit them when they’re standing still instead. 
 
(GIF – Dartiad) 
 
In summary, Ranged Combat shines when you’re staying on your toes, and keep moving to the vantage point where you can hit your foe quickly and reliably. 
 
 

Bonus – The Game-Changers

 
As you journey further into the game, you will come across tougher foes for sure, but more combat options will also be opened up, including bat/armor upgrades, entirely new tools, and of course 6 learnt Techniques. 
 
This section mostly focuses on introducing the two game-changing (and overpowered, dare I say) Techniques that can potentially trivialise the combat in Phoenotopia entirely. 
 
( Though, for the sake of spoilers, you may want to skip this section to experience them in-game directly on your own ) 
 

The 2nd Tech Concentrate

 
Available after reaching the Daea region, this Technique allows you to charge up your attacks twice as quickly. Because of this, stun-locking Type-2 enemies with Charged Swings becomes easier with the additional leniency. Now even these tough foes can be dealt with ease! 
 

The 3rd Tech Spear Bomb

 
Available half-way into the Daea region, this Technique allows you to perform one of the only two “strong” Ranged attacks in this game. Besides being a powerful attack on its own, you can also stun-lock foes even from a safe distance. No more walking up into the face of danger! 
 

Other Note-worthy Upgrades

 

• Double Crossbow – Shoots two higher-damage bolts at once more quickly 
• The 5th Tech Temperance – Stores a charge, useful for initiating a stun-lock 
• Kobold Blaster – The second “powerful” Ranged attack, but I personally prefer Spear Bomb 
• The 6th Tech Whirlwind – Basically an aerial version of Charged Swing, more powerful of course 
• Berserker Band – Charge your attacks instantly, at the cost of HP

 
 
 

Some Common Misconceptions

 
This section is aiming to address the few common issues people have (mostly with combat) in this game which haven’t been mentioned above. Of course, fans like me wouldn’t find them problematic at all since we are already familiar with what we’re doing, so my goal is to instead convince even non-fans about the good behind certain decisions, hopefully! 
 

“Is it just me, or does this game feels unfair?”

 
I know I shouldn’t start with such a controversial topic, but I believe it is important to state this first and foremost. My answer to this is “yes and no”. 
 
Many things I mentioned above are never explicitly mentioned in the game, so you have to learn on your own about the effective approaches to enemy encounters. While they are not meant to be trivialised by any one single tactic, their behaviours are often very consistent, so the satisfaction from understanding them is part of the biggest boon for me. 
 
One thing that Phoenotopia does very differently compared to other games is that many enemies are designed to be mini-puzzles on their own, on top of the enemy placement that warrants new strategies fairly often. No two fights are expected to be identical (exaggeration, I know), and I enjoy how the game keeps throwing different scenarios at me from time to time. 
 

“The accessibility options are not helping”

 
This game was first built around without these options. They are only in the game because Quells listened to feedbacks about people having trouble with the combat in this game. I too don’t think these options can change everything people don’t enjoy in the game, but it’s probably the best Quells can do to help casual gamers without compromising the game balance as a whole. 
 
Thankfully, combat makes up only 30% of the game IMO, so even if you don’t enjoy it, running past enemies is usually an option (no contact damage). The goal of the accessibility options is not to change the fundamental mechanics, but to allow casual gamers an easier time to better enjoy all the other aspects this game has to offer. 
 

“The movement feels sluggish”

 
The controls in this game is tight and precise, but I rarely find it unresponsive. I am guessing people use the word “sluggish” due to the lack of aerial control, like how you cannot do fine adjustment during a sprint-jump. 
 
I can explain with how “sprint-jump is supposed to be a trade-off for extra height/distance with manoeuvrability”, but in the end, if the controls don’t work for you, they don’t work for you. The best I can do is urge you to give the demo/game another try, and hope that you can see things from a different angle of mine. 
 

“Why is the enemy so tanky?”

 
I believe this impression comes from how long players are spending on a fight, rather than the actual health value of the enemies themselves. Take the basic Wooden Bat for example, Normal Swing deals 7 damage, Aerial Swing deals 9 (+29%), and Charged Swing deals 16 (+129%), and the difference grows bigger for foes with higher defense, so even swinging a baseball bat requires skills. 
 
Below is a list of the toughest regular enemy/boss for the first and second region respectively, and the number of hits required to defeat them (using the weakest/strongest melee/ranged weapons): 

Enemy	Health, Defence	No. of Hits  (Wooden Bat aerial,  9 DMG)	No. of Hits  (Crossbow,  8 DMG)	No. of Hits  (Night Star charged,  3. DMG)	No. of Hits  (Kobold Blaster,  9*5 DMG)
Rock Toad	20, 4	4	5	1	1
Slargummy  (1st Boss)	250, 2	36	42	9	8
Axe Bandit	55, 1	7	8	2	2
Great Drake  (2nd Boss)	???, 2

 
If you ask me, an enemy that I can defeat within 15 seconds or a boss beatable within 2 minutes shouldn’t be considered “tanky”. I mean, I am quick at this because I am seasoned, but the point is that “tricky to beat fast” might be a more appropriate description. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 
 

“This game is so grindy!”

 
Actually, most of the things you can spend money on are completely optional (the things mandatory for progression only cost 40 R, in the entire game), so you don’t really need to grind or anything. 
 
Below is the list of optional items that I recommend buying for each region, how much they cost, and the amount of money you have just from finding treasure chests and doing side quests in the region just before: 

Recommended Items	Sum of Costs	Available Funds (only Exploration)
(Atai Region)  Refurbished Crank Lamp,  Civilian Crossbow, Composite Bat	410	420
(Daea Region)  GEO Club Membership, Concentrate,  Steel Bat, Jade Hauberk, Fishing Rod	1100	1190
(Final Region)  Life Ring, Mysterious Bracelet	1800	2080

 
As you can see, you should have enough funds even without doing any back-tracking. Even if you haven’t found all these one-time rewards, money does drop regularly from fallen foes and broken pots (like in Zelda games). 
 
For the record (I am the compendium-maker, btw), the amount of treasure chests and NPC rewards in the entire game sums up to near 5000 R, whereas only about 3200 R is needed even if you are going after every single piece of optional equipment. Like I said, you also have more ways to make money, so I personally don’t find the need for grinding, being an avid explorer and a master box-breaker myself. 
 

“Fighting enemies in the overworld feels pointless”

 
This is another example of why you are not advised to grind in the first place. Like in Zelda II, the overworld encounters in Phoenotopia are similar to “obstacles between towns”, and are meant to be avoided. Most of the rewards in this game come from exploring new locations instead, either from finding hidden treasure chests or from NPC side quests. So um… you can grind by keep beating up toads, but there are definitely better ways to make money. 
 
 

My Final Thoughts

 
In summary, the controls in this game often require “commitment”, and combat often requires some fore-planning, which makes rushing in relying only on your reflex not ideal. 
 
For me, things come naturally after understanding and getting used to it (unsurprisingly). Even if you “don’t get the combat”, it’s still not the end of the world as combat is not the biggest aspects compared so all other things Phoenotopia has to offer. Plus, you still have Accessibility Options to help you “tank through everything” if needed. 
 
I really like this game, and it pains me to see how people see the combat and controls as “poorly designed”, which is definitely not true in my opinion. Sure, no game is made for everyone, but I hope that after reading through this guide, more people can understand Phoenotopia better and continue to enjoy what this game has in store, combat or not. 
 
Thank you for reading! 
 
 

Version History

 

v 0.1 ( 2021 / 02 / 06 )

 
Guide (prototype) published. 
The following sections are added: 

• Introduction 
• Opponents 
• Stun-locking 
• Melee Combat 
• Ranged Combat 
• Game-Changers 
• Misconceptions 
• Final Thoughts

 

v 0.2 ( 2021 / 02 / 10 )

 
Most sections revamped. 
The following sections are added: 

• Basics 
• Version History

 

v 0.3 ( 2021 / 02 / 13 )

 
The following sections changed: 

• Basics

 

v 1.0 ( 2021 / ?? / ?? )

 
Official published! 
All screenshots, footages, and infographics added. 
 

Hope you enjoy the post for Phoenotopia Awakening Comprehensive Combat Guide (v0.3 – Abandoned), If you think we should update the post or something is wrong please let us know via comment and we will fix it how fast as possible! Thank you and have a great day!