Welcome to the brutal and beautiful world of Aeterna Noctis. This is not just another Metroidvania—it’s a relentless test of precision, platforming, and patience. If you’re finding the early game daunting, don’t worry. This guide is crafted to walk you through the crucial fundamentals: what to upgrade, how to survive, and how to progress without pulling your hair out. Let’s get into it.
Understanding the Skill Tree – What to Unlock First
From the start, one of your best tools for shaping your journey is the skill tree. It’s vast, intricate, and can feel overwhelming. Your starting point should always focus on melee damage, critical strike damage, and most critically, the Dogmas Magnet upgrade. Dogmas serve as the in-game currency, essential for buying vital upgrades and items, and without the magnet skill, they’ll often vanish before you can collect them. Invest the two points required for this magnet skill immediately.
Once that’s secured, move on to Royal Greed, found on both the left and right sides of the tree. This will amplify your Dogmas collection rate even more, making it easier to fund your upgrades and stay well-equipped.
Progress upward from there into critical strike chance, and most importantly, Quick Dash. This isn’t just a movement buff—it’s a lifesaver during platforming sections and frantic combat. The cooldown reduction means more dodging, better positioning, and fewer deaths. Complement this by unlocking the increased immunity window after taking damage. It lets you recover and even spam attacks briefly without consequence—especially useful during intense boss encounters.
Once the central path is fully upgraded, shift focus to the right-hand side of the tree to expand your damage output. Here, you’ll find the core upgrades for melee combat: Quick Cut, Combat Charge, and Critical Cut. These enhance your burst and sustained DPS considerably.
Avoid the far left side of the tree in the early and mid-game. These nodes only become valuable later on. Remember: you can always respec your points if you decide to switch to ranged or spellcasting builds later.
Essential Early-Game Gems and Their Upgrades
Next, let’s talk about gems, particularly the early ones that give you a leg up. Your first priority should be Pure Magnetite, which, when equipped, dramatically increases the radius at which Dogmas and Blood are pulled toward you. This effect scales further when paired with the Dogmas Magnet skill in the skill tree, creating a synergy that makes resource collection feel far less punishing.
Another early-game standout is the gem that doubles the chance for potions to drop from enemies. Potions—marked by red cross-like icons—are your primary healing resource. With this gem equipped, you’ll find yourself constantly stocked, reducing reliance on Blood for healing. The ideal approach? Drink the potions you have when you’re low and immediately grab any fresh drops so you’re always topped up.
Power-Ups and the Temple of Kings Keys
Progress in Aeterna Noctis is tightly tied to collecting keys that unlock the Temple of the Kings. These keys are scattered throughout the map and unlock classic Metroidvania movement abilities like wall climbing, double jumping, and gliding. Whenever you collect a new key, return to the Librarian’s area, where you’ll find the doors corresponding to each power-up.
Don’t wait to explore every side path as soon as you see it. Instead, prioritize bosses. These bosses are marked with distinct colors on the map. Defeating them grants major abilities that make future exploration easier and allow access to previously unreachable areas. Once you’ve accumulated three to four boss power-ups, then begin backtracking to old regions and discover their secrets with your enhanced mobility.
Side Content: When to Focus on Quests and Notes
As tempting as it is to start clearing quests early, ignore the journal for now. Most quests yield experience, Dogmas, or skill points—but they can wait. Focus on core progression. After 20–30 hours, when you’ve mastered movement and combat, return to quests and clean up at your leisure.
You’ll encounter traders who sell key upgrades, and eventually, the Crystal Shrine where you can deposit shards for powerful bonuses. Keep an eye out for musical notes scattered throughout the world. Once found, bring them to a certain mysterious music room marked on the map—expect great audio and unique rewards here.
The Blacksmith and Gem Crafting
Upon discovering the Forge, seek out the Blacksmith. His icon will appear on your map, and he’s essential for upgrading gems. This process not only strengthens your build but allows for some unique customizations based on your playstyle. Be sure to also check out the old samurai NPC—a fascinating side character who unlocks additional skills and quests later in the game.
The Reality of Aeterna Noctis – Embrace the Struggle
Make no mistake: Aeterna Noctis is an extraordinarily hard game. Whether it’s a brutal combat encounter or a pixel-perfect platforming segment, expect to fail—20, 30, even 50 times in a row. That’s not a flaw. It’s a feature.
Every failure is a lesson, and every retry refines your skills. With perseverance, you’ll find that the same boss who humiliated you an hour ago becomes your stepping stone to victory. The game will sharpen your reflexes, your patience, and your willpower. And once you’ve mastered it, other Metroidvanias will feel like a breeze.
If frustration takes over, take a break. Step away for an hour or two. Drink some water, grab something sweet. Let your brain digest what it’s experienced. Often, you’ll find that problems become clearer and easier to solve once you’ve reset.
Final Words
Aeterna Noctis doesn’t hold your hand—but it does reward effort, creativity, and persistence. This guide is only the beginning. The rest? That’s up to you. Now go out there, brave the darkness, and prove yourself worthy.
Good luck, warrior.
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