Tips & Tricks

***SPOILER WARNING! City of Brass is a game about exploration and discovery - so don’t read this guide if you prefer to work things out on your own!***

## Beginner

* Watch your feet! Many of the traps in the City of Brass are in the floor, so be aware.
* You can use your whip to trigger some traps and then move through them safely while the trap is resetting.
* Don’t be disheartened if you die! City of Brass is a game about dying, learning and trying again, and EVERYONE who plays dies, even the developers :) Pick yourself up and give it another go with your new, hard-won knowledge.
* Mantling can save you when you fall into a pit trap - if you’re quick!
* Early on, gather as much treasure as you can - pick it up when you see it, smash objects open for a chance at even more, and definitely open chests. Treasure is your score, but also ...
* Spend your treasure at Genies! Unless you are trying for the best score, there’s no reason to hold onto your hard-won loot.
* Use your whip in combat! Every fight will be less dangerous for you if you stun, trip or disarm an enemy first.
* Use Whip Grab to drag enemies towards you and into traps, or interrupt their attacks.
* Don’t forget to use Shove to push enemies into waiting traps.
* You can disarm some enemies by whipping their weapons.
* Once you have unlocked portals, wishes can be spent to warp forward to later levels.
* You can only have one Sword, Armour or Whip equipped at once, but you can carry as many different Relics as you like.
* Most of the time, there’s no reason NOT to be carrying a vase, lantern or other pick-up - they make a good first shot at the start of any combat, and can be thrown further than your whip can reach.
* You can’t be hurt by falling - unless it’s onto some spikes, or into a deep abyss.
* Enemies will trigger traps as they pursue you - so try to draw them into traps for an easy kill.
* Enemies can hurt each other - forcing them to bunch up and attack will likely make them kill one another.
* When you run out of time in a level, the Dervishes will spawn. They will pursue and damage you if they touch you, cannot be killed, and it’s best at this point to just leave.

## Intermediate

* You can crouch to avoid being damaged by some traps like the Voice of Harm.
* Use your Whip Grab on shielded enemies, to briefly pull their shield out of the way and create an opening for an attack.
* If you’re having a hard time with a mini boss, turn on some of the Blessings when you start a new game so you can practice.
* Your whip can reflect some projectiles back at the enemy that fired them.
* You can disable Etol the Hurler genies for a time by whipping their fireballs back at them.
* Spend your wishes on the Genies! You only get three wishes per run, but they have powerful effects that last for the entire run.
* Try to set off big braziers and vessels when enemies are next to them - use your whip or throw an object!
* If you don’t want to throw the object you’re carrying, you can drop it and pick it up later.
* By default, you will always be sprinting at top speed. If that’s too fast for you, you can toggle this off so you walk instead.
* Look up! There are treasures hidden up high on some walls.
* Lantern pick-ups can be useful to carry in darker levels, as they cast light around you.
* Some enemies are “asleep” on the ground, and will leap up and attack when you get near enough, so be wary of floor corpses.
* Some enemies cannot be stunned by whipping them in their head - if their face is completely covered, or if they’re very large, they probably can’t be stunned.
* Throwing a lantern will set fire to an area for a short time - you can use it in a tight space to channel enemies into the flames for some easy damage.
* Be wary when opening doors - traps tend to be just on the other side.
* Wished genies are always advantageous to you BUT be aware that it can increase the cost to use them. For example, using a wish on Bhetun the Curative will change him so that he will fully heal all damage, BUT it massively increases the cost.

## Advanced

* When running forward at full speed, you can hit the crouch button to make your character go into a slide. Press crouch or jump to stand back up out of the slide. Sliding actually gives you a little speed boost, so chaining slides and jumps can get you through an area quickly.
* You can slide into some enemies to trip them over. Especially useful against most shielded enemies.
* Whip the Pool of Searing! It will cause a projectile to be flung out.
* Check the walls for secret passages - there are different types in every level, and some of them may even need to be blown up to enter.
* Even once you beat the final level, there’s still more to do in the City of Brass - try to beat your highest Loot score, or give the Daily Challenge a go.
* You can knock an enemy projectile out of the air by throwing a pick-up object at it.
* Save your bombs for secret passages - some levels have passages that you have to blow up to enter.
* If using a ranged rival, you can shoot the shielded guardian/spearman's feet.