Arcane Odyssey is not forgiving. It does not care if you are new, excited, or “just exploring.” One bad choice early can quietly destroy your entire playthrough, and most players do not even realize it until they are already stuck, underpowered, and wondering why every boss feels impossible.
So before you sprint into the story with a rusty cutlass and dreams of glory, read this.
Fix Your Settings Before You Do Anything Else
This is not optional. If you skip this part, you are training yourself to play the game wrong.
Open your settings and change these immediately:
Turn dodge to Shift only.
Never use double-tap dodge. It will betray you later when fights become faster and more vertical.
Turn off global message notifications.
They clog your screen and distract you at the worst possible moments.
Turn off screen shake.
Screen shake makes aiming and tracking enemies harder than it needs to be.
Change your mouse icon to the pointer.
It is much easier to aim with.
Laptop players should set item display to text.
Your inventory will load faster and your device will suffer less.
Sort your inventory by highest level.
It saves you from wasting time scrolling through junk.
These changes alone make the game feel smoother and more controllable.
Choose Your Build Carefully – This Is Permanent
Every level gives you two stat points. Once you place them, they do not reset unless you use your one-time reset or an extremely rare item.
Your four main stats are:
Magic
Strength
Weapons
Vitality
Mixing them creates hybrid builds, but hybrids are not beginner-friendly. They are harder to gear, harder to scale, and much easier to mess up.
For your first file, go pure. And the easiest pure build is Mage.
Mage is beginner friendly because:
You do not rely on gear mastery
You unlock important spells early
You can fight from range
You level faster and safer
You will survive more fights, learn boss patterns more easily, and waste less time rebuilding mistakes.
Pick a Magic That Will Not Ruin You
There is no “best magic,” but there are bad beginner choices.
Avoid magics that rely heavily on synergy to function. You want something that works well on its own.
Good beginner choices:
Fire
Magma
Metal
Water
Lightning
Bad early choices:
Sand
Poison as a first magic
Weird niche elements that need combos to feel good
Later in the game, you will unlock a second magic. Make sure your second magic synergizes with your first. This matters more than raw damage.
Never Rush the Story
This is the biggest mistake new players make.
Before you fight any story boss:
Do every side quest on the island
Open every chest
Complete island exploration tasks
These tasks give you extra XP, gear, and money, making bosses dramatically easier. If you skip them, the game punishes you hard.
Your Boat Is Your Lifeline
Your ship is not just transport. It is your survival tool.
At level 20, you unlock deckhands. These are permanent investments. Choose carefully.
You want speed-focused deckhands.
A full speed crew can add over 30 speed to your ship, which saves hours of sailing later.
Always have:
A shipwright
A navigator
Avoid wind-resistance deckhands. They become useless later.
Save money for the Brig boat.
It is expensive, but it is your ticket to surviving Nimbus Sea and Dark Sea content.
Use Chests and Underwater Exploration for Power
Sealed chests are one of the fastest ways to get real upgrades.
You can find them through:
Treasure charts
Diving points
Pirating NPC ships
If diving is too dangerous, piracy works too. Sink weaker NPC ships and loot their chests for gear and money.
When You Hit Level 50
PvP turns on. Do not panic.
Most players do not hunt low levels, and bounty can actually help you. With bounty, you can open illegal chests, which drop much better gear than normal ones.
This is one of the best power jumps in the game if you use it right.
Before Entering Nimbus Sea
Do not rush here.
Get:
A Brig boat
Solid armor
At least around 2,000 HP
Decent gear from sealed or illegal chests
Nimbus Sea is dangerous, open, and full of high-level enemies and ships. If you arrive weak, the sea will eat you alive.
Arcane Odyssey is not hard because enemies are strong. It is hard because it punishes impatience. If you slow down, explore, prepare, and invest wisely, the game becomes smoother, more rewarding, and much more fun.
If you rush, you will spend most of your playtime frustrated, broke, and wondering what went wrong. Play smart now — and future you will thank you.