Tamers rejoice: After two long and arduous years in Early Access, “Temtem” is finally released in 1.0 on all major platforms. And with “Pokémon Scarlet” and “Pokémon Violet” are just on the horizon, it couldn’t have come at a better time.
That said, while “Temtem” certainly shares DNA with the Pokémon series, it is markedly different in several important ways. Making the transition from trainer to tamer may not be easy, which is why we’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks to help make your journey to the airborne archipelago as smooth as possible.
Choose the best starter: Houchic
Just like in Pokémon, your “Temtem” adventure begins in a laboratory where you are presented with a choice of three creatures: Houchic, Smazee, and Crystle.
While you should always go with your gut when playing a Pokémon game for the first time, “Temtem” is quite long and has a clear path to competitive play designed to be accessible to casual gamers, so there’s still plenty what to do after. Completing the main campaign. On top of that, each starter can be caught in the wild, meaning he’ll eventually be able to capture all three of them, regardless of which one he initially chooses.
With that in mind, it’s worth maximizing your efficiency by picking the best starter early on, which is likely to be Houchic. With access to powerful moves like Beta Burst and High-Pressure Water, the Houchic lane has great coverage and ensures you get a valuable mental type early in your game. It’s also the last of the three starters to be available in the wild, so being able to pick it up early in the game is very helpful.
Lean on the different battle mechanics.
The way “Temtem” is fundamentally different from Pokemon is in the way it handles battles. In “Temtem”, all battles are double battles, which drastically increases the need for strategy and timing.
Beyond that, “Temtem” also removes all RNG (no critical hits, for example) and thus makes the effectiveness of the type significantly more important. Level differences become less important when the only way you or your opponent can deal more damage is by using super effective moves. Similarly, playing around with resistances will ensure that you rarely take a significant hit, maximizing your sustainability and making battles much easier.
It’s also worth noting that “Temtem” drops PP (power points) for individual moves. Instead, different moves cost different amounts of stamina, and that cost generally depends on how impactful they are. If you deplete your stamina bar, your Temtem will take overexerting damage and become immobile on the next turn, making stamina management a crucial aspect of every battle.
Something that will inevitably catch every new tamer at one stage or another is the fact that the shops in “Temtem” are… outright scams.
Really! Everything in “Temtem” is exorbitantly expensive, to the point where you can often find yourself in situations where you can’t even afford a salve to heal your bruised Tems. To mitigate this issue, make sure you only buy items that you’re sure you’ll need, especially at first.
What if you don’t need any items right now? Put away your Pansuns, you will definitely need them later.
Prioritize capturing Tems that synergize
This is similar to the previous points about choosing the best starter and learning “Temtem’s” proprietary battle mechanics. Your journey through Deniz, Omninesia, and beyond will be noticeably smoother if you pick the right monsters along the way.
In the starting area of the game, you’ll want to look for Ukama in the Sillaro River. As you progress through Deniz’s story, be sure to also pick up the mighty Oceara in the caves of Aquamarine. Both are extremely strong Water-types that will prove to be consistently valuable throughout the main story. If you include your starter, who hopefully has already become Tental, you already have half a team.
Other powerful Tems include Kinu, Volarend, Valash, Platimous, Gazuma, Vulcrane, and more. I personally go with Kinu, Gazuma, and Vulcrane for Nature, Electricity, Wind, Fire, and Earth-type coverage.
This last point may seem a bit confusing, but it is perhaps the most important of all. “Temtem” is much more difficult than Pokémon, something you will realize even before facing the first dojo master (the gym leaders version of “Temtem”).
All of the above tips go a long way towards minimizing that difficulty – by choosing the best starter, learning how battles work, being smart with your money, and creating teams with Tems that have good synergies with each other, you’re already making the game a lot easier to play. you. .
But more importantly, “Temtem” will constantly provide you with its own tips and tricks. There is nothing in the game that is left unexplained, and the value you get from “Temtem” is directly proportional to the attention you are willing to give it. If you appreciate “Temtem” for what it is and are willing to get involved with all of its finicky systems like spawning, stat manipulation, and more, you’ll see immense benefits very quickly. This will also pave the way for you to enter the competitive scene (if that’s your thing).
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have fun. “Temtem” is very silly at best, and will have you laughing heartily and regularly. It just helps to stick to your own terms from time to time. That way, you’ll have a lot of fun without having to fight the same dojo master 50 times because his Volarend is too strong.
Let’s be honest: nobody wants that.
Cian Maher is a freelance writer from Dublin. You can follow him on Twitter @cianmaher0.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com