Are you battling your way through the colorful world of The Swords of Ditto? Consult these tips to make sure you start your adventure on the right foot.
Don’t Worry About Difficulty
The Swords of Ditto offers three difficulties at the start of a new game. Don’t spend too much time fretting over which one will best fit your playstyle. The difficulty level can be changed at pretty much any time if the game is proving to be either too hard or too easy.
Best of all, there are no trophies tied to beating the game on a certain difficulty. If you’re aiming for that Platinum on PS4, then you just have to play through the game and complete certain challenges. You can blast through the game on the easiest mode with a co-op partner, grind your way through a solo run on the hardest difficulty, or go back and forth between the two. The choice is yours.
Check Every Mailbox and Read Every Sign
Acquiring money as quickly as you can is very important if you want to start The Swords of Ditto with the best possible advantage. You’re going to need at least 900 coins (more on what you’ll be using them for later). Looking inside mailboxes and reading signs are a good way to steadily increase your income. Every time you find a new mailbox or discover a sign marking a unique location, you’ll be awarded with a small reward of 5-25 coins. This might not seem like much, but they will add up over time and they yield a larger reward than smashing pots and cutting down grass.
Never Slow Your Roll
Without any means of blocking attacks in the opening hours of the game, rolling out of danger is your best defensive strategy. However, the technique can also be used for offense. The game doesn’t tell you this, but there are actually small frames during each roll that cause damage. If you time your rolls just right, you’ll be able transform your dodges into the beginnings of your assault on a new enemy.
Try practicing on the grass when there are no enemies around. The point at which you do damage in your roll is right before your character stands up at the end of it. Try rolling so you end your dodge right after a bush of grass. If you time it right, the bush should be cut down. Once you’ve got the technique down, start practicing on enemies. Word of warning: this move will not work on enemies that carry shields or can fly.
When All Else Fails, Wait Your Turn
There is not a single enemy in The Swords of Ditto that cannot be killed with your starting sword. It you’re bold enough, you can even take on the final boss right at the start of the game and kill her with a series of tiny sword slices. Just because the sword works on everything though does not mean it will work all the time. Certain enemies are normally immune to your normal attacks.
You’ll have to wait until they reveal their weaknesses to deal damage. This can prove difficult when faced with a mob of foes, but just remember to keep rolling and be patient. Every enemy will reveal their weakness to you eventually. They’ll typically reveal it faster the closer you are to them.
Start Your Journey with Some Training
There is a dojo right next to the starting town. Go to it immediately. Its exact location is randomized, but a friendly bird practicing kung fu somewhere in the town will point you in the right direction.
This is probably going to be your first death — no real way around it when you’re level one. Try to fight through as many of the dojo’s levels as you can. You’ll get three things out of the experience: 1) A healthy understanding of how the enemies behave and fight. 2) Lots of EXP. 3) A ton of coins (this is the most important).
Just keep fighting and ignore the dojo’s exits between the waves of enemies. Heal when you can. Eventually you’ll die, but all the EXP and coin follows you into your next life. You should have at least 300 coins from your first dojo visit. You can use that to buy the most valuable weapon in the game…
Buy the Bow as Soon as You Can
You’ll start The Swords of Ditto with a dart gun called the Popper. This meager toy can be used to solve puzzles that require a ranged weapon, but it can’t damage enemies. The Bow can and, just like the Popper, its got infinite ammunition.
A fast majority of the enemies in The Sword of Ditto won’t attack your character until they’re within a certain range. The Bow can hit enemies from outside that range. If you’re outside an enemy’s range and you shoot them, they won’t notice you. It’s the closest The Swords of Ditto has to a stealth option. If you’re ever low on health and healing items, just retreat and reset all the enemies. Then pick them off from afar with the Bow. The Bow is a great weapon to have at the start of the game and you’ll keep using it all the way to the end.
Get Yourself Some Crowd Control
While exploring the world of The Swords of Ditto, you’ll keep finding cash. Do not spend it on food. You’ll naturally find enough snacks to keep you going (at least in the beginning). Instead, save your coin for two stickers. When equipped, they’ll both vastly increase your odds of controlling groups of enemies.
Spin Attack Stickers
These stickers unlock the spin attack for your sword. There are a few of these, so just pick whichever one you think looks coolest. They all cost the same amount and have the same effect. This move is vital for offensively dealing with mobs.
Ranged Immunity Stickers
Like the spin attack, there are a few variations of this sticker. They’re a little pricey, but nothing beats being immune to ranged attacks. Without a shield to block projectiles, it’s comforting to know you don’t have to dodge attacks coming at you from afar. You have enough to worry about with the enemies that run right up to your face. These stickers also make a few boss battles insanely easy, so grabbing one as soon as you can will prove invaluable.
Explore Every Cave and Dungeon You Come Across
Caves and dungeons are filled with coin. Caves are shorter and don’t require you reach a certain level requirement to enter, but they yield a smaller reward. That being said, it’s not all that much smaller. If all you’re looking for is a little extra coin, then finding a small cave should net you anywhere between 150 and 400 coins.
Don’t Worry About the Big Purple Walls
Throughout your adventure, you’ll encounter giant purple, oozing walls. They’ll usually block your path to your next story goal and they’re most common in the beginning of the game. Don’t panic. They’re actually an enemy, which means you can destroy them.
Try to find a roundabout way to your destination and then approach the purple walls from the opposite side. Once you do, you’ll see a yellow eye. Go to town on it and the purple wall should fall. Now you have a direct path if you ever need to backtrack through the area.
Don’t Waste Your D-pad
It’s awfully tempting to map food items, status medicines, or the Travel Kazoo on the D-pad of your controller so you can heal or fast travel at the click of the button. Don’t do it. You can use the items in your bag whenever you want, even in the middle of a fight. If you need to heal, pause and do so.
Mapping weapons, such as the Bow and Bombs, or tools, such as the Torch, are a much more valuable use of space. Plus, you’ll actually need to use items like the Bow and Torch in quick succession to solve certain puzzles. Actually, just have those two on hand at all times. It’s a pretty safe bet that you’ll constantly need them.
Need more help on your adventure, or have information of your own to contribute? Check out the official The Swords of Ditto wiki.