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Clan O’Conall and the Crown of the Stag is level-based, meaning that this is not a Metroidvania-like open-world scenario. It’s a simple game but complex as well. For those new to Clan O’Conall, these tips for the Switch port should make the early hours more eventful.
7 Three Difficulties To Rule Them All
Players can swap between all three difficulty settings at any time. Don’t worry about choosing the right one at the start of Clan O’Conall, although “Normal” is the best one to pick at first.
If that proves to be too hard then go to the easiest setting. If the middle option is too unchallenging then bump it up. It’s as simple as that. Knowing that some sort of adjustable option is present in a game can help players out before they jump into a new experience.
6 The Right O’Conall For The Job
Clan O’Conall’s story follows the three siblings of Haggish, Kilcannon, and Clakshot. They are tasked with rescuing their father from an evil wizard. Each character has their particular uses in the game and can be swapped out on the fly. Haggish, for example, is slow but has a lot of health and is strong.
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Kilcannon is like the middle-of-the-road hero who is both agile and strong defensively. His counterattack can deflect projectiles back at enemies. Clakshot has a bow, giving her a ranged advantage at the cost of having low health. She should be used as the main character during the game’s exploration sections. Whenever a battle breaks out, switch out to either brother. That’s only one example of the strategies players should remember regarding these three siblings.
5 Learn Character Positions
It’s also important for players to remember the position of characters in the roster. Hitting the left or right trigger on the controller should summon one of the three siblings. As the roster is always rotating, the order will get mixed up frequently.
Clan O’Conall is not a game made for speed-running by any stretch, however, there are times when players will have to expertly platform between many obstacles while getting chased down. There is a level wherein a giant boar is chasing the siblings, for example. If players swap to the wrong character, that could spell doom. So, again, get used to the character order and how it rotates.
4 Health Pickups Effect Everyone
The nicest thing about getting to use three characters is that it gives players three separate health bars. The trouble with that is running low on health with a favorite character. For example, Clakshot is a good option because of her flexibility, so using her should make it easier to perform in this platformer.
Unfortunately, her health is low, so players may wind up switching her out often if her screen starts to flash. Thankfully, health pickups will heal all characters in the party. Players won’t have to worry about whom to pick and choose to keep alive when a health drop pops up.
3 What The Collectables Do
Clan O’Conall’s first two stages are oddly paced as they don’t clue players into what their motivation is. There are no context clues either aside from some tutorials. The strangest thing is that there are collectibles, like the fireflies, that get tallied up after each mission.
The first two times this happens, there will be no difference in the gameplay. However, after a quick boss encounter, the RPG-like upgrade system will unlock. Players can level up the three characters with these bugs to increase stats, like health, and gain new abilities too. At this point, stages can be replayed as well.
2 Who To Level Up First
Is there a right order to level up the three siblings? The simple answer is yes. There is a good order to help make the most out of the experience. However, doing it out of order is not going to put players at any huge disadvantages in Clan O’Conall.
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The first character that should be upgraded is Clakshot. Her health is at three until she gets leveled up, so players should unlock her bomb roll ability first as it will also increase her HP to four. Next, give Haggish the extra jump spin attack. Finally, Kilcannon should unlock his physical counterattack. From there, players should rotate leveling up. This is RPGs 101. No one character should ever be hugely ahead of anyone else.
1 No Deaths On Pits
This is not so much a tip as it is a clarification. One of the most despised things in a platformer is instant death traps. The Mario games, for example, will kill characters if they fall in a pit or land on a set of spikes.
Thankfully, Clan O’Conall does not punish players in this way even on the hardest difficulty. Characters will lose some health but get warped back to the last piece of solid ground they were on before jumping. Players won’t have to fear pits or other traps as much with this knowledge in mind.
Clan O’Conall and the Crown of the Stag was released on June 2, 2022 for Switch. It is also available on PC.
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