The Thaumaturge beginners’ guide – tips and tricks

While the unique setting and style separate The Thaumaturge from the RPG pack, it also does quite a lot else differently. If you’re feeling a little lost read on for some tips and tricks in my The Thaumaturge beginners’ guide. 

Tips and tricks for beginners - The Thaumaturge

If there’s one overriding piece of advice I can give you it's to take your time. There is a lot of well-written dialogue in The Thaumaturge and it's a pleasure to get lost in all the side quests and meet the various personalities you’ll find around each corner. The longer you spend exploring the more you’ll get out of the game. 

Read everything, go everywhere

Whenever you see a silver diamond on anything that isn’t a door or person, make sure to click it. Whether it's a poster on a wall, a newspaper on the desk, or a dropped piece of scrap paper with a note on it, everything you read will give you XP. 

Better still, many of the items you pick up and read will lead to side quests. These can be as simple as visiting a location to see an exhibition or checking out a point of interest, but completing them will earn you even more XP. 

Related: The Thaumaturge Attack Upgrades Tier List

Postpone progress when offered the chance

Whenever you’re about to move past a point of no return in the main storyline, you’ll be offered the chance to postpone whatever it is you’re about to do. Even if just briefly, always accept this opportunity as it allows you time to fully explore an area. 

This is worth doing because you can't always return to the location or the people, and opportunities to discover information, may be gone forever. A good example of this comes before the reading of your father’s will. If you don’t explore the house fully before heading up and hearing the will, you’ll lose a lot of advancement opportunities. 

Perception is key

Not all information will be immediately obvious, so keep using Perception (right-click) as often as possible, wherever you go. Just because you went somewhere earlier doesn’t mean something new hasn’t shown up since. 

Using Perception will point you toward your next quest location but it can also pick up fragments of memories and flaws. Look out for red glowing stars forming in the air and move toward them to identify new items of interest. 

Look out for limited side quests

You’ll find a lot of side quests as you move through the main storyline. While these can be ignored if you choose to, they’re a surefire way to gain more XP which will keep you ahead of the curve. Some you can do at your leisure but others are limited time.  

Regularly check your Journal (press J). You’ll find that quests are broken down into several sections, including some side quests that have a white clock next to the quest name (see above). If you like the look of these, do them before you continue the main quest. If you don’t, they may not still be available once you move the main story on and you could miss out on all kinds of goodies.

Related: How to get all Salutors in The Thaumaturge

Don’t overstretch yourself in combat and save often

Battles in the Thaumaturge can be challenging but if you’re stuck on one, don’t despair. There is almost always a way to get through it. If you’re not on the easiest difficulty level, remember you can always change the combat difficulty level of your saved games at any time. 

Alternatively, you should note that battles do not scale. This means that if you return to a battle you couldn’t handle earlier, but have gained some new combat skills or salutors, the battle will not be any tougher. The enemies will have the same health, do the same damage, etc. If a fight is too tough, go exploring to earn more XP, gain some new abilities, and then come back for round two. 

Diversify your Dimensions quickly

There are four dimensions in the game, each of which has specific salutors and attack upgrades associated with it. Early levels in each path only cost one Thaumaturgy Point each and having a larger variety of upgrades is always a good thing. Sticking to one path simply isn’t going to cut it. 

You should also note that putting points into each line will also add knowledge points to that dimension, allowing you a better chance to discover important information when you use Perception. Diversify into other skill lines early, as even a basic knowledge of the other paths helps you quickly reveal new information and with it, more XP.

Watching the clock and points of interest

The plot of The Thaumaturge moves on when you complete the main story quests. Outside of that, you can take your time. Note that once you get to Warsaw you’ll see benches dotted around with a clock above them. Sitting here allows you to change the time between morning, noon, afternoon, and night. You can do this as much as you like. 

This is a great way to find extra points of interest, things to read, and use Perception. Each area is different depending on the time of day, in every way. This includes the people you see, the open buildings, and the reading opportunities. Make sure to explore each area at each time of day to get the maximum benefit. 

There's plenty more on The Thaumaturge here at Pro Game Guides! Check out Should you trust Rasputin in The Thaumaturge, All controls for The Thaumaturge, and more!