Shadow of Death 2 is a challenging side-scroller where you persist through numerous levels, defeating more challenging opponents and bosses. Here is a list of everything you should know to successfully defeat all your opponents.
Getting a hang of things
Being a challenging game with numerous controls, learning the layout and functionality of each button is imperative. The last thing you want when taking on a difficult boss is to mis-tap, or tap a different button entirely. Trust me, the rage is real when your reflexes fail you like that. When in levels, experiment and play around with combinations of movement. Double-jumping and dashing in mid air is a great way to get around – try it!
But not just the controls, your weapons influence the way you play, each with their own attack style and special abilities. It may be worth it to play the same level a couple times, trying out all three weapon classes available – curved swords, straight swords, and greatswords. In testing each one out, you allow yourself to play to the best of your ability.
When in combat, it is important to use everything at your disposal. Make a habit or pressing each button during the course of each level, even if it isn’t necessary, to train your muscle memory in harder stages.
If you really want to see how far you can utilize your character for all its manoeuvrability and might, try out an arena match. The insane speeds that some people go just to ruin your day is astonishing.
Grinding
Being a challenging game, grinding is a feature that you will most likely see yourself doing. Grinding, for those unaware, is the act of replaying levels for repeat rewards, experience, currency, and/or gear. Each level is noticeably more challenging than the last, so you want your character and gear to be as ready as they can be. This will most likely be your primary avenue of acquiring new armour and weapons, as they are difficult to get hold of without spending real money for the currency used to purchase them in-game.
Acquiring and upgrading your gear
Shadow of Death 2 makes it quite difficult to get hold of and improve your gear. You will want to be frugal with your currencies, and try to improve your skill as not to rely on your gear.
Getting your hands on weapons or armour can be done by completing missions, but the rop rates are slim. Otherwise, you can purchase them using souls, a difficult to attain currency.
Each category of item costs 400 souls, so the leading factor of your decision will be what you need the most.
If you find yourself dying quickly in battle, I would advise against buying stronger weaponry, and instead buting armour. This will let you last much longer, allowing you to hone your skill. Being a skill-based game, you could have the worst weapon in the game, but still beat all the levels as long as you are good (and patient) enough. Buying stronger weaponry would only be suggested once you have a solid defence.
The accessories are also a decent purchase, but I tend to let chance deliver them to me upon completing a level. I would rather ensure I take as little damage as possible through strong armour than rely on abilities and stat increases.
When it comes to upgrading your gear, you need blood (which is in bountiful supply) and a specific essence. Rationing your essences is the difficult part, as you don’t want to throw all of them into a weapon, only to receive a better one later. I would recommend you only level up item of a higher rarity than common, unless you are truly stuck at a level. Still, I wouldn’t upgrade them much more than a couple times. The essences are somewhat difficult to come by, unless you are happy to grind away at the levels that reward you with them.
You can also imbue and ascend your gear, for much stronger stat gains. Again, I would only do this with gear that is uncommon or higher.
If you follow this advice, you will experience a more comfortable transition into the difficult game of Shadow of Death 2. It is very rewarding, however, and you will have a blast if you decide to give it a go. You can find it on Google Play and the App Store. You can read my beginner’s guide for this game here.
