Getting Started

New to Salt and Sanctuary? This guide helps you get started with the Knight class, covering combat basics, playstyle differences, and what to expect from your first playthrough.

Hey there! Welcome to Salt and Sanctuary. This game throws a lot at you right from the start, and honestly, there are tons of ways to play. You can go full mage, whip out a speedy dagger, snipe with a bow, or mix it all up. Because of that, a single, step-by-step walkthrough for every single build just isn't really feasible.

But don't sweat it! This guide is going to focus on the initial Knight class. Think of it as your solid, reliable melee fighter. We'll be building the strategies around that, but seriously, if you want to go a different route, feel free! I've played through this game a bunch, and I'll do my best to point out alternative strategies if they make sense.

Now, playing melee might feel a bit tougher at first. You've gotta get up close and personal, and most enemies are right there with you, usually with a barrage of attacks. Even their ranged stuff often has a big enough hitbox to catch you if you're not careful. So yeah, as melee, you'll often be dodging more incoming fire. Playing from a distance, like with a bow, generally means fewer attacks to worry about.

Personally, I find archers end up being a bit of a hybrid and can spend more of your hard-earned Gold. You're not just buying arrows, but you'll likely want enchantments to add elemental damage to your ranged attacks, which really helps. Plus, you might find yourself switching between melee and ranged more often than you'd think, because while bows and pistols can hit from afar, they're not always the fastest and can chew through your Stamina.

Honestly though, in practice, the core gameplay loop doesn't change that much regardless of your playstyle. You're going to be doing the same thing: dodging attacks and looking for openings to deal damage. The biggest difference between close-range and long-range combat is really just your positioning. Up close, you're right on top of enemies. When you're playing ranged, your main goal is just to stay at that maximum attack distance as much as possible.

I'm writing this guide from the perspective of a melee character to try and be as thorough as possible. Chances are, if you can handle a boss as melee, you can probably handle it as a caster too. Like I said, casters and ranged characters usually get a bit more breathing room, so don't feel like this guide is useless if you choose one of those paths. The enemy attack patterns don't really change, and the main difference is that from a distance, you might not even need to dodge certain attacks.

One last thing to keep in mind: results are definitely going to vary. There's a bit of randomness in boss fights – sometimes they'll just stand there, or repeat the same easy attack over and over. This makes giving an exact play-by-play for every single encounter tricky. I'll mention the level I was when I first beat a boss, but don't feel like you *have* to be that level. You can absolutely be higher, or even lower! I genuinely believe it's possible to beat most, if not all, bosses at level 1 if you know what you're doing.

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