Game of Thrones: Top 5 Tips and Tricks (SPOILER ALERT)

CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT!

Mors has his Warg powers, and Alester can call forth his Vision of R’hllor to spot secrets no one else can see. But even those special abilities aren’t enough to overcome every obstacle in your path; you are going to have to reach into your bag of tricks once in a while to survive a brutal encounter or maximize your rewards. Here are the top 5 Game of Thrones tricks to improve your game experience:

#1 EASY MONEY

Everyone needs coins. Loot only gets you so much cash, and when you want to upgrade your weapon or various pieces of armor, it’s doubtful you’ll have enough gold dragons to do everything you want. You will, however, after you defeat Ossifer’s champion in the sewers of King’s Landing. Before you leave King’s Landing in Chapter 8, return to Ossifer and embark on the “Blood on the Sand” side quest. Each arena match you win nets you gold, and you can even bet on yourself—or your opponent!—to win more money. To stay alive and earn the most money possible, make sure you have the crowd’s favor at all times by buying drinks for everyone at the arena bar and listening to what the crowd wants you do to your opponent after each victory. With the crowd’s favor, even if you lose and bet on your opponent to earn money, the crowd will spare your life so you live to fight again.

#2 FETCH!

During Chapter 13, you sneak into Castlewood to save Jeyne Greystone. A particularly troublesome guard patrols the end of the long corridor leading into the first floor. Once you open the door, the guard spots you and bolts through a gate, locking it behind him. It’s possible to bypass this locked gate through the nearby secret passage in Harlton’s office or steal the keys in Harlton’s fireplace and open the gate. For true style points, however, switch to Dog as soon as you enter the first floor. Run after the guard and duck through the small hole in the bottom of the locked gate. It’s possible to catch the guard with Dog and assassinate him before he can even reach Jeyne’s room.

#3 HIDDEN WEAPONS

Mors is going to be messed up when you finally break him free of his Castlewood cell. Unfortunately, his armor-less and unarmed body won’t help Alester much against Harlton’s men. All is not lost, though. You can prepare for your imprisonment before you even go to dinner with Harlton and fall into his trap. Switch your primary weapons to the secondary weapon slot before you sit down with Harlton. In that fight against Endrew after Alester frees Mors, you can only use weapons in the secondary slots. By switching weapon positions, you ensure that at least you’ll have a fighting chance without armor.

#4 RED PRIEST MERCHANT

Many of Riverspring’s people have little to live for after the tragedies that have befallen the town. One man who has lost his family during the riots, Robin, looks to take his life near the northern docks. It’s possible to talk him out of this course of action; offer him hope by showing him how Alester has been saved by R’hllor. After you convince him of his new path, Robin returns later in the game as a merchant with armor truly befitting a red priest, such as the High Priest Benerro’s Hood (+8% critical hit chance, +15% to resist fire damage) and Thoros of Myr’s Robe (20% chance to inflict the flammable state for seven seconds on your opponent each time he attacks you).

#5 DESPERATELY WILD

CAUTION: MAJOR SPOILER ALERT BELOW! READ AT OWN RISK

In the final battle against Valarr, he cheats. Even as you beat him down, Valarr summons two shadows to fight for him, and these shadows take little damage from normal weaponry. So why not use a little magic of your own? Stock up on Wildfire before the fight. Your Valyrian steel weapon can destroy a shadow, but if the shadow’s regeneration begins to cause problems, toss a Wildfire vial onto the creature to insure enough damage to kill it. You can do the same with Valarr. Just make sure you step back when your enemies burn or else you could join them in the barbeque.

For more strategy, check out our official eGuide for Game of Thrones!. It includes over 40 labeled maps, expert tips on how to maximize every ability, a full walkthrough of every quest and more!