Overview: - Estimated achievement difficulty: 5/10 - Offline: 47/50 (930/1000) - Online: 3/50 (70/1000) (Crucible Pass) - Approximate amount of time to 1000: 35-40 hours - Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 2 playthroughs - Number of missable achievements:Many. Mission progress does NOT carry over. - Do cheat codes disable achievements?: No Cheats - Does difficulty affect achievements?: Yes. Stackable difficulties. - Glitchy achievements: Yes. (Various reports on certain ones not unlocking for everyone.) - Unobtainable achievements: None - Extra equipment needed?: Crucible Pass REQUIRED for 3 achievements. It is on the back of the manual.
Introduction:
This is an 3rd person hack and slash game with puzzles and RPG elements. This is a sequel to another game, though you do not have to have played it to enjoy this one, though it is suggested for storyline reasons. First off to let you know, there are collectibles and side quests that you must complete besides just beating the game. This game has you backtrack more than a couple of times, and collecting the various collectibles can be very time consuming and not too enjoyable. Because you must do a new game + anyways, you might as well start on normal and do the new game + on Apocalyptic. Difficulty achievements do stack. Surprisingly there isn't any combat related achievements. You will need the Crucible Pass to complete this game, which is in all new game boxes (so if you buy it used, you will have to purchase it in the marketplace). As with all RPG type games, you will encounter a lot of loot. Try your best not to waste your money or sell useful things. Specifically, any item with the name in purple is something you want to hold on to. The game's save system is only meant for 1, but a backup here and there is highly suggested on either USB or Cloud. There have been a few reports of various glitches, some meaning you cannot continue on with the game and must start over. I personally experienced one where the primary quest did not finish and I did not get my achievement, but could continue to the next quest.
Playthrough 1: Any difficulty/Collectibles and Side Quests:
I suggest just starting on normal and focusing on completing all side quests and collectibles. This isn't too hard of a game, though there is a lot of falling that can happen. One very important thing to remember, is that for New Game+ your side quests and collectibles do NOT carry over. This means you would have to start all the way over from scratch on everything, so be very careful when deciding to finish the game. The point of "no return" is the Well of Souls where you go to fight the last boss. However, even after beating him, the game gives you one more chance to reload your last save before starting a new game.
Playthrough New Game+:
You can play on Apocalyptic if you have not done so yet. Focus only on primary missions. You will now be able to get Death to level 30.
Crucible Pass Content:
With this pass you can gift a friend an item for an achievement. You can also play the Crucible Arena having to pass all waves (100 of them) in one sitting and then beat a boss. This is best done once you are level 30 and have very good gear. You have 2 major options for playing it on the Easy setting. One is to complete the game on Normal, then Apocalyptic. After you get the achievement for Apocalyptic, you can choose to load your save instead of starting a New Game+. Do so, and put it on easy. Now complete The Crucible. The other option is if you beat the game on New Game+ the first time around, you can just throw it on easy and work to level 30. After that you can do The Crucible.
Conclusion:
This game isn't very difficult, but it has time consuming elements such as collectibles, side quests, backtracking, normal travel, climbing, looting, gear switching, and puzzles. Also, not many people love to play a game twice. Is this a few day rental completion? Not likely. If you have an online game rental account (like Gamefly) or if you purchase it, this could be a nice game to have a completion on, especially if you completing the 1st Darksiders game.
[x360a would like to thank Tyger7for this Roadmap]
These can be purchased through trainers. There are only 2 in the game, and Thane which is the first trainer you meet, does not have all skills and upgrades. Once you progress to the Eternal Throne, you will be able to purchase all moves and upgrades through the ghostly skeleton named Draven. He has all of Thane's list as well as the rest. There are a total of 21 skills and the total amount of your cost for all of them will be exactly 150,000 Gilt.
Online Only - Needs Crucible Pass Code found on the back of your instruction manual.
The earliest you can obtain this is your first visit to Tri-Stone. Make sure you redeem your code for the Crucible Pass found on the back of your manual in your game box. If you do not have this, you will have to buy it from the marketplace. Once you get to Tri-Stone, go to the snake emblem on your map that is called a "Tome". Interact with it. Press . Press right on your and hit Pick a friend who has played the game before. If you would like to write a message, press and explain why you are sending it. Once you are done, pick your item to send and press to send the gift. You cannot get this back unless they give it back, so if it's a random name send them a bad item.
Note: You can use your own Xbox accounts to get this (a secondary gold or silver account).
You must first find a possessed weapon. These are rare drops from enemies or chests that are highlighted red when on the ground. In your inventory they actually are called "possessed". Pick your first one up and the game will tell you about that type of weapon. Go into your menu and press on the possessed weapon to bring up a new menu. You can now sacrifice your other equipment in order to level up your possessed one. Get it one level to gain the achievement.
Level 30 is the max level for your character to get. You will need to play on a New Game+ in order to gain this level. By the time you beat the game once and have done all quests, you will be around level 22. Continue on in the new game in order to reach 30.
There are a total of 4 death tombs you must open. They are like treasure rooms and give you gear and special items. They are big doors with a dragon statue above them and have colored gems on the door. In order to open them, you have to collect 10 Book of the Dead Pages to create a chapter and sell it to Vulgrim who in return gives you a key. The 4 keys require a total of all 40 pages.
Location 1: The Nook
Fast Travel to Lost Temple entrance. You then must head South to find the door.
Location 2: Lair of the Deposed King.
This is at the very bottom of the Lair of the Deposed King. When you enter, keep going down the stairs until you reach the very bottom door.
Location 3: Lostlight
This is near the Vulgrim shop. As you travel forward you will see this door on your left.
Location 4: Shadow's Edge
When you get here, traveling towards Black Stone you will see this door to your right.
To find all the pages, follow this walkthrough HERE.
Crucible Pass required. Found on the back of the game manual.
You will need to have redeemed your Crucible code to be able to play this. You must proceed in the game until you defeat the Guardian. Once you do, visit a tome. There you can start the quest. There will be waves of enemies you must fight. You must keep proceeding through the game to gain all waves in order to complete this quest. You might as well wait until you have completed the game and gotten to level 30 and have a lot of good gear for this (you can start a new game+). You may not complete all waves until you are at least level 25, meaning you have to do it on a new game anyways.
Waves 1-25: This is the first set. You must defeat the Guardian. Waves 26-50: You must defeat the Wailing Host. Waves 51-75: You must defeat Samael. Waves 76-100: Level up to 25.
You can respec your skills through Vulgrim. He is first found in The Weeping Crag as you play through the main quest. He will charge you 1000 coins to respec. Once you make the purchase, the achievement will unlock. You can dashboard out and get your money back if you did not wish to actually do this.
Crucible Pass required. Found on the back of the game manual.
You may fight this enemy after completing all of the Crucible waves in one visit (you can die and restart the waves in sections of 25). Please see "Is There Anyone Else" achievement description for more info on the Crucible. Once you see him available in the wave options, choose to fight him. A structure will rise and you will have to climb it to the top. If for some reason your character is glitching while climbing (happens sometimes), go ahead and reload. Once you unlock the right to fight Wicked K, you will always have the option. Wicked K blocks a lot but isn't too bad on easier difficulties.
The sidequests are the purple dots on your map. You can make them your "active quests". They are given by the NPC characters normally, but a few are obtained randomly otherwise. You must have them all done in one playthrough. Follow the complete walkthrough in order to gain them all.
This difficulty is the hardest you can start at. All of the difficulties stack. You can choose to go in and do this right away if you feel brave. Otherwise, I suggest just playing on Normal and then doing this difficulty on a New Game+. This wave you are fully leveled and have all your other achievements done. You can just focus on doing the main quest and burning through the game as quick as possible.
You must feed Blackroot Enchantment Stones once you have obtained this quest. Blackroot will be found in The Fjord. To obtain the collectible, you must shoot it with Redemption (your gun). There are other ways to destroy them of course, but your gun is the primary source. To fully complete the quest, you must feed them all to Blackroot (total of 69).
This is a boss for the Arbiter's Maze which is a Side Quest given by the Chancellor. It is located in The Kingdom of the Dead. Once you actually get there, you have to follow directions from collectibles you find called Soul Arbiter's Scroll. There are also Soul Arbiter's Sacred Scrolls, but they just tell you how to go secret directions for extra chests. I personally did not follow the secret routes because you still have to follow the exit routes and it would make it extremely time consuming. Below are the directions you need to follow to get to the Soul Arbiter.
This quest is very short, and only requires you to talk to Lilith and gain the Phasewalker. You will get to Blackstone and when you enter the fortress, go through the East door and up the stairs to talk to her. After the scene plays out, the achievement unlocks.
There are a total of 7 slots you need to equip elite armor on. Elite armor items have a purple font color. You must obtain an elite Scythe, Secondary Weapon, Shoulder, Armor, Gloves, Boots, and Talisman. You can obtain these randomly from chests/enemies, or you may buy random elite items from Vulgrim's Shop. Buy the Ornate Box from him for 10,000 Gilt and 8 Boatman Coins. You can dashboard if you don't get the piece you need, or play around with it on a separate save since there are a limited amount of Boatman Coins in the game (100 total).
As you progress in the game, you may buy them from shops for a steep price. Therefore, it's actually pretty easy to obtain the gear if you have the funds. You can also trade with people in this thread HERE for the gear. Maybe someone will be nice if you're having trouble.
There are two different skill trees and each one has a "final skill". They are called Reaper Storm and Frenzy. Place a skill point into either of these to gain the achievement. You must be at least level 20 to be able to do this.
This is part of the main quest, and is actually unlocked after traveling through a portal to another area, so don't start to worry when it doesn't unlock after beating the boss for that area.
The Book of the Dead is a form of collectibles. You must obtain all pages to complete the book. This is a side-quest given by Vulgrim. He is for located in The Weeping Crag area. Look for the merchant icon on your map to spot him. After talking to him, once you back out he will ask you to find the pages. You must sell these to him. There are 4 chapters meaning a total of 40 pages to collect.
This boss is the 3rd of a trio that you must find to give to the Lord of Bones. The quest you find him in is called "The Court of Bones". He is a very straight forward boss that you just keep attacking. He will jump on a spider a couple of times, but it just makes him even that easier to hit.
This is a side quest in the form of collectibles. There are only a total of 4 Gnome figurines you must find. You may locate them by following the walkthrough.
This is your first Primary Quest. It is obtained by Alya and once completed, talk to her to conclude it and gain the next quest. Once you are done talking the achievement will unlock.
This is the area "The Foundry". During the mission to awaken the guardian, you will come to your second Heart Stone. This area is outside and has a ton of water around it. You will have to swim and climb a giant wall to pull a lever. On your way back, there are 3 balconies. Instead of climbing down, you jump off. You will have to climb back up two more times to jump off all locations. There are 2 balconies that have broken ends which you leap off. The last balcony is smaller and not broken. You have to jump over the end ledge of it.
After finally gaining audience with The Lord of Bones, he will send you on a new quest. You will need this item to complete the quest and you will gain the achievement once it's given to you.
Voidwalker is obtained during the primary quest "Stains of Heresy". You obtain it while in the Ivory Citadel, and it is heavily used there. It creates portals for you to traverse through.
Deathgrip will be obtained in The Foundry. This will allow you to latch onto items in the distance using . To switch between this and the other "obtained" equipment items, press and select which you want to use.
The point you will be able to start using Fast Travel is when you reach The Cauldron on your main quest. Once there, press and go to your map. Click to toggle the Overworld Map. Press on any of the icons to travel there. You can make good use of this throughout the game. The nice thing about this Fast Travel is a waypoint is set if you are in the middle of a dungeon and just need potions. You will be using this throughout the rest of the game.
This is the very last boss of the game. He has no "form 2" to worry about. Easily slay him to beat the game and get the achievement. It's a surprising easy fight and very straight forward.
This is the boss for "City of the Dead". It is a bigger boss that is stationary. Just keep attacking it until it sends skeletons, then until you are prompted to rip off it's mask with . After that, repeat again and you will destroy it.
This boss is for one of the very last primary quests in the game when you must get the Demon Key. He keeps retreating to his throne and you must avoid fire from the ground. Defeat him for the achievement.
This is a boss battle while doing the "Stains of Heresy" primary quest. Attack him while he is down and while he is up, wait for his shield to vanish to use Deathgrip to attack him more. It is a pretty straight forward battle and he is maybe a little more than medium difficulty. It might take a few tries.
As you progress in the story, you will awaken this giant. It will run off to Stonefather's Vale. Here you must confront it. It only has two main attacks. The first you try to dodge but is pretty tough (while you are riding your horse). Once his arm is down, shoot underneath it with Redemption (the gun) and blow up the bombs. Now you can attack the stone using Deathgrip to pull you up to to it. When he shoots the yellow spiked ball, shoot it until it hovers in the air. Make the Guardian be between you and the yellow spiked ball so that it hits him. Now you have to climb up the arm to get close enough to Deathgrip the stone.
You obtain this after defeating the first boss. Just attack and dodge when needed to easily complete the fight. Afterwards, go interact with the Crowfather whom will be on the ground.
(26) 
. Press right on your 
and hit 
Pick a friend who has played the game before. If you would like to write a message, press 
and explain why you are sending it. Once you are done, pick your item to send and press 
to send the gift. You cannot get this back unless they give it back, so if it's a random name send them a bad item.
. To switch between this and the other "obtained" equipment items, press 
and select which you want to use.
and go to your map. Click 
. After that, repeat again and you will destroy it.