Guide Akahn to the source of a relentless evil in this action RPG. Destroy the 'Dark Gates' that spew these devils forth and collect powerful 'Rune Stones' along the way, combining them to create even more powerful spells.
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This is my tribute to the great action RPG's such as Diablo and those that followed. Enjoy!
-ConArtists
Welcome, to my guide to Sin Mark!
Sin Mark was created by ConArtists, creator of other great games such as Warfare 1917 and The Last Stand 1 and 2. You should check them out as well.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. STORY MODE
2. SURVIVAL MODE
3. FINAL BOSS
4. RUNES AND SPELLS
5. TRINKETS
6. OTHER
1. STORY MODE
The story of Sin Mark follows Akahn, an exiled archer on his quest to find and destroy the source of strange "Gates."
Story Mode has 3 Acts, each with 4 Chapters. The goal in every Chapter is to destroy every gate and kill all the monsters. Gates constantly spawn monsters, so they should be destroyed quickly.
It's not very hard to beat the story. Most enemies don't do much damage, and the ones who do show up late and are really slow. If you understand the basic concept of "don't stand still and get beat up" you will be fine.
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2. SURVIVAL MODE
Kill as many as you can with random spell drops and increasingly difficult enemies.
In Survival, you pick 1 of 4 maps to, exactly as the quote says, kill as many enemies as possible. The spells aren't dropped from enemies; it just appears on the ground. Health and Mana are also included as drops, so it's not the end of all things if you get hit once or twice. I personally like the Valley map the best.
Map 1: Incline
A large hill stands to the east and a small valley in the west, choose your footing wisely.
Map 2: Valley
Great hills surround this deep valley.
Map 3: Dunes
The sandy dunes wait to soak up the blood of the enemy you fell.
Map 4: Temple
Make your stand atop the steps striking down any who dare rise to your level.
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3. FINAL BOSS
The final boss is pretty much a joke. He will spit fire which knocks down stalctites from the ceiling. If you get too close, he will attempt to smash you with his hammer or stomp his feet to squish you. Once you do some damage, he'll send out some weak level 1 enemies for you to dispatch. The hammer and stalactites actually do quite a bit of damage, but they are pretty easy to dodge.
Here's what makes this boss pathetically simple. As you can see in the picture, he will shoot his fire in an arc. That arc gives you plenty of room to avoid getting hit while also not triggering his hammer. Just stay in that zone and wail away at him for an easy victory. The only time I got hit was when I had to run under him because he ran me into a wall and when an archer hit me.
After playing some more, I noticed that when he chases after you, he'll stop and swing his hammer when you are *just* out of his range. He'll never spawn enemies, and will never move closer. It's just too easy.
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4. RUNES AND SPELLS
Spells are the meat of the game. They all do special things and are usually just better than your regular arrow. There's a total of 18 spells and 5 can be equipped on your bow at a time.
Before you can use spells, though, you have to make them. To make spells, you use Runes.
During a level you will find marker-type stones. If you push the Spacebar in front of these, you will gather Runes. You will be free to get hit while doing this, but it's nothing to worry about. Once Akahn has finished, you will see a message showing the three Runes you gathered. This is completely random. Be aware that destroying all the gates before you gather from a Rune Stone will deactivate that stone, keeping you from getting Runes from it.
There are 6 types of Runes:
A Rune Stone
Fire Rune
Earth Rune
Storm Rune
Bone Rune
Chaos Rune
Destruction Rune
Creating the spells is very easy. After you beat a level, you will be taken to a screen where you can craft spells from your Runes. There is a recipe book on the left, but it is missing the recipes for the three best spells. Simply click on the Runes you want to use, and then the middle button to mix them. After you create the spells you want, go to the next screen and equip them on your bow for use in the next level. Easy as pie.
Spellcrafting is a bit broken, though. You don't have to unlock the high-grade spells, so if you know the recipe, you can create them right away, completely skipping the weaker ones. Hopefully that will be changed in the sequal.
Fire Arrow
Charged with the power of fire rune this arrow will burst flames upon your enemy and those around it.
Effect: Fire splash damage that does 80 damage to those nearby.
Mana Cost: 75 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Fire Runes
Probably the first spell you will ever try. You can shoot it many times in quick succession due to the low mana cost, but it's very weak. I never find splash damage useful, really.
Earth Arrow
The tip of this arrow will become hardened with stone and shatter on implact with your enemy dealing damage to them and those close by.
Effect: Earth splash damage that does 60 damage to those nearby.
Mana Cost: 55 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Earth Runes
It's Fire Arrow with less damage and a lower cost. It also does "Earth" damage instead, but I haven't noticed anything that the elements do.
Decay Armor
Destructive powers ruin the elements that make up the protective armors of your enemy making them much easier to damage.
Effect: Reduces enemy armor by 50%, increasing any melee or direct hit arrow damage.
Mana Cost: 75 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Destruction Runes
It simply weakens, possibly eliminates, the enemies' armor. It's okay I guess. I'm pretty sure the Pendant of Piercing Trinket does the same thing for no Mana cost. I haven't tried combining them though.
Mind Blast
The confusion of chaotic magic from this spell pierces the minds of your enemy taking away their clarity of mind making them unable to fight effectively.
Effect: Reduces an enemies chance to hit in melee by 50%.
Mana Cost: 120 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Chaos Runes
I don't really like Mind Blast. Most melee enemies either A) can be outrun or B) aren't very accurate anyway. It can be helpful if you get overrun, though.
Freeze
Storm runes summon the cold of the far reaches of the earth below the feet of your enemy, encasing them in ice.
Effect: Freezes all enemies in the area of effect for a few seconds.
Mana Cost: 150 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Storm Runes
Ice ice baby. This is a spell I like. Instead of splash damage, this freezes the enemies in place. Stopping multiple archers or giants with one blow is pretty nice.
Rock Wall
Summons a great spire of rock to defend you. You enemies will find it hard to reach you when the earth thrusts this barrier skyward in your favour.
Effect: A wall of rock that blocks all, friend and foe.
Mana Cost: 150 per cast.
Recipe: 3 Earth Runes
I don't know how this is "in your favo(u)r" at all. The wall makes it very hard to aim, and depending on where it is, sometimes the enemy Archers can shoot over it.
Slow
Confuses the mind of your targets crippling their ability to move quickly.
Effect: Reduces enemy movement speed by 40%
Mana Cost: 100 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Chaos Runes, 1 Bone Rune
I pose this question in regards to Slow: Why slow the enemies when you can freeze them?
Fear
Overwhelmed by the power of chaotic magic, your enemy will flee in fear for a short time.
Effect: Causes all enemies in area of effect to run away for a few seconds.
Mana Cost: 75 per cast.
Recipe: 3 Chaos Runes
I don't like Fear all that much. When the enemies are running away, it's somewhat harder to hit them, and more enemies will spawn. I prefer Freeze and Slow to it.
Bloat
This arrow destroys the innards of it's target, dissolving them into a toxic gas which eventually causes them to explode.
Effect: Once affected by bloat, a target is destroyed within a few seconds.
Mana Cost: 250 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Destruction Runes, 1 Chaos Rune
Bloat's pretty cool I guess. It will kill anything (except the Final Boss) after a bit, but you can probably kill it quicker with other things.
Thorns
Thrusting from the earth, nature's thorns devastate all who try to cross their path.
Effect: Ground spikes do 60 damage periodically over a few seconds.
Mana Cost: 200 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Earth Runes, 2 Destruction Runes
Thorns isn't all that great. Like I said, you can get any spell at any time (provided you have the Runes), and there are just better spells. It's pretty cheap in comparison, though.
Storm Strike
Calling lightning from the sky this spell marks an area that will act as a beacon to strike all within it's range.
Effect: Lightning strikes hit all in the area of effect for 150 damage.
Mana Cost: 250 per cast.
Recipe: 4 Storm Runes
It's a lot like Thorns, but looks cooler.
Fire Storm
Fire from the heavens like you have never seen. This barrage of fire from the god shall cleanse the earth where it is directed.
Effect: Balls of fire that do 100 damage each to those in the area.
Mana Cost: 550 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Fire Runes, 2 Storm Runes
Now we're getting to the good stuff. This has a wide range, is pretty accurate, and does great damage. The only real downside is the huge mana cost. I feel the pros outweigh the cons, though.
Volcano
Tapping into the burning heart of the earth this spell brings forth the power that lies below. Be aware that extracting such power may take time.
Effect: Balls of Fire that do undefined damage to those it hits.
Mana Cost: 450 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Earth Runes, 2 Fire Runes
Volcano's like a reverse Fire Storm. Instead of coming from the sky, fire comes from a hole in the ground. The range is slightly smaller, but it costs less mana and eats up Gates.
Bone Wall
Gathering the bones of the dead from the battlefield, this spell brings forth a wall of sturdy bone between you and your enemy.
Effect: A wall of bone that blocks all, friend and foe.
Mana Cost: 220 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Bone Runes, 2 Earth Runes
Rock Wall with more (?) health. I'm not sure because I haven't bothered testing, but it uses more Runes, so I assume it does take more damage.
Raise Dead
This spell will ressurect a fallen warrior to aide in your quest.
Effect: Raises an undead minion to fight for you.
Mana Cost: 300 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Bone Runes, 1 Earth Rune, 1 Chaos Rune
I'll say it now: allies are awful. They "help" a few times in Story Mode, but are completely useless. If they aren't walking around like morons (usually away from the enemies), they are hitting for weak damage. Skeletons aren't much better.
Arrow Storm
A storm infused ice arrow that splits into many arrows shortly after it is launched.
Effect: Multiple arrows that do 50 damage.
Mana Cost: 300 per cast.
Recipe: 2 Storm Runes, 1 Chaos Rune, 1 Destruction Rune
The first of 3 special spells. They're special because the game doesn't tell you the recipe. I do. Arrow Storm is a bit akward at first. If you are too close, then the arrow might not break apart, and if you're too far, then the pieces will spread too much and not hit anything. Once you get the range down, you can dominate anything. It even has a (relatively) low mana cost so you can use it many times in quick succession. Possibly my favorite spell.
Warrior of Chaos
Summons a mighty Warrior of Chaos from the earth to fight at your side.
Effect: Raises a chaos warrior minion to fight for you.
Mana Cost: 450 per cast.
Recipe: 1 Destruction Rune, 1 Chaos Rune, 1 Bone Rune, 1 Earth Rune
I know I said NPC allies are worthless--and I still kind of believe that--but the Warrior of Chaos is infinitely better. It can actually take a hit, and does good damage. If you don't spawn him right next to the enemy, he'll walk around like an idiot, though. It's situational.
Bone Storm
Deadly shards of bone fall from the sky like hell fire.
Effect: Bone spikes do 110 damage to those they strike.
Mana Cost: 650 per cast.
Recipe: 1 Storm Rune, 1 Destruction Man, 1 Fire Rune, 1 Bone Rune
It's an upgrade to Fire Storm. More damage, more range, lasts longer etc. It does cost more Mana, but that's no big deal, considering it pretty much murders everything.
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5. TRINKETS
Trinkets are Sin Mark's accessories. There are 9 in all, each with a different ability, but you can only equip one at a time. Trinkets are obtained by killing enemies. Apparently there is a 1% chance of a drop, but it seems higher than that. The fact that you get these by killing enemies means you can just keep killing enemies while the gate respawns them endlessly, but it seriously is not needed. I got them all in one playthrough. I won't bother commenting on these since it's really just a matter of preference.
Health Restoration
Using this trinket will regenerate slowly your heatlh slowly over time*
Trinket of Mana
This trinket holds the power to regenerate your mana at a quicker pace.
Dead Eye
This trinket increases your chance of getting critical hits.
Strong Arm
This trinket bolsters the strength in your drawing arm.
Elusive Charm
You will be much harder to hit with this charm on
Quick Draw
Pulling the drawstring back quickly is effortless to you with this trinket equipped.
Pendant of Piercing
Your arrows will ignore any enemy armor in their way
Lucky Charm
You'll find more trinkets than most with this equipped
Rune Hunter's Charm
With this trinket equipped you seem to find rarer runes.
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6. OTHER
Just some other stuff I feel like mentioning.
1. I find, though it's not 100%, that having the bow fully drawn can keep melee enemies from hitting you. They still hit occasionally, but this seems to lower their chances. It doesn't affect Archers or Mages/
2. Ranged enemies (Archers and Mages) are you biggest enemies. You can out-run melee demons, but ranged guys can keep hitting you. Plus, they are much more accurate with their shots.
3. The guide linked to in-game says to get to the high ground, but I disagree. When you are on top of a hill, it is much easier for Archers and Mages to hit you. This is reversed when you are at the bottom of a valley. Their shots almost always go over you because they shoot the same way.
4. Although you get more power when your bow is fully drawn, you can quickly fire off shots at close range, doing more overall damage. This only works on gates or melee enemies, since ranged ones run away.
5. I usually use Arrow Storm, Bone Storm, and Warrior of Chaos as my spells. It just depends for the other 2. I like Volcano and Fire Storm a bit. Quick Draw is my trinket.
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That's it. I hoped you enjoyed my guide to Sin Mark.
