Frequently Asked Questions (Ecstatica II)

This article aims to answer frequently asked questions that are almost bound to come up when playing Ecstatica II for the first time and possibly even after finishing it.

Note: this FAQ is written in a manner that tries to avoid spoilers as much as possible.

General
This section answers questions of the most general nature."Is there an infinite number of enemies in the game?"Yes. Whereas the original game had a limited number of recurring enemies who would stay dead permanently, in Ecstatica II most enemies belong to generic types that are spawned almost non-stop. Luckily it is often unnecessary to kill all enemies and one can simply outrun them."Can magic weapons be recharged?"No. Once a magic weapon's energy has been used up it usually becomes virtually useless. It also won't ever be replaced by a fully charged one in the spot where it was first found."Do items ever disappear?"Items generally do not disappear in Ecstatica II and will remain in the same spot until picked up again and moved by the player. An exception to this are potions or scrolls that appear from dead enemies. These disappear once another item of the exact same kind is spawned by another killed enemy."Can I drop items?"Yes, by pressing the right alt key. It will first drop the item held in the left hand. If the hero is not carrying any item he will drop his weapon."What is gold / treasure good for?"Treasure is one of the more obscure mechanics that one normally wouldn't learn about without reading the manual. Aside from restoring a small amount of health, each picked up treasure item adds some gold to the hero's inventory. The hero can be fully healed by pressing the F12 key at the cost of 30,000 gold pieces. The current amount of gold can be viewed on the Icon Page, opened by pressing the Return key."How can I cast magic?"While the hero does not have to learn casting magic it takes a while before he is able to do so. Eventually you will run into enemy types that drop magic scrolls once in a while when killed, which give the hero magic power or mana as it is more commonly called in other games. Three different spells can be cast if sufficient magic power is available. Please refer to the controls article to learn how to do that."I lost an important item and I don't know when or where!"The usual cause for losing items is picking up a potion or scroll. If the hero does so while carrying an item in his left hand he will drop it when picking up the potion or scroll. The item has to be picked up again manually. So whenever you accidentally lose an item, think hard where you last drank a potion or absorbed a scroll and odds are that the item is lying there on the ground.

Progression
This section answers questions referring to anything about making progress in the game and doing things in the correct order."I have made progress but now I don't know what to do"Usually after making the slightest bit of noticeable progress new options become available. While Ecstatica II roughly follows a "metroidvania" structure, meaning that new portions of the world become available as new items are obtained, sometimes parts of the world open up without the player actually having obtained new skills. Especially early on switches (horned demon heads on walls) often become active for no comprehensible reason and one has to revisit earlier locations in search for them.

Once you have defeated the first boss make sure you make use of the crystal balls which are usually found near one of the Eldersign pieces. Activating these plays a message from the priestess, telling you roughly what to do next."Why does the priestess tell me to stop hitting switches / levers?"This only indicates that it is too early to use the switch or lever in question. It will eventually be usable once more or less obscure conditions have been fulfilled. In-spite of her irritated tone, hitting inactive switches does not have any negative effect."Can the red brute standing on the well be killed?"Short answer: no. Even though the brute is first encountered only moments after starting the game, he can only be disposed off as part of a riddle much later (specifically after beating the first boss)."How can the drawbridge be lowered?"The lever of the drawbridge can be activated once the second Eldersign piece has been obtained. There are other ways to leave or enter the castle but it is highly recommended to lower the drawbridge before leaving the castle for the first time because it will make re-entering much easier."Why doesn't the secret passage in the chapel lead anywhere?"It does. It's hard to see because of how dark the tunnel is but there's a ladder on the last wall. Once you've reached the end of the tunnel simply press the space bar and the hero should start climbing up.