Ecstatica II
First of all, some advice:
The best way to kill monsters is to strike them just after they’ve finished their attack, especially if they missed; depending on the weapon you have, it will take more or fewer hits to eliminate your enemies. Leave the monster emerging from the well in the middle of the square alone, and avoid it at least at the beginning. Trying to kill it with weapons is a waste of effort—it needs to be eliminated with cunning.
At the start of the game, also avoid doors with red or blue seals: attempting to open them is a waste of time. Later, much later, you'll be able to open them; naturally, for those with locks, you'll need a key.
To finish the game, it's not necessary to explore the entire territory—I personally completed it with about 75% of the territory explored.
Where are the 7 pieces of the sacred seal located?
- On the stairs of the main hall (accessed through the brown door behind the well) after killing the two sorcerers.
- Behind the skeleton on the throne in the catacombs after finding the three glowing skulls.
- In the garden near the sacred clearing of the Amazons.
- In the garden with the killer colored flowers after the cemetery church.
- In the Necromancer's lair.
- In the warrior's tower.
- In the black tower in a chest (after the timed passages).
Where are the essential items located?
- First Armor: In the cemetery tomb.
- Ring: In the cave near the Amazons' sacred clearing (after killing the witch).
- First six-pointed piece: In the magic tower.
- Second Armor: In the magic tower.
- Second six-pointed piece: Under the well in the village (you need to jump into the well).
- Lantern: In the hunter's house, hanging inside the fireplace (near the village).
- Scroll: In the black tower, in a chest (after the timed passages).
Solution
Let's begin the journey: kill the two monsters, then enter the first door on the right after the cart, and you will find the sword, which you should obviously pick up; there are also coins and potions scattered around (before drinking the potions in the brown bottles, save the game, as you can't know their effect in advance).
Exit and pass the well with the monster inside, and go to the other small square: open the locked door of the tower next to the cart.
Climb the stairs to the top (explore the floors if you wish) and you will see a key; trigger the trap by standing to the side, or the arrow will kill you, take the key and open the door.
Go left, towards the inactive teleporter, descend the red and gray steps: the gate will close behind you; pass in front of the tower with the gate, and ahead of you, you will see floating armor—go under it to wear it.
Return to the tower with the closed gate and use the stairs: the armor will protect you from the two giant bats.
Climb until you find the second door (the first one is locked), open it, kill the monster, and collect the key.
If you want, you can climb further and take the treasure. Then go and unlock the locked door: inside, you will find the captive guide mage, listen to what she says. Now go down the stairs, and you will see the gate at the bottom open. Take the diamond and look at the two switches: they are now green, activate them both.
Now the gate where you put on the armor is open—go through it and descend the three steps to the right, where you will find a switch, activate it, and the other gate will open.
Enter, the only thing you can do is exchange your sword for the magic staff in the central hall full of bombs.
Exit, look to the right, and you will see a semi-hidden door: enter it. Here, as you explore the various rooms, you will find three colored levers (blue, green, and brown), three switches of the same color, a light green switch, two doors with colored locks (blue and pink), and two closed gates with chests behind them containing the colored keys (beware of stone monsters, it takes more than fifteen hits with the drained staff to kill them).
The correct sequence is:
Blue switch, blue lever, the gate to the chest with the blue key will open. Open the blue door, activate the dark green switch, the lever of the same color, and the gate with the chest containing the pink key will open; open the pink door, activate the brown switch, and the brown lever.
Return to the room with the blue locked door, activate the light green switch, and both closed gates will open: take the treasure, change the sword, and climb the stairs.
Activate the switch, return to where you put on the armor (choose whichever path you prefer), and go to the small shed nearby (the one with the thatched roof): the door will open automatically. Enter and activate the switch.
Go to the tower where you freed the mage, climb to the top, and take the magic staff (don't worry about the lightning). Then go back down and head to where you saw the teleporter, which is now active.
Take the teleporter, exit, and go to the large gate behind the well in the main square.
Open the door, but be careful because now you're unarmed (the staff disappears). Enter, and to the right, you'll find a sword. Continuing to the right, there are two corridors with various doors. Explore all the rooms and grab whatever you can.
Return to the main hall, climb one of the two staircases: a sorcerer will appear—kill him (it takes several hits). Go down and climb the other staircase, where another sorcerer needs to be killed. Once he's defeated, you can take the first piece of the medallion. Climb the stairs, explore the rooms, and find the magic orb. Listen to it.
Exit, and look for the room with the horse inside. Note the color of the saddle pad, then go to the adjacent room on the left and descend into the hole using the ladder. Activate the switch that opens the gate.
Now you're in the underground. Explore it to find three bottles of the same color as the saddle pad and return to the well with the monster inside.
Approach the well, the monster will take the bottle and meet the same fate as those you found in the underground—it will fall asleep and disappear.
Enter the well and find the room with the three levers. Hit them all: one opens the large gate. Enter and take everything.
You will see the teleporter blocked by bars. To enter it, you must exit the well and enter the door to the left of the other horse. Climb the stairs, go inside, and find the room with the ladder attached to the wall. Climb up and go to the roof where the furnace chimney is located.
Jump into the chimney (don't be afraid of getting burned), and you'll end up directly in the teleporter you saw earlier, which will send you to the catacombs.
Here you'll find a locked door and pedestals with skulls on them, three of which are missing. Descend the stairs and enter the labyrinth of the catacombs. Among piles of bones, treasures, and monsters, you must find the three missing skulls. You'll recognize them because they glow, and you must carry them one by one to the pedestals. The first two are found among the skeletons, but to reach the last one, you must, in sequence: Take the left stairs, turn left twice, then right, then left again, and you'll find yourself in a room with a gray stone column in the middle. In front of the column on the opposite wall, there's a barely visible passage—take it, turn right, and you'll find stairs leading to a cave with a pond. You must navigate around the pond by passing the rocks on the right, where you see the potion bottle. Head towards the sword, then go under the skull with the horns—there's a passage with a corridor blocked by a red door. There you'll find the third skull. To return, it's best to dive into the water and quickly climb the ladder. Once you've retrieved all three, the door will open, and you'll find a throne with another piece of the medallion and two crosses. You must take the smaller one. See that red symbol behind the throne? From this moment on, you can also open doors with the red seal.
Go back to the teleportation room and use the magic orb. Open the red door and climb back up through the well. Go to the first tower you visited (remember? The one where you found the key hanging on the wall with the trap). Go to the first floor and take the door to the left: you'll find yourself on a terrace with three doors. Explore to find the room with the green shoes in the adjacent one. Now you'll find a switch to activate, but to do so, you must navigate through the corridors with the trap doors, etc.
You should also find a room full of bombs, and upon exiting, a staircase with a bomb on each step. Remember it because it's the entrance to the black tower.
Go back down and head to the tower with the medical symbol on the door (the snake coiled around a torch). Take the stairs to the left and open the red door. If I recall correctly, you should find a more powerful sword and various potions somewhere.
Afterward, go to the well and enter the room with the deadly green stains at the entrance: activate the switch. Go to the main gate to the right of the well, which is also the entrance to the castle, and hit the lever. The gate will open. Cross the drawbridge and enter the garden, find the entrance to the cemetery, and use the small cross to open it. Look for the tomb with the entrance to the underground, explore the rooms, and after killing the witch, you can take the first armor.
Exit and go to the church: hit the candle to the left of the altar, and a secret passage will open. Enter it, walk down the corridor, and climb up the ladder.
You'll find yourself in another part of the garden, where you should see another piece of the medallion. Take it, then look for the Amazons' clearing. If you find the village, don't enter it yet—you're not ready.
Once you've found the Amazons, kill them all, enter the cave, kill the witch, and take the magic ring. Exit and take another piece of the medallion located at the edge of the clearing. Re-enter the cave and take the teleporter—now you can open the blue doors (hooray!!!). Let's go get the most powerful weapon in the entire game!!
It's located on the second floor of the first tower you visited. Break down the blue door and grab everything, especially the sword (it has five diamonds of power).
Now go to the staircase with the bombs that you needed to remember. Climb the stairs (watch out for the bombs!!), break down the door, climb the various floors, and kill anything that moves. Explore everything—you should see the second armor and a piece of the medallion protected by magic: to take them, you must kill the sorcerer.
Look for the door to exit to the outside, at the top of the tower, where there's a teleporter. Listen to the magic orb and then make a big space-time jump to the village (in simple terms, use the teleporter.....). Look for the well in the center of the village, if you want, visit all the houses and loot them. Then enter the house with the ladder that leads to the terrace above the well.
Take a running start and jump inside. You'll find the piece that looks like a kind of star. Exit, and now the villagers have returned to normal. Go to the church and use the magic orb.
Exit, and the villagers will show you the way to the hunter's house.
Look for the room with the bear skin and hit it, then go to the house across the street and take the lantern hanging above the now-extinguished fire.
Go back to the plants and find a piece of the medallion, then go to the village and look for the black pond. Cross it and go into the forest; walk until you reach the old ruins and climb up where you see the teleporter.
This teleporter will send you to the necromancer's territory: kill her, take the sixth piece of the medallion. Use the teleporter to go to the black tower—this is the final part of the game.
You'll find timed passages (to check the remaining life time, open the main panel, and along with the items, you'll now see an hourglass).
Once you've solved the last passage (try and try again until you find the shortest path to exit the various rooms) and taken the teleporter, you need to find the chests containing the last piece of the medallion and the scroll (and, as usual, you'll have to kill a few witches).
Then go to the corridor with the swinging blade, at the end to the right is the room with the leader of the dark forces. Kill him!! You've won, reunited with your beloved, and saved the world from the forces of evil.
