Windblown is fast, brutal and unrelenting, but it's not unfair - even on the highest difficulties. Once you know the basics, you can pick up any weapon or trinket and smash, bash, stab or explode your way to victory. Hey folks, I'm Ash and let me walk you through all of the lessons I had to learn the hard way, so you can skip being punched in the face and just focus on having fun.

Video version of this guide (~8 minutes)

1) All characters are equal

When you first launch the game, you’ll be asked to pick between four different characters. Just go with whoever looks coolest, because mechanically they’re all identical. Your appearance is purely cosmetic.

And if you change your mind, don’t worry as you’ll unlock the ability to swap characters after a mission or two, along with a pile of extra skins later on. So feel free to follow your heart... or your fashion sense!

2) Damage is king

If you ever have to choose between offense or defense, you should (almost) always pick offense. There's no better way to avoid damage than by simply sending every enemy to the shadow realm before they even get a chance to swing at you.

Even bosses on the highest difficulty can melt in record time if your build is strong enough. So if you want a smooth ride, and some really fun gameplay, make sure you're always ahead of the power curve.

Health is fine, but killing robots quicker will keep you much safer

3) A bit of defense

You don’t want to dump a ton of upgrades into defense, but grabbing the premium stuff whenever you see it is a smart move. With how many different items exist in Windblown, you might not get another shot at a good defensive pick - and trust me, you’ll want at least one of these to survive the nastier endgame fights.

My personal favorites are: Golden Health, which literally turns your wallet into a health bar; Necromancy, which lets you heal by killing enemies and thus save on flasks; and Crystallize Barrier, which lets you stack up stupid amounts of bonus health.

Even just one of these can carry you through a tough run, so don’t make the rookie mistake of skipping over the good stuff in favor of small damage increases.

4) Target priority

Windblown loves to throw groups of enemies at you, and when that happens, you need to know who deserves your burning hatred first. Usually it’s going to be the fast-moving, hard-hitting maniacs that deny you space and force you to constantly dodge-dance.

Meanwhile, all of the ranged enemies, or those that simply run after you, are more like background noise. Just keep moving and most of their shots will whiff entirely. You’ll learn over time who the real threats are, but as a general rule: if it's fast, don't leave it for last. It rhymes, so it must be true!

These things will mess you up, so take them out fast

5) Take it easy

No matter how good you are, you're going to find yourself overwhelmed sooner or later. If this happens, don't go into a berserker rage and charge at the enemy until one of you dies. Instead, back off.

Go as far back as you need to. Just reset the fight, figure out what the enemy is doing, and then re-engage on your own terms. This works even against bosses since they all have predictable attack patterns - it’s just a matter of actually paying attention instead of just panic-dodging.

So if things are getting dicey, don’t be afraid to slow down and wait for your moment. It’s not cowardice - it’s just advancing backwards!

6) Alterattacks are awesome

Dodging in Windblown is incredibly strong, but it comes with one big downside: you can't attack while you're zipping around. So if you rely only on dodging, you’ll end up dragging fights out and giving enemies more chances to mess you up.

Instead, use your alterattacks. They give you invincibility frames so you can simply shrug off enemy attacks while continuing to tear them limb from limb. Every weapon handles differently, so it'll take a bit of practice, but it's absolutely worth learning as alterattacks are the backbone of just about any build.

If you can barely see what's happening, you're doing it right!

7) Don't get attached

Weapons in Windblown have a short shelf life. After a level or two, even the upgraded ones will start to fall behind. So unless you've rolled something truly special, be ready to switch whenever you find something stronger.

Not only will a fresh weapon hit harder right away, but you’ll also be able to upgrade it further than your old one. That said, sometimes your specific build might make a weapon or strategy much weaker than usual, so make sure to do a quick once-over of your upgrades before you fully commit.

8) Take risks

If you’re having a rough run where everything’s falling apart, you might be tempted to skip elites and challenges in fear of dying. Don't do that. This is Windblown - playing it safe will just condemn you to a slow, excruciating loss.

Instead, take the risk. If you pull it off, you might just get the boost you need to dig your way out of the hole you're currently in. And if you fail? Who cares - you likely weren't getting much further anyway.

That said, once you’re confident your build can wipe the floor with the final boss, then it’s okay to skip the side stuff. At that point, your only goal is survival. So just keep your health high so you can afford to make a few mistakes and still come home with the trophy!

No health, no problem

9) What to shop for?

After every level you'll hit a shop that offers you one last chance to power up before the next world. So, what should you buy?

First of all, upgrade your main weapon as much as possible. Then, if you're near the endgame, start rerolling its stats until you land on something that really supercharges your build.

Next, grab a healing potion if it's available since those are never useless. Beyond that, I usually save my cash for the next shop as trinkets or random perks are generally not worth the price. But if you're near the end and have no other use for it, spend your money on upgrading whatever secondary weapon or trinket is doing the heavy lifting in your build. That little boost might just make all the difference.

10) Hunt for secrets

Most games have secrets, but very few value them as heavily as Windblown. Here you can find everything from boosters that give you extra stats, to new weapons and trinkets - all of which will dramatically boost your power level.

So don't just rush through the levels. If you see a strange island off in the distance or a suspicious hole in the wall, go investigate. Half the time, your hunch will pay off - and sometimes, you’ll even find a secret within a secret!

And don't forget to unlock the "Updrafts" permanent upgrade! That will give you access to even more hidden areas with even more loot. What's not to love?!

Never trust a waterfall!

Got any questions?

And there you have it - ten simple tips to give you a real fighting chance against the worst Windblown can fling at you. If you have any questions, about the guide or Windblown itself, drop them in the video's comments and I'll do my best to help out.

[Note]: I welcome you to also check out my 'one year later' review of Windblown detailing what the game's truly about, what it does well, and whether it's worth playing at this point.