As part of Respawn being less toothy meta discussions and more fun, I'll be sharing weekly tips for random games that I'm playing alongside my staple MMO / game of the week (Dying Light currently). Here are some cool tips for a neat Rougelike that is going from a browser based legend of sorts to Steam.

Enchanted Cave 2 successfully made it through the Steam Greenlight process and is available online at Kongregate. It's an awesome sequel to an awesome roguelike where there is persistance... if you escape. You go through dungeon after dungeon after dungeon finding exits and if you find the wings, you can escape with some of your goods, only artifact quality items will come with you, and there is no going up a floor, only down. So understanding that, it's a combination of trying to make it through as far as you go before you return with as much loot as you can make it with to restart the dungeon.

Right now, the game has 50 levels, but an additional 20 will be made available in the premium version of the game that will be arriving on Steam. If you're interested in a fun little time waster, here are five easy tips to help you through the game.

#1 - Spend your Gold in Town

In town there is an NPC who will offer a random item for sale, artifact quality. Every time I've bought an item from the NPC I have not been disappointed. The only other use for gold is for potions, which are only useful really early game or after you've leveled up the bottom left side of your skills (I dub the adventuring tree). You can often get items you won't see drop yet and gold is only useful for marathon runs, when you want to have as many potions as possible.

#2 - Save Your Mana and Craft!

Crafting costs mana and by the time you get to the forge you might be out. If you are, remember you can buy mana potions at the shop to be able to craft. Crafting is critical for upgrading items and creating rare potions that can really help, especially the scary spider level (25). 

#3 - Start Early, Finish Late

When you reach the 10th floor, start back on floor 0 (the first shop). Go through the entire start again until you reach level 10, at least once, if not twice. Repeat this process every time you unlock a floor. So when you unlock floor 30, start at floor 20 and clean up (leveling / farming gear). Then you should be powerful enough to continue through the next track, at least long enough to get the wings to return to the surface!

#4 - Secret Rooms are Awesome

Secret rooms exist on the same floor set each go around. So sometimes it may be on level 1 or sometimes it may be on level 3, but generally speaking they are at the same average interval. You should be hunting them more than anything, but there is an artifact located in each along with other goodies.

#5  - Fear Death

There is no point in ever dying and don't risk it. Return more than less. Death creates fun and excitment, but it's also final, if you die then you lose that run's loot, which is never a good thing, because the entire run was a waste. Wings come easy, you should get some the first three floors or at the secret room you're surely to run into.

Well that's my spoiler free tips, the game wouldn't be any fun if I spoiled it anymore! Have fun and I hope everyone has a great weekend. Tomorrow I'll be sharing some opinions on my childhood idol, Peter Molyneux. Next week I'll also be tackling some simulator games and my impressions of Warframe on the console (which I'll be trying to enjoy over the weekend).

As a quick sidenote, for the Kongregate achievements (which I'm sure will port over to steam). The first one, ""It Belongs in a Museum" Badge" just find the secret room (usually within the fist five floors) and you'll get it. For the second one, "Dungeon Raid Badge" is on floor 25. For the third one, "Cave Career Calling Badge" you'll just need to level up. Finally for, "Cave New World Badge" just finish the game. It actually won't take that long for a hard badge.