Ember
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Ember: Tips for Beginners
By Taskmaster
Simple tips to keep you from getting burned in Ember!
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Welcome


Welcome Lightbringer et al to my simple guide for Ember! I am still a beginner myself in the lands of Ember, so I will attempt to update this guide as I discover new tips and tricks. There is probably nothing earth-shattering in this guide, but sometimes even the most banal information can be made fresh and new when flavored with some humor.

Note: This guide contains images to illustrate the various tips, and may contain minor spoilers. Please keep this in mind as I would not want to spoil your enjoyment.

So without further ado, let's start covering what I hope will be useful and helpful tips...



Trouble Around Every Corner
Ember is not as densely populated with enemies as some games, such as Diablo, Dungeon Siege, Fate, Torchlight, etc. so you have more room to wander and roam, but this game has the tendency to provide encounters in "corner" type areas. Explore the map to find all the goodies, making sure to watch the corner areas and dead ends, like canyons.

The map below is just an example to show areas that would be "corners" of the map, so to speak.



As you roam the world of Ember and transistion into a new area, check the map to see what experience level the enemies in the area are. You may need to find another way to get to where you are going if you find yourself out-gunned, so to speak. (Note: I added the red rectangle as an indicator.)



Get Close To Me
Ember is literally littered with items you can scavenge to sell later, but unfortunately you have to get very close to those items in order for their name to appear. Alternatively you can use "Query Mode" (Q by default) but you cannot move while that mode is active so it ihas limited usefulness. In addition there is no way to pick up all the items in an area without clicking on each and every one of them (at least that I have found thus far).

This requirement to be close includes items that will appear on the mini-map, such as fishing holes, ores, and plants. They do not appear until you get fairly close, so keep an eye out. Exploration is key if you are a collect-a-holic like me.

This is an example of using Query Mode to locate nearby items.



You can also use Query Mode to assess your opponent(s) before choosing to engage in a battle.
However, you still have to get fairly close for this to work. Just mouse over your foe!




Don't Mind - uh - Mine Me
In order to craft weapons and armor you need ores for metal. You will find these ore nodes in different areas of the game. They appear as small yellow dots, just like other crafting materials, on the mini-map so keep your eyes open. You will need a pickaxe to extract the ore, but the pickaxe never seems to break so no need to carry multiples.




Training for Dummies
Looking for some quick experience you can gain from a fight you can't lose? Just attack the next training dummy you find. Each party member will gain 42-ish experience points after the workout. Training Dummies are not that prevalent, so you may as well take the opportunity when you encounter them.



NOTE: Ambient creatures are easy fights as well, but you do not get experience from killing them.
Something Fishy!
Having played Torchlight I and II, when I aquired my first fishing pole I imaged fishing being something more than it is in Ember. There are fishing holes scattered around the game and a fishing pole is required to make use of them, but it is not a mini-game. However, you can catch raw fish for dinner and, oft times, a little something more. Scout along the rivers and waterways for opportunities to get some goodies.



Some Like It Hot
While you may have plenty of raw fish, chicken, venison and more, there is no sushi in Ember. Fish and other meats will need to be cooked before they can be consumed. Most meat can be cooked without any other ingredients. Bear meat requires additional ingredients to cook.

Eating raw fruits and veggies offer a minimal amount of health, but if you cook those same fruits and veggie you can get enormous health benefits. Even if you do not have a recipe or seasonings to improve the cooked results, it is still more than worth it to cook up a stack of pumpkins or carrots!

A Mushy Cooked Pumpkin will restore half your health, while an au natural pumpkin may provide 50 points of health, if that. If you are hitting the inventory limit, then you should cook entire stacks to prevent burning (pun intented) another inventory slot (discussed in the next section). If you are eating to restore your health, try to eat the cooked items that you only have 1 or 2 of first so that you free up an inventory slot.



Sanford and Son
As the old saying goes "One man's trash is another man's treasure!" There is a plethora of trash, uh, I mean treasure scattered through out the various locales. Items that are junk or treasures are clearly marked as such. I have not found any junk or treasure that was needed for a quest, recipe or other use. It is truly only for selling, so sell it for scrap to the nearest merchant and free up your limited inventory.

Speaking of limited inventory, your main inventory has a limit of 99 different "things". If that "thing" can stack, then you can have multiple of the item and it only counts as 1 "thing". To illustrate this, if you have a stack of 6 carrots and stack of 8 pumpkins, that only counts as 2 slots of the 99 used in the inventory. Eventually you will encounter bags that allow you additional storage slots.

See You Next Time
Thanks for taking the time to check out my guide on Ember! I hope that you found a useful tidbit or two, or at least enjoyed your stay. If you like the guide, please give it a rate, but also check my profile as I have several other guides including short-stories inspired by Minecraft (R) and Starpoint Gemini and many more.

Click here to view more of Taskmaster's Guides!

Your feedback is how I will improve my guides, so take this opportunity to mentor a fellow game player with any positive or negative feedback, but please be civil! Thanks again and have a good day!



13 Comments
Taskmaster  [author] 12 Sep, 2021 @ 8:04pm 
You are most welcome. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Dragonspoor 12 Sep, 2021 @ 7:19pm 
Nice starting guide. Thank you very much.
Taskmaster  [author] 1 Jul, 2020 @ 10:13am 
I really hope this is a lesson for us all in the USA. Look at how quickly our freedoms were surrender or lost. I'm glad my house is built on the Rock. I hope you will have a blessed Fourth of July.
linda6943 1 Jul, 2020 @ 9:38am 
P. S. Your comment just before my post is rather bittersweet. It looks like our family will be "celebrating" the fourth of July this year by watching 1. legal fireworks on TV and/or 2. illegal fireworks around the neighborhood, all while sheltering in place.
linda6943 1 Jul, 2020 @ 9:34am 
Thank you, Taskmaster. I'll take it to heart.
Taskmaster  [author] 2 Jul, 2019 @ 3:40pm 
Appreciated. If applicable, I hope you enjoy the 4th of July!
Akis 1 Jul, 2019 @ 9:18am 
Thanks. A good guide to start playing the game.
Taskmaster  [author] 19 Jan, 2019 @ 1:10pm 
Glad to hear! Have a great weekend.
lobstermadness 19 Jan, 2019 @ 1:00pm 
Very Helpful! thanks!
Taskmaster  [author] 19 Aug, 2018 @ 7:12am 
You kind comments are appreciated. Enjoy the game!