Post-Game Content
Congratulations, Kid! You've seen the ending, but the journey through the Calamity isn't quite over. Bastion offers a wealth of challenges and secrets to uncover even after the credits roll. This section will guide you through maximizing your post-game experience, from New Game Plus to hidden challenges and ultimate weapon upgrades.
New Game Plus: The Score Attack
Upon completing the game, you'll unlock New Game Plus, also known as "Score Attack." This mode allows you to restart the story with all your collected weapons, upgrades, spirits, and idols. However, there's a twist: your goal is to achieve the highest possible score by defeating enemies, collecting fragments, and completing levels efficiently. This is the ultimate test of your combat prowess and strategic use of the Bastion's resources.
- Retain Everything: All your weapon upgrades, spirit choices, and collected idols carry over. This means you can immediately tackle tougher challenges with your fully powered arsenal.
- Score Multiplier: Activating Idols at the Shrine significantly increases your score multiplier. For maximum points, aim to play with as many Idols active as you can manage. Remember, each Idol makes enemies stronger or introduces new combat modifiers.
- Fragment Focus: Fragments are crucial for upgrading your weapons and purchasing spirits. In New Game Plus, they also contribute to your overall score. Prioritize collecting them, especially from defeated enemies.
- Speed and Efficiency: While exploration is still rewarding, completing levels quickly and without taking excessive damage will boost your score. Learn enemy patterns and optimal weapon combinations for each encounter.
The Shrine: Idol Challenges
The Shrine in the Bastion is your gateway to increasing the game's difficulty and earning greater rewards. Each Idol you activate at the Shrine introduces a specific combat modifier, making enemies tougher, more aggressive, or altering their behavior. While you can activate Idols during your initial playthrough, they become particularly relevant in New Game Plus for score chasing and earning the "Idol Worship" achievement.
- Understanding Idols:
- Lending Hand: Enemies have more health.
- Black-Hearted: Enemies deal more damage.
- Stray Dog: Enemies are faster.
- Doppelganger: Enemies have a chance to spawn a duplicate upon death.
- Many-Tongued: Enemies have a chance to drop a healing potion upon death, but they also heal themselves more often.
- Hard Bargain: Enemies drop fewer fragments.
- Gravedigger: Enemies explode upon death.
- Leeching: Enemies heal themselves when they hit you.
- Untouchable: Enemies are immune to critical hits.
- Soul Siphon: You gain less health from healing items.
- Strategic Activation: Don't activate all Idols at once unless you're seeking the ultimate challenge. Experiment with different combinations to find a difficulty level that is both challenging and enjoyable. Some Idols synergize in particularly brutal ways.
- Rewards: Activating Idols increases the experience and fragments you gain from enemies, making them essential for fully upgrading all your weapons and spirits.
Proving Grounds: Weapon Skill Challenges
The Proving Grounds are accessible from the Bastion and offer unique challenges for each weapon. Successfully completing a Proving Ground unlocks a powerful upgrade for that specific weapon, often its final and most impactful upgrade. These challenges range from defeating waves of enemies within a time limit to navigating obstacle courses.
- Accessing Proving Grounds: Each Proving Ground is represented by a specific weapon's icon on the Bastion's world map. Simply select it to enter.
- Preparation is Key: Before attempting a Proving Ground, ensure the associated weapon is fully upgraded (as much as possible without the Proving Ground reward) and that you have a suitable spirit loadout. Some challenges benefit from specific spirits like "Squirt's Soy Sauce" for increased damage or "Black Tonics" for more health.
- Specific Challenges & Rewards:
- Caelan's Cache (Caelan's Greatsword): Challenge involves defeating enemies with the Greatsword. Reward: Whirlwind Attack (Greatsword upgrade).
- Windbag's Scramble (War Machete): Navigate an agility course with the War Machete. Reward: Rapid Slash (War Machete upgrade).
- Jawson's Bog (Breaker's Bow): Defeat enemies using the Breaker's Bow, often with limited arrows or specific target requirements. Reward: Volley Shot (Breaker's Bow upgrade).
- Ura's Hearth (Fire Bellows): Survive waves of enemies using the Fire Bellows. Reward: Incinerate (Fire Bellows upgrade).
- Zulf's Last Stand (Dueling Pistols): A timed challenge to defeat enemies with the Dueling Pistols. Reward: Ricochet Shot (Dueling Pistols upgrade).
- Slinger's Square (Repeater Crossbow): Defeat enemies with the Repeater Crossbow, often requiring precise aiming. Reward: Piercing Bolts (Repeater Crossbow upgrade).
- Anklegator's Gullet (Scrap Musket): A close-quarters combat challenge with the Scrap Musket. Reward: Spread Shot (Scrap Musket upgrade).
- Stray's Roost (Fang Repeater): A rapid-fire challenge with the Fang Repeater. Reward: Burst Fire (Fang Repeater upgrade).
- Bullhead's Court (Hammer): Defeat enemies with the Hammer, focusing on crowd control. Reward: Ground Pound (Hammer upgrade).
- Wharf's Edge (Mortar): A long-range challenge with the Mortar, often requiring precise targeting. Reward: Cluster Bomb (Mortar upgrade).
- Wallflower's Garden (Battering Ram): A defensive challenge using the Battering Ram. Reward: Charge Attack (Battering Ram upgrade).
Dream Shard Challenges: The Who Knows Where
After completing the game, you can revisit the Who Knows Where, accessed via the Skyway in the Bastion. These areas, initially used for collecting Dream Shards, now offer a continuous challenge where you face endless waves of enemies. Your goal is to survive as long as possible and defeat as many foes as you can to earn fragments and experience.
- Endless Waves: The Who Knows Where provides a relentless stream of enemies, increasing in difficulty and variety as you survive longer.
- Fragment Farming: This is an excellent location to farm fragments for any remaining weapon upgrades or to purchase spirits you might have missed.
- Practice Ground: Use the Who Knows Where to hone your combat skills, experiment with different weapon combinations, and test out various spirit loadouts against a constant threat.
- Leaderboards: Your performance in the Who Knows Where is often tracked on leaderboards, allowing you to compete with other players for high scores.
Collectibles and Lore
Even if you've completed the main story, there might be hidden lore or collectibles you missed. Take your time to revisit each area in New Game Plus, paying close attention to details.
- Mementos: Each level contains a hidden Memento that provides additional lore about the world and its inhabitants. If you missed any, New Game Plus is the perfect opportunity to track them down.
- Weapon Skills: Ensure you've completed all Proving Grounds to unlock every weapon's ultimate skill.
- Spirit Collection: Purchase any remaining spirits from the Distillery to fully customize your build options.