5 tips and tricks for beginners

unfair? Yes. painful? very. joking? definitely. Noita is a magical roguelike created by Finnish developer Nolla Games. True to her type, Noita expects you to fail and will do everything she can to make it happen. One of its unique features is that it simulates all the pixels on the screen at any given moment.


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The problem is: most of those pixels are dangerous. Acid, poisonous rocks, freezing steam, fire (lots of fire) – all can end a run in seconds. You will die a lot in this game, but here are some tips to help you survive when you start your mission to complete the great work.

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5 Get a water bottle and use it

Each Noita race will start by giving you a starting wand and a potion. Most of the time, this potion will be water. If not, you can get some by jumping into any body of water while you have an empty beaker equipped. One of the biggest threats to a player is fire. No matter how much health you gain, it will deal damage over time proportional to your maximum health. Other hazards, such as toxic sludge, do the same. Both of these common dangers can be terminated by water.

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Jumping into a puddle might be your first instinct, but what if there is no water? Simply prepare your trusty water bottle and splash some water on yourself to remove those nasty burns. Some other benefits are that you can use it to harden the lava so it won’t melt, and you can purify the toxic sludge by pouring some water and mixing it around. Water is key to Noita’s survival. Having a way to create it on demand will help you save some health that you would otherwise lose.

4 Stop causing fires

Spelling pixels from flammable material

Fire, while useful, is also very dangerous, and there is a lot of it to roam around in. Between the burning enemies, fire spells, and the game’s natural tendency to burn for no reason, there’s fire Everywhere. Unless you’re lucky enough to get immunity to fire through a perk, it’s always a threat. No matter how healthy you are, fire deals a set percentage of it as damage.

It can be useful to eliminate groups of enemies, but they quickly get out of control. Worst of all, you won’t be able to collect gold from your fallen enemies without taking damage. Spreading fire can be effective — and fun — but remember: it has no loyalty.

3 Understand stains and how they can help

Blood and water stains soak Noita's witch's robe

Patches are primarily status effects in Noita. As you move between liquids, they cover your witch’s robe and can help or hinder your progress. Three of the most common stains are water, blood, and toxic sludge. Water keeps you hydrated, which makes you temporarily fireproof. It also comes with a downside of making you very weak to electricity. Bloodstains increase the chance of critical hits for spells. Noita’s crit deals 5x your standard damage, so you want to land them as often as possible. A little bloodbath can do just that.

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Toxic sludge is the first dangerous spot most new players will encounter. It covers your robe, and does damage over time until it’s removed, which can take a long time depending on how soaked you are. The spots will replace each other as you find different liquids. Again, a water bottle can protect you from harmful conditions by washing it. There are as many patches in the game as there are fluids, but the key to each of them is to understand that they affect enemies in the same way as they affect you. Beware of the bloodstained enemy.

2 Read your spells

List of Noita spells for crafting wands

Spells are everything at Noita. If you understand how it works, you can crack the game with your joystick and take a thrill ride. It only happens if you read it, though. Remember: Noita wants you dead, and some spells are designed to do just that. Spell descriptions provide details that are far from counterintuitive. A giant saw blade, for example, seems pretty effective at slashing enemies, until you discover that it bounces back towards where it was thrown, and will likely come right back at you.

The blast spell causes an explosion, not where the enemy is, or where the pointer points, but on the tip of the wand. This poses a number of problems, chief among them death. By reading the spell’s attributes, you can find some that act as catalysts: a way to move those dangerous effects away from you and toward your enemies. Experimenting with spells will help you master building tools. There are hundreds of spells in Noita, so make sure you know what you’re casting.

1 take your time

Noita near complete progression menu showing various spells and enemies in the game

In some roguelikes, rushing to the end is a viable strategy for limiting your vulnerability. At Noita, this strategy will hinder you more than it helps you later on. Each region in Noita has its own unique threats. Taking your time learning how enemies attack and how to avoid their threats will keep you alive longer. It is worth the time to fight, die and learn. The only thing you can improve on Noita is your knowledge.

The second part of this is gold. Your enemies drop it and you need it. Without gold, you won’t be able to buy better wands and spells from the shop between levels. If your wand can’t keep up with the threats you face, you will fail. Each level contains secrets, health collectibles and sticks to find. Taking your time to research them only improves your chances. All that said, if your health is low, running to safety is your best option, so remember that discretion is the better part of bravery.

Even with all the advice in the world, Noita will still get you in the end. The best thing any player can do is learn from their mistakes. Noita is a challenging game, but it’s also a fun game. There is a lot of depth in its mechanics. The best advice of all is to persevere.

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