Recommendations on inheritance point allocation for players attempting an extreme run for Wandering sword in the spring/summer of 2024. There are 1-2 mentions of the Southern DLC, but for the most part very little of what I wrote applies to those insane bosses. this guide is old and obsolete i have a new one that talks about legacies MANUALS - Cultivation Method - Quality Of Life / OPTIONAL Zen Demon-Subduing spell - 8k inheritance points It gives all your characters a red cultivation manual at the start of the game, increasing everyone's MAX Hp and MP ceiling early. It gives + 20 STR at lvl 10 (more base damage for most characters). It also gives the entire team a low damage large aoe attack spell when cast during battle that also boosts damage and defense. For grinding in Extreme it is not NEEDED, it is super convenient and makes the run more fun though. Golden Bell Cocoon - 4k inheritance points It gives all your characters a shield that will block one attack. In the early parts of the game on extreme when everything hits like a tank, this is VERY helpful for fighting/grinding. I don't remember when you get this in the main quest, but I think its pretty manageable to skip it and earn it in the game if you don't want to waste the inheritance points. It's still very convenient QOL. Yoga Sutras - 4k inheritance points It gives all your characters 100 hp and 100 mp regen at the start of the game. You can rush to the Precipice once your MC has 5k hp and 100 agi and get this free from the actual game. So it's very optional. I like it as a QOL, cause the first 2-3 hours on Extreme can be a bit annoying when your characters have to go to town for more mp. MANUALS - Lightness Skill - Quality Of Life / OPTIONAL Ghostly Shadow - 8k inheritance points It gives your entire team a gap closer. No matter how slow or far away you spawn from your opponent this lightness skill will let you reach them or even their back line on round 1. It also gives a permanent bonus to AGI and a massive boost to stamina for your main character. It is not earned in the game until DEEP into the story, having it in Extreme is not needed but makes every battle start better in pretty much every way. Swan Steps - 4k inheritance points It gives a +1 movement range for relatively cheap amount of martial points. The bonus to stamina early is always nice. Also gives +15 AGI if you full max it. It's earned in the game by your main character pretty early, but the rest of the team wont see that sweet sweet +1 MOV until much later. It isn't NEEDED but the MOV helps land back attacks instead of side attacks. In Extreme there are MANY enemies that the only reliable way to do damage is back attacks. QOL selection pick. *Just a minor tip. If you use one of your lightness skill EQUIP slots on Lightweight Technique.... it's stays useful the entire game. 25% chance to start any fight with additional MOV. It can be earned in the game very early, so no need to WASTE inheritance points on it. I just find it a nice tip if you didn't know. No need to ever cast it, but one of the earliest lightness skills is honestly one of the best in the game. Martial Arts - Cultivation Method - Quality Of Life / Too Stupid to Live if you don't take this Muscle-Changing Scripture - 6k inheritance points Gives your main character a MASSIVE passive boost to armor, hp, qi gathering speed, and has an active debuff clearing heal. oh yeah, it gives your character a free extra life in EVERY FIGHT... yeah not a big deal.... Honestly the single best cultivation method in the game with the current sparring concept. You can take on considerably stronger "allies" much earlier to take their stuff. I don't think you'd be able to earn this from the monks on Extreme until you are in the later half of the game. Starting off with it is so unbelievably useful that it would be stupid not to take it. I only wish there was a Manuals version for the rest of the team, but that would probably break the game. (except for southern chronicles DLC Bosses kind of already broke the game on Extreme, those enemies are game breaking pieces of crap) Martial Arts - Cultivation Method - Quality Of Life / Optional Innate Qi Mastery - 4k inheritance points Gives an early game boost to max hp and Qi gathering speed. It helps make sparring easier earlier just from those 2 things, and it's not too expensive. It can be earned in game from the Wheelchair Super detective around 30% into the game? And the bonuses aren't super amazing, but it's a pretty decent QOL for a mere 4k inheritance points. Star Absorption Force - 4k inheritance points Massive AOE cultivation method that increases your max mp, while significantly reducing the opponents mp and causing a few good debuffs as well as drawing your enemies to you... which sounds amazing right? It can't be earned until the very end of the game, and only on Southern DLC... and it would probably be a great skill to use in the Southern DLC? Martial Arts - Fist Weapon - Quality Of Life / Fist User easy sparring These are Fist Weapon skills that I take for Sparring. Even if you like your Main Character as a swordsman or any of the other styles, fist weapon users REALLY shine at sparring due to some of the bonus affects. Soft Palm Strike - 2k inheritance points This is probably the strongest "Special Move" in the game. Increases damage done to the enemy and has a max hp based bomb/attack skill. This can be earned in sparring pretty early I think? I think there is a 4k+ hp roaming monk who has it, I believe? So you don't need it, but it's also only 2k inheritance points. Either find that monk and rob him asap, or just take this for QOL. Great Vajrapani Fist - 2k inheritance points This is probably the "best" "Mighty Move" for Extreme fist users. It's damage is actually really good and it can crit as well as move an enemy away from you. Oh yeah, and it gives you one turn of immortality, no big deal. If you are a fist user this is the ultimate cheat code skill. Normally getting this from the monks would be a PAIN, cause they use it against you. Why not start the game with it? It's also a total cheat code move against the entire wudang sect for fist users. Later on when you are fighting the bigwigs for their stuff they will be using their limitless cultivation method to counter attack you. This skill will push them away from you before the counter attack hits. If you are willing to use fists, take this. It's only 2k and its probably the SMARTEST 2k you can spend. Prajna Vajrapani Palms - 4k inheritance points This is fist user "Unique Move" is okayish on it's own? It comes with a decent range/aoe attack skill? But there are plenty of better damage dealing Unique moves later on. What makes this one redeemable is it also gives the 1 turn of immortality. Notice how I applauded the immortality as the BEST Mighty Move but I'm kinda whatevering the Unique Move? The Mighty Move will get used around 1/3 of every attack in the game, and it's relatively cheap. Unique Moves just don't get used as much, and if you are in a fight doing more damage generally ends up being better? Let's just say that later in the game, when I have Yan the Beggar and Condor Girl I will generally have them using Dragonish Palm Strike. It's 4k inheritance points, which isn't bad, and you can start the game with a goodish move that once again helps with survivability. Very optional, I usually take it for QOL but whatever. Airsplitting Palm - 200 inheritance points I don't know when in the game you get this move? It has to be early. If you fist user you will have this set for most of the game as your "Normal Move". I just don't know what to tell you, it costs nothing and you start off the game with a ranged attack..... Plague Blister Strike - 200 inheritance Points You don't get this move until later in the game? It's a "Normal Move" so it's damage is weak... but it lowers opponent hp and mp regen and applies poison. I won't admit to anything, but there is a enemy on Extreme that I ended up having to use this on and it was the only move I had to use.... and I had lost against that boss 4 different times using normal tactics. It costs nothing and if you need the debuff, sure why not? Blueprints - Entirely Optional Blue prints are a bit weird. The first time I made an inheritance character I was thinking I'd be able to just overgear my team with blueprints asap.... Turns out the game devs are actually pretty good at their leveling. A bunch of the blueprints are locked behind certain sections of the game, and the stuff needed to build them are farmable at that time as well. Imagine having a Class 4 sword blueprint... and you can't build it until you earn the stories version of the blueprint..... so what was the point of paying the inheritance points? Also since blueprints are tied to Life Skill Mastery, you can't even build something until you have either found a teacher in the game to study/steal his exp from or you have tons of money to go hang out with the blacksmith and tailor. If doing a normal Extreme run, the blueprints are relatively not needed. You can buy a hat recipe to get more hp/mp regen earlier? You can get Spagirisms to ensure you don't miss any (I've beaten the game like 4 times? and somehow I always miss some alchemy recipes, I end up not needing them as well as no idea how I missed them). If you are doing a Southern DLC Extreme run? I would recommend getting some Spagirism blueprints. 8k inheritance will get you like Class 4, 13k will get you class 3. When you start running into the Southern DLC Extreme bosses.... You will actually need to farm and perform alchemy on like 10 of your non main characters. I don't know if the class 3 recipes are worth that extra 5k. And I don't know if the handful of recipes you might have missed are worth guaranteeing you have with the 8k class 4? But Southern DLC Extreme should NOT be attempted until you have already beat the normal game on Extreme, it will give you a MASSIVE increase in inheritance points. I beat normal Extreme with like 47k, and I rage quit restarted a failed Extreme Souther DLC run with 91k inheritance points. Items - Mandatory maybe? but definitely QOL Starting the game with a Class 1 item will cost you 10k inheritance points, while class 3 is only 4k. Just based on the stats of enemies in the game on Extreme mode? I would recommend taking at least a Class 3 weapon and a Class 3 garment (chest piece) to survive the first hour of the game. For 8k total inheritance points you wont get 1-2 hitkod during the fight in the cave, and you can actually do damage early in the game as well as win sparring fights easier/at all. Going into an Extreme run and spending about 20k inheritance points for a Class 1 weapon and Class 1 Garment(armor) is not needed, but it will generally guarantee you beat the normal Extreme mode game. With the exception of the Southern DLC, you are now set to steam roll the entire game. Also just a reminder, you can disassemble your higher Class equipment at the blacksmith and rebuild it with the exact resources once you get the blueprints. The blueprint versions of the items will be 20-50% better. ALSO I would suggest buying a Class 4 sword, or other weapon? It's a great gift for making "allies" to spar. Life Skill Mastery - Hard Pass Don't waste your inheritance points. Study under a teacher in the game or waste money + time leveling these normally. You get no value out of spending even a single inheritance point here. Attribute Points - The Mandatory section that's also the dump your left overs here So you may have noticed I put a ton of Option QOL stuff on the other sections, and I also started in reverse of the game.... That was intentional. I think of Extreme mode as a fun mode? The base game is actually pretty well balanced. You unlock stuff when you need it, and you can overcome anything that comes your way without too many fail points. If you play Normal Mode for a second time though? You would be doing the exact same grinds to beat the exact same beatable opponents, and maybe you might make slightly better decisions or get the right items early and just optimize the run? But realistically you are just playing the exact game again, wasting your time. Which isn't a bad thing. Thankfully the game devs made inheritance points. You can go into the game with whatever you want, make a run as easy as you want. Start with your favorite cultivation or items or tons of martial and meridian points. Just go have fun..... but that would also just be kind of whatever. Another fun waste of time. Which isn't a bad thing either. Thankfully the game devs made Extreme mode. Every enemy in the game starts with significantly more hp, damage, and can all use cultivation manuals as well as intelligently move around to optimize their attacks. The mode has a 1-2 hour wall, if you get through the start of the game you can beat the rest of Extreme mode. There are few fights that get weird (night battle at the Beggar sect I'm looking at you), but the game once again let's you earn what you need to keep going. The grind can be long and hard, or easier with QOL purchases from the inheritance store. The devs were competent. So any and all inheritance point are literally for your enjoyment. What you choose to buy and bring into the game is entirely up to you. Saying that. If you buy all these moves and cultivation methods and you start the run with them? Well most of their effects are pretty useless without a ton of Martial points. As a BARE MINIMUM 3k inheritance points gets you 10k martial points. 6k will get you 20k, which is a bit better. 15k will get you 50k, which is just silly. 3k inheritance points gets you 1k meridian points. 9k gets you 3k meridian points. 15k gets you 5k meridian points. A bunch of people talk about Meridian Points being the answer to some of the problems in Extreme, and while I understand what they are talking about. I don't think it's needed or even really a good use of your points? The meridian points are only useable by your main character, and he is already going to have more from all the cultivation methods he steals during sparring. The Night fight in the Beggar city would be easier I suppose with a maxed out meridian map? But the affective increase for your money just doesn't feel worth it to me? I do like starting the game with the penetrating skill trees chance of a second attack though, and then I put the rest into the CON tree. So that's a hard 9k inheritance points spent by me. Some math? Spend like 9k inheritance points on 3k Meridian points. Spend like 6k inheritance points on 20k Martial points. Spend like 8k inheritance points on a Class 3 weapon and Class 3 Garment (armor). OR 20k for Class 1 Spend 6k inheritance points on Muscle Changing Scripture Cultivate Method. The rest is spendable on QOL or whatever you want. Class 3 item path will cost you 29k inheritance points, Class 1 item path will cost you 41k. And I'm willing to bet you could do it with even less. I'm pretty sure my first Extreme run was 47k and I didn't spend any on Meridian points. And to all of you jumping at the bit to talk about Southern DLC.... yeah whatever someone else do all the work to explain the hell that those bosses are and how all my explanations on QOL are out the window. You need every edge in the game to do any effective damage to those retarded bosses and their insane healing. You need a bunch of your teammates as strong as they can be, so a bunch of people have recommended going with more meridian points from inheritance, so you can use the stories meridian point items on your other teammates. So yeah. I made this "guide" cause of the 10+ extreme discussion threads I've seen that keep having the same conversations. Extreme is just a fun mode, if you've beat the normal game, the devs have made it possible to beat Extreme with plenty of wiggle room. Make as many QOL buys as you want, just have fun. If you get to the Beggar Night battle and want to stab me because it feels like I betrayed you, there are discussions on that particular fight. It's beatable, but it's also needs some RNG chance. Get the ranged girl to use her nail skill and run around(it reduces the enemies movement range). If she lives longer than like 4 turns you should be able to win. If she dies right away you are probably boned.