Torment: Tides of Numenera Beginner Advice

This article on GameRevolution describes five essential things one should know before attempting to play Torment: Tides of Numenera. Some of these will be pretty obvious to anyone who played a CRPG before, while others can actually save you some trouble during your playthrough. For example:

Don’t Mess With Merchants

As is par for the course with Tides of Numenera, you talk to everyone who has something to say. And, if that conversation includes an option that lets you use a stat pool, you always do so, because it can only yield positive results. For example, I can Persuade someone to give me more information or to give me an item they might otherwise hold onto.

When you talk to someone who says they’re selling something, you need to alter your strategy. I ran into a merchant in the Bloom who appeared to be hiding something behind her scarf. Before asking to buy stuff from her, I deceived her into accidentally revealing what was behind her scarf. She was not grateful.

In fact, she barred me from every trading with her. I couldn’t see what she had, I couldn’t apologize and I couldn’t even talk to her. I have a sneaking suspicion that she was to sell weapons and armor, which I desperately needed throughout that area. So, I learned a very important truth: don’t mess with merchants.