Pluto is a game about wizards, where you cast spells with your fingers, remove curses, and wield powerful rings and badges to decimate your foes. Despite how simple it sounds, the game can get very confusing, especially in the early hours, because of how all the unique mechanics and systems blend together.
In this guide, we’ll lay out six essential beginner tips and tricks to help you push past the initial hurdles and get your runs on the right track.
For more information about the game, check out their Steam page here.
Table of contents
Play The Tutorial
The first thing you should do when you boot up the game is go through the Tutorial. It doesn’t take too long, but the tutorial does a decent job of explaining the basics of the game, giving you a solid foundation to build upon.Â
When you unlock new characters that use new mechanics, such as the Heat system from Pyromancer or Flame Knight, you’ll unlock a new tutorial for it. Playing the tutorial should be the first thing you do when you start the game.Â
Understand the Characters
When starting, Pluto gives you two different characters to choose from: The Apprentice and The Magus. Each of these characters have completely different playstyles, and this also applies to the other six unlockable characters in the game.Â
You can’t learn a basic combo and hope to use it for every single run in the game. Each character has a unique set of abilities, perks, and mechanics that you’ll have to utilize to power through the challenges.
The Apprentice, for instance, comes with the Spell Bell passive, which grants him 1 bonus Power for every 12 spells he casts. That means spells that hit multiple times can quickly fill up his bar and give him a massive damage boost.
The Magus, on the other hand, comes with a lot of Big Spells and can gain Lethal any time he uses them. This significantly buffs up his damage output. Try to figure out the specialty of each character and use that to your advantage.
To unlock all characters, all you have to do is reach the Manor a total of 5 times. Experiment with different characters and figure out which one suits your playstyle the best.
Finding Spell Synergies
Pluto is a game about wizards, and you’ll naturally be using a lot of spells over the course of your adventure. But not all spells work the same, and a spell that seems weak at first glance can, in fact, be exceptionally strong in the right setup. The Zap spell is a great example of that.Â
It deals only 1 damage, which is laughably low considering how beefy the enemies in the game can get. However, the spell hits multiple times, which, when combined with the Lute and the Spell Bell perk of The Apprentice, can do devastating amounts of damage to the enemy team. It also comes with Chant, which means you’ll have the spell available to you every turn once you use it.
Check the tooltips each character’s various spells to see if you can find any synergy between them. Experiment with as many spells as possible early on to make your future runs smoother.
Utilize the Wizard Vision
The Wizard Vision is at the heart of Pluto, and the sooner you learn to utilize it, the quicker you’ll master the game. Simply put, the Wizard Vision gives you a quick look at the amount of damage you’ll take or deal on the next turn. You can also hover your cursor over the enemies to see the type of attack they’ll deal next, or any special buffs, interactions, or abilities they have.Â
The Wizard Vision is active all the time, but you can press and hold Alt to disable it if you want to see your or the enemies’ current health. Utilize this mechanic to set up your spells for the upcoming turn. If the enemy is going in for a strong attack, consider playing defensively and stacking up on armor. On the other hand, if they are going in for Curses or Waiting, that gives you a good opening to dish out as much damage as possible.
Managing Curses, Armor & Wizard Vision
In Pluto, some enemies will inflict a Curse on your fingers, which will disable that finger’s passive or Ring effect until you cast a Spell using the Cursed Finger. The problem is, removing the Curse from a finger always comes with some sort of penalty.Â
Sometimes, it can be as simple as you taking some damage when removing the curse; other times, removing the Curse will Empower your enemies, making them hit much harder on their turn.
Ideally, you’ll want to remove Curses as soon as you can. But you also need to keep an eye on your Armor & Health. If removing a Curse causes you to take too much damage, it might be better to just stack up on Armor while steering clear of the Cursed Finger.
You still have to remove it eventually, but make sure you utilize the Wizard Vision to figure out the best time to do so.
Understanding the Nodes and the Merchant
Whenever you start a run in Pluto, you’ll see the Merchant on the left side. During the start of your run, he’ll have only 2-3 items available in stock. In addition, you can choose the Forage for New Items option to refresh his stock or buy a Spell Pack for 20 Gold.
As you progress along the run path, the Merchant will start stocking more items in his shop. These items can range from Rings to powerful Badges to give you an edge in the battle. Make sure you keep an eye on the Merchant’s inventory and buy items that will help make your deck have more synergy.
You also need to understand the different utility nodes you’ll run across while you’re progressing towards the Manor. Here’s a quick look at these nodes:
- Gold: Rewards you with a specific amount of Gold.
- Spell Orb: Lets you choose a Spell to add to your deck. You can find an Ancient Wisdom node later that lets you choose a Rare Spell.
- Jeweler: Select a Ring.
- Badge Chest: Unlocks a random Badge
- Campfire: Choose between healing up to full or obtaining a Crystallize Badge. This usually comes after a Boss or Monstrous Foe battle.
- Spell Smith: Removes Element from a Spell Recipe
- Spell Shrine: Enhances a selected Spell from your deck.
Always consider your deck when deciding on which node to choose as you’re progressing to optimize your setup.
This concludes our guide for Pluto. For more interesting articles related to indie games, check out the links below:
- Into Indie Games Homepage
- Resident Evil Requiem – Walkthrough Hub
- Tales Of Berseria Remastered – Walkthrough Hub
- Mewgenics Guides Hub
- Reanimal Complete Walkthrough
Muhit Rahman lives off two things: gaming marathons and endless cups of tea. He writes guides, reviews, and occasionally forgets that real life doesn’t come with checkpoints. His favorite genres are Soulslike and Metroidvania, with Dark Souls III, Hollow Knight, and Dota 2 forever holding top spots on his all-time list.
