Summary
Alan Wake 2can be pretty grueling right from the start with its focus on fewer but tougher enemies, which is the staple of many survival horror games today. Most of the foes are formidable bullet sponges that players can easily empty a whole clip of ammo on if they are not strategically dealing with the combat scenarios.
This is where exploration for valuable resources helps. In particular, exploration inAlan Wake 2will lead players to complete various poetry puzzles called nursery rhymes, which will in turn grant them specific active bonuses or perks called Charms. These Charms can be equipped to one of the three slots specific to Saga. Knowing the usefulness of each charm and when to swap one out for another, makes all the difference when navigating and engaging in combat scenarios.
7Mayor Setter Charm
Marks All Nearby Resources And Points Of Interest On Saga’s Map
Unlike the other charms, this one does not require solving a complex nursery rhyme puzzle. Instead, after chapter 6 of Saga titled “Scratch,” players can simply take the car to the Suomi Hall in Watery and interact with the Mayor onstage to collect the charm.
The charm simply highlights all the nearby collectibles including manuscript pages, Alex Casey lunchboxes, nursery rhymes, and cult stashes once players get to the vicinity of these items. This makes for a more convenient approach towards exploration, especially forplatinum trophy hunters and completionistswho do not want to switch between an internet guide and the in-game map for every collectible.
6Coffee Mug Charm
Saves You From Death, But Shatters In The Process
The Coffee Mug Charm is basically a second chance or revive after the player dies in combat, making it useful in tough boss battles or long stretches of exploration without a manual save since dying here would mean a loss of a lot of progress.
Since players can obtain up to five ofthese charms from various nursery rhymes, having one in the inventory slot is a surefire way to ensure victory in tough battles, especially towards the latter half of the game where every encounter becomes increasingly intense. Just one thing worth noting is that the charm will break upon being utilized on death so players lose access to it permanently.
5Lantern Charm
Adds One Charge To Saga’s Flashlight
Out of all the other resources, flashlight batteries are usually the most scarce. Moreover, due to the way the flashlight boost mechanic works inAlan Wake 2,some enemies may require two flashlight boosts to break their darkness shields. This means that in any given combat situation, 2 out of the 4 full flash charges can be spent on a single enemy. Since batteries do not recharge inAlan Wake 2, unlike its predecessor, the resource must be utilized very cautiously.
It is for this purpose that the Lantern Charm comes in handy as it adds one more flash charge to Saga’s flashlight, bringing it to a total of five charges per battery. The use of the flashlight is fairly important to reveal the vulnerable points of enemies, ultimately decreasing the amount of ammo used to bring a foe down.
4Anchor Charm
Chance To Stun Enemy On Flashlight Boost
Upon completing the nursery rhyme in the boatyard in the starting area of Bright Falls, players can obtain the Anchor Charm lying near one of the boats. Though it cannot be noted from the in-game codex what percentage of chance the Charm grants to stun enemies on a flashlight boost, from usage, it leans towards a more likely stun state than not.
This is especially useful because players will start by boosting the flashlight on enemies before they can proceed to fire their rounds. Fornimble foes like the Taken Throweror the possessed dogs, stunning them will leave a good window of opportunity for attack, which is otherwise very narrow when they are on the move. Similarly, for other tougher foes, stunning them momentarily will allow players to keep their distance as they shoot their way toward a Safe Haven or Break Room.
3Hammer Charm
Attacks Stagger Enemies More Often
Similar to Anchor Charm, there is insufficient info in the codex ofAlan Wake 2to quantify the percentage of the effect being applied, but it seems the charm often comes into play. Unlike Anchor Charm, even if a battery charge or a flashlight boost is not at the player’s disposal,they can still stagger enemies momentarilyby dealing damage with their fired rounds.
This quality makes it one of the essential Charms as dealing damage to foes is inevitable and in such a scenario, players would want to deal with the enemies as swiftly as possible. Coupling the Hammer Charm and Anchor Charm together is guaranteed to keep any Taken at bay due to the sheer amount of times the enemy can be put into a stunned state.
2Coffee World Token Charm
Increases Quality & Quantity Of Resources Found
Scavenging resources is the essence of the survival aspect of any horror-survival game. With the rarity and scarcity of resources, especially in Hard difficulty mode,Alan Wake 2can be quite grueling. Not only do most of the enemies require a whole magazine to be emptied before being put down, but other resources in the process like flashlight charge and med packs will often be consumed frequently.
For this purpose, the Coffee World Token Charm does wonders as it will often almost upgrade the smaller health packs and painkillers to the full med-kits and increase the amount of ammunition dropped by enemies or obtained from the stashes around the map. To ensure that players do not need to go out of their way to scavenge resources or be put in a tough spot of facing a terrifyingmini-boss with little to no ammo, the Coffee World Token Charm always comes in handy.
1Logan’s Charm
Increases Maximum Health
Saga’s daughter, Logan, wishes all the best of fortune to her mother in her difficult FBI job, and it is this fortune that becomes the basis for the health upgrade for Saga in-game. In fact, there are no other health upgrades that players can obtain, so there is a reason why Logan’s Charm is essential for the additional vitality that Saga will need throughout her journey.
Although the health boost is not more than 20% to base health, it is one of those cases where it will seem less useful than it actually is, because, in some combat scenarios, the Charm can be the difference maker between life and death. Logan’s Charm is the most essential one out of all to ensure longevity in tough fights without being overly reliant on health regeneration items.
