All Difficulty Levels in Sea of Stars Explained

While it may be a throwback to the RPGs of the Super Nintendo era, Sea of Stars still brings plenty of new flavors into the fold. One example is how the game handles difficulty, which isn’t selected from the get-go but rather modular based on the kind of experience players want. There is a dedicated menu with options to flip on and off, but you’ll first need to find the items that unlock those options. You use in-game items known as Relics to shape your gameplay and while this system may seem confusing at first, don’t worry! This guide will explain how to find Relics and how each one alters the difficulty of Sea of Stars to make it comfortable for you to play.

All Relics in Sea of Stars and What They Do

Shortly after completing the game’s prologue, players can navigate through the Status menu and select the Relics tab.

• Amulet of Storytelling: Boosts playable characters’ HP by 100% and heals everyone up to full at the end of a battle.
• Sequent Flare: More a cosmetic change than a mechanical one, this Relic causes stars to burst out a character when they perfectly time a block or attack, making it easier to figure out the timing of various enemies.
• Guardian Aura: Makes your characters tankier by reducing all incoming damage by 30%.
• Truestrike Pendant: Enemies lose their 20% resistance.
• Sixth Sense: Increases the window for perfectly timing blocks and attacks, effectively making characters easier to control in combat.
• Adamant Shard: Removes the need to time your blocks and attacks, guaranteeing that the second hit lands every time albeit at half its usual strength.
• Double Edge: Found in Brisk’s Secret Store, this Relic can be purchased for 150 gold. When activated, it increases enemies’ bonus defense while casting spells and decreases it when not casting spells.
• Tome of Knowledge: Arguably the best Relic for players looking to speedrun some of Sea of Stars‘ grind, this item can also be purchased from the Secret Store in Brisk for 150 gold and grants players 20% extra XP for every fight.
• Dubious Dare: The last Relic that can be purchased in Brisk’s Secret Store for 150 gold, this modifier increases the amount of damage the party takes by a whopping 40%, making Sea of Stars significantly more challenging.
• Sailent Sails: This handy Relic can be purchased from the fisherman in Mirth for 135 gold and boosts players’ sailing speed by 20%.
• Mithreel Rod: Also available from the fisherman in Mirth, this Relic is awarded to the player for catching four different kinds of fish. Activating this Relic causes fish to burn through their stamina faster, making them easier to catch.
• Stereofilament Line: Catch seven different kinds of fish and the Mirth fisherman will reward you with this Relic, which makes your fishing line much more durable and harder to break.
• Bearing Rod: Even more fish! Catch 14 different variants and the fisherman (still from Mirth) will give you a Relic that makes reeling in fish much faster.
• Falcon-Eyed Parrot: My personal favorite Relic, this one can be found by collecting all 27 rainbow conch shells in Lake Docarria Village. When it’s activated, a colorful parrot will show up to point out buried treasure.
• Gold Tooth: The last purchasable Relic, you can pick this one up at the store in Lucent for 225 gold. Once it’s turned on, all shop prices will drop by 10%.
• Artful Gambit: The last Relic you’re likely to come across in the game, found in a chest at the Throne of the Queen That Was. High risk-reward, as it reduces your HP by 95%, but successful timed hits deal double bonus damage, and successful timed blocks reduce damage to 1.

Granted, the collectible Relics are less game-altering and more quality-of-life changes, but they still have a major impact on how Sea of Stars plays. Given how fluid and accessible this system is, players looking to customize their experience have plenty of options to make Sabotage Studio’s latest RPG their own in a way that also rewards exploration. Now get out there and hunt down some Relics!

Related: Sea of Stars Review in 3 Minutes