Hell is Us Beginner’s Guide – How to Be Prepared for Anything

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Stepping into Hell is Us for the first time can feel overwhelming. The game drops you into a dark world filled with strange limbic entities, cryptic puzzles, and layers of combat mechanics that take time to grasp. This guide is built to walk you through the essentials as a beginner, making sure you understand how weapons, glyphs, relics, and puzzles work, while also pointing out common mistakes and how to avoid them. If you want to play smart from the start and not miss out on important upgrades, read carefully — this guide is for you.

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SEE IT ON STEAM

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1. Choosing the Right Weapon

Hell is Us gives you four main weapon types:

• Twin Axes – fast, parry-focused, low guard protection.
• Polearms – balanced, strong attack speed, reliable parries.
• Swords – versatile but slower.
• Greatswords – heavy, defensive, high limbic energy, strong guard protection.

Tips for Beginners:

• Experiment early. Don’t lock yourself into one weapon too soon. Each type changes your rhythm, and finding your comfort weapon is crucial.
• Twin Axes + Polearm are great for learning since their faster attack speeds help you recover from mistakes.
• Greatsword is perfect for defensive play but demands patience — a mistake many new players make is swinging too slowly and leaving themselves open.
• Common Mistake: Ignoring parries with fast weapons. Twin Axes shine when you master parrying; if you only spam light attacks, you’ll miss their real strength.

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2. Understanding Emotions and Glyphs

Each weapon is tied to an emotion type — Rage, Grief, Terror, or Ecstasy. This matters because weapons can only use glyphs that match their emotional sphere, plus neutral glyphs.

• Rage Weapons: Strong single-target builds. Glyphs like Berserk make you unstoppable.
• Ecstasy Weapons: Great for flashy AoE abilities and teleport-style attacks.
• Grief Weapons: Damage-over-time effects, great for whittling enemies down.
• Terror Weapons: Utility and escape tools, often situational.
• Neutral Glyphs: Don’t overlook them! Some of the strongest defenses come from neutral glyphs like Chromatic Shield (up to 80% damage reduction).

Tips for Beginners:

• Don’t pick weapons only by looks. Always check what glyphs that emotion unlocks, because those skills shape your whole playstyle.
• Rage is a beginner-friendly choice thanks to Berserk.
• Ecstasy offers flashy combos but drains your health — pair it with life-steal gear to avoid killing yourself.
• Common Mistake: Treating emotions like “rock-paper-scissors.” They aren’t counters. Your choice is purely about abilities and synergy.

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3. Building with Relics

Your gear setup includes:

• Defensive Gear: Bracers, Idols, etc.
• Passive Relics: Always-on effects, like limbic energy regen or XP boosts.
• Active Relics: Big cooldown powers (stuns, buffs, bursts).

Recommended Beginner Picks:

• Bracers of Rage – life steal on melee, forgiving when you take too many hits.
• Bathe in Blood – regain 25% health and stamina when killing enemies; amazing for beginners.
• Idol of Grief Anger – boosts damage after getting hit. Perfect for aggressive learners.
• Wisdom of the Griffin – regenerates limbic energy so you can keep using abilities nonstop.

Common Mistake: Forgetting active relics. Many new players die with a stun relic off cooldown — remember to use it in group fights!

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4. Mastering Combat Flow

Combat in Hell is Us is layered. You aren’t just swinging your weapon — you’re juggling stamina, glyphs, relics, and pulse healing.

• Pulse Healing: After hitting enemies, time R1 during the white pulse on your character to convert temporary health into permanent health.
• Drone Abilities: Don’t ignore them. Abilities like bull charge and AoE stuns can save you when overwhelmed.
• Parries and Blocks: Red wind-up attacks are easier to parry. Use these moments to break enemy stance and land criticals.

Beginner Tips:

• Learn pulsing early. This is one of the most common beginner mistakes — relying only on healing items. Pulse well and you’ll rarely need potions.
• Mix drones with parries. Stunning with drones then parrying the counterattack makes combat smoother.
• Don’t spam glyphs blindly. Manage limbic energy — burning it all at once leaves you defenseless.

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5. Puzzles and Exploration

Hell is Us is puzzle-heavy. You’ll find limbic chests, investigations, exploration codes, and research items.

• Limbic Chests: Require keys tied to emotions (Rage, Grief, Ecstasy, Terror, Neutral). Keep track of symbols in a notebook — draw them and note the location.
• Investigations: Often require piecing together codes from notes, tapes, or NPC hints. Always check your “Investigation” and “Exploration” items menu.
• Research Items: Hand these to NPCs to unlock hidden vaults.
• Archiving Items: Once you’re done with an area, archive old keys or notes to keep inventory clean.

Common Mistake: Not writing things down. This game is designed for note-taking. If you rely only on memory, you’ll waste hours backtracking.

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6. The Blacksmith and First Upgrade

Your progression relies heavily on Victor the Blacksmith. He upgrades weapons, defensive gear, and lets you infuse shards. But you’ll need smithing books.

The first smithing book can be missed:

• During the main quest, you’ll find a key with an “R.”
• Leave town, cross the marsh, fight enemies, and check the trunk of a car by the tree on the hill.
• Inside is your first smithing book — hand it to Victor to unlock upgrades early.

Why this matters: Many beginners overlook this, and as a result, their weapons feel weak in mid-game. Don’t make that mistake.

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7. Final Tips for Beginners

• Keep two weapon types equipped. One for fast, aggressive fights (Twin Axes / Polearm) and one for defense or AoE (Greatsword / Ecstasy).
• Pulse often. Practice until it’s muscle memory.
• Use relics actively. They are lifesavers in group fights.
• Take notes. Every symbol, code, and locked chest matters.
• Don’t hoard upgrades. Use glyphs and relics as you get them — waiting only makes the game harder.

This beginner’s guide should help you survive your first hours in Hell is Us without falling into the usual traps. The game rewards curiosity, adaptability, and paying attention to details. If you start building good habits early — pulsing health, experimenting with weapons, and taking notes for puzzles — you’ll be prepared for everything this brutal world throws at you.

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