Jade Empire: Easy Game Tips
Across the Web, you will find Jade Empire walkthroughs, strategy guides, and cheats. I decided to write something slightly different. I have collected several useful tips that help you get the most out of the game in terms of gameplay, items, and features. These tips are easy to follow, and they include no excessive re-tracing of your steps, no codes requiring button sequences, and no exploitation of glitches within the video game.
Basic Game Tips
Breaking An Enemy’s Block
You don’t have to use a chi attack or a transformation style to break an enemy’s block. Run at your enemy, getting as close as you can. Then use ‘dodge’ (B button) to flip over top of them before they get the chance to strike you, and attack them from behind before they even know what hits them.
You can also disrupt the attack of an enemy by dodging, and rolling into them.
Focus and Chi
While in battle with a tough opponent, increase your character’s deadliness with a simple method that is often overlooked:
Before going into battle, fully replenish your ‘chi’ and ‘focus’. As you approach your opponent, activate your focus, then charge yourself with chi, then attack. Your opponent will seem to move in slow motion while you strike at your normal speed with the added power of your chi energy.
Transformation Styles
Most transformation styles like Horse Demon and Jade Golem will deal massive damage to your enemies. The first transformation style is Frog Demon, and although this is one of the weaker styles, it comes in handy during the first stages of the game.
Like all weapons and styles, you can power-up your transformation styles by adding points which improving attributes like, damage dealt, quickness increased, and chi energy expenditure. Use this to improve an unbalanced transformation style. For example, the Horse Demon is powerful, but slow on his hooves. Max out his quickness, and toughness to counter-balance this.
Area Specific Tips
Sweet Poison Lyn
During your journey, you earn valuable essence gems. Hang onto them, and eventually, you can use them to make some quick cash.
Although the Magical Abacus proves to be a helpful member of your posse, avoid selling your gems to him. In the Imperial City, go to the Arena, become a participant, and speak to the various personalities there, making sure to talk to Sweet Poison Lyn. Fight your way through your opponents, and when Sweet Poison Lyn and Lucky Cho make their offer, sell your essence gems. Regardless of your alignment, you will be paid double the amount that the Magical Abacus gives you.
Marvelous Dragon Fly Missions
As you fly form city to city, you have the opportunity to play the flyer mini-games. When prompted to choose ‘attack’ or ‘evade’, choose attack, and the game will start. There are numerous upgrades for the flyer throughout the Jade Empire. Play the mini-game frequently, and it will be available from the video game’s main menu.
Damage Shield
The ‘damage shield’ gem significantly reduces the damage that your character takes. To obtain it, make sure to complete the quest at the Black Leopard School near the imperial City. Your alignment makes no difference, and you can obtain the gem at the end of your quest there.
Open Palm and the Lotus Assassin’s Liar
If you are following the Way of the Open Palm, you may be delighted to know that while infiltrating the lair of the Lotus Assassins, you can be as evil as you want to be without losing any of your Open Palm points.
Weapons for Dawn Star, Silk Fox, Black Whirlwind
During the battle at Dirge, you get the chance to fight as Black Whirlwind, Dawn Star or Silk Fox. To aid you in your battles, there are hidden weapons for each character.
For the two ladies, go to the fountain, and you will find a weapon in a chest on the far side. The Black Whirlwind’s weapon is along a wall where you assume his playable character.
Wepon and Style Combinations
One of the most important strategies in the Jade Empire video game is setting up effective combinations of weapons, physical fighting styles, and magic styles, and learning to effortlessly alternating between these during battle. If needed, use focus to slow things down a bit while you learn to switch quickly.
I’ve included a few weapons that I found rather effective:
Tang’s Revenge is a pair of double axes obtained from The Ravager at the Imperial Arena. They are very deadly, but heavy and therefore; slow. Use them in conjunction with a quick styles.
Mirabelle is Jade Empire’s only firearm, received from Sir Roderick after defeating him in the Imperial City’s Scholar’s Garden. Yes, this musket is slow to load, but it packs a huge punch, and is good for damaging enemies at long range. To deal with opponents that get too close, compliment Mirabelle with a fast and powerful weapon or magic style, like Ice Shard.
Flawless is a bladed staff, an artifact weapon obtained from the Blacksmith in the Imperial City Market District. It is heavy but sharp, deadly, and it’s length keeps your opponents out of hand-to-hand striking distance.
The Dragon Sword is another artifact weapon obtained from the Blacksmith in the Market District. It provides a good balance between speed and damage, and it has a good reach, though it is not too heavy to wield at close range.
Outtakes and Character Commentaries
After completing Jade Empire, you get the chance to watch entertaining outtakes and character commentaries by Segacious Zu and Dawn Star, as well as dialogue between Henpecked Hu and his wife. Jade Empire was partially inspired by Kung Fu movies, and the outtakes reflect this. Stay tuned for them, as they are only available at this time.
