Disco Elysium: 10 Best Tips For New Players

The hit indie RPG Disco Elysium is considered by many to be an achievement in the genre. Featuring exceptionally good writing and a richly detailed world, the game evokes memories of the RPG classics of yesteryear like Fallout and Planescape: Torment. It’s the type of RPG that thoroughly immerses the player by providing them with a multitude of choices, and outcomes for those choices.

That sprawling capacity for player choice combined with an innovative skill system is what makes the game so appealing, but it can also be a little intimidating, especially to those without a background in RPGs. Don’t worry too much, though — there isn’t really a right or wrong way to be playing the game.

10 Create A Class For Your Character

During character creation, the player is given the option to choose between a handful of character archetypes or to build their character from scratch in typical RPG fashion. The character archetypes might seem an attractive choice for first-time players, but in this game, it’s best to build a protagonist from the ground up, because Disco Elysium has some of the best character customizations of any RPG.

This is because each skill in Disco Elysium has the potential to radically alter the game experience, meaning that a player who starts the game with a fresh assortment of skills will have their own unique experience with the story. Taking chances on whatever skills sound cool will result in a more varied and unique game, so try it out.

9 Don’t Forget Your Tools

Certain environmental interactions are only possible if the player has the right tool on hand. For example, a crowbar might be necessary to open certain crates, and a plastic bag will allow the player to pick up objects that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

Because of this, it’s a good idea to always have a tool in hand, regardless of whether or not it’s completely necessary. The game’s inventory is fairly generous, and NPCs won’t look at the player funny for running around with a crowbar, so there aren’t any serious downsides to being prepared.

8 Failing Checks Isn’t Always Bad

Disco Elysium is a game that wants its players to experiment with dialogue options and actions, so the player is often rewarded in a way for failed checks. Completely bombing a dialogue check often results in some of the game’s funniest scenes, so players should feel encouraged to take chances wherever possible.

On the flipside, passing a check doesn’t always result in an outcome that the player was expecting. This is an RPG where the player isn’t the chosen one, so the world’s fate doesn’t hang in the balance of passing a tough dice roll. Moreover, all white checks can be re-tried later in the game, so there isn’t really a good reason not to try them all out.

7 Talk To Everyone

Dialogue is at the very core of the Disco Elysium experience, and there’s no such thing as an unimportant NPC. Even the characters that don’t seem plot-critical at first will have interesting things to say, and the player is consistently rewarded with experience points for engaging in conversation.

It’s also a good idea to talk to people because, gameplay rewards aside, Disco Elysium features exceptional writing and lore. The amnesiac player character knows little of the game’s setting and the people who live in it at the start of the game, so talking to a random passerby is an excellent way to start making sense of the game’s richly detailed world.

6 Don’t Stress About Character Builds

Longtime players of the best PC RPGs of all time often come to a character creation screen for the first time looking to build someone who can tackle the game’s content most efficiently, or in the most interesting way. Such a player might be justifiably concerned about making a “bad” build; one that will struggle to make it through to the end of the game on account of poor stats.

There aren’t any such concerns to be had in Disco Elysium, as it’s effectively impossible to build a “bad” character. Assigning points on the stat screen has more about what kind of experience the game will be, rather than how efficiently it can be beaten. Player’s should put points into whatever sounds cool to them, rather than those that they think will be most strategically useful.

5 Keep Track Of White Checks

Disco Elysium has two types of dice-based skill checks — red and white. Red checks can only be attempted once, locking the player out if they fail, whereas white checks can be retried, but only after the player has taken some action to increase their odds of passing. Helpfully, the game tracks the white checks that a player can retry in the in-game map. It’s a good idea to return to white checks after leveling or learning some new information, as they often open up new plot threads to pursue.

4 Make A Lot Of Saves

As it was in the classic RPGs of old, it’s advisable to make several save files in Disco Elysium. While reloading isn’t encouraged during a player’s first run through the game, having a save file to go back to after seeing the ending will let a player make different choices to bring about different outcomes.

Moreover, it’s a good idea to save frequently because health and morale damage often comes unexpectedly in Disco Elysium. Running around on low health or morale without a recent save is a recipe for losing a lot of progress, so take caution.

3 Have A Spare Skill Point Available

Many of Disco Elysium‘s skill checks can be re-rolled, but only after the player has done something to boost their odds. Oftentimes this can be achieved by learning some new piece of information through exploration or dialogue, but it’s also possible to unlock a re-roll by leveling the skill associated with the check.

Because of this, it’s often a good idea to have a spare skill point available in this sort of situation. If a player’s character isn’t able to pass an important check, putting that extra point in the related skill will unlock the re-roll and allow them to try again.

2 Use Your Thoughts

Skills have a mind of their own in Disco Elysium, making them feel somewhat like the members of some of the best classic RPG parties, and occasionally they’ll come to the player proposing the acceptance of a new thought. These are important role-playing moments and can be used to build the player character’s political identity and investigation style, among other things.

Players shouldn’t be shy about accepting thoughts for their character, even those that they don’t really intend to use. Accepting a thought just opens up the option to internalize it, which is the point at which the player is actually committed to it. They open up role-playing options and stat modifications, so the player should internalize the thoughts that best suit their character.

1 Don’t Exploit Saves

It’s common RPG practice to make a save to re-try a difficult skill check again and again until it’s passed. A player might want to open a chest to get at high-level loot, for example, and reload saves until they’ve passed the lock picking check they need to succeed.

This isn’t a good practice when it comes to Disco Elysium, because there isn’t really a “best” route through the game that ought to be adhered to. If a player’s character can’t pass an important-seeming physical check, that just means that they should explore other avenues of progression, rather than reloading their save so that they can clear a roll with a 15% chance of success.

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