Like many modern open-world games, Forspoken makes several sections and mechanics unavailable until certain criteria are met. Some of the most obvious instances of this in Forspoken are the countless yellow crystals that dot the broken landscape from the beginning of Frey's journey. They are obviously intended to be used to reach certain areas, but the game doesn't do anything to explain how and when Frey will be able to interact with them.
How to Unlock the 'Zip' Skill in Forspoken
Unlocking the 'Zip' spell is relatively straightforward, but the game does little to let Frey know when and how it will become available. 'Zip' is part of Tanta Sila's arsenal of spells and, therefore, must be acquired through defeating her. Many areas are only accessible after acquiring this spell; Frey's best bet is to make her way to Tanta Sila as quickly as possible, as she will be able to return to all previously missed areas.
Frey will encounter Tanta Sila at the end of Chapter 5, "Might and Main," which can be a tricky fight if Frey is unprepared. So much of Forspoken's early game is dedicated to building up to this fairly tricky first boss.
How to Defeat Tanta Sila
Keep. Your. Distance. With these three words, players will have the foundation of the best strategy to defeat Tanta Sila. As anyone who played the demo can attest, Sila's magic is all about up-close and personal melee attacks. She does possess several longer-range spells, but the bulk of the multi-stage fight will be spent trying to maintain enough distance. This fight is manageable at all difficulty levels, but there is a significant jump in challenge level between the normal and hard Forspoken difficulties.
Consider these tactics when facing Tanta Sila:
- Use the reach of Frey's magic to gauge the best range to stay around. Keeping Tanta Sila at the edge of Frey's Burst Shot range will keep her far enough away to avoid the reach of her melee magic but close enough to avoid triggering her extremely dangerous long-range spells.
- Burst Shot will have excellent overall utility in this fight, especially when Sila calls in her soldiers. Upgrading Burst Shot to level 3 will not only do a great deal of damage, even to shielded soldiers, but it will also serve as a great way to clear clusters of enemies by charging and sending the shot to the ground between enemies. This will launch several of them, leaving Tanta Sila open to attack.
- Make sure to use Parkour Dodge effectively. When Sila uses her longer range spells, such as the torrent of fireballs, holding the Parkour button down (O on Playstation) to continuously dodge the stream of flames. Make sure to cap it off with an in-air shot for critical damage.
- Make sure to use Forspoken's support magic. It's easy to forget in the heat of the moment, but spells like 'Disperse' and 'Implant' can cause huge amounts of damage if upgraded properly.
- Take the time to build Frey up before entering this fight. Praenost has a huge number of Blue Mana Pools that add up extremely quickly.
Once she is defeated, Frey will automatically absorb Tanta Sila's cuff into her own, essentially transferring all of Sila's abilities over. This will unlock several important spells, though none have the wide-ranging benefits to exploration that 'Zip' does. There is a significant amount of "Metroidvania" style backtracking that can be done to acquire vast amounts of useful items.
How to Use 'Zip' on the Yellow Crystals
Anyone who is playing Forspoken is no doubt wondering when Frey will figure out how in the world to use those yellow crystals. They are scattered everywhere throughout Junoon and Praenost, and couldn't be less inconspicuous if they tried.
The good news is that once Sila has been defeated and 'Zip' has been acquired, Frey can use the yellow crystals to greatly increase her upward mobility. 'Leap' does help get Frey up some small ledges, but 'Zip' will see her climbing massive cliffs.
To use 'Zip,' simply hold down the square button or the equivalent on PC. Once 'Zip' is acquired, Frey will notice a new emblem during Cuff scans; a small circle with arrows specific to crystal type, which represents an object that 'Zip' can latch to.
There are two types of crystals: A bulky, quartz-like version that launches Frey straight up and a slim, spiky version that lets Frey swing around it, gaining speed to send her forward. In several instances, these crystals will be specifically aligned to encourage linking, often letting Frey reach previously closed-off areas.
'ZIP' can also latch onto several other surfaces, though not all will work the same as the crystals. Keep experimenting to discover all the incredible uses for this extremely helpful spell.
Forspoken is available now on PS5 and PC.
