Achievement Difficulty: Hard
Time to 100%: ~ 35 hours
Number of Achievements: 41
Difficulty-based Achievements: Yes
Minimum Playthroughs required: 2


Bound by Flame is a relatively linear and short RPG made by the french studio Spiders. If you have played Mars: War Logs you will probably be familiar with many of its systems as well as the clunky but charming gameplay. Unfortunately just like with Mars: War Logs there are difficulty-based Achievements and on harder difficulties the game can be quite unforgiving depending on which skill-tree you focus on. There are also four achievements in total for every romancable party member and you can (technically) only romance one character per playthrough and two per gender (all party members in this game are heterosexual). Then lastly this game also offers a "Karma"-system (posession), in which you either have to give in to your inner demon or retain your humanity, which will also require two playthroughs. With enough planning, caution and save abusing however the 100% should be easily doable within two playthroughs.

I wrote this guide, because the only other English guide here on Steam has its fair share of misinformation and misleading information on it, which has forced me and many others to do more playthroughs than necessary to 100% this game. This is completely understandable if you've written a guide based on all the information about Bound by Flame that is available online instead of 100%-ing it yourself, as due to the popularity of this game (or rather lack thereof) many of the needed info to 100% this game is simply not available or hard to find. And since it seems like the author of the other guide here on Steam doesn't listen to people correcting them I felt the need to write a guide people actually can blindly trust without having to read the comments or having a rude awakening way too late into their playthrough.

As always with any of my achievement guides, if you find any mistakes, any misleading information or just think some things aren't explained well enough, please let me know in the comments and I will get on that as soon as possible! Without further ado, let's start!

Beasted
Vanquish a Juggernaut


You will get this Achievement after beating the game's very first boss in the prologue.


General demoted
Vanquish a Deadwalker General.


You will get this Achievement after defeating the final boss fight of the first Act.


Farewell my Concubine
Vanquish a Concubine


At the end of Act 2 you will fight a a Concubine, after having defeated that boss you will get this achievement.


...the harder they fall
Vanquish Lord Blackfrost


Near the end of Act 3 simply defeat Lord Blackfrost and the achievement will pop up.

Unleash the Beast
Accomplish your transformation by following the demon's way

During the main quest of the game you will often be confronted with situations that will either raise your posession level or keep it the way it is. To "unleash the Beast" you will have to reach the maximum posession level. There are 5 major moments in the game where you will have to give in to the Demon housing inside you. Watch out though as giving in to the demon applies trade-off effects with almost every level that will imho make the game a lot harder, so personally I would do this run on one of the lower difficulty settings. I also recommend doing the Demon run on your male character as Edwen can only be romanced with a certain posession level and all datable party members are straight. Note that two of the choices that raise your posession will be made automatically (if you've chosen Demon/Human beforehand), so only the two Act 1 decisions and the last Act 2 decision matter.

Here are the posession levels and its effects:


The five major moments are the following:

1. Act 1: Before entering Lair of Whispers decide to give the demon more power
   
2. Act 1: After defeating the General in Valvenor, choose not to help Arandil
   
3. Act 2: Once met you will automatically absorb King Arandil IV's soul if you're a Demon
   
4. Act 2: When you choose between Edwen's or Rhelmar's way side with Edwen
   
5. Act 3: After having defeated the four Concubines, simply go up the stairs.

Purifying Fire
Purify Vertiel by bathing it in flame


After having defeated the final boss of the game, the game gives you a chance to save before making your final decision (i. E. talking to the demon and deciding the fate of Vertiel by bathing it in flames) so go ahead and save. This is one of the three endings and will only be available to you in your Demon playthrough.


The one and only Lord
Become the most powerful being on Vertiel


After having defeated the final boss of the game, the game gives you a chance to save before making your final decision (i. E. talking to the demon and deciding the fate of Vertiel by removing the ice spears) so go ahead and save. This is the "neutral" ending and will be available to you on both your Human and your Demon run.


Humanist
Preserve your humanity


This one is the same as Unleash the Beast only instead of giving in to the demon you're going to have to keep your posession level as low as possible during the 5 key moments in the game mentioned a bit further up in the description for Unleash the Beast. Again just like with Unleash the Beast two of the "decisions" will be made for you, so only the two Act 1 choices and the last choice in Act 2 matter.

Here are the 5 key moments and what you have to do:

1. Act 1: Before entering Lair of Whispers decide to look for another way
   
2. Act 1: After defeating the General in Valvenor, choose to help Arandil
   
3. Act 2: After having met King Arandil you won't absorb his soul.
   
4. Act 2: When you choose between Edwen's or Rhelmar's way side with Rhelmar
   
5. Act 3: You will not "unleash the Beast" after having defeated the 4 Concubines

Sacrifice
Use the energy of the Worldheart to annihilate the Ice lords and save Vertiel


This is the last of the three ending achievements and can only be done on your human run. If you don't have the Achievement The One and Only yet, save right after defeating the final boss and before making your final decision. Choose to sacrifice yourself and the worldheart for Vertiel and you will get this achievement.

This one is a bit tricky as you can only romance one character per playthrough, there's only straight relationships and some characters require you to have a certain posession level. To add to that there are some choices in the game which will lock you out of certain romances and quests. All of which I will document in this section, but be wary of spoilers as I go in depth!

Also note that going Edwen's route in Act 2 locks you out of Rhelmar's quests and romance and vice versa!


Ice breaker
Seduce Edwen


At the lady's service
Accomplish all of Edwen's personal quests


Seducing Edwen is really hard as you have to always choose the right dialogue option, have maximum posession, always try to flirt and be nice to her. You can still be nice to Sybil (and with save reverting date her in the same playthrough) and the others but they will often challenge Edwen and voice their distrust. Always side with her, and try not to piss off the others!

Act I

You will first find Edwen when you go and challenge the beast of the swamps. In this encounter it is of utmost importance that you free her and when asked say that the old man deserved it.

As soon as she's in your party talk to her about everything, she will comment about being a prisoner to which you will say "You're free to go". Do this before going back to the village!

Once you head back to the steward, tell him that the red scribes are manipulating him and do not mention Edwen, when prompted say you don't know about her yet and when Edwen asks you why you did that, answer to test her good will.

She will then want to come along and join your investigation. Ask her if it "can't be about the investigator" and then tell her that you "saved her ass" and let her come along. Edwen needs to be with you when invastigating for the romance to work.

Once you reach the Lair of Whispers you have to side with the demon and give him more control over your body (raising your posession by 20%).

After defeating the General in the village during the dialogue with the Demon answer you're wrong, Edwen is by my side. Afterwards talk to Sybil and Edwen and choose not to help the Prince, to raise your posession by 20% yet again.

Act II

Again talk to her and exhaust her dialogue options (always do that before and after every main quest). Ask her if she's cold and tell her you're worried about her health.

If you have chosen the demon path up until now you will automatically absorb the King's soul when you find him in Caraldthas raising your posession yet again.

Once you return to camp you will find Edwen interrogating a Deadwalker, simply join in.

Later during the main quest where you have to decide between either attacking the Concubine headfirst or saving the elves, side with Edwen and attack the Concubine directly.

Act III

If you've chosen Edwen's way last Act you will now instantly get the chance to talk to Edwen while she's in your party. Choose to talk about her relationship with Blackfrost and then answer that he had good taste.

Somewhere on your way to the next camp Edwen will mention that she can feel a source of power and that will start the quest "Edwen's Artifact". Simply follow the quest marker and Vulcan will say that with the amount of dead bodies it's impossible to get there at this point in time.

After giving the crystals to the Red Scribe save as you're closing in on the point of no return! You'll automatically get the "bonfire scene", here simply choose Edwen to join you, then kill the creator concubine with her in your party, and she'll say that the artifact will be freed up now. Go back to the sewers and once at the artifact say "I know of a fun way" and you should seduce her and get the achievements.

If she declines you, your romance "level" with her isn't high enough. Try defeating the other Concubines as well as the Guardian with her and then try seducing her again. If that doesn't help you made a mistake somewhere and have to restart the playthrough.



Erudite love
Seduce Sybil


Patron
Accomplish all of Sybil's personal quests


Unlike Edwen you don't need a posession level, nor do you need to be too maticulous about her dialogue options (just don't be a douche). Try to follow both Edwen's and Sybils guide to romance both in the same playthrough.

Act I

Right at the beginning of the Act you're left with a choice who to take with you. Choose Sybil and then talk to her about the swamps wildlife and she will tell you what she knows and to ask again in a few days. Simply have her with you while you fight every type of enemy in the swamps and talk with her after. You have to defeat the Beast with her in your party or she will not gather any knowledge about it at all, which can lock you out of romancing her. Once the quest "On Safari with Sybil" is over you don't have to have her in your party any longer.

She will run away at the sight of her dead father and hide back in the city hall after the fight against the Beast, simply go there and talk to her. When prompted say I'm sorry about your dad and the quest Orphan and cheer up Sybil will be completed. Warning: Choosing the other dialogue option will fail the quest and lock you out of romancing her.

Act II

Once you find yourself in your new hub, talk to Sybil to receive the quest "The Icy Library". Once you've found the library in question, take Sybil there and pick up the three books.

Afterwards ask her a few questions, specifically what she thinks of Mathras, she'll voice her interest and prompt you to ask Mathras about his sex life (don't worry, Mathras is a cutiepie but he won't stand in your way if you wanna romance Sybil).

I'm unsure whether Sybil can't be in your party or Mathras has to be in your party to be able to ask said question, but if for some reason you can't ask him, try leaving Sybil behind or asking Mathras to follow you.

Act III

After having met Mathras he will tell you to go talk to the remaining Red Scribes at camp. Once you talk to them you will get the Quest "A Damsel in Distress". Simply follow it to find Sybil and save her from certain death. Be sure to bring a health potion! (You probably should have more than many at this point anyways. Once you've completed this quest the "Patron" Achievement will pop up.

After bringing the crystals to the camp save your game, you're nearing the point of no return! At the bonfire I simply chose everyone and both romances still worked for me, if you wanna be save choose Sybil and reload your save after seducing her.

Take Sybil with you to fight the Creator and if you've done everything right you can then choose to romance her right there on the spot. After a small cutscene the Achievement will pop up and you can load back to dating Edwen.

Now we finally get to romance the adorable gentle giant and the way less adorable (more annoying) Elven ranger. For both of these you have to play a female main character and from what I can tell your posession doesn't matter to either (Rhelmar has one important decision that doesn't align with the Demon-route), however if you wanna 100% the game in two playthroughs you'll probably play a Human anyways.

Again make note that choosing Edwen's Route in Act 2 instead of Rhelmars will lock you out of Rhelmars quests and romance and vice versa! And save before the bonfire scene if you want to romance both Randval and Rhelmar in one playthrough!


Chivalrandy
Seduce Randval


Without fear, without reproach
Accomplish all of Randval's personal quests


Randval is like the male Edwen (or Edwen is the female Randval if you will) in that it's very easy to eff it up and not be able to romance him if you accidentally choose the wrong dialogue choices. However if you follow this guide to a tee you should be able to seduce him easily.

Act I

You first meet Randval when entering the village of Valvenor, in your first dialogue with him there's nothing you can do wrong, simply exhaust all dialogue choices.

Talk to him in the City Hall prepared as he will challenge you to a duel which you will have to accept and be victorious.

Afterwards he will ask you if he could join you and the blades, accept and talk to Captain about it. Captain will ask you to bring Randval to him, so make Randval follow you and talk to Captain once more to finish this quest.

Then talk to him and ask him about the Emberknights, in the dialogue choose "stay with me to get your wish".

Also ask him about the things he's lost and given up and then answer that it may be his last chance to talk about it.

At the end of Act I after defeating the General tell your Demon that "No, you're wrong! Randval is awesome and loyal and cute and he'll be there for me when ♥♥♥♥ hits the fan!"

Act II

Talk to Randval inside the camp and he will ask to reconnoiter. Agree and go about your main quest until he's back asking you to take out a convoy with him. Agree and do it right then and there. If Randval ever says that you're going the wrong way DO NOT GO FURTHER as going too far will fail the quest. Afterwards you'll get a crossbow (which you should keep for the final boss, especially on Captain difficulty).

If you side with the Demon he will ask you about them, tell him that it makes you stronger in battle, he will ask you to get ingredients for a potion, which you should do ASAP!

Act III

After having found Mathras and going back to camp you will get the quest "A Knight in Distress". Follow the quest marker and help the gentle giant survive. He can die here, so kill the enemies that attack him first! He will thank you, be available for your party once more and the achievement Without fear, without reproach should pop up.

Once you've gathered all the artifacts for the Red Scribe make a save because you're about to reach the point of no return.

In the bonfire scene, choose Randval as your companion and then defeat the Concubines as well as the Guardian with him in your party.

After defeating the Guardian choose the "weird but charming"-option and you'll seduce him and get the achievement!



Romance with pointy ears
Seduce Rhelmar


A fulfilled Elf
Accomplish all of Rhelmar's personal quests


Rhelmar is the least seduced character of this game, and seducing him is the rarest achievement. Dating him is only possible if you go the Human female route as one of the decisions that makes you a Demon locks you out of his story. Other than that seducing him isn't really hard if you pick the right choices.

Act I

You will first meet Rhelmar when you enter the swamps. I'm unsure whether it helped towards the romance but when met with the choice between Sybil and Rhelmar choose Rhelmar.

As soon as you can, talk to him and ask him all the questions you can. At some point you'll be prompted to say "they should've listened to you". Do that.

Once you've made it to camp and talked to the Steward, talk to Rhelmar and he will ask you to help his prince. Accept, talk to the Red Scribe next to the prince in City hall and say "have you tried everything?" and he will ask you to collect Queen Chrysalid poison (which you can only do by night). Gather everything, bring it back to him and complete the quest.

After having met Edwen go back to Rhelmar in the village and encourage him to make a better kind of trap, then let him gather materials. You'll have to either leave the map for a while or take care of other quests and he'll be done. Talk to him, help him out and the quest should be finished.

After having defeated the General in Valvenor talk to Rhelmar and then choose to help Prince Arandil.

Act II

Right when you're back in camp talk to Rhelmar and he will ask you to retrieve stone souls. From what I could see there are more souls than you need, just "loot" every corpse you find. You should have enough by the time you freed the Blades and the other Prisoners and made it back to camp. Here's a more detailled count: (Steppes of Caraldthas - 11 | Lower Caraldthas - 4 | Upper Caraldthas - 5)

In Caraldthas city save all the prisoners and if possible escort them back to the camp. Generally speaking doing things for the Elves is a big plus for Rhelmar!

Talk to him again. This time he'll tell you about wanting to reinforce camp security. Don't ask him if he can't build the traps himself, instead tell him that you're gonna get to it as soon as you find the time. Build 10 traps and give them to him.

Again - exhaust your dialogue options with him - and when prompted say "this is no time to give up".

At the end of Act II when you have Edwen and Rhelmar in your party you have to choose between attacking the Concubine headfirst (side with Edwen) or help out the Elves that are under attack (side with Rhelmar), obviously side with Rhelmar.

Act III

Talk to Rhelmar and exhaust your dialogue options once more.

Somewhere in the sewers Rhelmar will make note of a corpse, look at it and you will find out that it's the corpse of Prince Arandil and you will get the Quest "The soul of a Prince", which you can not finish until later in the game.

Once back to camp try to enter the fortress through the middle way and you will get the quest to save the elves and the blades. You'll have to go around since the door is blocked, but doing this is important for Rhelmar.

After having brought back the crystals to the Red Scribe, save as you're nearing the point of no return!

At the bonfire scene choose Rhelmar to join you and then defeat the Creator with him in your party. Afterwards go back to the sewers, interact with the corpse, follow the quest marker deeper and prepare the prince's burial. During the dialogue say "you did everything you could" and afterwards "Sure, why not"? and both Rhelmar Achievements should pop up (and you will get the best sword in the entire game)!

Master at arms
Unlock all the the Warrior skills and their upgrades


You will need a total of 36 skill points to fully max each skilltree and since you'll be getting 2 skill points per level up you can first get this achievement with level 19. It is widely accepted that you can only max out one skill tree per playthrough (however if you're okay with painstaking grinding it should technically be possible to do two but at that point you might as well start another playthrough) and since you'll be around level 25 by the end of the game I recommend only spending skill points up until level 5 (if at all) and then save before spending the points needed to complete a tree to get all three skill-tree achievements in one swoop. I recommend getting the two feats "Practical" and "Passionate" as early as possible as they will raise the EXP you get from defeated enemies.


Master Ranger
Unlock all of the skills of a Ranger and their upgrades


See Master at arms a bit further up for a more detailled description.


Firestarter
Unlock all the Pyromancer specialization skills and their upgrades


See Master at arms a bit further up for a more detailled description.


Sword it out
Kill 50 enemies with a sword


For this one and all the other weapons achievements (except crossbow and traps) you simply have to land the finishing blow with the sword (or the weapon that is called for in the achievement). Burning weapons or weapons with other elemental damage will do the trick as well, if the finishing blow is the actual weapon hit itself. I recommend doing Swords, Axes and Warhammers together as they all make use of the warrior skill-tree.


Psycho Killer
Kill 50 enemies with an axe


See Sword it out for a more detailled description. Simply land the finishing blow with an axe 50 times. Recommended to do during your warrior-run.


Quite a hammering
Kill 50 enemies with a warhammer


See Sword it out for a more detailled description. Simply land the finishing blow with a warhammer 50 times. Recommended to do during your warrior-run.


Bloody hell
Kill 50 enemies with daggers


Same as with the previous weapon achievements simply land the finishing blow using your daggers. Either do it early in your Warrior-run or in your Ranger-run as the daggers make use of the Ranger skilltree.


It's a trap!
Set 20 traps and have them sprung


For this the traps only need to explode. During the prologue you can pick up traps (out of combat) randomly scattered and place them yourself to give you a head start. Every build can make good use of these traps but they work best with the Ranger skill-tree. You can craft new traps in the item menu.


Shot your bolt
Fire 50 crossbow bolts


Crossbow bolts are rather expensive to craft and are a resource spent horribly when fighting normal enemies. Bosses can be cheesed perfectly with the crossbow however, so I recommend saving the bolts up for the boss fights. For this achievement you only have to fire 50 crossbow bolts, not hit anything!


I'm on fire
Set your enemies aflame 50 times


Simply using fire spells against enemies won't automatically trigger them being ablaze as there is a percent chance to apply this effect (which you can check under the Negative Effect page in your menu). Certain pyromancy skills and gear upgrades will raise that percentage for specific attacks (the gear attachment will only work if you use flaming weapons as well). When the effect is applied the enemies will visibly burn for a second or two. Note that you can set the same enemy ablaze multiple times and it will count towards this achievement!


Chrysalid
Poison your enemies 50 times


This one's the same as I'm on fire but with the poison status effect. Certain Ranger skills, weapons and gear upgrades can raise your poison chance percentage (you can check your overall poison chance in the Negative Effect page in your menu), but poisoning only works with either the daggers or the crossbow. Swords, battleaxes and hammers can't be poisoned! You can poison the same enemy multiple times and it will still count towards this achievement. You can tell an enemy is poisoned by there being a dark-green cloud of gas around them. Renko's shop inventory and Randvals quest "Randval the Loner" are both good sources for poison-heavy crossbows, which I highly recommend for this achievement!

First Steps
Upgrade a skill


With each level up you will get 2 skill points (and one feat point), simply spend it on one of the three skill trees and you will get this Achievement.


Just a warm-up
Vanquish 25 enemies

You will very likely get this one during the prologue. Simply kill 25 enemies in any way you like and you will get this achievement.


Just a warning
Vanquish 75 enemies


Just like with the previous achievement you simply have to kill 75 enemies in any way and the achievement will pop up. You will very likely get this during the first Act of the game.


Just a slaughter
Vanquish 150 enemies


The last of the three achievements in which you have to kill a certain amount of enemies. Simply kill 150 enemies and you will get it. If you are very thorough you will get this achievement in the first Act of the game as well.


First come, first served
Loot 20 chests


This games definition of a chest is very loose, as any loot container will count towards this achievement and you will very probably get this achievement naturally within the first Act of the game. Simply look for objects that have a moving white sheen over them and interact with them. You can also use the "Finder" feat which will make a sound whenever you're close to a chest to make things easier but personally I think that it's a waste of a feat point, as there's many more useful feats available.


Vulture
Search 50 fallen enemies


Once an enemy is defeated they may drop a shining little leather bag with loot, simply interact with them (only possible outside of combat) 50 times. Will probably be achieved naturally. Chance of item drops can be increased with the feats "Lucky" and "Snooper", which I recommend as crafting ingredients will mainly be gathered this way.


Blacksmith
Make 5 improvements to your weapons and armour


In your inventory screen select a weapon/armour and click "craft" to craft and apply upgrades to them. Do that 5 times to get this achievement. Will probably be achieved naturally during Act 1.


Craftsmanship
Make 100 objects (potions, booby-traps and munitions)


Crafting is your best friend in this game (especially on higher difficulty settings) so you will probably get this one naturally around the end of Act 1 or by Act 2. Simply go into your inventory screen where your potions, traps and ammo is located, click one and craft away.


And I don't throw things away
Recycle 30 objects


As crafting is important, recycling stuff to get materials is just as important. Depending on your build recycle weapons of types you don't use and armor that has outlived its purpose and you will get this achievement naturally. As far as I know only weapon and armor that's recycled counts towards this and you recycle upgrades by recycling the item they belong to automatically, so I wouldn't go out of my way to recycle upgrades one by one.


Mercenary
Accomplish 20 side quests


If you complete every side quest you can find (marked by the book with a 2 on it, just like in the icon of this achievement) before you take on the main quests (the ones marked by a book with a 1 on it) you will get this Achievement naturally by Act 2.

Hawk
Complete Bound by Flame in the Hawk difficulty mode


Hawk is what I would call this game's "Normal"-difficulty, as it is the second easiest next to Recruit. I do not recommend playing on this difficulty mode if you want to get all the Achievements (specifically the difficulty-based ones) in two playthroughs, as the difference in difficulty from Hawk to Buffalo and from Buffalo to Captain is enormous. Learning how to use these games mechanics in harder situations will come in handy once you do your Captain-run. Note that this Achievement will pop up if you finish the game on a higher difficulty as well.


Buffalo
Complete Bound by Flame in the Buffalo difficulty mode


Buffalo is this game's "Hard"-mode. Enemies take more damage and deal more damage. In this mode even smaller enemies can overpower you easily. I fully recommend starting with this difficulty if you intend to get all the Achievements in two playthroughs, as this difficulty-setting will teach you how to use every single one of Vulcan's skills in tougher, more demanding situations whilst not immediately overwhelming you. It will also teach you how to abuse enemy AI and cheese your way through harder battles. I also recommend going with a Demon-run in this (or an easier) difficulty, as playing as a Demon removes the ability to wear helmets and gives you some pretty strong disadvantages on your resistance stats. Note that just like with the Hawk Achievement you will unlock this Achievement on a higher difficulty as well.


Captain
Complete Bound by Flame in the Captain difficulty mode


Alright, this game was made by a French studio and if there's one thing we know about the French: It's that they love their cheese. Get ready to use and abuse every single mechanic this game has to offer. First off: Go the Human-route, because going the Demon-route will give you many disadvantages (no helmet, -20% ice resistance, -20% physical resistance) and there will be more quests you can do to get EXP as a Human.

Second: Do a more well-rounded build that uses bits and pieces of either the warrior or the ranger build combined with Pyromancy. Both warrior and ranger are viable options, although personally I prefer warrior as parrying rewards you with counter attacks and whenever there's too many projectiles on your screen or you'll have to defend against a flurry of attacks simply holding block down is a lot easier (and the dodge isn't directional so you'll often dodge into projectiles instead of just evading them). However Warrior builds don't have much use for stealth, which can start the battle with you having the upper hand, although the main problem will be the final boss and you can't start the final boss with stealth anyways. In this guide I will describe my warrior build, since it was the one that helped me finish Captain. Also note that the Pyromancy-tree will mostly only help you until you've reached the Worldheart, as the final boss is resistant to fire, so focusing on one of the other trees while using pyromancy more as a supportive skill is probably your best bet.

Here are my personal key skills that helped me survive Captain:

Under Pyromancy I recommend Flaming Weapons Level 3, Guardian Flames Level 3, Concentration Level 3, Influx of the World Heart Level 1, Lava Blood Level 1. Guardian Flames are hella useful as they offer extra protection. Flaming Weapons will add another layer of damage to your melee attacks. And the other three skills give you better mana regen and higher fire damage. Optionally I recommend leveling Avenging Flames to add damage to your Guardian Flames.

Under Warrior I recommend Heavy Weapons Mastery Level 3, Force of Impact Level 3, Vitality Level 3, Stability Level 3, Resistance Level 3, Improved Parrying Level 3 and Parrying Master Level 3. These will give you extra damage, many more resistances, make parrying easier and will heighten the chance to crit after a parry. Oh and don't forget that it will halve the amount of times you get killed while you're lying on the floor because you're unable to move.

When it comes to feats, try to get Practical, Passionate, Lucky and Snooper as soon as possible to max out the EXP and materials you get. Apothecary, Soldier and Trapper are also very important. You're going to need MANY potions on this difficulty and you're going to need even more traps and bolts to cheese the hell out of some boss fights. Next get the feat corresponding with your main weapon and Gunner as well as Crossbowman to raise trap, crossbow and weapon damage. And lastly go for Mule, as you'll otherwise not be able to carry the amount of traps needed to cheese some bosses. If you got any spare feat points level your health (Tough, Colossus) and your mana consumption (Temperate, Wise).

Remember to only ever recycle equipment, don't sell it. Later on you can make enough rare materials that you can easily sell to buy more raw metal and tainted blood for bolts, traps and potions. I personally had way too much tainted leather I didn't need and that stuff goes out for 200g per piece. Tainted gemstones can also be easily crafted and sold for 1000g per piece. Always have at least 10-15 health potions on you and some mana potions. Also try to do every side quest for EXP, side with Renko (his side quest is cheaper) when looking for a smith and help out your party members for additional bonuses.

Renko's shop inventory (whether you chose him or the other smith in Act 1 doesn't matter as he joins you from Act 2 on anyways) and Randvals Act 2 Quest "Randval the Loner" are two ways of getting a really good poison-heavy crossbow, which is something I highly recommend for the final boss if you're going warrior as there's no other weaknesses you can abuse without daggers. I fully recommend the Elite Soldier set, as it is good against magic and has a slot for fire resistance! Also try to finish Rhelmars quest for the best sword in the game, that can also give you extra fire resistance!

Now you're set to finish this game on Captain mode. A bit further down I'll write a more detailled enemy and boss guide in case you're ever stuck on one of the enemies there, but if you have patience and do a bit more thinking and planning you should eventually make it out alive and get the achievement!

So you wanna be captain? Welcome to the guide inside the guide, where we'll talk about every enemy and their weaknesses to make your life a little bit easier.


These undead which are summoned by the Ice Lords have one obvious weakness, which is fire. Using flaming weapons, fire magic and weapons that have fire inflicting upgrades is the way to go. If too many overwhelm you at once, gain some distance and use traps.


These ghosts can do a teleport attack if you're far away, which can be devastating, so you want them to be close by. They are immensely weak to fire but are resistant to physical damage.


These slightly bigger deadwalkers spit out area of effect poison blobs and when they shout spread poison around them. Generally keeping them close is a good idea. However they do have multiple attacks that can throw you to the ground. Thankfully they're slow enough to be easily predictable making parrying a lot easier. They will explode on death which can poison you. If you're not cautious getting poisoned can kill you very easily.


The first boss of this game. He will spawn multiple smaller enemies, which you shouldn't waste your time on, just keep moving and you should be fine. He has four weakspots (arms and legs) and will flinch once you've broken a weakspots armor and once the weakspot's taken out. He's very slow and will mostly attack with the weakspot you're attacking or if he bashes one arm down, make a swoop around him. During the swoop you're safe between his legs. But I personally recommend going around him and attacking each weakspot a few times until you've defeated him, as he will then mostly only only attack areas you've just left. The juggernaut is also weak to fire.


There's two types of roots, the vines and the parasites. You wanna stay away from both of them. The tentacle-looking vines will only attack once you're close enough, the blob-looking parasites will constantly shoot out projectiles which are hard to avoid once you're getting close. They are both weak to fire and should be taken out via fireball, crossbow or Rhelmar/Edwen.


These flying plant-based squids have multiple attacks and will use poison to their advantage, so during most of Act 1 I recommend having armour with poison resistance. They have two types of projectiles. One is a poison bomb, that will do area of effect type damage. If you see it coming, switch positions! The other is a spread-out barrage of thorns, which are easiest avoided by blocking (I dodged into them too many times) or using walls or trees as cover. If they overwhelm you I recommend traps, however they are also weak to fire.


Generally these guys are very fast and one of their attacks is a flurry of attacks that can easily kill you. Block them until they charge up their scream-attack, which will always go into the direction at which they first aim. Go around them and smash them. They are weak to poison damage.


This guy is easy if you know his patterns. Before any spikes will rise from the ground you can see where they are coming up from for you to move away fast enough. Parrying the other attacks is key, as he is very slow. He is also weak to fire.


These guys are fast and will mostly use dark magic as their attack (which can one-shot you). Especially when you first meet one during Act 1 they can overwhelm you easily. I recommend taking out any smaller enemies first while your companion takes its attention and then attacking it with your crossbow. Their major one-shot attacks are easily dodged as they form a pentagram in your direction.


During your first fight with the general you can easily cheese him by having enough mana potions and traps. Put up traps slightly spread out on the western side of the arena, let the prince and your companion take its attention, and then from afar keep throwing fireballs at him until in his second phase tons of enemies will spawn into your traps, killing them instantly and damaging the General a lot. Keep your distance and keep shooting fire balls and you'll survive without a problem.


Eff. These. Guys. Like normal deadwalkers weak to fire but outside of using fire, hitting them is a huge pain in the buttocks. Their shield-bash is hard to anticipate and kicking them will get you one or two attacks at most. Attack them with fire and get them to burn as the burning effect will take most of their health away.


These ice spirits have four blades that can push you back and onto the ground with their frontal attacks, so parrying them is important. They will sometimes jump up and smash into the ground, creating ice spikes around them and even though it can be parried it's often a better idea to get away. They will sometimes cast a row of ice in front of them, which can also not be blocked and will push you on the ground. Their attacks are mainly using dark magic and ice and they're weak to fire and poison.


These lovely ladies are easily parried, but will often have smaller enemies around them, which you should take out first. They attack using dark magic and ice and are weak to fire and poison. If possible stay close to them as their projectile attacks can be very annoying. Each concubine is a slight bit different, but for all the strat to win is the same: Stay up close, parry when they're about to kick or slap you and attack with fire and if possible poison.


They are weak to fire and are tough enemies up close, as they have many fast and devastating attacks, including one that consists of a barrage of attacks so blocking is key. If they look like they're guarding, move away as they're charging an AoE attack (can be parried but the timing is hard imo). They mainly do physical and dark magic damage. Generally speaking taking them out via fire attacks is your best bet.


Do. Every. Party. Quest. They will all be there during the fight and help you. Blackfrost will clone himself twice, and one of the blackfrosts will charm one of your party members, making them attack you. Just make sure it's not Randval who gets charmed as he will stun the living crap out of you. Focus one of the three as your party keeps the others busy. I recommend using fire and having a high phys res, magic res and ice res stat.


The first enemy in this game (and the last) where fire won't do jack. Definitely have enough materials to upgrade your armor and weapon after the Blackfrost fight to get maximum fire resistance, as the white fiery orbs are his main attack. He does have physical attacks (foreshadowed by glowing daggers) but they're easily blockable. He will bullet-hail a bunch of white orbs to you that you can parry but should better avoid as they do tons of damage. Get a crossbow with poison and shoot right after avoiding his fire orbs as poison is his only weakness and timing is important if you don't wanna spend all your health potions. If you don't have any poison or enough crossbow ammo (I did it with a bit over 250 bolts in my inventory and still had some left), I recommend luring him into a trap, attacking him once on the ground, placing another trap right onto him and then attacking again as he'll be stun locked for a bit. That's until he summons the dragon. The dragon is best fought using poison and crossbow as well, and is immune to traps. His head hitbox is bigger than you might think and you can hit it with melee attacks while it's not on ground-level, but since most his attacks are AoE's right in front of him, attack from a distance. If you're low on bolts, use them on the dragon instead of the demon, as the demon can be fought "easily" from up close and both seem to be fire resistant. And most importantly: Good Luck, you'll need it!

And that's it! You should now either have 100%-ed Bound by Flame or be on the best way to 100% it! If you've made it this far you can be proud of yourself, as especially on the Captain difficulty things aren't always easy! At this point I wanna thank Spiders for giving us this wonderful fantasy experience and keeping on creating amazing and charming Eurojank RPGs despite all the criticism they face, please never stop! Also big thanks to my boyfriend for giving me the emotional support I needed to endure Captain-Difficulty!

As with all of my guides, if there's any problems with it - be it that something isn't clear enough or that some information isn't correct or more than necessary - please let me know and I will fix it as soon as I can!

I hope you enjoyed my guide and if you did I'd be very grateful for any thumb up or Steam award you're willing to give! I hope you have a nice rest of your day and happy achievement hunting!