Temtem beginner guide: Three things you should know before playing

Since the game released into early access on Jan. 21, I have spent some time to complete all available content currently in developer Crema’s Temtem. Only around half of planned content is available currently. However, what is there can actually be quite complex, and there are a few things you should know before getting started that will save you a lot of trouble during your playthrough. This guide will share three important beginner tips.

Scents are must-haves in Temtem.

The Scent item is best comparable to how Repel works in Pokémon. However, there are a few key differences. Scents in Temtem lower the chance of encountering wild Temtem. Unlike in Pokémon, the Scents do not entirely eliminate the chance of any encounters. Another difference is that you can still encounter Temtem of a lower level than the ones in your party. Being able to use Repels to force certain encounters in Pokémon is not possible because of this.

However, Scents are much more efficient in Pansun (Temtem’s currency) compared to their alternatives in other collectible monster games. They will ultimately save you a lot of time avoiding unwanted battles, and time is a precious commodity! That being said, you gain access to various gifted Temtem throughout the story mode. Because of this, it is not as required to spend endless hours battling wild Temtem to keep up with the levels of your opponents.

Smoke Bombs should be used constantly.

Smoke Bombs are used to return the player to the last used Temporium. The Temporium in Temtem is the equivalent of a Pokémon Center. However, Smoke Bombs have various interesting uses. The most obvious is to return to a location to heal your Temtem to save on Balms, Temtem’s healing items, but something many people don’t realize is that the Smoke Bombs can also work as teleportation to speed up certain aspects of the Temtem story.

For example, certain quests require you to obtain an item in a certain faraway city. You could simply walk back after reaching the city. However, if you set up your Temporium teleport correctly, the Smoke Bomb could save you a massive amount of time.

Train your TVs early.

Temtem can be much more difficult than similar games. Because of this, certain Temtem will require training to progress through certain parts of the story. Finding a location to train your Training Values (TVs) early on can be very helpful for your journey. As the XP gain is incredibly low when facing Temtem of a lower level than yours are, there isn’t a worry of over-leveling for the story ahead. However, the additional stats can help you make it through some of the difficult battles in the game.

For more about how best to train your TVs, be sure to read our guide covering all locations to best train them!