10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Trails Beyond the Horizon
You are about to embark on a 100-hour journey that requires a flowchart to understand the character relationships, so let’s make sure you don’t waste your time.
The thirteenth mainline entry in The Legend of Heroes series is finally here, and if you thought you could just breeze through Calvard without doing your homework, you have another thing coming. Trails Beyond the Horizon throws three different protagonist routes, a roguelike dungeon, and a revamped combat system at you immediately. It is a lot to digest, even for those of us who have been playing since the PSP days.
I’ve broken down the essential survival tips into three categories: getting set up, mastering the violence, and understanding the grind.
Phase 1: The Setup & Story
Before you even swing a sword, you need to understand what you are walking into. This game does not hold your hand regarding the narrative or the technical hiccups.
1. The Hard Truth: Do Not Start With This Game
I know you don't want to hear this. You saw the cool anime opening and you want to play the shiny new game. But listen to me: this is the third game in the Daybreak sub-arc and the thirteenth overall. The story relies heavily on you knowing who Van, Rean, and Kevin are, not to mention referencing events from Cold Steel and Sky.
If you jump in blind, the tutorial will overwhelm you and the plot will be nonsense. The game assumes you know why Van turns into a demon or who Almata is. If you absolutely refuse to play the older games, at least do yourself a favor and watch a comprehensive recap on YouTube. Don't say I didn't warn you.
2. Fix the "Prologue Achievement" Bug Immediately
If you are an achievement hunter on PC, you might notice that the "Completed Prologue" achievement doesn't pop when it should. This is a known issue. The fix is annoying but simple: Load an auto-save from right before the final cutscene of the prologue. Watching the scene again usually forces the trigger to reset. It’s a pain in the ass, but it’s better than replaying the whole intro 40 hours later.
3. Unlock "Golden Eye" for Field Exploration
There is nothing worse than backtracking for a chest you missed in a dungeon you can't return to. To stop that from happening, you need the Golden Eye Shard Ability. It reveals all treasure chests on the field map, ensuring you don't walk past loot.
You can unlock this very early. You just need to slot Mind Elemental Quartz with a value of x2 on the "Extra Line" of your Orbment. A simple "Mind 1" Quartz is usually enough to trigger this. Set it on your lead character and forget it.
Phase 2: Mastering the Combat
The combat in Beyond the Horizon is a hybrid beast. If you play it like a traditional turn-based JRPG, you will get grinded down. If you play it like a hack-and-slash, you will die. You need to mix both.
4. Abuse the Z.O.C. Mechanic
Field battles (the real-time action part) have a new toy called Z.O.C. By clicking the right stick, you slow down enemies and buff your attack speed. The best part? It is free. It doesn't cost EP or Boost Gauge; it just operates on a cooldown timer.
Attacking enemies speeds up the refill, so you should be spamming this every single time it is available. It helps you stun enemies faster to transition into turn-based combat, and it reduces the damage you take by making you harder to hit.
5. Stop Mashing Buttons in Field Battles
I know the action combat looks fast, but you can't just mash the attack button. You take significantly more damage in Field Battles than in Command Battles, and enemies often possess "super armor" (they don't flinch when hit).
You need to bait attacks and dodge at the last second to trigger a Cross Charge, which deals massive damage and often instantly stuns smaller mobs. If you just stand there swinging, you will lose half your HP before the real fight even starts.
6. Cancel Enemy Shard Commands
If you played Cold Steel, you remember Brave Orders. In this game, they are called Shard Commands, but there is a nasty twist: Bosses use them too. When a boss activates a Shard Command, they usually get a massive damage buff or defense spike.
You cannot just ignore this. The only way to get rid of an enemy command is to activate one of your own to "overlap" it. Always save some Boost Gauge to counter their buffs. If you burn all your gauge on attacks, you will be helpless when the boss powers up for an S-Craft.
7. Prioritize Van’s "Arkride Solutions" Team
You will be splitting your time between three routes led by Van, Rean, and Kevin. It is tempting to dump all your resources into Rean because he is a Divine Blade and practically a god in this universe, but that is a trap.
The "Arkride Solutions" route generally faces the toughest difficulty spikes. Since the game uses predetermined teams and forces you to switch constantly, leaving Van’s team underpowered will result in a frustrating experience. Feed them your best Quartz, your best armor, and your best upgrades. Rean and Kevin can handle themselves; Van needs the help.
Phase 3: Systems & Economy
Calvard is expensive, and resources are scarce. Here is how to stay rich and well-equipped.
8. The "Grim Garten" is Not Optional
Technically, the second half of the "Grim Garten" dungeon is optional content. In reality, if you skip it, you are playing the game wrong. This roguelike dungeon is the only reliable place to farm experience and high-tier loot.
Unlike previous games where you could find good grinding spots on the world map, Beyond the Horizon is stingy with field monsters. The Garten is where you get your levels, powerful accessories for late-game bosses, and even character costumes. Plus, it fleshes out the antagonists' backstories, which is critical for understanding the deeper lore.
9. Art Drivers Are Rare Now—Hunt Them Down
In Daybreak 1 and 2, you could just buy Art Drivers (spell sets) at shops. Those days are over. In Beyond the Horizon, you cannot buy them with Mira. You have to find them by completing challenges or hacking chests.
This scarcity means you can't just make everyone a master caster instantly. You have to actually think about your builds and who gets what Driver. If you find a chest that requires hacking, do not walk away from it. It likely contains a Driver you won't see again.
10. Watch the Shop Icons
This is a small quality-of-life feature that saves a ton of time. When you are looking at the map, check the shop icons. If an icon is red, that vendor has new inventory. If it's gray, move along.
This applies to weapons, armor, and food. Speaking of food, buy it. It conserves your EP so you don't have to waste mana healing between fights, allowing you to stay in dungeons longer without retreating.
Credits & Sanity Checks
Look, I’d love to tell you I figured every single one of these out while hallucinating from sleep deprivation, but I had some help. Thanks to some playing around myself and scouring the internet, I managed to put this survival guide together so you don't have to suffer. A special tip of the hat goes to George Yang over at the Epic Games Store for helping me sanity-check the finer details with his lovely little tips article!
Got a hot take on this? I know you do. Head over to r/neonlightsmedia to discuss it.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
