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Part action game, part base builder, Cult Of The Lamb blends challenging combat with clever resource management. The game's tutorial is concise yet thorough, but once Ratau turns you loose to do as you please you still have decisions to make and battles to win.
Aspiring cult leaders need look no further! If you're just starting out in Cult Of The Lamb, these tips will make your village more efficient and your prowess in battle feared throughout the lands of the Old Faith. Soon you'll have loyal Followers willing to sacrifice everything for your glory!
Updated August 22, 2022: We've updated this article to include a video guide that gives you our top tips and tricks for starting out in Cult of the Lamb.
Master Dodge Rolls
At the end of the day, there are only two ways to avoid damage in Cult Of The Lamb. The first is to simply kill your opponents before they strike. This works fine against weaker enemies, but against elite foes and bosses it's not an option. That's where your main survival tactic, the Dodge Roll, comes in.
The Lamb is completely immune to damage during their Dodge Roll animation, allowing you to dive through even a group of enemies or a wall of projectiles. There is a very brief cooldown between Dodge Rolls, so you'll still need to be careful with timing and positioning. This is especially true of later bosses, who will rapidly fire large numbers of projectiles to wear you down.
Healing is uncommon enough that even losing half a heart at the wrong time can put you in a bad position, so by mastering your Dodge Rolls you'll be able to keep the Lamb healthy. Fewer resurrections mean more resources and quicker access to advanced materials!
Bless Your Followers Every Day
Early in the game, when you have only a handful of Followers, it's worth taking the time to speak to each of them individually and offer a Blessing. Doing so will slightly increase each cultist's Loyalty, which will add up to additional levels over the course of their lifetimes.
Once your cult has ten or more members it becomes less practical to bless all of them daily, but you should still stop and chat if you happen to pass by a Follower carrying out their tasks. Try to do all of your Blessings before giving the day's Sermon, as any Followers that level up from your Blessing will provide more power during their Temple visit.
Giving Blessings also provides a small increase to the cult's overall Faith, so if doubt in your teachings is starting to spread this is a decent stopgap until you can conduct a Ritual to refill the meter.
Construct Multiple Copies Of Buildings
Many of the village's key buildings, such as the Temple and the Summoning Circle, can only be built once. Economy and maintenance buildings, on the other hand, often allow multiple copies. If a building can be constructed more than once, you should probably do so.
Work stations like Stone Mines and Refineries allow multiple Followers to carry out the same task at once, letting you set simultaneous production lines. Outhouses are especially important to have in sufficient quantity; even upgraded, their capacity is low enough that just one isn't going to cut it.
Avoid Hammers
Starting about midway through the game you'll probably start to see Hammers as weapon options while out on crusade. These weapons boast the highest base damage in the game but are exceptionally slow. Not only is the cooldown between attacks agonizingly long in the heat of battle, but Hammers are also the only weapon in the game with a windup.
If you can master the delay that comes with using Hammers you can potentially build a hard-hitting play style around them, but in normal gameplay they're just too slow to be viable. Axes are a much better choice if you prefer high-damage weapons.
Search Every Room Of Every Dungeon
As tempting as it might be to rush through the exit of your current dungeon as soon as you find it, it's always worth sticking around to make sure you found everything. At minimum, you should find and speak with Clauneck on each map to get a free Tarot Card draw, and (later in the game) pay for an extra while you're there.
While most extra rooms contain enemies or lesser treasures, you'll occasionally be blessed with better equipment or a free set of Tarot Cards. This won't happen every time, but it's just frequent enough to always make it worth your time to check. Even if you're low on Health, take the risk and explore - after all, if you're going to be facing a boss with one Heart left, you'll need all the help you can get!
Your Followers Are Expendable
Many players (myself included) start Cult Of The Lamb thinking they're going to be a "good" cult leader. They'll take care of their Followers, see to their needs, and carry out all their requests. This benevolence will not and cannot last. Sooner or later, you're going to have to make your Followers do unspeakable things.
A dissenting Follower needs to be put in the village's Prison, or they'll just keep spreading lies about you and lowering the cult's Faith. When times are hard, the Flock will have to turn to less-than-ideal food sources. Most of all, sacrificing Followers is essential, whether you're offering them to The One That Waits or giving them over to eldritch beings in exchange for boons.
It might seem unsettling at first, but you'll get over it quickly. The sooner that happens, the more power you'll have in your battle against the Bishops.
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