If you want to play a game as a monster hunter/wizard build, then learn how to play the Van Helsing video game as a Thaumaturge.
Welcome to a world where werewolves roam free and creatures rule the night.
In this hack and slash game, you get to explore a dangerous world that is full of secrets and treasure.
However, before you start the game you need to decide which build to play.
This thaumaturge build is a solid choice for players who have experience with hack and slash games.
If you are new at playing this type of game, I recommend building one of the other tougher classes.
Is the Van Helsing video game easy to install and play?
I bought the game through the Steam platform and it was easy to install.
It might take 30 minutes or fewer to download, depending on your Internet speed.
The game has two options when talking about playing the game.
Players can use either a keyboard mouse setup or a joystick.
Both play styles are effective, but each has its pros and cons.
Before starting the game, the player needs to choose their preferred setup.
Getting Started
If you start the game without joystick support, it will configure the game for keyboard and mouse.
All the game’s menu will change according to the setup.
Both setups look different when playing the game.
Using the joystick is solid, but it’s limited to the amount of actions you can perform.
For example, powering up your spells requires you to select from three different skills.
It can get confusing if you don’t know where the button is on the controller.
However, with the keyboard and mouse setup, gamers can remember where each key is located.
I prefer using the keyboard setup because I can click directly on the item I need.
With the joystick, players may need to use both the keyboard and controller to play the game.
Overall, the game plays well with either, so choose your monster-slaying weapon and start playing.
Basics and Story
The story is about young Van Helsing the son of vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing.
Van is trying to figure out what’s happening and needs you to guide him.
The video game has a simple but not too helpful tutorial that explains the game mechanics.
Tutorial tips are show once the player reaches a specific moment or event.
Throughout the game, there are cut-scenes in special locations that explain what’s going on.
As a result, the story will progress once players reach key locations in the game.
Van Helsing video game characters
The two main characters in the game are Van Helsing and Katrina.
Katrina is a helpful ghost that agreed to help Van on all his adventures.
Both get along fine, Katrina throws the corny jokes and Van disagrees.
Each character is separate and has their own skills and abilities.
As a result, players need to add skill and ability points to both characters to play the game.
The only problem is that Van Helsing can’t go solo; Katrina must accompany him.
Therefore, players need to adjust their game strategy so that both characters can help each other.
Once you figure out a favorite play style, all that’s left is to choose a character class.
There are three character classes in The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.
Hunter – The Hunter is the tank class; you will charge into battle with deadly swords.
Also, hunters can wield rifles and pistols to eliminate the enemy from far.
Thaumaturge – As a Thaumaturge, players become powerful sorcerers throwing deadly magic at foes.
Playing this class is more difficult because the character can die easier.
Arcane Mechanic – Playing the Arcane Mechanic is like playing a Hunter and Thaumaturge at the same time.
This class can also summon mechanical pets that will help you defeat enemies.
Graphics and Sound
Van Helsing has superb graphics with dark creepy areas and sharp colors.
There’s five different settings starting from very low graphics, all the way to very high.
Graphic card resolution goes up to 1920×1080 and it supports Open GL 32bit and Direct 3D11.
The soundtrack is great and there are options to increase all the game’s sounds.
Monsters and Loot
Throughout the game, players will encounter different monsters.
Some monsters are familiar like werewolves and ghosts, but others are weird.
For example, there are frog people that defend their lands from intruders.
There’s a variety of monsters, especially when moving into a new location.
Very few monsters hang around by themselves, so they attack in groups.
Be careful, their friends will surround some of the strongest creatures to protect them.
Therefore, running straight into a mob without checking can get you killed.
The way to check if they are strong monsters is by hovering your mouse cursor over the group.
If you see a boss name with purple or orange name tags, prepare yourself, they’re tough.
Similarly, there are elite creatures that hang out together and all of them have colored name tags.
Once you defeat these tough enemies, they drop the best loot in the game.
Van Helsing video game loot
There’s a variety of loot, ranging from standard all the way to epic.
However, if you’re looking for the best treasure, completing quests is the best option.
The cool thing is that there’s loot specifically made for character types.
If you are a hunter, they cannot equip arcane mechanic gear.
Also, many treasure items you may find will have slots for essence.
Essence pieces are like gems that players can insert into the armor and weapons.
Each piece of essence can improve your character’s skills or abilities.
Similar to Diablo 2, users can combine essence pieces into one powerful essence.
Van Helsing video game difficulty and multi-player
My experience with this game was a rough one; I started playing a Thaumaturge and died a lot.
But since the game attracted me, I learned more about game play and mechanics.
If you never played a game like Diablo 2, this game will be difficult at first.
Happily, there are five difficulty levels to choose:
Casual – For players that never played the game or games like this one.
Normal – This is the default setting when starting a new character.
Hard – Recommended for people who played the game or are veterans in the genre.
Heroic – War veterans apply; This is for highly experienced players with a strategy plan.
Hardcore Character – For gamers who want to commit suicide; if you die, it’s permanent.
Multi-player gameplay is still available on the Steam platform.
Last time I checked, there were eight people playing online.
However, don’t expect to find a lot of players; this game is pretty old.
Once a difficulty level is chosen, the player needs to invent a plan on how to play.
Luckily for you, I have created a Tips and Tricks section below to help you start your new adventures.
How to play as a Thaumaturge in Van Helsing Video Game
First, you need to decide on what type of Thaumaturge to build.
There are two ways I would build my character, as a damage/controller or damage/sorcerer.
I recommend using the same Lady Katarina build for both types.
Damage / controller uses controlling abilities to have monsters fight for you.
This adds more damage to your team, helping to beat more monsters.
However, this build does not use or need more Mana than the sorcerer build.
Damage / sorcerer has lots of Mana to his disposal and uses deadly magic to kill enemies.
With this build, your character will have a huge amount of Mana so he can use more magic.
I created the damage/sorcerer build, so that’s the one we will study.
Tip: During gameplay, if you did not apply your skill/ability points correctly, you can reset them.
However, it costs 500 in-game gold per point to reset.
The most important part of building your character is applying the right ability points.
Build your ability points
You will receive five ability points every time your character levels up.
The formula to build your character the right way is like this:
Willpower=10+15=25
Dexterity=10+5=15
Dexterity=10+15=25
Body=10+5=15
Body=10+15=25
Luck=10+5=15
Start building the Willpower ability point until it reaches 25 points.
After receiving 15 points in Willpower, start adding Dexterity points.
The same goes to the Dexterity ability; after receiving 15 points add Body points.
Finally, when you have 25 Body points, start adding points to the Luck ability.
Each ability will have ten points in between; This means that when you have 40 points in Willpower, Dexterity will have 30.
Follow the same formula every time your character receives ability points.
Also, it’s important to have the right ability points to match your skill points.
A Skilled Hunter
To survive in the Van Helsing video game, players need to choose the right character skills.
Every time your character levels up, he will receive three skill points.
We can spend each skill point on either Thaumaturge skills, Tricks or Auroras.
This is the fun part, players can create unique characters by adding a combination of skills points in these areas.
Thaumaturge skills
This is the meat of your skills; Choose a skill tree to follow throughout the game.
I recommend applying skill points to one branch of skills all the down to the last one.
Your character build will become much more focused on one particular gameplay.
I chose the damage/sorcerer skills that use elemental damage with ice, fire, and lightning.
Here’s my Thaumaturge build:
Energy Bolts = 10 points
Shocking Bolts
Channeled Bolts
Bolt Swarm
Spirit Bolts
Surge Blast
Max Mana = 10 points
Cooldown
Mana regen
Rage = 10 points
Unleashed Rage
Channeled Rage
Ice Shards = 10 points
Glacial Shards
Jagged Shards
Artic Shards
Shard Spray
Ice Javelins
Trick skills
These skills are great for getting out of trouble or adding more output damage.
Here’s my Tricks build:
Ghostly Mirage = 8 points
Aurora skills
These are mostly passive skills and are great for making elemental spells stronger.
Here’s my Auroras build:
Aurora of Counterbalance = 10 points
Perk Points for Van Helsing
Your character will receive perk points once in a while.
These points are rare, so it’s important to choose them to help boost your character build.
I chose perks for both Lady Katarina and my character’s abilities.
Here’s my Perks build:
Wraith
Wight
Resistive
Ghost Whisperer
Second Chance
How to Build Lady Katarina
Build Lady Katarina the same way you build Van Helsing.
But this build gets three ability points and two skill points.
Look at this formula to build Lady Katarina:
Body=10+9=19
Dexterity=10+3=13
Dexterity=10+9=19
Luck=10+3=13
Luck=10+9=19
Willpower=10+3=13
Lady Katarina acts as my bodyguard and protects me from attackers.
She needs lots of hit points; So I focused on Body and Dexterity abilities.
Lady Katarina’s skills
There are two kinds of skills, general and blue blood skills.
I experimented with both but I found the general skills are a better fit for my build.
Here’s my Lady Katarina build:
I switched Lady Katarina’s appearance from ranged to melee damage so she could use a sword weapon.
Her behavior is to defend Van Helsing by attacking anyone who attacks him.
Equip Lady Katarina with gear that will improve hit points and defense.
Tips and Tricks
Playing as a Thaumaturge is a challenging but rewarding class; keep your distance from groups of enemies.
Fire your first shot to bring enemies close, then turn Lady Katarina into Ghostly Mirage.
Don’t start bombing your enemies right away, let Katarina build aggro.
Now, start helping by shooting down enemies that have received damage.
If a huge army of monsters chases you, don’t fire back; run towards Katarina and stay near her.
Lady Katarina is sworn to protect you from anyone who touches you.
Use Sluggish Time to escape monster attacks or to take down multiple enemies.
To be continued…
Did I miss anything? Leave your comments below. I would love to hear what you think of this build.
Screenshot Gallery
External Resources
NeoCoreGames.com, Game’s Home Page. Retrieved on 11/02/2019.
UniversalMonsters.fandom.com, Van Helsing (video game). Retrieved on 11/2/2019.
VanHelsing.fandom.com, Van Helsing wiki. Retrieved on 11/02/2019.
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Last Updated on May 22, 2021 by Tony