Disco Elysium Beginner’s Guide#

Disco Elysium has no combat won or lost in the traditional sense — everything lives in a single line of dialogue, a single check. How you carry yourself, spend your points and pick your skills at the start determines how smooth your first two days are. This chapter breaks down everything a newcomer needs.

The Story in Brief First#

You are du Bois (Harry du Bois), a lieutenant lost to amnesia after a bender. To investigate a murder, you and your partner Kim Kitsuragi are dispatched to Martinaise, the harbor quarter on Revachol’s west side:

• A man’s corpse hangs in the hotel’s backyard, identity unknown, wrapped in riddles from head to toe
• The town’s union is tangled up with foreign capital, and the atmosphere could ignite at a spark
• You don’t even remember who you are, so every question starts from zero
• The case must be cracked in a matter of days, and the only tool you have is talking the truth out of people, one step at a time

There is no combat button in this game. The only weapon is talking every talkable person thoroughly.

Character Creation#

The Four Archetypes#

At the start you can pick one of four preset archetypes, or hand-tune every attribute yourself.

Thinker: Strong in Intellect and Psyche. Suits players who love deduction, argument and word games.

Sensitive: Very high Psyche, ample intuition and empathy. Suits players who clear obstacles through emotion and resonance.

Jock: Balanced Physique and Motorics. Suits players who like rummaging through everything and getting things done with their bodies.

Custom: Allocate your points freely and pick your own signature skill.

Spending Attribute Points#

The four attributes are Intellect, Psyche, Physique and Motorics. Each starts at 1, with a pool of free points to distribute. Where you throw those points decides what kind of cop you are.

Three foundations for newcomers:

• Balanced: cover all four attributes — safe, but bland
• Wits: max Intellect and Psyche, an answer ready for every line
• Brawler: Physique and Motorics first — a wild road that still gets you through

A common spread example: Intellect 4, Psyche 4, Physique 2, Motorics 2. This spread balances dialogue and survival and is most players’ starting point.

Signature Skill#

When creating a character you pick one “signature skill”, which starts a rank higher. The signature skill is tightly bound to your route:

• Main story: Logic or Visual Calculus
• Negotiation: Rhetoric or Empathy
• Exploration: Perception or Encyclopedia
• Hardboiled: Physical Instrument or Endurance

The signature skill’s early bonus is genuinely useful, but it isn’t a lifetime bond — you can top up any skill later.

Day One Walkthrough#

After Waking Up#

You wake from an amnesiac hangover. Don’t sprint off — first get to know your “own people”.

Key steps:

1. Put on every piece of clothing you can wear
2. Rummage drawers, pillows, under the bed — sweep the room
3. Confirm the room key and the bill with the hotel operator
4. Get in touch with Kim Kitsuragi
5. Go take a look at the body hanging in the backyard

Time Management#

• Talking costs no time; walking, rummaging and wandering do
• Open the map and click a destination to arrive instantly — the cost is one hour
• Every action pushes time forward, and when the hour changes, so do the people and events

The first day’s priority: don’t burn your hours on long walks — learn the hotel, the backyard and the docks first.

Day-One Musts#

• Get dressed, get the key
• Build initial trust with Kim
• Examine the body at the scene once
• Scrape together some money — at least secure tonight’s board

How to Make Money#

Pawning#

Take worn-out books, odds and ends, and spare clothes to the pawnshop. But don’t rush to sell everything: some worthless-looking items turn out to be very useful.

Tasks and Errands#

Run errands, deliver messages, mind a stall for the townsfolk — pocket change adds up. As the main story advances, your precinct occasionally wires an allowance too.

Credit and Haggling#

The hotel owner will let you run a tab; the counter-side haggling lines are a check of their own.

Saving Advice#

The game has no autosave — everything is manual. Hit save before every critical moment.

When to save:

• Before entering a new area
• Before attempting a red check
• Before talking to an important figure
• Every morning and every night
• Before spending big money

Save strategy: Keep three or four saves from different points in time, leaving yourself several escape routes.

Failure Grants XP Too#

• Every check grants experience, success or not
• Opening a cabinet or reading an old book can be a small XP moment
• The most valuable thing in the first two days is trying everything you want to do and keeping your confidence up

The Shape of Each Day#

• Go over the leads from yesterday’s conversations in the morning
• Alternate between the docks, money-making and town threads as much as you can
• Check the Thought Cabinet and refresh your internalizing thoughts
• A busy day buys a calm night — wrap up loose ends after dark

Common Beginner Mistakes#

Treating a Failed White Check as the End#

Failing a white check is not a dead end. Level up, put on better gear, take the drugs, come back later and the door reopens. Never abandon a lead over one failure.

Forgetting Kim, Your Steadiest Cheat Code#

Kim Kitsuragi is calm and reliable — your steadiest support in town. Listening to his experience and judgment never hurts, and plenty of checks come with his bonus built in.

Treating the Thought Cabinet as Decoration#

Every thought you internalize in the Thought Cabinet changes how the game feels to some degree. Read before you pick — don’t mash buttons at the start.

Skipping Skill Descriptions#

Every skill is a “voice”. Once you understand its quirks, you know when to lean on it and when to route around it.

Choosing Your Difficulty Flavor#

Want an easy script: Thinker start — pump Intellect and Psyche and dialogue stays green all the way.

Want some heartbeat: Jock, the body route — checks come easier but the silver tongue goes stiff.

Want personality: Dump your points into one attribute and you’ll find dialogue pockets nobody else ever sees.

Hotkeys#

• Tab: Highlight all interactables
• Ctrl: Fast-forward long dialogue
• I: Inventory
• T: Thought Cabinet
• M: Map
• Esc: Menu and pause

Builds and Point Reference#

How to Use Resources#

FAQ#

How to Play a Second Run#

After finishing the game, a second run can chase completely different goals:

• Dump everything into the attributes you ignored last time
• Shelve the main story and feel out the entire town in reverse
• Try playing guideless and let every check speak for itself
• Save aggressively for a “perfect ending”, or let loose and make a mess for thrills

By the end of your first playthrough you’ll know far more clearly whose story this game really is.

One Last Tip#

The most important thing in this game is to accept that failure is roleplay too. A botched conversation, a burned bridge, a warrant found on you — none of it matters. On day two, with experience in the bank, you’ll thank yourself for not flinching.