Beginner’s Guide#

Character Selection#

Starter Picks#

Imelda Belpaese is the second recommended pick — her extra experience gain levels you faster, which means stronger weapons and items earlier. Once the basics feel natural, she is an excellent practice character.

Your First Five Minutes#

0-1 minute#

Start moving the moment the run begins. Do not stand still. Read the enemy spread around you and drift toward the thinnest concentration. Your starting weapon attacks automatically — all you need to manage is positioning.

1-3 minutes#

Collect XP gems and level up. When choosing your first weapon, prioritize one of these strong options:

3-5 minutes#

You should now hold 2-3 weapons. Do not let monsters surround you. Hug the map’s edges and avoid diving into packs. Weigh every level-up choice carefully.

Basic Movement and Positioning#

Positioning Principles#

• Circular movement: run in circles so the trailing mob can never catch you. The most fundamental positioning skill.
• Edge movement: hug walls or the map border to cut your exposure to one side only.
• Zigzagging: in dense packs, weave a zigzag line to spread enemies out and avoid being sealed in.
• Kiting: drag a pack along, let your weapon cooldowns recover, turn and fire, then keep running.

Danger Signals#

Weapon Priority#

Beginner Weapon Rankings#

Weapon Selection Strategy#

Evolution Mechanics Explained#

Evolution Requirements#

2. Hold the corresponding passive item

3. Open a chest (the chest screen must have a free slot to show the evolution)

Common Evolution Combos#

Evolution Priority#

Once a weapon hits level 8, do not rush to open the chest. Confirm the area is safe first — you cannot act during the evolution animation. Ideally clear a wave, then open it from a safe spot.

Once a weapon reaches level 8, do not open the chest immediately; check your surroundings first because the evolution animation locks you out of moving. Clear the current wave, then open from a safe position.

Early Goals#

Your first goal is surviving 30 minutes. Advice:

4. Lock your build’s direction by minute 11

Your First Clear#

Your first goal is surviving 30 minutes. Advice:

4. Lock your build’s direction by minute 11

5. After minute 21 the run turns hard mode — positioning needs full attention

6. Use circular movement patterns

Unlock Priority#

• Super weapons
• Arcanas
• New characters
• Relics

Character Comparison#

The Early Unlock Route#

Resource Management#

Common Mistakes and Traps#

Mistake 1: More weapons is always better#

Six weapon slots look like an invitation to fill them, but blindly stacking weapons floods your level-ups with low-quality picks and dilutes the upgrade chances of your core weapons. Keep two to three core weapons early and hand the rest to passives, so resources concentrate on evolution.

Mistake 2: Opening every chest you see#

Chests are not always worth opening. A purple chest opened before the weapon hits level 8 yields only gold or common rewards — a wasted evolution. The right play: wait until the core weapon is level 8 with its paired passive held, then open, so every chest pays out.

Mistake 3: Chasing faraway XP gems#

Gems drop exactly where the danger is. Diving into the pack for one or two gems usually costs more than it pays. Circle around and wait for a safe window instead. Magnet-type items widen pickup range enormously — one of the best early buys.

Mistake 4: Ignoring passives#

Many beginners only look at weapon power and miss the value of passive pairings. Cooldown, area, and move speed often decide whether a build comes together — and the evolution-required passives are the core of the core. Always keep them.

A Complete First-Run Walkthrough#

The Opening#

Pick Imelda Belpaese as your first character — her XP bonus visibly speeds up the leveling rhythm. In Mad Forest, keep moving in circles, drift toward thinner enemy concentrations, and grab nearby gems first.

The First Level-Up#

Prioritize Santa Water or Lightning Ring. Santa Water gives persistent ground damage and Lightning Ring hits the whole screen automatically — the two most reliable beginner damage sources. Among passives in the level-up screen, take Empty Tome (cooldown) and the magnet (pickup range) first.

The Mid-Game#

Around minute ten, your core weapon should be level 5+. Start collecting the passives your evolution needs and watch the map’s chest spawns. Keep moving — never stand still for long.

The Late Game#

After minute twenty the density spikes sharply. Orbit the safer regions of the map and let your evolved super weapons do the killing. With a clean build, surviving to minute thirty is not difficult.

After Your First Clear#

Your first 30-minute survival unlocks new stages and more content. Return to the main menu and spend gold on permanent PowerUps — max damage and cooldown first to prepare for harder challenges.

Ten Tips for New Players#

1. Do not greed for XP at the start — safety always comes first.
2. Replace straight-line movement with circles to dodge encirclement.
3. Keep core weapons at two to three; give the rest to passives.
4. Santa Water and Lightning Ring are the most reliable early damage.
5. Save chests until the core weapon is level 8 so evolutions trigger.
6. Empty Tome and the magnet are the must-have early passives.
7. After minute 21, shrink your movement and fight around safe zones.
8. Death is normal — do not be discouraged; every run banks gold and XP.
9. Buy the damage and cooldown PowerUps as early as possible.
10. Learn the evolution routes before pushing into harder stages.