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Getting started
Choose your mode, find your first upgrades, and understand what carries over when a run ends.
Checked for v4.2.2Reviewed
Quick answer
Should I start in Hardcore?
Normal mode is our recommendation for learning: you keep your inventory, equipped gear and gold after death. Hardcore is available from the start if you enjoy losing those resources when you die. Start in whichever mode matches the challenge you want, but back up your save before switching an existing character to Hardcore.
On this page
Your first run
- Create your hero. Choose a class and passive that sound interesting. Leave Hardcore off if you want to build up a collection of equipment across attempts.
- Begin at Curse 1. Higher Curse levels unlock as you progress. You can learn the combat and equipment systems before increasing the challenge.
- Explore and read the event log. Encounters, loot and choices appear there. Watch your health, and use opportunities to recover when you need them.
- Check your equipment. Fill empty slots and compare new items with what you already wear. An item’s actual attributes matter as well as its colour.
- Choose level-up bonuses for the problem you face. If fights are ending your run, consider health or defense; if you survive but struggle to finish enemies, consider offense.
Our beginner tip: keep your first few runs simple. Learn how equipment changes your character before spending heavily on upgrades or chasing a specialised build.
Normal mode and Hardcore
Normal mode is also called non-Hardcore or softcore by players.
In both modes, death ends the current run. Your character level, experience progress, level-up bonuses and dungeon position reset. Normal mode still gives you lasting progress through the inventory, equipment and gold you keep.
| After death | Normal mode | Hardcore |
|---|---|---|
| Character level and run bonuses | Reset | Reset |
| Dungeon floor and room | Reset | Reset |
| Gold | Kept | Lost |
| Inventory equipment and consumables | Kept | Lost |
| Equipped regular gear | Kept | Lost |
| Refine Stones and Forge Tokens | Kept | Lost |
Our recommendation: begin in normal mode if you are still learning what the systems do. Hardcore is a reasonable first choice if you specifically enjoy starting over after a defeat. You do not need to complete normal mode first.
Hardcore and Curse are separate choices: Hardcore changes what you lose, while Curse changes the challenge of the dungeon and the tier of its loot.
Switching to Hardcore
Enabling Hardcore for an existing character can immediately clear your existing items, equipped gear and gold. It is not a way to bring a normal-mode stockpile into a Hardcore run.
Export your save before making the switch. Read the in-game warning carefully. A later change of mode does not restore items that were already removed.
Save a backup
Open the game menu and choose Export/Import Data. Copy the exported data and keep it somewhere safe outside the game. Use the import field when you want to restore that backup.
A backup captures your player data at a point in time. Importing it replaces your current player data and resets the dungeon run; it does not resume the room you exported from. Make a fresh export before restoring an older backup.
What to learn next
- If you are unsure whether to equip a drop, read Equipment explained.
- If your gold is piling up, read What to do with gold.
- If you are ready for the next difficulty, read How Curse works.
- If you want more starting companions, read How to unlock companions.
You can also tap the question mark beside Stats in the game for short descriptions of the character attributes.