Your first hunt
From the Moonkeep to your first blessing. Controls, objectives, and a practical opening route.
A little light against the night
GLOAMFALL is a survival roguelite: you steer a hero through a growing crowd while their weapons attack automatically. Collect experience, choose upgrades, assemble an evolving build and defeat the guardians before the moon sets.
The Moonkeep is your home between hunts. Heroes selects your wanderer and costume, the Armory explains your collection, and Worlds selects the biome. A fresh hunt starts a fresh combat build; account unlocks remain yours.
Begin at the Moonkeep
- Sign in, then choose a public username if prompted. The local development identity option is for this local alpha when enabled.
- Pick a starter hero: Sir Aldren favors protection, Mirella wider spell coverage, and Elowen faster projectiles.
- Start with Moonlit Graveyard on Normal. Select Solo to learn at your own pace, then choose Begin Hunt.
- Move with WASD or the arrow keys. Circle open ground and let your starter weapon clear a safe path.
- Collect the XP gems left by defeated enemies. Choose a blessing when the party level increases.
- Read the next-guardian countdown. Prepare room to move before the warning, and defeat the final guardian to finish the hunt.
Controls at a glance
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| W A S D / arrow keys | Move. Diagonal movement is normalized, so it is not faster. |
| Automatic | Weapons fire on their own cooldowns. There is no basic attack button. |
| Click a blessing | Choose one of the offered upgrades during a level-up. |
| Esc | Open the pause / party menu. Only ordinary Solo can pause combat. |
| Fullscreen control | Expand the arena; a browser may reserve Esc to exit fullscreen first. |
A useful first five minutes
Move in broad loops instead of running endlessly in one direction. Looping brings you back to the experience left behind while keeping the crowd on a predictable route.
Upgrade a reliable damage source, then add coverage or survivability that solves your immediate problem. Taking every new weapon can fill all six slots before you have a plan for an evolution.
Do not cross a lethal crowd for one gem. Leave room around your hero, approach chests when safe, and use the six-second guardian warning to move away from a crowded edge.
Rules describe the 0.2.0 defaults. Catalogue entries follow the loaded collection; active hunts and stored Daily challenges keep their own pinned rules.
Implementation references: components/App.tsx · game/arena.ts · game-core/engine.ts