Game Manual

A comprehensive guide to combat, stances, build paths, and progression.

1. Controls

Keyboard & Mouse (default)

  • Left-click card — play self-targeted / AoE cards instantly
  • Left-click card → left-click enemy — play single-target cards
  • Drag card — alternate card play method (drag to target)
  • Right-click — cancel targeting
  • 1 / 2 / 3 — switch stance (Front / Mid / Back)
  • Enter / Space — end turn (with confirmation if energy remaining)
  • C — open character screen (gear + inventory)
  • Esc — pause menu
  • F12 — Steam screenshot

Controller (Xbox / PlayStation / Steam Deck)

  • D-pad / left stick — cycle selection
  • A / X — confirm / play card
  • B / O — back / cancel
  • LB / RB — switch between hand / enemies / buttons
  • Y / Triangle — end turn

2. Combat Basics

Combat is turn-based. Each turn you draw cards (5 by default), spend energy to play them, then end your turn. Enemies then execute their intents (visible above each enemy before your turn).

Every card has:

  • Energy Cost — shown in the top-left corner
  • Type — Attack (red), Skill (blue), or Power (gold)
  • Rarity — Common (white), Uncommon (green), Rare (blue), Legendary (gold)
  • Weapon requirement — some cards only work for specific classes

3. The Stance System

You can choose one of three stances at the start of each turn (locked after your first card):

  • FRONT — Aggressive. Many cards gain +damage in Front stance. Vibro Blade's preferred stance.
  • MID — Balanced. Staff-class cards gain +damage and +shield in Mid. Arc Staff's preferred stance.
  • BACK — Defensive / precise. Many skills gain +armor in Back. Rail Rifle's preferred stance.

Card descriptions show stance bonuses in dim text until you enter that stance — then they light up green.

4. Distance & Positioning

Enemies sit in one of three distance lanes: CLOSE, MID, or FAR. Their damage and your damage both change based on the lane:

  • Enemy at CLOSE — deals 2× damage to you
  • Enemy at MID — deals 1× damage
  • Enemy at FAR — deals 0.5× damage (they typically advance toward you)
  • Melee cards (Vibro Blade) — 1.5× at Close, 1× at Mid, 0.5× at Far
  • Ranged cards (Rail Rifle) — 0.5× at Close, 1× at Mid, 1.5× at Far
  • Spells (Arc Staff) — consistent damage at all distances

Use push and pull effects to control the battlefield — keep melee enemies at Far, pull ranged enemies to Close to burst them down.

5. Armor vs. Shield

Two distinct defensive resources:

  • ARMOR — Accumulates across turns. Absorbs incoming damage after Shield. Persists until spent. Icon color: grey.
  • SHIELD — Refreshes to a base value each turn. Absorbs damage first, then armor. Also absorbs incoming debuff stacks (Weak, Vulnerable, Burn, Poison, Bleed). Icon color: blue.

Vibro Blade builds around stacking armor. Arc Staff builds around stacking shield (which also feeds damage via Psionic Slam). Rail Rifle has tools to strip shield and armor with piercing attacks.

6. Status Effects

All statuses apply to both enemies and player unless noted otherwise.

  • Weak — target deals 25% less damage. Decays 1/turn.
  • Vulnerable — target takes 50% more damage. Decays 1/turn.
  • Burn — damage over time. Decays 1/turn.
  • Poison — damage over time. Does not decay.
  • Bleed — damage over time. Does not decay. Bypasses poison-immunity (sword specialty).
  • Disarmed — target's next attack is cancelled. Bosses immune.
  • Spikes — deals damage back to anything that hits you.
  • Strength — +damage per stack (enemies only).

7. Weapon Classes

Vibro Blade (Melee)

85 HP · 3 Energy · 5 Draw · +5 Armor at start of combat. Excels at Front stance with push/pull control.

Arc Staff (Caster)

70 HP · 3 Energy · 5 Draw · +3 Shield at start of combat. Excels at Mid stance with AoE and shield-damage conversion.

Rail Rifle (Sniper)

75 HP · 3 Energy · 6 Draw (opening hand bonus) · no start bonus. Excels at Back stance with piercing big hits.

8. Build Paths

Each class has 3 archetypes. Stick to one and the reward system adapts:

  • Sword: Armor Stacking + Thorns · Bleed (locked) · Big Hits
  • Staff: Shield Stacking · Burn (locked) · Multi-Hit Spells
  • Bow: Piercing Big Hits · Poison (locked) · Multi-Hit + Debuff Payoff

Locked paths unlock via achievements (win a run with the other paths first). Once you have 2+ cards from a path in your deck, the game weights card rewards toward that path (3× chance) and reduces rewards from competing paths (0.25×).

9. Meta-Progression

Each run earns Selection Tokens based on performance (typically 1-6 per run). Tokens let you pick a category (Cards, Gear, Events, or Map Mods) and unlock one of 3 curated options in that category. No overwhelming skill tree — just a focused choice after every run.

Achievements grant bonus tokens and some unique unlocks. Difficulty progression: Normal → Nightmare → Hell, unlocked by winning the tier below.

10. Beginner Tips

  • Don't overdraft cards — a 10-card minimalist deck is often stronger than a 25-card bloated one. Use the Remove Card option at post-combat rewards.
  • Test every stance — don't just sit in one. Many cards reward switching.
  • Distance matters more than you think — on turn 1, figure out if you want your enemies Close (Vibro Blade) or Far (Rail Rifle).
  • EMP Burst your bosses — boss fights often gate DoT builds behind high shield. Neutral cards like EMP Burst delete shield.
  • Weak is the best debuff — cuts incoming damage by 25%, and stacks. Especially useful against elite attackers.
  • Rest heals 30% of max HP — don't waste rest nodes early unless you're wounded. Save them for pre-boss.
  • Shops are often skippable — gold accrues; a single elite drop is usually worth more than a shop purchase.