Overview
A simple overview of Alpha and what to expect in addition to some Alpha tips and tricks. MINIMAL SPOILERSPlease note that on the final release of the game, these tips may no longer work for you
Introduction
Okay, so you’ve started the game, and maybe played a few rounds plus the tutorial.
Maybe you haven’t even bought it and would like to see what’s already in the Alpha.
What would you like to know? This guide should answer a few basic gameplay questions
You may or may not see the same stuff here as on the discussion boards. Everyone’s experience with the game is a little different although it’s the exact same game
I won’t put too many spoilers in here, although the game could change a lot regardless of me writing this guide.
If you need current info on the game, a good place to visit is the official source:
[link]
Here’s a checklist of some gameplay topics I’ll go over in Crypt of the Necrodancer Alpha.
- Character Basics
- Level Select (After start-up options. I will call this the level select as you can choose which game mode to play, etc.)
- Shopping/Upgrades/Unlockables
- Crypt Maps
Character Basics
In travelling through the crypt, you must keep up with the beat to maintain coin multipliers and keep up with the enemies on the screen. Enemies will automatically move, whether you miss a beat. This can be very dangerous. If you want to strategically “pass” a beat to let an opponent approach, you can dig out a nearby wall, or use the war drum or anything else that would consume a turn.
NOTE: If you are having trouble keeping up with the beat:
- try listening to the music more than looking at the flashing tiles on the screen and vice versa
- for practice, try hardcore seeded and always input the same seed when you die (ex. type abc in as the seed..every time).
- the game IS compatible with a dancepad, gamepad/controller, OR keyboard. Try them out!
Here are some basic strategies for characters you start with, or can unlock early on:
Cadence – your starting character
With her, you will face the classic problem of moving to the beat. Keep the beat to get more coins on kills. Keep moving when you descend! You will never be safe from enemies unless you pause the game!! Approach enemies carefully. Approach dragons from top or bottom as with other characters. Avoid Shrine of Rhythm if you’re a casual player (insta-kill on missing a beat).
Bard
With him, you have the chance to pause between every move to calculate your next. Still, plenty of opportunities to die. Going to the shop is a little easier with Bard than other characters, as movement depends on you – not the beat. You can predict easier if you will be body-blocked into a corner or shop! If you DO get body-blocked, escaping is fairly easy – given you have time to think!
Monk
He’s allergic to gold. This guy can really make life a pain OR very easy in Hardcore and regular modes. When in Hardcore, many players will use the drop-shaft / pitfall traps to speedrun. However, the tight space “in between” floors can make surviving difficult – not because of the enemy difficulty, but because they might drop gold on a tile you need to step on! However, you don’t need to collect money to get a great item in Hardcore. Head for the shop, then the stairs!!
Level Select
So there’s a number of things you can do here not long after starting the game, including:
- play a tutorial (handy, and you can practice “dancing” at the Level Select, too
- train against monsters you’ve fought (watch their movement patterns)
- shop (You can play on Easy and farm diamonds to make future trips easier)
- change your character (and if you’re not into dancing with the beat, I recommend doing this immediately and switching to Bard)
Often, you will realize there’s an order to doing things. Again, I recommend farming diamonds on Easy for awhile, then you can farm them on Zone 1 and so on. Character unlocks don’t come quickly so just bear in mind you may have to play harder to win better rewards. The Beastmaster is the first NPC you can unlock and allows you to train against monsters. I recommend playing with the Bard until you’ve defeated enough monsters to understand their movement patterns
Shopping/Upgrades/Unlockables
So you’ll need some currency to spend to help your current dungeon run or future ones. Also, you need to realize there are 2 different kinds of shopping.
Level Select shopping
Diamonds: these are the overworld currency. In most cases you keep these on dying. Look for a faint blue sparkle in the walls of most zone levels. Diamonds can unlock items you can buy or find in chests while exploring the zones (Hephaestus). They can also buy permanent upgrades at the Level Select (Dungeon Master).
Crypt Shopping
Gold: the currency you use while exploring the zones. As far as I can tell, anything you buy with these does not unlock anything permanent – unless (somehow) you buy/trade for diamonds!
You can earn these from defeating enemies and destroying the Shopkeeper’s walls. Secret shops exist, but often take health instead of money. Those can be found in walls, but pay attention to what color the tile is – it may be a trap room with several minibosses instead.
Crypt Maps
Overview
So for now, each zone has 3 floors plus the regular boss. Beware as one miniboss exists on each floor in addition to tough versions of enemies based on what floor and zone you are in (for example a dark golem later in Zone 2 as opposed to the earlier regular golems – they have higher HP). Defeating the miniboss should unlock the next floor.
Using a pitfall trap before beating a floor’s boss will land you in a mini-challenge room. Defeating that room reveals the rest of the new floor. That floor may contain better loot in the shop, if you can blast the door open!
Minibosses:
Minibosses are very strong and can easily knock you out if you rush in through a door OR dig out the wall. Approach with extreme caution even with upgrades. Red Dragons are especially dangerous as they can Fireball you from way off in the same row. Minotaurs are one of the easier minibosses as they generally charge in one direction and crash, leaving a window of downtime you can safely attack them in.
Map Details
Walls:
- A HUGE part of the game because you can dig them out to avoid enemies and find hidden treasure. Some walls cannot be dug out by yourself or enemies. Others may need special tools.
Rooms:
- Can contain enemies, traps, shrines, etc. The shop room is outlined with a gold wall. The miniboss room is the only room with stairs, although you can travel downward using pitfall traps.
Enemies:
Vary in strength by floor and zone. Can be described by various categories of behavior.
- Passive – will not move or attack until approached (mimics)
- Activated – will change behavior or form when attacked
- Curious – will actively seek you out when in range of visibility (most enemies and extended abilities to Minibosses)
- Wall-Bashers – can dig walls to reach you (golems, elementals, and all Minibosses except Dire Bat and Banshee)
Conclusion
So that’s about all I have to say. Just a quick overview of some aspects of the game. I expect it’s fairly accurate, although it is Alpha stage and I’m not sure what, if any fundamentals will be changed in the future. If they do, be warned – the title of this guide DOES say “Alpha”…as in the version of the game was in Early Access on Steam!
Enjoy Crypt of the Necrodancer!
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