The Beginner’s Guide to Lootmancing

Overview

Definitive guide on how to maybe-not-die while exploring the Coin Crypts. I’ll go over pretty much everything you need to know. :)DISCLAIMER: I do not guarantee your survival!

Introduction

I love Coin Crypt. It’s one of my favorite indie games on Steam, and it’s a wonderful mix of rogue-like/lite, adventure RPG, and collectible card games. However, when I first got the game, it was a little difficult to get into. Most of the mechanics had to be learned through trial and error, and the game doesn’t have a tutorial. Instead, I had to get the hang of things by discovering things by myself and researching over the internet. Unfortunately, there isn’t that much to find other than some YouTube playthroughs, a fan-wiki, and the developer’s Tumblr. I was surprised that there weren’t any guides on the Steam Community Hub, so I decided to write one myself.

From banov, the lead developer and designer of the game:

Originally posted by banov:

We had a lot of internal debate on the amount of tutorializing and experimented with a lot of different varieties of time pressure throughout our phase in early access. Everything present in the final design of the game is there because it made the game better in our vision.

For a while we had a tutorial available on the title screen, but whenever we demoed the game and watched players almost everybody would choose to skip the tutorial, and those who wanted to play through it were never people who had a lasting interest in the game. We found roguelike games like this tend to attract more “hardcore” gamers who don’t like having things explained. Had we offered a tutorial as an option, I imagine we’d receive fewer complaints, but I also bet almost everybody would still be choosing to ignore it and learn the game themselves anyway. Because, as you said yourself, the game is self-explanatory enough that you can “get” it in a couple of tries.

While I agree with banov‘s feelings on how the game should be played and his decision on not including a tutorial, I understand that not all players share this kind of view and need a push in the right direction. Because of this, I decided to make it my goal to create a tool for players that would help them understand the game, rather than just give them tips on how to cheese their way through.

Here you’ll find a basic overview of what to expect in Coin Crypt. I’ll go over controls, gameplay, story, and more. Be warned: this is NOT a spoiler-free guide. If you’re a player who likes to figure out challenging games through their own experiences, then don’t read this guide. I fully recommend for all players to try and figure out this game on their own; it’s wonderfully made and polished, and it’s really fun to discover its potential. Still, I realize that not everyone is that kind of gamer, and I don’t want you to feel like you wasted your money on a good indie gem.

I’ve been playing this game on and off for a few years and it’s still one of my favorite deckbuilding roguelikes of all time. I know it well enough to consistently score pretty high on the Daily Challenges. I’ve also gotten 100% achievements prior to the DLC’s release.
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Even with titles like Slay the Spire dominating the conversation when it comes to games like these, I think Coin Crypt has plenty of variety in its mechanics and deckbuilding for it to stand out, and I really want people to know and appreciate what it has to offer.

Please keep in mind that while I have put a lot of playtime into this game, I don’t pretend to be the #1 expert on it. I’m not 100% sure on every single one of its nuances, but I will tell you what I know. If you find an inconsistency or error in this guide, please let me know, and I’ll fix it as soon as I see it.

Thanks for reading! 🙂

The Lore

Originally posted by the game’s introduction:

Deep in the Pacific, the ruins of a lost coin civilization were uncovered.
Lootmancers have gathered at these coin crypts to fight over the ancient spoils.
And at the highest point on the island, they say the old loot gods are reawakening…

Connie Montana, the Adventurer, was the first one to discover the island in the modern era and re-awaken its ancient magic.

Connie is driven by the desire to explore and discover, so she took a great interest in the island when she first stumbled upon it. At first she wanted to take her discoveries and bring them back to society, but no matter how deeply she explores the island she just can’t seem to shake the feeling that there’s just a little more to find.

Lootmancers are those who can unlock the hidden power of the mysterious coins. They can use them in magical duels with other greedy treasure hunters who seek the cursed treasure on the island. The island is full of ghosts, all spirits of the deceased whose greed for coins (and the power of the deities/loot gods) keeps them tethered to the living world. Many claim their stake inside treasure chests, and will unwillingly share a portion of their loot with travellers who discover them. Others beckon travellers into the island and prey on their coins when they linger for too long. They are like the machinery that keeps the island running.

Those who can fight their way to the top of the mountain can claim the gods’ reward, but not all will survive to see the Legendary Loot. Will you?

Coin Crypt went into development in May 2013. It was inspired by Dominion, Spelunky, an RPG prototype made by Terry Cavanagh (Nexus City), and the formative experience of playing a version of Pokémon where monsters had to be released when they fainted and all Pokémon Centers were banned. The earliest rudimentary prototypes proved to be interesting, and the developer quickly moved into an open development cycle in an effort to get ideas and feedback from players. On November 18, 2013 it transitioned into a paid beta and launched on Steam Early Access to facilitate that dialogue.

• Roguelike structure: randomly generated levels and permanent death!
• 19 unlockable character classes that each have unique gameplay!
• Constant tension: You always need to spend coins to get more coins
• SECRETS! (duh)

Sea and Sky DLC

Originally posted by banov:

Sea and Sky expands Coin Crypt with new coins, worlds, classes, bosses, subquests, and a new deity! It also unlocks new game options with the new HARD MODE and unlockable coin bags that change what types of coins you’ll find or what deity favors you at the start. With this expansion Coin Crypt is bigger than ever!

Features:

• 7 new character classes!
• 100 new coins!
• Unlock Sea and Sky world to have a choice between 3 different worlds each time you start a new run!
• 9(!) new bosses to find within the levels or at the game’s end!
• A new 7th deity to help build your perfect deck: Rubo, the deity of copy coins!
• HARD MODE for the truly HARDCORE
• An extended metagame–spend your savings on new equipment and unlockables after you’ve bought every class!
• And MORE!

8/21/15:

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9/3/2015:

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9/7/2015:

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9/9/2015:

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9/11/2015:

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9/16/15:

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9/18/15:

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9/21/15:

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9/24/15:

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9/25/15:

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9/26/15:

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9/29/15: Sea and Sky DLC released!

9/30/15:

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Getting Started

Start a new run or continue an existing saved game.

Choose your class. You can purchase new classes after finishing runs with the money you collected, whether you win or lose. Each class has their own strengths and weaknesses which affect how you should play them to succeed.

Keeps a record of everything you’ve seen/unlocked. Also includes the Options Menu.

1. Coin Log: Lists all the coins you’ve found, along with their effects and worth.
2. Monster Log: Lists all the enemies you’ve encountered, along with their coins and drops.
3. Secrets: Lists all of the secrets you’ve discovered and what they unlocked.
4. Options Menu: Change game settings here.
5. Back: Exits back to the main menu.

Every day, you have an opportunity to compete with other players for the highest score. The character you play as is chosen randomly, but everybody else will play as them as well. The levels and enemies generated are the same, too. The money you collect is calculated as the final score. Coins with negative values do not affect it.

Exit the game.

The game can be played with either the mouse or with a gamepad.

With the mouse, you can click and hold to move your character. Hovering over coins will give you their description; clicking on them will donate/purchase/cast. Right-click is used to cancel certain actions.

With the gamepad (I’m using a USB-connected XBox 360 controller), you move with the joystick. Certain buttons, like the XYBA and the D-Pad, are used to highlight and select coins. The right trigger (RT) is used to donate/purchase/cast, and the left trigger (LT) cancels certain actions. The left button (LB) is for donating/purchasing. You can also use the D-Pad to see your character’s afflicted statuses.

You cannot re-map your controls in the options menu. I don’t know the game’s compatibility with third-party controllers, but XBox 360 controllers are plug-and-play; they don’t need any third-party software to work. Either method works fine; I personally enjoy using a gamepad, but it does feel a little confusing at first. Using just a mouse works smoothly. I can’t imagine playing the game with a touchpad if you’re using a laptop/Macbook, to be honest.

On the bottom left corner of the screen, you can see your mini-map. It grows larger as you explore more rooms and shows you which places you haven’t discovered yet.

On the very bottom displays your HP, or Hit Points. If you lose all of your HP, the game is over.

On the bottom right corner of the screen, you can see your Coin Bag, or Loot Pouch. On the outside of the bag, there’s a counter that tells you how many coins you have left as well as the sum of all the values inside.

Opening your coin bag pauses the game. Inside your Coin Bag, you can check out what kinds of coins you have and their descriptions. On the top of the screen, you can see what stat modifiers you have. On the bottom of the screen, you have the option to Save or Quit.

Saving your game records your progress and exits you out of your run to the main menu. The game features permadeath, so you cannot continue a save after dying.

Quitting the game ends your run forever.

Progression

Coin Crypt is played over a finite amount of stages. Each level has 3 stages. After completing 3 levels, you will reach a Boss. Beating the Boss results in a win. Resource management is a part of the challenge (and fun) of the game. Defeating enemies and looting treasure chests nets you coins, which are used for combat, tribute, and exchanging for items. What sets this game apart from other roguelikes with resource management, however, is that your money is also tied to your life. If you lose all your coins, it’s game over, and outside of a few mechanics, once you use your coins, they’re spent. Figuring out how to balance using your money and saving it is key to success (in game and in life!).

There are 2 main paths in the game: Ascension and Descension. Each path draws from a different pool of Bosses and some enemies.

In Ascension, there are 3 Levels with 3 Stages in each. You travel through the Forest, the Graveyard, and the Mountain. After you beat these 9 stages, you climb up the Peak to challenge a Boss. The Peak’s Boss pool consists of elite Lootmancers. Once defeated, you can claim the Gods’ Reward and win the game.

In Descension, you take an alternate path in Forest 2.

The entrance to the Crypt 3 is always locked. You need a Key Coin to enter. Like other coins, they can be found as random loot from Chests or from enemy drops.

Once inside, the Levels are all set underground. You travel through the Crypt, the Tombs, the Caves, and the Forge. After you beat these 11 stages, you will challenge one of the 6 Deities in the Forge. Once defeated, you cast your coins into the fires to destroy the island.

All of the levels have the same features, so you don’t have to worry about missing Shops or Deities for whichever path that you choose. Inside the Crypt, there is always an exit to the overworld just in case you change your mind. Just remember that once you enter the Forge, you can’t go back to the surface.

Don’t take too long exploring each stage. After 3 minutes, you’ll receive a warning that greedy spirits are awakening. If you don’t reach the exit in time, they’ll start stealing your coins! At the start of a new Level, however, your time will be extended by 15 seconds.

The Sea & Sky Expansion adds 2 new starting areas to the game, as well as new mini-bosses/bosses.

Characters/Classes

There are 20 playable classes within the game. You start out with the Adventurer as the default character. This isn’t an in-depth explanation of how to succeed with each class, but just keep in mind that there’s no single true strategy of how to win with just anybody; some are just easier to play than others. You have to find which of them suits your playstyle.

Originally posted by banov:

not all classes were made equal. Some are really hard to use, some are easy. We mostly balanced them to be fun and interesting within their intended playstyle. So you may find getting to the end of the game is easier with some than others, but we’d encourage you to try winning with a variety of classes.

The Sea and Sky Expansion adds 7 additional classes to the game.

Coins/Loot

Coins are the name of the game. They serve a variety of purposes, including combat, currency, and sacrifice. There are 201 unique coins in the game. Because of this, I’m not going to list them all here, but you can find a log of them and their descriptions in the journal found on the title screen.

A comprehensive list of all coins can be found here. (includes DLC Coins as well)[dumbandfat.com]
This is probably the best guide available on each of the coins that can be found in the game as well.

Coin Crypt has been compared to many collectible card games, such as Dominion. Once you play your “card”, however, it gets used up and is gone forever instead of being reshuffled into your deck. Therefore, it is important that you play carefully to make sure you don’t deck out. Losing all of your coins means an immediate game over. Fast-paced strategy and resource management are key components of Coin Crypt‘s gameplay.

Here’s your Starter Deck:

No matter which class you choose, you always start out with the same 10 Coins: 6 Red Blades, 2 Blue Crosses, and 2 Jade Shields.

Different coins have different uses, but they all share two common attributes: Values and Cast Speeds.

Values tell you how much your coin is worth. Outside of combat, coins are used as money (duh). You can use unwanted coins to buy items from shops, or you can donate them to Deities.

Cast speed tells you how long it will take for your coin to be used. Coin Crypt uses an ATB-system, or Active Time Battle. Commonly found in RPGs like Final Fantasy, ATB makes it so that battles aren’t strictly turn-based. Hits, Shields, and Heals will take time to cast for both you and your opponent. The longer you take to decide your play, the less time you’ll have to make it before your enemy does.

The different types of coins include:

• Attack (Physical Damage)
• Defense (negates Damage based on value)
• Heal (restores HP based on value)
• Poison (deals Damage over time, may include some physical damage)
• Steal (takes enemy’s coins)
• Drop (forces enemy to discard a coin)
• Status (buffs/debuffs)
• Passive (modifies stats)
• Currency (best used for donating/spending because of their high values)

Replenishing your deck and getting more loot is one of the most important aspects of the game. There are two ways to do this:

• Defeat enemies
• Loot chests

Winning battles will net you whatever coins they have left in their bag. The downside to this is that you may spend more than you take. Therefore, the faster you can beat them, the more you’ll get in return.

Chests contain ghosts that offer a variety of loot. There are small chests, which usually give you 1 – 3 coins, and large chests, which can give you anywhere from 5 – 10 (maybe more). Some chests are blocked off by Locked Tiles and can only be opened with a Key Coin, which can be found in other chests or as random enemy drops. Some chests are found in secret areas, some of which require a Key as well.

Donating to Deities can fill loot chests with different types of coins, which is essential to building the kind of deck that you want. Offering to specific gods is important when pursuing specific playstyle.

Sometimes you’ll draw more than one of the same coin. This is called a stack. Casting a stack will allow you to play multiple coins at the same speed it would take to cast just one. Obviously, casts are much stronger than single casts, but you’re also spending more of the same coin. Sometimes, you might not want to cast a stack if you don’t want to waste your money, it might be a better option to re-draw.

Originally posted by banov:

It’s kinda complicated.

Stacking is calculated with exponentially growing power, and all status coins’ stacking power is calculated the same way.

Almost every coin has some scalable number embedded in their effect, and many that don’t usually incorporate some side-effect that only activates when you use it in a stack. The scaling is calculated like so:

FinalValue = round( (O * max(1, power(G,(S-1)/2) )) + (O*(S-1)) )

Where O = the original value, S = the stack size, G = a hidden “growth” amount. Every coin has a hidden “growth” stat–some grow fast, some grow slow. The “standard” value is 1.5. So let’s say you’re using a stack of 2 hit-4 coins, growth value 1.5.

FinalValue = round ( (4 * max(1, 1.5^.5) + (4 * 1)) ) = round((4*1.22)+4) = 9.

Doubloons are on the far end of the fast-growing spectrum, with a growth value of 50.

Gold Doubloons are rare coins that can sometimes be found inside chests. They’re usually used as currency and can be sold for $50, but they have the highest growth rate of any other coin in the game, potentially making them the most powerful!

As you can see, casting a Gold Doubloon as an attack can seem weak and uneffective, but when they’re in a stack, their power grows tremendously.

Originally posted by me:

ur literally getting more bang for ur buck

hahahahaa hah a ha im funny

Stacking coins is a useful tactic during battles. It can be used to increase the potency of all kinds of different coins. It will be useful to think about and remember as we discuss the basics of combat.

• Running from battles will cause ghosts to lock their chests, making them inaccessible
• When enemies deck out, you will receive no coins
• Different monsters carry different coins
• Some enemies you encounter are “shiny” with a sparkle effect. They carry a larger deck than their regular variants.
• Different classes play better with certain coins, and some can’t even use specific kinds of them
• Keep an eye on the number of coins you and your opponent are carrying during battles
• Greedy spirits will start taking your coins if you take too long on a level

Combat

There are 53 different enemies (including bosses) in Coin Crypt. They all have different decks and stats. I don’t have a comprehensive list of them, but you can find a log of the ones you’ve found in the journal on the title screen. It also lists what loot they drop so you can plan ahead.

If an enemy sees you on the overworld, they’ll chase you down. If they make contact with you, it will start a duel. You’ll never fight more than one enemy at a time.

A comprehensive list of enemies and their coins can be found here.[coin-crypt.wikia.com]

Enemies have 4 possible variants:

• Shiny
• Champion
• Buffed
• Debuffed

Shiny enemies are identified by the sparkles around their sprite. These mobs carry more coins than regular enemies.

Champion enemies are identified by their greatly enlarged sprites. These mobs have twice the HP their regular versions have and also have larger deck sizes.

Buffed enemies are identified by color changes. Spiteful Deities will modify regular mobs to have different effects.

Debuffed enemies are identified by an unhappy emoticon. Deities that favor you will sometimes modify mobs and halve their HP.

Enemies always show their HP, coins they’re casting and their cast times, statuses (buffs/debuffs), and the amount of coins they have left. You can use your mouse to highlight statuses and coins that both you and your opponent are casting to read what’s happening.

In battle, you have 3 options:

• Flee
• Cast
• Re-draw

Running away from battle will cause you to drop and lose all of the coins that are in your hand. After you flee, you have a limited amount of time to escape before they start chasing you again.

You can only cast whatever coins that you have in your hand. Hovering over or selecting coins will show you a description of their effects, so you don’t have to memorize what each of them do.

Re-drawing coins is critical if you don’t like the hand you’ve been dealt. However, it takes time to get a new hand, so make sure you don’t take too long selecting your coins.

Battles in Coin Crypt are fast-paced. Since the game runs in real-time, you need to know what plays you want to make in order to have the advantage. You can do this in several ways:

• Know what deck you’re building and keep track of your coins
• Have a general strategy in battle. Don’t overcomplicate things!
• Familiarize yourself with what your coins look like so you can easily recognize them in future plays
• Find Perks that you know will help you out the most (i.e. + Cast Speed, Regen on Hit, etc.)
• Practice, practice, practice!

There are a few different methods of beating your enemies. Some of them are more effective than the others.

• Physical Damage
• Poison Damage
• Deck Depletion
• Stalling

Physical Damage is hitting your opponent until they lose all of their HP. It’s the most basic way to defeat your enemies since you start with Hit coins. You can buff your attacks with certain statuses or debuff your enemy to lower their defense. Stacking Hit coins will increase your attack power tremendously. Shields will negate damage, however. If your hit isn’t strong enough, it won’t completely break through their shield, and vice versa.

Poison Damage is causing damage over time to your opponent. Inflicting poison can deplete Shields as well. It’s not the strongest method of beating enemies since it isn’t permanent and can be delayed by casting Shields/Regen, but it does stack with more hits. It’s most useful when you’re trying to wear down an opponent with a lot of HP (like a Boss), but it will also finish off common monsters fairly quickly.

Deck Depletion is forcing your opponent to deck out. You can do this by either Stealing all of their coins, or forcing them to Drop all of their coins. Stealing coins takes your opponents coins and adds them to your bag. Dropping your opponent’s coins causes them to discard them. The downside to this is that you won’t get any loot they drop when the battle’s finished. You also typically get less loot when you steal as well.

Stalling is similar to Deck Depletion. You’re not forced to cast anything. Instead, you can wait for your opponent to just deck out. It’s probably best to only be used as a last resort, but if you have a huge wealth of Shield coins, you can play a super-defensive stall game and have them exhaust their deck while you tank through their attacks. However, once your opponent decks out, you won’t get any loot.

Originally posted by banov:

a typical enemy can be defeated by lowering their hp to 0, or by running out of coins. There are a lot of different ways to attack their HP (straight damage, statusses, and lots of combinations of these flavors) and ways to attack their deck (stealing, forcing them to drop, or just straight stalling them out), and within those broad strategies there are lots of different coins that can support that strategy.

Just remember that you don’t have to stick to any one strategy. You can mix-and-match different combinations together to get deadly combinations! For example, poison damage and stalling work very well hand-in-hand. Since you’re constantly gaining and losing coins, try to be flexible with how you build and play your deck. There’s always more than one way to win.

• It’s always good to have a back-up plan
• You don’t have to win every battle; you can run from dangerous opponents
• It’s probably more useful to specialize in a certain playstyle than to try to be a jack-of-all-trades
• Stacks are strong, but they use up more of your coins
• Some classes are better at certain strategies than others
• Some classes are unable to use certain strategies because of their unique stats
• Check your bag after battles to make sure you have enough of the coins you like to play
• Get rid of unnecessary coins so you don’t draw bad hands
• Bosses are much stronger than regular enemies

Deities/The Loot Gods

One of the most opaque elements of the game to new players is the deity system. Understanding and mastering this system is key to taking control of how you build your deck in each run.

3 Deity Statues appear in each level. When you’re near one, you’ll be prompted to open your bag and donate coins to them. Deities you’ve given money to will power up future chests by adding coins to them. The more you give, the more you get. Deities will also remember the total amount you’ve given them across levels in each run, and the more loyal you are to a single deity, the more powerful and rare coins they’ll start giving back. The Top 2 Deities who you’ve donated the most money to are guaranteed to spawn. This means it’s possible to synergize certain combinations to build more flexible decks! Each of the 6 different deities has a different set of coins which they will gift to you, so depending on your playstyle and character class, different deities will be more synergistic than others in each run.

If you don’t give money to deities, they’ll start powering up enemies in future levels. You can choose to split your donations between all deities to keep them all relatively sated, or you can focus your energy on one and take on the other deities’ punishments; both are viable ways to play. There’s a few more rules that govern how they work, but that’s the gist of it!

Donating to Deities occasionally spawns a character with treasure chests: the CLAIM GHOST, who forces you to pick a coin to give them forever. This prevents that coin from spawning of the rest of the run. Use this feature to limit the kinds coins that appear so you can focus your strategy!

• You can donate to all deities to keep them equally happy, but you might get a lot of coins you don’t want from chests.
• It might be best to donate to just a couple deities, or even just one.
• Different spiteful deities will give different kinds of buffs to enemies, but it’s possible to clear their statuses during battle.
• Deities that are happy with you will not challenge you in Descension.
• Don’t be afraid to get creative with your choices. Coins from other Deities can sync well with one another. Theory-crafting a good deck is one of the fun parts about this game!

Donating/Spending

Money can be used in other ways besides as offerings to Deities. There are 3 other options in-game:

• Wishing Fountains
• Computers
• Shops

Dropping coins inside Wishing Fountains will replenish lost health. These are especially useful if you are running low on Heal coins or if your character has a low/no Heal stat. However, keep in mind that once it has been used once, you can’t return to it for some cheap regeneration. The amount of health you receive is proportionate to the value of the coins you donate.

Giving coins to Computers will give you currency in return. Computers have different set prices you must pay in order to receive Cryptcoins.

Cryptcoins are a play on cryptocurrency. They are described as having an “unpredictable value”, meaning that their worth changes upon entering a new floor. Cryptcoins can be useful for spending at Shops, but to invest in them is definitely a gamble.

• You can only use Wishing Fountains once per level
• Cryptcoins can be expensive to buy, so make sure they’re worth it
• Pruning your bag of coins is important to ensure that you will pretty much always draw what you need, so try and do it often

Shops & Items

Shops are found throughout the game, usually on the second stage of each level. Vendors can sell a variety of items, including Coin Bags, Rings, and more. Prices change throughout the game. As you progress further in to later levels, they will become more expensive. You can’t buy more than one of the same item (except for Coin Bags).

Shops will offer 5 items instead of 4 once you reach the Forge for the first time.

Coin Bags

Rings

Other

Mini-Bosses can be found on the third stage of each level on the path to Ascension. They are optional to fight, but they give items when defeated. In Sea and Sky, they appear on every third stage of each level.

In the Sea and Sky DLC, Penny appears at the top-right corner of your title menu once you’ve unlocked every character class and you start collecting savings from every run. She sells coin bags and ghost blessings. Unlocking coin bags will allow you to choose a different starter bag for each run. Unlocking more blessings will add them to the pool you can select from when you encounter ghosts.

• Some items will have no effect on certain characters and are useless. Make sure you know your stats so you don’t waste your money.
• Items’ stat modifiers will stack with other modifiers gained from Blessings.
• Make sure the risk is worth the reward! Don’t spend too many of the coins that you need to progress.
• Try and buy the items you want early before they get too expensive in later Levels.
• Some shop owners favor certain currency coins. Picking some up from a chest could ensure a better-value purchase, if you’re lucky.

Ghosts

As part of the lore of Coin Crypt, there are ghosts that inhabit the island. They can be found in multiple places and have different effects on gameplay. The 4 current types of ghosts are:

• Chest Ghosts
• Shame Ghosts
• Claim Ghosts
• Dead Lootmancers

Chest Ghosts are the spirits that live within the treasure chests around the island. They can allow you to take certain coins to build your deck.

Originally posted by banov:

For the purpose of loot spawning, the game has two main metrics on a coin: its RARITY, and its TYPE. Each world and each deity has a list of possible coins they can spawn grouped by RARITY. Think common, uncommon, etc. Deities will only start to reveal their higher-rarity coins once they’ve gotten enough donations. A coin’s TYPE is denoted by the background color of its description box and tells you broadly what sort of effect it has. The game keeps track of how many of each type of coin it has introduced to chests, and will alter the chances of individual coins’ spawning to guide the total of each type toward some magic number ratio. Basically: the game is always making sure you’ve seen each “type” of coin often enough to take advantage if you need it, but not so often that it crowds out the others. So you’ll never have a run where healing never spawns, or you can only find stealing coins, etc.

The 5 types, in order of frequency, are:

• Attacks – i.e., coins that deal damage. (RED)
• Status Effects – includes shields, regeneration, powerups, double-use, etc. (GREEN)
• Healing – coins that cure your status also go here. (BLUE)
• Manipulation – mainly stealing/dropping, but also attack cancelling, copying, and anything that deals with coins as units. (YELLOW)
• Passive – high-value seller coins, “boost stat while in bag” types, and anything that is useful as long as it isn’t actually being, y’know, used. (VIOLET)

Shame Ghosts are a gameplay mechanic that locks chests. When you flee a battle, a nearby ghost will lock its chest, preventing you from drawing any coins from it. Keep this in mind if you want to skip an annoying battle!

Claim Ghosts are a new gameplay mechanic introduced in the 8/11/2015 update. Similar to Shame Ghosts, these ghosts will also lock chests, but will allow you to take its coins at the cost of sacrificing a specific coin in its chest. Once you give up that coin, it can’t be found again for the rest of the run!

Originally posted by banov:

It’s a ghost that appears as you donate more to deities, and occasionally demands to take a coin from chests. Once he takes a coin, it won’t appear in chests again until your next run. We might soon change the rules a bit so that it will spawn once in a while regardless of your donations to deities.

In the game it’s somewhat framed as a curse, but it’s actually a nuanced response to one of the more advanced issues in the game–being stuck with the “randomness” of drops and the excessive variety of coins, a problem that was only going to get worse once we dropped in a new load from the DLC.

[coincrypt.tumblr.com]

The island is haunted by the spirits of dead Lootmancers. They can usually be found on the second stage of each level. They offer you a selection of traits, or, as I like to call them, Blessings: stat modifiers that affect how you play the game. Talking to ghosts is totally optional, but once you’ve spoken to one, you have to choose a trait, whether you like it or not.

You are always given 5 Blessings (also called Perks) to choose from. However, there is always a curse involved to balance out your choices.

In this example, the Blessing chosen inflicts 50% of your physical damage as poison damage. In return, your cast time is slowed on your next hit.

You can cycle through 4 of the choices to see which of them you like the best. If you don’t like any of them, there’s always a mystery option in the middle. Once you check the Mystery Blessing’s description, however, it becomes the Blessing you choose.

You can purchase new Blessings to add to the selectable pool from Penny on the main menu screen for $10,000 each.

• You’ll never get the same Blessing twice in a run
• You always get a positive perk and a negative perk to balance it out, so try not to stack too many negative ones or you’ll make your life more difficult than it has to be
• Some classes can cheat and receive positive modifiers at no negative cost to them, depending on their own stats
• Some classes can’t receive some of the positive modifiers due to their own stats
• Modifiers stack with other Blessings and Items
• You can check your stats and perks inside your Coin Bag

Secret Areas

Secret Areas are hidden stashes of loot. Their chests usually contain better-than-average coins. They are always Large Chests, and will therefore yield more loot. There are 2 types of secret areas:

• Weird Trees
• False Walls

Weird Trees can be accessed only on the path to Ascension. They can be found as early as the first stage. They can only be accessed through spending a Key Coin, and they cannot be found without already having one in your possession.

False Walls can only be found on the path to Descension. Unlike Weird Trees, you do not need a Key Coin to access them.

False Walls are marked as a lit wall tile. They can be found either by using the shifting darkness around your character to spot the highlighted area or by walking alongside walls until you find it.

In Sea and Sky, the addition of 2 new starting areas also adds new secret areas.

In the Sky World, its secret areas act a lot like Weird Trees. However, since there’s no trees in the sky, they’ve been replaced by Fallen Stars. They’re a little hard to spot, but they appear as white, twinkling stars found on the ground. They require a Key Coin to access.

In the Sea World, secret areas are found as False Walls. They’re harder to spot in the murky water, though.

• Multiple Secret Areas can be found within other Secret Areas
• There can be more than one Secret Area in a stage
• Secret Areas can sometimes be blocked off by Locked Tiles or some terrain

Bosses

At the end of your journey, there is always a Boss Battle. Bosses have significantly higher HP than regular enemies, more powerful coins, and larger deck capacities. Each of them excel at a certain playstyle and will test the strengths of your coins.

When you reach the Peak, there are 5 possible Bosses that you may face. The Boss that you fight cannot be predicted before the battle, so you should prepare your deck for any challenge. Be careful, these guys are Master Lootmancers!

After reaching the end of the Forge, an Angry Deity will stand in your path. Can you hope to stand up to a Loot God’s wrath?

There are 6 possible Deities you may face. You can affect who you battle through donations to change their affection ratings.

There are 4 Mini-Bosses you can fight in the game. 3 of them are found on the Ascension path and are optional, and when defeated they give items with positive stat modifiers. There’s only 1 Mini Boss in Descension. He doesn’t give you an item, but his coins are quite powerful.

Just because they’re scary doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten! As long as you have a strong deck and solid knowledge of the game’s mechanics, no boss should be too difficult to beat.

Pre-DLC Achievements

Achievements are called Secrets in-game. Completing secrets will usually unlock new additions that affect gameplay.

Complete the listed task to unlock the corresponding Steam achievement. To view your achievements and statistics in the Steam client, select “Community”, then search for the “Coin Crypt (PC)” game hub. Select the “View Stats” drop down option, then choose the option for your username’s achievements.

Post-DLC Achievements (WIP)

Sea and Sky adds 30 new Secrets to the game on top of the original 60.

References & Links

This guide wouldn’t have been made possible without the help of many dedicated people, including:

• the editors of the Coin Crypt Wiki
• banov, the developer of Coin Crypt
• VerySexyZombie
• DragonDePlatino
• and you!

JSlayerXero’s Coin Crypt Encyclopedia on each of the 301 Coins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE0bmhJSYPM

OFFICIAL Coin Info Dump[dumbandfat.com]

Fan Wiki[coin-crypt.wikia.com]

http://coincrypt.tumblr.com/[coincrypt.tumblr.com]

Official Soundtrack[dloot.bandcamp.com]