Delvestead Beginner Guide: Your First Runs

Delvestead is an idle roguelite: your hero explores the dungeon on their own, and the decisions that matter happen before the door opens and after they come back. This guide covers the first few runs, from naming your hero to beating the first boss.

How does a run work?

A run is made of cycles. Each cycle is three day levels followed by three night levels. On every level the hero explores, gathers and fights until they find the exit, then walks into the next one.

The rule to remember: loot is banked only when the third night ends. Until then, everything in the bag is unsaved. If the hero falls, the unsaved loot is gone. When a cycle ends you choose to go deeper (it starts on its own after a few seconds) or go home with what you have.

What should I pack?

Open the door at home to choose the loadout:

• Tools. A pickaxe for rocks and ore, an axe for trees, a sword for fights, a hoe for the farm. A tool’s harvest level decides which ore veins it can mine.
• Armor. Ten slots, from helmet to two rings. Gear is never lost when the hero falls.
• Supplies. Food and potions. The hero eats on their own below 40% health and drinks a healing potion below 30%. Supplies that are left when the hero falls are lost, so don’t bring the whole kitchen.

The bag has limited room and loot shares it with supplies. A full bag means the hero walks past resources.

What do I build first at home?

The cabin starts nearly empty and every station is a piece of furniture you build:

1. Workbench. Tools, made from a head and a handle. A stone pickaxe opens the first ore veins.
2. Kitchen. Cooked food heals far more than raw meat.
3. Forge. Smelts ore into ingots (each smelt also burns a piece of wood) and mixes alloys such as bronze from copper and tin.
4. Armory. Armor from one material per piece, lined with leather when it is metal.
5. Repair Station. The only place gear is repaired. A broken tool keeps its place but gives no stats until it is fixed.

The window opens the farm: plant the seeds that bushes drop and they grow in real time, even between runs.

When should I go home?

Go home when the next cycle would put more at risk than it can bring. Early on that is usually after the first cycle: bank the loot, craft the next tier, and come back stronger. Later, with good food and potions, two or three cycles in a row are fine.

How do I beat the first boss?

The last night of every biome ends with a boss, and the exit opens only once it falls. In the Forest that is Old Tusk, at depth 11. Our guide to beating Old Tusk has the gear and food that work.

FAQ

Can I lose my gear? No. Tools and armor always come home. Only unsaved loot and the supplies left in the bag are lost.

Does the hero need me during a run? No. You can speed the run up, watch, or look away. The choices are the loadout and when to go home.

Does progress sync between devices? Yes, with a free account. Sign in from the title screen and your characters follow you between the browser version, Mac and Windows.

Play it

Delvestead is free. Play it in your browser or download it for Mac and Windows.