Heroes of Hammerwatch 2is a roguelite action RPG where you play as one of seven different classes, finding new gear, collecting resources, leveling up, and upgrading your town. Despite being technically a roguelike, there are tons of permanent progression systems in place, so that each run will make you stronger for the next attempt.

There’s quite a bit of depth hidden under the surface of Heroes of Hammerwatch 2, and learning the ropes can be tricky. Luckily, we’ve got you covered. Below, we’ll take a look at several tips, tricks, and hints to help you get started in the game.

Creating a new character in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2.

Try Out Each Class

There are seven different classes in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2, with the first four,Paladin,Warrior,Wizard, andRanger, available by default, and the other three,Rogue,Warlock, andSorcerer, unlockable at various stages during a run.

Each class has a different playstyle, so it’s definitely worthmaking a character of each classand trying them out for a run or two. Since yourtown progression is account-wide, you can collect resources on one character that another can then make use of, so you lose nothing by trying out each class to see which suits you best.

The guild title bonuses providing permanent stats for your entire account in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2.

Level Every Class

Speaking of account-wide progression,every level you gain on a certain class will provide a permanent stat bonus for all your other characters. This means that it’s actually verybeneficial to level each class, if only to provide these stat bonuses to your main.

+3 Armor per level

The player comparing weapon options in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2.

+3 Health per level

+3 Spell Power per level

The player building the Hunters Cabin guild upgrade in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2.

+3 Attack Power per level

+0.75% reduced trap damage per level

The Tier 1 unlock for the Apothecary in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2.

+3 Resistance per level

+0.1 Mana Regen per level

The player looting a chest in the Dark Caves in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2.

Experiment With Different Weapons

Once you’ve settled on a class, you’ll also want toexperiment with different weapon combinations. Each class hasseveral different weapons they can wield, and these weapons dictate your first and second skills.

Two-handed weapons like the staff or shortbow provide two skills, while one-handed weapons provide one skill each. This lets youmix and match different weapon combinationsto suit your playstyle or build. For instance, the fire wand and fire tome pair nicely with gear that increases your fire damage, and so on.

The setting to turn on or off the minimap in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2.

Build Important Buildings First

One of your primary methods for progression isupgrading your town, starting with the Guild Hall, which then opens up other buildings to construct or upgrade. Some of these upgrades have a larger impact than others, so it’s a good idea to focus on these ones first.

The upgrades we recommend getting as soon as possible are theHunters Cabin, which makes enemies in the Forestdrop materials that can be converted for goldat the end of the run, and theChapel, whichreduces the revive cost, letting youkeep more materials after dyingon a run.

The blocked-off entrance to the first shortcut through the goblin camp in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2.

These two upgrades will help youbuild up your town even furtherby helping you gain more gold and resources.

Upgrade Your Potions

Potions are your lifeline during a run, so getting as many potion charges as you’re able to is essential. Potions not only restore your health, but yourmana too, making them vital for both melee classes, spellcasters, or ranged users alike.

The only exception is thePaladin, who canheal themself with their ability Lay on Hands. Still, youcan never have too much healing, so upgrading your stock of potions and their efficacy is always a good idea, and will keep you alive longer to get more resources, or potentially survive a boss battle you were previously stuck on.

Explore Off The Beaten Path

Typically, maps will have a clear path that you can follow that will lead directly to the next area. While this is helpful for running through each area quickly, you won’t get very strong by only taking the visible path.

More often than not, valuable resources, gold, skill gems, monuments, and other events happen off the beaten path, providingessential means for gaining strength during the run. If you want to have the best chances of success, you should beexploring every nook and cranny possible.

Turn On The Minimap

To that end, we definitely recommend turning on the minimap. This setting is turned off by default, but provides a valuable tool for exploring each stage. To turn it on, open the settings, and in the’Game' tab, scroll down to the second section andtoggle minimap to on.

Here, you can also adjust the opacity, scale, and size of the minimap, so you can customize it to your liking. Once you’ve got the minimap turned on, the days of constantly toggling on and off the big map are over, and you can explore efficiently.

Take Advantage Of Shortcuts

If exploring through the same areas each run gets tiring, worry not. As you progress, you will unlock severalshortcutsthat allow you toskip to later stages, giving you some resources and skill gems to compensate.

The first shortcut you may find unlocks after defeating the first boss, the Totem Pole. Defeating this boss willclear the path to the goblin campat the end ofForest 2, allowing you to take a pathdirectly to Forest 3, skipping the Dark Caves and the Totem Pole boss completely.

Since you getmore experience and resources the further you are, and because you get abundle of upgrades after using a shortcut, there’s no real reason not to take advantage of these as you unlock them.

Keep in mind thatshortcuts are only available for the character that unlocked them. To unlock shortcuts on another character, you’ll need torepeat the same steps as before.