Help understanding how to play.

[TommyEV]

The idea is to complete the 5th dungeon and for that we need 4 keys from the other 4 dungeons. Fine.

The part I don't understand well is when to die/escape.
- if you die, you lose EVERYTHING and go back to your state before that dungeon. Right?
- You either complete the dungeon or escape using the pendant in order to keep your items.

Is that so? If I have several items and 1 hp left, the only reasonable option is to leave the dungeon to keep those items, right?

I hope my question is clear, it's about the general loop of gameplay. Thanks!

[XistenZ]

When you enter the third level of the Golem dungeon you recieve a portal, it costs a bit more gold to use than the pendant but you're able to go back to that point and continue with full HP and clear inventory.

[TommyEV]

Originally posted by XistenZ:

When you enter the third level of the Golem dungeon you recieve a portal, it costs a bit more gold to use than the pendant but you're able to go back to that point and continue with full HP and clear inventory.

I see, thanks.
But the main mentality I need is "if I can't survive, I should escape", right? If you die you lose absolutely everything, right?

[XistenZ]

Yes, if you know you won't make it (like going into a boss room with no HP and no pots) then absolutely, take your loot and go home. The point of the game is to sell your loot to afford upgrades (using some loot as well, don't forget to "favorite" what you need at the blacksmith). If you die you only keep your top row of the inventory, so going home with slightly more loot is better.

At the same time as you want to maximise loot you also have to finish the dungeons in order to unlock the next one, which in turn gives better loot. So going home without using the portal is counterproductive, so I'd say try and rush to the 3rd level to get the portal, then just play.

[TommyEV]

Originally posted by XistenZ:

If you die you only keep your top row of the inventory

I knew there was something like that and i either didn't get it or it hadn't been explained yet.

Thank you for the advice, it makes sense!

[Mist of Majora]

I know this thread is a few days old, but just to add onto what was already said:

Whenever I got to my first or new dungeon, I'd actually go out of my way to NOT try to beat it in one sitting and instead explore. That way I came back with a ton of loot to sell and hold onto (my general rule of thumb for this was to try to keep one stack of everything), and by the time I was ready to take on the boss, I didn't care that much whether the loot I had on me was destroyed since I already had plenty.

In some ways, this actually made the game easier for me because I went into each boss battle in a much more relaxed state of mind!

[TommyEV]

Thanks. I've played ~4 hours since and I already got the hang of everything, I think. The risk/reward of staying, taking advantage of some curses, using the special chest that send everything home, etc.

I don't know if it's normal but after4h I'm in the middle of the forest dungeon, with most lvl 2 upgrades.

[Mist of Majora]

Nice!

That's great, though especially in this case, 'normal' is whatever you want it to be :)

After all, Moonlighter has the same plot as Stardew as far as I'm concerned - getting back to your dreams and finding some meaning in life. And oddly enough, in both games, you've mostly achieved that before you ever take control of your character haha.

In other words, I wouldn't overthink what's normal or the mechanics of the game (unless you want to), as long as you're enjoying yourself!

[Carnatux]

When you die you lose the stuff in the backpack but not the 5 items on your person so always stick the stuff you wanna keep in the top section