How in the world are you supposed to play this?

[the last hair on lincoln's beard]

I have a lv. 8 Paladin that gets stomped by the bugbear guys in the goblin caves in 2 hits. I try to avoid the hits by sidestepping them but aggroing more than 2 at a time is basically a death sentence.

Then I tried wizard and the second I got to the goblin encampment (forest lv. 2) I just get instagibbed due to everything being stronger than me.

I haven't tried the other heroes but seeing how upgrades don't carry over between characters I'm not inclined to grind my day away only to see another "You died" screen where I can get the next 10% towards an upgrade.

The gameplay in this is *very* unrewarding. Am I missing something?

[Dusklite]

You are probably missing something, yes.
Have you:
- upgraded your attributes
- upgraded your skills
- upgraded your equipment / found better pieces
- upgraded your town
- gained levels in other classes due to the shared bonus attributes for doing so
- checked your approach to the enemies you struggle with (e.g. kiting them into traps, switching to a ranged weapon, circlestrafing them)

[the last hair on lincoln's beard]

I have done all of that except for the "shared bonus attributes".
Thanks for the tips though. I think this game is just not for me and I will try to refund.

[Dusklite]

Originally posted by the last hair on lincoln's beard:

I have done all of that except for the "shared bonus attributes".
Thanks for the tips though. I think this game is just not for me and I will try to refund.

Fair enough.

[Mustang]

Some upgrades do carry between characters.
(achievements you get in game give you level up points for all characters, city upgrades also carries on for all characters, you can also get loot for other characters)
Also this is a rogue like - you die - you go again but more powerful.
Just keep grinding.

Also the game seems very rewarding to me, seeing your city grow and grant meaningful hero upgrades is kinda cool.

Edit : Titles are also very beneficial (press "G" and check Titles) - you can create secondary characters and level up them - their Titles apply to all characters you have.

[up2zero]

Originally posted by Dusklite:

You are probably missing something, yes.
Have you:
- upgraded your attributes
- upgraded your skills
- upgraded your equipment / found better pieces
- upgraded your town
- gained levels in other classes due to the shared bonus attributes for doing so
- checked your approach to the enemies you struggle with (e.g. kiting them into traps, switching to a ranged weapon, circlestrafing them)

What do you mean by “gained levels in other classes due to the shared bonus attributes”

I’m a level 10 wizard and want to try a new character.

[barnstar]

When you level up each character they give you an account wide stat boost. So, levelling the Paladin gives your other characters, like the wizard etc, extra armour. HOH1 was not as generous as you had to beat bosses to get the extra stat boost!

[Sham]

It's part of the roguelike experience. You're not meant to go very far on your first several runs- especially solo. Progress is incremental and dying is part of the process. If that's not for you that's okay too.

[PutridMeat]

The ogres telegraph both their melee and ranged attacks, and unless you are unlucky and in a tight hallway, are very easy to dodge. Mobility in this game is so important, even for tanky characters, and one dash is not enough. Be sure to upgrade your dash at the Trainer.

As far as a starter Paladin goes, just shield bonk a cluster of enemies to stun then, then womp them with your smite. It's honestly super easy. Shield bonk and smite has a fast recharge too. It makes it easy to Bonk+Smite, dash away to kite and get survivors into another cluster, Bonk+Smite again. Repeat until bad guys fall down, always heal yourself with your healing ability as soon as you hit half-health. When using normal melee, always circle-strafe enemies and try to "corral" them.

Starter Pally is difficult to get through really big swarms, but otherwise is a very easy character to start with. It might not be your playstyle though. Roll a new character like a Rogue or Wizard. ALL of your characters begin to get slow, incremental bonus as you level each class up.

But you need to remember: The roots of this game are more arcade than they are RPG. The original Hammerwatch was closer to Gauntlet than Diablo. It doesn't play like most ARPGs where you can spam health and mana potions to get you through. It's very movement and combo-focused. At higher levels you will be dashing all over the place and erasing entire rooms of enemies in 1 - 3 attacks, but will get 1 - 2 shotted yourself. It's arcade roots kind of show there.

[Snake Plissken]

Originally posted by up2zero:

Originally posted by Dusklite:

You are probably missing something, yes.
Have you:
- upgraded your attributes
- upgraded your skills
- upgraded your equipment / found better pieces
- upgraded your town
- gained levels in other classes due to the shared bonus attributes for doing so
- checked your approach to the enemies you struggle with (e.g. kiting them into traps, switching to a ranged weapon, circlestrafing them)

What do you mean by “gained levels in other classes due to the shared bonus attributes”

I’m a level 10 wizard and want to try a new character.

Press "G" and select "Titles" to view the other class bonuses you have. Disclaimer: Must have made another class first and built Guild

[King Donco of Punhcistania]

Git gue lmao but in all seriousness try to learn your character and understand its weakness. Learn how to approach each area. You are meant to die to get stronger. Try to get the right upgrades for your skills.

I play as rogue and always focus on my fan knives and try to maximize it's damage and get lots of man regen to spam em. Once you reach level 10 you can choose a subclass that will help you get further in. I went poison rogue and working my way through the dungeon area but those skeletons are strong so I gotta level up my rogue and get new equipment.