Any noob traps for a new player to be aware of?

[Faust]

Some roguelites have all sorts of pitfalls that you don't really learn not to fall in until you become a veteran player, and in some rugelites these pitfalls can cost hours upon hours of grinding the metaprogression. I'd like to know what such pitfalls this game may have.

Like for example I just found out that skills are cheaper to raise in the fortress rather than during a run, and unspent ones go towards defense. Does the game have infinite levelling, or will I eventually lock myself into a permanently underpowered character?

I also read that the dog is somehow the only pet that resurrects on floor transition, which probably makes it just about the best possible pet to have and the golem and lynx would be a waste of money in comparison, but maybe that got changed.

What about currencies? I seem to have next to nothing to spend gems on in early game, and the gem to gold conversion seems to get me dozens of runs worth of gold, which might help me hyperboost my early game keep upgrade progression, but maybe it's one of those games where I will quickly run out of things to buy with gold and gems will become the only currency worth stockpiling and I'll be cursing myself to hell and back for having wasted them on gold.

These are the kinds of things I wanna be aware of before committing to a playthrough.

[Ortan]

I don't think there's really a way to ruin your progression in the game. Even if you invest in skills that you later find disappointing, you can always purchase a 'Potion of Oblivion' at the Fortress to reset all skill points you've spent and redistribute them (this option is available on the character selection screen in the store section - click on the panel with empty slots and select the corresponding tab). And yes, all skills have a maximum level - 25, just so you know.

This way, you won't be able to reset your attributes (Strength, Agility, etc.), but that's because the game assumes they will always be useful, and eventually, you'll max out all attributes (up to level 50). However, you can reset skill points spent on pets using the 'Serum of Oblivion,' which is also available here.

You're right that upgrading skills (but not attributes) is more expensive in dungeons, so it's more cost-efficient to enhance them in the Fortress or at the Camp unless you're far from the Camp and it's better to spend your current points to earn even more (since the more points you have now, the more experience is required for each subsequent one). However, I must clarify that in the current version, skill points themselves do not increase defense.

That was the case in older versions, but now they only provide defense or damage if you find and equip a ring with the corresponding effect.

As for pets - until one of the recent updates, this was indeed the case. All pets that died in a dungeon would instantly and freely resurrect once you entered the Camp. However, the Dog had a special 'Immortality' effect, which caused it to be stunned temporarily instead of dying. After the update I mentioned, the effect of this ability is now limited (after several stuns, the pet will die anyway, but entering the Camp will still revive it and reset the counter). However, now all pets have 5 ability slots that you can unlock and purchase as they level up. After the pet reaches level 10, you can buy the Immortality ability for any of them.

You don't need to worry about running out of crystals - the more you play, the more you'll earn from defeating stronger bosses and elite enemies (and in the latest update released just a few days ago, the amount is unreasonably high and needs rebalancing...). So, exchanging crystals for gold when you don't have other ways to spend them is a good idea and can significantly speed up your development. Moreover, you always have the option to buy crystals for gold at the same rate at which you sell them.

As a personal recommendation, I suggest trying out different characters and skills (many skills that seem weak at first become really strong as you level them up and can change the gameplay) and not being afraid to experiment. I'm happy to help if you have any more questions!

[Faust]

Alright, that's as informative as I needed. Thanks, lad. Now I can start a proper playthrough without being terrified of a softlock.

[Knoblin The Goblin]

beware of pets walking on fire runes near you in the boarderlands... had really good almost god runs ended cuse of that. there is no way to trigger the runes other than a npc or yourself walking on them sadly.