Gameplay

How a run works, as the game counts it. The Start page has the menus and the controls.

Floors and the way down

• A run starts on depth 1 and goes down one floor at a time, to depth 60 at most. Each floor is a new set of chambers joined by corridors, with the portal down in the chamber farthest from where you arrive.
• The portal is sealed until the enemy holding it dies. On most floors that is a guardian; on every fifth floor it is a stratum boss. They roll their own two to six cards from the same pool you draft from, so their attacks change from run to run.
• Enemies grow tougher with depth (+26% health and damage for every floor below the first) and with your level.
• Your health, level, cards, gear and Slag carry from floor to floor. Nothing refills your health when you go down.
• Depth 60 is the bottom. Taking the way down on depth 60 wins the run: a VICTORY screen with your depth and kills, then DESCEND AGAIN or MAIN MENU.

A holder never takes more than one stun among its cards, and always has at least one heavy card with a cooldown of 10 s or more. The game never prints an enemy's name; the names above are the ones its achievements use.

Cards: offers and ranks

• Opening offer: three cards before the first fight, keyed to your body; you keep one.
• First blood: your first kill brings an offer of three random active cards with a cooldown of 6 s or less.
• Level-ups: each one brings two offers of four cards: LEVEL n · SPELL 1 OF 2 (active cards), then LEVEL n · PASSIVE 2 OF 2. A level takes 100 × your level in XP. Kills pay XP by how dangerous the enemy is and how deep you are.
• Ranks: an offered card you already hold is a rank-up (its name ends in ^). Cards go to rank 5, and each rank multiplies an active card's damage by 1.25. A passive grows by the same step until its figure reaches the effect's limit; some passives stop at rank 1, 3 or 4. The card's rank line says how far it goes.
• A full kit holds 8 active and 8 passive cards. Taking a ninth opens KIT FULL - WHAT DOES … REPLACE?: pick the card it replaces, or MELT IT. The card that leaves melts for 2 Slag per depth.
• An offer can hold at most two rank-ups. If you hold no healing card by level 4, the next spell offer includes one. Holding three cards of one family makes that family likelier to be offered.
• Conditions: a few cards fire only at a foe that is decayed, slowed or rooted, burning, or below 35% health; the card's last line says so. If nothing you hold can cause that state, the card warns NOTHING IN YOUR KIT … instead.

Families and effects

Every card belongs to one of six families: Iron, Grave-Cold, Tomb-Dust, Emberwork, Hush and Bindings. Besides damage a card may carry one effect. Each card's Codex entry gives its own figures.

Burn

The foe takes a share of the cast's damage every second.

Decay

A stack that makes the foe take more damage; up to 5 stacks.

Mark

The foe takes more damage while it lasts.

Slow, Root, Stun

The foe moves slower; cannot move; cannot act.

Displace

The foe is knocked back. Movement cards also dash you forward.

Weaken

The foe deals less damage.

Empower, Ward, Haste

On you: more damage; less damage taken; shorter cooldowns.

Shield

On you: absorbs damage worth a share of your maximum health.

Refund

Takes seconds off every cooldown.

Summon

A grave-warden fights beside you for a while.

Heal

Healing cards restore health instead of dealing their damage.

A card's picture shows its shape. Self cards hit no one: they are worn, and their effect reaches foes within 3 m. Placed cards set down a zone 3 m in radius for 6 s. Chain, line and pool cards hit the foes in front of you within reach, as a cone does.

Loot

• A kill drops gear 10% of the time, an elite 35%, a guardian or boss always. The offer is SPOILS: three pieces and a fourth card, SMELT.
• Taking a piece wears it at once, and the piece it replaces melts for Slag. Health on the new piece is added to your current health as well. SMELT keeps what you wear and melts the most valuable of the three.
• Six slots: helm, chest, pauldrons, legs, bracers, belt. The hero visibly wears what you take.
• A melted piece pays 2 Slag per depth for a common, then ×1.6 for each rarity above it.

The chances move in between, one step for every ten hero levels.

Legendaries

Every legendary is the named piece for its slot: a rule that changes how the run plays, and a price.

Chests and rest

• Chests stand in side and end chambers; a floor has at least one. Walk up and press E (south face button). Each pays one of: XP worth a quarter of what your current level needs (35%), a SPOILS offer one step richer than a drop (45%), or 6 Slag per depth (20%).
• A breather chamber heals 45% of your maximum health once, the first time you step into it.
• Some kills drop a health globe (14%): walk over it for 9% of your maximum health.

Traps

Traps sit in the corridors, each marked by a pulsing ring. They hurt enemies too, by the same share of the enemy's own health, and armour does not reduce what they deal to you, though a shield, a ward and other cuts to damage taken do.

Slag

• Slag comes from melting: gear you SMELT or replace, cards you melt or replace, and Slag chests. Kills pay none.
• It is banked to your account the moment you earn it. Death, ABANDON RUN or quitting loses none.
• Tomb Sense at the Forge, and Slag find on chest and belt pieces, raise every payout.

Pause, death and the run clock

• Esc (Menu/Start on a pad) holds the delve: RESUME, SETTINGS, ABANDON RUN, QUIT. A run cannot be saved and resumed; leaving it ends it.
• At 0 health: THE TOMB KEEPS YOU, your depth and kills, then DESCEND AGAIN (a new run straight away), MAIN MENU or QUIT. Otherwise a run ends only in victory on depth 60, or when you abandon it.
• You keep your Slag, Forge ranks, bodies, looks and achievements. Level, cards and gear end with the run.
• The run clock (TIME) stops while the game is paused and while any offer is open. Timed achievements read this clock.