Roguebook Beginner's Guide: Frontline Swaps, Card Choices, and Ink
Edition: PC (Steam), early game with base heroes Sharra and Sorocco. Fugoro DLC-specific strategies are excluded. Sources checked: October 14, 2026. Not retested through hands-on play.
Start with Sharra and Sorocco, and consider which hero should be in front by the end of combat. Instead of always removing cards, weigh effects useful in the current battle alongside how many cards remain until the next Talent unlock.
Decisions Before Fighting on the First Map
- Choose the starting frontline hero in the hero list. Open the toolbar's hero icon and select the star beside the hero you want in front. Do not judge starting battle position from the exploration appearance alone.
- Check Naddim's shop, identify cards or treasures you want, and note their cost. Rather than immediately buying everything you see, plan how to spend gold earned from combat and exploration.
- Look for battles, Sky Towers, and card locations on the map. Check your hand's behavior and damage taken in ordinary battles first; avoid elite fights while badly depleted.
- Before placing a Brush, check your current location and the preview of revealed tiles. Do not start painting from a spot containing many black, blocked, impassable tiles.
- After gaining cards through exploration, check deck size and the Talent screen. Choose cards whose purpose in the next battle you can explain, rather than accumulating expensive cards just to increase the count.
Sharra and Sorocco: Check the Formation After Swapping
| Screen or card cue | Action | Easy to overlook |
|---|---|---|
| The enemy's next attack and current frontline hero | Check the receiving hero's remaining health and how much defense can absorb before choosing attacks | The frontline protects the rear. Swapping only for damage can leave a weakened hero in front |
| Cards labeled Charge or Retreat | Immediately recheck both heroes' positions. Confirm the next card's position requirement is met | Card effects change positions. Do not assume the previous turn's formation still applies |
| Sorocco's Fortifying Brew | Include its Block effect, active while Sorocco is in front, in your defensive plan | Requires the frontline position. Check the actual Block display after activation |
| Sharra's low-cost and multi-hit attacks | If you have a Power buff, use it before grouping your attacks | Merely alternating attacks between the two heroes does not exploit buff targets or position requirements |
An Example When Available: Whirlwind and Dagger Order
This does not guarantee the same starting hand each time. It is an example for when you have the following cards or Talents. English card names are included; check your own descriptions for final costs and values.
- Read enemy intentions and check whether current Block is sufficient. Also compare whether defeating an enemy first would remove its attack.
- Sorocco's Whirlwind grants Block based on enemy count. When you need defense, consider using it before reducing enemy numbers. Do not enforce this order when defeating enemies already makes you safe enough.
- If you have Sharra's Dagger, concentrate attacks on remaining low-health enemies. If using a Power buff in the same turn, apply it before spending Dagger.
- In a run where you chose the Hidden Blades Talent, include the Dagger gained at combat start in this attack sequence. Do not interpret this as Dagger always appearing in an ordinary starting hand.
- Finally, check position changes caused by Charge or Retreat cards. If the low-health hero remains in front, review whether the remaining hand can swap them and how much incoming damage remains before ending the turn.
- Whirlwind's Block has been adjusted in the past. No fixed value or win rate for this combination is given here.
Choosing Whether to Take, Decline, or Exchange Cards
| Situation | What to check | Reason for choosing |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing a card at a Vault of Wisdom | Effects usable by your current pair, cost, and cards remaining until the next Talent | Adding cards also advances Talent unlocks. Do not assume a thinner deck is always correct |
| The display says one card remains until the next Talent | Whether the offered card disrupts your current hand, and whether you need the unlocked options | Advance the unlock if the addition is useful. Do not take unwanted cards unconditionally |
| Paying for an exchange at an Alchemist | The card you surrender and the offered new card/gem combination | An opportunity to replace an awkward card. Before paying, compare with planned purchases at the next shop |
| Repeated offers of high-cost cards | How many you can actually play on the turn drawn, and ways to gain energy | If strong cards remain unusable, prioritize low-cost attacks, defense, or resource support |
- Older sources disagree on Talent unlock card counts, and some treasures change the requirement. This page does not assert a fixed threshold for all runs; use the remaining count on the Talent screen.
Brush and Ink: Choose Tools for the Terrain You Want to Reveal
| Tool | Approximate reveal pattern | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Brush | Reveals a radius of 2 tiles around your current position | Move into a large unexplored area first. Avoid positions surrounded mostly by visible or impassable tiles |
| Ink | 3 tiles in a straight line | Connect a narrow route to a visible location or reward |
| Noble Ink／Royal Ink | 4 tiles / 5 tiles in a straight line | Make a straight path to a distant destination beyond ordinary Ink's reach |
| Precision Ink | One selected tile | Reveal only the final tile blocking a route and save a large Brush |
| Explosive Pigment | Expands Brush radius to 3 | Use where much unexplored terrain remains. Compare useful tiles in the preview before moving |
| Stardust Pigment | Allows placing a normal-radius Brush at a distance | Use to reveal a useful distant area directly rather than making a narrow path from your position |
Recovering When Progress Stalls
| Problem | Fix before the next battle | Decision to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Sharra falls first | Check which cards leave her in front, and review starting frontline, swap order, and defense | Adding only high-damage cards |
| Your deck has grown but you cannot play anything | Check for excessive high costs, resource support, and low-cost cards | Repeating the same problem just for a Talent |
| The map is revealed but no route connects | Count unexplored tiles to the destination and choose straight-line Ink or Precision | Repeatedly overlapping Brushes around your current position |
| You exhaust health before an elite | Reduce damage in ordinary battles before challenging it. Compare exploration rewards with your current depletion | Entering a fight you cannot defend against because you are counting on its reward |
Frequently asked questions
Should I remove as many cards as possible?
Not as a universal rule. In Roguebook, card count also advances Talent unlocks. Choose useful additions while checking the remaining unlock count, and avoid blindly collecting expensive cards you cannot use.
Which two heroes should I start with?
This page uses Sharra and Sorocco as examples. Learn front/rear positioning and defense before expanding to other pairs. Setups specific to additional DLC, such as Fugoro, are excluded.