Unlocks and Tactics for All 4 Characters

Unlock the characters in order

• Silent and Defect require finishing a run with the preceding character. Distinguish this from Watcher's victory requirement.
• Meet both of Watcher's requirements: unlock the 3 characters and win in normal mode. Check seeded runs, mods, and ports separately.

Ironclad / アイアンクラッド

Burning Blood: heal 6 HP after each combat

1. In Act 1, apply Bash's Vulnerable before follow-up attacks. The starting Strike costs 1 and deals 6 damage; Defend costs 1 and grants 5 Block.
2. With Strength, compare multi-hit attacks and Heavy Blade. Do not collect only Strength-dependent cards before you have a source of Strength.
3. For Exhaust synergies, set up Feel No Pain first and play Corruption before using Skills. Adding Dark Embrace turns Exhaust into draw.
4. To turn Block into damage, play Block cards → Entrench → Body Slam. Check whether you can defend the turn spent setting up Barricade.
5. The 6 HP healed after combat is a resource for the next fight. Do not confuse recovery with protection from a lethal hit during combat.

• Example: Whirlwind with 2 Strength and 3 energy deals (5 + 2) × 3 = 21 to each enemy. Upgraded, it deals (8 + 2) × 3 = 30.
• Skills played under Corruption do not return to the discard pile. You also need enough damage to finish a long fight before running out of defense.

Silent / サイレント

Ring of the Snake: draw 2 extra cards at the start of combat

1. Use Neutralize on an attacking enemy from your 7-card opening hand. Later turns normally draw 5, so do not assume the same refill as the opening turn.
2. For Poison, secure a source such as Deadly Poison before adding Catalyst. Using Catalyst on 0 Poison adds nothing.
3. For Shivs, generate them with Blade Dance and improve each with Accuracy. Kunai and Shuriken count Attack cards played within the same turn.
4. Discard Tactician with Acrobatics or Survivor to gain energy. The automatic discard at end of turn does not trigger Tactician.
5. Use Well-Laid Plans to retain defense or Piercing Wail for an enemy's attack turn. After playing Wraith Form, plan to finish before Intangible runs out.

• A base Blade Dance creates 3 Shivs. With a base Accuracy already in play, each deals 8, for 24 total. Enemy Block, Strength, Vulnerable, and Weak change this result.
• Poison works against the Heart. Handle turns with Artifact and the per-turn HP-loss cap as separate restrictions.

Defect / ディフェクト

Cracked Core: start with 1 Lightning orb

1. Evoking the starting Lightning twice with Dualcast deals 8 × 2 = 16 at 0 Focus. After evoking it, refill with another orb using Zap or a similar card.
2. For end-of-turn Frost Block, gather sources such as Glacier or Coolheaded. Raising Focus increases each orb's output.
3. Capacitor adds slots. Empty extra slots do not defend you, so consider orb generation alongside them.
4. Biased Cognition gives immediate Focus in exchange for losing it afterward. For an Artifact synergy, prepare Artifact before Biased Cognition.
5. Reprogram raises Strength and Dexterity while lowering Focus. Before choosing it, decide whether your main defense comes from orbs or Attack and Skill-based play.

• You start with 3 orb slots. Channeling a new orb into full slots evokes the oldest orb first.
• Frost's passive Block normally arrives at end of turn. The Heart's Beat of Death triggers on card play, so you need Block beforehand.

ウォッチャー / Watcher

Pure Water: start with 1 Miracle

1. Before entering Wrath, check whether your hand can kill or leave it through Vigilance or an Empty card. Wrath doubles Attack damage both dealt and received.
2. Leaving Calm for another stance or no stance grants 2 energy. Simply entering Calm again does not repeatedly grant 2.
3. Upgrading Eruption lowers its cost from 2 to 1. With 3 energy, you have 1 more left for an exit or another attack.
4. Scry away unwanted cards from the draw pile. Scry does not itself draw, so check follow-up draw such as Cut Through Fate.
5. Talk to the Hand is an enemy debuff; Mental Fortress is your own Power. Choose with enemy Artifact and the Awakened One's Curiosity in mind.

• A normal 6-damage Strike deals 12 in Wrath. An enemy's 10-damage Attack also deals 20 against you. Non-Attack effects such as Poison and Burn are not all doubled.
• At 10 Mantra, enter Divinity, gain 3 energy on entry, and triple Attack damage. Entering through Blasphemy adds a separate lethal effect next turn. Sources disagree on the precise timing for leaving Divinity, so this guide does not settle it.

Defect's 4 orb types

Normally 3 slots. Compare values at 0 Focus, distinguishing channeling, passive effects, and evoking.

Calculate Watcher's attack order

1. Example: normal stance, 3 energy, Eruption+ and 2 Strikes. Eruption+ costs 1, deals 9 damage, then enters Wrath.
2. Play 2 Strikes with the remaining 2 energy for 12 + 12, totaling 33 damage. Enemy Block, Vulnerable, Weak, and similar effects change the displayed result.
3. If an enemy survives, reserve an exit card and its cost. Do not assume you can pay Vigilance's 2 energy after spending both Strikes.
4. Entering Wrath with Eruption+ from Calm adds 2 energy for leaving Calm. Recalculate the sequence using the starting stance.

• Wrath and Divinity multiply Attack damage. Do not apply their multipliers to all Poison, orb, or Burn damage.