Beginner's GuideBeginner's Field Manual
Welcome to the ranks, officer. This manual compiles verified onboarding experience from the Prologue and Early Access — drawn from official tutorial tips, community-wiki guide consensus, and hands-on press coverage. Read it, and your first regime will die with a little more dignity.
1. The Five-Step Opening
The "five-step foothold" method summarized from Prologue guides still holds up in Early Access:
| Step | Goal | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stabilize survival metrics | Build shelters and basic gathering first; get food and housing running — don't rush into big buildings |
| 2 | Unlock governance tools | Prioritize basic security and policy tools through the research/skill tree (see Research) |
| 3 | Fix an expedition route | Establish a repeatable short expedition route for a steady supply line (see Expeditions) |
| 4 | Process prisoners | Convert captured enemies into labor, creating a positive population loop (see Prisoners & Conversion) |
| 5 | Push into the sector | Steadily expand your influence until the sector guardian emerges, then challenge the Elysia Oasis Decisive Battle |
2. Citizen Management Essentials
- Feed them first, loyalty later — Hunger is the most basic stat; when the granary is empty, all propaganda is hollow (see Citizen Management)
- Don't choose fear or prosperity — balance them dynamically — "too cruel breeds rebellion; too generous breeds scarcity" (see Rebellion & Suppression)
- Match people to posts — check each person's eight speed stats and traits: put fast researchers in the lab, put "Conformists" on the production line
- The whip works, but at a price — punishment suppresses dissent, and also accumulates resentment
3. Expedition Pacing
- Short, repeated runs beat all-in gambles — early on, bank resources with a fixed short route; "stray too far and you lose part of the gains"
- Scavenging priority: ① cores matching your current weapon → ② materials your production lines actually consume → ③ leave the rest of the shiny junk behind
- Capture prisoners only when it's safe — special ammo is precious; don't chase prisoners through a hail of bullets
- Set the Aggression Level — tune how hard you seek fights based on the run's purpose (farming money / pushing the map)
4. Combat Survival Rules
- Never stand still — "Move faster. Shoot harder. Never stop." (see Combat System)
- Save the double jump for bullet hell — it's a lifeline, not a travel tool
- Stack a single core school — commit to a tag (e.g. drones / poison) and concentrate your investment; make good use of Redraw (see Core Fragments)
- Troops are firepower and meat shields — don't face the bullet hell alone
5. Reference Gameplay Footage
Below is a complete Prologue playthrough (4 hours) recorded by a community player, covering the full tech tree and an 11-crew operation — best used as a pacing reference (not a speedrun template):
Video: 4-hour Prologue longplay recorded by Clear Gameplay (YouTube). Content is the Prologue version and differs from Early Access.
6. Veteran Notes: Moving from Prologue to EA
- Re-plan your base — don't copy your memorized Prologue layout; EA's content density is different
- Rebind your keys — patches have adjusted combat inputs; old muscle memory may fail you
- Expect new systems — Prologue-locked content such as automation and mechs is open in EA (see the Prologue comparison)
The game's entire secret condenses into one sentence: "The colony's surplus funds safer expeditions; safer expeditions feed the colony." Get the loop turning — everything else is detail.