Move, collect Skull Gems and strengthen your starter
Start Imperial Bastion with Malum Caedo’s Chainsword or The Great Parch with Neave Blacktalon’s Tempest Axes, then keep moving around approaching packs while collecting Skull Gems. Prioritize upgrades for your starting weapon, seek healing when needed, and spend the coins you earn on a permanent Wounds upgrade between runs.
This route is for the October demo. Your weapons attack automatically, defeated enemies drop experience, and level-ups offer weapons or passive upgrades. Your immediate job is to keep a safe route through that experience while making deliberate upgrade choices.
Follow this route through your first run
- Choose Malum Caedo for Imperial Bastion or Neave Blacktalon for The Great Parch. Both start unlocked in the demo, giving you a concrete starter weapon without first completing a rescue.
- Move around the edge of approaching packs with an escape path ahead. Automatic attacks let you focus on positioning instead of standing still to trade hits with the swarm.
- Collect nearby Skull Gems as enemies fall. Early experience leads to the level-ups that strengthen your loadout, so favor a safe collection loop over a long detour through enemies.
- Upgrade your starting weapon when a useful choice appears. Concentrating upgrades on a small set of weapons gives your run a clearer damage plan than taking every new option.
- Read a new weapon’s Keywords before selecting it. An incompatible weapon can bring a follower who attacks on your behalf, changing the coverage you gain from that level-up.
- Look around faction-themed light sources for useful pickups. Healing can rescue a damaged run, while offensive pickups can help clear enemies when the pack is closing in.
- Attempt a rescue objective when your attacks can handle its guards. Defeating the enemies around a stranded character unlocks an ally and another playable choice for later attempts.
- Spend your earned coins on Wounds after the run. This permanent shop enhancement raises maximum health, giving your next attempt a more forgiving starting point.
Choose a starter and give its upgrades a purpose
Malum Caedo starts with Chainsword, while Neave Blacktalon starts with Tempest Axes. Use your opening run to learn where that attack reaches and how to keep enemies inside its useful coverage. Stay close enough to collect experience safely without letting the pack close your retreat.
For a longer-term evolution goal, Chainsword pairs with Tape Measure to become Eviscerator Chainsword. Neave’s Tempest Axes pair with Sabaton to become Whirlwind Axes, with Sabaton also improving movement speed. Keep the matching passive in mind when a level-up offers a choice, while continuing to strengthen the weapon you already have.
Collect experience first and use field pickups deliberately
Skull Gems are your immediate route to stronger level-up choices, while coins support permanent enhancements after the run. Make experience collection your normal movement pattern, then divert for healing when your health needs it. Useful pickups are found around faction-themed light sources, and their selection varies between universes.
When you find a Melta-bomb, it offers a powerful thermal explosion after a short delay. Lead a pursuing group toward its blast area to make that delay useful. Keep moving after the throw so you retain room to escape.
Hellfire Ammo temporarily increases the damage of ranged attacks and applies Poisoned to enemies. Prioritize it when your loadout has ranged attacks that can use that boost. Its benefit is temporary, so keep collecting experience and upgrading your weapons after the immediate pressure eases.
On the Age of Sigmar side, Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws follows you and bites nearby enemies while applying Burning. Purple Sun of Shyish creates damaging zones that can hurt the player as well as enemies. When you find those pickups, use the extra offense while steering clear of the Sun’s dangerous areas.
Use Keywords to add useful squad coverage
Characters, weapons and some items have Keywords. If your champion acquires a weapon their Keywords do not allow them to wield, a compatible ally joins and uses it on your behalf. Read each weapon offer as a possible change to your squad as well as a change to your damage.
Followers cannot take damage or collect items. Their attacks extend your offensive coverage, but you still need to steer your champion toward Skull Gems and other useful pickups. Build your movement around collection and safety even after the squad grows.
After rescuing Trooper Bartosz Kozlowski, selecting Lasgun while playing Malum Caedo can recruit him into the squad. He fires at the nearest enemy, and upgrading the weapon brings additional Astra Militarum troops. That gives a concrete reason to consider Lasgun when you want allied ranged support.
Adjust your movement to the stage’s enemies
Imperial Bastion pits you against Tyranids. Watch Von Ryan’s Leaper for its rear-up and pounce, and give Synapse creatures priority when you can reach them safely. Synapse strengthens nearby lesser Tyranids; killing the creature briefly stuns the surrounding brood.
The Great Parch pits you against Skaven, including Vermintide swarms that cross in horizontal lines. Change your route when those lines cut across your collection loop, and leave room to avoid Ratling Gunner projectile zones. Move out of the toxic clouds thrown by Acolyte Globadiers instead of continuing to fight inside them.
Turn an early defeat into a stronger next attempt
Buy Wounds if you need more maximum health, Strength if enemies are surviving too long, or Save to reduce damage taken from hits. Move improves mobility, while Reload affects weapon cooldowns so attacks can happen more frequently. These permanent enhancements are safer beginner priorities than Corruption, which increases enemy difficulty.
Check Objectives after the run for weapon, passive, relic and other progression rewards. A short attempt can still advance your progress before you can defeat the stage’s endpoint boss. Keep that progress within the demo in perspective: progression from the previous demo does not transfer to the newer demo, and demo progress does not transfer to the full release.