Kia Ora koutou!

This guide consists of some basics to ease you into the game, avoiding any pitfalls or annoyances that I encountered when starting out. If you are looking for an in-depth or deep strategy guide you are in the wrong place, my apologies. If you are starting out or want some basic mechanics explained then I hope you find it useful - enjoy.

There has been updates since this guide was written (e.g. since I stopped playing) - if you find any mistakes, or have suggestions for new parts that could be included. please comment and I'll update the guide.

Tangledeep is a mix of roguelike and RPG genres that you can bounce off quite easily because it allows you to invest a lot of time into a character, who will quickly die if you stop paying attention at the wrong moment. This game does not nudge you if your life is running low. In a similar mix of mechanics, it is turn based, but you can move in almost real time if you'd like.

You'll get to grips with it eventually, but don't stress too much about your first run. I wouldn't worry about dying on the first boss - the next run will be easier. Just have fun for your first hour. Next time you can start worrying about keeping your pal alive for longer, and your pet will start carrying you (see the Pets section).

For your first character, pick a job you like the look of and have fun getting to grips with the skills. On your next character (RIP first pal), play a different job. Look at the skills that would work great in combination with the last character you played. Now play only until you get those skills, and then change jobs back to the first one you played. Now you have the best of both worlds! You can mix and match as many jobs and skills as you like. This is what really sets Tangledeep apart from other RPG's - congratulations, you now 'get' this game.

Let's practice. Once you've got two job change scrolls, change to The Soulmaster job, get the 'echo bolts' skill, and then change back to your main skill. Enjoy!

Your pets carry over between characters, and so are worth investing some time, thought and ♥ into. Your starting pet is actually really good, thanks to the self-heal. It used to be compulsory to use a pet with the self-heal ability, but all pets now self heal at a rate of 2.5% per turn. Regardless, my starting pet eventually carried me through the first few bosses easily. So stick with your first buddy for a bit, and:

• Always get pet insurance.
  
• It's really only worth catching the monsters that come up as quests - everything else will have low rarity, meaning low stats.
  
• Once you've caught something of decent rarity that matches your pets type (or two new rare pets of the same type), use those rose petals and get them dating. Their offspring will have better stats, based off its parents. You can keep interbreeding offspring (including with their parents), so just keep doing it whenever you find some rose petals.
  
• Skills will be passed down randomly. There are ways to breed/learn specific skills, but that's not beginner territory, and can be a bit tedious. The offspring is guaranteed to have as many skills as the parent with the least skills.
  
• Spending more money when breeding = better stats, so try spend the max every time if you can.

• Look for rose petals and job change scrolls from vendors with a 'new' next to them, from day one. Bank them.
  
• If you're not playing the Soulmaster class, his 'echo bolts' ability is always worth getting.
  
• 'CT' stands for 'Charge Time' - you will see it used a fair bit on weapons/skill descriptions etc. That is related to your 'Free Turn' meter. When it fills up (to 100) you get a free turn.
  
• Keep a weapon with passive magic find or stat boosts equipped in whatever slot you're not using.
  
• Buy good/rare items when they come up at a vendor (which is not often, most items will suck!), even if it's just for the bank/a later character.
  
• The orchard looks like it might be complex, but it's not. Just plant whatever seeds you feel like and replace them with others later if you feel like it.
  
• Ignore the gold chests for now. They are more or less an optional difficulty increase.

This guy tweaking his nip is pretty cool.