Moonlighter 2 - Beginner's Guide

Moonlighter 2 has finally arrived in Early Access. Just like its predecessor, the second entry in the series revolves around exploring dungeons, gathering resources and items, and selling them to develop both your character and your own shop.

The Basic Gameplay Loop

So how does Moonlighter actually work? The key thing to understand is that virtually every move in Moonlighter follows a cycle that keeps repeating:

Dungeon → Loot → Shop → Money → Upgrades → and back to the start

Greed and Economy

Of course, there's one small hurdle in the gameplay that makes the experience a little harder or a little slower: the limited inventory. We all know the feeling — you spot something small and shiny at the edge of the screen, and it simply has to be looted. In Moonlighter, though, you should think twice: do I actually need this item? Can I sell it at a decent profit?

Which Upgrades Are Worth It First?

When it comes to general playstyle and your choice of weapons, it always depends on personal preference. Still, a few things can be said in general terms to make the experience more fun and more rewarding early on.

• Survivability
• Inventory and shop improvements
• Weapons

Those would be the first three categories I'd invest in. With weapons in particular I'd be careful at the start, since they play quite differently from the first game — and above all, the bow no longer counts as the all-rounder weapon it was in the predecessor.

An Easy Start

For a good start, it helps to spread the experience across your first few expeditions and only then start playing with a clear purpose.

1. Use your first run to explore the dungeons, get to know the enemies, study their patterns, and collect resources.
2. After that, start being more selective about your loot instead of picking up everything that drops. This is where you'll quickly turn your first profits in the shop.
3. Then you'll be ready to improve your own gear, which leads to better loot, which in turn lets you expand your shop faster. And that's how you build your own little cycle that mirrors the game's cycle.

Tags: #indie #guide #11bitstudios

Bunny

enjoys playing games on the hardest difficulty setting to earn achievements. Has been writing and vlogging about video games, with a particular focus on indie games.