Beginner's Guide
Twelve Tips for Your First Fifty Floors
Apex & Abyss is a real tactics game — position, turn order, and terrain decide fights, not raw numbers. These are the twelve things that matter most in the early climb, drawn straight from the in-game Adventurer's Handbook.
1. Turns are earned, not taken
There are no fixed player phases. Every unit fills a charge gauge (CT) at a rate set by its SPD — when the gauge hits 100, that unit acts. Fast heroes simply act more often. The turn queue on screen shows who moves next; read it before every decision.
2. One move, one action — order is up to you
On its turn a unit gets one move and one action (attack, skill, item, or wait) — and you can move before or after acting. After acting, you choose a facing for the unit's stance.
3. Know your reach
| Role | Attack range | Identity |
|---|---|---|
| Warrior | 1 tile | Front-line wall — soaks hits. |
| Rogue | 1 tile | Fastest role; strikes often. |
| Cleric | 3 tiles | Heals and supports from safety. |
| Mage | 4 tiles | Longest reach, heaviest spells. |
4. Height is a weapon
Battlefields are not flat, and climbing is a stat: Rogues scale 3 elevation levels, Warriors 2, Mages and Clerics only 1. Ranged roles gain +1 reach for every 2 levels of height they hold over their target.
5. Downed is not dead — but the clock is running
A hero dropped to 0 HP is Downed, not dead: a 3-turn counter starts. Revive them in time (the Cleric's Revive, or a Phoenix Tears potion armed before the blow) and they fight on. Let the counter run out and they're gone for the rest of the battle.
6. Potions are a rescue tool, not a top-up
You get a hard cap of 3 potion uses per battle. Spend them to prevent a Down — not to polish a half-full health bar. And when your bag runs low mid-run, bank at a boss rather than pushing greedy. Greed feeds the Abyss.
7. Read the ground
| Tile | Effect |
|---|---|
| Brambles | Inflict Bleed on whoever stands in them. |
| Poison Bog | Inflicts Poison. |
| Embers | Inflict Burn; burning ground scorches on your turn. |
| Mire | Inflicts Slow — the mud drags at your speed. |
| Sanctuary | Blesses the occupant with Regen. |
| Wardstone | Grants a protective Barrier. |
Standing in tall grass and brush grants cover that trims incoming damage. Hazards vary by biome — read the floor before you charge across it.
8. Statuses win fights the damage numbers don't show
Ailments tick at the start of the victim's turn and interact: Burn deals turn damage and softens defense; Freeze skips the turn and raises damage taken; Bleed punishes movement; Curse halves healing received; Slow drags the charge gauge itself. Blessings mirror them — Regen, Haste, Barrier, Iron Skin, Empower, and Taunt for tanks.
9. Formation sense
- Warriors in front to absorb attention; Mages and Clerics behind their reach.
- Link-skill auras only help adjacent allies — an aura nobody stands in is no aura at all.
- Don't clump in hazard fields, and deny enemy flankers a lone, exposed target.
- Focus fire: one dead enemy hits less than two wounded ones.
10. Stuck? Forge before you summon
Hitting a wall on a floor doesn't mean you need new heroes. Forge your gear up a rarity and try again — and match gear affinities in 2–3 slots for set bonuses before chasing raw stats.
11. Ascend duplicates immediately
Pulled a duplicate hero? Ascend it the moment you get it — the per-rank power gain compounds over the whole climb. (Rates and the pity counter are shown on the summon screen; try them in the simulator.)
12. The daily three
- Log in even on rest days — the streak pays gems and breaks if you skip.
- Burn Arena tickets and raid attempts daily; they never stack.
- Don't sleep on a full stamina bar — it recharges free, so spend it.
Put the tips to work
Apex & Abyss is a free tactical RPG for Android, in closed beta now. Founding testers play the full game free, get their name in the credits, and help tune the balance these tips describe.