Getting Started

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Welcome to the wintry world of Wildfrost!

This guide goes over the basics of battles and provides an overview of how the game works.

What is Wildfrost?

Wildfrost is a roguelite deckbuilder, in which the player advances through a set of events called a "run," which includes battles, vendors, and other events. Their goal is to advance as far as possible without being defeated while collecting new cards along the way to strengthen their deck. If their Leader is defeated, the player is sent back to Snowdwell to unlock new card types and reenter the frozen world to try a new run with a new deck!

Card Basics

Most cards have 3 basic elements:

- The card's Health is displayed in the top left of the card. Once a card's health reaches 0, it is defeated, and if the Leader's health reaches 0 then the run is over.

- The card's Counter is displayed on the bottom of the card. Each turn, all cards' Counters count down by 1, and once a card's Counter reaches 0 it will trigger, attacking and/or applying some ability. After this, its counter resets to the maximum again (this can be seen by hovering over the Counter). Counters count down in this order on the field:

            11 9  7   ||   1 3 5
            12 10 8   ||   2 4 6

- The card's Attack is displayed in the top right of the card. When the card triggers, it attacks and deals that much damage.

There are a few exceptions to these rules, however:

- Clunkers have no health, and instead have a unique stat known as Scrap. Whenever a Clunker takes at least 1 damage, it will lose 1 Scrap (no matter how much damage was dealt), making them excellent for blocking high-damage hits.

- Some cards have Reactions, indicated with an exclamation point ( ! ) inside the sun icon. This shows that the card triggers under specific circumstances. Cards with Reactions can also have normal Counters, but if they have no Counter then the card can never trigger except by its own ability.

Selecting a Leader

Each run begins by choosing a Leader. There are three Tribe available to choose from, and each tribe offers three potential Leaders. These characters are randomly generated in appearance, stats, and abilities. Remember that your Leader can never be recalled, and if they die the run is over! Your Leader is one of the most important cards in your deck, so choose wisely and leverage their strengths.

Additionally, after selecting a Leader the player can select a Pet. Initially, the only available Pet is Snoof, but more can be unlocked by completing specific challenges.

Your First Battle

Each Tribe has its own starting deck and access to a different variety of potential cards. The only Tribe initially available is the Snowdwellers, but the other two can be unlocked by completing challenges. After setting out from Snowdwell, the player is accosted by The Snowbo Squad. Once the first enemies appear and the Leader is deployed, the player draws a hand of 6 cards and may play one of them per turn. Companions and Clunkers remain on the field when played, while Items are used and then sent to the discard pocket. If the player doesn't like their hand, they can use the Redraw Bell to discard it and draw 6 new cards, at the cost of their turn. However, if the Redraw Bell is not used for 4 turns in a row, it becomes charged and can be used once without losing a turn.

Although protecting the Leader in battle is the utmost priority, try to keep all Companions alive, since they are a major source of damage. If a Companion has suffered too much damage, recall them to the discard pocket to heal them up. However, don't pull any punches either! The Wave Bell to the right of the field shows how many turns remain until enemy reinforcements arrive. Taking down enemies too slowly can lead to multiple enemies ganging up at once, so try and defeat them as quickly as they appear. Fight through the Snowbos and their lot until The Snow Knight appears, and clean him up for your first victory!

Onward

From here, the map takes the player through multiple events between fights, allowing them to recruit new Companions, obtain new cards and Charms, visit the cozy Woolly Snail, and more. More events unlock as the player completes challenges, giving even more opportunities to strengthen their deck. More battles and even fiercer enemies await you, so prepare as best you can and claim victory after victory to confront the source of the Wildfrost!