Guide: Getting Started in Hex Survival
Welcome to the town, survivor. You’ve joined a collaborative effort to keep the lights on and the darkness at bay. Here’s what you need to know for your first few days.
1. New Player Priorities (The First Hour)
Your survival depends on these three immediate actions:
- Check Your Vitals: Look at your Hunger and Thirst. If they are low, find Clean Water or Rations immediately.
- Start a Skill: Go to the Skills menu and start training AP Capacity Lvl 1 or Stim Conditioning Lvl 1.
- Cost: 0 AP to start.
- Duration: 1 Hour (Real-time).
- Scout for Resources: Move to an adjacent hex (1 AP) and click Scavenge (0 AP) to start your first hourly loot roll.
2. Stay in the Light (The Golden Rule)
The “Darkness” in this world is lethal.
- Lethal Movement: Moving into a dark hex without a light source (like your Starter Lamp) results in immediate death: “Consumed by darkness.”
- Power Poles: These create permanently lit tiles. A powered pole illuminates only its current tile (0-hex radius).
- The Midnight Trap: If your lamp shows “1 day remaining,” you must be on a permanently lit hex (Base or Power Pole) before the Midnight transition. If it expires in the dark, you die instantly.
3. Managing Your Vitals
You have four status bars: Hunger, Thirst, Action Points (AP), and Activity.
- Find Water and Rations: Head to an Oasis or the Farm Facility early on.
- Consuming Items: Use Right-Click in your inventory to drink water or eat rations.
- AP Management: Every action (moving, questing) costs AP. Scavenging is free (0 AP).
- Recovery: If you run out, set your activity to Resting to recover 1 AP per hour. You can also use a Stim Pack for an immediate +2 AP boost (requires Stim Conditioning Lvl 1).
4. Your First Expedition
Check the Expedition Objectives (top of the screen).
- Emergency Stockpile: Look for Battery in the Ruined City or Electronic Lab and deposit them at the Base. This helps the whole town get rations and water at midnight.
- Corrupted Relays: If these aren’t disabled (requires 2 AP), search chances town-wide will drop significantly.
5. Scavenging and Inventory
- Hex Scavenging: Click on your current hex to start scavenging. You can toggle it on/off as needed. It is free to start/stop.
- Limited Space: You only have 5 slots. Prioritize high-value items like Batteries, Copper Wiring, and Scrap Metal.
- Items on the Ground: You can leave things on the floor and they will stay there, but beware the Item Overlay Bug in crowded areas.
6. Building Infrastructure
Once you have 1 Copper Wiring and 1 Scrap Metal, use the Inventory → Recipes menu to craft a Power Pole.
- Placement: Place it on a tile adjacent to the Base or an existing pole.
- Why?: This permanently lights up that tile, making it safe for everyone to travel through without a lamp.
7. Scouting the Unknown (Fog of War)
The map starts empty. You won’t know where the Oasis or Electronic Lab is until someone finds it.
- Scout Early: Use your Starter Lamp to reveal nearby tiles and find critical resources.
- The “Loot Highway”: Focus on building Power Poles toward high-value biomes to create safe, efficient paths for the whole town.
- Share Discoveries: Use the Town Chat to tell others the direction of key buildings (e.g., “Industrial 4 hexes North”).