Beginner Guide

## Introduction

The goal of this guide is to explain some of the basic, important yet implicit mechanisms of the game Buriedbornes so that you may explore the game on your own instead of having to conduct tedious experiments or copy strategies from others. If you see a term or a feature you have no idea, read on, it will be explained later.

This guide is based on the web version, available on mogera.jp. You may register a new account to save your progress there by going to "新規登録(無料)", at the upper right corner of the page.

**IMPORTANT:** This guide adopts a step-by-step playstyle. For those looking for a speed-run strategy, there are farming guides and prescribed builds.

**IMPORTANT:** This guide was written for v3.5.2.3, in December, 2020.

## The First Run

### Control and Interface

First check the gamepad icon at the very top of the game interface. Make sure it is white; if it is red, you are not logged in, and your progress may be lost.

Logged in, click on the square with a large "+" sign to begin your first adventure. A new window appears for you to customize your character. Options include:

* **Job**: The job, or profession, of your character determines their three permanent Abilities, one of which (in purple) is Job-exclusive, and the three pieces of equipment they bring, each with two Item Abilities. Items can be changed in dungeons but the starting Abilities are defining to your character (discussed later). Your Job determines your three starting Skills (moves) as well. For now I suggest choosing Ranger.
* **Statistics Detail**: Not an option but a window displaying all the Abilities of your current character.
* **Destination**: Which dungeon you would like to explore. For now choose Labyrinth.
* **Taking Item**: Consumable items you bring. Not too important as most of them have only four charges and a humble effect. For now choose any of the free ones you like.

After you have set out, before advancing you may open the menu by right-clicking. The "Equips" tab is particularly useful (also accessible by clicking your character's name): You may cycle through your equipment, permanent effects, and total effects there. Right click again to leave.

### Choices

Ultimately adventures involve but four major choices: which Room to go to, which Skill to use, whether to learn a new Skill, and whether to switch to a new piece of equipment. A simple way to evaluate your choices is in terms of the permanence of your gains, that is how much instant, temporary gains you can risk for future, permanent gains. There are roughly five degrees of permanence in the game, from the highest to lowest:

1. **Account-permanent**: These rewards last as long as your account exists. Once unlocked you can benefit from them in every run. This includes unlocked Jobs, Lab Parts, Contracts, Amulets, and the various game currencies. Although they seldom benefit the ongoing adventure, you need them to build stronger characters that can penetrate further into the dungeons.
2. **Character-permanent**: These effects last as long as this particular character lives. In Labyrinth this includes the "permanent effects" on your character and Skill upgrades.
3. **Items**: Nearly all equipment/items eventually become obsolete as the character and enemies gain levels because of one or more constant, non-scaling Abilities it has. Nonetheless, the chaotic depths of the dungeons can produce exceptional items that may last some thirty floors.
4. **Temporary**: Changes that last a few or a few tens of turns, for example HP loss and debuffs.
5. **Growth**: Not the least permanent but a special kind that generates gains. The Blacksmith, Experience, Exploration, and Greed Abilities are four of them.

### Rooms

With the Ranger's starting Scout Ability you can see the contents of all six rooms ahead, otherwise only the closest two. Each Room may have one or more Room Effects, one modification (that little colored circle), and an enemy. Notable Room Effects include:

* **Event**: The main source of permanent gains such as Soulstones, Contracts, and permanent effects. Although harmful effects are very common, they are almost invariably temporary. With the Ranger's Avoid Trap Ability you can even negate them entirely.
* **Corpse**: There are two kinds of corpses - white and red, both having a flower icon. White corpses are safe; they are the main sources of items and Skills. Red corpses are NPC versions of characters created by other players that may attack you. Try to avoid them for now.
* **Catacomb**: Forces you to turn right for two consecutive turns, but generate a white corpse in each if they do not already have any.
* **Change**: The monsters in Change rooms have modified stats or special Abilities. Potentially dangerous but also rewarding - victory grants a Transformed Skill, which is otherwise rare.
* **Nest and Monumental**: These rooms lead you to Conquest Bosses, which are even more powerful than the ordinary Floor Boss, so it is not recommended to challenge them on your first run.
* **Zone**: Shield amount is quartered and new buffs/debuffs cannot be applied. Devastating for some unbalanced builds.
* **Narrow**: Avoid rate is set to zero.

Dungeon exploration is interwoven with Experience management, which will be discussed later. For now just remember that monster-grinding is generally unfavorable.

### Skills and Combat

When you enter combat, you may click on the enemy's or your portrait to view a list of status effects affecting them. Click on the *name* of one of your Skills to view its detail and its *icon* to use it. You may flee by expanding the tab with an arrow on the left or by opening the menu. Normally escape takes 5 turns, which is dangerously long.

Skills can be divided into four categories according to their effect: direct attack, buff, debuff, and healing, plus some hybrids. I am not going to make lengthy suggestions on Skill sets or combat strategy, but generally you should have at least one direct attack Skill since debuffs, damage over time (DOT) and delayed damage to be more specific, do not work in Zone rooms. And your skill set should have cooldowns (CD) that allow you to choose from at least one or two skills so that you will not pass your turn doing nothing or having to activate a Skill that is currently useless (e.g. heal in full HP).

Corpses, Boss fights, and Change room, among others, may offer you a Skill. Reroll for a new offer and switch to the Skill you want replaced. If the two are the same your Skill upgrades by one level; when it reaches level 3 and 8, it gains new power. Transformed Skills found in Change rooms give your Skill a perk in addition to the normal upgrades. These perks, however, are not always desirable.

Very soon you will realize some Skills are more recurring, some others terribly rare and difficult to upgrade. Keep them in mind for your future, longer runs.

### Equipment

For most characters, equipment is the major source of stat points and a flexible source of Abilities. You should be aware that the Abilities on your starting equipment or their upgraded/downgraded versions appear ***much*** more consistently on loots than other Abilities. That is why your Ranger will have a better time sticking to DEX- or INT- based Skills than STR-. Exception to this rule is Legendary Items, rare artifacts that have a nigh fixed set of Abilities. Each has an unique Ability and outstanding non-scaling STAT's. You may review those that you have seen by bringing up the menu at the homepage.

Obviously if your adventurer is doing well, you may wish to switch to equipment with "growth" Abilities, improving future loot, enhancing gains from Events, or increasing the Soulstones you earn. On your first run, however, you may want to focus on combat Abilities. For a starting Ranger this means DEX, Max HP, and Avoid-related Abilities. As your character evolves through new Skills and new items, choose your layout accordingly.

### The Ancient King

The Ancient King is the tenth Floor Boss. He is infamous for his durability, triple attack and the King's Army Skill, which deals high un-Avoidable Pursuit damage that bypasses Damage Reduce. Like most Bosses he tends to slack through the first half of his health (which is the high time to apply all your buffs and debuffs) but bring death in, sometimes, one turn.

Usually new players will be able to beat him after a few runs as they become familiar with the game. Tricks like fighting him in a Zone room (so that he cannot apply Pursuit on himself), preparing for an attrition (high and renewable HP or Shield) can further raise your odds. If he proves unwinnable, read the next section on how to build up your account-permanent advantages.

## Shop, Lab, and Bargain

This section is dedicated to the game elements that strengthen your characters, how to get them, and how to use them. Item Shop, Lab, and Bargain are three new functions that you will come across. They are accessible at the bottom of the homepage.

* **Item Shop**: When probed, you will be asked to select what kind of currency you are going to spend. Soulstones (Stone for short) are for Contracts and Amulets. Fragment of Death (Frag) are for Lab Parts; more expensive offers have better average Parts quality.
* **Lab**: This is where you manage your Lab Parts. Parts List shows all your unequipped Parts. Modify allows you to equip and remove Parts from Jobs. Develop shows you available offers..
* **Bargain**: Bargain is where you may purchase Parts. It is more expensive than Item Shop but let you choose exactly which Part to purchase.

### Lab Part, Contract, and Amulet

Up to 5 Parts on one Job
Purchase in Bargain with Frags
Defeat Conquest Bosses
Treasure Chests \*
 Contract | Add 1 extra Ability to a character
some add 1 set of Abilities
Treasure Chests
 Amulet | Begin an adventure with a
selected Skill or Camp Item
Treasure Chests
 New Jobs | Permanently unlock a new Job
(Stones)
Creation

*\* Treasure Chest is one of the many possible Events (see Room sub-section).*
*\*\* These options are accessible on the "Create New Adventure" window.*

Conquest Bosses, or red Bosses after their red icons, are monsters several times as powerful as Floor Bosses. Defeating them guarantee an item and a Lab Part drop. The best way to encounter them is Nest and Monumental Rooms.

### Soulstone and Fragment of Death

The "Productive" Skills perk (×~15)
The "Boss Bonus" Ability \*
Purchase Contracts or Amulets in Shop
Reroll items or Skills in dungeon
Purchase items in dungeon
 Fragment of Death | Treasure Chests
Defeating red corpses (×5)
Purchase Parts in Bargain
 Dried Leaf | Seasonal events
Weekly dungeons
Weekly Karma missions
Contracts, or Amulets in Shop

*\* Soulstones from Boss Bonus depends on dungeon difficulty.*

## Future Runs

### Unlocking New Jobs

New jobs are not necessarily stronger, but they may better suit your playstyle or Lab Parts. There is, however, one Job that is widely acclaimed as the best for new players to experience the dungeons - Dragoon.

Dragoon is one of the three (the other two being Dark Elf and Saint) NPCs that have a little narrated encounter in the Dungeon. He becomes a playable Job for free once you have finished the plot. He is popular for his:

* Straightforward strategy: The Dragon Fang Skill is central to most Dragoon builds. With Imperial Wrath, it is an offensive Skill that bases on the character's current HP. Therefore, a Dragoon focusing entirely on Max HP can automatically and effortlessly enjoy a tremendous damage output on top of his unyielding tenacity.
* Good resilience: Shield and Barrier are repaired at the beginning of each battle, but they can be Penetrated to result in an unforeseen death. Avoid and Parry share similar issues. Sheer HP, however, is only countered by few inaccurate instant-kill Skills, making it the more reliable choice.
* Ailment resistance: Dragoon's unique Ability Steel Will let him prevent any ailments from applying when he is below full HP.
* Great basic attack Skill: Twirl has a base Pow of 200, accuracy of 105. Although it has a Fragile+25% self-debuff, that dwarfs before the extra 100% (when comparing to, for example Attack of Warrior) damage he is pouring onto his enemy. Steel Will *does* resist the debuff, too.

The main weaknesess of Dragoon are his reliance on buff and Reflect (vulnerable in Zone room and against the Mirror Ability) and the rarity of his Skills. One or two healing Skills/Abilities are also indispensable.

### Experience and Level

Sooner or later you will find yourself getting behind in level. Leveling is a subtle and confusing matter in Buriedbornes. The developer took measures to discourage grinding but did not present them quite as well. The reason grinding will not work is because monster level grows with the steps you make (i.e. number of rooms you enter; this dependence can be more prominent than floor descent) and that staying on the same floor for more than 16 steps will incur a slowly growing penalty on experience gain. If you do not have any Experience bonus Ability, since Bosses are worth ten times the experience of other monsters, your best shot is to venture Nest or Monumental rooms. Other relevant Room Effects are:

* **Maze** and **Trace**.
* **Submerged**: Monsters gain additional levels by the time you leave this room. Avoid them.

Perhaps more important is to be aware that it is fine to lag behind in level as long as you have adequate Abilities because level has a rather limited direct influence on a character's combat performance:

* Max HP = 40 + 10×Lv.
* Power = 6.2 + 1.8×Lv.
* A few Skills have output based on level.

In comparison a character may easily find a piece of equipment with 10000+ Max HP or 2000+ stat points before they reach level 100.

### Red Corpses and The Palace of Karma

Sometimes you may receive "alms" from a red corpse, which will usually be of the same Job as the corpse (not useful for your character/build). Taking five Fragments from the defeated corpse is usually more profitable. That being said, Red corpses can be deadly as the player might have foraged a formidable set of equipment.

Every character that breaches 10/F Labyrinth is eligible to register in The Palace of Karma (Karma for short); you do not lose your progress in the current dungeon by doing so. Karma is essentially a dungeon of endless Red corpses, some new Room Effects, and the special rule that Skills always end a character's turn (no T effect). Conceivably, you may need some exploits to defeat a good number of enemies that are more or less as powerful as yourself, but such a deed is difficult in Karma because of a lack of information on your opponents. Some players resort to risky glass cannons (as you always go first) and some to strong recovery between battles.

### Destination

Destination is the dungeon you would like to adventure. Excluding Labyrinth most have a special global effect and a difficulty level/rating. A dungeon's difficulty controls how fast enemy levels up and how good your loot may be. Of course it also awards you a higher score (also achievable by accepting Curses) but that may not be relevant for beginners. Personally I suggest staying in the Labyrinth for a while to gather some Soulstones and Frags; it is a fun and moderately challenging experience itself.

Exploring specific Dungeons may be required to claim certain Mission rewards. You may view the Mission page by bringing up the menu on the homepage, then opening the "Content" sub-menu.

### Operation Room

Also under the "Content" sub-menu you may find the Operation Room. Here duplicate Contracts may be salvaged for, usually, one to two Dark Studies. On the "Possession" window you may merge Contracts to a maximum of 5 effects on a single Contract by paying some Dark Studies. It is similar to how the Lab works.