Moonlighter 2 has a lot of different interlocking systems, and while none of them are particularly complicated, the game can still feel overwhelming, especially in the first few hours. So instead of telling you exactly how to play, I want to teach you ten core concepts that'll help you learn (and enjoy) the game at your own pace.

1) You're expected to fail

First of all, Moonlighter 2 is a roguelite with a staggering amount of permanent upgrades. And because you start with absolutely none of them, your early game power level is going to be somewhere between 'wet napkin' and 'oh god, this hurts'. But the person you are at the 1-hour mark is not even close to who you'll be 10-15 hours later.

So if you're struggling at the very start, don't worry - that's completely normal. Unless you're some kind of manic roguelite prodigy, you're not meant to crush every run right from the get-go. Instead just focus on pushing as far as you can, grab as much loot as you can carry, and then when things start going sideways, hit the handy "get me the hell out of here" button to bail out and cash in your loot.

Video version of this guide (~9 minutes) 

2) Don't rush

Despite the chaotic combat, Moonlighter 2 is not actually a fast-paced game. Even when you're completely surrounded, you can avoid damage just by backing off at the right time. And mind you, this is not about having the reflexes of a ten-year-old after ten energy drinks. It's all about staying calm and observant, especially during boss fights.

You'll generally want to alternate between offense and defense. Do one combo right after an enemy swings, then back off immediately because they're usually going to be ready to launch round two. It doesn't matter if it's a basic enemy, an elite, or a boss the size of a small truck - the rhythm is the same: hit them a few times, dip out, and repeat.

Keep it simple, don't get greedy, and you'll be walking out of those early runs with your dignity (mostly) intact and your purse so heavy you can barely lift it.

3) Dodge early, dodge often

Continuing with the combat advice, you should know that Moonlighter 2's dodge roll is absolutely ridiculous. It has long invincibility frames and almost no cooldown, so you can pretty much roleplay Sonic - roll around at high speed, bully sad robots, and hoard all the precious gold you can find.

The actual tip here is simple: if you're ever in trouble and have no idea what's happening, start rolling and don't stop until you're somewhere safe. Nine times out of ten, you'll make it out with all of your butt hairs unsinged.

And as an added bonus, rolling is much, much faster than running. Though the downside is that you'll be spending the entire game smelling your own farts, so up to you. I won't judge.

Unsurprisingly, dodge power-ups are kinda insane!

4) Don't neglect the gun

While your melee weapons do most of the damage, don't ignore your gun as it has incredible utility. Hitting an enemy that's winding up a big flying attack will make them fall on their face and leave them open to your bulging sack... yeah...um, I should've phrased that better.

So whenever possible, keep a bullet or two in reserve. You never know when you'll need it to politely convince an enemy to back the hell off.

5) Take care of yourself

It's going to be tempting to focus entirely on maximizing your inventory value and becoming the most obscenely wealthy broom-holder in the land. But remember: you actually have to survive to cash out. If you die, your relics will lose most of their value and basically turn into a monument to depression.

So before you lose your mind playing the surprisingly addictive inventory Tetris, make sure to power yourself up. There's no perfect number of buffs you should aim for before shifting your focus to loot, but as long as you grab a couple sources of bonus damage you'll be golden, so you can then focus on the actual gold. And if things ever start looking really, really bad, just remember: running away is not cowardice if you do it with a sack full of money!

Even a mediocre haul is better than just dying and losing most of it

6) Pass on pointless perks

Moonlighter 2 has a surprising amount of temporary perks that are about as useful as an umbrella in a tornado. These include basically every single perk related to environmental traps.

The traps are rare, single-use, and completely absent in boss fights, so if you see a new upgrade and have no idea what "spikes" or "genies" or other such nonsense it's talking about, you can safely ignore it. If it's tied to traps, it is a trap - and not the fun kind!

Some of them even sound good, but they're all sadly terrible

7) Inventory Tetris

Simply stealing stuff from enemies isn't enough. To make Scrooge McDuck piles of money you'll need to do a bit of inventory Tetris to beef up your relics before selling them. The basic strategy is obvious - just follow the instructions written on the relics and you'll instantly understand how they work. Just watch where you place them, as one errant twitch might have half your backpack erupt in flames... not that I would know anything about that.

What I do know is that you should delay any relic tweaking for as long as possible. Hoard a pile of them, especially the utility ones like burn or shield relics, and only go full mad scientist once you've completely run out of space.

Why? It's simple - you want as many rare relics as possible to benefit from your actions, because that's where the real money is. And if that means tossing a couple useless, no-ability commons along the way, that's perfectly fine. Do you really need a dozen burnt pieces of wood?

A big loot haul will finance a ton of permanent upgrades

8) Relic rarity matters

Continuing with the relic theme, they come in five tiers: common, uncommon, rare, epic and legendary. The higher the tier, the more gold they're worth as a baseline. So if you have the option to stack levels onto one relic, you'll generally want to stack onto your highest-tier ones, because that's how math works. Big number multiplied by big number equals 'loadsa money'.

The one catch is that utility-focused relics can have much lower prices than their fancier siblings. So when you get new relics for the first time, try to beef up the ones designed to grow in value as they'll usually be your golden ticket.

9) How to sell your items?

While the exact selling strategy depends on which perks you get, there is a very reliable formula you should stick to: sell your cheapest items at low prices to build up perks and any potential combos, and then finish the session by unloading your big-ticket items at higher-than-average prices.

Don't worry about "losing money" early in the process. After a few runs, common and uncommon items will be worth so little that selling them cheaply is basically like using bait while fishing. And if those early sales then give you something like a +20% bonus to Legendary item prices? That one buff alone will make more money than an entire mountain of garbage.

So don't get attached to your junk. Use it to lure customers in so you can upsell them... and I'm really bad with phrasing today!

You don't have to min-max. Even a tiny bit of effort yields massive results

10) What to upgrade?

Moonlighter 2 goes absolutely buck wild with permanent upgrades. There are eight shops offering everything from stat boosts to definitely-not-tax-fraud, so where do you even start?

As a rule of thumb: focus on yourself first, and the shop second. Being rich is great, but being alive is even better. Because as it turns out, dead shopkeepers tend not to be the most successful.

Early on I'd recommend upgrading your healing options, your weapons, and your inventory size. This holy trinity will turn you from a weird, broom-wielding mute into a weird, broom-wielding mute who brings home the big bucks!

And then, once you're reliably winning runs, then you can upgrade the shop and just ruin the local economy. Hooray for capitalism!

Healing upgrades aren't exciting, but they'll make sure you actually win runs

Got any questions?

And there you have it. Ten simple tips that will hopefully make your early game smoother, safer, and way more profitable. If you have any questions, about the guide or Moonlighter 2 itself, let me know in the video's comments and I'll do my best to help. And if I missed anything important, feel free to... at least a bit politely, yell at me in the comments.

[Note]: I welcome you to also check out my Moonlighter 2 review detailing what the game's truly about, what it does well, and whether it's worth playing at this point.