Getting Started with Skills & Raids

Skills & Raids launches on Steam on July 27, 2026 as a party-based extraction RPG built around real-time, ability-driven combat. You lead a fixed trio—Shelldon, Clawrk, and Owlivia—into hostile zones, fight through encounters, loot resources, and extract before you lose everything. This guide covers what to do from your first launch through your first successful extraction and craft.

What Skills & Raids Is

At its core, Skills & Raids blends extraction risk with RPG progression. Every run sends your party into a handcrafted dark fantasy world where a creature erases memory, matter, and hope. You enter with your current gear and skills, defeat enemies for materials, complete quests, and decide when to leave with your haul. Die without extracting and most loot is gone—except what you stored in your safe pocket. That loop—push deeper, manage cooldowns, extract at the right moment—is the heart of the game.

Unlike pure auto-battlers, you actively manage skill rotations, positioning, and pause timing. Unlike pure action games, progression comes from crafted gear, combined skills, and quest unlocks between runs.

Skills & Raids Gameplay Walkthrough

First Steps on Launch Day

When you boot the game for the first time, follow this sequence:

1. Complete the tutorial. It teaches movement, targeting, skill assignment, pause, and extraction points without punishing mistakes.
2. Assign two abilities per character. Each hero equips two active skills from their pool. Pick one defensive or utility option and one damage or heal option per role until you understand synergies.
3. Review controls. WASD moves the selected character; mouse selects targets; number keys fire skills. Pause is available at any time—use it liberally in early fights.
4. Claim any launch rewards. Check the Codes page for promotional codes that may grant starter resources or cosmetics at release.
5. Bookmark your extraction route. Before pushing deep, note where extraction nodes and healing stations appear on the map.

Do not skip the tutorial to rush loot. Early wipes teach you less than the guided introduction.

Character Roles: Shelldon, Clawrk, and Owlivia

Your party is fixed, but how you build and command each member defines your runs.

Shelldon (Tank)

Shelldon is the turtle frontliner. He absorbs damage, controls aggro, and buys time for Clawrk and Owlivia. Prioritize taunt and defensive cooldowns when enemies focus your back line. In extraction runs, a living Shelldon usually means a living inventory—do not let him overextend without Owlivia in range.

Clawrk (DPS)

Clawrk is the tiger striker. He deals burst and sustained melee damage, especially from flanking positions. Apply debuffs before big cooldowns and avoid standing in telegraphed enemy AoE. Clawrk punishes greedy play less than Shelldon, but a dead DPS slows every kill and delays extraction.

Owlivia (Healer)

Owlivia keeps the party alive with direct heals, regeneration, and cleanse utilities. She is your safety net when extraction timers pressure you to take one more fight. Keep her at range with line of sight to both warriors. Never assume you can finish a zone without monitoring her mana and cooldowns.

For deeper ability breakdowns and stat priorities, read the Character Guide.

Combat Basics: Real-Time and Pause

Combat runs in real time, but Skills & Raids gives you a full pause layer for planning. Treat pause as a core mechanic, not a crutch.

Real-time flow: Enemies act on patterns and timers. Status effects tick continuously. Cooldowns recover whether or not you are issuing commands. You must react to telegraphs, reposition when floors hazard, and rotate heals before spikes—not after.

Pause planning: Open pause to read skill tooltips, inspect enemy buffs, and queue your next three actions across all heroes. New players should pause every time a new enemy type appears or when two cooldowns align.

Positioning: Shelldon faces enemies; Clawrk attacks from the side or rear; Owlivia stays behind your front line. Poor positioning wastes heals and turns winnable fights into wipes.

Status effects: Buffs, debuffs, and DoTs decide many encounters. Cleanse when Owlivia has charges available; do not ignore slow or armor-shred effects on Shelldon.

For rotations, enemy tells, and advanced timing, continue with the Combat Guide.

Extraction Strategy

Extraction is where Skills & Raids separates cautious veterans from frustrated beginners.

Risk versus reward: The longer you stay, the better the drops and quest progress—but death forfeits unprotected loot. Set a personal rule early: extract when your party drops below half health, when bags are 70% full, or after completing your primary quest.

Safe pocket: Move high-rarity materials and irreplaceable quest items into your safe pocket before taking optional fights. Safe pocket gear survives death.

Mid-run sendbacks: When your inventory fills, use map sendback points to ship loot home instead of gambling on one more room.

Know your exit: Before engaging an elite, identify the nearest extraction path. If the path is unclear, see the dedicated Extraction guide for route planning and timing.

Extracting successfully once teaches more than three failed deep pushes.

Early Objectives

Focus on these milestones during your first sessions:

• Finish the tutorial and first combat zone without abandoning a run prematurely.
• Complete the first three main quests to unlock basic crafting stations.
• Gather a full set of Common gear for Shelldon, then Clawrk, then Owlivia.
• Win one extraction with at least one Uncommon item secured in your safe pocket.
• Experiment with two different skill pairs per character to learn cooldown rhythms.
• Defeat one elite encounter using pause to pre-plan defensive cooldowns.

Quest types vary—kill targets, collect resources, use specific abilities—but all feed the same loop: leave alive, craft, return stronger.

Crafting Your First Gear

After your first successful extraction, spend materials at the crafting station instead of hoarding indefinitely.

1. Collect baseline resources. Common hides, ore, and essence drop from standard enemies. Pick them up even when rushing to an exit.
2. Craft Shelldon’s weapon and chest piece first. Extra survivability prevents cascading party wipes.
3. Craft Clawrk’s weapon second. Faster kills mean less damage taken and shorter runs.
4. Add one utility craft for Owlivia—cooldown reduction or healing power—once your tank and DPS have Common sets.
5. Check recipes before spending rare mats. Some early recipes consume items needed for quests.

Full recipe lists, rarity tiers, and upgrade paths live on the Crafting page.

Skills and Builds Going Forward

Each hero equips two active abilities, but enemies can drop skills you integrate into future builds. Early on, prioritize reliability over flashy combos. When you are ready to optimize synergies across all three heroes, study the Skills overview and sample party setups on Builds.

Next Steps

You now have a framework for launch day: tutorial, role basics, pause-aware combat, extraction discipline, and first crafts. From here:

• Combat Guide — rotations, positioning, and elite fights
• Character Guide — Shelldon, Clawrk, and Owlivia in depth
• Extraction — routes, sendbacks, and safe pocket management
• Crafting — gear tiers and material farming
• Skills — ability combinations and enemy skill drops
• Builds — party compositions for early and mid game
• Codes — active promo codes at launch

Skills & Raids rewards patience and preparation. Extract early, craft steadily, and push deeper only when your party—not just your DPS—can handle the next zone.