How to Win More Runs in Shape of Dreams

Failure is at the core of every roguelike, and in Shape of Dreams, players are expected to do a lot of failing. The game is quite difficult, especially for those who are new to the genre, and even seasoned roguelike veterans are expected to lose a lot when starting out.

There’s a lot to learn in Shape of Dreams, and if you want to learn a little faster, we rounded up a handful of tips that will help you win more runs down the road.

Master Your Traveler

While you can definitely give every character in Shape of Dreams a go at first, we strongly recommend picking one and sticking with them for a time. The game’s systems are quite deep, and you won’t be able to make the most out of your character with just surface level information.

You’ll need to truly get to know your favorite character if you want to win more games, from the best builds, skill synergies, and even the tiniest of details in their kit.

Clear Every Room in the First Biome

When starting a new run, your first priority is to get as many upgrades and as much money/Dream Dust as possible. Forget about the Hunters and the boss for now — enter every room, and grab all the stuff you can.

Enemies become much harder once you beat the first boss, which means this strategy is best done in the first region. Use this opportunity to buy items from stores so you can get good skills and passives.

Run With Purpose

What is the point of your run? Is it to beat the game? Unlock new characters? Farm Stardust? In any case, you’ll want to set a clear goal before you start a new run.

If you’re just starting out, then it may be best to dedicate a few runs to just farming Stardust, the resource used to buy and upgrade passives outside of runs. You can do this by searching for the lizard merchant on the map and buying an item called the Star Seeker’s Journal. This will lead you to a room in the current biome that’s full of collectible Stardust. This tactic is commonly done in other roguelikes too.

Learn the Game with Vesper

We strongly recommend learning the game with Vesper, the heavily-armored paladin-type character. He is the most forgiving character in the game thanks to his natural tankiness and innate healing abilities, and his weaknesses (low mobility and slow speed) will help new players get used to the pacing in Shape of Dreams.

Vesper’s healing effect from his passive also makes him the prime candidate for getting one of the locked characters.

Feel free to replace Vesper’s Ultimate with something else. A mobility or defensive skill with a low cooldown tends to have a much higher value compared to Vesper’s ult.

Reset Your Basic Attacks

You can greatly increase your DPS by weaving abilities in between your basic attacks. In MOBA games, this technique is called Auto Attack Resetting, and it is used to bypass the recovery animation of basic attacks by canceling it with an ability (usually one that is also an attack).

This trick is especially useful on Vesper because of his slow attack speed. It works well with Lacerta too since he relies a lot on his basic attacks to deal damage.

Sell or Dismantle Unwanted Stuff

A good economy can spell the difference between a successful run and one that ends in failure. Gold and Dream Dust are your keys to becoming stronger, and you’ll need a lot of it if you want to make the perfect build.

If you end up getting a skill or passive gem that you don’t want to use, always dismantle or sell them. The latter isn’t always an option since you have only a limited number of skill slots, though.

Concentrate Your Upgrades

It’s almost always better to focus on upgrading just one skill instead of upgrading multiple ones. Dream Dust is a precious resource, and getting your signature skills to level 9 is usually better than spreading all that Dream Dust around. Of course, this isn’t set in stone, and if you’re lucky enough to get multiple top-tier skills for your character, then you may want to level them up more evenly.

Fight the Hunters

If you end up getting a skill that scales with kills (such as Butcher), then you may actually want to farm Hunters instead of avoiding them. They tend to spawn in large numbers, which means you’ll be able to farm tons of stacks for your stackable skills.

Still, don’t overdo this. Hunters will get more difficult to fight as the game goes on, and if you bite off more than you can chew, you’ll find yourself back in the main menu.

Balance Your Skills

While it may be tempting to have multiple DPS memories in your bar, you’ll end up running into trouble later down the line when you start suffering from attrition. Limit your damaging abilities and try to have at least one defensive skill during your runs. Some abilities can damage enemies and heal you at the same time, so keep an eye out for those.

Upgrade Your Economy First

When it comes to choosing which Constellation passives to buy/upgrade first, choose the ones that improve your in-run economy — this is another common tactic that players use in roguelike and roguelite games. Passives that grant you increased Gold and Dream Dust gains are stronger than they seem, and if you can get ones that give you the ability to reroll rewards, prioritize getting and using those over everything else.

Having bonus damage or new skill effects is nice and all, but your true strength will come from the skills and items you find during a run. By building a strong economy, you’ll be able to eliminate much of the RNG involved in item hunting, which means you’ll be able to get those perfect builds more often.

Take Things Slow

To win in Shape of Dreams, you’ll need to rely on both strategy and skill. Don’t just run into a group of enemeis and expect to take no damage — if you plan your engagements, you’ll be more than capable of winning fights without taking a single hit.

Also, some characters rely heavily on specific tactics and techniques. Shell, for example, excels at hit-and-run tactics because of his slow attack speed. Vesper, on the other hand, can afford to be reckless because of his passive healing and high defensive stats. Learn the strengths of your character, and you will be rewarded.