Duskfade Beginner Guide: Survive Your First Tick Town Hours

Controls and Camera

Lock-on is not optional in crowded Tick Town fights. Bind it somewhere you can hold while still jumping. If the camera fights you in neon interiors, reset it before a boss rather than mid-combo.

Keyboard and mouse work, but the game is built around a controller: light attack, heavy attack, dodge (B) and the health-restore input after a perfect dodge (RB on Xbox layout).

Movement You Need in the First Hour

You will have jump, double jump, dash, air dash, ledge grab and a first taste of the grappling hook before the Clock Tower climb gets serious. Chain them in that order: jump, dash, grapple, air dash, glide if you have it.

Wall jumps and rolls are for later platforming challenges. Do not stand still on giant gears — they are traversal, not scenery.

Combat Basics

Minutero is a clock-hand blade. Light attacks build the string; heavy attacks close it. Special attacks can be swapped on the fly, so pick one that covers a gap (range or anti-air) instead of swapping every encounter.

Perfect dodge is the difference between a scramble and a stable health bar. Dodge through the telegraph, then tap the restore input if the game grants the window.

First Upgrade Gears

Upgrade Gears are worth more than Coins or Echoes. Spend the first ones across the three upgrade trees so both your health bar and Temporal Energy bar grow. Crystals feed the same trees — do not hoard them for a “better” moment that never comes.

Tick Town Checklist

1. Learn lock-on and perfect dodge on the first enemy pack.
2. Break the Temporal Anchor when you see it — it is an achievement.
3. Buy Traveler odds and ends only after the first Upgrade Gears are spent.
4. Leave Music Boxes and kittens if the route is awkward; mark them for cleanup.