Getting started: your first PokéSurvivor run

A first-run route you can follow

• Choose Charmander and keep Ember active. Move in a wide loop and collect XP behind the pack, rather than reversing into it.
• Select Ember upgrades toward level 5 and take Power when offered. Take Sitrus Berry instead if you need immediate healing; the route does not require risking the run for a card.
• Once Ember is level 5 and Power has been taken this run, choose Ember → Fire Blast on the next evolution offer. Level 5 alone does not evolve it.
• Before the 3:00 boss, leave an open route beside you. Step across charge lines and out of circles. Attack levels depend on your XP and card offers, so evolution before 3:00 is a goal, not a guarantee.
• Learn Swords Dance only while keeping a damage move. After a rift win, spend one Bond to fuse it with Ember; until then, keep Ember’s slot active. Quick Claw is optional loot, not a guaranteed pickup.

Before closing your first run

WASD/arrows move; 1–4 select attacks; Q/E cycle; Esc/P pause. Choose a local or cloud account if you want collection progress to survive closing the game. Guest mode is memory-only.

Try the explained example

• Charmander card route and final build
• Load the legal two-move Bond example

Tools

Related pages

• All 29 starters
• Controls: movement, active slots and touch play
• First boss: prepare for the 3-minute fight
• Save and sync: guest, local and cloud modes