Vampire Crawlers is out now on PC and consoles, and it’s a very, very good game. I think I like this newly released spin-off more than the original auto-shooter, Vampire Survivors. But Crawlers is a very different game from Survivors, and it might take a few runs to wrap your head around how cards, gems, power-ups, and combos work. So, I’m here to help give you some tips and advice to make the early hours of Vampire Crawlers a bit less challenging and a lot more fun.
Always be combo-ing
Vampire Crawlers quickly teaches you about combo-ing cards during your runs. But in case it wasn’t clear enough in the tutorial, you should always be combo-ing cards. Remember, ABC: Always Be Combo-ing!
To combo cards in Vampire Crawlers, you play them in the order of their mana cost. So if you play a 0-cost card, then you need to play a 1-cost next, and then a 2-cost next, etc. Doing so will build your combo meter and greatly improve the next card you play. This becomes very useful and powerful against big waves of enemies and bosses, as you can get more armor, do more damage, or gain more mana than normal, and with fewer cards.
Use wild cards to keep combos going
Wild cards are one-use cards you use during runs. These cards have various effects, but have a bookmark symbol on them instead of a mana cost number. They can be helpful alone, but are really useful to help fill a gap in a combo, as they ignore the number rule and increase a combo by one regardless of what comes before or after. So if you have a 1-cost mana card and a 3-cost mana card, you can use the wild card to fill that gap and build a bigger, more powerful combo. So don’t play them right away; instead, use them tactically.
Smash into everything
Dotted around every map and level in Vampire Crawlers are different objects, like chests and candles. Crash into all of these whenever you see them. These items, which are marked on the mini-map as dots (at least after you get a certain relic very early on in the game), will offer you extra gold, new cards, and much more. You can even find chicken, which can be consumed by running into the cooked poultry again. However, before you chomp down on that meat…
But don’t always eat that chicken
Chicken will replenish some of your health. This is handy. But you don’t have to eat chicken the moment you find some. Instead, unless you’re very close to death, I recommend moving forward, killing more enemies, and exploring. There are other ways, often involving using cards, to gain more health, and armor, which you also earn from cards, can protect you and your precious HP. I would often wait until I was nearly dead or after I had killed the level’s boss before chomping down on any chicken remaining in the area, letting me take full advantage of its healing effect.
Evolve cards whenever you can
Sometimes you’ll be given an option to offer up two cards to evolve them into one card. Do this. Nearly every evolved card I got was a powerhouse that could help me clear enemies and stay alive. They cost more mana, so make sure you have enough to actually play these cards, but if you do, you’ll be wrecking skeletons and bats more effectively than ever.
Upgrade might and greed ASAP
Like Vampire Survivors, this new spin-off lets you permanently upgrade your stats using gold coins between runs. I highly recommend upgrading the greed stat right away. This will help you earn more gold, which will let you upgrade more stats sooner. Useful! Might is also a good one to upgrade, as it will let you do more damage, which can help a lot against tougher bosses and big waves of enemies.
Add the zero-cost gem to cards that give you more mana
Some cards have empty slots where you can add gems as you collect them during runs. These can buff cards in some useful ways. And if you end up with some Tome cards, which give you bonus mana, add the zero-cost gem to them whenever you get a chance, as that means you literally get free mana for playing a zero-cost card. I’ve reached over 15 mana in a battle using this strategy. Combine with a card that gives you a bigger hand, and you can become a nuclear bomb of magic spells.
Cash out if a chest has nothing you want or need
As you explore dungeons in Vampire Crawlers, you’ll find chests and other items that award possible boosts, gems, or new cards. The thing is, you don’t have to take most of these most of the time. If none appeal to you or seem worth grabbing, you can cash out and take gold instead. And sometimes this is the smarter play, especially if you’re already dominating or are near the end of the dungeon.
Replay earlier runs to grind for gold
If you haven’t realized it yet, gold is very important. It lets you unlock new crawlers and upgrade stats. So try to make a habit of going back through older levels you’ve cleared already to earn some quick gold.
Activate the Sharp Mind bonus in the Arcana tent
Once you unlock the Arcana tent in town, you’ll have access to new super-powerful modifiers that can greatly alter runs. One of these is the Sharp Mind bonus. This lets you keep up to five mana points between turns. This is a huge, huge advantage, and combined with some extra mana boosts and card draws, can quickly lead to some wild plays.
Use Arca Ladonna early on
Arca is my favorite early game crawler. He has fire wands, which are nasty when combo-ed, and his crawler card grants three bonus mana when played. He’s very useful if you like to build big combo decks and need some extra mana to pull that off.
