How to play › ADVENTURE
OSKERVALE
The valley of Oskervale is lit by two great Beacons, one kept by Dawn and one by Dusk, and there is only oil enough for one of them. Oskervale is a three-a-side lane battle arena: each side sends three champions and endless ranks of little wicklings down two roads.
PLAY NOW ▶The goal
Put out the enemy Dusk Beacon before yours gutters. Both Lanterns on one road must fall before the Beacon can be hurt.
How a match plays
Pick one of eight champions and walk your lane. Hold attack to fight; aiming is automatic, and white brackets mark what you will hit. The finishing hit on a wickling (a gold tick shows when one hit will do it) pays gold. Spend gold on twenty items at the Wellspring, your base. Each champion has four powers, and as you level up you learn and rank them.
Lanterns shoot wicklings first, so fight beside your wave and stay behind it. Between the roads sleeps Old Osk, the lantern-backed tortoise: wake him in the Hollow and beat him, and he walks a while with you. At 10:00 the Lanterns grow brittle, and at 14:00 only the Beacons remain. If your champion falls, you come back after a short wait that grows with your level. Hold Space and stand still to walk Homeward to the Wellspring.
Controls
| Keyboard | Pad | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Arrows | Stick / d-pad | Move |
| Z (hold) | A (hold) | Attack; the finishing hit on a wickling pays gold |
| X / C / Q / E | B / C / L / R | Powers (each key is printed on the power bar) |
| Space (tap) | START (tap) | Shop at the Wellspring or while dead; scoreboard elsewhere |
| Space (hold) | START (hold) | Homeward: then stand still for 4 seconds |
| Space + Z | START + A | Use your trinket |
CONTROLS on the title menu lists every key, including how to rank up powers when AUTO RANK is off.
On a phone or tablet, a see-through joystick and A, B, C, L, R and SPACE buttons appear over the game and do the same as the keys above.
Gamepad: the stick or d-pad moves and the buttons follow the Pad column (Start is START). Esc, P or Back pauses, and the HOW TO PLAY button over the game shows the basics any time.
Modes
- HOW TO PLAY: the practice road, a guided first match.
- LADDER MATCH: nine rungs, from TALLOW to THE LAMPLESS NIGHT. Ladder wins unlock four more champions to join the starting four (BRANNOCH, SELVENNE, JORRA and MOTHER UNDREL).
- QUICK MATCH, DRAFT MATCH and SKIRMISH (a six-minute match).
- NIGHT GAUNTLET: three short matches in a row against crueller Dusk trios, with a boon to keep between each. One loss ends it.
- DAILY MATCH: see below. It, SKIRMISH and the NIGHT GAUNTLET open after the practice road.
Every champion also earns its own mastery as you play it.
Mastery stars
Each star pays tickets the first time you earn it.
- Bronze: First Morning: win any match.
- Silver: No Soft Light: win a match on HARD.
- Gold: The Lampless Night Ends: beat the last rung of the ladder.
Daily challenge
Yes. The DAILY MATCH is the same for everyone that day and plays on NORMAL.
Beginner tips
- Play the practice road first. It teaches last-hitting and Lanterns in a few minutes.
- Focus on last hits. Only the finishing blow on a wickling pays gold, so wait for the gold tick.
- Stay behind your wickling wave near an enemy Lantern. It shoots wicklings first, and a message warns you when it targets you.
- Go home to shop. Gold does nothing in your pocket: tap Space at the Wellspring to buy items.
- Wake Old Osk when you can afford the fight. He walks with whoever wakes him and wins.