Against the Storm is a roguelike city-builder where you establish settlements in a perpetually stormy fantasy world on behalf of the Scorched Queen. Each run drops you into a new procedurally generated map with different biomes, species compositions, and available buildings. You must balance the Queen's Impatience (a loss timer) against Reputation (a win condition) while managing three to four different species with conflicting needs. Between runs, the meta-progression Citadel grows with permanent upgrades. It's the game that answered the question: what if city-builders had permadeath?
Starting Against the Storm can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Against the Storm is a strategy game built around roguelike city building and reputation system. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Humans | Excellent for beginners | Set up cooking infrastructure early, build a Temple when available, reliable workers for any production chain. |
| Beavers | Good (but demanding) | Assign Beavers to production buildings for efficiency bonuses, satisfy with crafted Biscuits and engineering. |
| Lizards | Excellent for beginners | Keep Lizards near the Hearth for warmth bonus, feed them Skewers from hunted/gathered meat. |
| Harpies | Situational | Send Harpies to explore distant Glades, produce Crystallized Dew, keep their housing area open. |
| Foxes | Excellent for beginners | Assign Foxes to trade buildings, produce Pickled Goods, leverage trade for Reputation. |
Our recommendation: Start with Beavers. Beavers have the best production bonuses — they work faster in Workshops, Lumber Mills, and engineering buildings. Their desire for Biscuits and Engineering services makes them the strongest production species. Beaver housing is larger but provides comfort bonuses.
Avoid Foxes as your first pick. The DLC species, Foxes are traders and diplomats.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn roguelike city building
Each settlement is a self-contained run lasting 30-90 minutes. You start with a Hearth, a few villagers, and limited blueprints. The randomly dealt building blueprints mean no two runs play the same — you might get a Brewery and Cookhouse one run, or a Smelter and Carpenter the next. Adapting your strategy to available buildings is the core skill.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how roguelike city building works before worrying about anything else.
Step 2: Head to Royal Woodlands
The starter biome with balanced resources, moderate weather, and standard Glade difficulty. Dense forest provides abundant wood, and wildlife is manageable. The Royal Woodlands teach core mechanics without extreme challenges. Most new player runs should start here.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Cookhouse — it's the most accessible early upgrade. One of the most versatile food buildings, the Cookhouse produces multiple recipe types including Skewers, Biscuits, and Porridge depending on available ingredients. Having a Cookhouse early solves food needs for multiple species simultaneously. It's often the highest-priority blueprint pick.
Step 4: Understand reputation system
You win by earning Reputation points (filling the Reputation bar before Impatience fills). Reputation comes from completing Orders (specific tasks like producing 20 Planks), fulfilling species needs (housing, food, services), and trading. Impatience rises with time and negative events. The tension between these two bars creates urgency.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early — it pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Coral Forest
A wetter biome with more rain (better Rain Collector output) but also more flooding risk. Coral formations provide unique trade goods. The damp environment means crops grow faster but wood rots if stored improperly. Moderate difficulty with unique resource opportunities.
Essential Mechanics Explained
roguelike city building
Each settlement is a self-contained run lasting 30-90 minutes. You start with a Hearth, a few villagers, and limited blueprints. The randomly dealt building blueprints mean no two runs play the same — you might get a Brewery and Cookhouse one run, or a Smelter and Carpenter the next. Adapting your strategy to available buildings is the core skill.
reputation system
You win by earning Reputation points (filling the Reputation bar before Impatience fills). Reputation comes from completing Orders (specific tasks like producing 20 Planks), fulfilling species needs (housing, food, services), and trading. Impatience rises with time and negative events. The tension between these two bars creates urgency.
blueprint drafting
After discovering Glades (forest clearings), you choose from randomized building blueprints. Draft picks determine your production capabilities — if you're offered a Kiln, Ranch, or Brewery, your choice shapes your economy. Higher-difficulty runs reduce blueprint options, forcing more creative solutions with suboptimal buildings.
storm cycle
The Blightstorm periodically intensifies, causing villagers to lose Resolve (happiness). Low Resolve causes villagers to leave. The storm intensity increases over the course of a run, creating a time pressure to complete objectives before conditions become unbearable. Hearth upgrades and shelter buildings mitigate storm effects.
species management
Four species (Humans, Beavers, Lizards, Harpies, and Foxes in DLC) have different housing preferences, food desires, and service needs. Humans want pies and religion, Beavers want biscuits and engineering, Lizards want jerky and warmth, Harpies want crystalized dew and open spaces. Satisfying species needs provides Reputation bonuses.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Ignoring Impatience until it's too late — the red Impatience bar fills with time and negative events
Once it fills, you lose the run. Always monitor Impatience and prioritize Reputation-earning actions.
2. Opening too many Glades at once — each opened Glade can spawn events that consume resources or time
Open Glades one at a time and resolve their events before exploring further.
3. Neglecting species-specific needs — unhappy species lose Resolve and leave
Even if you don't like managing multiple species, providing basic food and housing for each prevents population collapse.
4. Hoarding resources instead of trading — stockpiles of 100+ Planks or Fabric sitting in storage earn nothing
Trade excess resources for Reputation and money at the Trading Post.
5. Choosing blueprint buildings you don't have ingredients for — a Bakery is useless without flour, which requires wheat, which requires a Farm
Check production chains before drafting blueprints.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand roguelike city building and reputation system
- Choose Beavers as starting build
- Clear Royal Woodlands main content
- Acquire Cookhouse or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Coral Forest
- Pick blueprints that match your species composition — if you have Lizards, prioritize buildings that produce Skewers or provide warmth. Mismatched blueprints waste production capacity.
- Complete easy Orders first for quick Reputation — Orders like 'Produce 10 Planks' or 'Have 20 Villagers' give Reputation that counters rising Impatience. Ignore expensive Orders until you have infrastructure.
Tips for New Players
- Pick blueprints that match your species composition — if you have Lizards, prioritize buildings that produce Skewers or provide warmth. Mismatched blueprints waste production capacity.
- Complete easy Orders first for quick Reputation — Orders like 'Produce 10 Planks' or 'Have 20 Villagers' give Reputation that counters rising Impatience. Ignore expensive Orders until you have infrastructure.
- Impatience rises with time, so don't dawdle — every minute spent optimizing your base is a minute closer to losing. Get production running, complete Orders, and move on. Perfect is the enemy of good in this game.
- Trade excess goods at the Trading Post for both money and Reputation. Selling 40+ of a resource you don't need converts dead stockpiles into win-condition progress.
- Glade events can be dangerous but give powerful rewards. Read the event description carefully — some require specific resources to resolve, while others spawn enemies. Prepare before interacting.
- The Hearth is your colony's heart — upgrading it increases warmth range, Resolve bonuses, and villager capacity. Prioritize Hearth upgrades over building new production buildings.
- Rainwater is free. Build Rain Collectors near every production building that uses water (Cookhouse, Brewery, Farm). This eliminates the need for well-digging infrastructure.
- Species Resolve determines if villagers stay or leave. Keep all species above the leaving threshold by providing at least one desired food and one service. Even one happy species earning Reputation carries a run.
- Meta-progression in the Citadel carries between runs — spend Citadel resources on permanent upgrades that help all future settlements. Prioritize extra blueprint choices and starting resources.
- On higher difficulties, focus on one or two production chains rather than trying to build everything. A settlement with excellent Plank and Ale production wins faster than one trying to produce every good.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Against the Storm a roguelike or a city builder?
Both. Each settlement is a roguelike run (30-90 minutes) with random maps, species, and building choices. Between runs, you upgrade a persistent Citadel with meta-currency. If you lose a run, you keep Citadel progress. It combines the strategic depth of city-builders with roguelike replayability.
How long is a typical run in Against the Storm?
A successful run takes 30-60 minutes on normal difficulty, or up to 90 minutes on higher difficulties. Failed runs end sooner when Impatience fills the bar. The short run length makes it easy to play 'one more settlement' — the classic roguelike hook.
Which species is the best in Against the Storm?
Beavers are generally considered the strongest due to their production speed bonuses in Workshops and engineering buildings. However, the best species depends on your available blueprints and biome — Lizards are great in cold biomes, Humans are versatile, and Foxes excel in trade-heavy runs.
How does the Citadel meta-progression work?
After each run (win or lose), you earn Citadel Resources based on difficulty and performance. Spend these at the Citadel to unlock permanent upgrades: more blueprint choices per draft, better starting resources, new building options, and difficulty modifiers. The Citadel grows between runs, making future settlements stronger.
Can you lose in Against the Storm?
Yes. If the Queen's Impatience bar fills before your Reputation bar, the settlement is abandoned and you return to the Citadel. You keep meta-currency earned during the run but lose the settlement. Higher difficulty increases Impatience gain speed and reduces Reputation opportunities.
What to Read Next
- Against the Storm Builds — Optimize your build once you've learned the basics
- Against the Storm Walkthrough — Full progression path
- Against the Storm Tips — Advanced strategies for when you're ready
