Even though Halls of Torment is a classic roguelike that reminds us a bit of Vampire Survivors, there are things that are quite unique to this game and can make beginners feel confused. Basic stats, abilities, and characters are well explained but some perks still remain unclear until you spend a couple of dozen hours fighting the evil hordes.
However, the game is one of the most fun roguelikes out there as we noted in our article 5 Roguelike Games Like Brotato. The constant exploring that is ahead of you keeps you on your toes and pushes you to grind even more and discover new secrets the game is trying to keep from you. Head into our Halls of Torment beginner’s guide to discover what you must know before you embark on a tormented journey.
Halls of Torment Characters
Halls of Torment has 11 characters (classes) in total and will start you off with a single character, Swordsman. You will unlock new characters as you play along and complete challenges. We will list all the achievements you need to complete to unlock each character below, but you should know that getting them isn’t too hard. Just by playing the game bit by bit, entering new maps, and using new abilities, you will unlock all of them soon.
- Swordsman – unlocked by default upon starting the game.
- Archer – unlocked when you survive Haunted Caverns for 4 minutes (26 left on the clock).
- Exterminator – unlocked when you kill 1000 enemies in a single run in Ember Grounds.
- Cleric – unlocked by defeating the elite enemy called Lich in the Haunted Caverns.
- Warlock – unlocked when you kill the elite enemy Wyrm Queen in the Ember Grounds.
- Sorceress – unlocked when you kill 10.000 enemies in a single run in Forgotten Viaduct.
- Shield Maiden – unlocked when you kill Wraith Horseman in the Forgotten Viaduct.
- Beast Huntress – unlocked when you defeat Basilisk in the Frozen Depths.
- Norseman – unlocked when you kill Elder Giant in the Frozen Depths.
- Landsknecht – unlocked when you survive 18 minutes in the Chambers of Dissoancen (12 minutes left on the clock).
- Sage – unlocked when you survive the complete run in Chambers of Dissonance in Agony Mode (you don’t have to kill the Lord).
As you might expect, some characters are easier to play than others so don’t get too frustrated if the game seems difficult sometimes. There are plenty of elements to master and understand and it’s best that in the beginning, you play characters that you are most comfortable with.
Key Unlockables in Halls of Torment
There are a few vendors and upgrade shops on your home screen that will be key to the success of your runs so we wanted to give you a detailed overview of them before you dive in. When you first enter the game you won’t see any of them because they need to be unlocked by playing different maps and completing certain quests (achievements). Here is the full list of unlockable content on the home screen:
- Shrine of Blessings – unlocked after completing your first run, this shrine will allow you to purchase permanent buffs for your heroes with gold.
- Quests – a Minesweeper-like board that shows 31 pages of quests/achievements in the game. You can only see locked achievements that are adjacent to the unlocked ones.
- Register of Halls – as the name says this is where you go to see all the halls available to you and hop into the one you prefer.
- Shrine of Torment – unlocked when you beat the first boss in the Chamber of Dissonance. Consider this a more powerful Register of Halls as Shrine of Torment allows you to play every hall in Agony Mode. This mode scales monster strength (HP, Damage, number of them) with XP drops based on your performance.
- Item Stash – This is where all of your available equipment will be.
- Wellkeeper – after rescuing him from Ember Grounds, he will unlock a well for you in each level. You can use this well to send one equipment item up to him that you can later purchase from him with gold.
- Cupbearer – you will unlock him after rescuing him from the Forgotten Viaduct. He is the one who can make all sorts of powerful potions for you, but to get them you will need to get bottles and ingredients from different halls.
- Scriptor – to get Scriptor you need to rescue him from the Frozen Depths. He will be trapped in ice and you will need to use Fire damage to save him. After that, he will be available in your home screen camp where you can interact with him to see all the equipment that you have so far found/unlocked. Also, the Torment Shards that you get by killing Lords at the end of each run can be used at Scriptor to boost your character’s stats before a new run.
These unlockables are key to understanding the game and no Halls of Torment beginner’s guide could do without them. Make sure to buy everything you need before each run and jump into it with the strongest version of your hero!
Beginner Tips and Tricks for Halls of Torment
When you start playing Halls of Torment you will notice that it’s hard to fight away the incoming hordes, even with power-ups that you are taking when you level up. But, don’t worry too much about that because it’s meant to be that way. What we mean by this is that the game will slowly unlock more and more abilities, equipment, gold, potions, and boosts as you beat different maps and complete achievements.
Stats
Once you jump into a fight you will notice that with each level up you get a choice between 4 boosts. You will choose based on your character and personal preference but one piece of advice that we can give you is that’s always better to pick up general power-ups that give a boost to all damage instances, instead of a single one. For example, if you get offered a +15% Main Weapon damage and a +10% Damage, it’s better to go for the latter because it will buff all your damage sources by 10% – main weapon, secondary weapon (if you have it), abilities, etc.
Movement speed is really important in this game so whichever character you might be playing make sure to have a decent amount of it. You can assess if you have enough movement speed by simply looking at how fast you are moving compared to your enemies. If hordes of enemies (or even worse, bosses) are getting close or catching up with you it means that you need a speed buff ASAP. Similar is true for Health Regen.
The game will give you food drops for healing, but these regenerate a small portion of your HP. Unless you find an item like a Holy Relic, healing will be tough, so make sure you have a decent amount of it.
Even though we are talking about a pretty straightforward game our Halls of Torment Beginner’s Guide wouldn’t be complete without a breakdown of one of their unique stats – Block Strength. Not to be confused with the Defense stat which reduces the damage taken, Block Strength is a stat that determines how much damage can your character block. So if you have boosted this stat to 60, it means that your character will block all incoming damage that is 15 or lower, have 50% of blocking 60+ damage, and have 20% of blocking 120+ damage.
Multistrike and Force are also among the stats that aren’t obvious to a beginner. Multistrike will increase the chance for more shots (if you’re playing a ranged unit) or a number of hits (if you’re playing a melee unit). Force is that one stat that improves all those things that other stats don’t touch. So, improving Force will improve your pierce, ability duration, knockback, etc. Pay special attention to ability notes as the damage of some abilities will scale with Force.
Abilities
You can get abilities for your hero by picking up Scrolls of Mastery that can be found lying around in each hall or can be picked up from killed elite units. 18 abilities can be unlocked in total currently in the game and you are allowed to have up to 6 at the same time. Abilities are passive damage outputs that are there to help you thin out and clear the horde, so some of them can vary from Meteor Storms to Summons coming in to help you fight.
Since you will be getting plenty of Scrolls of Mastery, you should know that they not only give you a new ability but also allow you to upgrade existing ones. Abilities scale with some of your character’s stats (every ability has a note in its description) so that can help you in choosing the best one for creating damage synergies.
Equipment
Dealing with equipment/items is where this game reminds us of classic RPGs like Diablo. You will have 8 slots in which you can equip gear that will boost your character and give them a headstart before a new run. Some items will be retrieved when you complete quests but most of them will need to be sent up using the well and bought from the Wellkeeper (as we explained above.
There are the same items of different rarity and unique twists you will find all around your adventures. You must add the right gear to your hero before you jump into a run. For example, ranged glass canon-type characters will depend more on damage output and large movement speed to survive, so you should equip them with that. On the other hand, more tanky heroes will benefit from you boosting their HP, Defense, and Block Strength so focus on giving them equipment with those bonuses. An extra perk to consider is to boost the pickup range for your tankier characters since you won’t be able to run around as easily and pick up the XP crystals.
Gameplay
Beginners to Halls of Torment would be happy to hear that the game has plenty of secrets that are discovered as you play. Now, we won’t what lies ahead for you but will emphasize some key things you should be aware of.
You will notice that when you enter a hall various icons will pop up showing you where some key items are found and how far they are from you. However, not everything will be shown there, and you will need to explore additionally to find more interesting secrets. Every hall in the game has a secret that will give you an advantage in key moments and will be hinted to you as you play the fight away the horde. Just make sure to pay close attention to everything around you in the halls, not just the enemies.
Once you’ve unlocked and cleared all the halls you will be looking for a bigger challenge and that’s where the Shrine of Torment comes in. This shrine will let you jump into Agony mode which makes monsters even stronger and gives you new bonuses for a successful run keeping the game always fun and mysterious.
Conclusion
A Halls of Torment beginner’s guide wouldn’t be complete without a reminder that patience and exploration are key to mastering the game. While the learning curve can be steep at times, the rewards are well worth it.
As you unlock new characters, abilities, and equipment, your understanding of the game will deepen, making it even more enjoyable. The game’s variety ensures that each run feels fresh and exciting, with new challenges and secrets waiting to be discovered. You will notice that the way you play will change as you progress. When you advance to higher Agony Mode levels you won’t be able to clear enemies and elites as fast. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t beat the run, only that you need to approach it differently and strategize more.
Keep experimenting with different strategies and setups, and don’t be afraid to fail – every defeat brings you closer to understanding the mechanics and improving your approach. With time, you’ll find yourself more capable of handling the hordes, and you’ll truly appreciate the depth and complexity that Halls of Torment has to offer.
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