Enclave Beginner Tips - Light, Dark, Classes, and Gold

Enclave is a medieval action game developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by TopWare Interactive. This beginner guide focuses on the original campaign systems preserved in current computer releases: picking the right class, surviving missions, collecting gold, and leaving each level better prepared.

Content warning: Enclave includes fantasy combat, blood, and violence. This guide keeps all mature material non-graphic and focused on player decisions.

This is not a full walkthrough, all-gold route, boss guide, achievement guide, secret bonus-game guide, or platform controls guide. Enclave can punish careless movement and missed gold, so the guide is beginner-focused while still treating the game as harder than many modern action RPGs.

Essential Tips

1. Treat Light and Dark as Separate Campaigns

The two sides are not just a menu skin. Enclave is built around separate Light and Dark campaigns, with different playable roles and mission flow. Start by learning the Light-side fundamentals, then expect the Dark side to ask for similar habits with a different class roster and tone.

Do not rush into the second campaign assuming the same character comfort will carry you. The important skill is recognizing what a mission asks for: close fighting, ranged control, magic pressure, bombs, careful exploration, or patient trap navigation.

2. Pick the Class for the Room, Not Your Favorite Portrait

Class choice changes how safe a level feels. Heavy melee characters can take pressure and fight up close, but they are slow and weaker at range. Fast ranged characters can remove threats before they close in, but they are fragile when trapped in a brawl. Staff users are stronger at mid and long range, while bomb-focused characters bring utility with their own speed and melee tradeoffs.

If a level keeps killing you, change the role before you blame the route. A bad class matchup can make a manageable room feel unfair.

3. Buy Gear With the Mission in Mind

Equipment is part of the level plan. Before entering a mission, think about whether you need melee reliability, ranged reach, magic pressure, bombs, or safer general-purpose tools. Spending gold only because an item looks stronger can leave you poorly prepared for the actual spaces ahead.

For a first clear, favor loadouts you can use consistently. Fancy tools help only if the class can survive long enough to use them.

4. Clear Threats Before You Sweep for Treasure

Enclave rewards careful collection, but greed gets expensive. Kill nearby enemies, check sightlines, and settle the room before you start combing corners for coins and gems. Many valuables sit in side rooms, rafters, rooftops, under stairs, behind crates, near water routes, or after short detours, but the safest time to search is after the immediate fight is handled.

You want thoroughness, not panic-looting while enemies are still active.

5. Watch the Gold Counter Like Progression

Gold is not background clutter. Levels track gold and gems closely, and long-term collection can matter for unlocks and future options. Treat every pot, drop, side ledge, chest, and hidden nook as part of your mission economy.

That does not mean restarting every time you miss a coin. It means slowing down before the exit portal and asking whether the level has obvious rooms, rooftops, water pockets, or enemy drops you skipped.

6. Use Height and Distance When the Class Allows It

Ranged and magic characters become much safer when you make enemies cross space. Ledges, roofs, bridges, ramps, and windows can turn a dangerous mob into a controlled fight. If your character has bows, crossbow options, or staff attacks, use the level’s shape instead of standing in the middle of a courtyard.

Melee classes still need distance management. Let enemies come through doors, around corners, or up ramps when a room is crowded.

7. Respect Traps Before You Chase the Next Key

Enclave likes old-school hazards: swinging blades, rolling boulders, trapped stairs, dangerous water routes, locked doors, and environmental mechanisms. When a hallway looks too open or too decorated, slow down and watch the timing. A key or lever usually matters less than reaching it with enough health to survive the next room.

If a trap kills you twice, stop sprinting and study the rhythm before moving.

8. Check Levers, Wheels, Maps, and Keys Methodically

Progress often comes from interacting with the level rather than simply defeating everything. Pull levers, check doors after finding keys, notice maps, and remember locked routes you passed earlier. Some levels ask you to loop back through areas after changing the environment.

When you feel stuck, retrace from the last object you collected instead of wandering randomly. A new key, map, lever, or wheel usually points to the next sensible route.

9. Do Not Save Strong Tools Forever

Bombs, staff attacks, and specialized ranged options exist because some rooms are messy. If a dangerous enemy group is pinning you down, use the tool that solves the problem. Hoarding powerful options until the exit portal is just another way to die with resources unused.

The balance is simple: do not waste rare tools on trivial enemies, but do not refuse to spend them when they would prevent a reset.

10. Move During Boss and Champion Fights

Big enemies punish players who stand still and trade hits. Keep moving, use range when your class supports it, watch for openings, and avoid committing to long melee strings unless you know the enemy is recovering. If a boss room gives you space, use that space.

Beginner success comes from staying alive long enough to learn the pattern, not from ending the fight quickly.

11. Leave the Exit Portal for Last

The portal ends your current pass through a level. Before entering it, sweep for visible gold, enemy drops, side doors, ladders, water paths, rooftops, and obvious containers. This habit is especially useful when combat pressure has been pushing you forward.

If you are low on health and the exit is open, finishing the mission is still fine. Just make the choice deliberately.

12. Separate First Clear From Completion Cleanup

Your first job is to finish missions, unlock more classes, and understand how Enclave builds encounters. A full collection pass is a different project. Keep mental notes about suspicious ledges, hidden rooms, maps, and missed valuables, then come back with better class knowledge when you are ready to chase exact totals.

Trying to make the first run perfect can turn every level into a stop-start treasure audit.

Class and Weapon Habits

Role Style	Best Use	Watch Out For
Heavy melee	Close fights, durable pushes, simple enemy cleanup	Slow movement and weak ranged answers
Fast ranged	Picking off threats across bridges, roofs, and open rooms	Fragility when enemies reach melee range
Staff user	Mid-range and long-range pressure, awkward enemy positions	Poor close defense if cornered
Bomb user	Groups, obstacles, and rooms where explosive tools are useful	Slow movement and weaker melee comfort
Bonus class	Replay and cleanup after major unlocks	Do not plan a first clear around it

Class names differ by side, but the lesson is consistent: match the character to the level’s most dangerous problem. If the problem is distance, bring reach. If the problem is a crowd in your face, bring durability or burst control. If the problem is a route full of hazards, bring a character you can steer confidently.

Gold, Gems, and Exploration

Use a simple end-of-room routine:

Check	What to Look For
Enemy drops	Gold from defeated enemies before it is forgotten
Containers	Crates, barrels, chests, shelves, and small side rooms
Vertical paths	Ladders, roofs, rafters, bridges, ramps, and ledges
Water and corners	Hidden pockets near water, under stairs, or behind structures
Progress items	Keys, maps, levers, wheels, torches, and other route tools
Exit area	A final sweep before stepping into the portal

The point is not to memorize every collectible on the first run. The point is to develop a rhythm that catches the obvious valuables without turning every room into a full guidebook route.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Choosing a class before reading the mission space - A favorite character can be the wrong answer for a ranged, trap-heavy, or crowd-heavy level.

2. Buying gear without a plan - Gold should support the next mission’s needs, not every tempting menu option.

3. Looting while enemies are still attacking - Clear the room first so treasure hunting does not cost more health than the treasure is worth.

4. Ignoring enemy drops - Some defeated enemies carry gold, and skipping drops weakens your long-term economy.

5. Running straight through trap halls - Watch blade, boulder, and stair timing before committing.

6. Standing still with fragile ranged classes - Distance characters need space, angles, and movement to stay alive.

7. Forcing melee trades against dangerous enemies - Back off, reset spacing, or use ranged and special tools when the enemy hits harder than you can afford.

8. Forgetting locked doors after finding keys - New route items often send you back through spaces you already visited.

9. Entering the portal immediately - The exit should come after a final sweep unless survival is the priority.

10. Trying to perfect every level on the first pass - Finish the campaign, learn the classes, then return for exact gold and secret cleanup.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
Campaigns	Treat Light and Dark as separate runs with different role habits
Classes	Pick for the mission’s danger, not just comfort
Gear	Spend gold around the next level’s needs
Combat	Use distance, height, and role strengths before enemies surround you
Exploration	Search after fights, then check vertical and hidden routes
Traps	Slow down and read timing before chasing keys
Completion	Save exact gold and secret routes for a dedicated cleanup pass