Going Under Beginner Tips

Going Under looks playful, but its dungeons ask you to make quick decisions with whatever junk is within reach. A good run is less about finding one perfect weapon and more about staying flexible: use the room, protect your health, spend your active tools at the right time, and turn failed runs into stronger starting options.

Difficulty note: this is a beginner guide for a fairly challenging action roguelite, so expect early losses while you learn weapon durability, room control, and boss timing.

Essential Tips

1. Treat Every Room Like a Weapon Rack

Going Under is built around improvisation. Laptops, brooms, boxes, fantasy weapons, and strange office junk can all become part of a fight, but they will not last forever. Before you sprint into a group, glance around the room and notice what you can grab next.

This matters more than hoarding one favorite weapon. If your current item is almost gone, position near a replacement so the break does not leave you punching into a crowd. Throwing a damaged weapon can also turn its last hit into a useful finisher, especially when you need space.

2. Use the Right Weapon for the Situation

Fast, light objects are good when enemies are spread out or you need to dodge often. Heavy weapons can hit hard, but they slow movement and can be awkward when a room fills with attackers. Guns and ranged objects are helpful for enemies that punish close approaches, but limited ammo means they are not a full plan by themselves.

Do not judge a pickup only by damage. Reach, speed, durability, and whether you can safely throw it all matter. The best weapon is often the one that solves the next ten seconds.

3. Let Weapons Break on Your Terms

Breaking is not only a downside. A weapon that breaks on a hit or throw deals extra damage, so a nearly broken item can become a planned burst tool. Watch for the visual warning that a weapon is close to breaking, then decide whether to spend it on a dangerous enemy, toss it from range, or drop it for something safer.

Beginners often lose momentum by clinging to a favorite item until it shatters at the worst moment. Cycle weapons deliberately and the chaos becomes easier to control.

4. Build Skills Through Use, Not Wishful Thinking

Skills can change a run dramatically, but they become reliable only when you actually learn and endorse them. Try new Skills when they appear, then pay attention to which ones fit your hands. A movement Skill, damage Skill, or economy Skill is only valuable if it helps how you already fight.

Once a Skill can be brought into future expeditions, think of it as a starting identity. Pick something that covers a weakness. If you take too many hits, favor safety or mobility. If rooms take too long, choose damage or weapon support.

5. Save Apps for Problems

Apps are active tools with limited uses, and you normally cannot carry a pile of them at once. That makes timing important. A stun, heal, map reveal, weapon repair, discount, ally summon, or room-clearing effect can save a run when used for a clear problem.

Avoid burning an App just because it is new. Heal when you can complete the animation safely. Repair a weapon when the item is worth preserving. Use crowd-control when the room is actually threatening. If a replacement App appears, decide whether your current one solves a bigger problem than the new option.

6. Spend Money to Fix Weaknesses

Shops are not random shopping trips. They are chances to patch the run before the next floor or boss. Low health makes healing more important than a flashy weapon. A strong weapon with poor durability may make repair or replacement more valuable. A run with no useful Skill may justify buying one instead of saving every dollar.

Enter shops with a question: what can end this run soon? Spend against that answer. You do not need every good item, but you do need enough health, damage, and utility to survive the next set of rooms.

7. Take Curse Deals Selectively

The Hauntrepreneur can offer a tempting bundle of items, Skills, or weapons in exchange for a temporary curse. These deals can be excellent, but only when you can survive the drawback. A curse that hides health bars, weakens weapon reliability, adds extra waves, or changes movement can turn a shaky run into a disaster.

Take the offer when the reward fixes a major problem or creates a strong combo. Pass when you are low on health, already struggling with the dungeon’s enemies, or about to face a fight where the curse attacks your main habit.

8. Clear Rooms Before Chasing Rewards

Random rooms can contain enemies, shops, upgrade choices, optional challenges, and other opportunities. The temptation is to rush toward the exciting object. Resist that. Enemy groups are where most runs go wrong, especially when you get surrounded while trying to grab something.

Thin the room first. Use corners, throws, and quick pickups to keep enemies in front of you. Once the danger is controlled, then open cubes, inspect rewards, and decide what to carry forward.

9. Use Cubits and Mentors as Long-Term Progress

Runs are not wasted just because Jackie gets sent back. Cubits and hub progression help expand future options, and co-worker tasks build mentor bonuses. That means each run should have a small secondary goal beyond reaching the boss.

If a task asks you to use certain tools or play in a specific way, decide early whether the run can support it. Do not ruin a promising clear for a task that requires reckless play, but do use ordinary rooms to make progress when the risk is low.

10. Enter Boss Floors With a Simple Plan

Fourth-floor bosses punish messy inventory management. Before going in, check your health, your best weapon, your backup weapon, and your App. If you are carrying a heavy weapon, know when you will drop or throw it. If your App is defensive, save it for a real mistake instead of spending it instantly.

The safest boss plan is short and repeatable: dodge first, land a few hits, throw or swap before a weapon breaks, and reset your spacing. Long greedy combos are less reliable than steady damage with a way out.

11. Use Assist Options Without Shame

Going Under can be demanding because weapon drops, enemy groups, room layouts, and boss pressure stack together. If you are learning the systems and repeatedly hitting the same wall, use the available assistance options as practice tools.

The goal is to understand rooms, not to prove anything. Once the fundamentals click, you can reduce help and play more aggressively.

12. Adapt Instead of Forcing a Build

Some runs hand you clean synergies. Others hand you a half-broken chair and a weird Skill. Strong players adjust. If the run gives you weapon repair, value one good weapon more. If it gives you crowd control, take slower fights. If it gives you money tools, route through shops with a purpose.

Going Under rewards flexible thinking. Build around what appears, protect the options that are working, and let go of plans that the dungeon refuses to support.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Do not hoard one favorite weapon - Durability is limited, so plan your next pickup before the current item breaks.

2. Do not ignore heavy weapon drawbacks - Big damage is risky if the slow movement gets you surrounded.

3. Do not spend Apps on harmless rooms - Save limited active tools for healing windows, dangerous groups, discounts, repairs, or boss pressure.

4. Do not accept every curse deal automatically - Check whether the drawback attacks your current weakness before taking the reward.

5. Do not buy items without a run problem in mind - Use shops to fix health, damage, utility, or durability gaps.

6. Do not chase mentor tasks at the cost of a strong clear - Progress tasks when the room and build make them reasonable.

7. Do not enter bosses with a messy inventory - Know your main weapon, backup, and App before crossing the line.

8. Do not treat early losses as empty runs - Use them to learn enemy behavior, endorse Skills, earn Cubits, and advance co-worker tasks.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
Weapons	Keep scanning for the next usable object
Durability	Break or throw weapons on purpose, not by accident
Skills	Endorse options that match your real playstyle
Apps	Save limited uses for specific problems
Shops	Spend to fix the weakness most likely to end the run
Curses	Take risky deals only when the reward justifies the drawback
Mentors	Treat tasks as long-term progress, not mandatory detours
Bosses	Enter with health, a backup weapon, and a simple punish plan