General caveat: Many of the tips in this guide will be obvious to you, but something obvious to you might not be obvious to somebody else.

• don't hesitate to spam abilities, particularly at the start of a level
  
  
• in most cases try to preserve destructible barriers so you can teleport over them to shake monsters off your tail
  
  
• maneuver to kill as many monsters as possible with a nuke, to get a multi-kill bonus (Multi/Mega/Monster/Ultra)
  
  
• ignore crystals until you have a reasonable set of perks, they won't time out and you're too vulnerable

• Static Cloud in a choke point is super effective
  
  
• X-Ray Blade is much easier to use on monsters you're backing away from than it is on those you're moving toward
  
  
• Supplier (more powerups) is much more useful on a small level
  
  
• a Self Defense Weight is also a physical barrier, so it's useful to plug a choke point for a couple of seconds
  
  
• Faster Shooting makes it harder to aim the regular and gauss shotgun's two shots in different directions

• you can collect things by teleporting through them
  
  
• when there's a pre-spawned ability or weapon on a map it won't time out and disappear
  
  
• fire bullets are piercing
  
  
• crystal pickups only show up after you've finished the Normal plane
  
  
• levels on the Normal plane ordinarily provide 1 crystal, Aether provides 3, Eldritch provides 6
  
  
• crystals spawn every 45 seconds in Survival mode, 5% of them are green (double)
  
  
• the map with the glowing pin doubles the crystal pickups, the glow moves to a new pin when you start the currently glowing one
  
  
• Cthulhu statues spawn waves which start with Deep Ones, move through Spawn of Dagon, and culminate with 3 Shoggoths
  
  
• after a Cthulhu status spawns its Shoggoths it will teleport to a new location
  
  
• when a Cthulhu statue moves it spawns 2 large groups of Deep Ones and/or Spawn of Dagon elsewhere on the level
  
  
• ricochet bullets don't break barriers (this can make a big difference to how levels like Lush Isle and The Enchanted Wood play)
  
  
• spawn points go dark when they won't spawn any more monsters
  
  
• when you collect a powerup it reloads your weapon (to save you from needing to reload during your precious powered-up time)
  
  
• the tutorial implies that if you get the monster count to 0 the level will end immediately, but actually all the spawners have to empty out first
  
  
• it is possible to die in the second or two after you kill the final boss (and maybe the other bosses) and have to redo the level (I got tentacled after I put down the controller)

• don't forget to use your ability or level up (this advice might be meant only for myself, I've played this game for an untold number of hours and I do this all the time)
  
  
• prioritize taking out Cthulhu statues, both for the free perk and to avoid the eventual Shoggoths
  
  
• don't bother with reaper/poison bullets when all the monsters are one-shots anyway
  
  
• be mindful of where you kill herds of Fire Vampires since their fiery remains will hamper your movement
  
  
• if you realize the level is about to end but you haven't gotten all the crystals, stop shooting and spam teleports to get to them -- you might have a lightning storm which will end the level before you're ready
  
  
• of course don't approach or move away from a tentacle radially, but also don't change directions when circling one
  
  
• watch out for small bits of scenery on the edges of the map waiting to hook you, like the benches and stoops on Death Square

• if a good weapon spawns while you're in the starting mech try to maneuver so that it won't be swarmed and do a mech dash at it right before the mech runs out
  
  
• prioritize killing monsters with the initial mech (rather than shooting at big ones which might not die before the mech expires) so you'll bag as much XP as possible before the mech runs out
  
  
• on twisty levels back away from monsters slowly, pausing completely or even advancing when possible, because the faster you go the sooner you'll be in range of a monster spawner behind you
  
  
• this is meta-gaming, but if you disable gore and set body decay time to minimum the reduced visual clutter might be helpful to you

Here's the short version:

WIP

Inventions are permanent upgrades that you buy with crystals.

When picking which to buy I suggest that you save up for either the one which looks the most fun or the one which is most likely to save your life, the latter being largely dictated by your play style. For example, I teleport a lot but rarely get a second mech, so I buy the extra teleports early and the mech time near the end.

As a case study here's an order I like:

• 1 shuffle
  
• 1 random perk
  
• random ability
  
• 2nd shuffle
  
• extra teleports
  
• extra charges for special
  
• the rest of the shuffles
  
• the rest of the random perks
  
• extended mech time
  
• harm monsters when teleporting through them
  
• epic perk chances

If you are starting a second profile, consider upping the challenge a little by not buying any shuffles at all.

Here are the details:


The total cost to max everything is 8315 crystals. To estimate how many 12-crystal levels (Eldritch & glowing pin) this might take, here are some numbers. Soon after I maxed out my first profile my monster trophy levels (and their rewards) were:


At a very rough guess this took about 35 days, so call that 1400 crystals for daily quests. (8315 - 1640 - 1400) / 12 =~ 440 12-crystal levels.

Regular monsters (not Tentacles or bosses) can be spawned with different abilities/stats. These are recognizable by an effect which appears on the ground around them. They often spawn in packs. I believe they don't appear on the Normal plane.

Here are some tactical notes about the levels.

• Arkham Alleys
  
  • The spot behind the house in the upper right is defensible until the monsters break the lower gate.
    
  
  
• Arkham Campus
  
  • nothing to note
    
  
  
• Arkham Cemetery
  
  • Great place for the 500 Nova Kills and Of Monsters and Men (50 multi-kills) quests.
    Cemetery is great for 500 nova kills as well - lots of tiny spiders.
    
  
  
• Battle at Wardenclyffe Tower
  
  • final boss level
    
  • Lovecraft is invulnerable, but I like to shoot him anyway.
    
  • The 4 spinning things are called time scopes.
    
  • To end the level you need to collect 4 batteries then activate one of the time scopes, 4 times. There's a direction indicator on the edge of the screen pointing to the next battery. The first time I played this level I was too busy fighting to figure this out and I just picked up the batteries haphazardly; it took a really long time to finish.
    
  • You get a free Time Warp each time you activate a time scope.
    
  • The glowing crawling tentacles which appear after you activate the 4th time scope are invulnerable.
    
  • If you don't activate the time scopes you can play this level indefinitely. You can use this to see how silly powerful you get with a lot of perks, or to farm Deep One and Spawn of Dagon monster trophies.
    
  
  
• Bridge to Darkness
  
  • The teleports over the water using the indentations can be a little finicky, you have to hit very close to the center of the fence.
    
  
  
• Calling from the Depths
  
  • nothing to note
    
  
  
• Cemetery Gates
  
  • Spawn of Dagon and Spiderghouls on map "cemetery", shared with Grave Danger
    
  
  
• City of Deep Ones
  
  • Deep Ones on map "streets", shared with Downtown Streets
    
  • Save the fenced-in area on the left until you need a breather.
    
  • Now with more Deep Ones!
    
  
  
• Courtyard of Fears
  
  • Spiderghouls on map "courtyard", shared with Macabre Feast
    
  • I like to break down the iron fence with the mech, to save on teleports while kiting.
    
  
  
• Dagon City
  
  • Deep Ones and Spawn of Dagon on map "main-street", shared with Pickman Street
    
  • The alley on the right with the spawner in the middle is a death trap until the spawner expires.
    
  
  
• Death Square
  
  • nothing to note
    
  
  
• Docks
  
  • You can teleport over the building on the left side of the courtyard in the lower center.
    
  • TODO screen shot
    
  
  
• Downtown Streets
  
  • Spawn of Dagon and Spiderghouls on map "streets", shared with City of Deep Ones
    
  • Save the fenced-in areas (particularly the one on the left) until you need a breather.
    
  
  
• The Enchanted Wood
  
  • nothing to note
    
  
  
• Excavation Site
  
  • Leave the walls of explosives in place as long as you can, teleporting over them is very handy.
    
  • With the lower 3 explosive walls in place you have a spot which is approachable from only 1 direction.
    
  • TODO screen shot
    
  
  
• First Showdown
  
  • 1st boss, mech
    
  • For an easy way to deal with the boss fight him with a mech of your own.
    
  • You can teleport through the cliffs.
    
  
  
• Gardens of Providence
  
  • nothing to note
    
  
  
• Grave Danger
  
  • Awakeners on map "cemetery", shared with Cemetery Gates
    
  
  
• In the Mountain of Madness
  
  • 3rd boss, Eldritch Abomination
    
  
  
• Lord of Arkham
  
  • 2nd boss, Elder Polyp
    
  • The boss holds you in place with his spirals, but you can teleport away from them.
    
  • It also has a very long tongue, you'll have to teleport away from this also.
    
  • The ball lightning gun is a good choice for the boss, you can shoot at it while it's just off-screen since you don't have to aim much.
    
  • You can teleport through the 2 large columns inside the park.
    
  • TODO screen shots
    
  • PS: I know it isn't really a tongue.
    
  
  
• Lush Isle
  
  • The speed perk is more important on this level.
    
  
  
• Macabre Feast
  
  • Fire Vampires on map "courtyard", shared with Courtyard of Fears
    
  • I like to break down the iron fence with the mech, to save on teleports while kiting.
    
  
  
• Maw of Darkness
  
  • TODO teleport near bottom of canyon
    
  
  
• Parks and Recreation
  
  • Deep Ones and Awakeners on map "park", shared with Spooky Park
    
  • Keep the walls intact while you can to simplify the kiting around those sides.
    
  
  
• Pickman Street
  
  • Fire Vampires and Flying Polyps on map "main-street", shared with Dagon City
    
  • The alley on the right with the spawner in the middle is a death trap until the spawner expires.
    
  
  
• Scouring the Valley
  
  • The speed perk is more important on this level.
    
  • After this level gets going it has a great density of monsters. You often need 4+ teleports (around corners) to get past a group of monsters before you can find a clear area in which to land. My instinct about when to teleport forward like this is anti-useful on this level. I find it's usually better to deal with the monsters you're with unless you can see a clear landing space for a teleport.
    
  • TODO a few important teleports I think, check & get shots
    
  • This is the map used for Survival mode.
    
  
  
• Sentinel Hill
  
  • TODO central teleport screen shot
    
  
  
• Spooky Park
  
  • Spawn of Dagon and Fire Vampires on map "park", shared with Parks and Recreation
    
  • Keep the walls intact while you can to simplify the kiting around those sides.
    
  
  
• Spooky Yard
  
  • Fire Vampires on map "mansion", shared with Wayland Manor
    
  • Break the iron fence in front of the shotgun with the mech.
    
  • I try to break holes in the iron fences with the mech, to open a circuit for kiting
    
  
  
• Wayland Manor
  
  • Deep Ones on map "mansion", shared with Spooky Yard
    
  • Break the iron fence in front of the shotgun with the mech.
    
  • I try to break holes in the iron fences with the mech, to open a circuit for kiting
    
  
  
• West Street Intersection
  
  • nothing to note
    

The following table gives a very rough guide to what mix of monsters spawns on each level. I can't think of a reason that you'd want to know this, but I made it while figuring out the best level for each monster, so here it is.

Not included in the stats are:

• the initial batch of Deep Ones which appear on every level
  
• tentacles
  
• monsters spawned by Cthulhu statues (which are Deep Ones, Spawn of Dagon, and Shoggoths)

The percentages are just off-the-cuff estimates I made after finishing each level. I'm sure they're inaccurate in a lot of ways.