Astral Lords Beginner Guide: How to Get Started in 2026

I died six times in my first hour of Astral Lords. Not because the game is unfair, because I was playing it like a regular tower defense. Don't do that.

This thing is a roguelite bullet hell shoved into a tower defense RTS, and the tutorial kind of glosses over how different the two tactical routes actually feel. You're a commander of the Imperial Starfleet executing the Great Colonization Protocol on a hostile alien world. Your job: either build an unbreakable steel fortress and watch the xenos break against it, or go full Fourth Calamity and drown them in cloned soldiers and factory-printed war machines.

Pick Your Route Early

There are fundamentally two ways to play Astral Lords, and trying to do both at once is why I kept dying. Here's the split:

Turtle Route , you lean hard into defensive structures. Turret arrays, resource facilities, layered walls. The idea is to let enemies come to you, funnel them through kill zones, and outlast the wave. This route favors commanders with engineering bonuses and chip setups that boost turret range and firing rate. Slower games, but way more consistent once you learn map layouts.

Aggro Route , you skip heavy defense and invest in clone barracks and assembly factories. Pump out units, send them straight at enemy spawn points, and clear the map before the wave timer ticks down. This route wants combat-focused commanders and chips that buff unit damage, movement speed, and respawn rate. Higher risk, faster clears, way more loot.

I started with the turtle route because honestly I just wanted to survive past wave 10. By run 20 or so I switched to aggro and never looked back. Your mileage may vary.

Commander Selection: Your First Real Decision

After the tutorial mission you pick a commander. Each one has a unique skill tree and a set of starting chips. The game doesn't make this obvious but your first commander choice shapes your early relationship with the game. Some are clearly better for learning.

I'd say start with one that has a resource generation passive. Doesn't matter which, just get something that helps your economy. The game's meta-progression system (which they call Headquarters) unlocks after your first few runs, and you'll want extra resources to dump into that.

Once you've unlocked a few commanders through Headquarters progression, try ones with mobility skills. The bullet hell half of this game becomes much more manageable when you can dash out of a swarm of projectiles.

Early Game: First 3 Runs

Your first three runs are going to end badly. That's normal, the game is designed that way, it's a roguelite. But here's what you should focus on during those runs:

First run: ignore the objective. Just watch enemy movement patterns. Where do they spawn? Which paths do they take? Do they have ranged attacks or melee? This info carries across runs because map layouts are semi-fixed (enemy composition changes but spawn points stay the same).

Second run: experiment with building placement. Try putting a turret right next to a resource facility. Try building two clone barracks side by side. Notice how some buildings have combo effects when placed adjacent? The game calls these building combos and they replace traditional micro-management. A turret next to a power relay fires 40% faster. A clone barracks next to an assembly factory produces units with a shield. Nobody tells you this in the tutorial.

Third run: now try to actually win. By this point you should have enough Headquarters currency to unlock a tech tree node or two. Spend it on whatever looks immediately useful, don't hoard it.

The Chip System (Because It's Confusing)

Chips are this game's version of roguelite relics. You find them mid-run, slot them into your commander, and they stack effects. Some are straightforward (+15% turret damage), some are weird (enemies killed by fire leave burning ground for 3 seconds).

The important thing: chip effects can synergize across categories. A chip that increases fire damage works with a chip that causes turrets to deal fire damage, which works with a chip that makes burning enemies take more damage from all sources. You can build some truly degenerate combos if you're paying attention.

I slept on chips my first five runs. Don't be me. Read them.

When to Switch Routes

Around run 10-15, you'll have enough Headquarters upgrades that both routes become viable regardless of your starting commander. This is where the game really opens up. I'd recommend doing at least 5 runs on each route before settling into a preference. The turtle route taught me enemy pathing and timing. The aggro route taught me resource efficiency and unit composition.

One thing I noticed: on certain maps, the aggro route is just straight-up better because the spawn points are too spread out for turret coverage. On other maps, the turtle route trivializes encounters that would slaughter your cloned units. The map matters as much as your build.

Quick Tips

Building combos are not optional. A turret alone is weak. A turret with a supporting structure is where your damage comes from. Always check adjacency bonuses..

Headquarters progression is permanent. Resources you extract during a run can be recycled into permanent upgrades. Don't end a losing run early, scrap everything and bank whatever you can..

The tech tree has branches that look boring but unlock critical stuff three nodes down. Read ahead before committing..

Some commanders become available only after reaching certain Headquarters levels. The starter ones are fine but the mid-game unlocks are where builds get interesting..

What I Wish I Knew on Day One

Three things would have saved me hours of frustration:

First, pause the game. The pause button is not hidden but somehow I missed it for my first ten runs. You can pause at any time to read chip descriptions, plan building placement, or just take a breath during a chaotic wave. Use it.

Second, the wave counter is not just a number. Hover over it and it shows you what enemy types are coming next wave. This lets you prepare, build anti-air turrets before the flying wave, stack fire chips before the armored wave, position your commander before the boss wave. I did not discover this until run 30.

Third, some buildings produce resources passively. The resource extractor is obvious but power relays also generate a small amount of energy per wave, and assembly factories produce a trickle of materials. These passive incomes add up across a 15-wave run. Do not neglect them.

And one bonus thing: the community on the official Discord is genuinely helpful. If you are stuck on a boss or do not understand a mechanic, ask. Someone has probably figured it out already. The game is new enough that everyone is still learning together, which is a fun dynamic.