Astral Lords Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

I have made basically every mistake possible in this game. Some of them multiple times. Here they are so you can learn from my failures instead of your own.

Building in Isolation

This was my biggest and most expensive mistake. I treated buildings like individual units instead of combo pieces. A turret alone is terrible. A turret with a power relay adjacent fires 40% faster. That is not a nice bonus, that is the difference between clearing a wave and being overrun.

Every building you place should be touching at least one other building that provides a relevant bonus. If you cannot find a spot where a new building forms a combo, you probably should not build it yet. Save the resources.

I lost maybe five runs before I realized turrets were supposed to have support buildings. The tutorial mentions combos once and then expects you to figure it out.

Going Hybrid Too Early

The two tactical routes, turtle defense and aggro rush, require different buildings, different commanders, and different chip sets. Trying to do both in the early game spreads your resources too thin. You end up with one turret that cannot kill anything and one clone barracks that produces units too slowly to matter.

Committing to one route by wave 3 was the single change that improved my win rate the most. You can transition later in the run if RNG gives you chips that support the other route. But your early game needs focus.

Ignoring Chip Synergies

Chips are not just incremental bonuses. They are build-defining items that multiply each other when combined correctly. I spent my first ten runs picking chips based on their individual stats without reading how they might interact.

A chip that adds fire damage to turrets is fine by itself. Combined with a chip that extends burn duration and a chip that makes burning enemies take more damage, you have a fire build that triples your effective DPS. These synergies are not hidden, the chip descriptions tell you what tags they interact with. I just was not reading them.

Now I check every chip against my current chip set before picking. If it does not contribute to my existing synergy, I skip it unless it is generically powerful.

Sleeping on Headquarters Progression

The permanent upgrade system is the backbone of the game but it is easy to ignore because it lives in a menu you only see between runs. In my first session I did four runs without spending any recycled resources because I did not know the Headquarters menu existed.

Each run generates resources that can be converted into permanent bonuses: cheaper buildings, more starting resources, new commanders, bigger chip pool, additional chip slots. A run at HQ level 1 feels completely different from a run at HQ level 8. The game becomes more forgiving as you invest in these upgrades.

My recommendation: after every run, spend your recycled resources immediately. Do not hoard them. There is no benefit to saving.

Wrong Commander for the Route

I tried running the aggro route with a turret-focused commander because I liked their aesthetic. It was miserable. The commander passives that boost turret range and fire rate do nothing when you are building clone barracks instead of turrets. You are effectively playing without half your kit.

Match your commander to your intended route. The skill descriptions and passive bonuses make it clear which route each commander supports. If you are unsure, check their starting chip loadout, it usually hints at their intended playstyle.

Over-Upgrading Buildings Instead of Building More

A level 3 turret costs about the same as three level 1 turrets. But three level 1 turrets with combo support deal way more damage than one level 3 turret. The upgrade scaling is not as aggressive as the combo system.

Only upgrade buildings when you have maxed out your available building slots with combo-supported structures. The exception is when a specific building needs more HP to survive boss attacks (relevant for the Hive Mother fight).

Not Scouting the Map

I used to start every run by immediately placing buildings at my base. Then I would discover a much better chokepoint three tiles away and my buildings were already locked in the wrong spot.

Spend the first 30 seconds of every run just walking your commander around. Find the good chokepoints, the resource nodes, the spawn points. Then place buildings. Thirty seconds of scouting saves twenty minutes of fighting from a bad position.

Forgetting That Your Commander Must Dodge

The bullet hell half of Astral Lords cannot be ignored. Even with perfect turret placement and optimal chip synergy, your commander can die to projectile patterns. And a dead commander means no active abilities, no personal damage, and no chip effects that trigger from commander actions.

Learn the basic bullet patterns for each enemy type. The flying xenos fire in spirals. The armored walkers fire in straight lines. The boss patterns are scripted sequences you can memorize. Dodging is a skill like any other in this game and it improves with practice.

Ending Losing Runs Early

When a run is going badly, it is tempting to quit and start fresh. But you still get recycled resources proportional to what you earned during the run. A failed run at wave 10 generates more permanent currency than a fresh restart.

Scrap your buildings for resources before you die. Sell everything, bank the currency, then let the enemies finish you off. The recycling system converts a percentage of your accumulated resources into Headquarters currency. More resources banked means more permanent progress.

I stopped rage-quitting runs after I realized I was throwing away free progression.

The FAQ Trap

Can I change commanders mid-run? No. Commander choice is locked at the start. Only way to switch is to die or complete the run.

Do different maps share Headquarters progress? Yes. All permanent upgrades work across every map. You are always getting stronger regardless of which map you play.