Buying Dead Weight on Steam after the July 16, 2026 launch opens the full roguelite campaign — not just Arn's demo prologue. Community walkthroughs and launch-week player reports describe a hub town meta layer with named locations, mercenary hiring, fatigue recovery, and multi-objective runs that the public demo never showed. This guide maps your first full-game expedition so you do not waste the $9.74 introductory discount (25% off through July 30) on preventable mistakes.
Assumes you understand demo basics: Abyss pushes, fuel jumps, and action point combat from our AP guide. For the Lighthouse unlock sequence specifically, read the dedicated lighthouse guide.
Settings and First Launch
Launch-week players report that fullscreen is disabled by default. Open settings and enable fullscreen before judging pixel-art readability — windowed mode may not match your monitor aspect ratio cleanly.
Hub Town Objectives
Early campaign runs track objectives such as reaching the hub town, learning the die-and-reborn roguelite loop, locating the volcanic island, and preparing to defeat Mad Oracle Aluza. Treat the town as your strategic home between sky jumps — not a menu to rush through.
- Gaby's Workshop — north of town; offers three armor reinforcement options. Pick based on whether you need survivability or gold savings for mercenaries.
- Tavern & Lighthouse — unlock after progression milestones; hire mercenaries for grid battles and pay 100 gold to rest for -10 fatigue.
- On Edge skill — community first-run recommendations highlight this defensive pick when early skill points open — pairs well with Arn frontline play.
Route and Resource Tips
Cheap nearby islands (community reports cite ~13 fuel jumps) are worth clearing for loot before committing to the volcanic island arc. Check your inventory fuel tank before long detours — consumable fuel saves runs when map routing gets greedy.
When town services lock during story beats, return to your ship and explore alternate islands rather than forcing the main objective under-leveled. Hub progression gates Tavern and Lighthouse unlocks — fatigue management becomes mandatory once mercenary costs stack.
Before Fighting Aluza
Aluza remains the first major boss checkpoint bridging demo familiarity and full-campaign escalation. Reinforce armor at Gaby's, hire at least one mercenary if gold allows, rest fatigue if above comfortable thresholds, and verify AP combat habits from the action points guide. Boss fundamentals live on the boss guide.
After Aluza, expect Region 2 difficulty spikes, Berry relevance, and Insid shrine events — read Region 2, full game guide, and updates for launch-week discoveries as the community maps late content.