An Oath to Reclaim Camelot 🏰✋
The air in Camelot is thick with corruption. 🤢 The once-gleaming banners of the Round Table now hang tattered, symbols of a kingdom betrayed from within. King Arthur, the legendary unifier, has fallen to a creeping darkness ⚫, and his loyal knights have become twisted parodies of their noble selves 👹. This is the world of SWORN, a land steeped in Arthurian legend but viewed through a grim, comic-book lens inspired by the distinctive art of Mike Mignola. You are not just a warrior; you are a Soulforged, bound by a sacred oath to purge this evil and reclaim the fallen kingdom. 🙏
SWORN is a cooperative action rogue-like for one to four players 👨👩👧👦, thrusting you into a relentless cycle of combat and progression. The core gameplay loop is a dance familiar to fans of the genre: you will fight through treacherous biomes ⚔️, you will face impossible odds, and you will inevitably fall in battle 😵. But death is not the end. It is a chance to return to the last bastion of hope, grow stronger, and swear your oath anew. 💪
This guide is your sacred text, your own Merlin whispering secrets in your ear 🧙♂️📜. It is designed for both the fresh-faced squire taking their first tentative steps out of the hub and the seasoned knight looking to conquer the highest difficulties. We will journey from the fundamentals of survival to the intricate art of build-crafting, co-op strategy, and ultimate mastery over the blighted realm of Camelot. 🗺️
Chapter 1: Your First Steps into Darkness (Beginner’s Fundamentals) 👣
The Cycle of Glory and Death 🔄
Your quest to purge Camelot is structured into a series of attempts, or “runs.” Each run challenges you to advance through a sequence of combat arenas known as “chambers” ⚔️. After clearing a chamber of all foes, you will be presented with a choice of rewards—typically a powerful blessing from a Fae Lord 🧚—that enhances your abilities for the remainder of that specific run. These boons are temporary; upon death, they are lost, and you must begin the cycle again. 😵 This loop of fighting, dying, and restarting is the heart of the rogue-like experience. Every failure is a lesson 🧠, teaching you enemy attack patterns and providing you with permanent resources to ensure your next attempt is stronger than the last. 💪
Welcome to the Beacon of Avalore (The Hub) 🏡
When a run ends, you will reawaken in the Beacon of Avalore, your sanctuary and the central hub for all permanent progression. ✨ This is where the fruits of your perilous journeys are realized, transforming a mere squire into a champion capable of challenging Arthur himself. Get to know its key denizens:
- The Source ⚡: The nexus of your permanent power. Here, you will spend currencies like Moonstones 🌕 and Grail Water 💧 to unlock and upgrade passive skills across five distinct trees.
- Nimue 🛡️: The legendary lady of the lake serves as your armorer. Visit her to spend resources on permanent, incremental upgrades for each specific weapon.
- Guinevere 🧪: Unlocked as you progress, Guinevere presides over the Potion Lab. This feature allows you to brew and equip powerful potions before a run!
- Merlin 🧙♂️: The legendary wizard offers his aid, likely connected to the lore and the unlocking of the powerful skill trees.
Combat 101: The Dance of Blades and Sorcery 💃
Success in SWORN is determined by your mastery of its fluid, action-oriented combat. Every encounter is a deadly dance where you must weave together offense and defense. Your core abilities are:
- Light Attack 🗡️: Your primary, rapid-fire attack.
- Heavy Attack 💪: A slower, more powerful strike.
- Spell ✨: A unique magical ability that often consumes mana.
- Dash 💨: A quick burst of movement that grants a brief window of invincibility, allowing you to dodge through attacks.
The fundamental rhythm of combat is learning to dodge and attack. Enemies will signal their intentions with clear visual cues, such as red lines 🔴 and shapes on the ground. Your goal is to time your dash to pass through these attacks unharmed and then immediately retaliate 💥. The battlefields are also littered with environmental traps, like arrow launchers 🏹, which can be turned against your foes with clever positioning. 😉
Chapter 2: The Soulforged Champions of Avalore 🦸♂️
SWORN features four distinct playable characters, known as the Soulforged. While you begin with the versatile Vigilante, you will quickly unlock the others. Each character offers a unique approach to combat. 🤺
| Character | Unlock Condition | Playstyle Archetype | Core Strengths | Core Weaknesses |
| Vigilante 🏃♂️ | Unlocked by Default | Agile All-Rounder | Speed, versatility, strong mix of melee and ranged options. 💨 | Low defensive stats, can be fragile if cornered. 💔 |
| Monk 🙏 | Clear 15 chambers as Vigilante + 20 Fairy Embers | Hybrid Controller | Versatile elemental attacks, party-wide defensive spells. 🛡️ | Can feel less specialized than other classes. 🤔 |
| Rook 🧱 | (Unlock conditions vary) | Heavy Tank | High health and damage, powerful crowd control. 💪 | Very slow movement and attack speed. 🐢 |
| Spectre 👻 | (Unlock conditions vary) | Arcane Assassin | Extremely high magic damage, excellent mobility spells. 🔮 | Very low health, a true “glass cannon.” 😵 |
A crucial principle for success is specialization 🎯. Because many damage buffs apply multiplicatively, stacking them all onto a single attack type—be it your Light Attack, Heavy Attack, or Spell—will yield exponentially greater results than a hybrid build. Pick one core damage source and funnel everything into it! 📈
The Vigilante: The Swift Blade of Justice 🗡️💨
As the starting character, the Vigilante is a perfectly balanced warrior. He is fast, agile, and boasts an arsenal that blends close-quarters combat with safe, ranged pressure. His weapons include a swift short sword, a precise bow 🏹, a sweeping bo staff, and the unique, boomerang-like Chakrams.
The Rook: The Unbreakable Wall 🧱
If your philosophy is “the best defense is an overwhelming offense,” the Rook is your champion. 💪 He is the quintessential tank, moving slowly but boasting the highest health pool and wielding massive weapons like the Great Hammer. His spell Counter is considered one of the most powerful in the game, turning defense into pure damage! 💥
The Monk: The Sage of Balance ☯️
The Monk is a master of versatility and battlefield control, blending martial prowess with potent elemental magic. ⚡ Her true strength lies in her spells. Arcane Shield is a game-changer in co-op, providing a temporary shield to all allies that explodes when broken! 🛡️💥
The Spectre: The Arcane Assassin 👻
For those who prefer to obliterate their enemies, the Spectre is the ultimate glass cannon. 🔮 Fragile but deadly, he can be played as a devastating ranged mage or a lightning-fast melee assassin. His spell list is a toolkit of destruction: Mystic Beam melts foes from afar, and his “Blind” spell allows him to teleport across the battlefield and leave an explosion in his wake. 💥
Chapter 3: The Art of War in a Fallen Kingdom (Advanced Combat) 🧠
Beyond the Basics: Advanced Techniques ✨
- Animation Canceling ✂️: Many attack animations can be cut short by a dash. This allows you to immediately reposition after an attack, increasing your speed and safety.
- Enemy Prioritization 🎯: Learn to identify and eliminate the most dangerous threats first. This usually means ranged enemies or enemies that summon more minions.
- Offensive Traps 😈: Don’t just avoid hazards; use them! Kiting a large group of enemies into an arrow trap can clear a huge portion of a room for you.
Know Your Enemy: A Bestiary of the Corrupted 👹
Camelot is teeming with monstrous foes, from grenade-lobbing toads 🐸💣 to hyper-aggressive elite mosquitos 🦟. The most important “weakness” to exploit is universal: their attack patterns. Learn their telegraphed moves, know when to dodge, and know when to strike back! 👊
Confronting the Corrupted Knights (Boss Guide) 👑
Your journey will be blocked by Arthur’s most powerful servants. These boss encounters are major skill checks!
- Gawain 🪓: This hulking knight telegraphs his powerful axe swings clearly. The main threat comes from the waves of spikes 🌵 that erupt from the ground where his axe strikes.
- Lady Bedivere 🌊: This fight is a true test of awareness. The arena is surrounded by water from which she will summon “water sharks” 🦈 that patrol the outer edge, forcing you to stay mobile.
- The Questing Beast (Mini-boss) 🦁: This creature combines mobility with area denial. It will leap at you, unleash a cone of fireballs 🔥, and spit projectiles that create damaging pools on the ground.
In co-op, the sheer number of spell effects can make tracking the boss difficult. A useful strategy is to rely on audio cues 👂 or designate one player as a “shot-caller” 🗣️.
Chapter 4: Wielding the Power of the Fae (Build-Crafting) 🧚
An Audience with the Fae Lords ✨
The core of SWORN’s replayability lies in its blessing system. After clearing most chambers, you’ll be offered boons from the Fae Lords. With over 200 unique blessings, these choices define your build for each run!
| Fae Lord | Domain / Theme | Example Blessing Effect |
| Beira ❄️ | Ice / Crowd Control | Your attacks inflict Chill, slowing enemies, which can build up to Freeze them solid. 🥶 |
| Gogmagog 😵 | Stagger / Stun | Your attacks build Stagger, leading to a powerful Stun that incapacitates foes. |
| Lugh 🎯 | Critical Hits / Luck | Grants a chance for your attacks to deal critical damage. |
| Mab ☠️ | Poison / Lifesteal | Your attacks inflict Venom (poison) and can enable healing on hit (Leech). 🩸 |
| Babd 🤫 | Backstab / Stealth | Enables Backstab for bonus damage and can grant temporary invisibility. |
| Oberon 😠 | Fury / Speed | Successive hits build Fury, increasing your damage and attack speed. 💨 |
| Titania 🔥 | Ignite / Low-Health | Your attacks can Ignite for a burst of fire damage; some boons are stronger at low health. |
| Cliona 📉 | Weakness / Defense | Your attacks apply Weak, causing enemies to deal less damage. |
The Power of Two: Mastering Duo Blessings 🤝
The most powerful blessings are Duo Blessings. These rare boons require prerequisite blessings from two different Fae Lords, combining their powers!
- Shatter (Beira ❄️ + Gogmagog 😵): Hitting a Frozen enemy with a Stagger attack shatters the ice for massive damage! 💥
- Critical Opening (Gogmagog 😵 + Lugh 🎯): Massively increases your critical hit chance against Stunned enemies.
- Bone Collector (Badb 🤫 + Gogmagog 😵): Every kill permanently increases your damage by 1% for the rest of the run (up to 100%)! 📈
The Complete Fae Blessings Codex (Spreadsheet) 📊
For truly dedicated knights who wish to master theory-crafting, the community has compiled extensive data on every blessing in the game into a comprehensive spreadsheet. 💻 This tool is indispensable for tackling the highest difficulties!
Chapter 5: Forging a Worthy Champion (Meta-Progression & Economy) 📈
Your true, lasting strength is forged at the Beacon of Avalore. This is the meta-progression system, where you invest resources into permanent upgrades. 💪
The Beacon of Avalore’s Skill Trees 🌳
At The Source, you can spend Grail Water 💧 and Moonstones 🌕 to unlock nodes in five distinct skill trees.
- Life Tree ❤️: All about survivability. Offers increased health, better healing, and even extra lives. Your first priority as a new player!
- War Tree ⚔️: Focuses on offense and defense. Its most crucial upgrade is an additional dash charge, which is essential for everyone!
- Treasure Tree 🎲: Helps you manipulate randomness by granting additional reroll dice, helping you hunt for the perfect blessings.
- Wealth Tree 💰: Focused on the in-run economy. Start a run with more gold and get discounts at shops!
- Devotion Tree 🌀: A lower-priority tree offering specialized, late-game bonuses.
An Economy of Souls and Steel (Currency Management) 💲
- Gold 💰: In-run currency used at shops. Lost upon death.
- Fairy Embers 🔥 & Crystal Shards 💎: Permanent currencies used to unlock new weapons and spells.
- Grail Water 💧 & Moonstones 🌕: The primary permanent currencies used for the skill trees.
Nimue’s Forge & The Sword in the Stone (Weapon Crafting) 🔨
- Nimue’s Upgrades 🛡️: At the hub, visit Nimue for permanent, incremental stat boosts for your weapons.
- Sword in the Stone (Anvils) anvil: During a run, you may find an “Anvil” event. This offers powerful, run-defining augments for your weapons and spells.
Chapter 6: United Against Tyranny: A Co-op Masterclass 👨👩👧👦
The Power of Four 🤝
SWORN is designed from the ground up as a 4-player cooperative adventure. All rewards are shared equally, even if a player is downed during combat. Teamwork makes the dream work! 🥰
Dream Team Compositions ✨
- The Wall and the Cannon 🧱💥: A Rook player groups enemies together, while a Spectre unleashes devastating AoE spells from a safe distance.
- The Guardian Angels 😇: A Monk player using Arcane Shield can provide party-wide defensive buffs, dramatically increasing the survivability of fragile damage-dealers.
Co-op Blessing Strategy 🧠
Coordinate your blessing choices! One player can focus on applying “Weak” 📉, while the other three choose blessings that gain massive bonuses against Weakened enemies. Always prioritize “Round Table Blessings” as they buff the entire party! 🎉
Communication is Key 🗣️
Effective communication is your sharpest weapon. Call out high-priority targets, coordinate ultimates on bosses, and discuss which chamber reward will benefit the team most. 💬
Chapter 7: The Spoils of War: DLC and The Future of Camelot 🎁
Current DLC Content 💅
As of the 1.0 release, all available DLC for SWORN is cosmetic. There are individual cosmetic packs for each character, which do not affect gameplay but are a great way to support the developers! ❤️
The Road Ahead 🛣️
The developers at Windwalk Games have confirmed that the 1.0 launch is just the beginning! 🥳 Plans for post-launch content are in the works, and a version for the Nintendo Switch 🎮 is planned for a future release date.
Conclusion: Your Legend Begins 📜
The path to liberating Camelot is paved with glorious death and hard-won wisdom. Mastery of SWORN is a journey of a thousand runs, each one a lesson, a puzzle, and a story of perseverance. With the knowledge in this guide, you are now equipped to take up your arms, swear your oath, and forge your own legend. ⚔️
Now, go forth, Soulforged. Share your greatest triumphs, your most broken builds, and your legendary co-op stories in the comments below. Camelot awaits. 👑
Disclaimer: This is an unofficial fan work, all trademarks and copyrights for Sworn belong to the developer Windwalk Games.
Find the game here! SWORN Hub
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