Xenon Valkyrie+: How to Survive Your First Runs – Beginner Guide

A bad early run in Xenon Valkyrie+ usually falls apart in one cramped room: a narrow platform, an enemy just below you, one impatient swing, and suddenly that target pops up into your space instead of away from it. That is the real beginner lesson in this game. Xenon Valkyrie+ is not won by rushing rooms or trading hits like a brawler. It is won by spacing, route discipline, and knowing when not to commit. If you want the shortest version of this beginner guide, start with Eleon, invest early points into Strength, attack from above whenever possible, and treat bosses like pattern checks instead of damage races.

One quick clarification matters because search results around this game name can get messy: Xenon Valkyrie+ is not the idle RPG Ten Valkyrie. Systems like Auto-Battle, Soul Stones, Rebirth, and passive EXP loops are not part of this game’s progression. Here, your “progression” is much more direct: cleaner platforming, safer enemy control, smarter gold usage, and better judgment about which fights and routes are worth the risk.

The six beginner tips that actually make runs more stable

• Pick Eleon first unless you specifically want secret-route access tied to Nue.
• Play rooms slowly and use height advantage instead of forcing every fight.
• Level Strength early so fights end faster and expose you to less contact damage.
• Keep paying the beggar between levels for the long-term Defence bonus.
• Do not open chests blindly if you are planning for Blackstorm Lab or weapon targeting.
• Learn boss tells and only punish inside short, safe windows.

Tip 1: Start with Eleon if your goal is to learn the game cleanly

Character choice matters more than it first appears. Public walkthroughs and beginner advice consistently point to Eleon as the easiest starting pick because her special move gives you controlled space denial with a timed mine. For a new player, that does two useful things at once: it lets you clear awkward approaches without face-checking enemies, and it teaches the correct pace for the game. You stop thinking “How do I rush this room?” and start thinking “Where can I place pressure safely?”

That matters because ranged tools in Xenon Valkyrie+ are not a free win. Guns exist, but beginner-friendly advice around the game is pretty consistent that sword spacing and platform control are usually more reliable than trying to brute-force rooms with firearm spam. Eleon supports that safer style naturally. If you are chasing certain secret content, though, Nue is the important exception. One commonly cited secret-route requirement for the AI MotherShip involves playing as Nue, so choose her if that is your immediate goal. If your goal is simply to survive early runs and understand the combat mechanics, Eleon is the better classroom.

Tip 2: Treat every room like a positioning puzzle, not a kill check

This is the biggest mental shift for beginners. You do not need to prove that you can win every exchange on reaction. You need to stop taking bad exchanges in the first place. The game rewards cautious play, avoiding unnecessary fights, and learning how enemies move before you swing. If a room gives you one safe ledge and two bad angles, stay on the safe ledge until the enemies create an opening.

The most important rule here is simple: attack from above whenever you can. Several mechanics explanations for the game warn that hitting enemies from below can pop them upward or over edges and into your path, which turns a controlled situation into a collision scramble. Beginners often assume a vertical attack is safe because they are technically out of direct contact. In practice, attacking from underneath is one of the fastest ways to get crowded.

A clean room plan usually looks like this:

• Stop at the entrance and watch enemy movement for a second.
• Take the high ground if there is any platform advantage.
• Force enemies to travel toward you rather than jumping into them.
• Use melee to finish stable openings instead of spraying ranged attacks in panic.
• If the room is ugly, back off and reset spacing rather than forcing a trade.

That last point matters on both PC and console. Whether you are on keyboard or controller, messy inputs happen most often when you jump into a fight before the screen is under control. Slowing down fixes more mistakes than any gear upgrade does.

Tip 3: Put early stats into Strength, then buy just enough survival to cover mistakes

Early stat allocation has a clear pattern in community advice: damage first, survivability second. In practice, that means prioritizing Strength early because shorter fights are safer fights. Every extra enemy cycle you allow is another chance to eat contact damage, get knocked off position, or make a bad jump under pressure. Strength is not just an offensive stat in a rogue-lite like this; it is a risk-reduction stat.

That said, you do not want to tunnel vision so hard on damage that one mistake deletes the run. A good beginner rhythm is to push Strength first, then add enough HP or Defence to survive a real error. Think of it like this: Strength helps you avoid taking hits, while HP/Defence helps you recover when avoidance fails. If you spread points evenly from the start, you usually get the worst of both worlds-slower kills without enough toughness to justify the drop in damage.

If your runs feel stuck in the same place, ask which problem is killing you. If rooms are dragging on and enemies keep clipping you during extended fights, add Strength. If bosses are leaving you one mistake away from death every time, patch in more HP or Defence. That is a much better use of your resources than blind “balanced” leveling.

Tip 4: Build defense the boring way by paying the beggar every time

There is a small long-term optimization that beginners should start using immediately: give money to the beggar between levels. Multiple guides note that regularly paying that NPC can eventually reward you with a +1 Defence bonus. It does not feel dramatic when you first hear it, which is exactly why newer players skip it. But in a game built around repeated runs, one extra point of Defence is not trivial. It smooths out chip damage, gives you more room to survive bad landings, and makes the early game less punishing over time.

This is the kind of habit that separates stable runs from chaotic ones. Beginners often spend gold emotionally: on the thing that looks exciting right now. Xenon Valkyrie+ rewards routine instead. If the beggar shows up, pay. Make it automatic. You are buying future consistency, not immediate fireworks.

Tip 5: Keys and chests can change your route, so do not open everything on autopilot

One of the more interesting route tips around Xenon Valkyrie+ is that chest timing can influence how hard a later secret challenge feels. A commonly shared strategy says to collect keys from mini-bosses but delay opening chests until you reach Blackstorm Lab. The reason is simple: if you are targeting that route, saving chest openings can improve your odds of finding a stronger weapon there, with the Hollow Blade often mentioned as the desirable pickup.

This is not a universal rule, and it is worth saying that clearly. There is some uncertainty and disagreement around the best weapon and path choices, including whether the Hollow Blade is always the superior play over something like the Diabolical Sabre. The safest way to read that advice is as route optimization, not mandatory law. If you are specifically preparing for Blackstorm Lab, hoarding keys and delaying chests makes sense. If you are still just trying to stabilize normal runs and learn enemy patterns, an earlier chest may be the better choice because immediate power now can matter more than theoretical value later.

Blackstorm Lab itself is widely described as the game’s nastiest optional challenge, and that reputation exists for a reason. It is a multi-layered area that punishes reckless movement and underbuilt characters. Do not force it just because you unlocked a path. Enter with real resources, real HP, and preferably gear you trust.

Tip 6: Boss strategy is about reading telegraphs, and secret routes are not beginner detours

Boss fights are where impatient play gets exposed. The public advice around Xenon Valkyrie+ bosses is very consistent: watch for the large telegraphed attacks, dodge first, and punish only during short vulnerability windows. That sounds obvious until the boss is on screen and you decide to squeeze in one extra hit. Most early failures happen right there. The correct rhythm is usually avoid the big move, land one or two clean hits, reset spacing. If the boss has a predictable recovery or shielded state, that is your cue to act-not before.

Beginners who are comfortable in room combat still get clipped on bosses because they carry over the wrong habit: constant aggression. Bosses are built to punish that. Your goal is not to keep pressure up every second. Your goal is to recognize the repeatable part of the pattern and only commit when the answer is clear.

The same restraint applies to secret progression. One publicly shared path to the AI MotherShip says you need to play as Nue, pay the access-granting NPC, clear Ivory Tundra, and then find a climbable ledge in the next rest area. Even if those are the route steps you want, do not treat them like beginner priorities. Secret routes in this game are often progression-gated and not especially obvious, and they tend to punish weak runs harder than the normal path does. Learn the core loop first. Then go secret hunting with intention instead of curiosity.

The beginner mindset that makes Xenon Valkyrie+ easier

If you want one rule to carry through the whole game, use this one: reduce chaos before you deal damage. Pick Eleon for safer control, value height advantage, buy Strength early, keep feeding the beggar, and stop treating optional routes like free rewards. Xenon Valkyrie+ gets much more manageable the moment you play for position and consistency instead of panic damage.