This 33 Immortals beginner guide is your key to surviving damnation. Your goal is simple: fight through hordes of monstrous sinners, defeat epic bosses drawn from myth and scripture, and earn your freedom alongside 32 other souls. Success in this chaotic co-op roguelike hinges on mastering three things: your Weapon of choice, your evolving build of Perks and Relics, and the unspoken art of mass-scale teamwork.
Forget everything you know about traditional MMO raids or solo roguelikes. Here, the horde is your greatest weapon and your biggest liability. This guide will walk you through the core systems, the best starting choices, and the strategies that separate the ascended from the eternally damned.
Understanding the Core Loop: Dive, Fight, Ascend, Repeat
33 Immortals is a session-based game built on a simple but addictive loop. You start in a hub world, The Shrouded Belfry, where you manage your permanent upgrades. When ready, you queue up and are matched with 32 other players to begin a raid, or a "Dive against Damnation." Each Dive is a series of combat arenas culminating in a massive boss fight.
Your First Dive: What to Expect
A standard run involves clearing several waves of enemies across different maps, each offering a choice of rewards upon completion. These rewards are typically temporary power-ups called Perks, which only last for the current run. You'll face mini-bosses and eventually confront the main boss of that particular Dive, such as the fallen angel Lucifer.
If your 33-player raid succeeds, you keep the resources you've gathered to spend on permanent upgrades. If the raid fails (which it often will), you still keep a portion of your earnings. The most important thing to remember is that every run, success or failure, contributes to your overall power.
The "Rebel Yell": Your Most Important Co-op Tool
On your screen, you'll see a prompt for a "Rebel Yell." This is the game's signature co-op mechanic. Using it signals your intent to other players, and if enough players join your yell, you can trigger powerful cooperative abilities. These are essential for staggering bosses, clearing entire screens of enemies, or providing massive group-wide buffs.
Do not neglect this. A team that uses its Rebel Yells effectively is a team that wins. It's the primary way the game encourages you to move and strike as one cohesive unit instead of 33 individuals.
Why You Shouldn't Fear Death
In your first few runs, you will die. A lot. When your health hits zero, you become a ghost. In this state, you can float around the battlefield for a limited time. If another player runs over to your spirit, they can revive you. There's no complex ritual; they just need to be near you for a moment.
Because revivals are so quick and easy, death is not a catastrophic failure but a temporary setback. Your priority when you see a fallen teammate should almost always be to revive them. A full-strength raid of 33 players is exponentially more powerful than one with 25. The sheer weight of numbers is your primary advantage.
What Are the Four Weapon Archetypes?
You begin with access to four distinct weapon types, each with its own moveset, special abilities, and ideal playstyle. While you can eventually unlock and upgrade all of them, focusing on one at the start is crucial for learning the game's core combat rhythm. Each weapon feels drastically different and favors a certain kind of engagement.
33 Immortals in-game screenshot
Here's a breakdown of the starting arsenal:
| Weapon | Primary Role | Complexity | Best For Beginners? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sword of Justice | Melee Brawler | Low | Yes |
| Bow of Penitence | Ranged DPS | Medium | Good second choice |
| Daggers of Wrath | Melee Assassin | High | No |
| Staff of Gluttony | Ranged Support / AoE | Medium | If you like magic |
The Sword of Justice: The All-Rounder
This is the quintessential starter weapon. The Sword offers a balanced mix of single-target damage, wide cleaving attacks, and a defensive block. Its combos are straightforward, and its mobility is solid. If you're completely new and unsure what to pick, start with the Sword. It will teach you the fundamentals of dodging, positioning, and attack timing without overwhelming you with complex mechanics.
The Bow of Penitence: The Sharpshooter
For those who prefer to stay out of the fray, the Bow is a powerful choice. It allows you to pick off dangerous targets from a distance. Its challenge lies in managing your positioning, as you are much squishier than a Sword user. You'll need to constantly be aware of your surroundings to avoid getting swarmed while you line up your shots. It's a great weapon for learning enemy attack patterns from a safe distance.
The Daggers of Wrath: The High-Risk Brawler
The Daggers are fast, furious, and demand precise execution. This weapon is all about getting in close, unleashing a flurry of attacks, and then dashing out before the enemy can retaliate. It has a very high skill ceiling and is less forgiving than the other weapons. While incredibly powerful in the right hands, it's a poor choice for a first-timer who is still learning boss mechanics.
The Staff of Gluttony: The Arcane Artillery
The Staff is your classic mage archetype. It excels at controlling large areas with powerful spells and can often provide buffs or utility to the raid. Its attacks can be slower to cast but have a huge impact. If you enjoy playing casters in other games and don't mind managing a resource like mana, the Staff can be a highly effective and satisfying weapon.
How Perks and Relics Define Your Build
Your weapon is only one part of the equation. The real variety in 33 Immortals comes from the temporary Perks and permanent Relics you acquire. These are what allow you to create a unique build on every single run.
The Five Virtues: Your Permanent Upgrades
Back at the Shrouded Belfry, you can spend resources earned from Dives to upgrade your Five Virtues: Courage, Justice, Prudence, Fortitude, and Temperance. These are your permanent, account-wide stat bonuses. They might increase your base health, boost your overall damage, or grant you other passive benefits.
Always spend your resources on Virtues after a run. This is the primary progression system. Even a failed run that nets you enough to buy a single upgrade is a net win for your character's long-term power.
Perks of the Damned: Temporary Run-Based Buffs
During a Dive, you'll constantly be offered Perks as rewards. These are temporary enhancements that last only for the current run. They are often themed after mythological figures, like Apollo or Artemis, and offer powerful synergistic effects. For example, a Perk might cause your bow attacks to chain lightning between enemies, or make your sword strikes heal you.
Smart Perk selection is key. Pay attention to the tags and descriptions. Try to choose Perks that complement your weapon and each other. A build focused on critical hits is useless if you don't have any Perks that increase your critical hit chance.
33 Immortals in-game screenshot
God-Given Relics: Game-Changing Artifacts
Relics are rare and powerful items you can equip that provide a unique active or passive ability. Unlike Perks, you choose your Relic before a Dive begins. An early Relic might give you an extra dash, while a more advanced one could allow you to summon a protective spirit. They are major build-defining items that you will unlock over time. As a beginner, you won't have many, but be aware that they are a crucial part of your loadout later on.
Your First Major Hurdle: Defeating Lucifer
Lucifer is one of the first major bosses you will face, and he serves as a brutal introduction to the game's raid mechanics. He's a multi-phase fight that requires coordination, pattern recognition, and effective use of the Rebel Yell system. Simply trying to brute-force him with damage will not work.
Key Mechanics to Watch For
- Summoning Circles: Lucifer will frequently summon circles on the ground that spawn high-priority adds. The raid needs to collapse on these and burn them down quickly before they become overwhelming.
- Sword Beams: He will telegraph a massive, arena-wide attack with his sword. The only safe spots are small pockets directly indicated on the floor. Spreading out is key to survival here.
- Stagger Phase: After taking enough damage or through a coordinated Rebel Yell, Lucifer will become staggered and slump to the ground, exposing a weak point. This is when your raid needs to unleash all of its damage. Saving powerful cooldowns for this phase is critical.
The number one mistake new raids make is ignoring the adds. If you let Lucifer's minions build up, they will overwhelm the group with projectiles and area-denial attacks, making it impossible to dodge his primary abilities. Focus on adds, dodge the big swings, and burn him during the stagger phase. That is the core loop of the fight.
33 Immortals in-game screenshot
Frequently Asked Questions for New Souls
What are the best starting weapons? The Sword of Justice is the best all-around weapon for a new player. It's durable, has simple combos, and teaches you the core combat mechanics effectively. The Bow of Penitence is a good alternative if you strongly prefer ranged combat.
How does progression work after a failed run? Even if your raid wipes, you keep a portion of the resources (like Dust and Embers) you collected. You can immediately take these back to the Shrouded Belfry and spend them on permanent upgrades to your Five Virtues, making your next run slightly easier.
Can I play 33 Immortals solo? No, 33 Immortals is a mandatory co-op experience. You cannot enter a Dive without being matched with other players. The entire game, from its core mechanics to its boss designs, is built around the 33-player raid structure.
What's the point of the "Rebel Yell"? It's the game's main cooperative tool. It allows the raid to trigger powerful group abilities, such as a massive coordinated strike that can instantly stagger a boss or a group-wide defensive buff. Using it frequently and with your team is essential for clearing the hardest content.
The Final Judgment
33 Immortals can feel like pure chaos at first, but beneath the storm of 33 players lies a well-crafted action game that rewards teamwork above all else. Focus on learning one weapon, always spend your resources on permanent Virtue upgrades, and treat your fellow damned souls as your most valuable asset. Master the flow of cooperative combat, and you'll be well on your way to earning your ascension.