The game has a built-in tutorial section that is very very helpful to both new and veteran players. It explains many of the core rules without going all spoilery and such.

Be sure to give it a read sometime!

There are five classes to play as in this game, each with their own pros and cons. In general the cultist tends to be the hardest to win with, followed by the wizard, thief, cleric, and warrior.

WARRIOR

• Can use two handed weapons and any armor or shield
  
• Has extremely high STR and CON growth
  
• Has zero MAG growth, and loses magic resistance each time he levels up. Also has low DEX which makes it hard to evade and hit things sometimes
  
• Takes slightly more damage from traps
  
• May break items more often
  
• Gains the Warrior Rage effect at the start of a purple phase.

The warrior is a great and hardy character who will be able to survive quite well if you're smart about it. With high HP and stamina and the ability to equip almost anything in the game he is a good choice for any beginner player. His biggest drawback is going to be a weakness to any enemy spells so try to avoid those if possible. Another thing to consider is his hit rate is going to be lowest of all classes due to his low DEX.

Warriors learn the following skills:

• TACKLE- Physically assault the enemy and reduce its stamina and attack power.
  
• HUNKER- Increases physical & magical defense +3 as well as shield block +5% during combat
  
• SLAY- An extremely powerful attack that leaves most monsters dead in its wake

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THIEF

• Can steal from shops & enemies at higher levels
  
• Can spot a chest trap during Trap Floor Events
  
• Has very high DEX growth
  
• Gains bonuses to fleeing battle, scrapping items, and avoiding ambushes
  
• Has many good starting gifts to choose from
  
• Gains the Nimble effect at the start of a green phase.

The thief is a man who needs to rely on his skills and reflexes in order to survive the dungeon. As such, you will want to try and pick starter gifts that might be helpful in finding the stairs (compass) or avoiding tough enemies (white potion). His skills are all top notch and at level 7 gains the ability to steal from monsters and shops. Some items can only be found by robbing the enemy blind..

Thieves learn the following skills:

• DODGE- Gain a 20% bonus to your evasion rate in battle
  
• POISON- A powerful poison is added to your attack, and slightly erodes enemy defense
  
• STEAL- Attempt to steal an item from the enemy. You must have at least one spot empty in your backpack in order for this to work.

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WIZARD

• Can cast magic spells in exchange for stamina
  
• Has the ability to equip magic tomes, which grant bonus spells in combat
  
• Unable to equip most heavy weapons and armor, he's limited gear-wise
  
• Has low STR and stamina. What did you expect?!
  
• Gains the Spell Boost effect at the start of a blue phase.

The wizard can end up being near unstoppable with the right setup, but it'll be a constant challenge to keep his stamina up for all the spells he'll need along the way. This magic never misses its target and helps guarantee to continue the Hit Streak bonus gauge. Due to his low stamina you will want to hold on to stamina-boosting items found early in the game like watermelons, cherries, and green potions. If you find or buy a tome you can also hold it in your left hand and gain an extra spell, possibly one that can heal you in battle.

Be VERY wary of Anti-Magic fields! They take away the Wizard's main source of offense and will force you to use that noggin' of yours to survive!

Rain floors play a lot into how your elemental damages will work too. For example, your FLAMES spell will have 50% effectiveness yet your ZAP spell will do double damage while it's raining. If you happen to find a Rain Scroll you may want to hold onto it to use before you have a big boss fight!

Wizards learn the following skills:

• FLAMES- Launch an orb of fire at your foe, frying them. Also causes minor stamina damage
  
• ICE- Creates subzero temperatures around the opponent for freezing damage. Also reduces the chances of enemy evasion rates
  
• ZAP- Summons mighty electrical damage from your fingertips! The shock will also slightly reduce the enemy's physical attack power

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CLERIC

• Can cast powerful undead-destroying and heal spells.
  
• Can wear light armor and shields.
  
• Able to equip any blunt, non-edged weapons. Including two-handers!
  
• Refuses to run from any fight, so don't get into any battles you can't win!
  
• Gains the Bless effect at the start of a red phase.

While most characters will crap their pants at the sight of a graveyard floor, the cleric looks forward to them. Almost every enemy here will take huge damage from the turn undead spell (including the Ghost boss!) Even the Lich at the very bottom of the dungeon will take big damage from this spell. IF you can make it that far, of course!

Be VERY wary of Anti-Magic fields! They take away the Cleric's ability to heal himself- which is usually the only way he can survive the harder fights that he refuses to run away from.

Clerics learn the following skills:

• PRAY- Summon holy assistance to the tune of +1 ATK / HIT% per level of the cleric.
  
• TURN- A strong offensive spell that damages undead. It will scale with your MAG stat.
  
• HEAL- For a large stamina cost you can heal your battle wounds while in combat situations.

Dev's Note:
The PRAY skill is not actually a magic spell, and will still work during an Anti-Magic event. The TURN and HEAL spells will still fail if cast, however.


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CULTIST

• Can use devastating dark spells and skills.
  
• Able to eat rotten food unharmed, and actually gain double the stamina from it.
  
• Loses less maximum HP at the cult dens.
  
• Gets +1 HP from all auto kills
  
• Gains Evil Blessing ATK power from auto kills
  
• May repulse enemies on occasion at higher levels, making them miss a turn.
  
• Has terrible base stats, especially CON.
  
• Levels and gains Hit Streaks the lowest of all classes.
  
• Hated- Won't be allowed inside normal shops or guilds.
  
• Can donate gold at cult dens for a chance to gain base stats.
  
• Can only use knives and robes, shirts, or cloaks for armor!
  
• Gains the Instant Kill effect at the start of a yellow phase.

Unlike everyone else, cultists are completely reviled by most residents of the dungeon and won't be allowed inside many dwellings and shops. Vowing to serve some dark master, she's also forgone armor completely and in fact will only use daggers and other sacrificial-looking doodads. Having a dark master does have its privileges though, as she has extremely strong skills. Cultists are not only able to eat rotten food they'll actually gain double the stamina boost and recover HP.

Cultists are very welcome in other cult dens, and will be charged significantly less max HP while shopping there. They can also offer to donate $500 in gold for a chance to raise their 4 base stats.

Cultists learn the following skills:

• RUST- Sprays a corrosive cloud at the enemy, completely reducing its physical defense
  
• RITUAL- Huck thousands of sharp knives at the enemy. Grows stronger over time and never misses.
  
• DEATH- Summons the power of your dark god and may outright kill the enemy if you're lucky.

Dev's Note:
This class is originally locked to the player. To unlock it, you must have seen 25% or more items the game has to offer. You can easily check your progress in the "Found Items Log" on the second page of the main menu.

The next step after deciding which class you want to play as is making sure you get the right starting gifts. These are 3 free items and each class has many different possibilties to choose from. If you win the game as a specific class, starting another game with that same class will get you another gift pick as a reward (maximum 4 picks per class.)

WARRIOR GIFTS

• Oak Club
  
• Wooden Shield
  
• Padded Armor
  
• Yellow Potion
  
• Warrior's Glove
  
• Campfire Set
  
• Holy Cross
  
• Fishing Pole
  
• Door Kit

Dev's Notes:

The campfire set is an awesome item that can be set up and used as many times as you like on any given floor (provided it's not raining of course). You will recover full HP & stamina each time you use it, with the only drawback being that your Hit Streak meter will reset to zero. It has an added bonus of lighting up any darkness as well.

Fishing Poles are equipped in the left hand and allow you to attempt to catch fish in any of the game's small ponds. Fishing requires a small amount of stamina and often you'll come up empty. It's said that fish are apt to bite more often when it rains. Drinking a yellow potion grants you a big gold find bonus temporarily. It makes sense to wait and drink one when you're about to open a bunch of chests.

Other good choices would be the oak club for increasing your already decent offensive pop, or the wooden shield / padded armor combo for more defense. The warrior's glove is great if you plan on using two handed weapons down the line, and it also boosts your stamina and critical hit rate slightly.

Holy Crosses will bless you for a short time and allow you to unequip any cursed items you might have gotten 'stuck' with. They can also completely protect you from instant death magic. However, it's tough to find cursed items on the early floors and death magic casters are very rare so keep that in mind.

Need to wait around and recover stamina but you're being chased by everything under the sun? Grab a Door Kit and throw up a nice barricade to keep monsters out while you write your last will and testament!

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THIEF GIFTS

• Short Sword
  
• Silk Shirt
  
• White Potion
  
• Compass
  
• Leather Glove
  
• Torch
  
• Purple Potion
  
• Bronze Key
  
• Pocket Watch

Dev's Notes:

For any new player I'd say the compass is almost a must-have as it gives you the basic direction of where the stairs to the next floor are. It's accurate MOST of the time, and is one of the game's few resuable items that won't break. The short sword is also a good option since thieves don't start with much STR and will likely have a low attack power.

The thief has 2 great potions to choose from at the onset. Purple potions restore full HP & stamina. White potions give you temporary invisibility and are very handy if you get trapped in a tough situation. Invisible characters can walk right through enemies without triggering a battle (because you're actually sneaking around the enemy).

Any adventurer should try to get his hands on at least one torch, as a floor full of darkness can really spoil the fun. If you want to have better chances to disarming trapped chests then the bronze key is the gift for you. As thieves have so many good starting gifts you might want to skip the silk shirt and leather glove altogether. That is unless you want to make a challenging character even more so!

And if Time Bomb floors give you fits, grabbing the pocket watch might be a good idea too. Using it will add 50 units of time before the bomb goes off, allowing for extra exploring or a dash to the ladder.

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WIZARD GIFTS

• Dagger
  
• Watermelon
  
• Leather Hat
  
• Warp Stone
  
• Red Potion
  
• Magic Book
  
• Foot Powder
  
• Tee Shirt
  
• Service Bell

Dev's Notes:

The main drawbacks of the wizard we discussed earlier are his lack of HP & stamina. In this case you might want to seriously consider choosing the watermelon (refills stamina to max) or the red potion (refills HP to max). Of course if you want to boost his already powerful magic spells the magic book is an expendable item that adds to your MAG stat.

Foot powder cures poisoning and also grants resistance against it. From floor 7+ you will start seeing patches of glowing poison grass that will damage you upon being stepped on. Posion resistance from the foot powder will negate this damage. As a wizard you're going to be relying on your magic spells most of the time so you might want to skip the dagger unless you also choose the Attack Power +2 character bonus afterward.

As your CON is so low, you won't be able to tank too many hits at the start. Even lowly bats and snakes can be trouble! You may wish to take the tee shirt and / or leather hat to boost your defense a bit, especially since you don't have a lot of defensive options in the game as it is. The warp stone is an expendable item that will randomly warp you to another spot on the floor. This can be a great way to escape tough early foes like champ monsters or killer plants.

And if you end up with a ton of money with nothing looking too good at the shop, the service bell is invaluable as it can force all buildings to open their doors again. Just go inside and see what else he might have for you!

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CLERIC GIFTS

• Quarterstaff
  
• Leather Garb
  
• Cotton Cowl
  
• Mystery Scroll
  
• Shovel
  
• Green Potion
  
• Blue Potion
  
• Smelling Salts
  
• Tracking Orb

Dev's Notes:

Clerics can start with some great gifts however since they're limited in early game weapons and armor you might want to pick the Quarterstaff and the Leather Garb. The Mystery Scroll will randomly increase a stat by 1 and is always a good choice. Without the ability to run from battles you'll REALLY not want to get cornered by the enemy. In cases like these the shovel is invaluable and can dig right through to the next floor.

Since your PRAY skill scales with your character level, you might want to grab the Blue Potion as it'll give you the Knowledge effect which increases XP gains by +100%. By gaining early levels quickly you'll be able to get a bigger ATK and HIT% boost for fights faster. Smelling Salts can protect you against the sleep magic that Vampire Bats and Chest Monsters cast.

The Tracking Orb tells you how many monsters remain on a floor. It can be useful while in darkness to see if you should attempt to explore thoroughly or to make it for the exit ladder. With a low offense for the early game you're going to be using your PRAY skill a lot, using up valuable stamina. You might want to take the Green Potion with you for a stamina refill when you get low.

And the cotton cowl? Only choose it if you want the worst helmet in the game or for a challenge!

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CULTIST GIFTS

• Knife
  
• Cotton Cowl
  
• Cultist Robe
  
• Torch
  
• Shovel
  
• Foot Powder
  
• Empty Bottle
  
• Potion of Speed
  
• Rotten Chicken

Dev's Notes:

Cultists start with some pretty decent gifts however since they are so limited gear-wise I would highly suggest you choose the Knife and the Cultist Robe for your first 2 picks. You could of course find a knife pretty early on but in case you don't remember that her attack power and STR are dismal. You could compensate by choosing the Attack Power +2 starting bonus of course and choose a utility type of item like the Shovel or Torch.

The Potion of Speed is incredibly awesome, allowing you to move at double the rate of your enemies on the map and often grants bonus attack chances in combat. Only don't choose it in case you want a challenge. Rotten food is terrible for the other classes but this thing's like Thanksgiving dinner for you- You'll suffer no penalties for eating it and in fact gain double the stamina from it.

The Cotton Cowl still sucks, so don't take that one. Empty Bottles are always good for when you find a witch's cauldron, and you can never go wrong with Foot Powder!

After choosing your class and starting gifts, you now get to choose a character bonus that will stay with you throughout your entire adventure. Some can be more helpful than others, depending on what class you've chosen. Unlike starting gifts these 5 bonuses are always the same regardless of class.

CHARACTER BONUS

• Gold Found +25%
  
• Attack Power +2
  
• Experience +15%
  
• Magic Defense +3
  
• All Stats +1

Dev's Notes:

To me, it really depends on what class I've chosen. If I'm playing a warrior with crappy magic resistance I'm more likely to choose Magic Defense +3 over a bonus that boosts my already decent attack power. Also since 3 points of magic resistance would normally take a MAG stat score of 6 to achieve, the warrior isn't likely to get it otherwise.

Gold Found +25% is another good choice, but keep in mind you're at the mercy of RNGesus in Equin: The Lantern. If you find a shop it's not guaranteed what they're selling is what you'll be needing at that point. Experience +15% is amazing when you start killing tough enemies on the lower floors but you won't see its benefits right away fighting bats and slimes.

All Stats +1 makes for an all-purpose selection and Attack Power +2 I'd normally choose if I'm playing a thief who didn't take the short sword starter gift. But that's just me- You can experiement to see which character bonus best suits your play style!

Dev's Note Part 2: Return of Dev's Note

As of March 2021 three of the starting bonuses were slightly improved: XP +20%, Gold +30%, and MDEF +4.

New to the game as of 10/13/18 are Xtoli Points (or XTP for short). Killing bosses will earn you between 1 and 5 points, depending on the boss. Please refer to my Boss Guide up here for the exact point details.

Upon begining a new game you'll be whisked away to this new screen below. Spending XTP for that run is completely optional, so selecting "GO will just take you to the dungeon like normal.


Each and every Xtoli Reward can be purchased for any character's run, and the benefits are immediate and final (no take backs here, folks!) I'll now explain what the 9 current rewards are and what they do:

RED SHIRT
XTP Cost: FREE
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Play the game handicapped at level 1, where you can't earn XP. An expert's challenge, you're welcome to try it right from the get go. Please note the Skill Rings +1 / +2 will only become available while playing as a red shirt.


LIGHT 'EM UP
XTP Cost: 1
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Start the game with 2 torches and a bag of fire salts.


BIG BUCKS
XTP Cost: 2
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Start the game with $500 in your wallet.


SPELUNKER
XTP Cost: 3
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Start the game with a pickaxe and compass.


QUICK STUDY
XTP Cost: 4
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Start the game with +3 in all stats.


LUCKY DUCK
XTP Cost: 5
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Start the game with a four leaf clover and +100% gold earned.


BOMB SQUAD
XTP Cost: 8
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Start the game with a blast suit and 2 grenades.


XENOMORPH
XTP Cost: 10
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Start the game with a morphing scroll.


THE MASTER
XTP Cost: 15
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Start the game with both a dragon ring and a fist of fury.

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Some things:

Both the Morphing Scroll and the Dragon Ring were taken out of the general loot pool for drops in the normal game, and are now only available through this new point system. They were both pretty rare, so chances are you wouldn't have found them already.

It may sound stupid but it's true: If you run out of HP you're going to die and then it's "Game Over, Man! Game Over!!" One important aspect of this game is to have a good sense of when to use your recovery items and when NOT to use them. In general, if you're only missing a few HP you probably don't want to drink an entire red potion that would fill it to max over an apple or something.

Running out of stamina can be almost as terrifying. Just about everything you can do in this game will require some amount of stamina:

• Fighting
  
• Breaking out of webs
  
• Auto killing enemies
  
• Fishing
  
• Closing doors
  
• Mining
  
• Etc, etc

Drinking from wells will refill your stamina to max, and many food items will also recover some stamina when eaten. Even walking or waiting around will restore stamina (only slowly).



You'll only ever have 21 slots for things in your inventory. Try to keep the most important healing and situational things and scrap any extra stuff for extra cash. If you pick up an item that your character can't equip or use at all, scrap it right away. There's no sense in clogging up your inventory with items you'll never use!


Dev's Note:

If your pack is 21 items full, the 'Pack' icon in the lower left hand corner of the main game screen will flash red. You won't be able to enter and purchase items from the shop with a full backpack. Also opening any treasure chests that would have normally had items in them will instead give you a larger amount of gold pieces than usual.

Note: This game used to only have a 10 item slot backpack, then later 15, then 18, and currently it's at 21. It used to be way harder to manage your stuff so rejoice!

Another thing to consider is your hunger level, which is denoted by the green bar on the main HUD. When it drops to dangerous levels, a warning message and a flashing apple icon will appear. If you continue to do nothing about it you'll start to starve and take -1 HP per step until... well, YOU KNOW.

Hunger can easily be prevented by eating many types of food. Even eating normally inedible stuff like rotten chickens will fill your belly a small amount (though this isn't recommended as it will also injure your HP quite a bit). Resting at a campfire or renting a room at a guild will also fill your belly to maximum levels.

So save those crappy bananas and watermelons, you don't want your stomach to do you in!

Equin: The Lantern can be a tough game, especially when new players haven't figured out all the rules and how the lantern changes them depending on its color phase. Now I'm not going to give any of that away here (that's half the fun!) but there are some dangers early on that can be quite catastrophic for the unprepared adventurer.

KILLER PLANTS


Killer plants are extremely tough monsters that live throughout the dungeon, including the early floors on occassion. With tons of HP, STR, and a poisonous bite they can be deadly to any new adventurer. Unless you've found some incredible gear and have had the luck of King Midas on your side you're going to want to avoid these things like the plague for the early game.

Dev's Note:

I got the idea for these things from playing the Etrian Odyssey games. In those, you have these huge monsters called FOEs that are just way way too hard to beat when you first see them. Like FOEs, eventually you should be able to kick the crap out of Killer Plants too!

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CHAMPION ENEMIES


Champion enemies are rare versions of the normal monsters you'll see while playing. You can easily spot a champ by its gowing blue outline. In all cases, a champ is stronger than its regular counterpart (sometimes MUCH stronger!) If you think you can kill one they are normally worth the risk and drop treasure chests when defeated. Occasionally they can even drop golden chests filled with better loot!

Dev's Note:

Be especially wary of any Death Boxes you may find. These are champ class chest monsters and like all chest monsters their stats scale to the dungeon floor they're found on. A Death Box encountered on the lowest floors can even be as powerful as the hardest bosses in the game!

A new addition to the game as of 11/29/16 is the Level 10 bonus. This works exactly like the starting bonus does only it'll happen way, way, down the line when your guy reaches character level 10.

Level 10 Bonus


This pop up screen will appear once you reach the level, and you'll be given one of three choices. The choices are all the same regardless of Warrior, Thief, Wizard, or Cleric. The game will be paused until you make your selection.

NIGHTVISION:
Negates any inherent darkness floor penalties
Grants a +15% accuracy bonus to any melee attack or skill in combat
Unable to be ambushed while in darkness, ever

LUCKY:
Grants an increase in the chances that any regular chest will become golden
Grants an increase in the chances that any golden chest will become shadow
The lucky bonus will stack with any bonuses provided by certain floor events, i.e. a Treasure Floor

SKILL MASTERY:
All three class skills and spells can be used at a reduction in stamina cost (-1)
For Wizards, Mastery stacks with the Mage Tome. Thus casting class spells will have -2 stamina costs.

This last bit is going to run through some general FAQs that i've collected over the years for this game. Luckily Equin: The Lantern- Cult of the Lich is a lot more streamlined than its earlier versions from 2012 and 2014!

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Did you know that you can quit and save your game to continue for later?
Version 1.3ST has this new feature. Select 'QUIT' from the game menu to save your progress and exit to Steam. All your items, stats, and even dungeon layout progress are saved this way. Upon reloading a game, the save is lost. Permadeath, baby!

Did you know that you can now unequip items?
Version 1.3ST also allows you to unequip your items. This is handy if a sword can also be used as an item to grant you a bonus effect for example. Just move the cursor up from the subscreen and press the button to unequip your gear. You must have a spot in your pack open first of course.

Did you know you keep a running log of every item you've ever found?
Accessed through the start menu, feel free to browse through the game's 25 pages of 500 different items! If the picture is grayed out, it's still out there waiting for you to find it. Items with color pictures can be selected and have their info displayed. Will anybody ever legitly get the coveted 100%?? Note: Personally I've played hundreds of hours since this has been put in place and I'm still at around 70%. Not bad!

Did you know that chest monsters' stats scale depending on the floor you're on?
Since chest monsters always drop a chest as a reward, and the loot gets better the deeper you go, they will get stronger and stronger the further along you are as a result. They may even gain new attacks and abilities!

Did you know that you can close doors behind you?
Sometimes this is an excellent tactic to trap or escape monsters that are chasing you. Maybe someday they'll learn how to open doors. But not today!

Dev's Note: Thieves, Muggers, & Ninja can now open doors. To further protect yourself you can use a padlock on any closed door to lock it, which they can't quite figure out yet.


Did you know the Lantern changes colors in a pattern: Yellow, Blue, Green, Purple, and Red? Each phase has different effects on the game's rules- sometimes drastically. It's up to you and your careful observation to learn what does what. You can also bribe guildmembers you'll find to give you tips for help.

Did you know there's a Hit Streak feature in this game?
Successfully striking an enemy with weapons or spells will increase the blue hit streak meter on the screen. When it's full everything will go SPARKLIE AND ♥♥♥♥. When that happens you'll gain an XP earned bonus with each enemy you kill. The streak effect ends when you miss an enemy or is taken away at the start of a yellow lantern phase.

Did you know guildmember tips are kept from game to game?
Tips learned through various playthroughs will be stored in a separate file that can be accessed through the start menu at any time. This is a handy way to sift through any old rules and information from past games before starting out on a new journey.

Did you know that there's an obituary text file created for every character that dies?
It's true! In your main Equin game folder is another folder named 'Graveyard'. In here you'll find a text file for every one of your deaths, filled with lots of detailed information and gameplay stats. It's interesting to go back and read these. You can quickly open this folder from the start menu.

Did you know that different floor events can stack?
Some floor events can happen at the same time. For example, if you get a Rain Foor it can also be Dark. If this happens you won't be able to light the darkness with a torch, since it'll get wet and go out. Other combinations can also occur, so be warned!

Did you know that the town in this game is the same town later seen in "Just a Cleric"?
It's true! Equin: The Lantern takes place a long time before the adventures of the wussy cleric, and obviously the dungeon's changed a lot too, but it's the same place. These gray rabbit guys (Xtoli) also appear in Just a Cleric's underground section of town behind a false wall on the way to the Grind-O-Rama challenge dungeon.