Death Howl is a brutal card battler that draws a lot of inspiration from Soulslikes. Convoluted lore, hard but fair combat, and a preference for slow, methodical play over rushing in guns blazing, these are the main ideas behind the game.
While the early game in Death Howl can be very tough, things do get easier once you start learning more about the game’s mechanics and systems. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll lay down some helpful tips and tricks to make your journey into the Spirit World easier.
For more information about Death Howl, check out their official website here.
Table of contents
Explore The Map
Exploration is one of the best ways to get an edge in Death Howl. The Spirit World is filled with helpful items that give you advantages in battle. Some of the best early-game rewards, such as the Tree Root Totem, are tucked away in out-of-the-way locations, often behind tough Elder Spirit encounters.
The Nests in each zone are clearly marked on the Map as soon as you unlock a Sacred Grove. But there are also hidden cave entrances that you can only find by clicking on them while exploring.
These locations often give you Crafting Materials you’ll need to create new cards and unique Totems. If you simply go from point A to B and avoid optional paths or fights, you’ll miss out on a ton of useful stuff that can make your run much smoother.
You Can Either Craft Cards or Gain Teardrops
One of the systems that threw me off at first was how the game forces you to allocate Death Howls toward Teardrops as soon as you rest at a Sacred Grove. That means if you want to heal up, you’ll spend your Death Howls automatically, even if you were saving them for crafting new cards.
So if you’re planning to craft cards, make sure to do it before you rest at a Sacred Grove. Once you rest, any Death Howls you have get converted into Teardrops. This is one of the main reasons why I suggest focusing on crafting cards first when you enter a new Realm and use the additional Death Howls for Teardrops when you’re low on health.
Each Realm Has Different Upgrades
The Spirit World isn’t one big zone, but a collection of four Realms, each with its own sub-regions. Every zone has its own Teardrop Skill Tree that you need to unlock separately for that specific realm.
That means even if you’ve maxed out the Skill Tree in the first realm, you’ll still need to acquire upgrades all over again in the next one. This can make entering a new realm feel tough at first.
The best way to handle this is to grind the previous realm for a few extra Teardrops before moving on. That way, you can grab essential upgrades right away when entering a new zone.
Card Costs Can Change When You Switch Realms
Just like the Teardrop upgrades, every Realm has its own unique set of cards that unlock as you progress. The downside is that when you enter a new Realm, using cards from a previous one will cause their Mana cost to increase.
This doesn’t happen, however, with Realmless Cards, which is why having a good number of them in your deck is basically the intended way to play. Once you unlock enough realm-specific cards for the area you’re in, you can properly build your deck to tackle the rest of the zone.
Sacred Groves Are the Key to Progression
Sacred Groves serve as Death Howl’s main save points. They act just like Bonfires in Soulslike games: if you use one, all enemies on the map respawn. This isn’t a bad thing, since it means you can farm Spirits indefinitely for more Death Howls.
More importantly, though, Sacred Groves are how you track progression. They’re placed in strategic locations to guide you toward the next objective. If you’re unsure where to go, finding the next Sacred Grove is usually the safest bet.
Experiment with Card Synergies
Some cards in Death Howl have unique effects that trigger under specific conditions. The more you understand these interactions, the better you can build combos that deal extra damage or reduce enemy pressure, letting you take down monsters more efficiently.
Here’s a simple early-game combo you can use from minute one:
- Use Quick Strike to deal damage and push the enemy back.
- Follow up with Hurl Rock to hit them from range.
- Then sacrifice a Block of Wood card to gain a shield.
- That shield, in turn, reduces the Mana cost of Defensive Swing.
This is just one small example of how cards can be chained together, but as you unlock more tools, your options open up massively.
Grind To Win
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: this is a grindy game. If you rush straight for the end of each realm, you’re going to slam headfirst into a brick wall. You need to fight Spirits not only to learn their attack patterns, but also to earn Death Howls and realm-specific Crafting Materials.
Find a Sacred Grove that’s close to a cluster of Spirits, rest there, and keep cycling those enemies to grind. Over time, as you unlock more cards and upgrades, you’ll be able to build up a deck that’s good for the Realm that you’re currently completing. This not only makes your build stronger but also helps you become more comfortable with the game’s combat system.
This concludes this guide for Death Howl. For more interesting articles related to indie games, check out the links below:
- Into Indie Games Home Page
- Routine Walkthrough Hub
- Sleep Awake Complete Walkthrough – All Chapters
- Marvel Cosmic Invasion Review
- Winter Burrow Review
Muhit Rahman lives off two things: gaming marathons and endless cups of tea. He writes guides, reviews, and occasionally forgets that real life doesn’t come with checkpoints. His favorite genres are Soulslike and Metroidvania, with Dark Souls III, Hollow Knight, and Dota 2 forever holding top spots on his all-time list.
