Calamity Guide: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide

Calamity is a free to play 2D top-down action RPG that hits you right in the nostalgia. Think old-school Diablo but with MMO vibes and a touch of MOBA-style pacing. You’ve got real-time combat, simple controls, flexible skill-based progression, and a world made for players who love the grind. Whether you're running dungeons solo, farming for gear, or testing your build in PvP, Calamity throws you straight into the action. And now that the game’s officially on the Ronin blockchain, things are only getting more exciting.

Calamity Cover Art 

This guide’s here to cover everything a new player needs to know. We’ll walk you through how to get started, how the class system works, what dungeons are like, and so much more, so let's jump in.

How to Get Started

Calamity is available on PC and you can download it through the Epic Games Store. Just search for "Calamity" or head to the official website and it will redirect you there. Install the game, launch it, and you're ready to go.

Calamity on Epic Games 

The game is completely free to play. Once you're in, create an account and set up your character. You'll be asked to choose between three classes: Warrior, Archer, or Mage. But don't worry too much about your choice. The class system is really flexible and you can switch between them later just by equipping a different weapon. Pick what sounds fun and start exploring.

Gameplay Basics 

Once you're in the game, you'll quickly realize Calamity is all about dungeon combat, loot, and progression. You’ll spend most of your time diving into dungeons, leveling up, unlocking skills, and piecing together builds based on the weapons and armor you find. Default movement controls are right mouse clicks, similar to MOBAs, but you can also use arrow keys if you prefer it. Skills are also leaning on MOBA controls with QWER hotkeys for primary skills. But you can also manually customize your controls and hotkeys to your liking in the settings. You can then use the left mouse to lock on and auto attack an enemy target. 

Calamity Spawn Screen 

Character Classes (Your Weapon, Your Class)

There’s no traditional class selection in Calamity. Instead, your weapon decides your role. If you want to play as a Warrior, just equip a sword or an axe. Want to try a Mage or an Archer? Swap to a staff or a bow. You can change your playstyle anytime and the game actually encourages you to experiment. Each class is tied to two weapon types, and each one comes with its own set of skills and playstyle. 

Calamity Character Classes  

Warrior

Your classic melee brawler. Two-handed swords give you a balanced mix of power and splash damage, perfect for clearing mobs up close. Axes hit harder, cause bleed effects, and even give you a bit of lifesteal if you're going full aggressive. Great for players who like staying in the middle of the fight.

Archer

The go-to for ranged damage. Bows shoot fast and even summon a boar pet to help during battles. Crossbows are slower but deal huge piercing damage that can shred through groups of enemies. Archers are ideal for hit-and-run tactics and staying just out of reach.

Mage

Long-range spellcaster. Staffs give you access to frost spells that slow and freeze enemies, great for crowd control and zoning. Magic swords switch things up with fire magic, dealing damage over time and blasting enemies with fiery bursts. A strong choice if you like high damage and elemental effects.

You can level all three classes on the same character. Each class has its own experience bar, and your level updates automatically based on the weapon you’re using. No need to make multiple characters. Just try out different weapons and see what fits your style.

Skills and Stats

Every weapon and armor piece can come with its own skills, both active (you press a key to use it) and passive (always on). There are over 60 unique skills in the game, and many of them can be found on gear, not just tied to your class. You can see your equipped active skills on the bottom of your screen, alongside the hotkeys for each.

Calamity Skills  

As you level up a class, the game auto-assigns stat points based on what that class needs. Strength and vitality for Warriors, intelligence for Mages, agility for Archers, simple and clean. You don’t have to stress about builds early on. Just play, loot, and level.

Calamity Compendium 

There’s also a Compendium in the menu that shows you every skill in the game. Use it. It’s super helpful for seeing what abilities you might unlock or what to look for on gear.

Dungeons

Dungeons are the core of Calamity's PvE experience. This is where you grind levels, farm gear, earn Valor Points, and see how well your build holds up under pressure. Each dungeon is designed to challenge your skill, your setup, and your ability to adapt as things ramp up.

Calamity Dungeons

Each dungeon difficulty is made up of nine stages. You go through eight combat stages first, followed by a boss fight on the ninth. If you clear the boss, you unlock the next difficulty level. As you move up through the tiers, the game throws more at you. Enemies become stronger and more aggressive. Loot improves, with better stat rolls and higher rarity gear starting to drop. Some enemies also gain special abilities as you climb, which makes combat feel less predictable and more reactive. You will need to gear up, refine your build, and start thinking ahead if you want to consistently clear higher tiers.

Dungeon Modes

There are multiple dungeon formats in Calamity. Each one offers a different style of gameplay and its own approach to farming loot. You can choose what suits your build or mood that day.

Calamity Dungeon Combat

Standard Dungeon

This is your classic five-room run. The first four rooms mix regular enemies with the occasional elite. The fifth room ramps up the challenge with stronger elite mobs and a higher chance at better drops. It is a well-rounded mode for general grinding and testing out your skill rotation.

Trial of Strength

This mode throws fewer enemies at you, but every one of them is an elite. They spawn in waves, and each wave you survive increases your chances of getting better rewards. It is short, intense, and perfect for builds that focus on single-target damage or burst windows.

Trial of Endurance

Here you face massive waves of weaker enemies. It is all about crowd control and staying alive for as long as you can. The longer you hold out, the more valuable the loot becomes. If your build has strong area damage and good sustain, this is where it shines.

Boss Fight

No warm-up rooms. You go straight into a one-on-one showdown with a boss. These fights are high pressure and high reward. Beating a boss for the first time on any difficulty tier drops significantly better loot, so make sure you attempt every new tier at least once.

Party Play

You can play dungeons solo or with a group of up to three players. When you team up, the number of enemies and their stats will scale based on the size of your party. Loot chances and challenge stay balanced no matter how many people are in your group.

The game ensures that everyone gets their own drops, so there is no loot stealing or awkward loot rolls. You can freely squad up with friends or find new teammates in the community and still enjoy the same progression. Running dungeons with others opens up more strategic options too. A warrior can tank, a mage can control space, and an archer can clean up from the back. But if you prefer running solo, you will have no problem clearing early and mid-tier content on your own.

Loot and Gear

Loot is everything in Calamity. Whether it's from mobs or bosses, every fight is a chance to pick up something that boosts your power. Weapons, armor, accessories, and gems all play a role in building your character, and you’ll be swapping and upgrading constantly as you push through the game.

Calamity Loot and Gear 

Gear Rarity

Gear drops come in different rarities, each offering better stats and more potential:

• Common (gray) is your basic gear with flat stats and no special effects
• Uncommon (green) adds small bonuses and is a solid starting point
• Rare (blue) gives stronger stats and might come with a skill or a gem slot
• Epic (purple) is where things get serious, with higher stats, powerful skills, and multiple gem sockets

Calamity Item Stats  

Durability System

Every piece of equipment has durability. Using it in battle wears that durability down over time. Once it hits zero the item stops working until you repair it. A broken weapon or armor piece no longer gives its stats or effects. You can fix gear at the Blacksmith in town (it will cost you repair materials and fees), so make a habit of checking your durability after dungeon runs to stay battle ready.

Calamity item durability

Enhancing Gear

You can enhance weapons and armor by merging duplicate items at the Blacksmith. Enhancements from plus one to plus four are guaranteed. From plus five onward, upgrades can fail and drop the item back one level, but your gear never breaks or disappears. You can enhance up to plus ten. Items start glowing at plus three and above, giving your gear a nice visual upgrade.

Gem Sockets

Uncommon gear and higher can come with gem slots. Gems boost stats like attack, health, or crit chance. You can insert or remove them at the Gemforge, and lower tier gems can be combined into stronger ones. Socketing the right gems is an easy way to squeeze more power out of your build.

The Auction House

Calamity’s in-game economy is straightforward and easy to use. You earn gold by playing, and that gold is used to buy and sell items through the Auction House, the game's player-driven marketplace. Just about anything can be listed here, including gear, accessories, and consumables.

Calamity Auction House

If you find rare loot that you do not plan to use, or you get lucky with high stat rolls, you can list those items and make some profit. It is a great way to trade with other players and pick up upgrades that might not drop for you. More details about the full economy will come once the system officially goes live, but for now, the Auction House gives players a solid way to exchange gear and stay geared up.

Tips and Tricks

• Try every class. early Don’t lock yourself into one role. Test out Warrior, Mage, and Archer. They each play differently, and you might find a class you didn’t expect to enjoy.

• First-time boss kills give bonus loot. Beat each dungeon boss once to unlock the next tier and claim a better loot drop. Even if it’s tough, that first clear is always worth it.

• Enhance smart at the Blacksmith. Use duplicate gear to enhance. Up to +4 is always safe. Beyond that, upgrades can fail and drop the item’s level, but your gear never breaks.

• Repair your gear or replace it. Gear has durability, and when it hits zero, it stops giving stats. Always check your gear before and after dungeon runs and repair it at the Blacksmith or replace it with a similar one from the auction house

• Use gem sockets when available. If your gear has slots, fill them. Gems offer bonus stats like damage, crit, or defense. You can also combine lower-tier gems into stronger ones.

• Use the Auction House. Missing a gear piece? Check the Auction House. You can buy upgrades or sell rare loot for extra gold. The economy is player-driven and fair.

• Bring better potions. As you climb Early dungeons drop weak potions. Once you reach harder tiers, stock up on better healing items to improve your chances and stay alive longer.

• Use healing skills to save on potions. Many classes have healing or sustain abilities like lifesteal or regeneration. You can also heal between waves using skills like Mage’s ice block. Since dungeons have no time limit, take your time and save your potions.

• Switch gear mid-fight when needed. The flexible class system lets you switch weapons and gear during dungeons. This means you can change your class on the fly depending on the situation. For example, you can switch to a Mage or Archer for mob clearing, then swap to a Warrior when you need more health to tank a boss. Just open your inventory mid-run and equip another weapon.

• Hit and don't get Hit. Classic kiting works in Calamity, especially for ranged classes. If you keep enemies at max range and kite properly, you can deal damage without taking hits. It is especially effective against melee enemies. Just keep in mind that enemies have an aggro or patience range. If you kite too far, they may reset and return to their spawn.

Calamity Awaits

And that’s just about it for our Calamity beginner’s guide. We hope this guide gets you started on the nostalgic, strategic, and monster slaying fun that Calamity has to offer. Remember, this is just the beginner’s guide. We haven’t even touched on gem crafting, high level dungeon strategies, PVP, Valor points, fishing, and all the other stuff waiting down the line.Guess we’ll see you again for an advanced guide edition once the game is fully live. See you in the dungeon, gamers!