The wonderful, glorious Moonlighter is out on Switch today, so if you missed it when it came out on PS4, Xbox One and PC in May, then there's no better time to dive into its world. If, like me, you practically squeal with joy at the thought of playing games like Stardew Valley or Binding of Isaac, this is going to be a game for you. Moonlighter is a kind of hybrid of the two, as during the day you’ll be a shopkeeper manning the titular Moonlighter shop, stocking shelves and monitoring prices, but at night you’ll be exploring dungeons, fighting monsters and gathering loot to sell in the shop during the day. It’s brilliant regardless of the time of day, but you might need some Moonlighter tips. This is a game that doesn’t handhold you at all, so some Moonlighter tips to help you get to grips with exactly what you’re meant to do might come in handy. With that in mind, here are 14 Moonlighter tips for the dungeons and running the shop:
Moonlighter Dungeon tips
1. Work your diagonals
When trying to take on some of the beasties, remember that they can only move at 90-degree angles. Using either your broom, or later the sword and shield, you can attack them on a 45-degree angle, keeping you out of their firing line and getting attacks in much easier.
2. Get a bow and arrow as soon as you can
Getting a bow and arrow in Moonlighter is one of the best things you can do. You can either find one on a skeleton in the dungeon or buy one from Andrei at the Forge once you’ve funded it in the town. Having a ranged weapon is great for any enemies that have projectiles, and for the big dungeon bosses too. Did I mention that there’s unlimited ammo too?
3. Skeletons are clutching secret loot
Keep your eyes peeled for skeletons on your dungeon adventures, and when you do see one give it a gentle smash. Any loot it’s clutching will fly out - most commonly weapons and health potions - and a little letter explaining exactly how they died. Or at least their final thoughts before the beasties got them.
4. Watch out for sparkling chasms
Usually I’d say avoid chasms at all costs, but sometimes there’s a twinkling in the darkness just begging you to come down and join it. If you see a sparkle from the depths, push forward into the darkness because down below is a little battle arena that you can keep resetting to find extra special loot.
5. Remember the wishlist anything that you want to build or upgrade
Before you head out to dungeon town, pop over to the Forge and take a look at what armour or weapon you want to buy or upgrade next. Add it to your wishlist, and then anything you find that’s part of the requirements will be marked with a star in the dungeon. Saves you having to remember what you need or leaving Post-Its all around your TV screen like a madman.
6. Keep an eye out for… the big green eye
When you reach the higher levels of a dungeon, you might spot a green eye icon appear right next to your map with a timer icon in the bottom corner. That’s a sign that a horrible gooey beast is en route that can kill you with one hit and will follow you from room to room and floor to floor. Best just to run at that point.
7. Upgrade your bed back at the shop to get an added health boost
Your priority at first might be to upgrade the town or your shop, but don’t neglect your bed back at home. You might never, ever actually sleep in Moonlighter between all the dungeons and shopkeeping, but if you upgrade your bed you’ll leave your house at night with a lovely health boost that’ll no doubt come in incredibly handy down in the loot caverns.
8. Enchantments from the witch give you battle boosts
Edis might be your go-to gal for potions pre-dungeon, but she’s also got enchantments on offer that could give you an edge. They’ll boost your power, defense and other stats, saving you from having to upgrade your weapons or armour if you can’t find that one last thing. Plus, what’s better than a handmade sword? Yeah, it’s a handmade magical sword.
9. Keep checking your pack for stacking issues
When you’re exploring the dungeons, there’s a danger of gathering multiple items of the same resource and them not stacking properly. Check your pack every now and then and make sure you utilising the space as best as you can. Most items stack in piles of five or ten.
10. Learn how to use item curses in your favour
Actually getting as much in your pack as you possibly can is often a bit of a tricky task. Items are sometimes cursed, forcing you to only place them at the top, bottom or sides or your pack, or they’ll destroy whatever item is in the direction of the arrow they’re pointing at. Others are more helpful, sending items in the direction of the arrow home to make you some space in your bag, while others lift other curses, which’ll let you stack items and move them about freely. Learn quickly what does what and you’ll be a loot pro in no time.
Moonlighter Shop tips
1. Only sell one item at a time until you nail down the price
At the start it can be very tempting to whack an entire pile of items on the counter to get some cash straight away, but until you’re 100% sure of the correct selling price, just sell one at a time. That way you can judge the customer reactions and only sell one item at a massive loss rather than all your stock at once.
2. Check the symbols above shoppers’ heads as they enter
Whenever a customer walks into your shop, a little icon will probably pop up above their head to let you know what kind of clientele they are. You’ll find all-sorts come to check out your wares, from explorers to warriors, but you’ll want to look out for two in particular: the gentleman and the thief. No, that’s not the lyrics to a pop song, it’s actually your two most interesting customers. The thief will try and steal from you, leaving you no choice but to rugby tackle them before they clear the door. The gentleman, however, is your big spender. He’ll buy basically anything you put in the glass cabinets that’ll appear in your shop from the Level 2 upgrade onwards, as long as it’s not ridiculously overpriced.
3. Prioritise books and jottings if you want to make serious cash fast
In the third level of the dungeons and after defeating a boss, you’ll find books and jottings associated with that dungeon. Forget the petals and the jellies, because these items are the big bucks guaranteed to sell for at least 1000 gold a piece. But some books and jottings can sell for 5000 gold, so start pricing high!
4. Working out how to get Quests and complete them is surprisingly tricky at first
From Shop Level 2, you’ll get customers coming in to ask you to fetch specific items for them by a certain date. Sometimes they’re pretty hard to spot, as they’ll simply loiter by the till until you realise the prompt to “talk” is lit up. When the due date for their quest arrives they’ll return to your shop and loiter in the same place, at which point all you need to do is talk to them to complete (or fail) the quest. However, they’re very easy to miss if you’re off doing other stuff in your shop, so stay near the till particularly when you first open the shop in the morning.
