Forewarned: Beginner's Guide & Best Tips

Why I Keep Coming Back to This Damn Game

I've got 340 hours in Forewarned and I still get that little spike of adrenaline when the lights flicker in the tomb. I don't say that to flex — I say it because I remember my first five runs ending in under ten minutes, and I was convinced the game was just punishing me for no reason. It wasn't. I was playing wrong. That's what this guide is about.

Forewarned looks like a horror co-op game about exploring Egyptian tombs, and sure, that's the skin. But underneath, it's a resource management game with a horror skin. The Mejai (that's you and your friends) are essentially paper-thin loot goblins with a flashlight. You are not a fighter. You are a thief with a timer. If you treat it like Doom, you die. If you treat it like a heist where the security system is an actual ghost, you start surviving.

This guide isn't about making you a god-tier player who solos Oni on Nightmare. It's about getting you past the steep learning curve so you can actually enjoy the horror instead of just getting stomped. I'm going to walk you through the first-time stuff I wish someone had screamed at me before I wasted my early runs.

Why New Players Get Chewed Up

Let's be real: the game doesn't explain itself well. The tutorial is basically a PowerPoint slide that says "use your senses" and then throws you into a pitch-black building with a monster that can one-shot you. Pair that with the fact that you might be playing with randoms who have no idea what to do either, and you get the classic new player experience: dying, losing your loot, and uninstalling.

The biggest frustration I see in the Discord is people getting lost. The tombs are procedurally generated mazes with no minimap. You'll turn a corner, hit a dead end, turn around, and the hallway looks different because of the shadows. I spent my first three hours literally walking in circles while my teammates were getting possessed in the next room. It's not just you. The game leans hard on motion blur and forced FOV to disorient you.

Another huge pain point is the currency system. You save up gold from a successful run, then you die instantly and lose half of it. There's no bank, there's no insurance. You just get punished. It feels brutal until you realize the game is trying to teach you that survival is about extraction, not heroics. If you go in with the mindset that you're going to "clear" the tomb, you're going to feed. The goal is to grab something and get out alive.

And let's talk about the BS that is the sand wraith. That thing can phase through walls and you can't hear it coming because the audio in this game is weirdly directional. It genuinely feels unfair until you learn the counterplay (which I'll get to in a minute).

Day One: What You Actually Need to Know

Okay, look. Your first run is not about winning. Your first run is about learning the map flow. Do not take the "Adept" difficulty when you start, even if your friends are veterans. Stay on "Apprentice" until you can extract with a trinket at least five times in a row without tripping the alarm.

Here's a breakdown of the core mechanics you need to nail down before you even think about facing a Pharaoh:

• Senses are your radar. The "Sight" sense (default Q when not holding an item) lets you see the ghost's manifestation. The "Hearing" sense (E) lets you locate the medjay tablets. Use them constantly. They have cooldowns, but using them is better than running around blind.
• Wind is your enemy. Those creepy magical bursts that happen randomly? They either trigger trap doors, slam doors, or make the spirit go nuts. You can't stop it, but you can learn the timing. When you see the room start to glow with sand particles, stop moving for a second, and hold onto a wall. Don't sprint through a windy section.
• The Sarcophagus is a timer. The game starts with the tomb "sealed." You need to find two medjay tablets to open the exit. Step one is always locate those. Do not go for loot first. Loot is useless if you die.
• Your flashlights drain. You have a limited battery (the little bar by your health). When the battery dies, you drop your other items to hold the flashlight. Conserve it. Use your torch or the ambient light when you're in safe rooms. The flashlight isn't for exploration; it's for emergency visibility when the ghost is near.

For loadout, I always rush to buy the Second Wind Charm (revive yourself once per run). It costs 600 gold, which seems steep, but it saves you from the most common death. I spent my early gold on a tin foil hat (literally useless) — avoid that trap. Also, the Titan Sword is way overrated for the price. It does physical damage, but the ghost is ethereal. You can't stab a ghost effectively. Save that gold for the Exorcism Kit, which lets you banish the ghost instead of attacking it.

Expert Tips & Tricks That Save Your Ass

Alright, so you've got the basics down. You know how to find the tablets, you've stopped dying to the first trap. Here's the stuff that separates a meh player from someone who can carry a squad on your back.

Audio scouting is broken (in a good way). When you use the Hearing sense, you don't just hear the tablets — you hear the direction of the ghost's heartbeat. If you're in a room and you hear a thumping sound that's low and fast, the ghost is in the same room as you. If it's rhythmic and slow, it's a safe distance. I use this to clear rooms before I enter. Just stand outside the door, use Hearing, and if the pulse is fast, I don't go in. I wait for it to move. It buys you so much time.

The sand wraith can be staggered. When it spawns from the wall, it raises its arms before it attacks. There's a split second where it's vulnerable. If you throw a flask of calming incense (the blue ones) at it during that animation, it staggers and retreats for a solid ten seconds. I used to panic and run when I saw the sand forming, but now I calmly pull out the flask and throw it. It's a guaranteed escape. Just make sure you have one on your quick slot before you enter the central chamber.

Lead the ghost, don't chase it. This is the most important mental shift. When the ghost is hunting the Phylactery carrier, you want to create space. The ghost will chase the carrier. So if I'm being chased, I run AWAY from the extraction point. I loop around the long way. This sounds insane, but it lets my teammates run ahead and clear the path. If you run straight to the exit, you'll bring the ghost with you, and you'll get jumped by whatever is waiting at the door. Loop the map, let them clear, then when you get to the exit zone, turn and burn with the speed boost.

Learn the trap patterns. The spike traps always come in pairs. The floor panels that look "off" (slightly darker, with a tiny gap) are always pressure plates. I've seen so many people die to a floor spike because they thought they could jump over it. You can't jump. You have to walk around it. Don't even try to run over them.

Use the environment to break line of sight. The ghost can see through walls when it's enraged? Actually, no. It can't. If you're hiding, stand behind a statue or a pillar — not just around a corner. The ghost checks line of sight. If it can't see you for four seconds, it loses aggro. I've survived so many hunts by just crouching behind a pillar and holding still. Don't crouch in a room with no furniture. It'll find you.

I remember one run where I was the last one alive. I had the orb and I was at the exit. The ghost had spawned right on the door mat. I hid behind a pillars and watched it float around for what felt like ages. I let it walk past me, then I sprinted for the door and hit the seal. It was the most exhilarating clip I've ever gotten. That games is so much better when you're playing mind games.

Common Mistakes That Got Me Killed (So You Don't Have To)

I've got a graveyard of dead Mejai under my belt, and every death had a lesson. Here's the list of dumb stuff I stopped doing that you should stop doing too.

1. Opening the Sarcophagus too early. I get it — you're curious. Or you're playing with a trigger happy friend who thought the game started when you say "go." Opening the sarcophagus starts the "hunt" phase early. The tomb gets darker, the ghost gets more aggressive, and the tablets spawn further away. Wait until you have at least one tablet before you even touch the lid. The longer you wait, the easier the early game is.

2. Hoarding equipment. You have limited inventory slots. I used to leave the cave with three pieces of armor and no potions because I ate the scraps. No. Your loadout should be: 1 weapon (preferably the crossbow with silver bolts for stopping power), 2 flasks, 1 scroll (scroll of warding is best), and the rest is for loot. Don't carry torches. They're a death sentence because they make noise and attract the sand wraith. Just use a flashlight.

3. Reviving teammates in open areas. If your buddy goes down in the middle of the hall, let them bleed out and pick them up at the extraction point. No, seriously. Getting caught on the revive animation when the ghost is near is how you get a "team wipe" instead of "one down." Save the revives for when you know the ghost is on cooldown or when you're in a safe room with a seal on the door. The revive speed is 3 seconds if you have the "Swift Hands" perk, otherwise, it takes too long.

4. Ignoring the traps in the later stages. The early traps are just floor spikes and swinging blades. The late-game "Nightmare" difficulty throws in that stupid wind trap that launches you into a pit and you lose all your trinkets. I lost a Legendary relic to that because I was walking backwards. Always walk around the edges of a room with pits. The wind doesn't blow you if you're hugging the wall. I wish someone told me that.

5. Not sharing info. This is co-op. If you see the ghost's appearance, call it out. If you find a tablet, call it out. If you sense a trap, call it out. I've played with randoms who never said a word, and we constantly ran into each other's traps and got pincered by the ghost. Communication is a resource. Use it.

6. Spending gold on cosmetics. I get it, those amulet skins look cool. But the +health charm is the difference between surviving a hit and getting one-shot. Early gold should go into the skill tree (the "Wisdom" branch). The perk for +20% extraction speed is the best investment in the game. You'd be surprised how many games end with you standing at the seal for an entire second longer because you were holding the button. That second gets you killed.

Quick Answers to the Questions You're Googling

Q: Can I play this solo?

A: Yes, but it's harder. The ghost's aggro is strictly on you, which means you can't bait it off. The medjay tablets are also closer, which is nice. I'd recommend taking the "Sight" sense harder for solo — you need to know where the ghost is at all times. If you play solo, check out our Phasmophobia guide for a comparison, but remember this game is about looting, not just identifying.

Q: What's the best difficulty for farming gold?

A: Apprentice, no contest. You get about 40 gold for a successful extraction but you lose less on death. The jump in difficulty to "Adept" gives you maybe 60 extra gold, but the ghost gets an extra ability and the map is 30% larger. It's not worth the time. Farm Apprentice until you have a comfortable stockpile of 2,000 gold, then start taking Adept for the fun of it.

Q: How do I get the "Cleave" achievement?

A: You have to kill a sand wraith while it's vulnerable (during the stagger) with a melee weapon. I used the Amun's Warpick and just threw a flask at the wall next to it. It staggers, then I hacked it. You have to be inside the stagger window (about 2 seconds). It's annoying, but doable if you coordinate with a friend who throws the flask.

Q: Why is the ghost sometimes not showing up?

A: That's the "Peacock" behavior. It's shy, but it's spawning traps everywhere. If the ghost is quiet, you have a trap-heavy run. Slow down and check your feet carefully. Also, it might be the shade type which only attacks when you're looking away. That's not a glitch, it's just the behavior. Turn the camera constantly.

That's the meat of it. You'll still die, but now you'll die with a plan. Take what I've said, tweak it to your crew's playstyle, and go nick some old Egyptian bling. If you want to see how the looting mechanics compare to the loot-shooter style of a game like Vermintide 2, I've got notes on that too, but Forewarned is a specific kind of weird. It's worth learning.