Your first hour

Most cats reach level 10, and their first class, in their first session. Here is what happens on the way, and what to look at.

Make your cat

Pick a name, a breed and its colours. A breed gives one small passive (a Tabby learns a little faster, a Calico finds a little more gold), so pick the cat you like the look of. Everyone starts as a Kitten.

The windowsill

Your cat wakes on a sunbeam-warm windowsill with dust bunnies drifting in. It fights them by itself. Your first quest, The Windowsill, asks for a few of them and level 3. The quest tracker at the top of the screen always says what's next, and tapping a step shows you where to go.

Getting about

Tap or click anywhere on the field to walk there. Tap an exit to go through it, a cat to talk, a bush or pond to gather from it.
On a keyboard: WASD to walk, Space to jump (hold S to drop through a ledge), Shift for your movement skill, 1–6 for your skills, F for your basic attack, and E to use whatever is in reach.
On a phone: the jump pad and attack button sit over the field.
The Map plans a route to any open zone or town and walks it for you.

Whiskerholm and Mothwick

At level 3 you walk into Whiskerholm, the first town, and meet Mothwick. He sends you to gather catnip in the meadow (your first taste of Foraging), then after the field mice raiding the granary, and then into Mousewood, where a bandit king is bragging about something warm and glowing.

The action bar

Your cat fights on its own, using the skills on its action bar. Whenever it finishes a move, it uses the first skill on the bar that is ready, in reach and affordable, so the order is the priority. Buffs are recast when they wear off. Heals are skipped while you're healthy and jump the queue when your HP falls below your low-health line (40% to start). Set all of this in the Combat menu.

Potions

There is one HP potion, the Sardine Tonic, and one MP potion, the Catnip Draught. They never run out: each fires by itself below the line you set, then waits out its cooldown. Upgrade them with gold and Brewing materials to heal more, more often.

Gear

Monsters drop gear in five rarities, common to mythic, with random bonus stats. Equip best in the Gear menu puts on your strongest pieces. Sell the rest to a shop, or to other cats on the Exchange.

Level 10: pick a path

At level 10 the Kitten picks one of five paths. There is no wrong choice; see picking a class. You also start earning talent points.

Before you log off

Leave your cat in a zone it beats comfortably, or on a life skill. It naps while you're away and carries on. See time away.