Shmup Rogue beginner's guide: your first shmup roguelike run
Everything you need to clear your first waves in Shmup Rogue — ships, main guns, scrap, the hangar shop and the first boss.
Shmup Rogue is a free shmup roguelike that runs in your browser at shmup.org. If you have played classic vertical arcade shooters, the flying and dodging will feel familiar. What is new is everything that happens between waves. This guide walks you through a first run.
1. Pick THUNDERBOLT Mk-II and Danger 0
On the ship select screen, start with THUNDERBOLT Mk-II. It is the well-rounded veteran: +5 Max HP, +5% Speed, +8 Harvesting and one bomb (every ship starts with one). Leave the danger level on Danger 0 (a training sortie) until you have seen all four bosses.
Each ship also offers a choice of starting weapon pods. For THUNDERBOLT, the Vulcan Pod pairs nicely with its red Vulcan main gun because both are Ballistic.
2. Learn the controls
- Move: WASD or the arrow keys (on touch screens, drag anywhere — your finger never covers the ship)
- Fire: Z or Space — auto-fire is on by default
- Bomb: X or K (two-finger tap on mobile)
- Focus: hold Shift to slow down for precise dodging
- Pause: Esc or P
3. Survive the timer, not the enemies
Every wave runs on a clock: 35 seconds for wave 1, three seconds more each wave, up to a full minute by wave 10 (90 seconds for the final wave). You do not have to destroy every enemy — just survive until the timer hits zero. When it does, all remaining scrap and pickups are vacuumed to your ship automatically.
4. Scrap is money and experience
Each piece of scrap gives you 1 money and 1 XP. Scrap you miss is not lost: it goes into a salvage bag and adds bonus value to your later pickups. Your Harvesting stat also pays out extra scrap and XP at the end of every wave.
5. Shoot the item carriers
A few unarmed item carriers cross the screen every wave. Shoot them down for crystals, P power-ups, bombs and repairs.
- Crystals cycle through red, blue and purple. Grab your current colour to level up your main gun; grab another colour to switch to Vulcan, Laser or Plasma.
- P power-ups raise your main gun level, up to 8.
6. The hangar: level up, then shop
After each wave you land in the hangar. First, choose a stat upgrade for every level you gained (one of four options). Then shop:
- Four offers per visit: weapon pods and items.
- Lock an offer to keep it for the next visit.
- Reroll to see new offers; the price rises with each reroll, but buying out the shop gives you a free one.
- Sell pods or items that no longer fit your build.
7. Combine duplicates
You have six weapon slots. Two identical pods of the same tier combine into the next tier (I → II → III → IV). If your slots are full, buying a matching pod combines it automatically. Buying a second copy of a pod you like is often stronger than buying something new.
8. Beat the first boss
Wave 5 brings the ARACHNE Siege Walker. Like every boss, it changes its bullet patterns at two-thirds and one-third health. Keep a bomb for those phase changes — a bomb clears enemy bullets, damages everything on screen and makes you briefly invincible. Destroying the boss ends the wave early and drops supply crates.
What next?
Once you can reach wave 10, try a different ship — the glass-cannon FALCON, the drone-focused WASP or the lucky MIDAS — and raise the danger level. Read our weapons and set bonuses guide to plan stronger builds.