Combat Initiation — Starting a run
About
OverviewCombat Initiation is a fast-paced arena brickbattle game where a team of up to six players fights through waves of enemies across five stages, choosing from seven branching weapons and a set of gears to carry them through. This guide covers how to start a run, spend your Tix wisely, survive each stage, and push into harder challenges once the basics are down.
What is on this page
Contents
Starting a run — loadout and first steps
Step
At the beginning of each act you pick two starting weapons from seven base options: four primaries and three secondaries. In a multiplayer lobby a countdown starts the moment any player locks their choice, so do not wait too long or you will receive a random loadout. You start with 100 Tix, which is enough to buy one weapon from the shop during the first intermission.
- Note your Tix the first weapon bought from the shop costs 100 Tix; each weapon after that costs 50 Tix more than the one before it.
- Use Randomize if you are undecided the option is available and gives you a valid loadout instantly.
- Check your core accessory slot the Tixsplosion hat raises your starting Tix from 100 to 150 if it is equipped as your core accessory.
Tix income across a full run
TableThe shop opens every five waves during an intermission. Tix payouts are not equal across all intermissions — the later you survive, the larger the reward. By wave 35 you will have earned 700 Tix total, or 750 if the Tixsplosion hat is equipped.
| Wave | Tix awarded that intermission | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| 0 (start) | 100 | 100 |
| 5 | 0 | 100 |
| 10 | 50 | 150 |
| 15 | 50 | 200 |
| 20 | 100 | 300 |
| 25 | 100 | 400 |
| 30 | 150 | 550 |
| 35 | 150 | 700 |
Surviving waves and intermissions
Tips
Each stage gives you three lives. Dying costs a life but returns you to play with full health and a forcefield. Every death also hurts your final rank score, so staying alive matters beyond just finishing the stage.
- Intermissions last 60 seconds — use all of it to buy or upgrade weapons before the shop closes.
- Intermissions restore up to two lives, and the start of a boss fight gives you one more, so you can recover from mistakes if you reach those checkpoints.
- If all players lose all lives at once, a server life is consumed and everyone restarts the current wave — watch for the counter turning red, which signals only one server life remains.
- Waves colored red signal an upcoming boss fight.
Rocket jumping for movement
StepAll rocket launchers and the Timebomb can rocket jump. When you are airborne you can air strafe left and right with A and D to steer mid-flight. Self-damage is real, so keep an eye on your health.
- Basic vertical jump aim at the ground beneath your feet and jump at the moment you fire.
- Horizontal jump fire into a wall beside you while airborne to launch yourself sideways at high speed.
- Wall climb fire a rocket beneath you to start rising, dash back toward the wall, then fire a second rocket just below your feet as you ascend; repeat until you reach the top.
- Combo jump if you are too low for a clean horizontal launch, start with a vertical boost and then angle into a horizontal shot for a speed chain.
- Air strafe throughout steer with A and D during any jump.
- Watch your health rocket jumping deals self-damage.
Fighting the King (Stage 4 boss)
Warn
The King debuts on Wave 35 of Rocket Arena and is the second mini-boss in Act I. Despite his size he moves quickly, and his attack rotation becomes more aggressive after he takes 1000 damage. His Cannon Barrage projectiles bypass all damage resistance in the game, including that of other enemies.
Taunts — cosmetic use and tactical use
TableTaunts are dances and animations you can perform mid-match. Press T to open the radial menu, press T again to fire off the highlighted taunt, and press Y to close the menu without doing anything. You have eight taunt slots total, filled from the Lobby Shop and equipped in the Wardrobe.
| Style bar protection | your style bar does not drain while taunting. |
| Enemy aggression pull | taunting triples enemy aggression toward you, drawing their focus away from teammates. |
| Free taunts available | Birthday Party, Monster Mash, and Dance Potion cost nothing and can fill three of your eight slots immediately. |
Sandbox — practice without pressure
SummarySandbox has no waves, no timer, and no score. Open the menu with N or the button in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Every accessory is available here with no budget restriction, so you can test any combination freely. A weapon or gear must have at least one kill or one use in a real campaign run before it unlocks in Sandbox.
- Weapons sub-menu pick one weapon per upgrade tree; spawn order follows the order you select trees.
- Gears sub-menu equip one per type, with two Passive gears allowed at once.
- Editing tool Spawn, Drag, Copy, Hammer, Resize, and Paint modes let you build any combat scenario you want.
- Host settings Invincibility, No Cooldowns, Blind Enemies, and other toggles let the host shape exactly what gets tested.
- Permissions the host can grant other players Admin or Builder roles, or restrict them to weapon and gear selection only.
Glossary
Glossary- Tix
- The in-game currency used to buy and upgrade weapons from the shop during intermissions.
- Intermission
- A 60-second break every five waves where the shop opens and players can spend Tix.
- Server life
- A shared backup life that revives all players at the start of the current wave when every player dies at the same time.
- Style
- A vanity score tier that also affects practical things like regeneration rate and certain weapon performance.
- Gear
- An equippable tool chosen between stages, categorized as Utility, Refresher, Active, or Passive.
- Core Accessory
- An accessory equipped in a dedicated slot that provides stat bonuses or modifiers during gameplay, earned by completing achievements.
- Precise Parry
- A timed parry that reflects a projectile directly back at the enemy for greatly increased damage.
- X Rank
- The highest possible stage grade, awarded only when a player earns S! in deaths, score, and time simultaneously.
- BLOXXERS mode
- A harder difficulty setting that makes boss attack rotations faster and adds extra attack phases.
- Ping
- A marker placed at your cursor position by pressing Z or Middle Mouse Button, visible to all players through walls.
Common questions
FAQHow many players can join a run together?
You can form a group of up to six players for a run. If you do not lock in your loadout before the countdown finishes, the game assigns you a random one.
What happens if my whole team runs out of lives?
A server life is consumed and the entire team respawns at the start of the current wave. When only one server life remains the counter on your HUD turns red. Losing the last server life ends the run with a GAME OVER screen.
How do I get a better rank at the end of a stage?
Your rank is determined by three factors scored separately: deaths, total score, and time. Getting S! in all three earns the top X Rank.
Can I try a weapon in Sandbox before I buy it in a campaign?
A weapon only unlocks in Sandbox after you have earned at least one kill with it in a real campaign run, so you need to use it in campaign first. Once unlocked, Sandbox lets you test it freely with no time pressure and no budget restrictions on accessories.
What is the point of taunting mid-fight?
Taunting triples enemy aggression toward you, which can pull enemies off teammates who are struggling. During intermissions, taunting also prevents your style bar from draining.
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