1. Pick a partner
Every starter and extra friend starts with one base move. Pick a projectile or sweeping melee move while learning.
Beginner guide
How to Play Poke Survivor
Learning how to play Poke Survivor is simple on paper: you only steer while your partner auto-attacks. XP drops three cards: a new move, a move upgrade, or a partner boost. Use this complete walkthrough from your first run to end-game rifts.
966Playable Mons
9Regions (Gen 1-9)
64Moves (59 Evolve)
87Legendaries
18Rift Arenas
- how to play poke survivor
- poke survivor controls
- poke survivor guide
The basics
How to play Poke Survivor step by step
2. Steer, never aim
Move with WASD or mobile touch. Your partner automatically fires the active equipped move at nearby foes.
3. Draft three cards
Every level-up offers 3 cards. Prioritize offensive coverage and pierce before drafting utility stats.
4. Evolve your attacks
Max out a move to level 5, pick its matching upgrade card, and trigger a golden evolution (e.g. Ember to Fire Blast).
15 Delivery Kinds
Understand all 15 move delivery kinds in battle
| Delivery Kind | Combat Behavior | Best Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Melee | Wide forward sweep or charging arc | Clearing immediate threats in front of you |
| Dash | Lunges across the screen damaging everything | Quick repositioning and escaping tight pinches |
| Buff | Deals no damage, stacks Attack/Defense/Speed | Scaling passive power over long endurance runs |
| Burst | Radial shockwave expanding in 360° | Emergency panic button when encircled |
| Turret | Leaves stationary decoy that auto-fires | Holding choke points and dividing horde attention |
| Projectile | Fires forward with piercing trajectory | Reliable single-target and line damage |
| Spray | Continuous cone of flame or bubbles | Applying status burns and high-tick damage |
| Orbit | Spinning shields orbs revolving around you | Constant close-quarters defensive barrier |
| Trail | Damaging ground hazard left behind your path | Punishing chasing hordes while kiting |
| Beam | Wide sustained piercing laser line | Obliterating thick columns of advancing mobs |
| Boomerang | Cuts forward and slices again on return | Double-hit crowd clearing on both paths |
| Aura | Permanent persistent damage radius | Melting low-health swarmers without aiming |
| Chain | Electricity jumping across neighboring foes | Devastating grouped packs of enemies |
| Meteors | Raining sky strikes with area slow | Suppressing elite clusters at long distance |
| Mines | Scattered ground traps detonating on touch | Setting defensive zones before elite spawns |
Controls
PC and mobile input reference
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| WASD or Arrow Keys | Move your partner around the map |
| 1, 2, 3, 4 | Quickly select active move slot |
| Q / E or Click Icon | Cycle equipped moves clockwise / counter-clockwise |
| Esc or P | Pause run and inspect stats |
| Mobile Drag (Landscape) | Virtual joystick follows your thumb anywhere |
| Tap Move Icon / Top-Right | Switch active attack or pause on phone |
Field notes
Practical detail from the official client
Opening minutes
Create a guest session or a real account. Skip or finish the personality quiz. Confirm the partner. Enter the dungeon. Move immediately. Standing still is how packs surround you. Circle so the horde stretches into a line instead of a blob. Grab gems, then pick a card that adds coverage rather than a third copy of a weak shot.
Swap attacks with 1-4, Q, E, or the icons. Pause with Esc or P. On a phone, drag to move and tap icons. The partner fires the selected move without a separate attack key. Your job is spacing, type, and not walking into a filled telegraph.
Mid-run habits
Spend coins on the partner you are actually using. Upgrades do not float to the next species. When a rift opens, enter only if your current cards can handle a type arena. A legendary win can unlock a bond so several moves share one slot, which is how late runs stop drowning in extra keys.
Priority targets are support enemies. A healer at the back of the pack wastes every gem you just collected. Leave lava, do not camp springs if a boss is walking onto them, and finish locked chests only when the screen is readable. If FPS drops, open Settings and cut quality before you blame the embed.
Co-op adds a revive: stand next to a downed friend. Shared XP means splitting across the map is usually worse than stacking damage on the same pack. Invite by nickname from the friends list after you are on a cloud account.
Deeper notes
the first run in practice
Keep the beginner guide focused on the first ten minutes: login choice, starter, WASD, first three cards, first healer in the horde.
Terrain is the second lesson. Kite through broken grass, use walls as cover, stand by locked chests to open them, and stay out of lava.
If the run still feels unfair, drop graphics quality and enlarge the window so telegraphs are readable.
Source notes
What official pages and player questions add
Lead with inputs, then cards, then official survival tips.
Do not invent cooldown numbers that the author did not publish.
Send readers back to the embed so the guide stays attached to an actual run.
FAQ
How to Play Poke Survivor FAQ
Is the control scheme different on mobile?
Movement is drag-to-steer in landscape. Attack swapping is a tap. The auto-attack loop is the same as on a keyboard.
Do I need an account for the first run?
No for solo guest play. Yes for co-op, ranking, and cloud saves if you want the same box on another device.
Where should I go after this guide?
Read starters, the wiki, and best-pokemon notes, then return to the play hub and actually start a run.
What should I do in the first minute?
Pick guest or account, skip or finish the personality quiz, confirm a partner, enter the dungeon, and move immediately. Standing still is how packs surround you.
How do level-up cards work on the first run?
Experience gems open a three-card draft: a new move, a stronger current move, or a partner stat. Type coverage usually beats a third copy of a weak shot.
Which enemies should I kill first in a pack?
Healers and shielders. They keep the rest of the horde alive. Floor telegraphs fill before they land, so leave those circles and lines instead of tanking them.
Do upgrades transfer if I change partners later?
No. Coins spent on a partner stay on that partner. Treat the first funded main as long-term growth rather than a nightly reroll.
When should I enter a rift during a run?
Enter when your current cards can handle a type arena. A legendary win can unlock a move bond so several attacks share one slot.
How does co-op revive work with friends?
Stand next to a downed friend. Shared XP means splitting across the map is usually worse than stacking damage on the same pack after you are on a cloud account.
Where is the Chinese rewrite of this beginner guide?
Use the pokesurvivor 攻略 page at /zh/gonglue/. The live client is still English and Spanish; that page rewrites the first-run habits in Simplified Chinese.
Official source
Verify the game at pokesurvivor.com
This domain is an independent English play and guide hub. The game itself is jpter78's free non-profit fan project. For the live client, Pokédex, and legal text, refer to the original project origin at https://pokesurvivor.com. For the HTML zip and trailer, see itch.io. For source and credits, see GitHub.
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