There are many idle games in the mobile market, though these mostly revolve around idle gacha RPGs and the like. And then there’s Valkyrie Rush, a game that takes the idle and AFK elements of other titles but adapts it to the shoot ‘em up genre. Now, how does this work, you may ask? Well, it’s simple: You have your characters on screen shooting at all times, with enemies endlessly flying down from above. And as they fly down and get destroyed by your units, they drop items and currency necessary for purchasing upgrades, unlocking new minions, and so on. 

Beginner’s Guide for Valkyrie Rush - Introductions to the Basics and Idle Gameplay

As you continue defeating enemies, the waves will start getting tougher, and you’ll need stronger minions in order to both survive, as well as breakthrough the hordes of enemies that stand in your way. And this is where the “merging” aspect of the game comes into play. In other words, by dragging together two minions of the same type and level, you can create a new minion of the next level, vastly increasing their strength. Combining your units in this manner is the key to victory in Valkyrie Rush, and by unlocking and combining different types of minions, you’ll be able to blaze through levels effortlessly.

With that being said, it can be a bit difficult to get started in Valkyrie Rush, if only because it’s such a unique game. Because of this, we’ve decided to create a beginner’s guide with all the basic information you need to know so that you can get a good start in this game.

Progressing Through Campaign Missions

As we mentioned just now, most of the gameplay in Valkyrie Rush is automated, with your faeries and other minions always shooting non-stop upwards at the enemies that come careening down from the top of the screen. Despite this automatic combat, there’s actually a progression in the game. 

From looking at the top of the screen, you’ll see that you’re continuously progressing through specific levels consisting of various waves of enemies. Once you clear a wave, you go to the next level, and so on. A typical stage consists of 10 levels, with the last one often being a powerful wave with a boss and tougher enemies. Clearing all 10 levels will take you to the next stage, and the process repeats indefinitely.

Beginner’s Guide for Valkyrie Rush - Introductions to the Basics and Idle Gameplay

However, there will come a time very quickly in which you won’t be able to defeat your enemies. In this case, whenever your minions are defeated, you will be taken back to the first level of the previous stage you cleared. This will give you time the opportunity to continue farming for resources so that you can upgrade your minions, combine them some more, and better prepare for the task at hand.

Minion Merging

In the beginning, you start with some basic level 1 fairy minions. In fact, you can summon virtually countless of these by clicking on the crystal on the lower right of the screen. You can summon up to 10 fairies from these crystals at the start before you need to wait until it recharges, though you can upgrade it to hold more stacks and recharge faster later on.

Beginner’s Guide for Valkyrie Rush - Introductions to the Basics and Idle Gameplay

The idea of Valkyrie Rush is to combine your fairies to progressively improve your army. The way to combine them is by dragging fairies of the same level on top of each, which will create a stronger fairy of the next level. In this sense, two level 1s create a level 2; two level 2s create a level 3, and so on. This can go on all the way up to level 10, and combining two fairies of this level will create a powerful Valkyrie, which is this game’s equivalent to hero characters.

Beginner’s Guide for Valkyrie Rush - Introductions to the Basics and Idle Gameplay

However, before we start talking about Valkyries, let’s quickly go over how to power up your fairies. Aside from combining them, you can also click on the “Valkyrie” button on the lower panel, and then go to the “Fairy” tab to view your current army. By clicking on your fairies, you can use gold to level them up, which will give them a slight boost to their stats such as attack and HP.

Unlocking and Upgrading Valkyries

Valkyries are obtained randomly when fusing two level 10 fairies. They are this game’s equivalent to gacha rolls, since you never really know what you’re going to get until you go through with the fusion. And since level 10 fairies take some time to obtain, you’ll probably have to farm a grind for a bit between pulls. However, once you obtain your first Valkyrie, your strength will increase dramatically.

Beginner’s Guide for Valkyrie Rush - Introductions to the Basics and Idle Gameplay

Valkyries are like hero characters in that they not only attack as the faeries do, but they’re also much, much stronger in both attack and defense. Moreover, they can also unleash special skills on the field that can turn the tide of any battle. And though they require two powerful level 10 faeries to obtain, Valkyries are often much stronger than both of them combined, making them some of the most important characters in your army. 

Beginner’s Guide for Valkyrie Rush - Introductions to the Basics and Idle Gameplay

And just like faeries, Valkyries can also be upgraded by using gold, and through the same menu, except this time in the “Valkyrie” section. Keep in mind, however, that just like with your faeries, their maximum level is limited by your player level. Also, you can use hero shards to upgrade other aspects of your Valkyries, giving them, even more, boosts to their stats, as well as giving them access to buffs that enhance certain aspects of your entire army. However, shards are more difficult to come by, so you must spend them wisely.

Upgrading Your Facilities

Though you can’t actually “build” anything in this game, there are still some aspects that you can upgrade aside from your minions and Valkyries. For instance, through the “Gate” menu, you can go to the “Dark Matter Research” section and use dark matter to purchase important upgrades. These improvements include increasing the max number of crystals you can carry, allowing you to summon more fairies at one moment, as well as increasing the max number of faeries you can keep summoned, potentially increasing your power considerably, among many others.

Beginner’s Guide for Valkyrie Rush - Introductions to the Basics and Idle Gameplay

Expanding Your Army Via Search

Lastly, one final thing you should know as a beginner to Valkyrie Rush is that summoning is not the only way to expand your army. You can also use the “Search” feature located in the “Gate” menu to have a chance to recruit additional units for your army. These units can go from fairies of any level, to even powerful Valkyries. However, it’s not guaranteed that you will actually recruit a unit that you meet via search. In fact, the odds of successfully recruiting a unit are very low, and you only get two chances per unit. Luckily, you can also pay Rubies to get guaranteed recruitment, though this isn’t really recommended if you’re a F2P player.

Beginner’s Guide for Valkyrie Rush - Introductions to the Basics and Idle Gameplay

The search feature is a great way to get an extra push in Valkyrie Rush. And though it’s not very reliable, you can nab some good units for your army if you’re lucky enough.