STRAFE is a roguelite. If you're playing it like Doom or Quake, it's gonna be rough - items are scarce and unexplained, ammo is limited, and every point of armor and health is critical. There's zero documentation as of launch on what all the items, powerups, and more do or how they work - this guide will hopefully be a compendium for anyone to get started with STRAFE and not ragequit when they keep dying on 1-3.

This guide is out of date and incomplete - I have no idea what the first big patch added, so there's going to be more stuff I need to fill out.

Edit as of Jan 2022:

This guide is REALLY out of date despite being in such a popular position; I do like Strafe a lot but have kinda bad motivation to work on stuff. It's been in the back of my mind to finish and update things someday but I'm not sure when I will. It's funny how this guide I whipped up at launch to give tips ended up being literally tweeted by Devolver, hopefully I can do this game I love some justice with a more complete guide

There's still (imo) some very helpful tips for fresh players, but more specific information like secrets or odd interactions aren't going to be in here right now.

Levels in STRAFE are pseudo-random - there's a list of premade rooms, and every time you play the game strings the rooms together in new combinations to make it different each time. This can get confusing if you're poor at navigation - the ingame map isn't very useful due to a strange orientation, and rooms in the Icarus specifically are very similar. This means that one of the best ways to figure out if you've been somewhere is to see how much gore is splattered across the room - if you see a doorway that looks relatively clean, it's a safe bet you need to go there.


Airstrafing and bunnyhopping is very useful to dodge crowds of enemies and projectiles - if you hold foward and left/right (whichever direction you want to go), and turn your mouse in that direction, you'll VERY quickly pick up speed. (This differs from how airstrafing works in QUake/etc. but it's very easy to learn in STRAFE).


Sometimes, you won't be able to progress because of a locked door. I've seen two types of doors so far - keycard doors, and retinal scanners. Keycard doors are relatively simple - if you see a coloured door, find the keycard that matches it, and when you come back the door will be open. It can be tricky to find the keycards, as they don't stick out too much - look around for other scrapper corpses (the blue suited dudes with large helmets), as they usually have keycards. You can see the keycards you have at the top of the screen.

Retinal scanners require you to find the matching head and scan it at the door. These work similar to keycards, but you need to find the correct head for the door. It's difficult to pick out the bodies - sometimes they'll just be lying on the ground, and sometimes you'll find the head on a pike. Both keycard and head-bearing corpses usually have a blinking flashlight or flare nearby to draw your eye - if you can't progress and need to find an item, keep an eye out for that.

In zone 3, you'll find locked gates that require powercells to open. You can find powercells in small carts with a bloody corpse lying on top. Press E to slot the cells in, then push the button on the counter - the door will open.

Thanks to Kino for the info!

The small grey boxes that launch out a cylinder when shot are stat upgrades. If you press and hold Z you can see your weapon's current stats. Each pickup is a notch. You can see which type of pickup you've grabbed at the top left of the screen for a short time. I believe (but haven't confirmed) that sometimes, a pickup will give you a small amount of health.

From top to bottom the different stats on the inventory screen are:

• Damage
  
• Mag Capacity
  
• Accuracy
  
• Fire Rate

There are various secret rooms you can find in each level - if you spot a small panel up high on various walls, shooting it will open a nearby secret room that often has ammo or armor pickups. Super useful, so keep an eye out for these.

The panels can be difficult to spot - they're a small square with some green/blue/yellow lights on them. The secret rooms aren't hard to find - they have a bright white floor and red walls.





In zone 2, secrets are opened by shooting blue stalagmites. (Thanks to AT God for the info!)

• Shoot the panel at the exit door to instantly open it and bypass the long door opening sequence.
  
• If you have full health and you collect a health pack, you'll fill up a small bar under your HP and above your armor. Collect 5 packs (4 to fill each bar then one more) and you'll get +10 to your max HP!

Unlike most shooters, armor in STRAFE is (as best I can tell) an outright second health bar. If you have armor, you're not taking any HP damage - I've managed to clear two levels in a row with 2HP, all because I managed my armor and scrap. The two best ways to get scrap (on the Icarus, at least) are to shoot scrap boxes and Floater vents.

Scrap boxes will vomit out scrap when shot until you can (roughly) see the bottom of the crate - keep shooting for more, because if you shoot it once you'll get a single pile. These give a TON of scrap and are always a great find.

Floater vents drop a fair few scrap piles, but the orange blood makes it dangerous to grab. Be careful if you want the scrap, as it's easy to lose a lot of health if you're careless.



Vending machines are your saviour - these things give you ammo and armor, the two best things to have. You can buy four different things from them:

• Small ammo (8 reloads): 850 scrap
  
• Large ammo (18 reloads): 1500 scrap
  
• Small armor (20 armor): 3500 scrap
  
• Large armor (50 armor): 6000 scrap

The armor boosts are essential for staying alive. Managing your scrap and backtracking to buy more armor will keep you alive for much longer if you're having difficulty.

Ammo is scarce, and if you're a habitual reloader you'll run out after only a few levels - don't underestimate buying ammo. It's usually a good idea to spend leftover scrap on ammo, unless you're doing okay and want to save up for armor/you have something else in mind.

You can exchange scrap for credits in stores, but it's not a very good ratio of scrap/credits
and unless you're JUST short of buying an item, you're best off saving your scrap.

This is a list of all enemies I've seen so far. (I know there are official names for these guys floating around somewhere you can read the names if you die to the enemy - if you have them, let me know)

Everything past the floaters is a spoiler for the zones beyond the Icarus - if you don't want them spoiled, be careful!

Glutton

Runs directly at you and attempts to hit you with a melee weapon. Not very dangerous alone, but in groups they can easily swarm and trap you. Comes in three varieties - one has a helmet that protects it from headshots.

In zone 2, you'll start to see Gluttons covered in orange that will spill orange blood akin to Floaters.

Stalker

Has a pistol - he'll fire off a few shots, then run away to a new position. Takes a fair few hits and does some damage - it's good to take him out quickly.

Hunter

Can be seen hiding on the ceiling - he'll drop down when you aren't looking and attack you. Not too dangerous, but they can catch you off guard easily.

Drone

A small robot that follows you and fires projectiles - fairly easy to fight if you zigzag or circlestrafe it, but the shots will quickly rack up damage if you don't pay attention.

Floaters

Spawns from orange covered vents, then flies directly into you. The orange blood (acid) they make deals damage, and they'll keep coming until you blow up the vent they're coming from. The vent will spit out both scrap and acid - if there's other enemies/corpses nearby, shooting them to spread regular blood over the acid should help make it safe to grab the scrap. VERY easy to miss these guys - keep an eye out for the vents.

Also spawns from rock pillars in zone 2.

Harvester



Found in zone 2. Quickly closes the distance and swipes at you.

Brick



Found in zone 2. Takes a lot of punishment and deals a lot of damage, but is slow and easy to hit. Has an AoE attack where he slams his fists down, causing rock to explode out and hit you - don't get caught in a corner when he does this!

Spitter



Found in zone 3. Lobs acid at you.

Sniper



Found in zone 3.

You can find various upgrade stations lying around that will change the way your gun works. Here's the one's I've seen so far:


Flak Cannon (Primary Fire)

Like the gun of the same name from Unreal Tournament, the Flak Cannon upgrade replaces your primary fire with a richocheting bundle of slow moving projectiles. Does quite a bit of damage, but it can also hurt you, so be careful. Usually a solid pick, it's pretty much a straight upgrade.

Super Shotgun (Primary Fire)
Thanks to MucMash for the info!

Slower firerate and consumes two shells per shot, but deals a ton of damage. Solid choice.

Explosives Pack (Secondary Fire)

Replaces the secondary fire with a small pack that fires in an arc - shooting the pack will cause a large explosion.

Gas Grenade (Secondary Fire)
Thanks to Mechanize for the info!

Changes secondary fire to a gas grenade that creates a small cloud of deadly gas.

Tri-Frag Launcher (Primary Fire)
Thanks to Shaps for the info + picture!



Launches three frag grenades. A good choice - they do solid damage and spread out.


Remote Detonating Nailgun (Primary Fire)



Dramatically reduces your magazine size and accuracy, but changes your bullets into nails that will explode. If you hold down the fire button, the nails will stick into walls/enemies/etc., but once you let go, they'll detonate. Tap firing will make the nails explode on contact. Good for leading enemies into traps around corners/etc., but if you need to get into a full on fight, jump over the enemies and fire downwards - spreading out the explosion radius is your best bet against crowds.

Tri-Nailgun (Primary Fire)


Upgrades your mag size, but each shot fires 3 nails. A really useful upgrade - the DPS seems much higher than the default machinegun.

Minigun (Primary Fire)



Dramatically increases mag size, but rate of fire is changed - holding fire beings to VERY slowly spin up the gun, and the firerate will increase as you hold down the button until you run out of ammo or stop. Decent against crowds, but makes dealing with single enemies a little bit annoying. Shots appear to ricochet off walls (needs confirming).

Smart Rocket (Secondary Fire)

Replaces the secondary fire grenade with a steerable explosive. I don't know if it changes ammo costs or anything, but it's almost always better than the default grenade in my experience.

Charge Shot (Secondary Fire)



Replaces secondary fire with a shot that takes a moment to charge, then fires a continuous laser beam for a second or two.

Mine Launcher (Secondary Fire)



Changes secondary fire to a remote detonating mine that sticks to surfaces - press secondary fire again to detonate.


Disc Launcher (Primary Fire)

Replaces the railgun beam with a projectile based disc.

Black Hole (Secondary Fire)
Thanks to Arakus for the info and picture!



Changes secondary fire into an orb that travels in a straight line - press secondary fire again to turn it into a black hole that sucks up any nearby enemies.

This section contains a list of all the items I've seen so far - if you have pictures or info on how an item works, leave a comment and I'll add it to the guide. (Apparently, if you hold Z, you can see your current inventory, along with some item descriptions - this only seems to work for some items, however)

As of patch 1, all items in stores give you a description when you hover over them.

Jump Boots



Allows you to double jump.

Jetpack



Allows you to slow your descent - tap Jump once to enable/disable it.

Spiked Boots



Jumping on an enemy will instantly kill them. EXTREMELY useful - gathering a train of enemies then jumping onto them will net you quick and easy kills.

Teleporter Piece 1
Thanks to H.I. McDunnough and Mado for the info!



Take this item to the teleporter at the beginning of a zone - if you attach all 4 pieces to the teleporter, you can skip the level on a new run. (Hold E to attach it once you arrive at the teleporter.)

The teleporters work the same in each zone (though you'll need to start building each one from scratch - eg. you need to collect parts in zone 2 to build the zone 3 teleporter)

Teleporter Piece 2
Thanks to Zierce Peigler for the picture!



Can be found somewhere in the level as a pickup, unlike the first piece. Looks like a walkie talkie.

Teleporter Piece 3
Thanks to Alias for the info!

Drops from crates.

Teleporter Piece 4
Thanks to Alias for the info!

Drops from crates. Unlike the other parts, this one is a leaking radioactive battery - you have to pick it up like a barrel and carry it to the teleporter.

Regen



Gives you +1HP every time you kill an (organic) enemy. If you have over 75HP, you won't regenerate HP.

Thrusters
Thanks to Shaps for the info + desc!



Use thrusters to dodge quickly (press any direction twice quickly).

Airbud (Drone)
Thanks to Kino for the info!



Follows you around and shoots at enemies.

Rain Wear
Thanks to Tropics and Daga for the info!

You no longer take damage from acid (orange blood) on the ground. Acid that is spurting out of an enemy/vent/etc. will still cause damage, however.

R-Blast
Thanks to Tropics and Daga for the info!



Deals damage to nearby enemies when you reload.

Magnet Belt



Draws in items from further away.

Personal Teleporter
Thanks to AT God for the info!



Press E while aiming at a Glutton to telefrag them (teleport inside the Glutton, killing it). Has a cooldown.

???
Thanks to Fancy Ghost for the info!



Allows you to pull in explosive barrels from a distance by holding E.

???
Thanks to Tropics for the info!



Fires spikes after each shot.

???
Thanks to Tropics for the info!



When you reload with bullets left in the mag, you can throw the mag like a grenade.

Steroids
Thanks to AT God for the info!



Increases run speed (and apparently attractiveness).

Shield
Thanks to AT God for the info!



Protects you from one instance of damage before recharging. The HUD icon will light up when active.

Box of Bugs
Thanks to AT God and Arakus for the info, and Lukas for the picture!



Primary Fire: Heal 5HP. Secondary Fire: Throw a bug. Coats an area in blood. (Useful for avoiding acid)

Tripmines
Thanks to AT God for the info!



You get 5 when you buy it - explodes when anything crosses its laser.


If you have any details about these items or pictures, leave a comment explaining what it does.

Unknown Item Pictures

None right now!

STRAFE is filled with secrets, throwbacks, and references - if you know of one not listed here, comment with pictures and I'll add it to the list.

If you're looking for info on the normal "secrets" that have armor/health/etc., go to Gameplay Basics.


When beginning a new game, don't pick up any weapon - head right through the teleporter. The corpse at the start will have a wrench in it - picking up the wrench allows you to deal a lot of melee damage, reflect projectiles, and changes all stat pickups into health packs.


When beginning a new game, shoot the corpse under the Icarus sign until it explodes - it will drop a small coin that plays a jingle when picked up. In 1-2, there will be an arcade cabinet hidden in the level somewhere - press E on it and you'll begin playing a Wolfenstein 3D clone. Winning (shoot all of the enemy pilots and find the exit before time runs out) gives you a few rewards from the safe next to the cabinet.




A small gameboy that can be found in the safe rooms in zone 2. It's not currently known how to get it to play, but there's a small rewards safe nearby, so it must be playable.


Can be found in the locked rooms that require power cells to open the gate. Requires a controller and cartridge to play. You can find the cartridge inside the presents in 3-1, but we don't know where the controller is as of now. (Thanks to AT God for the info!)

Thanks to Zierce Peigler for the info + pictures!

"It's basically a glitched out mega broken joke shop that provides you with a free item. I accidently found this while throwing barrels at enemies on zone 3-1"






I'm not sure if these weapons are found randomly or are specific to each level - if you have proof of one or the other, please let me know.

Tropics says: "the sign for secret weapons is like a small insect just crawling on the ground near the wall where there is a secret room, like a vey small orange thing. I just saw one in 3-3, I said to myself "let's throw a barrell here", and it revealed the Serious Sam like bomber gun. "

I haven't confirmed this yet, so if anyone else can provide photographic proof I'd appreciate it.

• Devil Daggers (a reference to the game Devil Daggers). Replaces your weapon with a claw hand that shoots a fireball, and does not allow you to change weapons. It also conceals the entire HUD. (Thanks to Big Smoke for the info!)
  
• King Skeletor weapon (Thanks to AT God for the info!)
  
• Superhot Double Barrelled Shotgun. makes the game play like Superhot, where time only moves when you do. (Thanks to Fr0st for the info + picture!)
  
• Serious Sam Cannon - (Thanks to BidoofoYakuza for the picture!)

This guide is still super barebones - I'm still playing the game myself and trying to figure things out. If you have any info, pictures, or whatever else to share, leave a comment, and I'll add it to the guide.

Things you can contribute:

• Post an item that isn't listed in the guide, how it works, a picture of it, etc.
  
• Post details about an existing item or picture
  
• Post item prices (I'm not sure if item prices change each run or if each item has a fixed price)
  
• Post pictures/details about weapon mods you find
  
• Go into more detail about enemies, weapons, etc.
  
• Tips and tricks to stay alive and make it through the game
  
• Suggestions for more content