Start with Maintenance, then open new departments
MAINTENANCE is available immediately. It starts with a Service torch and Ceramic fuse, two adjacent LIVE objects. ARCHIVIST unlocks after an incident report and starts with a Tape recorder and Guest pass, a SIGNAL pair. WARDEN unlocks at level three and starts with a Red stapler and Insulation, a SHELTER pair.
Each starting pair is two of the three connected objects needed to activate its family's circuit. The role does not begin with that circuit fully active. Use PREPARE A SHIFT to inspect the available roles and their requirements, select an unlocked role, then choose BEGIN SHIFT. Different starting equipment changes your early decisions rather than guaranteeing a stronger run.
An incident report is different from an XP reward
A completed or terminated shift files an incident, including a shift you deliberately abandon. That report opens Archivist. However, leaving before clearing any room does not award room XP or contract XP. The report requirement and the experience calculation are separate rules, so repeatedly abandoning the opening encounter is not a route to higher levels.
Abandoning also ends the current kit. You cannot resume that shift afterward. If you only need a break, use SAVE & RETURN TO LOBBY and later RESUME SHIFT instead. There is no need to destroy an unfinished build simply to visit the personnel pages or step away from the game.
XP is settled when the shift ends
On the standard challenge tier, each cleared room contributes eighteen base XP. Escaping adds ninety more. A nine-room escape therefore produces 252 base XP before any newly completed assignments are added. A loss after clearing three rooms contributes fifty-four base XP. The final report separates the shift reward from contract rewards so you can see where the total came from.
Assignment progress can be visible during an active shift, but the reward is settled when that shift ends. Reaching a displayed goal does not mean that the XP has already been filed. If the final report shows a save problem, keep the game open and retry the save before treating its progress as safely stored.
Use assignments to try more of the game
The TASKS page contains ten assignments with no expiry timer in this build. They cover clearing a room, finishing a qualifying shift, connecting each of the three circuit families, escaping, archiving objects, clearing service-lift rooms, recording the twelve salvage objects and escaping with all three roles. Some goals accumulate across several shifts.
Each assignment pays its listed XP once. For example, FIRST RESPONSE rewards the first room clear, while PAPER TRAIL asks you to archive four objects across shifts. Treat these as reasons to experiment when the opportunity fits. Sacrificing an essential circuit just to advance a counter can still make the current encounter much harder.
Read clearance as options, not permanent power
The current track has ten levels. Level two begins at eighty total XP, level three at two hundred, and level ten at 2,720. PERSONNEL shows your present level, rank and progress toward the next threshold. Rank names can span more than one level, so the numbered level is the clearest reference when checking an unlock requirement.
Each level opens an earned title, with emblems at specific milestones. EDIT BADGE changes your call sign and emblem; EARNED TITLES selects your displayed title. LEVEL PATH shows the next reward and XP needed. FIELD RECORDS tracks verified visits and clears. Clearing all three rooms of Intake or Records earns its stamp; the Service stamp also needs an actual escape. Select an earned stamp for your badge. These identity choices add no combat statistics.
Choose Night Shift when you want more pressure
Escaping Standard unlocks Night Shift I. Escaping each tier opens the next, up to Night Shift III. New shifts at tiers I, II and III add ten, twenty and thirty percent enemy vitality, with one, three and four extra attack respectively. Noise rises every four, three and two completed turns. Base shift XP rises by fifteen percent per tier; assignment rewards do not receive that multiplier. Resumed older shifts can retain their original rules, which the game identifies.
These challenges are optional and selected before a new shift. The role-selection screen shows their conditions. Before moving up, use FILES and INCIDENT HISTORY to review a previous kit, protocol choice and outcome. The history keeps your last twenty shifts, providing a useful record of experiments without turning rank into a substitute for understanding the encounters.
A couple of details.
Do I need to escape before Archivist unlocks?
No. Archivist needs an incident report, which can come from a terminated or abandoned shift. Clearing rooms is still necessary to earn room XP and qualify for contract rewards; an immediate abandonment does not provide those rewards.
Will leveling up make my current attacks stronger?
No. Levels open options and badge progression. Combat strength comes from the current role's equipment, inventory arrangement, Archive bonuses, protocols and encounter effects, all under the current shift's rules.