This guide takes you from install to confident play. It covers the first ten hours: which god to pick, how to upgrade, what mistakes to avoid, and what to focus on. Written for players new to Lost Tower or new to idle tower defense in general.

On this page

Direct answer

For your first ten hours in Lost Tower: pick God of War, prioritize attack speed and damage early, save Marks for Rare parchment draws (not Commons), check in twice a day to claim idle gains, and do not stress about wave 20 boss. The game is designed to be forgiving in early play.

Quick answer

Pick War. Upgrade damage. Save Marks. Come back tomorrow. Repeat.

Your first match

Tap to start a run. The tower begins at base power. Enemies will appear in waves. Each enemy you defeat gives you gold (in-match currency). Spend gold on upgrades that appear at the bottom of the screen.

The first match exists to teach you. Do not worry about losing. You will lose. That is normal. Pay attention to what kills you. That information matters more than survival.

Picking your first god

We recommend God of War. War has the simplest learning curve: more damage, more crit, faster attacks. The other gods are deeper but require understanding mechanics first. See our god selection guide for full reasoning.

Early upgrade priorities

In your first ten hours:

  • Damage first. Every gold you spend on damage early returns 3-5x its value across the match.
  • Attack speed second. Slower towers waste shots. Faster towers smooth out the early game.
  • Range third. Range matters most against fast enemies. Build it after damage and speed.
  • Save shards for permanent tower levels. Do not impulse-buy other upgrades.
  • Marks for Rare draws only. Common parchments are nearly worthless. Save up.

See our upgrade priority guide for the full breakdown.

Beginner mistakes

The most common early mistakes:

  • Spending all gold on the first upgrade tier instead of saving for the next tier
  • Picking God of Time first (it is the hardest god, do not start here)
  • Trying to win wave 30 in your first day (you will not)
  • Spending Marks on Common parchments (the value is in Rare and Epic)
  • Ignoring idle progress between sessions (it compounds, do not waste it)

For more, see common mistakes guide.

After your first ten hours

By hour 10 you should have reached wave 30, ascended your god at least 5 times, and built a small parchment library. From here, the advanced guide takes over. You are ready to explore other gods and start planning your meta.