STARTING LOADOUT CHOICES
At the start of a run, players choose from initial weapons, characters, or configurations that shape the run's early direction and strategy.
- SOLO-DEV COST LOW
- TIMING REAL-TIME / TURN
- COMMON IN ROGUELIKE
Hades's starting weapon aspects, Dead Cells' initial gear, and Enter the Gungeon's characters all let the player set a direction before the randomness begins. Designers use loadout choices to give players agency over an otherwise-random run, to create replayability through distinct starting archetypes, to let players pursue specific challenges or synergies, and to teach different playstyles. Key decisions: how many options and how distinct they are (mechanically different loadouts create real variety; stat tweaks don't), whether choices are unlocked progressively (gating advanced loadouts behind mastery), how much the start determines the whole run versus just the opening, and balance across options. Pitfall: if one loadout is clearly strongest, the choice collapses into a single optimal pick, and if loadouts barely differ, the choice is meaningless — each option should open a genuinely different path through the run, viable in its own way.
SEEN IN
- HADES
- DEAD CELLS
- ENTER THE GUNGEON