This Astrakeep beginner guide boils down to a few habits: follow Orin's tutorial, learn how a siege works (cards, three lanes, towers then the keep), win the first campaign levels and spend the loot on the Crystal Tower right away. Then, every day: finish the five quests, open the daily chest and keep a construction running. Here's the detail, step by step.
This page is part of the Astrakeep guide. Once you're up and running, the pages on islands and buildings and Astrakeep heroes take it from there.
The tutorial with Orin
The game opens with a message from your advisor: "Welcome to the Kingdom of Astra! I'm Orin, your advisor." In a few minutes, he shows you the basics:
- Claim today's login reward.
- Open the Campaign and start the first level. Every level is an enemy kingdom to besiege.
- Play your cards: pick a card at the bottom of the screen, then tap one of the three lanes, in your half of the field, to send your troops there. Each card costs energy, which refills on its own. When a hero's special attack is charged, tap it. Bring down the towers, then the keep.
- Spend the loot: every level you win gives you wood and stone. Orin has you upgrade the Crystal Tower, whose level limits every other building.
- Level up a hero with your resources.
- Summon at the Summoning Altar with your tokens: a new game starts with ten.
- Check out the daily quests.
You can skip the tutorial and replay it any time with the "?" button in the kingdom. Orin also explains each new screen the first time you open it: take a moment to read those bubbles, they sum up how each feature works.
How a siege works
Since the October 16, 2026 update, every battle in Astrakeep is a siege, in the campaign, in raids and against other players. The basics fit in a few lines:
- An energy gauge and a hand of 4 cards: troops, spells and heroes. Each card costs energy, and the gauge refills on its own. In the last 30 seconds, energy comes in twice as fast.
- Three lanes: you drop a card in one of them, in your half of the field.
- Two towers and a keep: a fallen tower is worth 1 star, the keep 3.
- The troop cycle: each troop beats another (+50%). Footmen swarm shield guards, guards stop griffins, griffins bring down crystal colossi, colossi crush footmen.
The enemy defense is played by the computer, and there's no luck involved: the server replays and checks every battle. The Astrakeep campaign page goes deeper into tactics.
Your first three heroes
You start with three rare heroes, who come into the siege as cards:
- Lyra the Archer (Rapid fire): long range, very fast shots.
- Orin the Mage (Area damage): his mana orbs hit every nearby enemy.
- Kael the Knight (Heavy hitter): a close-combat fighter who charges ground enemies.
Each hero also boosts one troop placed next to them: Kael the footmen, Lyra the griffins, Orin the crystal colossi. Send them down a lane together with the right troop.
Your priorities for the first days
1. Push through the campaign. It's your main source of loot, and winning level 2 unlocks raids on rival villages. The first boss, at level 5, opens The Ascension of Astra and gives you the first page of the Chronicles of Astra, the journal that tells the story. Each level shows a recommended hero level: trust it.
2. Never leave the builder idle. Only one building goes up at a time, but "construction keeps going even when the game is closed". Start a long upgrade before you put your phone down. When less than a minute is left, you can finish it for free.
3. Level up the Crystal Tower. It caps every other building and unlocks new islands (at levels 3, 5 and 7). It also caps your heroes' max level.
4. Power up the heroes you actually use. Three strong heroes beat five weak ones.
Daily quests and the daily chest
"Complete the daily tasks to earn resources, then open the chest once they're all done." They change every day at a set time: the game shows it in your device's time. There are five quests a day: win battles, defeat enemies, use special attacks, start a building upgrade, upgrade a hero, summon, finish an expedition, defeat a boss… Most of them fill up just by playing normally.
Once all five are done, the daily chest opens. It holds resources, a summoning token, gems and one legendary fragment. That fragment is the main reason never to skip a chest: 40 fragments unlock a legendary hero of your choice.
The login streak
The login reward runs on a seven-day streak ("Login: day 3 / 7"). Day seven gives you a summoning token. Come back every day, even for a minute: claiming the reward and starting a new construction is enough to keep the pace.
Expeditions, for heroes who aren't fighting
A hero sent on an expedition comes back with resources, but "can't fight while they're away". There are three destinations: Firefly Forest (30 min), Crystal Mines (2 h) and Sky Ruins (8 h, plus one token). Send a hero you don't need for your next sieges, and save Sky Ruins for overnight.
Protect your game
At first you play on a guest account: "Your game only exists on this device." Go to Account, then "Protect my game", and link an email address (with a 6-digit code), a Google account or an Apple account. Your game is then saved in the cloud, and you get it back if you switch devices, or move from the browser to the app. This Djoox account is shared by all the studio's games. If you play as a guest, Orin himself invites you to protect your game with an email, Google or Apple: it is a backup you can recover on another device.
Choosing and changing your player name
The game gives you a name when your account is created. You'll see it in gold under the "Kingdom of Astra" title: tap it to open the Account screen, where the "Change" button lets you pick your own. The game also offers it right when you protect your game. This is the name other players see in leaderboards, alliances and chat.
- The rule: "3 to 16 characters: letters, digits, space, hyphen, underscore, apostrophe." Every script is accepted, and two players can't share the same name.
- The price: the first change is free; after that, each change costs 200 gems.
- The wait: only one paid change every 24 hours.
HD image, language and notifications
Settings open from the globe button at the top right of the kingdom. That's where you pick the game's language (it's translated into 8) and where you can turn on HD image: a sharper picture that may slow the game down or warm up some devices. The game restarts to apply it, and the sharpness drops on its own if the game starts to lag. It's an option: nothing forces you to turn it on.
If you allow notifications, the game lets you know when a construction, troops or an expedition are done, never between 10 pm and 8 am.
With construction that keeps going while the game is closed, Astrakeep fits short sessions. Astrakeep left tower defense behind on October 16, 2026 but kept its taste for heroes and strategy; to see how it compares, our guide to the best strategy games on mobile sets out what to look for. You can already play Astrakeep in your browser for free; Astrakeep is also out on Android, on Google Play, free to play with optional in-app purchases, and the iPhone version is coming soon (see the Astrakeep page).
Frequently asked questions
Can I replay the Astrakeep tutorial?
Yes. If you skipped it, the "?" button in the kingdom replays it from the start. Orin also explains each new screen the first time you open it.
What should I upgrade first?
The Crystal Tower, because its level caps every other building, unlocks the islands and limits your heroes' level. Meanwhile, keep your heroes at the level the campaign recommends.
How do I keep my game when I switch devices?
Protect it from the Account screen by linking an email, a Google account or an Apple account. Without that, a guest game only exists on the device where it was created.
How do I change my name in Astrakeep?
Tap your name under the kingdom title, then "Change" on the Account screen. A name must be 3 to 16 characters long. The first change is free; later ones cost 200 gems, with a 24-hour wait between two paid changes.
Does the game keep going while it's closed?
Yes: construction carries on, and a summary is waiting when you come back. Online features (attacks, alliance, chat) need a connection. For anything else, ask on the Astrakeep forum.