# How to play

The controls and basics you need for your first flight.

Snapshot: 2026-09-29. Source revision: ca26d81327a14b1556e0447e519ffe2042099d98.

Manual snapshot: refreshed only on request. The live game may have changed.

Read online: https://mandris.app/knowledge/how-to-play.html

## Your first sortie

Reference: https://mandris.app/knowledge/how-to-play.html#first-sortie

Mandris runs in a desktop browser. A mouse and keyboard or a standard gamepad both work. This page covers what you need for your first flight; the other chapters hold the full detail.

- Choose a ship on the launch screen. Ratajack is the easiest to learn; each ship shows its handling rating and controls.
- Choose a mission and a difficulty. Crucible Drift is listed first and makes a good start. Medium is the standard balance.
- Press the launch button. You can skip the mission introduction.
- Fight through the encounters until the boss appears, then destroy it to win the sortie.
- Spend your credits in the Field Store, pick the next mission, and launch again. Upgrades carry forward until the run ends.

## Flying and shooting

Reference: https://mandris.app/knowledge/how-to-play.html#flying-and-shooting

Movement and aim are separate. Steer with WASD or the arrow keys while the mouse aims; the ship turns its guns toward the cursor. Hold the left mouse button to keep firing.

The right mouse button fires your secondary weapon. Space triggers your ship's utility ability and Shift or E its special ability. Each ship uses these buttons differently; the ship guide below lists them. Escape pauses the game and opens settings.

*Desktop and gamepad input*

| Action | Keyboard / mouse | Gamepad |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Move | WASD / arrow keys | Left stick / D-pad |
| Aim | Mouse position | Right stick |
| Primary fire | Left mouse button (hold) | Right trigger |
| Secondary | Right mouse button | Left trigger |
| Utility | Space | X |
| Ship special | Shift / E | A |
| Pause / settings | Escape | Start |

## Ship guide

Reference: https://mandris.app/knowledge/how-to-play.html#ship-guide

Every ship uses the same buttons for different abilities. Start with Ratajack; try the others once the basics feel natural.

- [Ratajack](https://mandris.app/knowledge/ships.html#ratajack)
- [Garmo](https://mandris.app/knowledge/ships.html#garmo)
- [Jivadin](https://mandris.app/knowledge/ships.html#jivadin)
- [Michen](https://mandris.app/knowledge/ships.html#michen)

*Selectable ships and their buttons*

| Ship | Role | Abilities and controls |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ratajack | Assault gunship | Twin Machine Guns: LMB / right trigger; Rocket Salvo: Right click / left trigger; Vector Burst: Space / gamepad X; Crossfire Auto Turret: Press Shift / E / gamepad A |
| Garmo | Crystal storm hunter | Shard Rails: LMB / right trigger; Arc Lightning: Hold Right click / left trigger; Event Horizon: Space / gamepad X |
| Jivadin | Paladin support | Energy Lance: LMB / right trigger; Holy Bolt: Right click / left trigger; Wrath of Sera: Space / gamepad X; Healing Arc: Hold Shift / E / gamepad A |
| Michen | Frontline tank | Twin Rotary Cannons: LMB / right trigger; Flame Jet: Hold Right click / left trigger; Gravitic Armor: Press Shift / E / gamepad A; Warp Displacement: Space / gamepad X |

Source reference: `src/content/devCatalog.ts`, `src/content/shipAvailability.ts`.

## Staying alive

Reference: https://mandris.app/knowledge/how-to-play.html#staying-alive

- Hull is your life. When it runs out your ship is destroyed. Solo, that ends the sortie; in co-op you can spectate your squad until it finishes.
- Shields take most hits first and recover over time. Armor reduces each hull hit a little.
- Energy pays for weapons and abilities and recharges on its own. Some held or active abilities pause the recharge while they run, so watch the energy bar.
- Enemies warn you before committed attacks: a glowing nose or barrel, opening bays, a spinning hopper, or a wind-up pose on the enemy itself. Move out of the line or area before the attack lands.
- Some enemy projectiles can be shot down, such as the scrap plates Crucible Tug Haulers fling (two hits each).
- Burning slag clouds, fire rings, resin, and frost patches are area hazards. Resin and frost slow you; burning ground hurts.

## Pickups, credits, and upgrades

Reference: https://mandris.app/knowledge/how-to-play.html#pickups-and-upgrades

Destroyed enemies pay credits directly (2 for ordinary enemies, 6 for strong ones, and 10 for heavies) and sometimes drop pickups. Fly close to a pickup to collect it: credits add 50, repairs restore up to 68 hull (or 48 shields when the hull is full), and upgrade orbs grant a random upgrade your ship can use.

Ratajack and Garmo also find weapon drops: each adds a new weapon, such as Ratajack's Buzzsaw Rotary Cannon or Garmo's Storm Halo, for the rest of the run. Rare destructible caches hold bigger rewards.

Winning a sortie adds 250 credits. In the Field Store you can buy ship upgrades, repair your hull, and choose the next mission. Defeat, or ending the run, clears credits and upgrades.

## Choosing a difficulty

Reference: https://mandris.app/knowledge/how-to-play.html#difficulty

Difficulty changes how many enemies appear, how much hull they have, and how hard they hit. Your own ship is unchanged.

*Difficulty multipliers on enemies (Medium is the standard balance)*

| Difficulty | Enemy count | Enemy hull | Enemy damage | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Easy | ×0.9 | ×0.65 | ×0.8 | Slightly fewer enemies, much lower enemy hull, and lighter hits. |
| Medium | ×1 | ×1 | ×1 | The standard combat balance. |
| Hard | ×1.15 | ×1.7 | ×1.35 | Slightly more enemies, much tougher hulls, and heavier hits. |
| Nightmare | ×1.3 | ×2.6 | ×1.75 | More enemies, extreme hull strength, and punishing hits. |

Source reference: `src/content/difficulty.ts`.

## Playing together

Reference: https://mandris.app/knowledge/how-to-play.html#playing-together

- Choose Online, then Host to create a room. Share its code; friends choose Online and join with that code. Up to four pilots can fly together, and duplicate ships are allowed.
- Everyone chooses a ship and presses Ready. The host picks the mission and difficulty and launches.
- Each pilot keeps their own credits and upgrades. Pickups go to the closest pilot who can use them.
- If someone disconnects, the flight pauses while they reconnect, then continues where it left off.

## Settings worth knowing

Reference: https://mandris.app/knowledge/how-to-play.html#settings-tips

- Special abilities can be set to Hold or Toggle in Settings.
- Keyboard keys for the secondary, utility, and special actions can be rebound.
- Graphics presets, render scale, reduced motion, and camera shake help on slower machines or for comfort.
- The HUD can show hull and shield bars beside your own ship and your teammates' ships.