Swarmwave beginner guide: movement, cards and boss warnings
Learn how to keep an escape route, collect pearls safely, choose upgrades and read Swarmwave boss and tide warnings.
Swarmwave: rules, controls and first steps
Ride the neon tide: steer, auto-fire, evolve your weapons and survive the swarm.
What you play
Swarmwave is a deep-sea survivor shooter. You steer while weapons fire automatically, collect experience pearls, choose upgrade cards and survive enemy waves until the boss fight. Maps and difficulty change the movement problems you face. Permanent lobby upgrades are separate from the cards chosen inside a run.
An auto-fire survivor with maps, selectable difficulty, in-run cards and permanent upgrades. Read the in-game guide for the selected map and current build.
Controls
Drag to steer on touch screens, or use WASD / arrow keys on a keyboard. Weapons fire automatically. P or Esc pauses the run.
Your first session
- Move into open water while collecting experience pearls; shooting does not require holding an attack button.
- Choose an upgrade card when the selection appears. Balance the weapon you are building with the movement and survival needs of the current wave.
- Read boss warning shapes and the tide countdown. Surviving for a while is not itself a clear: the final boss must be defeated.
Decisions worth watching
Avoid chasing one pearl into a closed pocket of enemies. A safe loop leaves a route back into open water.
Red lines, circles and fans warn of different attacks. Move out of the marked shape rather than assuming every attack is dodged the same way.
Detailed player guide
More games and help
Browse the other browser games or choose a player guide. If the game does not load, include its address, your device and the visible error when contacting player support. Game-specific saved progress may depend on browser site data; check before clearing it.