Mad King Redemption Beginner Guide: Heroes and Upgrade Tips

Mad King Redemption drops you into a corrupted kingdom armed with a combo string and not much else. The early access launch on May 14, 2026 brought in a wave of new players — the Steam page reports 84% positive reviews from 160 user reviews, and a September 25, 2026 developer announcement notes a peak of over 50,000 new players across all platforms. This Mad King Redemption beginner guide covers the heroes, the upgrade loop, and a community-tested Baron Morgrim strategy so your first runs actually go somewhere.

If you're searching for a Mad King Redemption beginner guide that skips the fluff, you're in the right place. Here's how the game works.

What Kind of Game Is Mad King Redemption?

Mad King Redemption is a dark fantasy beat-'em-up with roguelite progression, developed by SECRET MISSION — a team of just three people — and published in early access, per a hands-on preview from GameGrin. This Mad King Redemption beginner guide starts with the basics: you fight through a 2.5D kingdom that fell when the Mad King used forbidden magic to try to resurrect the queen. He lost his sanity in the process, and you're the one cleaning it up.

The core gameplay pillars are:

• Careful button-mashing through hordes of enemies, faithful to a brawler
• Deep roguelite elements layered on top
• Hero upgrades and multiple unlockable skills
• Randomized runs, so the room selection changes every attempt

The developers recommend playing with a controller, and Steam Deck compatibility is rated Verified. If you have the option, use a gamepad — the combo timing feels built for it.

How Runs Work

Each run mixes structure with randomness. In the announced roadmap, the number of rooms you need to clear before reaching the boss stays the same, but the specific rooms you get change every single run. The developers are also continuously adding rooms to the pool, including special rooms with mini-games, item shops, and secret NPCs, plus secret rooms that unlock under certain conditions.

Between runs, you return to the Brotherhood Camp — where the actual progression happens.

The Four Early Access Heroes

Four of the planned eight characters are available in early access, and a hands-on preview from GameGrin details each one, as covered in this Mad King Redemption beginner guide. Every hero has unique Attack, Defence, and Agility stats, a signature weapon, and a distinct combat style. You can also swap between five color palettes per character.

Hero	Role	Backstory (per GameGrin preview)
Valraven	Swordmaster	Former Master of Swords who betrayed the queen for power
Branok	Wrestler	The king's bodyguard, who fled when the corruption spread
Darkblade	Assassin	The queen's elite guard, who failed to protect her
Elowen	Sorcerer	A dark mage who joined the forbidden cult before the king did

Run each hero through the tutorial room once and see which attack rhythm suits you, since the preview describes each as having a signature combat style. Try a few before committing your gold to upgrades.

The Tutorial Room

Your first run opens in what the GameGrin preview calls the Noob Room — a short tutorial that teaches movement, combos, and special attacks before you face real waves of enemies. Don't rush it. Learning your special attack timing before you enter the Catacombs or Dark Corridor is a good habit to build early, per the preview's description of those areas.

Forbidden Attacks and the Corruption Bar

Before each run, you speak with the Mad King, who offers a choice between two Forbidden Attacks, per the GameGrin preview cited throughout this Mad King Redemption beginner guide. Every Forbidden Attack carries a Corruption Gain value each time you use it. In the preview's example, both Bloomscar and Rosariam inflict 24.5 corruption points per use. When the Corruption Bar fills completely, you become powerful against enemies but also take damage yourself — the preview describes your character vomiting and losing 50% of their health.

Mechanic	Effect
Forbidden Attack use	Fills the Corruption Bar
Full Corruption Bar	Buffed offense, self-damage, 50% health loss (per preview)
Corruption value example	24.5 points for Bloomscar and Rosariam

Treat Forbidden Attacks as emergency buttons rather than bread-and-butter damage. Because 24.5 goes into a bar that triggers a 50% health hit, saving them for boss phases or overwhelming enemy waves keeps the self-damage cost from stacking against you. The preview also mentions a third attack type beyond your base moves that comes with a price, reinforcing that the game wants you to weigh cost against power.

Upgrades: Kael, Brogan, and the Camp Loop

The Brotherhood Camp is where you turn failed runs into progress, and it's a cornerstone of any Mad King Redemption beginner guide. A GameGrin preview describes two key NPCs:

• Kael, the Master Mage — sells character upgrades. Crucially, upgrades bought from Kael apply to all heroes, so you never repurchase the same upgrade for a different character. You can also refund any upgrade at any time if you find something more useful.
• Brogan, the Blacksmith — sells weapons and armor, including axes, hammers, knives, daggers, and armor pieces to strengthen your hero.

That refund system matters more than it first appears. It means you can experiment freely. If a stat node isn't pulling its weight in actual runs, take the refund and move the investment somewhere else.

Spending Gold After a Death

When you die, you get a Run Recap showing how long you survived, gold earned, the biome you died in, objects destroyed, and other stats. Then you're back at camp to spend that gold.

Run Recap Stat	Why It Matters (per preview)
Time survived	Shows how long each attempt lasted
Gold gained	The currency you spend at camp
Biome died in	Which environment ended the run
Objects destroyed	One of several recap stats tracked

The preview author noted that each run felt like genuine progress, with heroes getting stronger over time. That's the loop working as intended — your early deaths fund the upgrades that carry you later.

Beginner Guide to the Baron Morgrim Fight

This section of the Mad King Redemption beginner guide covers a player-reported Baron Morgrim strategy. Baron Morgrim appears in the corrupted castle, the first world's boss location in the roadmap. His pattern is learnable, and it's worth studying before you walk in.

Morgrim's sequence goes roughly like this: he opens by charging at you, summons enemies, lobs green projectiles at you, and around the halfway point of his health bar his pattern escalates — he starts attempting a double-hit appear attack, and later summons enemies twice in a row. When his health gets very low, he begins to laugh.

Phase	What He Does	Your Response
Opening	Charges at you directly	Dodge and punish
Mid-fight	Lobs green balls (once before half health)	Sidestep, close the gap
Below half health	Double appear attacks, double summons	Stay mobile, don't overcommit
Very low health	Laughs, teleports to hit you	Head for the cage (see below)

The Cage Trick

The cage in the corner of the arena is the most important piece of terrain. It's the cage, not the rock.

1. When your health dips low, climb onto the cage and wait. Morgrim can't hit you there, and although summoned enemies may try to jump at you, they tend to miss.
2. When he summons an enemy, drop down and re-engage briefly.
3. When he starts laughing at low health, get back on the cage and camp there. He'll attempt to teleport in and hit you, but he falls instead.
4. Come down once the laugh phase ends, bait him toward the center of the arena, and unload your other special attack.
5. One more round of attacks and he's done.

In one player's encounter, Morgrim could briefly glitch onto the cage but then fell off. That player stayed there for much of the fight and earned a defeat achievement with summoned enemies still alive. Check whether the tactic behaves the same way in your build.

General Morgrim Tips

• Don't try to hit him while he's glowing gold — he's untouchable in that state.
• Keep him near the center of the arena when you can; it gives you more escape room.
• Use the cage to recover health. Repositioning to safety is a legitimate strategy, not cowardice.
• If you have a second special attack available, the window right after his laugh phase is the place to spend it.

Enemy Types, Camera Issues, and What's Coming Next

The GameGrin preview calls out shield-carrying skeletons as especially annoying early enemies. They block a large portion of your attacks, and because they run straight into you and knock you back, their attack telegraphs are hard to read.

Two things help: attack from angles rather than head-on, and don't stand still after a knockback. The preview also notes a general difficulty with blocking enemy attacks and avoiding damage, plus a camera that zooms in and out and takes over as soon as you move. If the camera is fighting you, the in-game camera adjustments help a little, but you'll still need to compensate manually.

Looking ahead, the official roadmap devlog previews the Shadowmere Desert as the next biome after the corrupted castle — an arid region ruled by tribes serving a mysterious sand sorcerer. It's slated to include giant waterfalls, circles of fire, sandstorms, new enemy types, fresh attack patterns, and combat while riding beasts.

The Steam early access FAQ lays out the release plan: the developers expect to leave early access in roughly six to nine months, with production already halfway done. Early access includes four playable heroes, one full world with multiple stages, and 16 unique enemies including bosses. The full version is planned to add more heroes, more worlds, and more enemies.

Early Access Contents	Confirmed
Playable heroes	4 (Steam FAQ)
Unique enemies including bosses	16 (Steam FAQ)
Worlds	1 full world with multiple stages (Steam FAQ)
Steam Achievements	24 (Steam page)
Planned exit from early access	Roughly 6–9 months post-launch (Steam FAQ)

The game is priced at $14.99 on Steam, and the FAQ states it will be 50% discounted during early access. Co-op mode is on the way. Features include Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Shared/Split Screen, Steam Cloud, Remote Play Together, and Family Sharing.

If you want to check the current build, hero roster, or patch notes yourself, the official Mad King Redemption Steam page lets you check the available build, roster and patch notes.

FAQ

Is Mad King Redemption beginner friendly?

It's approachable but demanding. The Noob Room tutorial teaches the fundamentals, and the upgrade system from Kael and Brogan means each run can make you stronger permanently. The main early hurdles are reading enemy telegraphs and managing the Corruption Bar from Forbidden Attacks, both of which this Mad King Redemption beginner guide covers above.

How do I beat Baron Morgrim in Mad King Redemption?

Use the corner cage. When your health is low or when Morgrim enters his laughing phase, climb onto the cage — he can't hit you there and his teleport attack fails, causing him to fall. Drop down to punish his summons, then reposition to the arena center and use your specials at the end.

What happens when the Corruption Bar fills in Mad King Redemption?

Per a hands-on preview, you become more powerful against enemies but also take self-damage — your character vomits and loses 50% of their health. Since Forbidden Attacks like Bloomscar and Rosariam add 24.5 corruption points per use, the bar fills faster than most new players expect.

Do I need to buy upgrades separately for each hero?

No. Upgrades purchased from Kael the Master Mage apply to all heroes, so you only buy each one once. You can also request a refund on any upgrade at any time if you'd rather spend the currency elsewhere.

Which Mad King Redemption tips should beginners use first?

Start by checking the controls, learning a hero’s attacks, and buying shared upgrades that address your previous run’s problem. GameGrin’s preview reports that Kael’s upgrades apply across heroes and can be refunded, making experimentation practical.

Do upgrades apply to every hero?

Yes. It reports that upgrades purchased from Kael benefit all heroes, so you do not need to purchase the same upgrade separately for each character.

Can forbidden powers damage your own character?

Yes. GameGrin’s preview reports that forbidden attacks add corruption and that filling the Corruption Bar causes a health penalty. Its observed version removes 50% of health during that event; check your game’s current descriptions for any changes.

How should I prepare for a boss fight?

Practice your selected hero’s controls, watch stamina use, and distinguish regular specials from forbidden powers. Use shared upgrades to address problems from previous attempts, and account for corruption’s health penalty before relying on forbidden magic.