New Player Guide: The Ladder
Fifth post in the new player series. The Ladder is Spirefall's progression track: ten rungs that unlock factions, commanders, fortresses, deeper card pools, and eventually the deck builder. This post lays out all ten and how to climb them.
How it works
The Ladder tracks everything you do across runs. Win or lose, cleared tables count, beaten elites count, finished runs count. There's no separate currency and nothing to buy. Play the game and the rungs open.
You can see it in two places: the side board on the run setup screen, and the Unlocks page from the main menu, which also shows exactly what each rung needs and what it gives.
All ten rungs
| Rung | How | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| A Second Banner | Clear your first table | 2nd Technocrats commander |
| The Coast Takes Notice | Reach the Keeper's table | The Merchant Coast: faction, fortress, and starter deck |
| The Keeper's Deed | Beat the Keeper | The Keeper's own fortress: The Golden Exchange |
| The Guild Extends an Invitation | Learn Tully's lessons, then clear 5 tables | The Inglorious Bards: faction, fortress, and starter deck |
| A New Foundation | Win a run with The Merchant Coast | Alternate Technocrats fortress |
| Champion of the Board | Win a run with the Inglorious Bards | 3rd commander, plus 2nds for the Coast and the Guild |
| The Deep Stock | Clear 15 tables (across runs) | New cards appear in run rewards |
| Elite Company | Defeat 3 elites (across runs) | More new cards appear in run rewards |
| The Keeper's Ledger Opens | Win a run | Build your own deck for new runs |
| Distinguished Traveler | Complete the ladder | Title: Distinguished Traveler |
A few notes on reading that table. You don't have to win to make progress: reaching the Keeper's table unlocks the Merchant Coast even if she flattens you. The two card pool rungs, The Deep Stock and Elite Company, don't hand you cards directly. They widen what the run offers you: epics and legendaries start showing up in card rewards after the first, celestials after the second. And the deck builder sits behind three full run wins, which is deliberate. There's a whole post on why, later in this series.
The Card Archive
The Unlocks page also holds the Card Archive: every card each guild can field, catalogued as you encounter them. It fills in as you play, whether cards show up in your hand or across the table. It's the closest thing the tavern has to a library, and it's a good place to study a faction before you unlock it.
New factions come with their own starter decks and their own way of playing. The Merchant Coast fights with gold, guile, and hired blades, all contracts and assassinations. The Bards buff, heal, and harm with songs. Both feel genuinely different from the Technocrats, and the Ladder is paced so you learn one at a time.