Getting Started
Aether Chronicles runs in any modern browser at aetherchronicles.com, free, with nothing to install. This page walks you from the first screen to your first real wins, and points out every free reward along the way.
1. Make a free account
Every player needs an account, because your collection is saved to the cloud and follows you between devices. After the opening cinematic you'll see Welcome, Wanderer with two buttons:
- Create Account: an email address and a password of at least 8 characters. It takes seconds.
- Sign In: for returning players, with a Forgot password? link if you need it.
A sign-in lasts 30 days. When it runs out the game simply asks you to sign in again: "Nothing is lost; it is waiting on your account."
2. The opening cinematic
Each time you launch the game, a short cinematic plays. Tap Tap to begin (this also turns on sound in your browser), or Skip at any moment. You can replay it any time from Settings.
3. Welcome to Aether
On your first visit to the hub, three short slides introduce the game: the world, your first pack, and the three lanes. The last slide offers Learn to play (a coached duel) or Explore on my own.
4. Play the tutorial duel
Choose Learn to play. It's a real duel against Knight-Captain Veska on Easy, paused at nine moments to explain what's happening. Your foe plays the element yours beats, so it's very winnable. If you skip it, it stays on the hub's Start Here banner until you finish it.
| # | Tip | What it teaches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your Aether | "The power you spend to summon. It refills and grows by one each turn, so your biggest plays come later." |
| 2 | Summon a unit | "Drag a Summon from your hand into a lane. It costs Aether and holds that lane for you." |
| 3 | Element gate | "Spells and Events can only be cast while you control a Summon of their element." |
| 4 | Lanes & attacking | "When a turn ends, facing units clash; a unit with no defender in front strikes the enemy Soul directly. Aggressive gives +1 ATK, Defensive +1 DEF." |
| 5 | Elemental advantage | "Fire beats Wind, Wind beats Earth, Earth beats Water, Water beats Fire; Light and Shadow tear at each other. Attacking a weak element deals 1.25× damage." |
| 6 | Keywords | "Bulwark pulls an attack onto itself, Shield soaks the first hit, Drain heals as it strikes. Tap and hold any card to read exactly what it does." |
| 7 | Spells & Decrees | "An Event becomes a standing Decree: you may keep only one at a time." |
| 8 | End your turn | "Tap End Turn. Combat resolves, then your foe moves. Plan which lanes you can win before you commit." |
| 9 | Claim the win | "Drop the enemy to zero Soul Points to win. Keep pressuring the open lanes." |
For the full rules behind each tip, read How to Play.
5. A tour of the hub
| Part of the hub | What it does |
|---|---|
| Your name plate (top left) | Your avatar, level and title. Tap it to open your profile. |
| Currencies (top right) | Coins, gems and Motes. See Shop & Economy. |
| Top buttons | Friends, Achievements, Covenant (the season reward track), Learn (How to Play) and Settings. |
| Battle | "Choose your next challenge": opens the Arena with every mode. See Game Modes. |
| Decks | "Build and refine your strategy". See Deckbuilding. |
| Collection | "Explore your cards and discoveries": every card, owned or not, plus crafting. |
| Shop | "Packs, singles and more", including your daily free pack. |
| Story | "Continue your journey": the campaign. See Story Campaign. |
| Event banner | Rotating slides for whatever is waiting for you today (see below). Use the arrows or wait for it to turn. |
| Ranked Ladder tile | One tap into ranked online duels. |
| Bottom bar | Hub, Cards, Decks, Shop and You (your profile). Red badges mark something new. |
The event banner
The banner only shows slides that apply to you right now, in this order of priority:
- Start Here: the tutorial duel, until you've played it.
- First Steps: a short checklist for new players (see below).
- Daily Bounty, Day N: your daily login reward, while it's unclaimed.
- Daily Trials: three daily challenges (always shown).
- Daily Fortune: a free reliquary to unseal each day, and a grand one each week.
- Covenant: days left in the current season track.
- Weekly Twist: this week's special Practice rules. Tap it to practice with them.
- Card of the Day: a spotlight on one card.
- Hallowfall: the current seasonal event.
6. First Steps: your starter checklist
After the tutorial, the First Steps banner gives you four goals:
- Win the guided duel.
- Forge your first deck: "Bend the elements: build a 30-card deck of your own."
- Win a real match. Practice counts.
- Open a pack. Your daily free pack counts.
Finish all four for 300 Motes and a Standard Pack.
7. What you start with
A new account starts with 500 coins, 100 gems, a ready-made Fire deck called Firestorm (Fire, Aggro) and the 13 different cards inside it. That's enough to play every mode right away.
8. Your first day, step by step
- Claim the Daily Bounty from the hub banner.
- Open your Daily Free Pack in the Shop. It's free every day.
- Unseal the Daily Fortune from the hub banner.
- Play a few Practice matches (Battle, then Practice) with Firestorm. Your first 5 wins each day pay full coins.
- Start the Story. Each trial teaches a matchup and pays coins and XP, and each chapter ends in a big reward, including the Mythic card The Eclipsed Throne for clearing Chapter 1.
- Try today's Puzzle to learn a rule in a minute or two.
- Check your Daily Trials for gems and Motes.
- Build your own deck with Auto-build or a Recipe once you have some new cards. See Deckbuilding.
9. Learn more in the game
Tap the graduation cap on the hub to open How to Play. Its Lessons tab has 32 "Watch & Learn" lessons that play out on the real board. There's nothing to do but watch.
| How a duel works | What the keywords do |
|---|---|
| The Flow of Aether: "Spend small early, swing big later." | Vanguard & Pierce: "Attack the turn it lands, and strike before they answer." |
| Summon & the Element Gate: "A Summon holds a lane and unlocks its element." | Bramble & Requiem: "Two Summons that cost the enemy something by dying." |
| Lanes & Blocking: "Unblocked hits Soul; a blocker makes them clash." | Reading the Fine Print: "Ephemeral, Burn and Solitary: what a cheap body costs you." |
| Elemental Advantage: "Fire beats Wind: hit the weak element for 1.25×." | Guard & Bulwark: "A Guard is only as safe as the Bulwark standing beside it." |
| Keywords in Action: "Bulwark, Shield and Drain, on the field." | Shelter: "The only keyword that takes a hit meant for you." |
| Decrees & Events: "Events become standing Decrees: keep only one." | Undertow & Respawn: "Send theirs back to hand, and refuse to stay dead yourself." |
| Maneuver & Eclipse: "Slide units between lanes; stack for +1/+1." | Crest & Wake: "Two keywords that pay you for moving a Summon." |
| Sigils: "Bind arcane marks to a Summon, up to two." | Resurface: "Bury this one deliberately: it comes back stronger." |
| Soul Points: "The counter that ends the duel, theirs and yours." | Radiance & Augury: "A Summon whose Attack is the size of your hand." |
| How a Clash Resolves: "Both sides strike at once: Defense decides who is left." | Bane: "Double an elemental edge, and delete what you are strong against." |
| Eclipse: "Bury your own Summon, and watch it return." | Toxin: "The damage that keeps arriving after the blow has landed." |
| The Sigil card type: "The fourth kind of card: it claims no lane." | Pinch: "Attack the one resource that never appears on the board." |
| Wager: "Roll the die, and stack the board so the roll matters less." | Stampede: "Kill the blocker and keep going, straight into their Soul." |
| Fatigue: "Run out of deck and the game starts billing you for it." | Bedrock: "A buried Summon that holds up the one standing on it." |
| Invocation & Ensemble: "Summons that pay you for arriving, and for having company." | |
| Unseen: "Removal it cannot be aimed at, until it breaks cover." | |
| Tithe: "Pay in Soul Points to put a card down early." | |
| Silence: "Do not kill the card. Turn it off." |
In your first real battle, a short coached tour points out your hand, lanes and controls. Tap Next to step through it or Skip. After that, one-time tips pop up the first time a new mechanic matters in one of your matches, such as your first Eclipse, Maneuver or Decree, so the advanced rules teach themselves when you need them.
