The short answer
Keep moving, let auto-aim handle targets, grow your squad through SOS calls, and choose upgrades that fit the run. Learn how the systems connect before worrying about advanced builds.
01 / Core loop
How a YAZS run works
Characters aim and fire automatically by default, while you steer the squad through an arena, survive enemy pressure, and make choices that change the run.
Start with one Survivor
You begin each run with one Survivor and can keep playing solo or recruit more through SOS calls.
Move while your squad attacks
Your Survivors aim and fire automatically by default, so focus on space, enemy pressure, hazards, and routes.
Build around each run
Weapons, abilities, upgrade choices, synergies, and items shape the squad during each attempt.
Answer SOS calls
Recruit as many as two additional Survivors, creating a solo, duo, or three-person squad.
Upgrade between runs
General and Survivor progression continue outside each run and prepare you for the next attempt.
02 / Squad basics
How to build a three-Survivor squad
A run begins with one Survivor. SOS calls can add up to two more, so the same basic loop supports a solo Survivor, a pair, or a complete three-person squad.
As the squad grows, weapons, abilities, and synergies can interact across the team. Use your first few squads to learn how each choice changes the run instead of chasing an old Early Access tier list.
03 / Movement & positioning
Movement and positioning basics
Automatic fire does not make movement automatic. Arena layouts, hazards, enemy pressure, and weapon range all make positioning meaningful. The safest baseline is to preserve space, watch the arena around the squad, and move before a route closes.
04 / Growing stronger
Upgrades during and between runs
Weapons & abilities
These are core parts of how the squad deals damage and develops during a run.
Evolutions
Weapons and abilities can develop into stronger forms as a run progresses.
Items
Items found during a run can enhance or reshape the current build.
Permanent progression
Between runs, General and Survivor progression provide longer term growth. Version 1.0 also adds a fifth rank.
Camp, Quick Run, and daily and weekly missions are part of the 1.0 experience.
05 / First-run habits
Five useful habits for your first runs
- 01
Move with purpose. Preserve open space and scan for arena hazards while auto-fire handles the immediate targets.
- 02
Notice SOS opportunities. Recruitment is how a one-Survivor run can become a team of two or three.
- 03
Read each run as its own build. Weapons, abilities, synergies, and items shape the choices in front of you, so work with what you find instead of forcing every attempt into the same plan.
- 04
Use permanent growth between attempts. Run progress and permanent progression are separate layers.
- 05
Check the version on outside advice. A fresh 1.0 run should not be planned around an unlabeled Early Access tier list.
Version 1.0 note
A note on builds, rankings, and older guides
This guide focuses on the core systems in version 1.0. Build rankings, tier lists, item recommendations, evolution recipes, optimal upgrade orders, and detailed manual-aim or dodge mechanics need their own up-to-date testing, so they are not covered here.