Need a break from Vampire Survivors? Then 20 Minutes Till Dawn might be perfect for you. Sharing some similarities while also bringing its own flair, this free-to-play game is a bit harder in comparison. It may take you a while to become a relentless force, and you only have ten minutes to try each time. As such, in order to make the most during each run, here are a few 20 Minutes Till Dawn tips that might come in handy.

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20 Minutes Till Dawn Tips

1. Get the Shotgun ASAP

The pistol is a noble weapon. It’s fine! It gets the job done! But you should get the shotgun as soon as possible. Playing a few somewhat lengthy runs should give you enough in-game currency to do so, and it’s way better in practice.

The shotgun starts with just two shots of ammo, but you can increase this further as the run goes on. The biggest difference is that it deals more damage overall, and also fires several projectiles instead of just one, which helps to cover a wider range. If you choose the right upgrades, you’re going to end up with a weapon that fires like a shotgun, but also acts as an assault rifle. Honestly, it’s the best.

2. You Can’t Kill Trees, But They Sure Can Hurt You

I’ve shot at the trees in 20 Minutes Till Dawn for a long time, and I haven’t been able to take them down. You can hurt them, but it doesn’t seem to lead to anything else — at least for the time being.

That being said, trees deal damage, which means they can take a whole health point out of you if you get too close. As advice, try to always walk around them from either the sites or the bottom, as it’s hard to know exactly where the hitbox ends at the top, and I’ve gotten myself hurt more than once because of it.

3. Exploding Enemies Can Be Very Helpful

There is a specific type of enemy that explodes after taking enough damage or if you get too close to them. It appears early on during runs, usually after the first couple of minutes, and it can be super helpful for crowd control.

Instead of focusing fire on them right away, wait until they’re close to other enemies. If they’re near other exploding enemies, even better, as the explosions are going to chain themselves. Just be sure to take them down quickly if they get too close to you.

4. If You Get a Health Upgrade in the First Round, Go For It

The upgrade to increase your maximum health is fairly rare, but I’ve been lucky enough to stumble upon it during the first round of a run (so, whenever you get your first level). If this happens to you, you should go ahead and choose it over other upgrades. There is no guarantee that it’s going to appear again anytime soon, so get on it early — trust me, having one extra hit is going to give you more confidence while facing enemies.

5. There Are No Health Pickups, So Plan Accordingly

Related to the previous item in our 20 Minutes Till Dawn tips list, there are no health pickups in the game. Your only chances of getting extra lives are to either increase your maximum health with an upgrade or go for the upgrade that provides the shield that covers one hit.

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6. The First Miniboss Drops an Upgrade, The Second Drops a Cursed Upgrade Instead

There are two minibosses in the current build. The first is a flying fellow that can be quite tanky, and your reward for defeating it is a chest with a bunch of XP and a random upgrade, which you can either accept or deny.

The second miniboss, which is a fast creature that charges against you, provides an “upgrade” — the quote marks refer to the fact that while you get some powerful bonuses, you also get almost as much disadvantage in other stats.

For the time being, defeating the second miniboss in 20 Minutes Till Dawn gives you access to one of three Tomes:

Tome of Rage: +66% fire rate, +99 max ammo, +60 spread, -50% bullet damage, and -95% knockback
Tome of Power: +66% bullet damage, +100% bullet size, +1 piercing, -25% fire rate, -1 max HP
Tome of Summoning: +50% summon damage, +50% summon attack speed, and -50% reload rate

The choice is going to depend on your current build — Tome of Rage worked great with the shotgun, for example, even though the decrease in knockback is substantial. Piercing is great for the crossbow, too, but if you already have at least one summon alongside you, the Tome of Summoning might be a good choice as well.

7. When in Doubt, Increase Your Speed and Ammo Size

There are all kinds of upgrades, but if you’re ever in doubt, you can’t go wrong with either increasing your movement speed or your weapon’s ammo size. Both of them are beneficial in the short to long run, and if you stumble upon the upgrade that increases the movement while you’re shooting, that’s a must-have.