Editing Getting Started

'''Primal Idle''' is a browser-based idle/survival game about gathering resources, taming prehistoric creatures, and pushing into ever more hostile [[Biomes]]. Like the games that inspired it, most of your progress happens on timers: you pick an activity, and it keeps working while you watch, switch tabs, or close the game entirely.

This page covers what the game is, the core loop, offline progress, and your very first steps. For a hands-on, step-by-step walkthrough of your first session and first week, see the '''[[Beginner's Guide]]'''.

== What the game is ==

You play a lone survivor building up from nothing. There is no twitch action and no manual clicking to grind. Instead you choose a '''skill''' to train, and that skill's chosen action resolves automatically on a repeating timer, producing resources and experience. Those resources feed other skills, unlock new gear and structures, and eventually let you tame creatures and conquer guardian-held biomes.

The game's soft currency is '''Amber''', earned mainly by selling gathered materials to the vendor from your [[Bank]].

== The core loop ==

At its heart, Primal Idle repeats a simple cycle:

# '''Pick a skill and an action.''' Open a skill such as [[Foraging]] and select one of its actions (for example, gathering berries).
# '''Actions resolve on a timer.''' Each action has a fixed base time. Every time the timer completes, you receive that action's experience and its resource drops.
# '''Gather resources.''' Outputs pile up in your [[Bank]], where identical items stack together.
# '''Level up.''' Experience raises the skill's level (1 to 99). Higher levels unlock faster and more rewarding actions.
# '''Unlock more.''' New levels, resources, and Amber open up further skills, recipes, [[Shop]] upgrades, [[Homestead]] structures, creatures, and biomes — which loop you back to step 1 with bigger goals.

Only one action runs at a time. Starting a new action replaces the current one, so choose whichever activity best serves your next goal.

== Offline progression ==

Primal Idle keeps advancing while you are away. When you return, the game simulates the time that passed using the exact same rules as live play, then shows you a '''"While you were away"''' summary of what you gained (see [[Gameplay]] for details).

'''Offline is capped at 18 hours.''' Time beyond the cap is not simulated, so it is worth checking in at least once a day to restart or redirect your active action. The cap can be extended up to '''24 hours''' by buying ranks of the '''Offline Satchel''' in the [[Shop]].

Very short absences still count — no progress is lost — but the summary screen only appears after you have been away for at least a minute.

== First steps ==

For a brand-new save, a good opening sequence is:

# '''Start [[Foraging]].''' It is your first available gathering skill and needs no inputs. Set an action running and watch your first resources arrive.
# '''Branch into the other gathering skills''' — [[Logging]], [[Mining]], and [[Fishing]] — to build a base of raw materials.
# '''Sell surplus for Amber.''' Visit your [[Bank]] and sell materials you do not need to fund early purchases.
# '''Begin processing.''' Feed raw materials into [[Cooking]], [[Crafting]], [[Smithing]], and [[Alchemy]] to make food, gear, and tonics.
# '''Prepare for creatures.''' [[Hunting]] and cooked food set you up for [[Taming]], the game's flagship skill, and your first [[Stable]] companions.
# '''Spend early Amber wisely''' on [[Shop]] upgrades such as extra [[Bank]] slots and the Offline Satchel.

From there the game opens up into [[Expeditions]], [[Farming]], [[Breeding]], the [[Homestead]], and beyond. See [[Gameplay]] for a deeper look at how actions, experience, and offline time work, and [[Skills]] for the full list of what you can train.

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[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Getting Started]]
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