STUDENT
where every career starts
7 ranks. 7 stages. A studio to come home to. Build your rig, fit the gear you find to your songs, and dress a performer who looks like you sound.
The rank is what you are, and it is the only thing in the game that only ever climbs. Every rank adds a channel to your desk and books a bigger room, and each one earned is an achievement.
NOVICE
pass all three lessons and graduate
PERFORMER
climb to PERFORMER, a fourth channel on the desk
EXPERT
climb to EXPERT, a fifth channel on the desk
PROFESSIONAL
climb to PROFESSIONAL, a sixth channel on the desk
MAESTRO
climb to MAESTRO, the full seven-channel desk
LEGEND
climb to LEGEND, the top of the ladder
The Resonance Rack in the Gear Room turns your career into a build of your own. Six pieces of stage gear, six measures of staff. Place your earned power notes to tune each piece, unlock abilities, and preview their effects on your performer.
Each piece has two dials, and where you put a note sets which one it feeds. The bottom line is all of the low dial, the top line all of the high dial, and every line and space between splits it, so the middle line is half of each. Each measure has 9 places and each place holds one note. All 6 measures work the same way.
4 notes on the same measure complete that piece's power chord and unlock its special ability, wherever those notes sit. An ability is a new behaviour, not a bigger dial, and every note you add past the 4th makes it stronger. 12 notes fill 3 measures, so a career finishes 3 of the 6 chords.
Nothing is locked in. Press a place on a measure to put a note there, press the note again to take it back. Neither costs anything, so you can rebuild your rig between nights. Completing a chord strums it out loud and lights the piece up.
THE AMP
Attack size and knockback
- SIZEYour attacks cover more ground.+6% a note, from the bottom line
- PUSHYour attacks push enemies further back.+12% a note, from the top line
4 notes unlock OVERDRIVEThe first of every four bars deals +20% damage.
THE PEDALBOARD
Damage and attack duration
- DRIVEevery note hits harder+5% a note, from the bottom line
- SUSTAINevery attack lasts longer+6% a note, from the top line
4 notes unlock IN TUNE8% of your notes deal x1.75 damage.
THE MIC
Crowd energy
- HYPEYour attacks raise the crowd meter faster.+8% a note, from the bottom line
- WARM-UPStart each act with a higher crowd meter.+4% a note, from the top line
4 notes unlock SURGEBoosts the crowd meter every 60 seconds.
THE MONITOR
Protection from hits
- TOLERANCEHits lower the crowd meter less.+8 a note, from the bottom line
- BLINKStay invulnerable for longer after a hit.+12% a note, from the top line
4 notes unlock SECOND WINDOnce per act, entering the red restores 12% of the meter's ceiling and resets the walkout timer.
THE CLICK
Movement and rhythm
- FOOTWORKyou walk faster+4% a note, from the bottom line
- ON THE ONENotes on the beat deal more damage.+6% a note, from the top line
4 notes unlock DOUBLE TIMEFor 3.0 seconds after taking a card, move 50% faster and take no damage.
THE SPOTLIGHT
Pickup range and rewards
- THROWCollect dropped XP from further away.+10% a note, from the bottom line
- BILLINGEarn more fans and career XP.+5% a note, from the top line
4 notes unlock FOLLOW SPOTAfter taking a card, draw in all dropped XP.
The power chords play on every night of a career. The demo plays the kit as it ships.
Break the rests and they give back the stage kit they swallowed. It is thrown clear of the body, lands on the boards and stands in its own light waiting to be walked down. Every act's floor gives up a piece and every closer gives up another, and the bigger the room, the better what it leaves. What you carry off is yours whether you win the night or lose it.
STOCK
One dial, a nudge. Most of what a floor gives up.
STUDIO
One dial, properly. What a case fills up with once you are playing rooms worth playing.
VINTAGE
Two dials, both worth having. Rare enough to plan a song around.
SIGNATURE
No dials at all. Each of the four does something nothing else in the game can do.
Every song has 3 slots beside it, and what you fit is what that song asks the house to set up before it goes on. The gear is cut from the same six families as your power chords and moves the same dials, so it stacks with the rig in the Resonance Rack. It all lives in THE FLIGHT CASE: fit a piece to a song, pull it back out for nothing, or sell what you will never use.
STOCK
THE COMBO AMP
A compact speaker with enough throw to extend attack reach.
SIZE +8% (ATTACK RANGE)
STOCK
THE CLEAN BOOST
A clean signal boost. Every instrument hits harder.
DRIVE +6% (DAMAGE)
STOCK
THE STAGE MIC
Get the crowd listening before the first note. Shows only.
WARM-UP +6% (STARTING CROWD)
STOCK
THE STAGE WEDGE
A steady monitor mix softens crowd loss from hits; adds health at gates.
TOLERANCE +12 (HIT RESISTANCE)
STOCK
THE TRAVEL KIT
A lighter drum setup leaves you free to move faster.
FOOTWORK +6% (MOVEMENT SPEED)
STOCK
THE PAR CAN
Light the nearby floor and collect dropped XP from further away.
THROW +15% (PICKUP RANGE)
STUDIO
THE HALF STACK
A taller speaker stack gives attacks more reach and knockback.
SIZE +16% (ATTACK RANGE)PUSH +20% (KNOCKBACK)
STUDIO
THE FUZZ SUSTAINER
Thick fuzz adds damage and keeps projectiles and lingering attacks alive longer.
DRIVE +12% (DAMAGE)SUSTAIN +12% (ATTACK DURATION)
STUDIO
THE RIBBON MIC
A warm ribbon sound lifts the opening crowd and its response to damage. Shows only.
WARM-UP +10% (STARTING CROWD)HYPE +20% (CROWD GAIN)
STUDIO
THE IN-EAR MONITORS
An isolated monitor mix softens hits and extends protection after them.
TOLERANCE +20 (HIT RESISTANCE)BLINK +20% (INVULNERABLE TIME)
STUDIO
THE TOURING CLICK
Keep your feet moving and your attacks strong on each of the six beats.
FOOTWORK +9% (MOVEMENT SPEED)ON THE ONE +20% (ON-BEAT DAMAGE)
STUDIO
THE FRESNEL
A wider pool of light gathers more XP; better stage presence pays extra fans and XP at shows.
THROW +28% (PICKUP RANGE)BILLING +6% (FANS AND XP)
VINTAGE
THE WALL OF AMPS
Fill the floor with wider attacks and drive enemies back with heavy speaker pressure.
SIZE +28% (ATTACK RANGE)PUSH +40% (KNOCKBACK)
VINTAGE
THE TAPE SATURATOR
Saturated tape adds weight and sustain: harder hits, longer projectiles and lingering attacks.
DRIVE +20% (DAMAGE)SUSTAIN +35% (ATTACK DURATION)
VINTAGE
THE VALVE MIC
A rich valve sound warms the opening crowd and greatly lifts its response to damage. Shows only.
WARM-UP +16% (STARTING CROWD)HYPE +40% (CROWD GAIN)
VINTAGE
THE SIDE-FILL ARRAY
Full-stage monitoring softens crowd loss, adds gate health and extends protection after hits.
TOLERANCE +36 (HIT RESISTANCE)BLINK +45% (INVULNERABLE TIME)
VINTAGE
THE MASTER CLOCK
Own the six beats: move faster and deal much more damage with notes written on them.
FOOTWORK +14% (MOVEMENT SPEED)ON THE ONE +35% (ON-BEAT DAMAGE)
VINTAGE
THE XENON FOLLOWSPOT
Sweep up distant XP and turn a headline performance into extra fans and XP. Shows only.
THROW +50% (PICKUP RANGE)BILLING +12% (FANS AND XP)
SIGNATURE
THE GUEST SPOT
Seats an instrument in this song that your desk cannot play - including one you have never bought.
SIGNATURE
THE EXTRA CHANNEL
One extra instrument channel, including beyond a written song's normal capacity. Earn its notes through cards.
SIGNATURE
THE ROADIE'S FLIGHT CASE
One extra floor gear drop per act: three pieces instead of two. Same rarity odds; the closer still pays one.
SIGNATURE
THE SOUNDCHECK
At shows, choose two bonus cards before the music starts; XP costs stay unchanged. At gates, deal +20% damage instead.
SIGNATURE
THE HARMONIZER
Write three or more instruments on the same step: their written attacks deal +40% damage. The click track does not count.
SIGNATURE
THE SOLO SPOT
An instrument alone on a step deals +50% damage with its written attack. The click track does not count. Space your parts to share the spotlight.
Between nights you live in the studio: painted rooms, every door, record, spine, case and hanger of which opens or wears what it says.
The Studio
Your home between shows, with deeper rooms, stage lighting and records on the wall. Step into the Booth, Gear Room or Dressing Room, then book your next set.
The Tour Map
The road from the practice room to the world stage. A night that steps the career up a rung walks its results out onto the map, and the stage it earned opens its door.
The Booking Office
The week on the wall. Three or four nights, each with its own billing, its own brief and its own fee. Pick one and the week turns over.
The Running Order
Plan a night act by act: a house song, or one of your own masters off the shelf, in the order the show will play them.
The Gear Room
Expand your sound with instruments and mixer cards. Open the Resonance Rack to shape your Power Chords and preview abilities on your dressed performer.
The Shelf
Your masters, framed. A track written in the Booth and billed for rotation becomes a song the night can call.
The Dressing Room
Your full-length mirror and THE STYLE EDIT. Try on a new character, mix shirts, pants, shoes and accessories, and spend earned Fans on your next stage look.
The Review
Every night ends here: the fee, the brief delivered or not, the fans, and the rung the career climbed.
YOUR SOUND. YOUR STAGE STYLE.
Fresh faces. A bigger wardrobe. A studio worth coming home to.
Meet Volt and Nova, your hosts on the decks and your guides backstage. Sculpted faces, fresh hair and sharper stagewear bring their performances to life.
STORM DJ
NOVA
The storm’s own DJ. Nova reads the room, keeps the beat moving, and helps you find your way around the studio.
SHOWMAN
VOLT
The crowd-facing showman. Volt brings the energy on the decks and walks you through the next step of your career.