Shakes and Fidget: Complete Guide

A practical guide to Playa Games' free-to-play comic RPG: picking a class and server, the daily routine (Tavern, Arena, Dungeons), attributes, the scrapbook, gear upgrades, guilds, mushroom spending, and the newest endgame content.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Update 31.000 (16 September 2026, Class World launch). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

1. Pick a fresh server if you want to compete. New worlds launch regularly (EU29 on 3 July 2026, EU30 on 21 August 2026). Starting early on a new world gives the best shot at the Hall of Fame.
2. Link an S&F Account. Linking your character gets free mushrooms for pre-registration on new worlds, and webshop purchases now require an S&F account (Update 31.000).
3. Spend Thirst every day in the Tavern. Quests (Tavern expeditions) are your main XP and gold source. Pick quests by XP/gold per minute.
4. Fight in the Arena often. Free arena fights on a cooldown give honor and extra rewards. The Arena now shows your win streak (Update 30.800).
5. Fill your scrapbook. Every new item and enemy you see adds a scrapbook entry, and a fuller scrapbook boosts rewards. Class World enemies count too.
6. Focus your class's main attribute and Constitution. Everything else is secondary for most of the game.
7. Never waste mushrooms on small things. Save them for beer, account upgrades and high-value purchases (see below).
8. Join an active guild ASAP. Guild bonuses, raids and fights accelerate progression massively.
9. Spin the Wheel of Fortune daily and check the Black Market and Witch.

Classes

Shakes & Fidget has twelve playable classes, each with a main attribute and a unique ability. A thirteenth, the Blood Weaver, finished a public beta in August 2026.

Blood Weaver (beta, August 2026)

From the official beta announcement: main attribute Strength, heavy armor, no shield. Its two abilities are Blood Pact (30% chance to sacrifice 10% of current HP for an extra attack) and Death Seal (on the first fatal blow, revive with 50% HP; afterwards attacks have a 20% chance to apply a damage-over-time effect). Numbers came from the beta and may change at release.

Choosing a class

• Warrior, Scout, Mage: The original three, simple and strong for beginners.
• Assassin and Berserker: High damage, popular for PvP.
• Druid, Bard, Necromancer, Plague Doctor, Paladin: More complex, reward knowledge of matchups.
• Mage is a strong counter to evasive and blocking classes because its attacks can't be dodged or blocked.

Attributes

Rule of thumb: Pour gold into your main attribute and Constitution. Buy Luck later for crits. Attribute cost scales up, so spread spending to keep up with level.

Permanent attribute sources:

• Achievements: Each completed achievement in the Library of Meticulousness permanently grants 5 points to all five attributes. Update 30.800 added 18 new ones.
• Potions: The Black Market now guarantees a Constitution potion and main-stat potions for your class (Update 31.000).
• Gems, pets, and other late-game systems add more.

The Daily Loop

Tavern (quests)

• Your daily Thirst for Adventure limits how many quests you can do.
• Beer refills thirst (bought with mushrooms, limited per day).
• Pick the quest with the best reward per minute; watch for item rewards that fill scrapbook slots.

Arena

• Fight a player close to your rank. Wins give honor and climb the Hall of Fame.
• There's a free fight on a cooldown; you can skip the timer with mushrooms, but usually shouldn't.

Dungeons

• Unlocked from level 10.
• Each dungeon has a series of bosses. Defeat one to progress; there's a cooldown between tries unless you skip it.
• Dungeon rewards include strong items and XP.
• The Tower is a 100-floor challenge with three companions.
• The Continuous Loop of Idols (a shadow dungeon) needs level 222, the Tower unlocked, and the USB stick found in the Gem Mine.

Guild

• Guild fights vs other guilds; guild raids against dungeon-like enemies.
• The guild treasury and instructor upgrades boost gold and XP for all members.
• Donate gold/mushrooms if your guild asks; it helps everyone.

Wheel of Fortune, Witch, Black Market

• Spin the wheel each day for items, gold, mushrooms or resources.
• The Black Market now always stocks two potions (including a guaranteed Constitution potion) and two random resource packs per reset.

Mid and Late-Game Systems

Achievement milestones worth knowing (Update 30.800): Upgrade the Mine to level 100 (Fortress), upgrade the Gold Pit to level 100 (Underworld), be fully equipped with Legendary items, and defeat floor 600 in the Hellevator.

New: Class World (Update 31.000)

The Class World is a new dungeon world open to all players level 250 and up.

• The first part has four dungeons, one each for Warriors, Mages, Scouts and Necromancers. Every enemy in a dungeon uses that class.
• "Wizard Police" enemies occasionally appear as blockers.
• Clear all four to unlock a portal of four enemies you can challenge once a day, similar to the Demon Portal; beating it unlocks the next zone once that is released. The level range is planned to scale up to 750 in later parts.
• Rewards are Gold, Fruits, Metal and Arcane Splinters. The first release gives no XP.
• Enemies count for your scrapbook.
• New achievements: Block Buster, Witch Hunter, Arrow Catcher, Undead Undertaker, Portal Purger.

Playa's Producer's Note #42 (1 September 2026) also lists a new endgame dungeon feature and the Monster Hunt as in planning or development.

Mushroom Spending Guide

Mushrooms are the premium currency (also earned in small amounts in-game).

Good uses:

• Beer for extra quests (the best mushroom-to-XP rate for most players).
• Permanent account upgrades and unlocks.
• Specific high-value items from the shop when you need a big gear jump.

Poor uses:

• Skipping arena or dungeon timers regularly.
• Rerolling shops constantly.
• Cosmetic spending before your character is established.

F2P tip: New world pre-registration with an S&F account gives free mushrooms (25 for EU29 and EU30).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Spreading gold across all attributes. Main stat and Constitution come first.
• Skipping the scrapbook. It's a quiet but big power source.
• Doing quests without comparing rewards. Check XP/gold per minute.
• Staying guildless. Guild bonuses and raids are too important.
• Spending mushrooms on timer skips.
• Not upgrading gear with the Blacksmith.
• Starting on an old server if you want to rank. New worlds are the best time to compete.

Advanced Tips

• Time your quests so you finish thirst before the daily reset.
• Use the Community Portal stats, now filterable by base attribute (Update 31.000), to see what strong players in your class are running.
• Balance PvE and PvP gear. Some classes perform differently in arena vs dungeons.
• Plan achievement unlocks since each gives permanent stats.
• Watch for events. Double-XP, gold, or item events are the best time to spend beer and mushrooms.
• Legendary items also count toward the new Legendary Dungeon achievements.

FAQ

Is Shakes & Fidget pay-to-win? Mushrooms speed things up and give advantages, but consistent daily play, a good guild and smart gold spending let free players do well.

What's the best class? It depends on your goals. Mage counters Scouts and shield classes; Assassin and Berserker are strong damage dealers; Warrior is the easiest start.

When is the Blood Weaver coming? The beta ran 5 to 12 August 2026 in the browser beta. No live release date has been announced as of this writing.

How do I unlock the Class World? Reach level 250. It launched with Update 31.000 on 16 September 2026.

Does Steam progress sync with browser/mobile? Yes, with an S&F Account you can play the same character across platforms.

What's the fastest way to level? Use all thirst daily on the best XP-per-minute quests, buy beer with mushrooms, clear dungeons and use XP events.

Sources

• Shakes and Fidget on Steam
• Update 31.000 changelog (Steam news)
• New dungeon world: Class World (official dev blog)
• Shakes & Fidget official site
• Shakes & Fidget (Wikipedia)
• Continuous Loop of Idols requirements (Playa help center)