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TBH: Task Bar Hero - Beginner Starter Guide (Your First Hours)
Your first few hours in TBH: Task Bar Hero set the pace for everything that follows. The early game is about picking a hero that clears on its own, claiming the free help the game hands you, and spending your first runes and gold in the right order. This guide walks through the choices that matter so you do not waste time backtracking later.
Pick your first hero
For your first hero, take a ranged DPS. Ranger is the common pick because it deals steady damage and clears solo without much babysitting. Sorcerer works too if you prefer it. Knight is a pure tank, so it does not solo clear well on its own early on. The good news is that you get Priest for free anyway, which covers your healing and support, so the starting hero is fairly flexible. If you are unsure, go Ranger and you will be fine.
Claim the free Priest DLC
Claim the free Priest DLC right away. Open the Steam store tab, search for the game's Priest DLC, install it, then restart the game. Priest is the most valuable class you will have early. She heals, she can off-tank, and she gives a party-wide damage buff, so she pulls triple duty in one slot. There is no reason to wait on this, so grab it before you settle into a run.
Rune Tree priority
The Rune Tree unlocks around hero level 3. Spend in this order. Take the second hero slot first, since going from one hero to two is a big spike. Next take the second skill slot, called Rune of Awakening. After that, save for the third hero slot at 150,000 gold, which is the single biggest power spike in the early game. Alongside these, pick up the economy runes that give extra gold and XP per kill or per boss. Early on, prefer fixed-value runes over percentage runes, because a percentage of a small base is tiny and barely helps. One more to grab is Rune of Repose, which unlocks offline rewards of up to 8 hours of gold and XP.
Hero-dric Cube basics
The Hero-dric Cube unlocks at hero level 4 and has three main uses. Alchemy turns junk items into gold, and this is your main gold source in the early game. Synthesis combines 9 items of the same rarity into one item of a higher tier. Crafting makes accessories and gear. One habit to build now: hold Alt and left-click to lock the items you want to keep before you use Auto-Fill or Alchemy, so you do not melt down something you meant to save.
Offline vs active play
Offline play gives you gold and XP, but it gives zero chests. If you want gear, you have to play actively, because chests only drop while you are in the game. Skill respec is free, so do not be shy about it. Swap between a farm setup and a boss setup whenever the situation calls for it, and switch back with no cost. Treat offline time as passive income and active time as your real gear-hunting sessions.
Early mistakes to avoid
A few early mistakes are easy to avoid once you know them. Do not stack three melee or three ranged heroes. Mix your front-line and back-line so you have someone tanking and someone dealing damage from the back. Do not raise difficulty too early, because enemy HP scales hard. Clear a full act on Normal first, then think about stepping up. Keep your white common gear instead of dumping all of it, since you will want it later for Synthesis. One more note for the road: the Steam Community Market unlocks at Cube level 10, so do not expect to trade before then.
Related heroes
Sources
- Steam store page
- In-game verification (TBH: Task Bar Hero)
Updated 2026-06