Have A Nice Death - World 5 Guide

In Have A Nice Death, it's the reaper's mission to avoid burnout, but that can be tough when you're constantly fighting for your life. That remains true in the early access roguelike's newest content update, World 5, launching on May 10. In this new region of the gorgeous game, you'll explore the Modern Warfare department, where inter-office politics clash with deceased World War I vets like never before.

We got to go hands-on with Have A Nice Death's World 5 and you can read our full impressions here. In this guide, we'll walk you through the game's newest--and most difficult--world yet, so you're ready to go hands-on yourself. From breaking down all of the enemies you may encounter to the floors you may visit on the underworld's elevator, here's everything you need to know if you find yourself ready to take on World 5 in Have A Nice Death.

Have A Nice Death World 5 - Modern Warfare

In World 5, Death himself will need to contend with the spirits of deceased soldiers and civilians alike. It should be quite grim, and through a particular lens it surely is. But, given the game's cartoonish animation and light-hearted humor, it can also be seen in the same sort of light any World 5-ready players are used to. The new levels are rich with never-before-seen enemies and come alongside a patch that alters the way some things play across the entire game.

Common enemy types

• Veteran
• Bombara
• Roaster
• Bombaron
• Caderact

As always with this game, each enemy has their own moveset which, when combined on the office floors, provide a chaotic blend of attack patterns to navigate. The Veteran, for example, carries with him a drum of explosives and should be attacked from behind--never head-on, if you can help it.

The Bombara and Bombaron offer two different takes on similarly explosive attacks, with the former leaving land mines in her wake that do area-of-effect (AoE) damage, while the latter rains hellfire from above akin to a bomber in Cuphead, only understandably darker.

The Roaster gets his name not for being the one brewing the office's coffee, but because of his long-reaching flamethrower attack. He should be fought from distance whenever possible. In fact, such an approach works for many of the enemies in World 5, giving the game a fast-paced trench warfare style, like running into No Man's Land is going to get you cut down in a hurry by bombers and pyros of all sorts.

You can get in closer to fight the Caderact, as his name and design suggest the blindness that leaves him vulnerable, but he also benefits from homing missiles that will target you with some intimidating, hard-to-dodge precision.

Your best bet when fighting these common enemies is to keep your distance as best you can and, as always with Have A Nice Death, simply keep moving. Death is no shark, but his survival's dependence on constant movement is much like one. As you'll see, that's even more the case against some of World 5's stronger enemies, too.

World 5 bosses

In the Modern Warfare department, there are two new bosses, a Thanager (mini-boss) and a Sorrow (final boss), each of whom represents the game's allusions to real-life war in somehow both cute and nauseating ways at once. Here's what to watch for with each of them:

Thanager - Ms. Camille Flage

Ms. Flage represents the civilian struggle that goes beyond the battlefield in some times of war. While at first she looks like a weakly and rather harmless little girl, her severe starvation drives her to do drastic things, like repeatedly pounce on you during the boss battle with her. To counter Camille, you should be prepared to dodge early and often. Her jump attack comes in bunches, so each time she starts pouncing, brace for small openings only after she's finally catching her breath. Most importantly, don't get greedy! Windows of opportunity are consistent, but brief, so wait for the right moment, take off some of her HP, then get out of there.

Sorrow - Major Warren Plishkan

Major Plishkan is short and stout, and seems to be self-conscious about that. He will defer to his jetpack device to gain height on you and attack swiftly from above like a super-charged Bombara. While opportunities to strike are arguably more numerous than they are with Camille, they also require a distanced, sometimes-vertical attack pattern that the starving young girl does not. Your ability to once more choose timely moments to strike and relent before the tables are turned will be key here. In a challenging roguelike such as this, extending your own attacks even a moment too long can often be the difference between life and death for, uh, Death.

World 5 levels

As always, your route through World 5 is decided in part by which floors you elect to move to on the elevator at the end of each level. In World 5 there are 14 floors to choose from, and you'll want to pick them based on what your ongoing needs may be in any given run. Want to get to the Thanager to take her down? Need a moment of respite where more HP is on offer? Looking for a powerful new weapon before you take on the Sorrow? The choice is yours, to an extent.

Here are all of the possible floors you'll encounter on the elevator (hellevator?) and what they may hold within them:

• Vault: A floor with a weapon or some Soulary
• Soulary - Prismium Department: A floor with either Soulary or Prisium
• Shop: A room where you can purchase items to help you with your next run
• Control Room: A room where you can upgrade your gear
• Hazardous Floor: A random floor
• Thanager Office: A floor where you will encounter Ms. Camille Flage
• Sorrow Office: The final room of this world where you’ll face Major Warren Plishkan
• Soulary Deposit: A floor with Soulary
• Prismium Deposit: A floor with Prismium
• Equipment Storage: A floor with a cloak or a spell
• Vita-Mana Floor: A floor with an upgrade of HP or Mana
• Curse Reroll Floor: A floor with a reroll item for curses
• Lounge: A room where Death can relax with a healing Espresso
• HR Office: A room with a curse

If you've already been playing Have A Nice Death, most of these rooms will seem familiar to you, aside from the new boss areas. Additionally, the new Lounge level grants you a moment of quiet downtime, totally free of enemies. Combining timely use of the Lounge with the game's new system that lets you enhance your healing powers by collecting more than three Anima means the game is, in theory, a little more beginner-friendly, though still tough as nails in World 5 for basically all players.

Your best bet is to approach World 5 as you have likely approached past levels. Don't seek out the bosses as soon as possible. Go through several runs, learn the attack patterns of the common enemies, see what kind of healing cadence you may need to be healthy for the bosses--in a really good run, maybe you even arrive in their offices with a full health bar.

A roguelike isn't meant to be beaten quickly. It'll take trial and error to overcome Camille and Plishkan. Take advantage of the game's new healing abilities, visit the Lounge whenever it's available, and you may come out the other side of the Modern Warfare department having finally fulfilled your call of duty.