Before you commit. Use this for the run in front of you. The planner compares route fit; it does not simulate DPS or room layouts. Treat each check as a short observation: name the job, watch whether the next room confirms it, and change one variable when the evidence disagrees. That keeps a first attempt useful even when the offer sequence is different from the examples on this site.
1. Before the first room: name the job
Look at the Hunter, weapon, and first relic. Say what you want to repeat: more shots, Freeze, bombs, coins, or safer uptime. This is a working hypothesis, not a promise that the run will provide every piece. If you cannot name the job yet, take a reliable weapon or survival pick before a conditional payoff. A clear job also gives you a reason to reject a flashy offer later: it must improve the job or repair a failure that is already visible.
2. First weapon: buy uptime
The first weapon has one job: clear the next room without asking for a perfect future. Watch the reload gap, effective range, firing frequency, and whether the weapon can reach more than one target when pressure rises. Fix the weakest of those functions before taking a rare item whose trigger you are not performing. When two offers look close, prefer the one that makes the next room easier to read; a stable action you can repeat is more useful than a high ceiling you cannot activate yet.
3. First shop: repair one hole
Before you buy or reroll, name the hole that is killing the run: damage delivery, element application, reload downtime, survival, or economy. Spend for that job and write down what success should look like in the next room. Keep enough currency to answer the next bad offer. If the shop cannot repair the hole, keep the reserve and take the best reliable option you already have. Do not let a color label replace the question of what the run is currently failing to do.
4. Before the boss: choose what to drop
Check whether the build can clear the room before the boss and deliver damage once the target stays alive. Also check whether the route still has a safe way to reload, move, or apply its element while the boss is active. If it cannot do both, drop the delayed payoff first and keep the weapon, movement, reload, or coverage that is already working. Record the choice you made so the next run tests one change instead of restarting the whole idea.
Before you commit
- What job is this run trying to repeat?
- What evidence will show that the job is working in the next room?
- Does the next item help the room I am in now?
- Which slot or upgrade will I give up if the next offer is better?
- What is my fallback if the required trigger never appears?
- Have I kept enough currency for one more repair decision?
Use the check on your current offer
Open the planner with the Hunter, weapon, and candidates on your screen. It will show conflicts and a fallback direction.
Further reading: Pass the Fear Wiki beginner field guide · shop and reroll notes