If you’re just starting out in Roblox Nebulous, the first thing you need to get comfortable with is movement. The game has you flying around while trying to destroy enemy cores, and the biggest danger is usually the bullets coming directly toward you.
In this guide, I’ll go through the basic controls, how to approach the core, how to avoid getting hit, and which upgrades I recommend prioritizing as you progress through the early levels.
The game becomes much easier once you understand how to position yourself. Staying far enough away from the core gives you more time to see incoming bullets and react, while the right upgrades can make your movement and damage much stronger.
Nebulous Beginner Guide – Best Tips, Tricks & Upgrades
Nebulous uses a simple control setup.
You use WASD to move your character around the map, while your mouse controls your aim.
To attack, move your mouse toward the target and click to shoot.
While you’re shooting, you also need to keep moving. Standing still and focusing only on your aim is an easy way to get hit by incoming bullets.
Your health bar shows how much damage you can take, so keep an eye on it while you’re fighting.
The basic gameplay loop is:
- Move around with WASD.
- Aim at the enemy core with your mouse.
- Click to shoot.
- Dodge incoming bullets.
- Destroy the core.
- Spend your resources on upgrades.
- Move on to the next level.
Stay Far Away From the Core
The biggest beginner tip I can give you is to keep your distance from the core.
The core shoots bullets toward you, and standing too close makes those attacks much harder to avoid.
When you stay farther away, you have more time to see where the bullets are traveling and react before they reach you.
This becomes especially important when the core starts firing large numbers of bullets at once.
You don’t need to sit directly next to the target to deal damage. Find a comfortable distance, keep moving, and continue shooting from there.
Keep Moving While Shooting
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you only need to dodge when you’re not attacking.
You should be moving and shooting at the same time.
As you aim at the core, watch the bullets coming toward your character. If you see a projectile heading directly toward you, change your movement direction rather than continuing in a straight line.
The more bullets the core fires, the more important this becomes.
Good movement is one of the biggest parts of surviving in Nebulous.
Aim for the Core
Your main objective during each level is to destroy the core.
Once you enter a level, start working your way toward the middle and prioritize reaching the core as quickly as possible.
The guide recommends going through the middle rather than taking a longer route around the outside.
However, don’t rush directly into the core. You still need to maintain enough distance to avoid its attacks.
A good approach is to move toward the middle, get yourself into a position where you can shoot the core, and then stay at a safer distance while dodging.
Watch the Bullet Patterns
As you progress through the levels, the cores can start firing more bullets and the attacks become harder to avoid.
Level 3, for example, has noticeably faster and more frequent bullet attacks.
This is where you need to pay attention to where the projectiles are going instead of simply holding your movement in one direction.
Try to stay aware of the space around your character and look for openings between the bullets.
If you see several projectiles coming toward you, don’t panic. Keep moving and adjust your direction as needed.
Best Early Upgrades
After completing a level, you’ll have resources available to spend on upgrades.
There are several different upgrades available, so you don’t want to spend everything randomly.
The guide recommends focusing on upgrades that improve your movement, damage, and ability to collect resources.
Here are some of the main upgrades mentioned.
Fire Upgrade
The Fire upgrade is one of the early upgrades shown in the guide.
It can be picked up while you’re working through the first few levels and helps improve your offensive capabilities.
It’s a reasonable early purchase when you have enough resources available.
Bullet Speed
Bullet Speed is one of the upgrades I would prioritize.
The game has some amount of bullet drop, so increasing your bullet speed helps your attacks reach the target more effectively.
This becomes particularly useful when you’re trying to destroy cores quickly from a distance.
The faster your bullets reach the target, the less time you need to spend waiting for your attacks to connect.
New Thrusters
Another important early upgrade is New Thrusters.
This improves your movement and makes it easier to dodge bullets coming from the core.
Since survival depends heavily on your ability to maneuver around incoming attacks, movement upgrades are very valuable.
If you’re struggling to avoid bullets, improving your speed can make the difference between getting hit and safely moving out of the way.
Resource Magnet
Once you have enough resources, consider getting the Resource Magnet upgrade.
This helps you collect more loot and makes resource gathering easier while you’re playing.
Having more resources available means you can afford additional upgrades sooner, so this can help your overall progression.
Stronghold
Stronghold is another upgrade mentioned in the guide.
This upgrade gives you more health, which provides additional room for mistakes when you’re learning the game’s movement and bullet patterns.
I would especially consider this if you’re getting hit frequently and struggling to survive a level.
Knowledge of Weak Spots
The Knowledge of Weak Spots upgrade is another recommended choice.
After picking up upgrades such as Resource Magnet and Stronghold, the guide recommends considering Knowledge of Weak Spots along with Bullet Speed.
These upgrades can help improve your ability to deal with the core more efficiently as you move into harder levels.
Post-Fight Arena Analysis
Later in the early progression, Post-Fight Arena Analysis becomes another available upgrade.
The guide picks this after completing several of the earlier upgrades.
You don’t necessarily need to rush every upgrade immediately, but make sure you’re consistently spending your resources instead of leaving them unused.
Base Damage
Once you’re moving into higher levels, Base Damage becomes another important upgrade to prioritize.
The guide specifically recommends upgrading Base Damage around the transition into Level 4.
Increasing your damage helps you destroy the core faster, which means you spend less time dealing with its bullet attacks.
A stronger offense also makes the later levels easier to clear.
Recommended Upgrade Order
Based on the upgrades shown in the guide, a simple early progression can look like this:
- Fire
- Bullet Speed
- New Thrusters
- Resource Magnet
- Stronghold
- Knowledge of Weak Spots
- Bullet Speed
- Post-Fight Arena Analysis
- Base Damage
You don’t have to follow this order perfectly. If you’re having trouble surviving, prioritize movement and health. If you’re surviving easily but taking too long to destroy the core, focus more on your offensive upgrades.
How to Beat the Early Levels
The first few levels are mostly about learning the game’s movement.
For the early stages, I recommend using this approach:
Level 1
Start by moving toward the core while keeping some distance.
Shoot at it with your mouse and constantly watch for incoming bullets. Don’t get too close just because you’re trying to finish the level quickly.
Once the core is destroyed, use your resources for your first upgrades.
Level 2
Level 2 should become easier once you’ve upgraded your movement and bullet speed.
Continue using the same strategy: move toward the middle, aim at the core, and stay far enough away that you have time to react.
If the core fires a large number of bullets, prioritize dodging over dealing damage for a moment.
Level 3
Level 3 is where the bullet patterns start becoming more difficult.
The core fires bullets more quickly, so you need to pay closer attention to their direction.
This is where the New Thrusters upgrade can be especially helpful because better movement gives you more control while dodging.
Don’t become too focused on the core’s health bar. Surviving is more important than squeezing in a few extra shots.
Level 4
By the time you reach Level 4, you should have several upgrades behind you.
The guide recommends focusing on Base Damage at this point.
Keep using the same positioning strategy and take advantage of the upgrades you’ve already purchased.
Don’t Stand Too Close
One mistake that comes up repeatedly is getting too close to the core.
When you’re close, the bullets have less distance to travel before reaching you. That gives you much less time to react.
If you get hit, move farther away and reassess your position.
You can still deal damage from a safer distance, so there’s usually no reason to put yourself directly in the core’s attack range.
Move Through the Middle
If your goal is to reach the core quickly, the guide recommends moving through the middle.
Once you reach the central area, prioritize getting into position to attack the core rather than wandering around the level.
Just remember that taking the shortest route doesn’t mean you should ignore the bullets.
Move toward the core, but keep enough distance to give yourself room to dodge.
Upgrade Between Levels
Don’t immediately jump into the next level every time you finish one.
Take a moment to check your available upgrades and spend your resources.
Your upgrades are what allow you to move into harder levels more comfortably.
If you’re struggling with movement, improve your speed or thrusters.
If you’re taking too much damage, consider a health upgrade such as Stronghold.
If the core is taking too long to destroy, focus on Bullet Speed, Knowledge of Weak Spots, or Base Damage.
Final Tips for Nebulous
The early game becomes much easier once you stop treating Nebulous like a game where you can simply rush toward the objective.
Your movement is just as important as your damage.
Keep these tips in mind:
- Use WASD to constantly maneuver around the battlefield.
- Aim with your mouse and click to shoot.
- Keep moving while attacking.
- Stay far away from the core so you have more time to react.
- Watch the direction of incoming bullets.
- Use the middle route when you want to reach the core faster.
- Upgrade your movement to make dodging easier.
- Use Resource Magnet to improve your loot collection.
- Upgrade Stronghold if you need more health.
- Use Bullet Speed to improve your offensive performance.
- Upgrade Base Damage as you reach higher levels.
- Don’t ignore upgrades between stages.
Nebulous is pretty straightforward once you get used to its movement, but the bullet patterns can make later levels much more difficult if you aren’t paying attention.
For me, the most important thing to learn early is positioning. Staying farther away from the core gives you more time to react, and combining that with better movement upgrades makes dodging much easier.
Keep upgrading as you clear levels, aim for the core through the middle, and don’t get greedy with your attacks when a wall of bullets is coming toward you. If you can stay alive while consistently damaging the core, you’ll be able to work your way through the higher levels much more comfortably.