Sir We Have an Orc Problem Early Levels Walkthrough

What counts as early game

In Sir, We Have an Orc Problem, early game covers your first campaign maps after the tutorial beats: the stretch where Gunners are your only reliable tower, meta currency feels scarce, and orc counts are high but still manageable if you respect choke points. Mumpitz Games designed these levels to teach the incremental loop - place towers, press Space to battle, earn currency whether you win or lose, then spend that currency before retrying.

The demo already showed this pattern with multiple levels that gradually increased orc speed and swarm size. The full Steam release keeps that DNA while adding more upgrade branches and tower types. Treat early maps as training grounds for habits that mid and late content will punish if you skip them.

Before your first battle

Complete the onboarding in Getting Started if you have not already. Confirm you understand left-click placement, right-click or drag removal, and number-key shortcuts for tower selection. Open Controls once so muscle memory is ready before pressure spikes.

On the meta screen, prioritize nodes that increase Gunner damage, fire rate, or maximum tower count before cosmetic or luxury combat perks. Upgrade Priority explains why economy percentage gains and extra tower slots compound across every future map. If you are unsure where to click first, load the Upgrade Planner with an Economy-first focus for your first hour.

First map: establish the choke

Early maps usually offer a narrow approach to your trench. Your goal is not maximum DPS everywhere - it is forcing orcs through one or two lanes where Gunners overlap fire. Read Choke Points alongside this section; the early walkthrough assumes you stack most Gunners where paths pinch rather than spreading them along the entire front.

Place your first Gunner where the path bends toward your base, then add a second offset slightly forward so their target cones intersect. Hold off on filling every empty slot; early currency is better spent on meta upgrades that raise the Gunner cap than on a third tower with base-level stats.

Press Space when placement feels stable. Watch where leaks happen. If orcs slip through the side of a bend, shift one Gunner one tile rather than adding more rear-line towers. Early leaks are placement problems more often than damage problems.

Second and third maps: spend after every run

Failed runs still pay meta currency. After each attempt, open the upgrade tree before restarting. Look for low-cost nodes: +0.1 Gunner damage, +Gun tower maximum, +5% end-of-battle payout, and small base HP buffers. Economy and Meta Progression covers why payout percentage nodes are undervalued on early maps where you may lose once or twice before clearing.

Avoid dumping everything into missile or ability branches you have not unlocked in battle yet. Early maps rarely require active abilities if choke placement is correct. Save ability upgrades until Mid-Game Walkthrough when speed ramps make manual tools necessary.

Unlocking Flamethrowers and what changes

The first Flamethrower unlock is a pivot point. Flamethrowers apply damage over time to every orc that passes, which makes them ideal at the front of your choke when counts climb. Place them ahead of Gunners so softening starts before single-target fire focuses leaders.

Do not mirror demo forum advice that treats Flamethrowers as the only tower you need. Early campaign maps still reward mixed lines: Flamethrower front, Gunner mid, and eventually Mortars once unlocked in mid game. Check the Turret Tier List for how each tool scales with your current upgrade set.

Economy milestones to hit before leaving early game

Aim for these benchmarks before you call early game “done”:

• Gunner cap increased at least twice
• One payout or economy node purchased
• Base HP upgraded once if leaks were close
• Flamethrower unlocked and tested at the choke front
• Comfortable using Space, pause, and tower hotkeys from Controls

If you are missing several of these, repeat the earliest map once more. The incremental design expects farming - not because the map is unfair, but because currency smooths the jump to faster orcs.

Common early mistakes

Spreading Gunners evenly across the whole trench removes overlap and lets fast orcs slip between sparse cones. Ignoring meta upgrades after a near-win leaves you under-capped on tower count for the next speed tier. Chasing ability cooldown nodes before tower damage often produces flashy buttons with nothing to clean up afterward.

Another mistake is refusing to reposition. Demo players noted that first maps allow static lines, but even early full-release maps may require moving a Gunner after you see a new leak line. Build phase exists for a reason - use it.

When to move to mid game

Transition when the game visibly raises orc movement speed or adds enough units that your Gunner-only line kills too slowly unless Flamethrowers are placed correctly. You should also feel meta currency income stabilizing: losses still pay, and one or two nodes unlock per attempt.

At that point, open Mid-Game Walkthrough and review How to Play sections on ability timing. Early game is complete when you clear your current map without panic-spending abilities every wave.

Linking forward

Early levels teach placement literacy and economy discipline. Mid game tests whether you can layer Mortars and Cannons onto the same choke. Late game asks whether your upgrade tree can sustain five-digit orc counts. Keep Upgrade Priority open between maps so each retry buys something permanent, not just another tower reset.