Brigador Killers Early Access Day-One Checklist

Use this checklist the night before and the morning of Early Access. It assumes Windows Steam or GOG, mouse and keyboard, and a fresh save—because demo progress resets. Print it mentally beside the mission prep checklist and loadout planner. For timing and storefronts, keep Release Date open.

Night before

1. Confirm disk space and GPU drivers.
2. Re-read system requirements.
3. Decide base versus Deluxe pricing.
4. Screenshot any demo kits you loved (for rebuilding, not importing).
5. Skim Enemy Morale once.
6. Skim Save & Gantry Rules once.
7. Sleep.

Do not stay up for a final Merchant museum run. Those crates will not travel with you.

Install hour

1. Install from Steam, GOG, or redeem Itch key mail.
2. Verify game files once.
3. Set SETTINGS → BINDS to your demo muscle memory.
4. If using a pad, open controller binds and lower GAME SPEED—see Steam Deck & Controller.
5. Confirm language (English at launch) and audio levels after the new sound pass.
6. Confirm you are not hunting for a missing demo save—there is none to import.

First session goals

1. Finish whatever tutorial or narrative opener EA presents without rare guns.
2. Reach the first garage-like hub and practice gantry parking and pause-save.
3. Run one disposable salvage sortie with a mid kit only.
4. Practice break-contact drills under the new accuracy model.
5. Stop after two clean extracts—do not Merchant binge on hour one.
6. Write one sentence about what felt hotter than the demo.

First Merchant gate

Only open Merchant Causeway after you can extract a mid kit twice. Shopping is optional; learning is not. Credits are weightless and temptation is high—bring a written list or do not go.

Loadout rules for day one

• Primary: rebuildable mid gun.
• Secondary: cheap contingency.
• Vehicle: storage-capable mid chassis if required, never a unique mech fantasy.
• Acceptable loss: everything you brought.
• Document unlocked rigs in the loadout planner so identity survives a wipe.

Cross-check roles on the weapons tier list and vehicles tier list without treating demo ranks as frozen truth.

Communication loop

Pin patch notes, roadmap, and official links. Expect placeholder art and ongoing AI tuning. When a hotfix lands, rerun this checklist’s “first session goals” with a disposable kit before crafting expensive queues.

What success looks like on day one

Success is not a full exotic Armory. Success is:

• Controls feel familiar.
• One garage hub ritual completed without losing a vehicle to the floor.
• Two clean extracts.
• Notes updated.
• You still want session two.

Afternoon session two

After a break, reopen the Garage and:

1. Verify gantries still hold what you parked.
2. Scrap only junk; keep one mid vehicle untouched.
3. Craft at most one experimental part.
4. Run a harder salvage only if session one had two clean extracts.
5. Update the loadout planner with what actually worked.

If session one was a wipe festival, repeat disposable kits—do not escalate risk mass. Read Combat Tips and Inventory and Loadouts before inventing a hero loadout.

Friends and expectations script

• No demo import.
• No finished 1.0 campaign on day one.
• No reliable Deck parity.
• Yes to iterative patches—watch patch notes.
• Yes to Deluxe audio if you want MAVS and Pilgrim—see Soundtrack & Media.

Keep water nearby, keep Sheet C open, and treat the first Merchant fantasy as homework for session three—not a day-one trophy.

Cross-links

• Getting Started
• Controls
• Garage Guide
• Tools Hub
• Updates Hub

Day one is for systems fluency, not completionist crates.