Getting Started in Epic Seven

Epic Seven launched globally on 8 November 2018 (Korea in August 2018) and is still the same turn-based gacha at heart: Combat Readiness, Hunt gear, and pity. What changed in 2026 is the on-ramp. New Era, Genesis Ras missions, Moonlight Blessing, Otherworldly Hunts, and the 8th anniversary window (27 August–29 October 2026) give a new account more free units and energy than any previous start. This page is the order of operations. Do not farm random story stages until Selective Summon is locked and working codes are in the mailbox.

Play on iOS, Android, or the STOVE PC client. The Steam store page opened on 22 August 2026; the Steam client itself launches later in 2026 and will link to the same STOVE membership. Bind email or SNS before you spend a day of energy. Guest IDs lose coupons, Connections, and the anniversary login if the phone dies.

Hour one

1. Finish the tutorial through stage 1-4. That unlocks Selective Summon. Open the reroll guide immediately. Infinite retries, one saved result, Iseria is the PvE keep, and do not reroll for Sigret — she arrives free later.
2. Redeem TY_E8_INFINITY, OUR8TH_EPIC, TOGETHER_8Y, and 8TH_ANN at epic7.onstove.com/en/coupon. E7SUMMERGIFT26 expired on 26 August 2026; skip it.
3. Set the Covenant wishlist before you tap the anniversary 20-summon button. Pity, wishlist, and mileage live on summons and pity. Dumping 1,260 free pulls into an empty list is the fastest way to waste the event.
4. Park Gold Transmit Stones. They are bookmarks, not gold.

The first day is account hygiene. Story chapters can wait an hour.

2026 Epic Seven beginner path after the New Era update

Energy, Sanctuary, and what to ignore

Energy (and Leifs that refill it) is the real currency. Sanctuary in the lobby grows penguins, Spirit Blooms, and weekly MolaGora while you play. Harvest Forest of Souls, keep Heart of Orbis running, and use Alchemist’s Steeple only when you know which catalyst you need. Do not burn Leifs on Spirit Altar loops or random side stories on day one.

Pet the lobby pet. Equip a Battle Pet as soon as Hunt unlocks — Background Battling, added with the 8th anniversary, only tracks your fastest clear with a Battle Pet equipped, then runs offline. You can queue up to 100 Leifs. Auto-sell and auto-extract apply to those runs. That is why the hunt guide tells you to get one real Wyvern clear instead of babysitting auto-battle overnight.

MolaGora is scarce. Put it on units you will still use in six months: Hunt core, a cleanser, Iseria. Do not six-skill a random pickup DPS because the banner art looks expensive.

Connections before banners

Open Hero → Connections. This is how the game hands you the Ice Hunt core and several story workhorses without pity. Furious, Alexa, and Angelica sit on that list. Montmorancy’s Specialty Change into Angelic Montmorancy is the free tank-healer path if you never pull Angelica. Specialty Change is not optional flavor; it is how 3-star units become Hunt-viable.

Build those Connections while you clear Episode 1. The starter heroes page is the roster map: who is free, who is a Selective keep, who is a later Hunt mission. Cross-check names against the PvE tier list before you spend charms on a unit that only looks good in the journal.

Moonlight Blessing and Genesis Ras

New Era added two lobby tracks that older guides never mention.

Moonlight Blessing loans a Moonlight 5-star from a small pool. The unit is temporary until you finish the attached quests and lock one in. A common 2026 line is to borrow Arbiter Vildred for early farming speed, then use the one-time Blessing reset to swap into Ruele of Light before you lock. Do not finish Arby’s quests if you plan to swap. A second Blessing appears after Episode 2 Chapter 8 plus the Fallen Land story under Moonlight Theater — different pool, harder choice. Lock nothing until you have read the kit, not the rarity tag.

Genesis Ras is a free Light Moonlight 5-star earned from Restoration Missions after you push the 6th World far enough (the missions unlock from the 6th World episode, not from a banner). He cannot be transmitted. Treat the questline as long-term account power, not a day-one boss. Collapse and Sacred Covenant have PvE exceptions printed on the skill tooltips — read them before you copy a PvP build into Hunt.

The PvE spine: Hunt, then Abyss, then Arena

Epic Seven is a gear game. Story equipment is a loan. The first real farm is Wyvern Hunt. Ice units, Speed sets, and Daydream Joker on the damage dealers. The free Ice core is Furious, Sigret, Muwi, and Angelica or Angelic Montmorancy. One clear with a Battle Pet unlocks Background Battling. Otherworldly Hunt is the upgrade that drops high equipment-score gear once you can enter it. Gear rules — sets, score, auto-sell, extract — sit on gear and equipment.

Abyss is a vertical mechanic check, not a second Hunt. Push floors when you have a cleanser, a defense break, and enough HP to survive the script. Stop when a floor wants a unit you have not built; the rewards are not worth a week of failed entries.

Arena and World Arena exist from early ranks and pay weekly currency. Automatic Arena is a conquest-point chore. Real-time World Arena and the new Call of Chaos 3v3 are optional until you own Speed sets you can actually tune. Guild Wars and World Boss are guild content; join a guild that clears, then ignore the draft meta until Hunt is automatic.

8th anniversary without derailing

The live window (27 August–29 October 2026) is generous: 20 Covenant summons a day (1,260 if you never miss), Paradise Lost, Lisette on Mystic, Uncharted Pioneer Politis pickup from 3 September 2026, Call of Chaos, Background Battling, and a September Chaos Zero Nightmare collab (Renoa, Haru, Mei Lin). Dimensional Exploration is the coming roguelike — no need to plan a team for it on day one. Patch context is on the 8th anniversary update.

Play the side episode for story and event currency. Do not skip daily summons. Do not spend the Natalon Academy Moonlight selector, Limited selector, or Unknown Slate the moment they appear. Those items are account-defining; a two-day delay while you finish Hunt and read the PvE list costs nothing.

A first-week checklist

• Bind the account. Redeem coupons. Lock Selective Summon.
• Fill Covenant wishlist. Claim the daily 20 pulls.
• Progress Connections: Furious, Alexa, Angelica / Montmorancy.
• Harvest Sanctuary. Level a Hunt core, not twelve random 4-stars.
• Unlock Hunt, get one Wyvern clear with a Battle Pet, turn on Background Battling.
• Score gear before rolling. Extract boots instead of selling them.
• Touch Abyss until it stops being free rewards, then return to Hunt.
• Do Arena flags for the weekly box. Do not mola a cleave.

If you only open three other pages after this one, make them reroll, Hunt, and summons. Everything else in the wiki is a specialist follow-up.

The first week is an energy budget, not a gacha week. Leifs sitting in the mailbox while you refresh banners is how new accounts stall. Spend energy on Wyvern and the current event shop, keep one Hunt team in gear, and let the anniversary login do the pulling. A bound account with Iseria, a finished Ice core, and Background Battling queued will outrun a lucky Moonlight pull wearing story boots.