TRENCH: DECAY tutorial breaks a match into clear phases from lobby to extraction, with the Commissar onboarding you in-game. This walkthrough uses only verifiable beats and creator coverage, no invented numbers.
TRENCH: DECAY tutorial — a phase-by-phase walkthrough
TRENCH: DECAY is a WW1 squad PvE shooter. The whole loop is spelled out in the game’s own description: push the line, survive the gas, extract with your squad. Every victory moves a live war map shared across every server. Below, a community walkthrough by creator Spar breaks a single match into five phases so you know what is coming.
Fig. 01 — Enlist, push, extractPush the line, survive the gas, extract with your squad
If you remember nothing else, remember those three beats — they are lifted verbatim from the official experience description. You are not holding a point; you are advancing down a trench under pressure from the undead and enemy soldiers, managing the gas, and getting out with your squad and your loot. Because the war map is shared, the fronts you take aren’t just for you — they shift the whole server’s war. That is the hook that keeps the loop from feeling like a repeat.
What a single run actually looks like
Creator Spar’s walkthrough structures one match into five phases. The timestamps are from that video; the descriptions are the observable in-game beats they map to. Use it as a mental checklist the first few times you deploy.
Before a run begins you stage in the Lobby: pick the class you want to field (see the Classes breakdown), and get your bearings. The game itself tells you the in-match basics are handled by the Commissar — an in-game guide voice that “will show you the ropes,” so the Lobby is where you arrive before that onboarding kicks in.
The Safe Room is a sheltered interior you pass through on the way out. Think of it as the calm before the line — a contained space to regroup and get set before you push into the open trench. It mirrors what other creators describe as a safezone at the end of a trench where you “regather” before the next push.
Out in the trench you meet the undead horde. These are the swarm enemies that crawl out of the mud and ruins — the PvE pressure that defines the game. They are distinct from the organised enemy soldiers you meet next, so your response to each should differ.
Beyond the horde you face enemy combatants — AI soldiers who fight back with weapons rather than just swarming. Dealing with aimed fire is a different problem from clearing a zombie surge, which is why the walkthrough splits them into their own phase.
The final stretch is about objectives in the world: hackable Terminals, supply points and the extraction point itself. Terminals feed regional points that drive the Major Order, and the supply panel is also where promo codes are entered. Reaching and using these interactables is what turns a survival run into a winning one.
Phase structure after Spar’s “TRENCH: WW1 Advanced Tutorial” (YouTube, Jul 14 2026), corroborated by the official description’s objective loop and other creator coverage. Timestamps reference that walkthrough, not a fixed in-game timer.
The safezone is your friend
Other creator coverage describes the flow plainly: a squad of up to five players pushes down the trench, and the end of each trench is a safezone to regather before the next push. Use those pauses to revive downed teammates and consolidate the items you have collected — then make the final extract together. Dying with loot in hand wastes the run, so the extract is the real finish line, not the last kill.
More on the win condition in the extraction guide and the squad setup in squad co-op.
Your wins are shared
Every victory moves the live war map shared on every server — your battles decide the front. That is why interactables like Terminals matter: hacking them feeds regional points that drive the active Major Order. You are not just surviving; you are pushing a war everyone is fighting at once.
The undead and enemy types you meet are covered in the enemies guide.
Four things to drill
The objective loop is explicit: push the line, survive the gas, and extract with your squad. Holding still lets the horde and the gas close in — momentum is the survival tool.
This is a squad PvE shooter. Creator coverage describes a group of up to five (“you and 4 other players”), and the end of each trench has a safezone to regather before the next push. Coordinating revives and covering fire is what separates a wipe from a clean extract.
Every victory advances the LIVE WAR MAP shared across every server. The fronts you win are not cosmetic — they are the shared war the whole player base is fighting. Major Orders (like retaking a sector) are the big-picture version of that loop.
The official description points you to the Preferences Menu for the full control list rather than a fixed on-screen legend. If something feels unmapped, that menu is the place to look — and to rebind if the game allows it.
One practical caveat that is easy to miss: redeeming promo codes requires you to like the experience and join the studio rook. group first. If a code bounces as invalid, that prerequisite — not the code — is usually the problem. The codes-not-working troubleshooter walks through the rest.
Tutorial FAQ
I am brand new — where do I start in TRENCH: DECAY?+
Drop into a match and let the in-game Commissar walk you through the basics; the official description says “The Commissar will show you the ropes.” Before you deploy, skim the Controls page and pick a class on the Lobby screen. The core goal is always the same: push the line, survive the gas, and extract with your squad.
How many players are in a squad?+
TRENCH: DECAY is built around small-squad co-op. Creator walkthroughs describe a group of up to five players (“you and 4 other players”). Party up with friends through the Squad Co-op guide, or queue and coordinate with whoever you are matched alongside — either way, extracting together is the win condition.
What are Terminals and other interactables for?+
Interactables are the objective objects scattered through a match — hackable Terminals, supply points and the extraction point. Terminals feed regional points that drive the active Major Order and, by extension, the shared LIVE WAR MAP. The supply panel is also where you enter promo codes, so interactables pull double duty for progression and rewards.
How do I extract successfully?+
Reach the extraction point at the far end of the trench and get out with your squad and your items. Creator coverage stresses that each trench ends in a safezone to regather before you make the final extract, so use those pauses to revive teammates and consolidate loot rather than rushing blind into the gas.
Where do I find the controls?+
The official experience description directs players to the Preferences Menu for the control scheme. Our Controls page lists the confirmed keybinds and notes that the game surfaces them inside that menu, which is also where you can check for rebinding options.
