Direct answer: what should you do first?
Start by learning the daily loop instead of chasing a perfect route. Sovereign Tower asks you to handle requests from subjects, manage the Round Table, recruit eccentric Knights, assign quests and read the result that comes back. The official store also makes the larger structure clear: balance relationships, expand the Tower and use the Demon when a decision sends the story in the wrong direction.
Your first goal is not to discover every secret. It is to understand what the current screen is asking, choose a Knight whose visible profile fits the request, and note what changed afterward. That habit gives you useful information even when the result is a Critical Failure or an Unexpected Outcome.
1. Learn the morning audience
The store description presents the morning audience as the first major responsibility of a Sovereign. Requests can range from ordinary kingdom problems to stranger events, so read the request before thinking about the reward. A choice can affect individual characters, groups, other rulers and the legacy of the kingdom rather than only ending the current conversation.
Do not rush through dialogue simply because the request looks small. The audience is where you learn the tone of a character, the political pressure around a problem and the kind of consequence the game may attach to a decision. If the result feels surprising, record the choice and continue rather than assuming the game is broken.
2. Use the Round Table to assign quests
After the audience, review the requests at the Round Table and decide which Knight should handle each one. Steam officially lists Strength, Agility, Charisma, Magic and Wit as Knight stats, and says that each quest asks for a different skill set. The safest first pass is to compare the request with the roster, then check traits, equipment, preferences and current relationships before dispatching anyone.
The game does not promise that the largest visible number is always the best answer. A Knight is also a character with a personality and a history, and the cost of a poor assignment can include a bad quest result or a relationship change. Exact thresholds and the complete scoring formula should be treated as version-sensitive until they are checked in the current build.
3. Read the outcome before making the next decision
Returned Knights can produce outcomes such as Critical Success, Critical Failure or an Unexpected Outcome. These labels are more useful than a simple win-or-lose result because they tell you what kind of information the game is giving you. A surprising result can point to a character-specific interaction, a hidden state or a story branch that deserves a second look.
Keep a short note of the quest, the Knight you sent and the visible choice that preceded the result. This is especially important after a patch because official updates can change quest difficulty and scoring. A note made in one build should not automatically become a universal answer for every later build.
4. Watch the six relationship signals
The official Steam description names Merchants, Mystics, Scholars, Nobles, People and the Treasury as relationship signals that need balancing. Choices can therefore create a political cost even when the immediate quest result looks good. Read the faction response as part of the outcome, not as decoration around the main story.
There is no reliable public table for every affinity threshold or every long-term consequence. For a first run, keep a broad balance unless a specific story choice gives you a reason to commit. If you are testing a route, write down the faction state before and after the choice so that a later comparison has context.
5. Keep Knights satisfied
Knights are not disposable quest icons. The official store warns that they can leave the court for good if they are not satisfied, while also describing their egos, grievances and romances as part of court management. Check the relationship context before repeatedly sending the same Knight into dangerous or unsuitable work.
When a Knight reacts badly, do not immediately reload and erase the evidence. First identify what changed: the assignment, the dialogue choice, the faction response or the Knight's own personal story. That information is often more valuable than a single successful dispatch.
6. Expand the Tower deliberately
Tower expansion is part of the confirmed progression loop. The official store describes new Annexes and upgrades, including Carina's Forge and the Witch's Alchemy Room, which can provide items for future quests. These rooms connect construction, equipment and dispatch preparation, so they should be understood as parts of one system rather than isolated menus.
Avoid copying old Demo costs or recipe lists into a release guide without checking the build. Patch 1.0.8 changed Forge repair costs, which is a direct example of why numerical advice needs a version label. The system role is confirmed; every price, recipe and optimal construction order is a separate question.
7. Use the Demon when a timeline teaches you something
The Demon in the Tower's Crypts can turn back time. Official material describes carrying learned knowledge into a new attempt, opening different dialogue, pathways, characters and outcomes. Rewind is therefore more than a panic button: it is the game's intended way to investigate a branch and make a more informed choice.
Use a rewind after you have learned something meaningful, such as a consequence, a blocked route or a character reaction. The full list of penalties, limits and permanent effects is not published in one complete official table, so do not promise that every timeline can be restored perfectly. Record the old choice and the new choice separately.
8. A safe first-cycle checklist
Before dispatching the first important quest, read the request, compare the visible stat, check the Knight's traits and equipment, and look at the relationship context. After the quest, save the outcome in a note and identify whether it was a success, failure or unexpected result. Then decide whether the information is useful enough to justify a rewind.
For the first run, prioritize understanding over completion percentage. The official systems are broad enough that a failed quest can teach you about attributes, factions, Annexes or a character route. Exact recruitment paths, hidden traits, full romance conditions and complete ending tables should remain separate guides until they have current-build evidence.
What this guide can and cannot promise
This beginner route is grounded in the official Steam description and the developer/publisher feature summary. It confirms the loop of audiences, Knights, quests, relationships, Tower expansion and time rewind, but it does not invent a fixed answer sheet. Steam's current store copy lists five Knight stats; secondary release material mentions Luck, so that conflict belongs on a dedicated evidence note rather than in a definitive stat table.
The best opening is consequently simple: understand the request, choose a fitting Knight, watch the relationship cost, read the result and use knowledge from a failed branch. That process remains useful even when a later patch changes a threshold or quest balance.