1. Game Objective

In Massive Darkness 2: Heavenfall, players take on the role of Lightbearers, exploring dungeons and facing corrupted hordes in search of the source of the Overwhelming Darkness. The primary goal is to complete the Missions of the Heavenfall Campaign, defeat enemies, collect Ritual Scrolls, close portals, and ultimately decide the fate of the realm. The victory condition is to reach the end of the Campaign Track without losing the same Mission three times; otherwise, the campaign is lost and must be restarted.

2. Setup

• City Board – place it next to the play area.
• Hero Board – use the Campaign Level Panel (levels 1‑5 face up).
• Treasure Bag – replace common markers with 10 Common markers and 1 Rare marker.
• Campaign Cards – place the corresponding campaign cards next to the City, face down.
• Enemy Decks – shuffle the 6 new Horde and Wandering Monster decks (levels 6‑10) as indicated on the back of the cards.
• Items – shuffle all new Epic Item cards into their corresponding decks; separate Legendary Items and Horde Items into separate decks.
• Starting Equipment – each hero receives only the starting Hellscape equipment in the first mission; in subsequent missions, they may carry a maximum of 7 items.
• Class Components – when choosing heroes, take the extra class components included in this expansion.
• Card Removal – remove the following Door cards from the game: Treasure Trap Room, Training Room, Blood Ritual Room, Light Chamber, Infernal Army, and Weapon Depot.
• Darkness Indicator – randomly draw 3 Treasure markers and place them in the spaces with Treasure icons on the indicator.

3. Game Flow

The game progresses in three main phases, which are repeated in each Mission:

1. Campaign Phase – players choose the Mission to be played. The first mission is always Mission A: First Investigation. After that, the choice follows the Campaign Track indicated at the end of each mission.
2. Mission Phase – heroes are placed in the dungeon's Starting Zones, maintaining their levels, talents, and earned experience. They may freely trade items with one another. The mission ends in victory when all objectives are met; it ends in defeat if the mission is not completed by the 4th round of the Darkness indicator or if any defeat criteria are met.
3. City Phase – after winning a mission, heroes can interact with City areas (Blacksmith, Inventor, Herbalist, Betting Alley, Tavern), spend Loot markers and items, and check if they have completed any Heroic Feats. If the mission is lost, heroes discard items and Loot markers, lose unused experience, and may attempt the mission again or choose another available mission.

Within each mission phase, the order of actions follows the Massive Darkness 2 pattern (movement, attack, use skill, etc.), but with Heavenfall special rules applied (for example, Corruption, Darkness, Horde, and Wandering Monster rules).

4. Actions and How to Play

Players can perform the following actions during their turn, as permitted by the hero's Action Points:

• Move – spend 1 action point to move 1 zone (or 2 zones if the hero has Movement 2 AP).
• Attack – use a Weapon or Attack Skill against an enemy in the same zone or within range, rolling the corresponding attack dice.
• Use Skill – activate a class skill, talent, or item that requires 1 action point.
• Use Talent – level 4 talents or higher can be used when the hero has the required number of Use Markers.
• Equip/Unequip – swap weapons or items, paying the Use Marker cost if necessary.
• Interact with Enemies – apply Corruption or Darkness effects according to each enemy's rules.
• Use Items – consume potions, equipment, or treasure markers to obtain immediate effects.

Specific rules for each enemy (for example, Baalberith, Archangel Raphael, Uriel) are found on the enemy cards and must be followed exactly as described in the manual.

5. End Game and Scoring

The game ends when:

• Players complete the Campaign Track without losing the same Mission three times (victory).
• Players lose the Campaign by losing the same Mission three times (defeat).

There is no traditional scoring in Massive Darkness 2: Heavenfall; victory is achieved by completing the campaign. If the campaign is lost, players must restart from the beginning. Otherwise, the campaign is successfully completed.

6. Tips for Winning

• Plan the use of Corruption and Darkness before each attack, as these effects can drastically change the outcome of combat.
• Manage your Loot Markers in the City: use the Betting Alley to obtain treasure markers when you need rare items, and the Blacksmith to buy essential items at the lowest possible cost.
• Focus on completing Side Quests at the end of each mission, as they grant campaign cards that can unlock valuable skills and items.