How Many Dudes? Community FAQ — Reddit-style Q&A Megathread

About the game

Q: What is How Many Dudes?

Short answer: a single-player roguelike dudebuilder autobattler from Butterscotch Shenanigans. You recruit an army of Dudes, combine Relics and Trinkets, and push through escalating waves and Act Bosses across three Challenge Tiers. source

Q: Is it an online game?

Short answer: no. It is designed as a single-player game with no online or local multiplayer. Cross-save syncing does use the network through Rumpus, but there is no multiplayer mode of any kind. source

Q: How many Dudes are there at launch?

Short answer: 42 Unique Dudes across 6 Families — Undead, Employed, Warrior, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Action — with more than 850,000 possible team compositions. See the complete roster for the current list. source

Q: Is there multiplayer?

Short answer: no. The studio has said that if it ever makes a multiplayer version, it would be a brand-new game rather than a mode added to this one. source

Q: Is it free?

Long answer: no. The launch price is $14.99 USD on Steam and $9.99 USD on mobile, and Steam runs frequent sales. The Steam demo is free, but it is a demo, not the full game. source

Q: Who made it?

Butterscotch Shenanigans, the studio behind Crashlands and Levelhead, develops and publishes it. source

Q: When did it release?

July 30, 2026, at 10 AM PDT / 5 PM UTC, on Steam, Google Play, and the App Store. source

Best team and builds

Q: Is there a single best build?

Short answer: no verified one exists for launch. The repeatable approach is a team shell — a damage engine, a control or protection slot, a sustain slot, and deliberate flex slots. See the best build guide. source

Q: Which Dude is the strongest?

Short answer: there is no honest universal S–F answer right now. Player posts disagree across different patches and modes, so the useful ranking is a needs tier: draft the function your roster lacks. See the tier list. source

Q: Does Finance work?

Yes, but with current launch text: Finance generates $3 per Finance Dude at the end of each battle. Pre-launch "doubles your cash" summaries are outdated. source

Q: Why does my team keep dying in tier 2?

Tier 2 is the second of three Challenge Tiers, and each tier adds unique enemies and boss battles. Most deaths come from missing protection, sustain, or a coherent damage plan — not from a bad tier list. source

Q: Should I pick two of the same Dude?

Yes, duplicates are allowed and can be deliberate. Two Cyborgs can stack Attack Power from each other's Direct Damage, for example. source

Q: What's a flex slot?

The last one or two slots on a five-Dude team that you fill on purpose: deepen the core trigger, add another protector, or patch the weakness your last fight exposed. source

Q: Does the team matter more than the Relics?

They are co-dependent. A coherent shell still needs the right Relics to actually appear in the pool, and a great Relic is useless if nothing triggers it. source

Q: Why do community tier lists keep disagreeing?

Because they test different beta and live builds, unlock states, and endpoints. The final pre-release beta changed Dudes, Trinkets, and mechanics right before launch, so treat player rankings as dated experiments. source

Relics and Trinkets

Q: How do Relics drop?

Relics appear during a run from an available pool, and the pool is shaped by which Flyers you post. Defeating Act Bosses earns Trinkets. source

Q: Can I save a Trinket slot?

Short answer: not that we can verify. Each Roster Dude Type can bind one Trinket during a run, and we found no evidence of a persistent slot-saver. source

Q: Why aren't my favorite Relics appearing?

Most likely pool dilution. Posting more Families adds more Relics to the pool, which makes any specific piece harder to find. A narrow Family spread keeps Dude-specific Relics relatively easier to see. source

Q: Do Flyers affect the pool?

Yes. Posting a Dude Type adds that type's 7 Relics and its Family's 8 Relics to the available pool, each added only once. source

Q: How many Relics and Trinkets are there?

As of August 3, 2026, the Dudex indexes 374 Relics, 32 Trinkets, 8 Foods, and 7 Consumables. source

Q: Are Trinkets permanent?

No — a Trinket is bound to a Dude Type for the current run, and reroll tools such as Pocket Dice can change what is on offer. source

Platforms and saves

Q: Does cross-save work between Steam and phone?

Short answer: yes, through Rumpus. Sign into the same Rumpus account on each device and progress syncs across supported Windows, iOS, and Android versions. source

Q: Is there a Mac version?

No. The studio does not plan official Mac or Linux builds; emulation is possible but unsupported. source

Q: When does the demo reset?

There is no published reset schedule. What is documented: Steam demo progress carries over to the full game. source

Q: Where do my save files live?

PC: C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\HowManyDudes. iOS: through File Sharing where supported. Android: not normally accessible without rooting. source

Q: Will a console version come?

Not currently planned. The studio says controller support would have to be built first, so a console port is not on the roadmap today. source

Q: Can I play it on Steam Deck?

Yes — it is tested and works, but you need the trackpads because there is no native gamepad support. source

Q: Where are local saves used outside the game?

The platforms guide covers local save folders, the full platform matrix, and the Rumpus cross-save flow in one place. source

Cost, updates, and where to read more

Q: How much does it cost?

$14.99 USD on Steam and $9.99 USD on mobile at launch, with regional pricing. Steam discounts are frequent, and the game launched with a Steam discount. source

Q: How often does it patch?

There is no published cadence. The official changelog uses three-number versions, and only builds marked "released" are generally available to players. source

Q: Where is the official patch log?

The official release notes live at https://www.bscotch.net/games/how-many-dudes/patchnotes, and that page also explains the released-versus-not-released version rule. source

Q: Where is the official community?

The support page points players to the r/HowManyDudes subreddit and the Butterscotch Discord for searching before asking for help. source

Q: What modes and tiers exist?

The game ships with three Challenge Tiers, plus modes like The Daily Dude and Ensemble Mode, which lets you pre-select your dream team. source

Q: I'm brand new — where should I start?

Read the beginner guide first, then the builds and relics pages. source