Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising, developed by Small Mill, is currently in its DEMO phase. The official release year has been announced as 2026, though the exact launch date has not yet been specified.
Used under fair use for commentary and educational purposes.
This is a dark-themed RPG that combines idle progression, auto-battling, and strategic layout. In the game, you play as a “Worshipper,” building structures, training heroes, and challenging dungeons to gradually awaken the slumbering Old Gods. The gameplay pace is relaxed, yet it offers considerable strategic depth perfect for players who enjoy long-term progression and team composition.
The game is supported by a robust data system. Hero classes are divided into three types: Warrior, Archer, and Mage. Each class has its own attributes, equipment, talents, combat traits, and distinct attack patterns.
The core gameplay revolves around a continuous cycle of fighting, growing stronger, and taking on tougher enemies.
Sounds repetitive? Don’t worry the game features an auto battle system. Once you’ve set your team, you can step away entirely; your heroes will keep challenging stages on their own.
If all heroes are defeated, you’ll lose some resources. Therefore, you can retreat at any time during battle the decision is yours.
Worshipper
The “Worshipper” is not a combat ready hero, but rather the central hub of your account’s overall progression. Think of them as your behind-the-scenes commander though they never fight, their level and Infusion directly boost all heroes’ base stats and resource gain rates.
Tap the avatar in the top-right corner of the main screen to open the Worshipper Info panel, where you can see your current level, offline earning rate, and most importantly, the Infusion system. Each time you complete an Infusion, you permanently enhance stats for a specific hero class.
However, Infusion requires resources such as gold, blood, or bone and the exact materials needed vary depending on the class being infused.
Prison
In the Prison, you can spend gold to Charm defeated enemies and convert them into playable Godsworn heroes.
Each prisoner has a unique class and stats.
Spend gold to Refresh the available list.
Upgrading the Prison with materials permanently increases the starting stats of all newly recruited Godsworn.
Monument
The Monument displays your current objectives.
Complete them to claim rewards like gold, materials, or heroes.
Click the “Tutorial” button to see exactly how to earn that reward.
This building cannot currently be upgraded through construction.
Storage
The Warehouse is where players store items, ideal for keeping rare equipment you don’t need right now.
This building can also be upgraded through renovation to increase its storage capacity.
Market
The Market is where players buy and sell equipment.
You can sell unwanted gear for gold or purchase rare items using gold. Spend gold to refresh the available items list.
Upgrading the building through renovation improves buy/sell prices, making trades more profitable.
Temple
The Temple is a core building for enhancing your heroes.
Here, you can spend Ancient Blood to perform Baptisms, directly boosting your heroes’ levels and stats.
As your heroes grow stronger, you’ll eventually hit the level cap.
this is where upgrading the Temple (also known as “evolving” it) comes in.
Each time you upgrade the Temple, you’ll not only reduce the amount of Ancient Blood needed for Baptisms but also raise the maximum level your heroes can reach, allowing your team to keep growing stronger.
The Temple unlocks after completing Chapter 2.
Workshop
The Workshop can be used to forge and upgrade weapons, gear, and accessories to enhance their stats.
By consuming Sacred Bones to upgrade the Workshop building, players can increase the maximum forgeable item level, the higher the building level.
the higher the equipment tier that can be forged and also unlock the ability to add new affixes (modifiers) to items.
Sanctuary
About Equipment
Equipment rarities are color-coded as gray, blue, yellow, and orange. Each rarity comes with different affixes, and orange items generally offer the best stats.
There is also a special green-colored set gear: its full power is only unlocked when the entire set is equipped.
However, the base stats of individual green pieces are typically lower than those of orange items.
Why are orange items considered better?
Based on the screenshot above, which shows the best I’ve found so far, it has a large number of affixes and provides substantial stat bonuses.
Moreover, its base stats can be further enhanced through forging at the Workshop.
Of course, getting better gear ultimately depends on luck and requires a lot of time grinding.
About the Inventory / Skill Bar / Equipment Slots
The game starts with three classes: Archer, Warrior, and Mage here we’ll use the Archer as an example.
Each class has unique skills, and main weapons can only be used by their respective class, while other gear is shared across all classes.
Each class also has different base stats.
Moreover, within the same class, variations in quality (such as Common or Fine) and differences in level all affect the character’s final attributes.
The game currently only has two active combat slots, allowing you to deploy at most two heroes at a time, which can feel overwhelming when facing large groups of enemies.
Therefore, when charming prisoners in the prison, pay attention to their stats.
If you have enough gold, try to choose prisoners of Fine quality or higher, ideally those whose skills include summoning abilities, as they make combat significantly easier.
About Adventure and Map Exploration
The current DEMO features two types of maps:
- Stage Progression: Advance by clearing stages, collecting chests from chest stages, and ultimately defeating the boss to unlock the next chapter.
- Exploration: Dedicated to resource gathering, such as Blood, gold, and Bones.
The game supports three battle lines simultaneously, with up to two heroes assigned to each line, meaning you need to develop at least six heroes in total.
However, the DEMO currently only includes seven chapters, and the third battle line unlocks only after completing Chapter 8, so I can only show screenshots of two active lines for now.
Each battle line operates independently, allowing you to assign heroes based on your needs, either sending them to clear stages or out to gather resources.
Gameplay Tips
Well, there’s really not much advice to give.
In the early game, you might be unsure which class to pick, but don’t worry, just go with the one you like.
I started with the Archer, but later found that their health pool was relatively low and they couldn’t take much damage. So I switched to the Warrior and used my already-leveled Archer to help level up the new character.
Since the game supports auto-idle progression, even if you pick the “wrong” class at first, you can switch quickly without falling behind, so there’s no need to stress about it.
That said, I still recommend upgrading your Prison early on. This lets you charm higher-quality heroes (Fine or better), who generally have stronger skills. As I mentioned earlier, it’s especially helpful to look for heroes with summoning abilities, they make combat much easier.
Disclaimer: This article is based on the DEMO version and is for reference only. Please refer to the official game content for the final and accurate information.
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