WIKI
New-player opener
Knight + Priest + Ranger
The official opener: Knight tanks, Priest heals/buffs, Ranger stacks attack speed to clear. Use it the moment you have three slots.
Unofficial player guide
Task Bar Hero Wiki
TBH: Task Bar Hero is a tiny pixel idle-RPG that lives in your taskbar. Your three-hero party auto-battles while you handle leveling, crafting and loot. Here you get the fastest new-player route, rune-tree unlock order, the full rarity chart for 500+ items and a breakdown of the Cube’s eight functions — so you idle smarter, not harder.
140KPeak concurrent players
500+Droppable items
3×4Chapters × difficulty tiers
FreeFree to Play
TaskBarHero — Trailer.mp4
The basics
What is Task Bar Hero?
Task Bar Hero (TBH) is a free pixel idle-RPG on Steam that literally lives in your Windows taskbar. Made by Nugem Studio and Tesseract Studio, it runs in a thin window you can shrink to the taskbar while you work or browse, and a party of up to three heroes auto-battles through its stages on its own.
You don't control the fighting — your job is everything between fights: leveling heroes, spending runes, crafting and upgrading gear in the Cube, and managing loot. Enemies drop chests (the game's real economy), and the stronger your party gets, the faster it clears. It only progresses while the game is running, so most players leave it idling in the taskbar. See how it works for the full loop.
It's free-to-play and not pay-to-win — everything is clearable without spending. If you're brand new, start with the beginner guide; if you're picking heroes, jump to the class tier list.
First time?
Your First 10 Hours in Task Bar Hero
Follow these 4 steps and dodge 90% of the traps new players hit.
-
01
Pick your slot-1 hero
Open with Knight (steady) or Ranger (fast clear) — either works. Don’t forget to claim the free Priest DLC in the store; it’s your core slot-2 later.
Knight / Ranger -
02
Lv3 unlocks Runes, Lv4 unlocks the Cube
Hit Level 3 to unlock the Rune Tree (the core growth system), Level 4 for the Cube. Spend your skill points every level.
Core system -
03
Use the Cube to alchemize gold
Don’t rush crafting early. Switch the Cube to Alchemy, melt junk gear into gold, and pour that gold into the Rune Tree first. (Alt+click to lock keepers before Auto Fill.)
Alchemy first -
04
Save 150K for a 3rd hero slot
Hero slots don’t come from unlocking classes — they come from the Rune of Command in the tree. Save about 150K gold for a full three-hero party and efficiency really takes off.
Command Rune
Read the full beginner guide →
AFK reminder Keep the game running (even shrunk to the taskbar) for full chest drops; closing it ≠ idling — only the offline-reward rune trickles back a little XP/gold.
Core Progression System
Rune Tree
Unlocks at Level 3. It’s the growth hub for the whole game — hero slots, auto-chests, inventory, offline rewards and extra skill slots all branch from here. Pour your early alchemy gold in first; the return is highest.
Priority Command → Far North Automation → Gold/XP → Offline Rewards → Awakening
- 1Rune of CommandTop priority
Unlocks hero slots 2 & 3 — the gate to a three-hero party
- 2Far North AutomationAFK essential
Auto-opens chests; the idle loop can’t run without it
- 3Gold / XP NodesSustain
Snowballs resources to fuel later levels
- 4Offline RewardsTop-up
Trickles a little XP/gold while Steam is closed
- 5Rune of AwakeningAdvanced
Extra skill slot — especially sweet on Priest
500+ items drop while you idle
Rarity Ladder
Higher rarity = more affixes and more market value. Always compare stats before crafting — there’s no gear lock yet.
CommonBaseAlchemy fodder
UncommonFineChapter 1 upgrades
RareRareCosmetic sockets
LegendaryLegendaryBuild cores
ImmortalImmortalGlyph sockets
ArcanaArcanaInscription sockets · market hot
Beyond+Beyond+Celestial / Divine / Cosmic chase
Resource hub · 20 deep guides
Need something? Tap it.
▶
New-player roadmap
First 10 hours: Priest DLC, class picks, runes and the Cube.
★Class tier list
All 6 heroes ranked, the best party comp and DLC value.
⚔Best team comps
Free, DLC, AFK-farm and boss-push parties — and why each works.
⌘Rune tree explained
Hero slots, Far North automation, auto-chests, offline-reward priority.
⬡The Cube’s 8 functions
Alchemy, fusion, glyph/inscription sockets and unlock order.
◈Items & rarity
500+ items, the full chart from Common to Cosmic.
⚙How it works
Idle loop, offline vs AFK, automation, acts & difficulties.
$Steam market
Trade ship vs Cube gold, listing tips and the Steam token.
☠Soul stones & Act Boss
A failed run costs no soul stone; only clears spend them — mid-game boss farming.
❤Pets
Every pet stacks at once — the best pets and is the Supporter Pack worth it.
⚑Troubleshooting
Black screen, vanished window and crash fixes (Shift+F11/F12).
⏱Best farming stage
Fast clears beat hard stages — farm gold, XP and soul stones efficiently.
$DLC: worth it?
Every DLC ranked, plus is the game pay-to-win.
★Achievements
All 56 with conditions and the hardest 100% ones.
⛰Stages & Acts
3 acts, 4 difficulties — how stages scale and how to break a wall.
◆Soul stones
The four tiers, the fail-free rule, farming and market value.
⌨Codes & cheats
No codes or console — what actually works for free rewards.
⤴Level up fast
Where XP comes from and the fastest way to farm it.
$Gold guide
Make gold fast with Alchemy — and what to spend it on.
◆Sockets & gems
Decoration, Engraving and Inscription explained.
Current patch
Task Bar Hero Class Tier List
S
Knight
Best free
The best free hero — tanky and hits hard, never a wasted slot.
S
Hunter
Top DPS
Paid DLC · the highest damage ceiling and top DPS pick.
A
Priest
Must-claim
Free DLC · heals and buffs the team — claim it free.
A
Sorcerer
Free AoE
The free AoE answer; clears packs fast once geared.
B
Ranger
Early
Reliable early ranged DPS, but out-scaled later by Hunter and Sorcerer.
Slayer (paid DLC) lands at B. Owning a class ≠ a hero slot — roster spots come from the Rune Tree.
View the full ranking →
Latest
News & Patches
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06 / 03
Hotfix Market trading restored — gear can be listed for sale again
The devs fixed the listing restriction; the Steam Market is back.
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06 / 01
Fix Fixed inventory slots not matching actual item info
Also fixed a bug where alchemizing certain items gave no gold.
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05 / 29
Known issue Temporary fix for the black screen behind the game on some setups
Right-click TaskBarHero.exe → Compatibility → check "Disable fullscreen optimizations".
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05 / 27
Milestone Launched, topped the Free chart and hit 140K concurrent
By Nugem Studio × Tesseract Studio, with all 15 languages supported.
Copy homework
Three low-stress starter builds
Market AFK
Same trio + drop-rate / attack-speed gear
Same three heroes, stacked for drop rate and attack speed. Alchemize junk, craft keepers carefully — built to farm the Steam Market.
Burst pusher
Sorcerer + Ranger + Knight
The post-Chapter-2 answer: Sorcerer AoE clears packs. Level up fusion before you start merging weapons.
Hero codex · 6 classes
Meet your squad
3 free starters + 1 free DLC + 2 paid DLC. Drop in official art to replace the placeholder.
Quick answers
Task Bar Hero FAQ
Is Task Bar Hero free to play?
Yes. Task Bar Hero is free-to-play on Steam and not pay-to-win — every stage, boss and even 100% of achievements are obtainable without spending. Paid DLC just adds speed and convenience.
What is the best class in Task Bar Hero?
The Knight is the best free hero and the Hunter the best paid one. For a free team, run Knight + Sorcerer + Priest. See the class tier list and best team comps.
Does Task Bar Hero progress while offline?
Partly. The offline-reward rune trickles some XP and gold while the game is closed, but offline drops zero chests — so keep the game running (minimised to the taskbar) for real loot. More in how it works.
How do I unlock more heroes?
Extra party slots come from the Rune of Command in the rune tree — not from owning more classes. Save gold for it early; a three-hero party is where efficiency takes off.
Can you make money from Task Bar Hero?
You can earn Steam Wallet funds by selling Legendary+ gear, materials and soul stones on the Steam Market — but it's spendable only on Steam, not real cash. See the Steam market guide.
What's the best stage to farm?
The fastest stage you can clear reliably without dying — farm rate is clears per hour, not stage level. Full method in the best farming stage guide.
How many achievements does it have?
56. Most unlock just by playing; 100% comes down to a few rare grind and challenge ones — see the achievements guide.
Stuck? The #1 help topic
Window vanished or UI misaligned? Hit these two hotkeys while the game is running to save the day.
Shift+F12Reset window position
Shift+F11Reset UI scale