- Wikily’s controls reference lists fixed panel shortcuts and a rebindable Boss Key. Esc closes panels first and opens Settings when none are open; typed text and cutscenes block the listed keys.
- For readability, inspect Menu Scale and HUD Scale separately from window width or resolution. Wikily reports both from 0.5 to 1.5, alongside separate master, music and SFX volume sliders.
Panel shortcuts to learn first
| Key | Action | Practical use |
|---|---|---|
| I | Character & Inventory | Compare gear and inspect bag/mail |
| T | Talents, including Life Skills and Paragon | Use the correct tab for the type of points or gold purchase |
| M | Map | Choose a node; combat does not make the progression choice |
| S | Abilities | Inspect available attacks and their tooltips |
| J | Minions | Compare summoned companion and carriage support |
| C | Combat Settings | Adjust potion behavior and inspect Log |
| R | Return to Town | Observe the reported channel instead of repeatedly tapping |
| Space | Pick up ground loot | Inspect the resulting collection rather than assuming it persists |
| L | Toggle item lock under the pointer | Protect a specific inventory, equipment or storage item |
| Esc | Close open panels; otherwise Settings | Close a layer before expecting Settings |
| Alt+B | Boss Key | Hide/mute; press again to restore |
Evidence: Controls and Settings
These are source-reported retail controls, not a recorded key test. Wikily says the panel keys cannot be changed and no listed key works while typing in a text field or during a cutscene. If a letter appears in the name field instead of opening a menu, finish or leave text entry before interpreting it as a broken shortcut. The Boss Key is the separate rebindable control.
Evidence: Controls and Settings
Use pointer actions deliberately
Hover an item to read its comparison and put the pointer over the actual item before pressing L. Wikily says locking works in inventory, equipment and storage. Official 0.1.13 introduced item Lock and equipment stat-difference comparisons. Confirm the lock marker before a bulk cleanup instead of assuming a shortcut protected whichever item you remembered.
Evidence: Controls and Settings · [0.1.13] New Talents, Online Mode, Leaderboard and Anti-cheat!
Keep drag operations inside clearly intended destinations. ApolloTrail warns that dragging an item out of inventory destroys it. A right menu action, an NPC sale and a drag outside the bag are different operations. The official eight-item buyback applies to NPC sales; it is not a general undo for input experiments. Test benign menu actions first when learning a new layout or controller mapping.
Evidence: Deskrawl Beginner Guide: First Hours, Loot Filter, Auto-Sell and Window Setup · [Patch 0.1.9] - Resizable/Draggable Window, Cloud Save, Buybacks and More
Official h changes the talent-panel mouse wheel to vertical scrolling rather than zoom. An early video demonstrating wheel zoom may therefore be obsolete. Read the panel and version before assuming every scroll gesture changes scale. For Deck or Linux where clicking works but dragging fails, follow the dedicated Proton-input guide; remapping a panel key does not fix the application’s drag handling.
Evidence: [Patch 1.0.0h] Hunter/Monk Buffs and other improvements
Adjust readability without moving the whole game
| Setting | Reported choices | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Menu Scale | 0.5–1.5; default 1 | Change menu presentation |
| HUD Scale | 0.5–1.5; default 1 | Change HUD presentation separately |
| Brightness | −0.6 to 0.6; default 0 | Adjust scene brightness |
| Quality | High, Medium, Extremely Low | A rendering-quality choice |
| Frame Rate | 60 or Unlimited | A rendering limit, not a gameplay automation setting |
| Language | Multiple supported languages | Change menu/tooltips to a language you can read |
Evidence: Controls and Settings
Start with the difficult text
Identify whether the problem is a menu, HUD number, dark scene or the whole strip. That determines which control to inspect.
Change one scale at a time
Try Menu Scale for a menu, then reopen the same panel. Try HUD Scale separately for the persistent display. Keep the old value so you can return to it.
Check complete panels
Inspect buttons, long tooltips and confirmations after scaling. Bigger text is useful only if the required action stays reachable.
Compare language and numbers
Read a known tooltip after changing language. Official h fixes numbers/percentages shown as squares in some languages and updates the Life Skills summary immediately on language change.
Reset the applicable scope if necessary
Use the UI-layout reset for misplaced panels before a broad defaults reset. Exact button labels differ between older announcements and the newer Settings reference.
Evidence: Controls and Settings · [Patch 1.0.0h] Hunter/Monk Buffs and other improvements · [0.1.13] New Talents, Online Mode, Leaderboard and Anti-cheat!
Menu/HUD scale controls are not evidence of a dedicated font selector, color-blind mode, screen-reader support or fully remappable keyboard controls. Those features were not established by the reviewed source. Use the available scale and language settings without presenting an unverified accessibility option as a menu you can select. Window width, resolution and fullscreen have their own placement article.
Set sound for a background session
Wikily lists Master Volume, Music Volume and SFX Volume as separate sliders, and Play Audio in Background as an on/off setting with on as the reported default. Decide whether you want all sound lower or only one category. After the change, compare the same audible event so that silence from an idle moment is not mistaken for a successful volume test.
Evidence: Controls and Settings
The Boss Key has separate hide-and-mute behavior in the controls reference. Its return action restores the window, while ordinary background-audio preference governs another circumstance. If audio appears missing after a hide test, inspect the binding and relevant volume setting before changing a combat or save option. The official taskbar-icon behavior remains separate from sound.
Evidence: Controls and Settings · [Patch 0.1.9] - Resizable/Draggable Window, Cloud Save, Buybacks and More
When a key does not do what you expect
| Symptom | First check | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| I/T/M does nothing | Text field or cutscene active | Leave that context and try one harmless panel |
| Esc does not open Settings | A panel remains open | Close the active panel first |
| L locks the wrong item | Pointer position | Hover the intended slot and inspect its marker |
| R return is interrupted | Repeated press, death or area change | Observe a single reported three-second channel |
| Alt+B conflicts with another app | Current Boss Key binding | Rebind and test hide/return |
| Clicks reach the desktop instead | Platform/runtime input | Use the Proton diagnostic; do not delete a save |
| Talent wheel behaves differently from an old video | h scrolling change | Use the present panel gesture |
Evidence: Controls and Settings · Combat, Death and Potions · [Patch 1.0.0h] Hunter/Monk Buffs and other improvements
Keep a small record of a reproducible input failure: active panel, focus, whether text entry was selected, runtime/platform, game version and the exact key or pointer action. “Esc closed inventory but did not open Settings until the next press” is a different observation from “Settings cannot be opened.” This context helps distinguish an expected layered action from a broken binding.
Q: Can I rebind every panel key?
Wikily reports only the Boss Key as rebindable. This guide does not invent custom I/T/M assignments.
Q: How do I make menu text easier to read?
Inspect Menu Scale for menus and HUD Scale for the persistent display. The reported range is 0.5–1.5; verify the result and reachable controls in your client.
Q: Is there a confirmed font-size slider?
The source documents Menu/HUD Scale, not a dedicated font-size selector. Those are different claims.
Q: Why does Esc need another press?
The reported behavior closes open panels first, and opens Settings with none open.
Q: Does Space bypass carriage filters or guarantee saved loot?
The source lists a pickup action, but does not establish that exception or a saved-state guarantee. Inspect the collection and storage result.
Evidence: Controls and Settings · Controls and Settings
Sources and scope
Source-reviewed guide for Deskrawl: Idle ARPG retail app 4623570. Historical demo/beta announcements are labeled by version; secondary mechanics and individual player reports retain attribution. Source review expanded the article; no game session, Steam Deck or Linux hardware test was performed. Current implementation and identified gaps still require gameplay confirmation.
- Review status
- verified
- Game version
- Retail identity: Steam app 4623570. Official news captured through 1.0.0i; any earlier 0.1.x announcement is historical, not a current installed-version observation.
- Checked
- Method
- Bounded first-release dossier review, including source roles, preserved conflicts and explicit limits. Recomputed retained source hashes, exact excerpts and line ranges and signed reader content. No installed-client or live-server verification.
- Controls and Settings secondary
Wikily report of panel shortcuts, item locking, text-field/cutscene exclusion and Boss Key hide/mute/rebind behavior. Not reproduced in the client.
Checked
- Controls and Settings secondary
Wikily report of volume, language, fullscreen-dependent controls, brightness, Menu/HUD Scale and panel/reset buttons. Names differ from older announcement labels; no current UI test.
Checked
- Combat, Death and Potions secondary
Wikily report of revive timer/reduction, entry-item rules, Auto Rerun default/timing and Return to Town channel/cancellation. Source-reported mechanics; no gameplay verification.
Checked
- Deskrawl Beginner Guide: First Hours, Loot Filter, Auto-Sell and Window Setup secondary
Source text reviewed for first-session node repetition, Life Skills prices, potion and carriage settings, and window controls. The guide scopes itself through 1.0.0h; player reports remain reports, not reproduced gameplay.
Checked
- [Patch 0.1.9] - Resizable/Draggable Window, Cloud Save, Buybacks and More first-party
Official June 16 announcement of width/drag, Cloud Save, auto revive, eight-item NPC buybacks, Alt+B and persistent taskbar icon; historical intended behavior.
Checked
- [0.1.13] New Talents, Online Mode, Leaderboard and Anti-cheat! first-party
Official June 27 introduction of online creation, legacy offline conversion, multiple save slots, Combat Settings, item Lock and Reset UI only. Its Treant leaderboard rules belong to that test build.
Checked
- [Patch 1.0.0h] Hunter/Monk Buffs and other improvements first-party
Official 1.0.0h Hunter, Monk and Sorcerer changes, own-cast counting, Frost Dragon chest chance, minion capacity, online license rule and talent scrolling.
Checked