Stick It to the Stickman Combat Guide: Moves and Promotions
A practical combat guide for reading move cycles, controlling crowds, and choosing promotions without relying on a fragile tier list.
Build around a job, not a tier label
Quick answer
A strong promotion build gives every move a job: one repeatable damage tool, one way to control or displace a crowd, and one answer for movement or recovery. The game builds a cyclic portfolio during each run, so a coherent three-part kit beats a pile of high-damage previews that never connect.
What the current build establishes
Build boundary
Moves evolve through three tiers and archetypes can access secondary weapons. The page uses those as system rules, but does not publish invented DPS rankings or pretend that a marketing tier list is frame data.
Choose the core damage answer
Start with a move you can land repeatedly in the room geometry you are facing. Martial strikes are the stable core; improvised tools and elemental evolutions are high-value branches once the base action already solves contact and spacing.
Four slots that make a build usable
| Core damage | A repeatable strike that starts or ends the exchange. |
| Control | Knockback, stun or launch to stop a crowd from trading back. |
| Movement or defense | A dodge, escape or health answer for the recovery window. |
| Burst tool | Staple gun, chainsaw or glue gun only when the limited pool will change the next exchange. |
Three starter packages
| Crowd-control package | Core strike + launch/stun + movement reset. | Use when rooms spawn several workers together. |
| Close-pressure package | Reliable melee + stagger + health support. | Use when the target is durable and the room is narrow. |
| Ranged package | Projectile core + ammunition support + slow, stagger or escape. | Use only after the support slot is available. |
| Summon package | Pressure over time + early health/control protection. | Use when splitting attention matters more than burst. |
| Burst tool rule | Keep staple guns, chainsaws or glue guns for a room-changing moment. | Return to the core after the resource is spent. |
Promotion order
- Take the first upgrade that makes your core move safer to start.Expected: You can enter the next room without spending the whole exchange on a gamble.
- Add control before adding a second damage branch.Expected: Crowds can be separated long enough for the core move to land.
- Evolve the core action when the branch adds range, stun, elemental damage or another effect you can actually trigger.Expected: The upgrade changes the move's job instead of only increasing a number.
- Buy a movement, health or utility answer before a novelty weapon if the previous room exposed a positioning problem.Expected: The next boss cannot end the run simply by pinning you.
- Spend limited workplace weapons on the dangerous exchange, then return to the core portfolio.Expected: A burst tool changes the room instead of leaving the build empty after one use.
A safe combat loop
- Open with the shortest reliable action and watch the first contact.Expected: You learn whether the room gives you range, knockback or a clean recovery window.
- Use control to separate the nearest threat before spending the long animation.Expected: The follow-up is not interrupted by a second enemy entering the same space.
- Chain the evolved damage move while the target is displaced or stunned.Expected: Your portfolio uses the bonus/effect ordering described by the current system instead of random buttons.
- Reset position after the sequence; do not spend the recovery frames beside a boss or prop.Expected: The next loop begins from a readable distance.
- Use the burst tool only when it closes the room or creates a safe exit.Expected: Limited ammunition is converted into a meaningful tempo swing.
Adapt the same package to a boss
- Clear enough supporting workers to make a lane.Expected: The boss is readable without stray hits breaking the sequence.
- Bait a committed attack instead of opening with the longest animation.Expected: The boss enters recovery before your expensive move starts.
- Use control or a movement tool to stay out of the active area.Expected: The core move lands from a safe angle rather than trading into armor.
- Take one short punish, then reset the portfolio position.Expected: You preserve the next recovery window instead of forcing a full combo.
- Spend the burst tool only when the boss cannot immediately answer.Expected: The resource ends the phase or creates a safe exit.
When to change the package
Gun builds trade space for ammunition support, heavy melee builds trade speed for stagger potential, and summon-style builds trade early power for pressure over time. Choose the alternative because the room demands it, not because a generic tier label says it is best.
What this structure does well
The three-part core makes the build legible: control buys time, the core move converts that time to damage, and movement or defense protects the recovery. It also leaves a clear slot for a secondary weapon without making the entire run depend on one cooldown.
Where it can fail
A balanced kit can still collapse if the core move has the wrong range, if every slot has a long windup, or if the player spends the limited weapon before the room becomes dangerous. When the first failure repeats, replace the weakest job rather than adding a fifth unrelated move.
Pick by room problem
Use crowd control for clustered workers, movement for hazards and bosses, and a burst weapon for a short dangerous window. The same portfolio can be viable across modes when each slot has a visible purpose.
If the build feels weak
If it fails
Stop changing every move at once. Keep the core action, add the missing control or recovery tool, then test the next room. If the build only works with perfect upgrades, take health or defensive control until the sequence survives a mistake.
No unsupported tier list
Source note
The packet supports the portfolio system, three-tier evolutions and limited workplace tools. It does not establish a universal DPS ranking, so this page publishes decision rules and observable checks instead of fabricated numeric tiers.
Quick FAQ
Should I follow a universal tier list?
No. The current evidence establishes move jobs, three-stage evolutions and limited workplace weapons, but not one permanent ranking. Start from the room problem and keep a core/control/recovery package.
When should I evolve a move?
Evolve when the secondary effect changes a real exchange: range, stun, elemental pressure, knockback or another effect you can trigger consistently. A larger number is not enough if the move still misses.
Why does a weapon feel strong once and useless later?
Workplace tools have limited durability or ammunition. Treat them as burst resources for a dangerous room, then return to the core portfolio instead of building the whole run around one use.
Combat choice planner
Start from the room symptom, choose one answer, and retry only after the expected check is visible.
Use this as a quick lookup, then confirm the selected route in the current-build details above.
How to use this route
- Start at the summary: identify the move or upgrade that solves the current spacing problem.
- Follow the sequence: test the opener, the follow-up and the expected recovery state in order.
- Use the decision points: compare the enemy pattern with the build table before swapping a move.
- Recover locally: use the matching counter or safer opener before abandoning the build.
- Respect the build boundary: recheck move behavior after balance changes.
Sources and update boundary
References for the combat moves and promotion builds route are listed below.
Re-check volatile values after a patch.
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