Guide

Playing

Start the game

Open launcher.exe in your installed ElDewrito folder and select Play. You can also run eldorado.exe directly to start the installed game without opening the launcher. Use the launcher when you want to check for updates.

On Linux or macOS, launch from the shortcut you configured during Linux installation or macOS installation.

Set up your controls, picture and sound

  1. Open Settings from the main menu.
  2. On Controls, set Control Method to Keyboard or Gamepad. Select Edit beside it to change keyboard bindings or the controller layout. Adjust sensitivity and inversion to suit you.
  3. On Video, choose your Screen Resolution, whether to use Windowed Mode, and a comfortable Field of View. Start with settings your machine can run consistently rather than enabling every visual option at once.
  4. On Sound, set the game and music volumes. The VOIP section contains Voice Chat, Push To Talk, incoming volume and microphone volume. If you use push-to-talk with a keyboard, check the Voice Chat action in the key-binding editor.
  5. Select Apply to save changes, then close Settings. Some settings require a restart. Reset restores defaults.

If menus do not draw correctly, the picture is extremely bright, or the game runs poorly, see Troubleshooting.

Choose your name and appearance

From the main menu, open Customization. The standard screen has three tabs:

  • Armory: choose your Player Name, Service Tag, Race, character parts, and Gender. Your service tag can contain three or four letters or numbers, displayed in uppercase. The available character parts depend on your selected race (which may in turn depend on your enabled mod). The gender option changes the sounds your character makes when they're hit or die, it isn't displayed to other players.
  • Colors: change your armor or body colors. Different characters have different colorable regions; team games can override your personal colors.
  • Emblem: choose your emblem and nameplate appearance. The scoreboard uses team colors during a team game.

Close Customization when you are finished to save your settings.

Using appearances supplied by a mod

A mod can supply characters or armor that are not part of the base game. Open Mod Browser at the bottom of Customization to select a main-menu mod, then configure your appearance. You can also open Mod Browser with F9 at the main menu or through Settings.

Your modded appearance is used in servers or lobbies running that mod. Choosing a mod for the main menu changes what you can preview and configure; hosts select their game's mod separately. See Custom content for downloading, selecting and managing mods.

Find a server

Open Server Browser in the game. For your first match, choose a server with players and an available slot. Server names often describe their rules, maps or mod packs.

  • Players shows the current count and capacity. Pick a server with an available slot.
  • Ping shows the connection's latency. Lower is generally better.
  • Map, Gametype and Variant describe the game being offered. A custom variant can have very different rules from ordinary Slayer.
  • Version shows the server's game version. Only servers for your current game version are shown, so this is somewhat redundant.

Select a server to join. If a server fills up or goes offline before you connect, return to the browser and choose another.

Checking before you launch

This site's Server Browser shows live server details and an activity chart, so you can find a populated game before opening ElDewrito. Choose Copy connect command, press F1 in ElDewrito to open the console, paste the command, and press Enter. The secondary Launch game link requires Pauwlo's optional Windows link handler, installed separately.

Join a modded game

You do not need to collect every server's mods in advance. ElDewrito automatically downloads any content required for a modded server.

  1. When the download prompt appears, review the content and use Details if you want more information.
  2. Select Download if you want to continue, or Cancel if you do not want that content.
  3. Let the download progress. A first join to a modded server will take longer while the content downloads.
  4. Follow the completion prompt and let the game finish joining and loading the map. If an error appears, note its exact text and follow Troubleshooting.

Hosts choose their server's content and rules. Check the description and any content warnings to find a game you want to play.

Play with the community

If the browser is quiet, wait for a predictable spike using the browser's activity chart, or ask in the community LFG channel. In the official Discord server, you can opt-in to receiving a notification when people are looking for a game.

Read the host's rules, and ask in the chat if you don't understand a gametype. To mute someone or adjust their voice volume, double-press Tab to open the Expanded Scoreboard and right-click their name. This menu also includes Report and hosts have additional moderation controls.

For a game with friends on your own terms, continue to Hosting. For maps, custom modes and mod packs, visit Custom content.