Getting started

1. Get the game

Paradox runs on Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit. The Download page has the one installer we publish, with its version, date, size and SHA-256, and a section on what to do if your antivirus warns you. Do not take the game from anywhere else: a file from a file host or a Discord DM is not ours.

The installer puts the game in one folder, adds a shortcut, and can be removed from Windows’ own Apps list. The first launch downloads the game files and checks them against the signed list, so it takes a minute.

2. Make an account

One account, one email, up to five characters. Create an account here or in the client; the email is confirmed with a six-digit code. Then turn on two-step verification in Account settings and put a PIN on the characters you care about: the Security page says what each does. Staff never ask for your password.

3. Pick a game mode

Your first character picks a mode when it is made, and it cannot be changed afterwards:

Mode	What it means
Normal	Trade freely, use the Trading Post, play with everyone.
Ironman	You stand alone: no trading, no picking up what others drop. Everything you own, you got yourself.
Hardcore Ironman	Ironman with one life. Die and the character becomes a normal Ironman.
Group Ironman	Ironman as a small group: trade and share with your group, with nobody else.

If you are new, Normal is the mode to learn the game in.

4. Your first hour

• Look around home. The bank, the shops, the teleport and the Trading Post are all at home. The world map (::worldmap, when it is open to players) shows every minimap icon in one place with a marker where you stand.
• Train something. Skilling makes starter money: gather and sell to other players at the Trading Post, where the price charts show what things really go for.
• Fight something your size. Bosses drop the rare items that the market runs on, but start with ordinary monsters and a Slayer task.
• Vote. Once every twelve hours per toplist, for rewards in game. The voting guide says how.
• Read the rules. They are short: Rules. The main ones: one account per person, no cheating software, no real-world trading, be decent in chat.

5. When something goes wrong

The Support page says how to reach a person. For an account or payment problem, write from the email on your account. If your antivirus quarantined the game, the Download page explains why that happens and what to do.