Squad Composition in Somni's Engine

A squad in Somni’s Engine is not a lobby full of strangers firing Popkets. It is a set of defined roles that let the group finish machine quotas without feeding the noise meter. This guide covers how to build a squad, how many players you actually need, how to split hide and fight roles, and what to do when the lobby has six Toastens and no healer.

Read this after Getting Started, how to survive, and how to hide. Those three pages are the individual skill foundation. This page is the team design.

How many players do you need

Servers hold up to 50 players. You do not need 50. You need four to six active players who understand the loop. The ideal squad for Zone 1 through Zone 20 is:

• Two repair or Extract players (Magni or Loaffle primary)
• One loot or perk scout
• One noise watch

That is a functional three-stack. A four-to-six stack adds redundancy for when one player gets caught in a Blob chase. Anything over six players in a single zone is a noise problem - everyone sprints, everyone fires, everyone feeds the speaker.

Solo play is viable. Play Loaffle or Magni with a quiet kit. Split the map less. Accept that mid-zone Manic spawns are your problem, not a squad problem.

The First Delver Where You Can Actually Throw Hands! | Somni's Engine

The four role types

Before assigning toons, assign jobs. Every squad needs:

Repair or Extract lead - the player who finishes pumps and Ether extractors. Magni is built for this at 500 Prisms: Ferro Thorn, Momentum, Magnetic Force. Loaffle works as a healer who can also machine. Do not put Shermie on pumps. Do not put Shermie on Extract.

Scavenge or Valves lead - the player who finishes boxes and clears fog. Peanut leads with Scavenge 5. Nara at Extract 5 can also handle machines while scouting. If neither is available, any toon with Scavenge 3 or higher takes boxes.

Noise captain - the player who watches the speaker widget and calls Too noisy! before the squad hits the threshold. This role is not a toon. It is a player habit. The noise captain does not need a special kit - they need a screen and attention. They call stillness, not damage.

Heal or sustain - the player who keeps bars up during a pull. Loaffle is the default at 500 Prisms. Carie at 3000 is the dedicated tank-sustain for Eclipse pushes and engine hunts. Both are valid; the choice depends on the night’s goal.

Hide versus fight split

Every squad makes an implicit decision before Zone 1: are we hiding or fighting tonight?

Hide squad: Stealth 4 or 5 toons, noise captain with full authority, no firing in cleared rooms. Pick this for farming Prisms, finishing quotas quietly, and reaching deep zones without burning med stacks. Toons: Loaffle, Magni (machine focus), Peanut, Nara.

Fight squad: Strength 4 or 5 toons, Remmy or Sledger on the hotbar, coordinated burst on Manics. Pick this for engine hunts, Eclipse pushes, and deep-zone attempts where stealth already failed. Toons: Shermie, Toasten, Carie, Magni (melee focus).

Mixed squad: Two hide and two fight. The fight pair handles Manics while the hide pair finishes the quota. This is the hardest composition to run because the noise from the fight pair can expose the hide pair. Only run this if the noise captain is experienced.

The run checklist has a box for this decision. Check it before every run, not just the first one.

Toon assignments by role

Role	Starter options	Mid options	Late options
Repair/Extract	Magni (500)	Nara (2000, Extract 5)	Loaffle (500, healer flex)
Scavenge	Peanut (1000)	Loaffle (500)	Nara (2000)
Noise captain	Any (player habit)	Any	Any
Sustain	Loaffle (500)	Nara (2000, camera info)	Carie (3000, hug tank)
Fight tank	Toasten (1000)	Shermie (4300 + badge)	Carie (3000, hug)

Shermie is not a starter purchase. She needs 4300 Prisms and Purple Hearted. Do not assign a new player to Shermie unless they already own the badge.

Toasten is the cheaper fight alt at 1000 Prisms: Shocking Plug upgrades, electric bark. He is loud, which is fine in a fight squad and catastrophic in a hide squad. Assign him accordingly.

What to do when the lobby has no healer

If Loaffle is not available and no one picked a sustain toon:

1. Stack med supplies. Ether Pack is a full HP refill. B.L.T is 100 HP plus a buff. Bring two heals instead of one.
2. Play slower. Without a heal, the squad cannot absorb mistakes. Reduce exposure time by finishing machines faster and walking more.
3. Assign one player as the dedicated med carrier. That player does not engage Manics; they hold heals for the pull.
4. Extract earlier. Do not push Zone 20 on a no-healer run. Bank Prisms at Zone 10 and re-ready with a sustain toon.

What to do when the lobby has no quiet toon

If the squad is all fight toons and the night is a farm night:

1. Acknowledge the noise. A squad of Shermie and Toasten will not hide quietly. Adjust expectations.
2. Accept shorter zones. A noisy squad can finish Zone 5 in less time than a quiet squad finishes Zone 8. Play the noise, not the ideal.
3. Push for a quick Eclipse attempt if the squad is at floor 28 or 29. A fight squad on a known boss is more efficient than a fight squad pretending to be a hide squad.
4. Do not assign Shermie or Toasten to quiet scouting. Their kit is not built for it and the squad will suffer.

Squad communication rules

A squad that does not communicate wipes. Specific rules:

• Call machines: “Extract north, two pumps, clear.” If you do not call, the squad assumes the wing is uncleared.
• Call noise: “Too noisy, east wing” means stop sprinting and stop firing. The noise captain confirms when the speaker clears.
• Call abilities: “Firing Shermie, scatter” means the squad breaks line of sight before the explosion. “Boxing Peanut” means the room is safe for the next five seconds.
• Call health: “HP critical” means the squad rotates the med carrier to that player. It does not mean everyone rushes in.
• Call quota: “7/8, one Valves north” keeps the squad from overshooting into an uncleared wing.

The run checklist has named role boxes for exactly this. Write the names in before Zone 1.

When to swap toons mid-session

If the squad composition is wrong for the current zone:

• During intermission only. Do not swap toons inside a zone.
• Swap roles, not personalities. If Magni is on pumps but the player is tilting, swap the player to Loaffle, not the toon to Shermie.
• Discuss the swap before intermission. “Next zone is Eclipse, we need Carie” is a pre-intermission call, not a lobby argument.

FAQs

How many players do I need for Eclipse?

Eclipse has 1000 HP plus 500 per extra player. A two-stack is 1500 HP. A four-stack is 2500 HP. Bring at least two players who can survive a warehouse fight and one dedicated healer. See how to beat Eclipse.

Can a solo player finish the game?

Solo play is viable but slower. Bring a quiet kit (Loaffle or Magni), accept longer zones, and do not attempt the engine or Eclipse without squad backup. Most solo players use the wiki to plan around the absence of callouts.

What is the worst squad composition?

Six Toastens in a hide session. Four Caries with no damage. A squad where nobody watches the speaker. The common thread is role ambiguity - if the squad cannot name who finishes Extract, who watches noise, and who heals, the composition is already wrong.

Should I keep the same squad for deep zones?

Deep zones (30+) reward squads that have practiced together. If the squad works at Zone 20, keep it together through 30. The deep zones page tracks quota scaling and enemy aggression at those depths. Bring more med stacks and expect longer zones, not different roles.