Into The Hive beginner guide: expedition stages and preparation

Before entering the caves, choose your weapons and bring the tools you need. Into The Hive supports solo expeditions or groups of up to four players total, with each run following this basic loop:

1. Prepare at base: Set up your weapons, tools and loadout.
2. Explore and complete the mission: Navigate randomly generated caves and fight through insect swarms while working toward your objective.
3. Return to extraction: After completing the mission, make the run back to extraction.
4. Prepare for another expedition: Back at base, customize equipment with Augments and adjust your loadout for the next run.

What to prepare before entering the caves

• Choose what to bring: Start with your weapon and tool choices. Prepare for both fighting insects and using equipment during the expedition. When reviewing your loadout, consider the caves' destructible terrain and, if you have a turret available, its ability to cover your squad.

• If you are considering new gear: Open Equipment in the lobby, choose the equipment category you want, then compare the available options within it before buying. Armory purchases in this menu use Equipment Tokens. Buying equipment is a separate decision from preparing the gear you already have; the expedition loop begins with choosing what to bring.

• Between expeditions at base: You can also customize equipment with Augments. Use that preparation period to review your setup before heading into another cave.

Moving through the caves and handling swarms

Expeditions take place in randomly generated caves, so exploration is part of reaching your mission objective. Destructible terrain gives you another way to move through the environment: where a wall can be destroyed, breaking through it can open a route. Keep this option in mind as you explore rather than treating every wall as a fixed boundary.

When a swarm closes in, holding your ground is one suggested response. If you have a turret available, deploying it can provide cover for your squad. Wall-breaking, turret deployment and holding a position serve different purposes: opening a route changes where you can go, while a turret supports the squad during combat.

Keep an eye on the ceiling as you explore, too. You can switch between first-person and third-person views, giving you a choice of perspective while moving and fighting through the caves.

Finish the objective, then return to extraction

Fighting insects happens alongside the mission itself. Mission activities include destroying alien insect nests and protecting mining equipment, so the work required can involve attacking a target or defending equipment. These are examples of the objectives you may encounter, rather than a checklist for every expedition.

Completing the mission is followed by the return to extraction. Keep that final journey in mind when thinking about the expedition: reaching and finishing the objective still leaves the run back. Once you are back at base, equipment customization and loadout preparation lead into the next expedition.