Complete Manarion Dungeon Guide
Verified against the live game on November 2, 2026 (dungeon upgrade formulas read from the game client, latest in-game patch notes: October 30, 2026).
Dungeons are Manarion’s side activity that never stops. Your dungeon companion Sniffles clears them in the background while you battle or gather, and every run pays out Elemental Shards, Dungeon Points and treasure. Guild dungeons add a team layer on top, with Codex, resources and Gem Tokens for the whole guild.
This guide covers the three dungeon modes, every Dungeon Point upgrade with its exact cost and effect, dungeon skips, guild dungeons and the pets that speed it all up. For how dungeons fit into the rest of the game, see the Complete Manarion Guide.
Table of Contents
- Dungeon Basics
- The Three Dungeon Modes
- Dungeon Point Upgrades
- Dungeon Skips
- Guild Dungeons
- Pets for Dungeons
- Tips for Faster Dungeons
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Guides
Dungeon Basics
What dungeons are
A dungeon is a small map of rooms. You move through it, fight what is in the way, open chests for keys to blocked paths and collect treasure from the rest. Each run you complete awards:
- Elemental Shards for permanent research boosts. Since March 21, 2026 dungeon shards are bound, so they go into your own research and cannot be traded.
- Dungeon Points for the upgrades below.
- Treasure, which can include equipment. Every dungeon treasure also contains an uncut gem for Jewelcrafting.
Dungeon sizes
| Size | Base treasure | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 20% chance | Fast Dungeon Points early on |
| Medium | 60% chance | Balanced progression |
| Large | 1 guaranteed, plus 20% for a second | The most treasure per run |
The Treasure upgrade raises these chances. The game also warns you if you start a Medium or Large manual run without any Perception, because bigger maps are hard to read with a small view.
Unlocking dungeons
Each dungeon has a Mana Dust unlock cost, and the number you can unlock is capped by your highest battle or gathering level. Higher dungeons give more shards and points. If you abandon a run, you lose its progress and treasure and have to pay the unlock cost again, so finish what you start.
The Three Dungeon Modes
Idle mode (the main one)
In idle mode Sniffles clears your unlocked dungeons on its own, even with the browser closed. You pick an idle size (Small, Medium or Large) and Sniffles works through your queue. The March 21, 2026 patch doubled idle dungeon speed, which made idle the clear default for almost everyone.
- Fully passive and runs around the clock
- Slower per run than a good manual run
- Gives half the loot of manual mode, as the price of being passive
- Can start the next dungeon automatically when one finishes (an option since August 2025)
Manual mode
Manual mode puts you in control. You move with WASD or the arrow keys (rebindable on the dungeon page), open chests and choose your route, and you can place portals to jump around the map. Manual runs are faster than idle and give full loot, so they are worth doing when you are at the screen, especially as a new Ironman player who needs every drop.
Speedrun mode
Speedrun mode is a practice mode. It costs nothing to enter, gives no treasure and does not count as a completion. Only your time is recorded, for the speedrun leaderboards by map size. It is niche, but handy for learning routes before you play manual for real.
Dungeon Point Upgrades
Dungeon Points come from every completion, and more from higher dungeons. There are six upgrades. Each level costs more than the last: level N of an upgrade costs N times its cost step, so the total for N levels is the step x N x (N + 1) / 2.
| Upgrade | Per level | Max | Cost step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idle Progress Speed | -0.833% idle run time | 100 levels (-83.33%), 5,050 points | 1 |
| Treasure | +1% treasure found | No cap | 1 |
| Dungeon Queue | More dungeons you can unlock for auto completion | No cap | 10 |
| Swiftness | -0.05s manual move delay (from 1.00s) | 10 levels (0.50s), 275 points | 5 |
| Perception | +1 view radius in manual mode | 5 levels, 75 points | 5 |
| Auto Loot | Opens chests automatically | 1 level | 50 points once |
You can save presets for your Dungeon Points and switch between them, so a common setup is one preset for idle (Idle Progress Speed and Treasure) and one for manual (Swiftness, Perception and Treasure).
Where to spend first
- Idle players (most players): Idle Progress Speed first, all the way to 100. It is the biggest gain in the game for dungeons, and the first 20 levels cost only 210 points. Then Treasure, and Dungeon Queue so Sniffles never runs dry.
- Manual players: Swiftness to 10 and Perception to 5 are cheap (350 points for both) and make every run smoother. Then Treasure.
- Everyone: Auto Loot is a 50 point quality of life buy once the essentials are done.
Push Treasure as high as you can afford over time. From our own runs, getting it to about level 67 is the point where you reliably see two treasures per run.
Dungeon Skips
The Dungeon Skip button completes dungeons instantly. You pay Sunpetal from the Farm plus the dungeon’s normal Mana Dust unlock cost, and you receive Bound Elemental Shards and Dungeon Points straight away.
- The Sunpetal cost scales up with every skip you make in a day, and the scaling resets daily.
- Higher dungeons cost more and give more.
- The game shows how many dungeons you have already skipped today before you confirm.
As an example from our account, one skip at dungeon level 2,897 cost 12 Sunpetal plus the Mana Dust unlock cost and gave shards and 1 Dungeon Point. Skip only when you have spare Sunpetal and want shards now. For most players, Sunpetal is better spent on potions.
Guild Dungeons
How they work
Guild dungeons are shared maps that the whole guild works through together. A new guild dungeon unlocks each time your guild levels up, so a level 80 guild has 80 to clear. Since March 21, 2026 the map is a compact 9×9 instead of 12×12, and since October 2025 the layout makes it more likely that you can work on several objectives at once.
The map is full of objectives: elemental knights for battlers and Iron, Wood and Fish nodes for gatherers. Each one has a health bar, and members chip away at it with their normal actions. When an objective hits zero, it is cleared and the guild gets the rewards.
How much damage you deal
- Resource nodes: your damage per action equals your level in that gathering skill. Woodcutting level 500 means 500 damage per action on a Wood node.
- Elemental knights: your damage equals your battle level if your highest mastery counters the knight’s element, and half your battle level if it does not.
For example, a player with battle level 30 and Water as their highest mastery deals 30 damage to Fire knights (Water counters Fire) and 15 to Water and Nature knights. This is why players who level both battling and gathering pull extra weight in guild dungeons.
Rewards
- Codex for the guild, which pays for guild buildings
- Elemental Shards
- Iron, Fish and Wood for guild buildings
- Gem Tokens for every member who works on objectives, spent in the Gem Shop on uncut gems
- A small personal chance at an Orb of Perfection
Once your guild clears the current dungeon before the next one unlocks, an endless objective appears at the exit. You can keep hitting it for chances at an Orb of Perfection, and your damage to it equals half your highest level.
Dungeon Difficulty
The Dungeon Difficulty guild building merges more dungeons into each guild run, combining their health and their rewards. It costs Crystallized Mana, and the October 17, 2026 patch raised its level cap.
Ironman guild dungeons
Ironman characters can only be in a guild of their own, so you clear every objective solo. That means you need a decent battle level for the knights and all three gathering skills for the nodes. It is slow but still worth it for the Codex, shards and resources for your own guild buildings. Use our Manarion Dungeon Time Calculator to see how long a solo guild dungeon takes at your levels.
Pets for Dungeons
- Dungeon Idle pet: +10% chance per tick per level of extra idle dungeon progress. It stacks with Idle Progress Speed, and the idle timer in game already includes its estimated effect.
- Group Dungeon pet: +3% Gem Tokens per level since the October 30, 2026 patch. Before that it gave group dungeon effectiveness.
If you mostly run idle dungeons, put the Dungeon Idle pet in a utility slot early. Every pet’s exact effect by level is in our Manarion Pets Chart.
Tips for Faster Dungeons
- Never let Sniffles sit idle. Keep your queue full and turn on the option to start the next dungeon automatically. The push notification for when Sniffles runs out of dungeons helps too.
- Spend Dungeon Points as you get them. Every level of Idle Progress Speed makes the next points come faster.
- Pick your size by stage. Small early for fast points, Medium in the mid game and Large once Idle Progress Speed is high.
- Play manual when you are at the screen. Full loot and faster runs, especially for new Ironman accounts.
- Join the guild dungeon. There is almost always an objective you can hit, and Gem Tokens feed Jewelcrafting.
- Skip sparingly. Sunpetal costs climb with every skip in a day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I run Manarion dungeons in idle or manual mode?
Idle for most of your progress, because it runs around the clock and became twice as fast on March 21, 2026. Manual when you are actively playing, because it is faster per run and gives full loot.
What should I upgrade first with Dungeon Points?
Idle Progress Speed. Each level cuts idle run time by 0.833%, up to 83.33% at level 100, and the first 20 levels cost only 210 points.
How much do Dungeon Point upgrades cost?
Level N costs N times the upgrade’s cost step: 1 for Idle Progress Speed and Treasure, 5 for Swiftness and Perception, 10 for Dungeon Queue. Auto Loot is a one-off 50 points.
Are dungeon Elemental Shards tradeable?
No. Since March 21, 2026 shards from dungeons and dungeon skips are bound to your account.
Is a dungeon skip worth it?
Only when you have spare Sunpetal. The cost rises with every skip in a day and resets daily, and Sunpetal is usually worth more as potions.
How does damage work in guild dungeons?
On resource nodes your damage equals your level in that gathering skill. On elemental knights it equals your battle level if your highest mastery counters the knight, and half if not.
What are Gem Tokens?
A currency earned by working on objectives in group and guild dungeons. You spend them in the Gem Shop on uncut gems for Jewelcrafting, and the Group Dungeon pet adds 3% per level.
Why do idle dungeons give half the loot?
It is the trade-off for being fully passive. Manual runs reward active play with full loot, which matters most for new Ironman players.
Related Guides
- Complete Manarion Guide for Beginners: every system in the game on one page.
- Manarion Dungeon Time Calculator: how long a solo guild dungeon takes at your levels.
- Manarion Pets Chart: the Dungeon Idle and Group Dungeon pets by level.
- Guilds in the Complete Manarion Guide: why a guild comes first.
- Ironman Mode: how Ironman changes dungeons and guilds.
- Manarion Codex Chart: what to spend your Codex on.
Found a faster dungeon setup, or did a patch change something here? Tell us in the comments and we will update the guide.
