Tactical Monsters Rumble Arena: Your guide to monster vs. monster tips and tactics

You've played turn-based tactics games on your phone or tablet before. I don't even need to know you to know that's true. But have you ever played with a squad full of famous monsters? Tactical Monsters Rumble Arena (which we're going to call simply Tactical Monsters from here on out) wagers that you have not, and that you'll have a good time doing it.

Going from just a single orc to a roster full of heavy hitters like Dracula, Medusa and more takes some doing, but getting there is more than half the fun in this case. Soak up all of our Tactical Monsters tips and tricks for a monstrous amount of knowledge on how to play the game better.

Monsters near and far

Arguably the most important thing to get a handle on in the early stages of your Tactical Monsters journey is the difference between melee and ranged monsters, and how to use them most effectively. Melee units need to be adjacent to a target to attack it, which you can do simply by tapping on an enemy within range. However, you can also pick the specific hex in which you want your monster to end up before attacking, and it's advisable to do so.

Ranged monsters can attack from far away, but unlike some other tactics games, they can also attack adjacent enemies if need be - just remember that they open themselves up to retaliatory attacks in the process. Targets to which your ranged units will deal full damage will have a bright red hex highlight, while more distant options will have a faded red hue and only take 50 percent damage if you decide to attack them.

Bonus tip: Monsters can't move and attack separately, so if you want to attack in any given turn, you need to tap on the target, and then your monster will move to get there if necessary. Just tapping on a hex twice means you'll move without attacking, even if you end up adjacent to an enemy.

Ultimate skills to pay those bills

Kidding, of course, as there are no bills in this game. But Ultimate skills are no joke, and you should use them whenever possible to turn the tide. Every monster needs a certain amount of Energy to use his or her Ultimate, which you'll see build up in the small yellow dots beneath the monster's icon. Damaging enemies yields Energy, but dealing the final blow provides even more.

Once the Ultimate can be used, you'll see the dots below the monster's pic flash, and when it's his or her turn to act, the button for that skill will appear.

Blocking can bail you out

Tactical Monsters doesn't have a dedicated defense option, but it does have blocking, which essentially turns your tougher units into tanks to soak up damage that could destroy your more fragile monsters.

Here's how it works: If you have a unit next to a ranged enemy, you can tap the shield icon among your list of commands on the bottom of the screen. When it's the enemy's turn to attack, it will be forced to attack the blocking monster and not able to use its ranged attack on a different target. As well, blocking turns the enemy attack into a 50 percent strike as if it was being carried out at long range.

Rarer doesn't always mean better

There are four levels of rarity currently in Tactical Monsters: Common (green), Epic (blue), Monstrous (purple) and Diabolical (orange). Generally speaking, rarer monsters are more powerful, which is what you'd expect in a game like this.

Still, that doesn't mean you should automatically stack your squad with the five rarest monsters and call it a day. It's more important to have a mix - ranged and melee, as well as some monsters that do physical damage and others that deal magical damage. That will ensure you have enough flexibility to take on a wide range of enemy squads, knowing that you'll always have something that can exploit any wekaness.