Tag: Tips & tricks »

Terra Battle is a strategy-based puzzle RPG that is accessible and addictive, yet multi-faceted and challenging, so take heed of these hints and tips before you and your squad head into dangerous, uncharted territory.

On the Battlefield

Terra Battle's fighting system is based on a form of Rock Paper Scissors, in which certain weapon types can outperform others: swords have the advantage over bows, bows can dominate spears, and spears can best swords. Remembering this cycle is key in deciding which squad member to use in the next attack. The staff simply highlights a mage character with healing attributes but no attacking ability.

There is a time limit in which each movement must be completed, so try to plan a movement in advance - particularly if it involves displacing another tile into a better position for chain support or a direct attack. If you're smart about it, pre-planning a route and approaching multiple characters from certain angles can set up multiple chain attacks were before there was none.

Cars: Fast as Lightning is a cute and fun app that combines racing and town-building with the charisma and marketability of Disney Pixar's Cars franchise. It's a friendly game, but that doesn't mean you can't use a few tips to help you make Radiator Springs shine again.

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Starting Out

• Complete quests to earn rewards - Quests queue up on the left side of the screen when you're not racing. Quests offer rewards like experience and coins, and they're a good way to get back on track if you've been meandering from task to task.
• Pay attention to the difficulty meter before you race - Each car you engage in a race has a difficulty measuring from one to four. Make sure to race within your rank if you don't want to waste gas on a loss.
• Place attractions on the track to earn more experience with races - Don't neglect putting attractions on race tracks. They earn you a bit of extra experience with every race, plus they make the joint look classy.

The Bot Squad: Puzzle Battles offers nearly 200 stages based on its varied approach to tower defense. That’s pretty great, but it also means there are lots of strategies to master and the amount of options can be a little daunting. Here are some tips on how to save Dynamo City.

The Best Defense

The Bot Squad is separated into Defensive stages and Offensive stages. Defensive stages play more like typical tower defense games, and many of the same strategies apply, but they still have their own quirks.

• To start, use standard Smacker and Blaster tower bots to weaken enemies that cross your paths. Always pay attention to the range of your units and try to cover as much ground as possible.

• Sometimes it’s good to be redundant and have multiple towers clustered in the same area to kill enemies faster. It depends on the stakes.

• Stop enemies in their tracks with Stoppabots like Blockers and Grabbers. Unlike towers though, these obstacles can be destroyed. They can also only be placed on certain terrain so be smart with them.

• Certain levels provide a limited number of towers to take down a limited number of enemies. However, other stages have an unlimited supply of towers that spawn at set intervals. Enemies come fast and furious in these levels though, usually in big groups, so quickly put your extra power to use.

• If a level already has a few towers, pick them up and rearrange them to forge a better defense.

The Nightmare Cooperative is a distinctive and challenging puzzler that drops players right in the thick of things and forces them to adapt. We've prepared a few tips and hints to prepare you for the countless trips you'll be taking through the dungeons.

Top of the Class

Utilizing and familiarizing yourself with the perks of the class system is an extremely important part of The Nightmare Cooperative, as it can dictate who is worth saving and who is worth leaving behind. Below is a list by order of personal preference, starting with the most valued member of my team.

• The Ninja uses his stealth to slip past enemies unnoticed, covering a great distance in one bound. Being able to traverse the entire board can mean the Ninja has often been the only one in my team to escape a level unscathed, making him my greatest asset. Pick him up.

• The Priest has the power to fully heal the closest member of his team, so the selfless sap can sacrifice his own well-being in the hope that a teammate will live on, which when having to fight your way out is often a lifesaver (literally).

• The Warrior is the most prolific fighter, as you would hope, and can dish out a double-dose of pain per attack - which is particularly useful when being stalked by an enemy or backed into a corner. However, it does mean having to get close to an enemy and risk taking a hit, so try to draw them closer beforehand.

• The Archer is particularly useful for dispatching enemies at range (though not over over walls), as long as they are directly in-line with her. Particularly useful when wanting to clear a path from a safe position.

• The Astral Walker has the ability to walk through walls (though not through enemies). However, use up his last move before passing all of the way through one and suffer instant death. Not a good way to go.

• The Barbarian knocks enemies flying in the opposite direction with his special attack. Think of him like a human battering ram, but with awesome mutton chops.

• The Mage can also attack at range, though only diagonally, which is a slightly more difficult attacking position to take up.

Survival Tips

• Don't open chests if possible, since it multiplies the amount of enemies on the map. Collect scattered gold or go for the chest with the lowest number on top, representing the amount of enemies it spawns.

• If you are a bit of a hoarder, try sending the last member back before they exit the level, if the path is safe enough. Get the others through first and leave the one remaining lonesome soul to pilfer gold, potions and health vats for the team.

• When an enemy shell appears - whether it's due to the opening of a chest or reaching the step counter limit - use allies with long-range attacks to take them out in one hit.

• Most enemies can only attack on their second move (i.e. if you move alongside them, they cannot attack straight away), so move away from them once they are in striking distance. For enemies that like to follow you around, attacking is the best way out, so hit them from a safe distance with the Archer/Mage and lure them into striking range where you can get the first strike. Either way, always be careful not to put the others in jeopardy in the process, since when one team member moves, all members move. And no one wants a quick dip in the acid pit.

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In the end, The Nightmare Cooperative is a game of sacrifices. Sacrificing a heart, gold, or even a teammate's life for the chance to escape is often a necessity. There's no "I" in team, but there's one in "winner". Think about that.

The Ensign is the prequel to the smash-hit A Dark Room by Amir Rajan. The game starts with the player’s starship crashing onto a hostile planet. The commanding officer gives up hope, and the player takes charge to refuel the ship so that the crew can make their escape. Using only a meagre amount of supplies you will have to journey through an unknown world with only your compass and wits to guide you.

The Ensign is actually a spin on an old genre of games that saw its heyday in the late-80s and early-90s called “roguelike adventures.” Roguelikes are known for their high difficulty and being unforgiving to any mistakes. Many of them feature permanent death as well, forcing the player to start over entirely from the beginning if they die. The Ensign can be very unforgiving, and players will need to be aware of the limitations of the in-game character if they hope to make it to the end.

These tips will help you face the harsh world of The Ensign. The best advice however, is to not get discouraged. This game, unlike many mobile games, is a very harsh and unforgiving one. It cannot be said to be unfair, though.

Qube Kingdom is a tower defense game from DeNA. You rally your troops - magicians, archers, knights, barbarians, and others - and fight against an evil menace looking to dominate your kingdom of tiny squares.

Planning a war isn't easy, so here are a few tips to help you take apart your enemies.

Starting Out

• Remember: some fighters have elemental affinities. Certain classes of Questors have an elemental type, which is indicated by a symbol on their profile. There are three affinities: Magic, Metal, and Nature. Magic bests Metal, Metal bests Nature, and Nature bests Magic. Enemies likewise take and deal more damage according to their affinities; if a particular enemy has an affinity, you'll see a small icon pop-up beside them as they take damage. Remember, neutral Questors like knights and archers can't deal element-based damage - but neither are they penalized by elemental attacks.

• Make friends and accept friend requests for powerful allies. The "qlubhouse" (the blue-and-white tent beside your "barraqs") is where you can recruit allies, including Facebook friends that are already playing the game. Allies can be a valuable way to get automatic access to powerful Questors, and they're also the best way to get social qubes. Social qubes can be used to recruit new Questors, and you get a few every time you complete a battle with the aid of another player's Questor. If you register a Questor as a friend, you get more social qubes every time they help out.

To Arms!

• Take advantage of each battle's slow start to learn the lay of the land. Enemy waves intensify the longer a battle goes on. Take advantage of slow early waves by getting a feel for the layout. Where are your Questors most effective? What kind of enemies are being thrown at you? Are there any quobelisk traps you can trigger to your advantage?

• Place long-range attackers first. Long-range attackers are out of harm's way - at least until other archers and/or magic users come onto the field. Enemy waves usually start with melee attackers, so soften things up a bit by putting long-range attackers onto the battlefield.

• Don't activate red quobelisks! Quobelisks - block-shaped switches on the battlefield - are triggered when a certain number of enemies are killed nearby. Red quobelisks will damage your party members if they're activated, so keep your Questors as far from them as possible.

• Do take advantage of other quobelisks, however. Don't steer away from quobelisks of other colors, though; they're very beneficial. For instance, blue quobelisks activate roadblocks that re-route your enemies or block their path. Yellow quobelisks activate a fire trap that can clear a crowd of enemies in a second.

• Upgrade your Questors during battle, but don't go crazy too early. You can spend cubes to upgrade your Questors during a fight. However, during the early stages of a battle you should spend your resources on covering the field with Questors. Once everyone is placed you can focus on upgrades to your fighters' hit points and attack strength.

Surviving the Onslaught

• Upgrade your Questors as soon as you have the resources to do so. The blue qubes you earn after successful battles lets you permanently make your Questors stronger. Access their profiles while they're camping, and select "upgrade."

• Check the award boards for valuable rewards. Woo hoo! Free stuff! Earning achievements unlocks rare qubes and other rewards.  Make sure to visit the bulletin board from time to time. They're just south of your barraqs. Unclaimed rewards vanish after a few days, so don't forget about them.

• Stuck? Do some level grinding. Even if you lack elite qubes to summon rarer, more powerful Questors, your common Questors can still be made more powerful by upgrading them. Doing so requires blue qubes, which can be won in battle. If you're having trouble with a level, re-visit old levels and grind for blue qubes.

Enjoying the delights of Godus but could do with a helping hand? We're here to give you some simple tips and tricks to get you started and on your way to being a great God.

You Gotta Believe

• There's going to be a lot of sculpting ahead of you, especially early on. Try to plan ahead. Belief fades fast and you don't want to run out midway through creating a flatter plain ready for developing on. Don't just clear land for the sake of it. Think it through before you begin.

• The same goes for building structures. You want to keep people together for maximum efficiency and don't forget that early on, only nearby workers can get to work on building a new settlement. Later on, you'll be able to entice them further afield but you're quite restricted at the start.

• Make sure there's room to place trees near the settlements. More belief is gained that way, which is always a good thing.

• Remove rocks that are nearby such dwellings, as they'll decrease your belief gains.

• Removing rocks, as well as surplus trees, is also handy because it provides you with some easy belief. Do it. Often.

• Belief isn't used up if you're sculpting land from beneath the sea so if you're desperate for space and low on belief, drag out the beaches.

• In other games, collecting all that belief would be irritatingly tedious, but Godus simplifies matters. You can just hold a finger down and drag it around to collect belief up en masse.

• A similar process can be used to 'leash' followers but you want to use that ability sparingly as it uses up belief.

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day

• Keep building and steadily expanding. The more followers the better as it'll unlock new cards and generally provide the whole point of the game. It's a slow process, but worth it.

• Make room for farms and mines to be near settlements. You need plenty of both and clustering will soon be essential to your success.

• Work towards the beacons scattered around the land. They're Godus's way of encouraging you to follow a certain path but they're pretty handy for unlocking new areas.

• When you're worried about your followers' and their eating habits, cast Rain of Purity on Crop Fields. Wheat grows much quicker this way than waiting it out. It can make all the difference.

• Unlock cards as quickly as possible but don't necessarily use them all. Some are more hassle than they're worth so be wise with what you upgrade via stickers.

• Speaking of stickers, these can be gained through completing Journeys but also through discovering treasure chests littered around the world. Look out for differences in the land, such as a sparkly section, and start digging to retrieve anything from diamonds to stickers.

All in the Journey

• Regualarly going on Journeys is essential to progression, as well as having more fun with Godus. Do so frequently.

• When you first start a Journey, plan what you're going to do carefully. The time limits are often tight, especially when you're fighting with poor path-finding. Those followers really aren't very bright at all.

• Don't bother sending more followers than you need to. It'll just be a waste if you fail the level.

• Treat the followers like Lemmings. They're dimwitted and really need to be dealt with like mindless drones. Because that's exactly what they are.

• Because of that, make sure you block paths to stop them from either going the wrong way or walking into danger. The Journeys are often simple enough. The tricky part is in keeping those followers safe from their own stupidity.

• You'll be infuriated at times, either by your followers' inability to think or just the slow pace of the game. Be a kind God. Using negative God powers only tends to cause trouble in the long term and you want to keep your people happy through any means necessary.

• Remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. It's going to take a while to get in your stride and truly see significant improvements. Accept it and enjoy.

While we may have to wait a few years before the next 'Ice Age' movie, Ice Age Adventures lets fans pass the time with Sid, Manny, and Diego on the go. The great thaw has caused the world to crack, leaving friends stranded and the community in disarray. Here are some tips for saving everybody and making the village as good as new. Who else is going to rescue Ray Romano?

The Meltdown

You’ll spend most of your time exploring the different islands for treasures and members of the village.

You’ll need to clear paths to get around. As your party expands, you’ll be able to clear more obstacles. Sid cuts trees, Manny tramples rocks, and Diego fights off enemy pirates. However, this also consumes your berry reserves faster.

Clearing paths gives you tons of shells - another currency for store. Finding clams, particularly golden clams, is also a great way to gain resources.

A few times a day you can enter the various caves on the islands. They provide everything from extremely valuable golden acorns to chances to rescue even more lost baby animals.

Rescuing a member of the herd typically involves playing a short mini-game like sledding downhill or solving a match-3 puzzle. Take them seriously though, because failure leads to a lengthy wait before the next chance to try again.

To unlock more parts of the map, you’ll occasionally have to gather items like vines and torches for friendly characters. Caves and shells are usually the best places to look. You’ll have to complete most of each island’s missions before moving onto the next one.

You can always go back to past islands to find things you may have missed or enter caves again for the chance to win more prizes.

Continue reading Ice Age Adventures - Tips, Tricks, and Strategies for Keeping it Cool »

When it comes to suburban life simulations, The Sims pretty much wrote the book. In The Sims Freeplay, we get to see a mobile-centric version of the game that is equal parts enjoyable and complex. Here are a few tips to get folks going on the natural path to building a happy, healthy cyber-community.

Currency

The first thing one probably wants to understand is the currency system. There are several different tenders that can be used to make purchases or otherwise enhance the life of your Sims. Within the game, the main form of currency is referred to - naturally - as "Simoleons." Simoleons are probably most like real-life money, and can be earned by having Sims do things like going to work. Established properties can garner Simoleons at intervals, so it pays to "invest" and upgrade these properties. There are a few easter egg Simoleon earning activities as well, like pets digging for them.

Another currency type is the "Social Point." This can be earned in neighboring towns by doing tasks such as practicing fire fighting. This encourages interaction with other players, as it's easier to get fellow players to invest in an item necessary to get Social Points. Social Points can be spent on items in the game store.

"Lifestyle Points" can be gained by completing quests, increasing the town's value, leveling-up, or watching and viewing special offers. They can also be purchased with real money. Lifestyle Points can be used to purchase items and speed up tasks.

The game also incorporates experience points, which allow characters to level-up and have access to more content.

One of the best ways to accumulate cash is to work. Consistently. On that note, getting promoted helps earn more faster. Building in moderation also helps maximize reserves. Happy Sims are better able to earn spendables, so keeping Sims inspired by ensuring their needs are met.

Even the simple act of gardening also leads to supplemental game cash. Several "natural" tasks like checking mail can net small amounts that add up.

Careers

There are quite a few professions to choose from, ranging from Real Estate Agent to politician, and a Sim's career can be enhanced by "practicing" the job. Practicing makes the Sim better, and helps them get promoted. Sims can max out in careers, so the progress is not limitless.

Hobbies

Hobbies are great tools for gaining experience and limited content. The availability of hobbies to a specific character are generally restricted based on what one has unlocked and the age of a character. In other words, after the age requirement is met, one might have to do achieve/build something to be able to perform that hobby.

The biggest overall tip is to exhibit patience. The game runs in real-time, so there is always the temptation to use Lifestyle Points to expedite the action. Those Lifestyle Points could probably be best used elsewhere. Along those same lines, rushing to become a real estate mogul sounds logical - in the real world. In FreePlay, restraint is sometimes a good thing.

The world of Battleheart Legacy is fun and deep; full of wizards, warriors, and witches. Here are some tips and tactics to help you get the most enjoyment out of this great game.

Explore Everything!

The people of the Battleheart Legacy world, as in so many other RPGs, have never heard of home invasion and thus have never invested in locks for their doors. Feel free to explore each building you come to as it may hold valuable gold and items that no one will seem to miss. Many areas will often also have a treasure chest tucked away for intrepid explorers to find. As you move around the world map, you will come across “Encounters”. These side missions can be anything from a random battle to get you XP and loot, to meeting an important NPC who might just be a trainer in your future.

Who am I?

As you play Battleheart Legacy, you will choose how your character levels-up and what equipment they will wield, but just as importantly, you will also decide how you interact with people. You can be either pleasant or snarky but be warned: NPCs have feelings too, and some of them may just turn on you if you are being a jerk.

Advancement

When you gain enough experience to level-up, refrain from doing so immediately. Wait until you can return to the trainers at the Academy in Eston - one of the starting areas and a hub where most trainers will appear. Each level of a class requires different stat minimums to be met, so waiting to invest your stat points until you know what you need will save you some grief.

In addition to the starting classes available at the beginning of the game, there are some classes that you will have to explore to find - like the Ninja, Bard, Necromancer, and Monk. It is generally easier to stick to one or two classes your first time around so that you're not spreading your valuable stat points too thin. Some classes have good synergistic qualities, like Knight and Paladin working well together, as they both require strength and endurance. Mixing and matching class abilities can be very satisfying, fun, and downright powerful (barbarian whirlwind + paladin 'heal % of damage done' powers are devastating when combined). Picking combinations that make sense is the key to developing an effective character.

Each level in a class gives you access to a new skill - either passive or active. These can be equipped and switched out whenever you are not in combat. You can always check out your character's stats, skills, and equipment by touching their character portrait. On the stats tab, there is some extra info like dodge chance and speed if you scroll down on the stats section.

Don't underestimate the passives. Passive skills can either give you a bump where you need it (defense, damage, etc), or completely change your tactics (equip giant weapons, deal extra damage at low HP). Experiment and plan accordingly.

Never Fear

You have five potions at your disposal, and while that might not seem like a lot, they replenish every time you leave an area and each one heals you completely. If you are getting low on health, don't be afraid to pop a potion when you need it. If you are still having trouble, you can lower the difficulty setting and get unlimited potions. With that in mind, try not to die too often. You get penalized a percent of your gold each time you do.

Fight Smart

Standing your ground and letting monsters beat on you is an easy way to lose fast. Most monsters can be tricked into mindlessly following you around, allowing you the time you need to recharge your special attacks while avoiding damage. Feel free to use your cooldown abilities and then run around a rock to break line-of-sight to save yourself from those pesky archers.

Enemies with big attacks will often telegraph their moves either with power-up animations or ground effects, which show you where their attack will land. Learning your foes' patterns is invaluable in helping avoid damage, thus keeping you alive long enough to kill the monsters and grab their treasure.

If you find yourself out of potions and don't think you can survive the next big fight, you can always retreat. Monsters do not respawn until you leave a dungeon, so you can always backtrack and leave the dungeon. Of course, the monsters will be back when you return, but you will get to keep whatever experience and loot you accumulated, and your potions will be automatically refilled.

Spend that Gold

You can upgrade your items pretty quickly and there is no real reason to hang onto equipment you have outgrown or cannot use. Gear tends to accumulate, and if you are going a melee route for example, you can probably safely sell that expensive but useless mage's armor you picked up. Also, hitting harder is great, but don't underestimate the value of defensive bonuses - monsters that hit like trucks can be made much easier to deal with by increasing your armor a few points.

As mentioned above, when you die, you lose a percentage of your gold. It is well worth your time to invest it in upgrades as soon as you can. By upgrading your gear and getting new skills, you have the added benefit of not really losing much when you die. Of course, you still need to save for that next big skill upgrade, but your shiny new armor will likely help you live long enough to do that, too.

Things have changed in Berk, the fantasy Viking village of DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon series. Dragons and Vikings, once mortal enemies, now must learn to live together in peace. Dragons: Rise of Berk lets players manage dragon-Viking relations first hand, and here are some tips for keeping everyone happy and prosperous.

Reign of Fire

Obviously, dragons play a pretty big role in a game named after them, and they’re good for much more than just flying and fire-breathing. Here's how to put them to work.

To get started, level up Toothless by feeding him tasty fish. Once he’s strong enough, you can then send him out to search nearby islands for more dragons eggs. Get a Whispering Death on Bashem or maybe a Scauldron on Unlandable Cove.

After hatching an egg, place your new baby dragon wherever there is room and feed them until they level up and reach adult size. You can also train dragons by sending them to the academy for a few minutes.

Adult dragons can independently perform many tasks around Berk, and as they grow they learn new skills such as how to gather resources like fish and lumber. Having more dragons at your command also increases Berk’s ability to expand.

As you progress, tons of new dragon breeds become available to search for, including some limited time offers. Also, by helping characters from the movies their personal dragons, like Astrid’s Stormfly, can be yours.

Continue reading Dragons: Rise of Berk - Tips, Tricks, and Strategies on How to Train Your Dragons »

Thought evil dragons were just a myth? Well they’re back in Dungeon Gems. And even though the game will seem quite familiar to fans of Puzzles & Dragons, it still has intricacies of its own to master. So gather an elite team of elemental heroes to take down the monsters one dungeon at a time. Here’s how.

Fight Fire with Fire, or Water, or Wood…

Basic attacks are launched by matching elemental gems like a puzzle game. You don’t even need to match three, just one will suffice. However, longer combos create more powerful attacks. Some even create special gems that clear a single element from the board, including new ones that cycle in to replace the old, doling out a massive assault.

Each element has different strengths and weaknesses. Fire beats wood but is weak against water while light and dark both beat each other. Be sure to target enemies by touching them so attacks can have the most impact.

Some enemies have longer waiting periods between turns. Check the number next to them and use any extra turns you may have to deal more damage or heal yourself by linking heart gems.

Defeating enemies grants you action points. These can be used to activate special skills or link separate elements together for huge, multi-elemental attacks.

Continue reading Dungeon Gems- Tips, Tricks, and Strategies for Fighting Elements with the Elements »

Farmville 2: Country Escape is a big deal for many casual gamers, much like its predecessor. As we pointed out in our review, its relaxed nature when it comes to harvesting crops and simply waiting things out means it's strangely beguiling, although patience is certainly essential. To help you along in your path towards a farming fortune, we thought we'd round up some great tips on how to do the very best you can. While they won't make you rich overnight, they should help steer novices in the right direction.

If there’s one thing you need to know about FTL, it’s that it’s a fantastic game. A very close second thing you really need to know is that it’s about as unforgiving as that one extremely tough grade-school teacher that never gave anyone a break. Don’t play innocent, we’ve all had one.

So, while we here at 148Apps wholeheartedly endorse you rushing to the App Store to purchase FTL for your iPad immediately (seriously, go do it if you haven’t already), we also understand that you may have some trouble starting out. Or just in general. That’s why we’ve put together a list of tips, tricks, and strategies to hopefully keep your ship and your crew functioning that much longer. Due to the random nature of sector layouts, encounters, and shop inventories there’s no way to guarantee success, but we’re certainly going to do our best for you.