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In this beginner's guide, I'll help you kick start your journey in Warcraft Rumble. The game is Blizzard's take on Clash Royale: A free to play mobile action strategy game with a Warcraft flavor and more heavy focus on PvE progression.
You probably don't want to make any mistakes in your account, such as investing in the wrong unit (minis) or selecting the wrong Leader. Don't worry; I'm here to guide you through the different mechanics in the game, how to have a great start, build your squads, and progress through the game. Let's dive right in!
Picking Your Leader
Right at the beginning of the game, you'll be asked to choose your Leader. The choices are random, so I can't provide you with a specific recommendation. In my experience, some of the best leaders include Tyrion, Baron, and Grash. However, don't stress about it too much because you can acquire more Leaders as you make progress in the game.
The G.R.I.D.
The G.R.I.D. is where you can purchase new ,inis. The units offered are entirely random, so I can't recommend a specific one to acquire. However, we'll create a Tier List to help you identify the best units, so be sure to check it out here.
When you make a purchase from the G.R.I.D., the column and row you buy from will reset. The goal here is to buy as many minis as possible to increase your Collection Level. In the future, you can use the G.R.I.D. to upgrade your current minis.
You can also purchase Leader minis in the grid, but they follow a specific rotation. Sometimes, you may have the chance to purchase them from one of the random choices even if they are out of rotation. The rotation refreshes every five weeks.
Collection Level
Your Collection Level increases every time you acquire new minis. It also increases when they level up and when they increase in rarity. Focusing on increasing your collection level will help you progress through the game at a good pace.
Starting Army
By default, your army will consist of the following minis: S.A.F.E. Pilot, Griffin Rider, Gnoll Brute, Dark Patrol, and Chain Lightning, plus your chosen Leader. There are some really good minis here, such as the S.A.F.E. Pilot.
S.A.F.E. Pilot
The S.A.F.E. Pilot is an unbound mini, which means it can be deployed anywhere on the map. It deals area of effect (AoE) damage after a bit of delay. The pilot then disembarks from her damaged plane and inflicts ranged damage to enemies.
It's pretty cost-efficient and is my go-to area-clear option. I usually pair it with a tank like the Gnoll Brute and Harvest Golem. I bait the enemy into attacking the tank, and when they are all grouped up, I drop the S.A.F.E. Pilot on them.
Griffin Rider
The other minis are solid as well. The Griffin Rider is an aerial Flier mini, meaning ground units can't hit it. You can take advantage of this when the enemy doesn't have any anti-air minis deployed. It's really effective against melee units.
Dark Spear Troll
The Dark Spear Troll is your anti-air unit. Deploy it against enemy Fliers. Make sure to pair it with a front-line unit like the Gnoll Brute to protect it since it is very fragile.
Gnoll Brute
The Gnoll Brute is your standard tank that can absorb a lot of damage. It also deals area of effect damage to ground enemies.
Chain Lightning
Lastly, we have a spell: Chain Lightning. It's good for clearing smaller enemies like the Chickens, but I don't use it very much.
Among the starting units, the S.A.F.E. Pilot is the best. It's the best mini to invest in, and you will benefit from it for a long time. To improve the starter army, you could consider getting another tank like the Harvest Golem, which resurrects itself when it dies. It's a perfect partner for the S.A.F.E. Pilot. You could also look into adding another unbound unit for picking up chests across the map.
Best Minis to Buy from the G.R.I.D.
Let me go into detail about which minis to look out for in the G.R.I.D.. You'll want to keep an eye out for these when they appear and make sure to buy them! I'll list my top five, and then I'll create a dedicated article for all of them here.
Harvest Golem
As I mentioned earlier, the Harvest Golem offers great value. It boasts high health and can revive itself when it dies, making it a perfect companion for the S.A.F.E. Pilot and any other minis that are fragile and require some frontline support, such as the Plague Farmer.
Earth Elemental
The Earth Elemental is an unbound tank mini that specializes in taking down towers and bosses. You can use it to destroy towers and expand your deploy areas. While it can serve as a tank, it doesn't attack other minis, so only use it in that role when in a bind.
Harpies
Harpies are affordable aerial units that can deal a significant amount of damage if they can reach their target. They come in groups of three and can quickly take down a boss.
Defias Bandits
Defias Bandits are excellent low-cost miniatures that possess stealth. There are two of them when they deploy and they stun on their first hit. If they get taken down, the Last Resort trait can provide an extra stun for three seconds, making them great for disrupting enemy mobs.
Huntress
The Huntress's shots bounce around, making her perfect for clearing large waves of enemies. She is the ideal counter for harpies and chickens. The only downside is that she costs 5 to deploy. Make sure to keep the average deploy cost around 3 so your army won't be too clunky.'
Building Your Army
Like I mentioned earlier, it's important to maintain an average deploy cost of around 3. If you have too many high-cost units, you might not be able to deploy as many, and they will be easily countered. Having a mix of low and high-cost units is a good strategy for building your army.
As a general rule, you'll want a tank or two to absorb hits for your ranged units, a mini to take down air units, an unbound or two for opening chests and crowd control, and a boss killer like the Earth Elemental. Mix and match minis to meet these conditions.
PvP
Besides the Player vs. Enemy (PvE) content, Warcraft Rumble also offers Player versus Player (PvP) content. You'll unlock PvP at 8 Sigils, and it becomes available fairly early in the game. Each victory will reward you with awesome prizes and honor for your leader. The PvP map, tower, and fortifications reset daily to introduce some variety to your battles. I'll write a more detailed article for PvP here.
Guilds
Guilds are unlocked at 10 Sigils. They offer various rewards to their members, such as unlocking uncommon upgrades for your Leader, unlocking talents for your minis, and providing other benefits. They unlock at 18 and 30 sigils, respectively.
Upgrading Minis
Buying From the G.R.I.D.
Upgrading minis is easy; just buy another copy of it from the grid, and it will be upgraded. You need three stars to increase its rank. Sometimes, you can even find higher rarity minis in the G.R.I.D.!
Arclight Surges
Arclight Surges unlock at 22 Sigils. These offer missions with specific constraints. Completing them will earn you a lot of coins for purchasing minis. The missions rotate every Thursday and Sunday, so be sure to unlock them as soon as possible.
Dungeons
You can unlock the dungeon at 30 Sigils. Dungeons open up the possibility of upgrading your leader's army slots, further empowering your minis.
Heroic Campaigns
The Heroic Campaign is unlocked at 50 Sigils. It's end-game content but can be quite rewarding. You can earn experience for your minis and other useful rewards. I'll write a more in-depth article here.
Tips and Tricks
Here are some useful tips and tricks to make your progress through the game much easier:
- Wait for your deploy gauge to become almost full before deploying units. By doing this, you can react to enemy attacks much faster, and you can deploy minis as a group rather than single units. You can also deploy units one at a time to reroll your minis until you get the desired combination of minis.
- Deploy your miners to mine and get chests. The gold economy is very important, and controlling the gold flow is essential to winning matches.
- Deploy minis that counter the enemy's minis to gain an advantage. Deploy anti-air minis against fliers. Deploy bombardiers against swarms to eradicate them in one swoop. Make sure to place them behind a tank.
- Use unbound units to gain an advantage in battles, like the S.A.F.E. pilot. Bait the enemies with a tank, such as the Harvest Golem, and drop the pilot on the bunched-up enemies for maximum impact.
- You can deploy units even if you don't see the deployment area. Just tap and drag the mini to the bottom of the screen, and it will automatically deploy in the nearest deployment area.
Conclusion
So there you have it, a really good beginner's guide to Warcraft Rumble. Check out our in-depth articles on various game mechanics, which will be available in the near future!
