Aurory Tactics - Battle Guide ⚔️
Aurory Tactics - Battle Guide ⚔️
Do you want to get some reps in on the battlefield? Here’s what you should know!
If you prefer a video tutorial, you can check out this quick guide on how to play Tactics from one of our ambassadors, Rafikey Aurory:
Aurory Tactics is now open to everyone! Test your might in PvP and collect rewards for wins! You can even play without a wallet thanks to our innovative inventory system known as SyncSpace! For more information on this, see our SyncSpace article. We invite you to have a look at our Code of Conduct as well; any player that is flagged for prohibited behavior won’t get any rewards.
Visit our game dashboard and simply click on ‘‘Play Tactics’’ to launch the game. You can use our social login options or sign in with a Solana (SPL) wallet like Phantom. You’ll get a popup with a signature request if you are using a wallet; sign it to proceed. Before you can battle it out against other players in the arena, you’ll have to complete the in-game tutorial.
Note: loading the game for the first time can take a bit longer.
The Basics
You and your opponent select a team of three Nefties. Currently, players can use on-chain Nefties hatched through the egg incubator or bought from our marketplace, and off-chain Nefties with basic stats that are available in the game (or a mix of both).
The objective of battles is simple: knock out your opponent’s three Nefties before they defeat yours.
The Battlefield
The battlefield usually consists of two camps of 7x7 squares for each player, connected by a “neutral” 7x3 area in the middle. The size and shape of the field can vary depending on the game mode.
The battlefield will contain scattered walls and missing cells, impacting mobility. Some Nefties will be able to jump or fly over these obstacles; others will have to go around them.
There will also be a Battle-Royale style Danger Zone to encourage confrontation between opponents. After a while, cells on the sides will become dangerous to Nefties, dealing serious damage. The effect will progressively spread to other cells, slowly reducing the available battlefield.
Special Cells
Special cells are grid cells that have an effect on any Neftie that moves or stands on them.
Hype Cells
They are indicated by the flame symbol and provide a set number of hype points (usually one) to any Neftie standing on them at the end of its turn.
Healing Cells
They are indicated by the heart symbol and give a set amount of HP to any Neftie standing on them at the end of its turn.
Bumper Cells
They are indicated by arrows and will instantly push a Neftie in a set direction for a set distance, interrupting any ongoing action.
Neftie Attributes
Health
The amount of damage a Neftie can take before being knocked out.Physical Force
The amount of damage a Neftie can deal when using physical attacks.Physical Defense
The amount of damage a Neftie can block from physical attacks.Ether Force
The amount of damage a Neftie can deal when using ethereal attacks.Ether Defense
The amount of damage a Neftie can block from ethereal attacks.Movement Range
The number of cells your Neftie can move during each turn.Initiative
Reduces ability time costs, and decides the starting order of Nefties.
Neftie Abilities
A Neftie has six abilities: the Passive ability, the Basic Attack, and four Special abilities. They allow Nefties to perform actions with various effects during combat.
The “Passive” ability is an automatic ability that can have a major impact on how a Neftie is played, being an advantage, a constraint, or a bit of both. Understanding your Neftie’s Passive ability is often a major factor being efficient with it.
The “Basic Attack” is mostly based on Physical Force, but also uses a bit of Ether Power. This ability will deal a low-damage physical blow (melee or long range), but it raises the hype.
“Special” abilities are some of the most important aspects that will round out your elite Neftie squad. They are a set of various tools that will allow your Neftie to do its job in an effective way. Each Neftie has a set of four Special abilities that allow them to do more specialized moves at the cost of Hype points.
While some of these abilities may be purely for dealing more damage, most of the time, they come with a more interesting utility aspect, such as healing or pushing other Nefties around to disrupt the enemy formation.
Special abilities are key to winning a battle. Using the right one at the right time can completely change a situation in your favor. However, a misused ability could turn out to be more detrimental to your team than your opponent’s.
While most Special abilities are instantly used, there are a couple of exceptions:
Reactions are abilities you secretly “switch on” during your turn, and that will trigger during the enemy turn if the conditions are met. A common example of a reaction is “dodge” to avoid an incoming attack.
Reactions are a bit of a gamble though, meaning, even if your enemy doesn’t trigger your reaction, you will still pay the Hype cost - but if he does, you’ll be refunded more Hype than you paid, allowing for counter-attack!Stances are similar to reactions. When enabled, they react to an enemy action, but with three differences:
Stances are not secret. Your opponent can see that you activated a Stance.
While reactions can be triggered only once, stances can be triggered multiple times until your Neftie’s next turn.
Finally, when a stance is triggered, it costs a small amount of Hype. If your stance is triggered multiple times, your Nefties could end up out of Hype by their next turn.
Ultimate Abilities
The “Ultimate” ability is generally an ability with a significant cost in Hype, or restrictive conditions needing to be met before it can be used (ex: level of HP remaining, time passed since the battle started, number of markers required on a target, etc). Simply put, Ultimate abilities are stronger, usually with a more impactful effect on the battlefield. Each Neftie species has their own unique Ultimate, and just like Passive abilities, they are usually the embodiment of the Neftie’s role (ex: heavy damage dealing from fighters and massive buffs to the team from supports).
Hype
Your Nefties need Hype to use the different abilities they have. Hype points are distributed to every creature whenever an impactful action happens on the battlefield. Special abilities and Ultimate skills award more Hype points, resulting in combat intensity snowballing as using Special abilities tends to allow your opponent to use their own.
For example:
Neftie A attacks Neftie B:
+2 Hype points for everyone
Neftie A attacks Neftie B, and Neftie B dodges the attack:
+3 Hype points for everyone, Neftie B also gets an extra Hype bonus.
Sometimes attacking your opponent might not be worth it! Giving them a couple of Hype points may allow them to use a dangerous special ability during their next turn! A good knowledge of Neftie abilities is important to keep control of the battle.
Additional Hype sources
Hype Cells:
Nefties ending their turns on Hype cells will gain one Hype point.
Hype Inheritance:
Nefties that are knocked out will transfer remaining Hype to the nearest ally (if two allies are at the same distance, the one playing first will get the Hype points).
Hype Overcharge
Overcharge is a gameplay mechanic that allows a player to use Hype to temporarily increase their stats. When a player tries to start an action, they can choose to request the action to be Overcharged by pressing the SHIFT key on PC. The goal is to give players an alternative when their creature is lacking offensive options or to give them an advantage when they’ve accumulated more hype than they need.
Example use cases:
You’re losing a game, and have only one Neftie left. Due to the Hype Inheritance mechanic, your last Neftie has accumulated a lot of hype, much more than any of its abilities cost. You’re sitting on a lot of potential but will not be able to use it because your Neftie will probably be KO’d before its next turn.
You can use Overcharge to use all of your hype and have your next ability deal more damage than usual. It will leave that Neftie with no hype, but you’ll have a chance to deal enough damage to flip the situation in your favor, especially if you have AoE attacks.
An enemy Neftie is low on health. You want to down it before it has the chance to cause problems, but the only Neftie on your team that can attack it before its next turn is a support with no real offensive options.
You can use Overcharge to use all of its hype and enhance a simple attack; you will have no hype left and probably be unable to do special abilities next turn, but it’s better than letting the enemy Neftie use dangerous skills.
Effect:
When Overcharge is used, the ability’s Hype Cost is deducted from the Neftie’s Hype points, and all of the remaining hype points are converted into “Overcharge points” (OC points).
Each OC point grants a +2 stat boost on the following attributes:
Initiative
Physical Attack
Physical Defense
Ether Attack
Ether Defense
Example: A Dinobit with 17 Hype points uses Overcharge with “Throwback” for the cost of 7 Hype. After the Hype cost of Throwback, Dinobit has 10 hype points left. Those are converted into 10 OC points -> (10 x 2) -> +20 stat boost for the five stats listed above.
Initiative and the Time Track
The Time Track at the top of the screen displays where each Neftie is in play order.
At the start of a battle, the Nefties with the highest Initiative play first.
Using abilities has a "time cost," which means that after a turn, the Neftie is pushed down the time track a certain distance based on which abilities were used during its turn.
A high Initiative value reduces the distance down the time track that a Neftie will get pushed after using abilities, effectively meaning that the higher a Neftie’s Initiative score, the more frequently it will get to play.
If you skip your turn, your Neftie will move down the time track less than if you played a full turn (movement + abilities).
Note that some abilities, such as stuns, can push the targeted Neftie further down the time track.
If you prefer watching a video on the turn order and time units, check out this tutorial video by Rafikey:
Cost of Actions
Overall, battling in Aurory is a game of risk/reward assessment. Every move will have a consequence or cost, whether good or bad. It is this idea that will make the game deeply fun for those who like the strategic aspect of turn-based games. The two main costs to be considered are Hype and Time:
The Hype cost incentivizes players to plan their accumulation, and serves to fuel the increasing crescendo of the intensity of actions.
The Time cost adds a notion of downtime to Nefties.
The mix of costs brings a certain complexity to the reading of the game.
However, this is not a difficulty to be overcome in order to be able to play; the ability to play the game without mastering it remains, since a beginner player can always choose to carry out the actions proposed to him, even if he doesn't know exactly why he can do them at that time.
If in most games reducing the learning curve is beneficial, in a competitive PvP game it is preferable to keep a very rich and complex game so that players have as much time as possible to learn and master new aspects, and some may even choose to specialize in certain aspects rather than seeking total mastery.
The complexity brought by the fact of mixing several different “costs” also offers the advantage of making the games more interesting by favoring small errors and bad calculations, which makes it possible to keep surprises and unforeseen circumstances in the games at low and medium levels.
Currently Available Nefties
As of right now (Tactics Closed Alpha, November 2022) there are nine Nefties available to play with:
Dinobit, Tank
Passive ability: Unstoppable Force
Dinobit can end his movement on an occupied cell by pushing the creature away.
Special abilities:
No Escape: Until next turn, any enemy moving to or from a nearby cell gets pulled behind, taking light damage
Stomp: Damages the targeted entity, and stuns it for one second.
Throwback: Throw a target behind dealing little damage. Can be used both to break a formation or pull a teammate out of a difficult situation.
Ultimate Skill: Bulldozer
Charges in a straight line, pushing, and damaging all Nefties in a three cell wide path.
Shiba Ignite, Defender
Passive ability: Pack Protector
Movement bonus when on cells next to allies.
Special abilities:
Bodyguard: If any allies are about to get hit, Shiba will jump to the rescue and cancel the attack, dealing light damage.
ShoutBorn: Shouts at enemy, pushing it away and dealing low damage.
Ground Control (Stance): Repels any Neftie moving in his direct vicinity.
Ultimate Skill: Big Bark
Breaks up a fight with a loud bark, pushing everyone away.
Bitebit, Fighter
Passive ability: Chadrenaline
Stacks with each basic attack, adding extra strikes to that ability.
Special abilities:
Lifeforce Drain: Hits a target, stealing some of its lifeforce.
Backline Drop: Jumps over a Neftie or obstacle and bounces on it to a free cell. If the last bounce was on an enemy, Bitebit hits that one after it lands.
Clash Stance: If any enemy attacks Bitebit while this stance is active, the damage received will be inflicted back.
Ultimate Skill: Bouncing Claws
Bounces on nearby creatures, dealing extra damage to weakened ones.
Dipking, AoE Mage
Passive ability: Slippery Skin
Every fourth effect that should be applied to Dipking fails - including when coming from allies' abilities.
Special abilities:
Ether Blast: Uses raw Ether power to strike a target.
Tank Buster: Deals damage to a target proportional to its current health points.
Dodge: Allows you to dodge the next attack.
Ultimate Skill: ComboBreaker
Expels three explosive waves that deal damage to all nearby cells.
Zzoo, Harasser
Passive ability: Dissuasive Shriek
Whenever Zzoo takes damage, he lets out a powerful shriek, damaging nearby Nefties.
Special abilities:
Sharp Gust: Pushes a strong gust of wind that will cause damage to three cells in a row.
High Evade: Fly high enough so enemies can’t touch you.
Attack & Back: Strike an enemy then jump back out of reach.
Ultimate Skill: Sky Drop
Zzoo takes off and points to a space on the map. After a while, it dives to the target cell, inflicting heavy damage to the Neftie on that cell, and minor damage all around.
Blockchoy, Healer
Passive ability: Fresh Greens
Any Neftie ending its turn next to Blockchoy regenerates a few missing health points.
Special abilities:
Appease feelings: Reduces a Neftie’s Physical and Ether Power, while raising its Physical and Ether defenses.
Roots Embrace: Prevents a Neftie from moving or being moved, while raising its defenses.
Life cycle: Heals a Neftie, at the cost of some of his own health.
Ultimate Skill: Vitagreens
At the start of the next turn, Blockchoy adds Hype points to all surrounding Nefties, plus 40% of any excess Hype and grants a massive movement boost.
Number 9, Fighter
Passive ability: Passession
Number 9 must mark creatures by flying through them before it can interact with them. Gain one Hype point for marking enemies.
Special abilities:
Scarring Strike: Strike a creature, making it more vulnerable to damage for a while.
Pullteirgeist: Pulls an enemy three cells toward current position, dealing little damage.
Soul Conduit: Teleport to a chosen cell. If a creature was previously knocked out on that cell, Hype is partially refunded and the caster can play another action on that turn.
Ultimate Skill: Jump Scare
Briefly stun nearby enemies that have been marked by ectoplasm, removing all markers after casting. Number 9 is healed based on the target’s HP, and is allowed another action during the turn.
Axobubble, Support
Passive ability: Tailekenesis
Axobubble tail attacks are ranged and push creatures back. Can target allies.
Special abilities:
Pressure Bomb: Throw a bubble bomb at a location, triggering an explosion. Creatures in the blast zone will be pushed away, while a direct hit will deal more damage and stun the target.
Defensive Dome: Axobubble sets up a destructible shield around itself, blocking damage received for the creatures covered.
Fate Swap: In this stance, if a creature attacks Axobubble, its current HP and Hype points are definitely swapped with Axobubble before the attack effect is applied. Fate swap can also target an ally to immediately apply the effect instead.
Ultimate Skill: Bubble Out
Teleports Axobubble and all nearby creatures to another position on the battlefield.
Unika, Fighter
Passive ability: Inspiring
Each turn, the first time Unika moves, it leaves behind an ''Inspiring Mark'' that any Neftie can pick up to get an extra move.
Special abilities:
Rainbow Flash: Instantly dash in a straight line for 5 cells through obstacles, dealing damage to any creatures on the way.
Come and Play: Charge in a straight line, throwing the first encountered creature behind, dealing damage.
Kickback: Kicks away the Neftie directly behind, or the next one that moves there before Unika’s next turn.
Ultimate Skill: Encore
For the cost of Encore, use the last ability again with 25% increased damage.
Neftie Rarity System
With the deployment of our new Incubator system, we are also introducing a Neftie rarity system based on a one-to-five star scale. The table below shows the rarity terms/number of stars associated, stat ranges, and probability of hatching a Neftie of that rarity.
One of the first things you might think when looking at this table, is that the probability to hatch a “Common” Neftie with [0;20[ average stats is fairly high compared to the default Nefties statistics (40% average). However, these probabilities are modeled similarly to other popular games, and as we mentioned, we will balance Aurory Tactics by lowering the default Neftie statistics to 10% for now (we may change this again depending on the data we observe after implementing).
Stars
Your Neftie will have a visual representation of rarity on its NFT card in the form of stars that can range from one to five. The number of stars that a Neftie has displayed on its NFT card will represent the average stat range of that Neftie as well as the percentage of chances that players will have to hatch a Neftie within that range. For a deeper dive into Incubator 2.0 and the rarity system, check out our article here.
Neftie DNA
Nefties are the first DNA-based NFTs on Solana, meaning the real stats are derived from the DNA instead of being stored as distinct NFT metadata. The main reason for this is that Aurory NFTs are multi-game assets and thus are not bound to one particular game. Another big reason is that it allows us to easily change the stat range of the Nefties without having to remint/modify emitted NFTs - hence making balancing the game much easier. The actual stats are derived from an open-source SDK that allows the DNA to be converted to Neftie stats.
The DNA is 64 bytes long, and stored as a hex string (1 byte = 2 characters) in the NFT’s metadata.
Here is an example of how a DNA is parsed:
The 2 first bytes are the version of the DNA, communicating to the user or the SDK about how to read the DNA. Currently, all Nefties use DNA version 1, which means they will all begin with 0001.
Then comes the category of the NFT on 1 byte, currently there is only the category 0, which is the one for the Neftie: 00.
Then there is the archetype of the Neftie on 1 byte. This is the Neftie's type. 00 for Bitebit, 01 for Dipking, 02 for Dinobit, 03 for Shiba Ignite, 04 for Zzoo and 05 for Blockchoy.
The next 6 bytes (12 characters) are the stats (HP, Initiative, Atk, Def, Eth Atk and Eth Def). The values go from 00 (0 in hex) to ff (255) and they should be seen almost like a percentage. Having a raw value of 128 means your Neftie has 50% of the maximum value in this stat.
The next 3 bytes are the skills of the Neftie. For the moment, they have little importance as the 3 skills are fixed for each Neftie.
The next bytes are random and not used by Aurory, but they make the DNA long enough to be used for more stats or as a strong seed for a pseudo-random number generator.
Here is an example of the DNA:
00010004ff39abab2ce83135caefc0d4cdd2776732c478eee6633fd7789cde933d907cbf1035d1bb23a58a223d99527d1e3e0aa2faf9ddebc1c1307da0dd8caa0001: dna scheme v1
00: It's a Neftie
04: it's a Zzoo
ff: 255/255 => 100%, Max possible health amount(70)
39: 57/255 = 22% of Initiative range (70 to 140) => 85
etc…
We hope that after reading this guide, you feel better prepared for your battles in Aurory. Keep in mind that the game is still in early access, meaning A LOT of things will be added with time (new skills, new Nefties, Tacticians, Power Stones). We plan to update this guide with any new relevant information when we push updates, so players can always refer back here as a guide for studying the game mechanics and formulating their own metas and strategies.
If you’re not able to play yet, don’t worry; the open version is planned for December 2022! You can also try your luck by filling out the early access form on our website.
See you all on the battlefield!
Click here to 👉 Play Aurory Tactics 🕹️
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Very good platform
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