Summary
9 Kingsis a cute, fun strategy auto battler that doesn’t waste the player’s time. It has a decent variety of builds, and the progression system is quite rewarding. The game is played on nine tiles, with the player collecting cards by fighting enemies and placing them onthe 3x3 grid of the base.
There are different kings that players can choose at the start of the game, each one coming with a different set of buildings, troops, and buffs, though players can choose from the card pool of enemy kings when they defeat their troops as well. The game can be surprisingly difficult and complicated if the player isn’t well-versed inauto-battlers and deck-building games, so here are a few tips for players who are getting started.
8Ramp Up The Speed
Fast Forward Never Felt Better
The game offers the player three different speed settings that they can choose from. These settings onlyaffect the speed of the combat, not anything else. Since players can’t really change the outcome of the battle once it starts, there’s no real point in keeping the speed at the default setting.
Once the player has gotten a good feel of the way the game works, they should choose the highest speed setting to optimize the amount of time they spend in combat. Otherwise, the game can start to feel slow, repetitive, and boring.
Players can even disable building animations, and the slowing down that occurs when troops run out from the options menu under Gameplay.
7Take Duplicate Cards
Anything To Level Up Plots
One of the core mechanics of9 Kingsisthe plot level up mechanic. Basically, each card that the player places down on their base starts off at level one. Its level can be increased by picking duplicate cards as spoils of war or from the shop.
There are alternative ways of increasing the level and power of plots as well. Certain cards interact with troops and buildings to give them buffs, some buildings apply buffs to adjacent troops, and some cards can be used to level up or increase the number of troops on a given plot of land.
6Look For Synergies
Two Heads Are Better Than One
The cards that players get in the game aren’t particularly powerful on their own. Knights are only as good as the Archers they guard, and the Archers are only as good as the Knights that guard them.
There are a lot of synergies that players can play around with. Cards from different Kings can interact with one another in interesting ways, and buildings often work best with a certain type of card. Players should ensure to read thedescriptions of the cards they chooseclosely.
5Use Buff Cards On High Performers
Boons for the Fortunate
There is a category of cards in the game that grant buffs to troops. These range from cards that make troops invincible for the first attack, to cards that let them reap gold from the enemies they kill.
In general, it’s a good idea to apply these buffs to the troops that are performing the best. Players can see how much damage each plot did in the previous battle, though sometimes it’s worth it to apply the buff to a specific card to get the best result. For example, a troop that explodes on contact won’t benefit much from a buff thatgives their attack an electric arcthat bounces between the enemy troops, since they’ll only get a single attack before they die.
4Level Up Kings To Get Perks
Play More, Earn More
When players start the game, they will be presented with the option ofselecting between a few different Kings. At the start, they’ll have the King of Nothing, the King of Spells, the King of Greed, and the King of Blood, but they’ll unlock more as they progress in the game. When playing with a specific King, players will gain experience for that King, increasing its level. Each level will grant the player a point which they can invest in powerful boons called perks.
Perks and levels are specific to each king and don’t transfer between different kings.
3Urban Planning
High Density Neighborhoods
There are afew types of building cardsin the game. Some are damage dealers, buildings that target enemies directly and wreak havoc whenever possible. Others are support buildings that buff the surrounding tiles. These include buildings like the Library, the Farm, the Blacksmith, etc.
Make sure to optimize the buffs of these buildings and get the most out of them by surrounding them with troops that deserve the buffs. In a 3x3 grid, it’s a good idea to place the best buff building in the middle, and the less important ones in the corners. Adjacency applies only to troops in the cardinal directions, so those should be left for the troops.
Diagonally adjacent tiles aren’t considered adjacent for the purposes of application of buffs.
2Don’t Save Money
The Purse Isn’t Going To Spend Itself
There are many moments in the life of a gamer when it comes time tolet go of the hoarding instinctand embrace a hedonistic lifestyle, going from level to level without worrying about managing resources. That’s the kind of lifestyle that9 Kingsasks the player to cultivate. The game gives the player a few ways of making and spending money. Certain card effects, winning battles, and selling cards can earn the player money, and they can spend that money to reroll battle rewards and buy cards at the shop. Since the shop rarely pops up in a run, the wisest course of action is to spend as much as possible when it does appear.
1Reroll Cards If Needed
Take Only What You Want
Rerolling is an often overlooked mechanic that can help players level up their gameplay.Card synergy and leveling up cardsare extremely important for winning the game, especially at higher difficulty levels where even a small misplay can lead to defeat.
By spending a few gold coins, players can get cards that could be much better suited to their current build and gameplay style, leading to a better outcome. That being said, players should keep in mind what cards they’re looking for before rerolling, otherwise they’d just be wasting money for no reason.
