Hello, dear reader, I hope you’re having a good day. I’ve been playing Battle Bay, by Rovio of Angry Birds fame, and enjoying it. I am also covering it in a video on Lunar Nebula LLC Gaming. I’m not being paid to write this blog, and it contains information based on my opinion after playing the game for less than a week. I think the game’s age rating is appropriate (12+ on the App Store for infrequent/mild realistic violence and infrequent/mild cartoon or fantasy violence) because it seems to play up its pirate theme to the hilt. The reasons behind its 12+ rating are the rude humor, phrases intended to reference curses such as, “get your ship together”, lighting opponents’ ships on fire, and the presence of an in-game chat function. The game looks cute, and it features fast-paced naval combat. What’s not to love?
Disclaimer: I’m not being paid by Rovio entertainment Ltd. or anyone else to write this review. The only money I could make would be through advertising on this site or on YouTube (in a future video) at this point in time.
Since the game hasn’t been out long, and I haven’t been playing it enough to feel comfortable giving a full review, here are some tips and tricks I’ve discovered while playing the game.
Remember you’re sailing on the high seas or at least a bay- I enjoy the physics in Battle Bay. I don’t enjoy waves blocking my shots at enemy boats. One tip is to wait to fire until you or an enemy rests atop a wave. This gives you a clear shot. Hopefully, your enemy won’t read this tip. Remember that weapons have different firing arcs. Mortars don’t have to worry about waves. Cannons have to worry a little bit. Sniper turrets absolutely have to worry about waves.
Your weapons matter-the ships you can buy have different slots available. The slots dictate how many or what kind of weapons you can hold. I personally prefer having more weapons over 1 heavy weapon. This allows you to cycle weapons and fire faster as your previous weapon reloads. Remember, you are trying to hit moving targets so the more shots you can fire the better. If you feel like you aren’t hitting anything, you can swap to a weapon with a large range and area of effect like the mortar. Just be mindful of your surroundings. Some arenas have overhangs where the mortar is useless. It’s one reason I appreciate having a sniper cannon or mine.
Like I said, ships have different slots- ships can use different support items and weapons based on the slots they have. Ships will lack a green or blue slot for those items. It makes ship choice more meaningful. Ships also have differing amounts of weapon slots. In order to buy a ship, you need gold. Thankfully, gold and sugar, the 2 currencies not directly tied to real-world money, are easy to come by in the beginning of the game. If you don’t want to buy new equipment in the shop with your gold, new ships are easy to purchase. I personally enjoy the first ship because you get to weapon slots and a support slot which can boost your ship’s sailing speed. I personally believe a moving target is a harder to hit target and thus a longer living target. My current strategy is to use a mine and a sniper cannon along with an uncommon turbo. I’m guessing that as better weapons get unlocked by other players, my ship will be out sped by torpedoes and missiles and my strategy will have to change.
Ships also have different stats-ships have different speeds, health, turning angles, and turret firing angles. I currently enjoy the Shooter, the very first ship in the game, because it has a good balance of weapon slots, support slots, and decent maneuverability. I’d prefer more maneuverability and speed in the future, but for now the Shooter does the trick. The other 2 ships you can immediately unlock only cost 10,000 gold which you can get after a few victories.
Your resources have a limit- you can’t save up gold forever. At least, not when you start the game. Your gold and sugar limits increase with your captain level. Pearls, the currency you can buy, seem to be unlimited. These limits encourage you to shop and get new ships or items. Before your account reaches level 5, you can afford 50,000 gold for Uncommon items from the shop. These uncommon items will increase your damage in the arena and gain you more stars for sinking ships.
There are better versions of the same items within the game- the starting ‘common turbo’ from the beginning of the game was quickly outclassed by a random item drop. This item drop gave me the uncommon turbo. There was an instant increase in ship sailing speed, and the ability to upgrade my ship’s speed even further with the uncommon turbo. Your inventory is limited and has to be upgraded with pearls. Scrap the common items you get since materials don’t have a cap, and you need materials of all qualities for upgrading better items. You will get a bit more salvage for leveled items. Not a full refund. The best version of items, legendary items, can only be found in random chests. This encourages players to spend money on the game. Eventually. I have found the game to be fair once the match ranking system figures out your skill level. The beginning of the game started with some very easy fights. I was then completely trounced by better ships and weapons. Now I seem to be in a decent skill range with closer battles.
Don’t forget to train your crew- your crew act as passive bonuses and increase your captain level. Your captain level unlocks more ships and increases your gold cap. Once you have trained your crew you can choose certain abilities for them to give your ships. Some of these abilities are item specific. If you’re uncertain what abilities you want, you can save picking them for later. Sugar caps out quickly in the beginning so keep training.
Claim your items, fulfill your quests, and check the market every day- there’s always something to do. The market also features parts you can buy for leveling up your weapons. This will become important as you use up your materials.
I hope this article helps you on your way to blasting your opponents’ ships to Davy Jones’ Locker. Have a good day and have fun, dear reader!
by Brian Petrilli AKA Jalinon
Disclaimer: I’m not being paid by Rovio entertainment Ltd. or anyone else to write this review. The only money I could make would be through advertising on this site or on YouTube (in a future video) at this point in time.
Since the game hasn’t been out long, and I haven’t been playing it enough to feel comfortable giving a full review, here are some tips and tricks I’ve discovered while playing the game.
Remember you’re sailing on the high seas or at least a bay- I enjoy the physics in Battle Bay. I don’t enjoy waves blocking my shots at enemy boats. One tip is to wait to fire until you or an enemy rests atop a wave. This gives you a clear shot. Hopefully, your enemy won’t read this tip. Remember that weapons have different firing arcs. Mortars don’t have to worry about waves. Cannons have to worry a little bit. Sniper turrets absolutely have to worry about waves.
Your weapons matter-the ships you can buy have different slots available. The slots dictate how many or what kind of weapons you can hold. I personally prefer having more weapons over 1 heavy weapon. This allows you to cycle weapons and fire faster as your previous weapon reloads. Remember, you are trying to hit moving targets so the more shots you can fire the better. If you feel like you aren’t hitting anything, you can swap to a weapon with a large range and area of effect like the mortar. Just be mindful of your surroundings. Some arenas have overhangs where the mortar is useless. It’s one reason I appreciate having a sniper cannon or mine.
Like I said, ships have different slots- ships can use different support items and weapons based on the slots they have. Ships will lack a green or blue slot for those items. It makes ship choice more meaningful. Ships also have differing amounts of weapon slots. In order to buy a ship, you need gold. Thankfully, gold and sugar, the 2 currencies not directly tied to real-world money, are easy to come by in the beginning of the game. If you don’t want to buy new equipment in the shop with your gold, new ships are easy to purchase. I personally enjoy the first ship because you get to weapon slots and a support slot which can boost your ship’s sailing speed. I personally believe a moving target is a harder to hit target and thus a longer living target. My current strategy is to use a mine and a sniper cannon along with an uncommon turbo. I’m guessing that as better weapons get unlocked by other players, my ship will be out sped by torpedoes and missiles and my strategy will have to change.
Ships also have different stats-ships have different speeds, health, turning angles, and turret firing angles. I currently enjoy the Shooter, the very first ship in the game, because it has a good balance of weapon slots, support slots, and decent maneuverability. I’d prefer more maneuverability and speed in the future, but for now the Shooter does the trick. The other 2 ships you can immediately unlock only cost 10,000 gold which you can get after a few victories.
Your resources have a limit- you can’t save up gold forever. At least, not when you start the game. Your gold and sugar limits increase with your captain level. Pearls, the currency you can buy, seem to be unlimited. These limits encourage you to shop and get new ships or items. Before your account reaches level 5, you can afford 50,000 gold for Uncommon items from the shop. These uncommon items will increase your damage in the arena and gain you more stars for sinking ships.
There are better versions of the same items within the game- the starting ‘common turbo’ from the beginning of the game was quickly outclassed by a random item drop. This item drop gave me the uncommon turbo. There was an instant increase in ship sailing speed, and the ability to upgrade my ship’s speed even further with the uncommon turbo. Your inventory is limited and has to be upgraded with pearls. Scrap the common items you get since materials don’t have a cap, and you need materials of all qualities for upgrading better items. You will get a bit more salvage for leveled items. Not a full refund. The best version of items, legendary items, can only be found in random chests. This encourages players to spend money on the game. Eventually. I have found the game to be fair once the match ranking system figures out your skill level. The beginning of the game started with some very easy fights. I was then completely trounced by better ships and weapons. Now I seem to be in a decent skill range with closer battles.
Don’t forget to train your crew- your crew act as passive bonuses and increase your captain level. Your captain level unlocks more ships and increases your gold cap. Once you have trained your crew you can choose certain abilities for them to give your ships. Some of these abilities are item specific. If you’re uncertain what abilities you want, you can save picking them for later. Sugar caps out quickly in the beginning so keep training.
Claim your items, fulfill your quests, and check the market every day- there’s always something to do. The market also features parts you can buy for leveling up your weapons. This will become important as you use up your materials.
I hope this article helps you on your way to blasting your opponents’ ships to Davy Jones’ Locker. Have a good day and have fun, dear reader!
by Brian Petrilli AKA Jalinon