Hello, dear reader, I hope you’re doing well. If you’ve ever played Clash Royale and you wished you had Luke Skywalker as a unit, you’re in luck! The game plays like Clash Royale except you have a commander avatar (hero) character which allows you to summon troops. Such as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and so on. If you like the idea of combining a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) with the card playing mechanics of Clash Royale, then I think you’ll enjoy this game. Star Wars: Force Arena is available for free in the App Store and is a game created by Netmarble. I’m not being paid to write this article, and it contains my advice and opinions for when you start the game.
- Princess Leia and ranged heroes are easier to play. My opinion here is based on experience. I believe Netmarble tried to rebalance the game because of this issue. Still, the commander avatar must be alive for you to play your cards. (summon troops and use abilities) So, if you can pick off an opponent when they are surrounded by your troops, you can press your advantage. Smart players stay back from the front lines unless their deck supports an aggressive strategy. Ranged characters can harass melee heroes from afar and run behind their own troops for protection. Note, heroes have different passive and active abilities and can play very differently. I do not believe the game is balanced yet and things will change. For now, take advantage of the chaos.
- You will unlock heroes through missions, or quests. Eventually you will have 2 quest lines available. At the end of the first quest line you can choose a hero to unlock. That quest line will end, but you can continue to unlock heroes through the second quest line that requires you to finish about 8 missions each. Missions can require as long as multiple game sessions, or be as simple as opening a booster pack you saved from yesterday. I suggest completing missions before opening card packs for this reason. I don’t know if every quest unlocks the same heroes for everyone. I unlocked Tarkin, Boba Fett, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian first. I chose to unlock Emperor Palpatine on the intro to the game quest line.
- Cards have counters and special abilities. Some cards have different numbers of troops or special effects. For example, the Stormtroopers are weak rush troops with a ranged attack. The Sandtrooper has an area of effect grenade for clearing out infantry.
- There is a 2v2 game mode. If you ever wanted to team up with a friend in Clash Royale, Star Wars Force Arena has that capability. This way you could make specialized decks that can balance out your strengths and weaknesses.
- Logging in daily is worth it. You get multiple boosters per day which refresh after every few hours. This means you can get up to 6 or so boosters of cards, gems, and credits per day just for participating. It’s a great way of keeping in the game. I believe the game gives fewer gems as to compensate for this bounty of cards.
- Some heroes are very popular and will have a harder time matching with opponents. Princess Leia was the best hero when I first started before the last update. Her passive allowed you to rush with troops and she could make ranged attacks. Because of her capabilities, it was hard to match with opponents. Sometimes I had to switch to a lesser hero to save time.
- The best support ability is probably the aerial assault. The X-Wing and Tie Fighter support cards cover a large range and can take out groups of small enemies, end turrets, and hurt heroes. Other support cards I’ve tried don’t have the same quality or versatility. The poison grenade doesn’t seem to do enough damage at this time to defeat any troops. The stun grenade can be useful, but its area of effect is more limited and your enemies remain on the field.