Puzzle Breakers is a Match-3 RPG/Strategy game, in which you command a team of five heroes as you solve the puzzle board and inflict massive damage with combos, bombs, special abilities, and more!
Combat Basics[]
In combat as an attacker, you swap one rune with another in a vertical or horizontal fashion, matching at least 3 runes of the same color. These matched runes leave the board as projectiles, damaging enemies and sliding the columns of runes 'upward' towards the enemies.
Match 4 runes, and the projectiles spawn a bomb at the spot of the match. This bomb, when detonated, will explode in a 5-rune cross (+ sign) and launch any color of runes it destroys. A bomb can be detonated by tapping on it, or by sliding it to make another rune match.
In a 5-rune match, all of the launched runes spawn a crystal, which - when activated - will destroy and launch all runes/bombs/other crystals of the same color across the board.
5-rune matches can happen straight vertically, straight horizontally, in a T-shape, in an L-shape, or in a cross (+) if new runes fall into place in that way. This means if you get a 6-rune match that's shaped like a 6-pack of beer, it will not yield a crystal.
Heroes and Special Skills[]
The Heroes in Puzzle Breakers are the stars of the game; they provide you with special skills and abilities that give you a competitive edge over your opponent!
Filling Mana[]
Heroes of a certain Element will gain mana for their skill for each rune that's launched from the board. Some heroes' mana bars fill faster than others, depending on their skill. Once it's full, you can tap on it to activate a special ability and inflict heavy damage/effects on your enemies.
Of note, your heroes will gain mana two times faster when a launched rune flies across the battlefield and hits nothing. If the rune hits an enemy or an obstacle, the rune will deal damage, but the hero only gets the regular amount of mana.
Targeting Enemies[]
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| Figure 1. Plague Doctor's ability is charged, and Grimes is being targeted. Notice the brackets around Grimes. | Figure 2. Because he was targeted, Grimes gets the smoke. |
You may not realize it, but depending on which heroes' special skills you use in a fight, you CAN select the enemy you'd like to hit! All you have to do is tap on the enemy prior to using the skill; it's that simple.
- This is most useful for single-hit damage attacks. Some hero skills will attack multiple opponents - when this happens, you can generally still target an enemy and the hero's first strike will generally hit that target, and then its following strikes are random.
- If a skill says that it hits "all opponents" or "everything on the battlefield," then there's no need to target anyone.
- On offense, all healing abilities will contribute to your entire team, regardless of whether it says, "heals the caster..." or not. Individual healing really only happens if the heroes with those abilities are used in defense.
Heroes on Defense[]
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| Figure 3. You can set your Defense team for Raids and Clan Wars. | Figure 4. This is an example of what an enemy sees when they attack your team; note that you cannot view raids or attacks on your Defense team, nor can you control what they are doing during the attack. This is the idle part of the game in which you only see the results of the attack afterward. |
There is no gameplay as a defender; instead, you configure a 5-hero team to defend against enemy raids and Clan Wars. You can put together a solid and successful team with strategy and careful knowledge of the defending heroes' special skills.