Strongblade

Strongblade

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Strongblade General Info
By Taskmaster
General tips for playing Strongblade that you may have missed
   
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Howdy


Hello there! Thanks for stopping in to check out my guide. Since there was no guide for Strongblade, I decided to throw one together in case I could help a fellow player out. There is nothing earthshaking here, but maybe you have missed an obvious trick while playing.

For example, did you know, once the level is complete, as soon as Sean jumps to the exit, if you click once it will speed up the completion of the level? All the last minute power up explosions will occur at light speed.

Pardon the pun, but let's cut to the chase and see if these tips match your expectations...

Level Types
So far I have encountered three types of level difficulty: normal, hard and super hard. Each difficulty rewards you with a specific amount of gold coins as a reward for completing the level.

I am calling it "normal" instead of "easy", as some of the normal levels later in the game are just as difficult as the harder levels. Often times you are not given enough moves to complete the level, no matter how many times you replay it, without spending gold coins to extend the moves.

You will earn 50 gold coins for completing a normal level.


You will earn 100 gold coins for completing a hard level.


You will earn 150 gold coins for completing a super hard level.


On levels where a path is provided for Sean to escape across the play field when completed, occasionally the path will overlay one or more of your hard-earned power-ups. You are given additional gold coins when that happens. It seems to be 3 gold coins per power-up. Possibly 5 for an amulet (still verifying). For example, when Sean runs to the exit, instead of 50 gold coins, you will get 53, as a coin replaced a power-up, or Sean tramples it.


Kain Mutiny
This is completely just my opinion, and if you disagree then please do what works for you. This is just based on my observation and play style. I do not use Kain for most levels. The color amulet is great, but it is not reliable for me and takes 15 matches vs 12 for the other characters. I will always opt for the other friend when playing a level. Give him a fair chance, but if you come to the same conclusion as I have, then don't be afraid to go against the recommendation.



Addendum. Now that I am much farther into the game, there are levels that require you to use a certain number of amulets, or to destroy a certain number of tokens. For those levels, you will need Kain. For example, level 725 will be nearly impossible without using Kain, unfortunately. I was able to create an amulet power-up without Kain, but creating three amulets in the restricted space and with limited moves provided is nearly impossible.


Save Your Gold
Eventually you will be unable to complete a level in the allotted moves, and the game will try to guilt you into using gold to purchase a few more moves. The in-game gold doesn't cost anything, so what's the issue?

First, it is the principle of the matter. Exercising restraint in general will help you resist the constant marketing ploys. It develops patience as well. Save your gold for when you really need it. You earn on average about 50 to 100 gold per level, depending on your skill, but it costs 900 for a few more moves. Yes, you can get well over 100 at times, but speaking on average. And if you underestimate your chances, and lose again it doubles to 1800. You will run out of gold really quick. Save it for those difficult levels where you really are 1 move away from the win, then spring for it.



Sharing Lives
I'm not sure how the game originally worked, I can only share what I have observed now. You can join an alliance, where you can request and share lives. You can share lives with as many requesting players as possible and you do NOT forfeit any of your own game lives. It will cost you nothing to share lives, and there are several achievements you can gain by doing so. Again, sharing lives with other players does not reduce the lives you have!

You can also request lives when you are low, and hopefully there will other players from your alliance that are playing as well. Be careful, though. If you are at full lives (5) and you visit the team tab, you will lose any shared lives since you can only have 5 at a time. If you have requested lives, then it is best to visit that tab only when your lives are low.



Extending Your Lives
Speaking of lives, here is a tip for how to extend those lives when facing tough levels. You will be awarded prizes that give you unlimited lives for a specific interval of time (15 minutes, 1 hour, etc.). Once that time expires you will revert back to limited live, but have a full compliment of lives (5). To make the most of this reward, do not claim it, if possible, until you have used all you existing lives. This will essentially give you an extra 5 lives.





Likewise, you do not have to claim rewards as soon as you earn them. The hard and super hard levels are sprinkled between normal levels, so If you are playing the normal levels, then don't claim the reward and wait until you hit a level that is giving you trouble. You can even exit the game, and claim the reward later.

However, some caution. If an event ends, and you have unclaimed prizes, you will automatically be given them when you start the game. If you did not claim the "major" chest that has the 2 hour unlimited lives, for example, and you start playing when you only have a few minutes (like before work or school), then you are forced to claim the 2 hour reward, and will have wasted it. I speak from experience here having lost a 2 hour reward in that fashion.

The B-Attitudes
Again, this is based on my personal playing of Strongblade. I'm at level 2606. Not bragging, just letting you know that I have put in my fair share of time into the game, so I've tried varying approaches to the levels. I'm not trying to steer you wrong.

The Beetle is the best power up you can create, in my humble opinion. On every move, look to create any beetle you can. Obviously, if it is your last move, creating a beetle is probably not going to win the level for you. But you get what I am saying.



Be aware that you can create a beetle, even when matching a beetle or other power up, as long as you make a square of 4 (sometimes 5 or 6) tokens. In the example below, matching the 5 green tokens will cause a beetle to take action, get the key, and also create another beetle. Great move!



If you can't create a beetle, and there is not a fantastic match, then the next best thing is to match any tokens for your friends power up. In this case, red. You want to take advantage of those free power ups when you can.



Moves are limited, so you will want to make the most of each one. The move you make can be the difference between completing the level or repeating it! You get more goodies from the game for completing levels in succession, such as the Flying High gifts.

Consider this example. By moving a beetle down, this will trigger the 4 tokens around it, causing 3 beetles to remove tokens, as well as triggering the purple line power up, which will obtain the pinwheel, and the beetles will all land, taking out up to 12 tokens (4 each unless overlap). You can end the level in one move with a Beetle-attitude! LOL



This is another example where you can create a beetle token, while also activating a power up. Leveraging your moves to make the most of each on.



One more example of using a beetle to the fullest. Consider the image below. If you simply double-click the beetle it would only remove 2 tokens, take off and break the chain of a pinwheel or gather one up. However, if you match the beetle upwards, you remove 2 pinwheels, and allow the beetle to take off and remove the chain from a third.



If you happen to have multiple possible beetle crating groupings, you should work from top to bottom, to avoid possibly disrupting the upper grouping due to shifting tokens. Make the red match, then the blue match. Seems obvious, but sometimes we rush to make a move. Keep in mind, in some levels the flow of tokens is not top to bottom, so make matches from the start of the flow toward the end of the flow, if that makes sense.



You can also create a beelte power-up using frozen tokens, so keep your eyes open for opportunities to win levels!



You can also maximize a beetle's power when you launch it. If you make a match of 3 or more including a beetle, that beetle will be "powered" when it launches. The beetle will have small tokens rotating around it as it flies, as can be seen in the second image below.



When a powered beetle lands, it removes all the tokens around where it lands, instead of just one. This can be a game winner on some of the later, tougher levels.



Beetle Mania
In the largest beetle invasion since the Fab Four came to America, matching an amulet and a beetle can result in some serious goodness. It is pretty hard to lose a level when you can manage this event.




Pull Your Weight
One last important use of a beetle. You can use a beetle to pull an element, such as a balloon or princess, to the left or the right, as needed. This can be useful to get around a block. In the example below, the beetle could be used to pull the balloon to the left. There is no need to do that in this example, I'm just pointing out the ability so that you will be mindful as you are playing.



Scrooge McDuck
If you manage to earn a fair amount over the normal coins of a level, you get to see Sean trying to find Scrooge McDuck under all that gold. That is just a silly way of saying you get a background showing your fabulous pile of gold! Just interesting little tidbit.

And usually the first time you achieve over 100 gold on a level for the session, the Hero Bonus marketing dialog will appear. (May have been removed now.)

Later
Well, there you have it. Just a few tidbits that might boost your chances. The game is not that hard, and if you are a miser like I am, you'll have no issue ignoring the marketing. There is plenty of free, fun match-3 game play to be had.

By now I have created a sizeable collection of game guides, from tips and tricks to jokes and fan fiction across numerous games. You can check them out here if you so desire: Taskmaster's Guides! You won't be sorry.

Let me offer my sincere thanks for taking a few moments to check this guide out. It's nice to know that folks are getting use from my effort. If you have time, please take a moment to give it a rating, by clicking the stars at the top of the guide. Comments are always welcome as well, even the negative ones, as long as you are civil.

Until next time friend...

Taskmaster

2 Comments
Taskmaster  [author] 16 May @ 9:05am 
Glad it helped someone! Have a great day.
fairyhedgehog 16 May @ 4:47am 
Very helpful. Thank you!