Chaos Reborn Multiplayer Live Guide and Basics

A guide to understand the interface of Chaos Reborn's live multiplayer matches and tips.

Introduction

For higher quality reading and more advice from advanced players, consider reading the guide on the official forums: http://www.forum.chaos-reborn.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2217


Last updated: 08/07/15 (up to date)


This guide was made during the 0.27 version, and may not contain all the information about the game right now! I will try to update this guide as soon as I can if there are important changes. This guide was made by a player of Chaos Reborn and therefore may not be 100% accurate, I welcome any feedback and information I may have missed. Enjoy!

This guide only covers the multiplayer live features.

Hello and welcome to "A Basic Chaos Reborn Guide". I have recently decided to create this guide meant for new players to help them understand the basics of Chaos Reborn and its interface, which can be confusing at first. You won't become a professional player by reading this guide, but you won't be as confused as you used to be(or so I hope). Let's begin!

What is Chaos Reborn?

It's always good to know a bit of the game's history and gameplay before trying to master it. The original Chaos Reborn was first published in 1985 by Games Workshop, and written by Julian Gollop (Yes, he also created the Chaos Reborn you are playing right now!). I myself, have never the played the original game, but according to the descriptions I read, it used to be the same thing: a turn-based strategy game with only one goal: kill all of your opponents, using magic attack spells, creatures! If you are interested in the original game, you should check its wikipedia's article.

Things to Know:
1. Each spell comes from a single alignment: either Law, Chaos or Neutral.
2. A talisman (first unlockable at level 11) is a buff that applies to either all your units, or your wizard itself. Some must be activated during your turn, and you won't be able to cast a spell afterward, except if it's a Mana/Major Talisman. Other are passive and do not need to be activated.
3. Mana Sprites are bonuses you can collect on the map, and will give you additional mana.

I. On the Battlefield

In this part I will explain the HUD and give some additional tips. It will help you if you are completely new to the game.

http://postimg.org/image/5ad64zx7n/

As you can see on the picture, I have given a number to each of the most important part of the interface while in battle. This way if you want to know what's "4", you can directly scroll down to the fourth explanation of the interface.

1. On this part of the HUD, you can see a load of information: your enemy's name and his level, your name and your level, as well as whose turn is it. In this case, I'm the blue player, and my enemy is red. Note that you can see how much time I have left to play my turn.

2. This is an "hex". It's what Civ. players call a "tile". When players or creatures move, they move from an hex to another. It is how movement work in Chaos Reborn. Every creature has a different "movement speed" and therefore don't move by the same number of hexes per turn. For example wizards can only move 2 hexes away (unless they used a specific talisman):


In addition, the height of wizards and creatures is also calculated with hexes: your wizard's height is two hexes high, whereas a sapphire dragon is 3 hexes high. If your sapphire dragon is in front of you, he will protect you if an elf wants to shoot you (He will obstruct the line of sight of the elf, because he is taller than you).

3. This part of the HUD is very important, it is where your spells are. You can organize them the way you want: from highest to lowest chance of casting the spell successfully, or by it's alignment(Law, Chaos, Neutral). All your spells come from your deck, which is randomly made at the beginning of the battle. You will never have the same deck! Your deck's size is influenced by your wizard's level, and the category of spell in your deck by your staff. For example, if you have a chaos staff, you will more likely get chaos spells at the end of your turn. Each turn, you can only cast one spell, super-spell, or talisman: choose wisely. When you decide to cast a creature, you can either cast a "real" creature, or an "illusion". Illusion will always work, but they can be disbelieved by the enemy! You get one card at the end of your turn. Some spells such as the "Magic Tree" spell gives you additional cards.

4. This is your staff. It shows you how much mana you have, and when it glows, it means you can use your super-spell. You get mana by "burning cards", killing creatures or wizards or from special spell effects. You can then use your mana to increase the probability of casting a spell!

5. Keep an eye on this part of the HUD! It shows how much time you have got left to play your turn: if the circle comes back to it's starting point, time is up! You can also choose to end your turn before the time is up. I believe you have got 3 minutes to play your turn. On the top of the button, you can see how many turns are left: if nobody has won after 20 turns, there will be a draw.

6. This is your wizard. Click on him to move.

7. This is you enemy! Crush him. You should click on him to find information about his equipment, stats...

8. This bar, at the top of your screen, represents the balance between Law and Chaos. At the beginning of the game it is Neutral (remember what I said? There are three types of spells: Law, Chaos and Neutral). If you cast a Chaos spell and succeed, the balance is going to go toward chaos, thus increasing your chances to cast chaos spells, for both you and your opponent. However, law spells will get no bonus. Neutral spells will never get a bonus of higher casting chance. Two spells: "Law Shift" and "Chaos shift" will shift the balance toward one or another alignment. They are very helpful and have a high casting chance.

You may have noticed that there is an in-game guide:

http://postimg.org/image/yx0ytw7f7/

It contains a lot of basic information, and can be very useful for beginners! Read it!

II. How to survive

I have already given multiple tips in the first section, but not all of them. If you are angry because you keep dying during the first turns of the game, this may help. Remember: this is my opinion, some player may have different tactics/way of playing.

1. I would recommend moving at every turn. Staying in the same place for too long will allow your enemy to get the field advantage as well as all the mana sprites. Moving will break your opponent's plan, allow you to get to safety, etc... Unless you are forced to, do not give up the high ground and territory. High ground grants you bonus damage, and retreating will be seen as a weakness by your opponent. Try to confuse him!

2. Casting a creature will allow you to directly put pressure on the opponent, it is why most people begin so. Creatures such as rats, eagles, lion elf... Are the best: they are quick, have moderate damage, and the elf can shoot from afar. Consider casting an illusion, it will prevent you from failing at this point in the game when it's important to secure the field.

3. Mana is great!, if you need a spell to work, use your mana! Your mana won't be useful once you are dead!

4. Casting Illusions is essential, and will help you win the game.

5. Try not to get in range of a bolt or blob. Those are the n°1 way wizards die in Chaos Reborn. You can get in range of a bolt if there is a creature that prevent you from being in its line of sight. (Such as an hydra, giant or other large creatures).
Furthermore, casting a blob doesn't mean you won, the enemy wizard can still cast spells and kill you.

The range of a bolt is three hexes, and requires you to have a unobstructed line of sight. The line of sight of a blob is actually four hexes, as it will auto-spread to the nearest creature/wizard.

6. Do not forget your talismans. They are often useful. Sometimes. Rarely.

7. Only disbelieve if you are sure, it's an illusion. I personally disbelieve only before trying to convert a creature, but some people like to disbelieve creatures more often. Keep in mind that if you fail a disbelieve, you cannot cast another spell.

8. If your wizard has a shot and can try and kill the enemy wizard, look at every possibilities: what could happen if I fail? Do I have a backup plan? Am I in an advantageous position? Be very careful!

9. Your creature has a shot at the enemy wizard? Attack him! Rats can kill as well!

10. You can make multiple "builds" in your inventory, find your favorite staff/s and armor/s.

11. Clicking on an enemy creature gives you information about it: where it can move, who it can attack, its defense/attack... You have to know the creatures you are facing and the creatures you are using.

12. It is highly recommended to begin playing Chaos Reborn with friendly matches as you won't need to worry about your ranking, and players are more willing to give you tips. You may also consider the offline mode and fight against AI to understand the basics I have explained above, and choose how much time you have to play your turn.

If you still need help/have questions, feel free to ask questions to the more advanced players, and you should also check out some of the other important guides out there (they may not have been updated since a long time):
http://steamcommunity.com/app/319050/guides/

And I'm going to stop posting links, because the forums do not work If I put too many of them! :x

Finally, have fun! May the RNG be with you!

[michi]

And thank you ;)

[michi]

@D00m:
Done. I think it's much more enjoyable to read it on the forums, so I still highly recommend people to read it on the forums.

Some links are not working through steam and I had to take them off, and pictures are easier to view on the forums.
And as you already pointed out, there is the feedback of other players.

[D00m]

Hey michigogo, if you can I'd suggest posting the contents of the guide here not just the link. Some people might prefer that, though I realise there's some good discussion on the official forum including further tips and such.