Border Pioneer offers a delightful adventure where you can manage pixelated troops, construct miniature resource centers, and face off against various foes to protect your people. This engaging journey is easy to start but challenging to master, especially for those new to the game.
Each turn introduces unique cards and troops that you must strategically use to shield your civilization from persistent dangers. If you’re just beginning your journey, these tips can assist you in maximizing every quest and adventure in Border Pioneer.
Select the Appropriate Card Pack
Once you’ve completed the tutorial and your kingdom’s future rests in your hands, you’ll encounter numerous options as you advance. One of these decisions involves the type of card packs you receive. Generally, you’ll choose between a Development Pack or a Battle Pack.
In the early stages of the game, prioritize Development Packs. These packs provide cards that enhance your kingdom’s resources and foster population growth, including valuable cards like Farmland and Houses.
As you progress, obtaining more card packs becomes easier. Once you feel confident, you can alternate between different packs to create a well-rounded gameplay experience.
Tip: If you find yourself unable to play a card due to a lack of resources, consider either selling it or holding onto it for the next turn.
Positioning Your Troops
From brave warriors to enchanted mages, you’ll accumulate diverse fighters as you battle through various conflicts. However, it’s not enough to merely place them; you need to consider their positioning during combat.
Be vigilant about enemy locations and consequently assign troops to specific areas for defense. While this isn’t mandatory, regularly adjusting troop placement during battles is a wise habit. This ensures that no units remain idle, as you don’t want any troop stuck without making decisions.
Tip: Quickly select multiple units by drawing a rectangle around them instead of clicking on each one individually.
Observe Enemy Movements
A strong defense can often serve as the best offense. Before concluding a turn, pay attention to potential enemy attacks. Hovering over the prompts at the edge of the screen reveals a marked route that indicates where enemies will move once they appear.
Using this information, you can strategically position important buildings (like Houses) out of the enemy’s path, minimizing potential damage to your kingdom. Moreover, deploy your strongest troops in areas where they’ll be most needed, making it easier to fend off the initial waves of attacks.
Tip: If you have Spike Traps available, place them directly in the enemies’ path. If successful, consider acquiring more traps as the game progresses.
Efficiently Relocate Buildings
When placing buildings, it might feel like a significant decision, but you can move structures around for a small resource cost. This option appears at the bottom of the screen when a building is selected.
Understand which buildings work well together and strategically place them accordingly. For instance, clustering farms can boost your agricultural output. For weapon-based structures, make sure they are positioned based on their range of attack, ideally distributing them along the kingdom’s perimeter, near enemy entry points.
Construct Walls Wisely
Once you gain the ability to build walls, it may be tempting to use them extensively to secure your territory. However, it’s wiser to limit the number of walls based on the landscape.
Observe potential placements where you can connect a single wall to another, avoiding the need to enclose an area completely. Use your map’s features to strategically place minimal walls while still maintaining strong defenses—this is a skill you’ll develop as you play more.
Tip: Try engaging in a battle with few or no walls and jot down where enemies can move unimpeded and where they are blocked.
Utilize Spells During Combat
Like other items in your deck, spells are a powerful resource, but rather than deploying them like a troop or building, you should use them when enemies arrive.
Fire spells, for instance, can deal substantial area damage, while others like tornadoes can disrupt enemy movements for brief periods. Save spells for critical moments when your troops need assistance, or unleash them during the initial enemy waves.
Advance Through Quests
Quests might not dominate gameplay, but they are crucial for progressing. After several turns, you’ll receive story prompts indicating developments in your kingdom, requiring you to make choices.
You might need to allocate soldiers for help, or often, you’ll be expected to spend resources for further exploration. Balancing your decisions is key—there’s usually an option to spend fewer resources to gain favor, though it may not yield major rewards.
Tip: Keep track of the in-game calendar; before long, your time may end without completing essential objectives.
Invest in Meaningful Cards
The in-game shop is stocked with valuable items. Before making a purchase, consider: are you ready for battle, or do you need to bolster your resources? Your answer will guide your spending.
It’s usually beneficial to acquire a card you’ve been seeking over the past few turns. For example, early in the game, prioritize purchasing long-range troops such as archers for kingdom defense. Alternatively, consider investing in buildings like Markets or Houses that can help your kingdom thrive. Remember, you can always sell less useful cards to free up resources for vital purchases.
