Blood Brothers [Android]

[DiBiddilyBop]

For the last week I've been playing this game on my phone and surprisingly having a really good time with it. There have been very few games I've played for more than a few minutes on my phone (Plants vs. Zombies, Game Dev Story, and Angry Birds are the only ones that come to mind) and generally I feel like the level of polish on android and ios games just isn't up to my standards. Although this one has very simplistic gameplay, the art and mechanics drew me in and have kept me playing.

Although I've never played Pokemon, I'm pretty sure that's what the gameplay is based on. You start by choosing a warlord and acquire different allies during the course of the game which you add to your army. In the early game, you choose a band of 3 allies to do battle and later unlock the ability to have 4 or 5 allies in your band. The actual battling is as basic as it gets. You hit start and then cross your fingers that your team wins. There are certain ways you can arrange your team that can help the outcome, but whether or not your team uses their special abilities or makes advantageous attacks is all left up to chance. If all there was to the game was collecting creatures and doing battle, it'd probably get very old very fast.

What drew me in was the art style which I think is exceptional, and the leveling system. Your guys level normally through battle, but they can also be evolved into more powerful versions of themselves (each evolution has unique art). Each creature comes with a rarity and a star rating. The rarity gives you a general idea of the creature's power level, and the star rating tells you its evolution potential. To evolve a creature, you need a second creature of the same type to sacrifice. The evolving creature gets 5% of the sacrificed creature's stats, or 10% of the sacrificed creature is max level (big incentive to max your creatures before you sac them). This is really easy to do if you're dealing with common creatures, but later on when you want to evolve a rare creature four times to reach its maximum potential, you're going to have to count on a bit of luck or a lot of play time to get the creature enough times to meet the required number of sacrifices.

There's also a "Blood Brother" system where you can essentially throw away all your trash creatures (you'll end up with a lot of unusable common creatures) and improve your better creature's chances of using their special ability. Once a creature's special skill has been fully leveled through the blood brother system, they'll be using it fairly regularly during combat.

There are also events that occur periodically which can give you a chance at some unique creatures. When I started playing, there was an event going on where the top 30 ranked players received a legendary creature (to my knowledge, events are the only way to get a legendary). I was ranked 8,000 something which was pretty good, but I had also just started so I could see once you've built an army up being able to compete for some of the top spots. Prizes went all the way down to the top 20,000, so I still got something out of it.

Unfortunately, one of the game's biggest drawbacks is a consequence of the F2P model. When you start playing, you have 30 action points. Each move through the game world costs 1 action point, and action points regenerate at the rate of 1 every 5 minutes. You also get a refill on action points every time your warlord levels which will keep you going pretty steadily through the early levels, but once you get to around level 50 or so, things start to drag and you can end up waiting for quite some time for more action points. Early on you get a few items which you can use to restore your actions points to full (so don't waste them!), and you can also purchase them through their store for the equivalent of $1. Personally, I just put the game down for a while when my action points are up, and I try to be strategic on when my warlord levels.

Overall, I've really enjoyed the game. It's a pretty fun diversion that you can pick up and put down easily. Seeing as how I haven't been playing it very long, I'm also really curious to see what other kinds of special events pop up.

If you choose to pick it up, there's also a referral program where the new player starts with some additional coins to use to buy pacts which you get creatures out of, and the referring player gets a rare creature that can evolve into a pretty badass epic after 5 referrals.

So if you do end up picking it up, please use my referral code: 72rY7S.

CoG Wants / Haves

DiBiddilyBop

Wants:
Galahad, Drake Knight *
Eton, Eater of Worms *
Ghislandi (any)
Undead Captain *

Haves:

Nunu, Hill Giant II **
Baego, White Drake **
Minotaur *
Kojiro, Yojimbo II **
Anansesem II ****
Dwarven Hog Knight II ****
Swordsman II **
Diemberger, Paladin *
Elven Guardian *
Elven Guardian II **
Gub-Gub, Butcher *
Siegfried, Sigil Knight *
Zampson, Firefighter *
Zampson, Firefighter II **
Goblin Hero, The Younger *
Cat Sith Aristocrat ***
Makalipon *
Zoa, Berserker II ****
Uther, Arbiter II **
Dreameating Tapir II **

LongStepMantis

Wants
Yeti (**+)
Minotaur *

Haves
?

Kieleran

Wants:

Girtablilu or Girtablilu II
Amazon

Haves:

Ragan Harvester *** x2
Troll Boxer**
Elven Healer ***
Pan II**
Pan*
White Drake**
Margery, Saviour * x2
Wight Archmage *** and ****
***
Zoa ***
Bifrons*
A-Oh II **
Siegfried Sigil Knight II ** x2
CyclopsII **
Seargent Dwakky *
Scorpion Tamer *
Nunu II **
the Elder II

Grifter

Wants:
Ghislandi
Dragons
Sehkmet
Cerberus
Horns
Mandrake
Heartsblood

Haves:

Uther Arbiter
Pendragon, the Scourge x2
Pouliquen, Archbishop
Pouliquen, Archbishop II
Esmerelda,Tactician II
Esmereldathe
Anansesem
Raven Tengu
Kurama Tengu x2
Marjoriethe Liberator
Yeti Watch
Beguiling Succubus
Sita,War Princess II
Tapir II
Pan of the Flute
Pan of the Flute II
Zampson, Firefighter II
The Lion Prince II
Elven Guardian II
Cat Sidhe II
Earl Cat Sidhe II
Firuch Iceblood x5
Firuch Iceblood II x2
Nunu Giant x2
Chimera
Cat Sith Aristocrat
Pumpkin Knight II

Hawkzombie

Wants:

Cat Sidhe *
Galahad Drake Knight *
Pegasus *
Yeti (any star)
Ghislandi *
Girtablilu *
Odin *

Haves:

Guillaume, Inquisitor II ** (Level 25, 20/20) I simply upgraded him.
Dragon Whelp *** (Level 50, 1/20)
Dragon Whelp *** (Level 40, 13/20)
I've been leveling these from 1 star to try and max stats, but screwed up and have higher than normal, but not max
Zoa, Berserker *** (30/70, 1/20)
Zoa, Berserker *** (1/70, 1/20)
Hector, Knight Templar II **** (14/70, 1/20)
Hector, Knight Templar II **** (70/70, 12/20)
Hector, Knight Templar II **** (1/70, 1/20)
Hector, Knight Templar II **** (1/70, 1/20)
Baego, Red Drake * (1/70, 1/20)
Baego, Red Drake ** (1/70, 1/20)
Baego, White Drake ** (70/70, 13/20)
Troll Boxer Dreadnought * (1/70, 1/20)
Kojiro, Yojimbo * (1/70, 1/20)
Nunu, Hill Giant * (1/70, 1/20)
Elven Sage *** (1/70, 1/20)
Elven Sage *** (1/70, 1/20)
Zombie Berserker *** (1/70, 1/20)
Zombie Berserker II **** (1/70, 1/20)
Yukimura, Kiba-Musha II ** (1/70, 1/20)
Steamchariot Mk II **** (1/70, 1/20)
Colossus II ** (1/70, 1/20)
Millidrake II **** (1/70, 1/20)
Lizardman Doctor II **** (1/70, 1/20)
Cyclops * (1/70, 1/20)
Goblin Cleric * (1/70, 1/20)
Goblin Cleric II ** (1/70, 1/20)
Raven Tengu II ** (1/70, 1/20)
Medusa II ** (1/70, 1/20) MAYBE
Succubus II ** (1/70, 1/20)

[Kielaran]

Sounds fun. Any idea if it is going to hit iOS?

[DiBiddilyBop]

I think it's already on ios. If not, it's coming.

[Kielaran]

Hmmm, off to search...

[Kielaran]

I now have this for the iPhone. I am really liking it, though there is a bit of learning curve. I am just trying to farm some rares and max them out. Sadly, I had a lvl 35 rare that I accidentally made a minion to another one.

I am cuurently sitting at 8 rares, 2 of them maxed out. I am keeping them in the back of my bands to pop in for pvp. It works out pretty well. Right now I am sitting at an 18 streak, though I feel my luck running thin.

[MachEnergy]

Gonna give it a whirl.

[MachEnergy]

I might still be in the tutorial, but I have yet to see any option to enter a referral code. When can you do this?

Also, my gorilla fucks shit UP!

[DiBiddilyBop]

It's after the tutorial chick "leaves" your team and you can start clicking into things like "Blood Brothers' on the main menu. If I remember right, it actually pops up asking for it when you're done with the tutorial.

Right now I'm focusing only on rares starting at 1/4 or higher. I have 3 epics, one which actually evolved from an uncommon (a motorcycle riding dwarf guy), one that I got from the scarlet pact that was given out when it hit 3rd place on the google play market, and one from the last event.

Fortunately, I have a 2/4 rare dude that revives fallen allies adjacent to him. He has a bazillion HP and defense, so even if he gets focused he doesn't go down and he makes it a million times easier to level up new guys who repeatedly eat crap through the early levels.

[LongStepMantis]

This is one of the very few energy/time restricted games I play. I didn't like the fact that you can't control the fights, selecting targets and whatnot, but I've gotten used to it.

A few tips:
Recruit anything UC or better to feed to your mains. The best food are the "offering" shades. Winning PvP battles is the easiest way to get offering units when there isn't an event going on. Win streaks are the key. Resist the urge to go into PvP with standard attack and opt for the 3-PvP energy cost All Out attack. You're much more likely to win and the main point is win streaks, not number. I know this limits you to one battle at a time, but since the rewards for streak wins increase as your streak count does, you'll be thankful for the good rewards. Also, the game will try and screw you if you go standard. Pay attention next time you PvP someone. Notice how your special attacks rarely trigger and theirs do constantly? That's not bad luck. I'm almost positive the game tries to prevent you from achieving large streaks by lulling you into fights you should normally win (weaker units, lower levels than you) and then they break out 10 special attacks and murder you.

Resist the urge to form pacts until you can get a 10 pack. Even with copper pacts, buying in a 10 pack almost always nets you at least a couple UC units, and I've even received an EP (Epic is the tier above R, rare) 3 out of 4 stars unit.

Evolving units should have at least one of them at max level. Trust me, this is more important than one might think. I know no one likes grinding up a unit just to boost a combination, but it's a stair-step process and most units level pretty fast. If the "seed" unit is max level when combined, the new unit inherits 10% of their stats. I combined two units yesterday with one at max, and the new unit got over 1K added to each stat at level 1. He's now level 30 out of 70, and already passing up the rest of my max level units in the stat department.

Conservation of items is key. Save them for events, and then rake it in. Save those horns and mandrakes. Not only do events typically have great, frequent rewards, but they also tend to pay out substantially more in XP than normal stage battles do.

Special attacks are half the battle. Don't just get hung up on stats. A lot of units with great stats have dog shit specials. Likewise, quite a few "weak" units have mind-blowingly awesome specials. Look for specials that either hit multiple times or multiple targets, things along those lines. My "strongest stat" unit has a special that lowers the enemy's wisdom... in other words, it's fucking useless 99% of the time. Likewise I have an angel unit that seems somewhat weak stat-wise, but her special raises your units from the dead with full life. Some units even have more than one special. I have a Salamander Knight II that can breathe flame (one of the best specials I've seen so far, hits all units in a cone formation for about triple his normal attack) or hit everyone in the front row. Also, he gets two attacks a turn, base. No idea why, but he does.

Good luck guys, and this game is worth every penny it costs. Which is none. The game opens up a lot after the initial "training/tutorial" phase, so don't play for 10 minutes and think that's all the game is.

[Kielaran]

Thanks for the info Mantis. I am really liking it but I still get confused a bit.

I just burned all my mandrakes on this event. I am farming zone 5 of the novice tower, trying to get as many of the boss as possible (plus the 10 blood meal for beating it each time is damn nice)

Can you confirm what I am guessing: I am hoping to get the boss 8 times, then evolving 4 pairs of them so that I have 4 [2 star] units, then again maxing them out and making them into 2 [3 star] units and then evolving them into 1 massive 4 star unit. Will that work (if I can get 8 bosses converted)? I only did the evolve once to see what happens with a few throw away units. I am just afraid that if I evolve 2 units that are 2 star, that they would become a 4 star unit, not a 3 star one.

My only complaint with the event is that you don't get pvp battles in it.

As for pvping, I prefer the 3 battles to the all out. I have a stash of bugles, so as long as I can win those three, I only use 1 bugle (if I start with no bars). So far my max streak was 18 in a row. It netted me a sanguine shade, which I think was the equivalent of 3 regular shades.

As for pvp experience, I have found out that higher rarity nets more points than higher level. Aka, you would get much higher experience fighting a level 4 with 2 rares and an epic vs a level 10 with an uncommon, a rare, and an epic.

[LongStepMantis]

Originally Posted by Kielaran

Can you confirm what I am guessing: I am hoping to get the boss 8 times, then evolving 4 pairs of them so that I have 4 [2 star] units, then again maxing them out and making them into 2 [3 star] units and then evolving them into 1 massive 4 star unit. Will that work (if I can get 8 bosses converted)? I only did the evolve once to see what happens with a few throw away units. I am just afraid that if I evolve 2 units that are 2 star, that they would become a 4 star unit, not a 3 star one.

That is indeed correct. Evolving two matching 1 star units (provided that unit has empty stars left to fill) will make the 2 star upgraded unit of that line. Repeat each step until the star meter maxes out, ideally. Two 2*'s will make a 3*, two 3*'s makes a 4*. Just make sure you have a lot of time and patience because capturing a Rare unit with a standard blood vial (like most event tower bosses) is a 5% chance to succeed. In other words, getting more than one or two will take a determined effort. I'm not sure what the % is on UC's, but if I had to guess I'd say around 25%. If you can actually pull off the 8-man full run upgrade, try to level one of each pair and make sure the leveled one is the seed, not the first one. The overall stat bonus carried over through 4 evolutions would make that unit an absolute beast.

Originally Posted by Kielaran

As for pvping, I prefer the 3 battles to the all out. I have a stash of bugles, so as long as I can win those three, I only use 1 bugle (if I start with no bars). So far my max streak was 18 in a row. It netted me a sanguine shade, which I think was the equivalent of 3 regular shades.

In the early game I found it easier to do exactly what you are doing. My warlord is level 74 now though, and PvP matches are much more of a crapshoot. I can prove nothing, but I find that the AI seems to slant the odds for the team you're fighting to get their special attacks, while you seem to trigger them less. My main team is skill maxed, the highest %chance you can get for specials, and my specials trigger constantly in PvE fights. They rarely seem to trigger in PvP. I may just have the world's worst luck, but I watch for it now that I've noticed that trend, and I don't think I'm wrong.
Going by that idea, then the PvP matches start to be less about stats and levels, and more about the specials they use. If their squad has a lot of enemies with multi-hit specials, watch out. It takes a while, but you'll start to be able to recognize the units with nasty specials just from their image. That one samurai-looking warlord is a big offender. My recommendation to use the 3 power PvP option will be much more applicable as you advance, as the enemies you get to select from for PvP will obviously have more and more fine-tuned and leveled teams. For example, my active team has 4 members now instead of 3 (you unlock more formations, and eventually formations that hold more units as you progress) so everyone I get paired with for PvP has either 4 or even 5 units as well. Almost all of them will be tricked out Epics and Rares capable of wiping out your whole team with a couple lucky skill activations.

Originally Posted by Kielaran

As for pvp experience, I have found out that higher rarity nets more points than higher level. Aka, you would get much higher experience fighting a level 4 with 2 rares and an epic vs a level 10 with an uncommon, a rare, and an epic.

Interesting observation, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!

Sorry for the wall of text, but you could write a book on the things they don't properly explain in the game. One of its biggest weaknesses, IMO.

[DiBiddilyBop]

I've actually stopped leveling my warlord to hopefully (eventually) get an edge in pvp. It makes progression slower, but I figure when I unlock the 5 formation, I will be one of very few people around my level to have the 5 formation, so hopefully it'll match me against mostly 4's for easier wins.

[Kielaran]

Originally Posted by LongStepMantis

That is indeed correct. Evolving two matching 1 star units (provided that unit has empty stars left to fill) will make the 2 star upgraded unit of that line. Repeat each step until the star meter maxes out, ideally. Two 2*'s will make a 3*, two 3*'s makes a 4*. Just make sure you have a lot of time and patience because capturing a Rare unit with a standard blood vial (like most event tower bosses) is a 5% chance to succeed. In other words, getting more than one or two will take a determined effort. I'm not sure what the % is on UC's, but if I had to guess I'd say around 25%. If you can actually pull off the 8-man full run upgrade, try to level one of each pair and make sure the leveled one is the seed, not the first one. The overall stat bonus carried over through 4 evolutions would make that unit an absolute beast.

Is there any advantage to leveling both the spawn and seed or would I just be wasting my time by leveling both?

So far I have 6 of the unit, so not too much longer. Once I get all 8 I may try the next tower. Then again I may give up on them all together and push through the story some more.

Another note: if you have a dead character at the end of a pvp session, that unit still gets levels. If you need a few levels to start a unit out, you can pair two big units with a low level and get a bit of a jump even if they get crushed.

Originally Posted by DiBiddilyBop

I've actually stopped leveling my warlord to hopefully (eventually) get an edge in pvp. It makes progression slower, but I figure when I unlock the 5 formation, I will be one of very few people around my level to have the 5 formation, so hopefully it'll match me against mostly 4's for easier wins.

I don't know how true this is, but my observation is that the pvp gets harder the higher your streak is. I am wondering if the pvp pairings are people who are around the same streak amount as you, not your level. It would explain the ability to have a three team choice of levels 4, 16, and 42. IDK how true it is, but just what I have seen overall.

[LongStepMantis]

Originally Posted by Kielaran

Is there any advantage to leveling both the spawn and seed or would I just be wasting my time by leveling both?

So far I have 6 of the unit, so not too much longer. Once I get all 8 I may try the next tower. Then again I may give up on them all together and push through the story some more.

Another note: if you have a dead character at the end of a pvp session, that unit still gets levels. If you need a few levels to start a unit out, you can pair two big units with a low level and get a bit of a jump even if they get crushed.



I don't know how true this is, but my observation is that the pvp gets harder the higher your streak is. I am wondering if the pvp pairings are people who are around the same streak amount as you, not your level. It would explain the ability to have a three team choice of levels 4, 16, and 42. IDK how true it is, but just what I have seen overall.

I'm not sure if there's any advantage to pre-leveling the spawn in an evolution, as the only time I combined two pre-leveled units, the new unit had the same level as the spawn did. IE, I combined a level 70 seed with a level 35 spawn, and the new unit is lvl 35, like the spawn. In my eyes, this could be a way to bypass the bad leveling areas for each unit. You know how some units are Early bloomers, others are Late Bloomers, etc. So I guess technically if you knew the new unit would be a Late bloomer and the current units are Early, you could get their increased gains early on, then combine them, then profit from the new unit's late bloomer status. Seems like more work than it's worth, especially since I have no clue what units have what progression times.

As far as I could tell, all pre-leveling did was give me less levels to gain and therefore less stats to obtain with a superior unit who would have gained better stats during those levels that get skipped. I always use a lvl 1 spawn with a max level seed.

I would also agree that PvP matches are more difficult the higher your streak is. At one point i had a pretty powerful team for a lower level, and I would steamroll PvP almost constantly... until I hit about a 6+ win streak. Then I would stumble on some team that would seem weak, that would just whoop my ass. That happened enough times that I started using the all-out attack option if my streak was good.

[Kielaran]

Thanks for the spawn seed info. That's really helpful.

As for pvp, does all out count as 1 or 3 wins?

On a side note, I got 8 of te novice tower boss and have started the leveling process. Hopefully it ends up being worth it.

[LongStepMantis]

Originally Posted by Kielaran

Thanks for the spawn seed info. That's really helpful.

As for pvp, does all out count as 1 or 3 wins?

On a side note, I got 8 of te novice tower boss and have started the leveling process. Hopefully it ends up being worth it.

I think it will be. Or I hope so at least. I have 7 of those as well, so one more and I'll be doing the same. If you look at the completed 4* versions of that unit in the bazaar he's awful... and then you realize that the people trying to pawn off those units didn't level them first. The leveling process will take a while, since you essentially have to level four 1*'s, then two 2 *'s, and then one of the 3 *'s before you arrive at the final combination, which you then have to level the 4* unit. People who skip those levelling steps are probably losing out on a huge chunk of stats, and the unit's special hits multiple targets, so that's a bonus. I'd be willing to bet he's a monster if you put the work in. If not, well, then I hope we learn a valuable lesson from all this.

All Out attack uses up all 3 PvP energy marks and, provided you win the fight, you get one win. All Out just triples your units' stats. If everyone in your team had 4000 in every stat, then during All Out they would have 12k in every stat. Even if you don't use it much for PvP right now, Raid Bosses in some events are ridiculously tough and hit like a cement truck, and it really helps out then.

[Kielaran]

I really hope so too. So far leveling isn't going bad with him. I just got the 4 person band so my setup is two of them (lvl 39 and 15) a nearly maxed white drake and my warlord (the dwarf warrior guy who can hit the whole front line.

As for the boss special, at nearly full level it seems to hit 5 times around 1k each. I can't wait to see how much that will increase with the stars.

That makes sense with pvp. I may end up using the all out hit if I need to get my next win bonus. What happens I you quit out without fighting? Does it reset your wins? I never tried before.

[BLeeP]

This sounds a lot like Rage of Bahamut and I'm really bored at work, so I think I'm going to give this a go.

[Kielaran]

I can't seem to find the bazaar. I am on the iOS version I that makes a difference. It says the bazaar was added but it is nowhere to be found on the title options.

[LongStepMantis]

Originally Posted by Kielaran

I can't seem to find the bazaar. I am on the iOS version I that makes a difference. It says the bazaar was added but it is nowhere to be found on the title options.

First off, you aren't missing much. You might be ok if you offer a trade yourself, where you can set the terms. 99% of the offers I've browsed that others posted were so one-sided it was laughable. Like you want a 1/4* rare, they want you to give them 2 Epics and a rare for it. One wanted two Epics and a Legendary (tier above rare) and I don't even know how you get those.

As for it's location, I'm on Droid, so I don't know if it's different for iOS. Mine is located by selecting "More" at the bottom of the main menu, and the bazaar should be in the list that comes up. Mine is bottom row, center icon.