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Heavenstrike Rivals

Heavenstrike Rivals is a mobile 2D fantasy-themed turn-based tactical MMORPG developed by Square Enix featuring character design similar to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The game features over 700 collectible and trainable units, a story-based single player campaign, and real-time PvP battles.

Publisher: Square Enix
Type: Mobile Turn-Based Strategy
Release Date: August 29, 2013
Shut Down: May 01, 2018
PvP: Real-time League & Arena Battles
Pros: +Massive roster of unique characters. +New heroes added regularly. +Good storyline. +Easy to learn. +Multi-platform gaming.
Cons: -Grindy gameplay. -Pay-to-win elements.

Heavenstrike Rival Shut Down on May 01, 2018

Overview

Heavenstrike Rivals Overview

Take on the role of a newly assigned Trinity Lions captain and save Lunnain from the Fallen in Heavenstrike Rivals, a turn-based tactics game from Square Enix, the developers of the widely-popular Final Fantasy franchise. Join the wacky and heroic members of the Trinity Lions 39th squad as you embark on an epic quest across the war-torn world of Lunnain to save the legendary Seven Sisters from the clutches of the evil Fallen. Collect and train and assemble a squad from a massive roster of heroes and unit types that range from common soldiers to legendary heroes. Pit your assembled team of heroes against the armies of the Fallen or against other players in real-time PvP battles. Join a variety of PvP-focused events such as League battles and weekend Arena competitions to make it to the top of the world rankings.

Heavenstrike Rivals Key Features:

  • Simple Yet Tactical – outwit and outmaneuver your opponents in turn-based battles that take place in a compact 7x3 grid.
  • Massive Roster of Heroes – collect, train, and do battle with over 700 unique, fully-animated units.
  • Single Player Campaign – embark on a quest to save Lunnain and the legendary Seven Sisters from the evil plots of the Fallen and earn items, gold, and units along the way.
  • Real-time Multiplayer Battles – compete with players from all over the world in real-time 1vs1 tactical turn-based battles.
  • Various PvP Events – take part in a variety of PvP events including League battles and regularly-held Arena competitions.

Heavenstrike Rivals Screenshots

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Heavenstrike Rivals Featured Video

Heavenstrike Rivals Trailer

Units

Heavenstrike Rivals Unit Types:

Melee Units (1 Square Attack Range):

Scouts – move 3 squares and can attack twice per turn giving them the ability to move quickly across the board to take out vulnerable units or put pressure on captains.

Fighters – move 2 squares, gain 1 point of attack every time they attack an enemy unit or captain, and usually have high attack points for their mana cost making them formidable threats on the field.

Defenders – move 2 squares and Taunts enemy units each time they attack preventing them from switching lanes. They tend to have high HP as well as protection and recovery skills but have low attack points compared to other unit types.

Ranged Units:

Gunners – move 1 square but have an attack range of 3 squares and can deal full damage to multiple units in their lane. Gunners only move forward when they are unopposed and will hold their ground until the lane is clear.

Mages – move 1 square and have an attack range of 3 squares. Their attacks deal Blast damage which allows them to deal full damage to all units adjacent to their target. Like Gunners, Mages only move forward when their attack lane is clear.

Priests – move 1 square and have an attack range of 2 squares. They are excellent support units and the only healer-type units in the game but have lower HP and Attack points compared to other units.

Full Review

Heavenstrike Rivals Review

By, Marc Marasigan

Heavenstrike Rivals is a free-to-play 2D turn-based tactical MMORPG from Square Enix, the makers of the widely-popular Final Fantasy franchise. The game is set in the floating city of Lunnain. A world suspended by gigantic chains and watched over by the Guardian who lived in the chains’ summit. Every hundred years a new Guardian was chosen by the divine Seven Sisters. Lunnain enjoyed 600 years of peace and prosperity until ruthless monsters called the Fallen started coming down the chains to attack the once peaceful metropolis. Players along with members of the Trinity Lions’ 39th squad, a group dedicated to protecting Lunnain from the Fallen, must journey across the floating city to save the Seven Sisters from the nightmarish creatures’ evil plots.

The game features classic 2D graphics with flashy effects, seemingly hand-drawn anime-inspired characters and artwork, as well as chibi tokens, all of which are common in turn-based tactical RPG’s like Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem, and Disgaea, which might not look like much but gives the game a timeless quality and allows the game to age better than your latest CryEngine or Unreal engine game. The audio sounds great and features upbeat melodic tunes that work well with the game’s cute fantasy theme. Heavenstrike Rivals is also available for Android and iOS devices so you can play the game wherever you want, as long as you have an internet connection.

Welcome to the Trinity Lions

As a newly assigned Captain in the Trinity Lions 39th Squad players must first get acquainted with the basics of running a squad. Players go through a few guided practice matches with one of the squad members, which serves as both a tutorial and a prologue to the single player campaign. During the practice matches, players are given a taste of how battles are fought in the game. Players are also given step by step instructions on how to deploy units and use their abilities, as well as how to recruit additional units and assemble their own squads. But before that, players must first choose their names and pick from a number of pre-made avatars. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t offer any form of avatar customization. What you see is what you get.

Squad, Form Up!

Assembling squads in Heavenstrike Rivals is like assembling a deck of cards in a trading card game. Players are given 15 slots to put their chosen units in. One slot is reserved for the player’s Vanguard unit, which always appears in their hand while the rest are drawn at random every turn. Players initially start with a basic squad setup which can then be tweaked and improved as they acquire additional units either by recruiting them using Cores, the game’s premium currency, or as random rewards for eliminating units in battle. Players can acquire a variety of unit types with different uses and abilities, namely: Scouts, Fighters, Defenders, Gunners, Mages, and Priests. If you’ve played any type of MMORPG before you’ll probably be familiar with each of their roles. If not, you can always check out the Unit tab above for more info. Some units are also easier to acquire than others, ranging from 1 star for Good, all the way to 5 stars for Legendary. It’s important to note that legendary units aren’t necessarily the most powerful or the right one for the job. It all boils down to your play-style and overall strategy.

In addition, units can also be trained to increase their level by using either items or other units, and a set number of Gold, the game’s main currency. Items, which can be acquired by completing single player missions, grant a set number of experience points while units provide different amounts depending on their level. The higher the unit level the more experience points received by the unit being trained. Keep in mind that units are consumed when used to train other units so make sure that you use duplicates or at least ones that you won’t be using. Once units reach level 15, they can be promoted to increase their health and attack points, provided that the player has the required items. Promotion items can be acquired from missions or as daily login rewards.

Defeat The Captain

Like most turn-based tactics games battles in Heavenstrike are fought in a grid. Although, a relatively small one, compared to other games in the genre measuring just 3 tiles down and 7 tiles across. The player occupies the lefthand side of the grid while his/her opponent occupies the opposite end. The goal of every battle, whether against AI in the single player campaign or against other players in any of the PvP modes, is to defeat the opposing captain by reducing their HP to 0. This is done by getting units to deal damage to the opposing captain by getting them unopposed to within attacking distance. AI captains have varying amounts of HP while players always have 10. In addition, battles against AI run indefinitely while PvP matches are limited to 30 turns and 60 seconds each turn. The player with the most HP at the end wins the match, although matches rarely last that long.

Aside from HP, players also get two mana points, or MP, at the start of the match and gain additional two points per turn, up to a maximum of 10. Units can be deployed in any one of the three blue tiles closest to the player and costs varying amounts of MP, ranging from 2 to 6 points. The total deployable units, however, are limited to 10 MP at a time. When a unit dies its MP cost is returned to the pool to be used again. Part of the strategy in the game is effectively juggling units on the battlefield with the limited amount of MP given while also countering and reacting to the opponent’s unit placements on the grid.

PvP

Players are given a number of choices when it comes to PvP: League battles, Arena competitions, as well as a variety of regularly hosted PvP events. In League battles players match up against other players without any restrictions to earn Sacred Shields which can be used to buy units and training items. Arena competitions, on the other hand, run for two weeks at a time and restrict different types of units. This mechanic forces players to regularly change up their playing style, re-shuffle their squad, and formulate new tactics to secure victory. Players gain trophies for winning matches which can be exchanged for a variety of rewards depending on the number of trophies earned. Twenty trophies, for, example reward players with the featured rare unit of the competition while 100 trophies reward them with the featured legendary unit. Personally, I like Arena battles better. Not only are they more challenging but they also provide better rewards.

All About The Cores

Heavenstrike Rivals focuses a lot on forming the Dream Team of units to fit your playing style. Sure, strategy still plays a part in the game but won’t be of much use when you find yourself facing a squad with better health, attack, and ability points at lesser MP costs. While units can be acquired by playing through the single player campaign, the only real chance of getting a super-rare or legendary unit is by recruiting them from the Recruitment menu in exchange for Cores. 5 Cores buys you one random unit while 45 buys you 10. Cores can either be bought using real world money or earned by completing missions in the single player campaign.

As you can imagine, the latter takes relatively longer and requires a whole lot of grinding while the former gives players virtually unlimited chances of getting high-quality units. Also, like the game’s mobile versions, players are given 30 Energy points, a set amount of which is consumed every time a player engages in a single player match. These points are replenished by one point every 5 minutes and can be fully replenished in exchange for Cores or by leveling up.

Final Verdict - Good

Heavenstrike Rivals is a well-made, fun, and addictive mobile game, which is to be expected of a Square Enix game, but one with a very short lifespan. Successfully setting up your dream squad takes about a week or so even with energy limitations in place, maybe less if you’re one of those lucky ones. It does, however, involve a whole lot of grinding unless you’re willing to pay. Completionists will probably enjoy months or even years of game-time since new heroes are added regularly to the game’s already massive roster. Overall, a good game that I’d recommend for fans of tactics games and anybody else looking for a casual game to play in between Clash of Clans and Clash Royale sessions.

Screenshots

Heavenstrike Rivals Screenshots

Videos

Heavenstrike Rivals Videos

Heavenstrike Rivals GameplayTrailer - PC Available Now

Links

Heavenstrike Rivals Online Links

Heavenstrike Rivals Official Site
Heavenstrike Rivals Steam Page
Heavenstrike Rivals Google Play
Heavenstrike Rivals iTunes
Heavenstrike Rivals Wiki [Guides / Info]
Heavenstrike Shut Down Notice

System Requirements

Heavenstrike Rivals System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 7
CPU: Intel 2GHz Core2 Duo / AMD Athlon 64 x2 2.4GHz
Video Card: Intel HD 4000
RAM: 3 GB
Hard Disk Space: 2 GB

Recommended Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 7, 8, 10
CPU: 2.7GHz Intel Core i5
Video Card: Intel HD 4000
RAM: 4 GB
Hard Disk Space: 2 GB

The game is also available for both Android and iOS mobile devices.

Music

Heavenstrike Rivals Music & Soundtrack

Coming Soon...

Additional Info

Heavenstrike Rivals Additional Information

Developer: Mediatonic
Publisher: Square Enix

Distributor: Steam

Mobile Release Date: December 16, 2014
Steam Release Date: May 24, 2016

Shut Down: May 01, 2018

Development History / Background:

Heavenstrike Rivals is a free-to-play turn-based strategy game developed by Mediatonic and published by Square Enix, the company behind the iconic Final Fantasy franchise. The game was initially released for both iOS and Android devices on December 16, 2014 before being ported over to the PC through Steam on May 24, 2016. The game was shut down on all platforms on May 01, 2018.