Monsters are here, there, and everywhere. Some will serve as your allies, while some will become your bitterest enemies. As the only human in a yard filled with weird but powerful creatures, you must build up their army and rally them so that they can be able to gain revenge on their nasty rivals as well as assert their dominance over others. Backyard Monsters: Unleashed is a very stimulating game that will test your strategic skills to the max. Are you ready to train your monsters and build your empire? Then read this guide to get you started.
Gameplay
Backyard Monsters: Unleashed is a building and combat simulation game where players can construct different types of buildings as well as create and train their own army of monsters that they can send forth and do battle against both the AI as well as other online players. Having enough resources as well as a healthy amount of troops is absolutely necessary, although strategizing on what monsters to deploy and where to deploy them are equally important.
Currency
Gold, known as Shiny in the game, is Backyard Monsters’ premium currency. This is used to speed up tasks such as training monsters as well as building or upgrading structures. Shinies can also be used to top up your resources or to purchase premium items at the Store like shields, among others. Shinies are sometimes rewarded by getting achievements, but the most effective way to get a significant amount of these is via in-app purchases.
Resources
Resources are a very important aspect of Backyard Monsters as these are what are required for building and training, as well as for doing battle. There are four types of resources that must be managed, and each has a definite purpose. For example, twigs are used for building and upgrading, while goo is used for hatching monsters as well as for invading other players’ backyards.
Resources can be acquired in a variety of ways. They can be farmed and collected from resource generating buildings and may also be acquired in exchange for shinies. Lastly, resources may also be collected by destroying buildings of enemies. Keep in mind, however, that players can only store a certain amount of resources, and this is defined by the number and level of your storage silos which would then increase the amount of resources that you can carry. This is especially important at higher levels as resource requirements will rapidly increase well beyond your current storage capacity.
Buildings
Different types of buildings can be created within your backyard. These serve a variety of purposes such as generating resources, training and holding monsters, or for defending your yard. Building will require resources as well as the available of builders, of which only two are provided but with an additional one available for purchase.
Upgrading, which would increase the capabilities and attributes as well as the health of your buildings, will likewise require resources and builders. Both building and upgrading will require time to complete, but this process can be instantly completed by spending shinies.
The availability of certain structures will depend on your Town Hall, which can be upgraded itself. Upgrading your Town Hall will unlock more items for building, and it will also allow you to upgrade your buildings to higher levels.
Monsters
Your army will comprise of monsters that come in different shapes and sizes, and all of the will have to be trained before they can be added to your troops. Training monsters will require goo and a little bit of time, but the stronger the monster that you are building up, the more time it will take to train them. It’s not always the case that the strongest monsters are the best troops, however, as different monsters can be advantageous in certain scenarios.
Aside from training, monsters can also be upgraded. This will require both resources and time, but succeeding monsters of the recently upgraded type will enjoy increased attributes in the process. Thus, players should make it a point to upgrade monsters so that they will be able to perform better in battle.
The number of monsters that players can have in the Holding area will depend on its level. Each monster has a certain cost, and once the holding area’s cap has been reached, no more monsters can be trained unless they are deployed in battle or if the holding area is upgraded.
Battle
Players can participate in two types of battles, namely campaigns and invasions. In Campaign Mode, players can engage in preset missions where they would have to attack the computer’s yard in exchange for resources as well as stars that will be rewarded depending on how much of their yard you have destroyed. On the other hand, invasions are where you will be able to attack other players. However, players will have to spend goo for this, and matches done by the computer are pretty random as well.
For both campaigns and invasions, players can place any type of monsters that are available to them to any valid area. Monsters will then attack automatically. The battle will end once the timer runs out, if all buildings have been destroyed, or if all your troops have been wiped out. Should you get to destroy the enemy’s Town Hall before the time expires, then you win. Otherwise, you lose, but you will still get to reap the rewards of any of the buildings that you have destroyed. Doing battle against other players will also earn players medals, which will in turn shoot to the top of the global leaderboards for most wins and encounters.
Players can also use bombs that they have collected during Campaign Mode. These can be used during Invasions. Clicking on the Bomb and then on the area within the backyard will deal a large amount of damage within the location. Use this only as a last resort as these come in limited supply. What should be more important is to know which monsters to deploy at strategic locations to ensure that you are making the most out of your troops against the enemy’s defences. Players should also take note that monsters deployed will be lost to you regardless of whether they survive the battle or not.
Defending
As players can attack others, players can also get attacked. Thus, it is very important to properly position the buildings around your yard so that your defense buildings can provide good support to other constructs around it. It would also be good to form walls and traps around sensitive areas, especially near your town hall. Upgrading defense constructs will increase their offensive capabilities, and upgrading constructs will also increase their health, allowing you to withstand attacks more.
Should players get attacked, they stand the chance of losing resources. Getting attacked and losing will also get you shielding that will protect you from further attacks, allowing you to build up your yard as well as get back some of your lost resources. However, your protection will be forfeited once you choose to attack other players.
Achievements
In lieu of quests, players can opt to try and complete achievements which are basically milestones that they can try to accomplish. These include attacking a certain number of backyards, building a minimum amount of a certain type of building, or unlocking new monsters. All of these can be done at the same time, and players can check up on their progress any time that they want.
Once an achievement has been completed, players can collect shinies as well as experience that will allow them to level up. Achievements are entirely optional, and players can pretty much naturally accomplish these through regular play.
Social Function
Backyard Monsters: Unleashed also has a social function where, at latter stages of the game, players can join tribes where they can interact with other players. Here, they can get and receive monsters that they can add to their troops whenever they go into battle. Players can also have their records posted in leaderboards to see who has the most wins and so on.
