Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles, or simply Champions Tactics is Ubisoft's new PvP tactical strategy RPG, built with a blend of classic turn-based mechanics and blockchain technology. Drawing comparisons to Web3 pioneers like Axie Infinity, Champions Tactics immerses players in Grimoria’s dark fantasy world, where strategy, synergy, and Champion upgrades are essential to climbing the ranks. Each "Champion" is a digital collectible NFT powered by the eco-friendly Oasys blockchain, allowing players true ownership to trade, forge, and evolve their Champions as they see fit​.

Players can get started with the game as it is currently available on PC through Ubisoft Connect, Ubisoft's version of a game launcher. After signing in, simply search for Champions Tactics on the launcher's store (the game is free to play) and then download and install. Even without NFTs, players can access "Ethereal" Champions, temporary free Champions that can be used for a limited number of matches

Home Screen 

Upon entering the game, you’ll land on the home screen, where the primary tabs include Collection, Rewards, Marketplace, and the Play button.

• Collection: View all your Champions, filter their stats, roles, and elemental types here.
• Rewards: Claim in-game rewards, including Ethereal Champions, Gold (the in-game currency), and cosmetics.
  
• Marketplace: This tab leads to the Marketplace, where you can buy and sell Champions for team customization.
  
• Play: Choose your mode, Tutorial, Unranked, or Ranked, via this button to dive into battles.
  

Gameplay

In Champions Tactics, the goal is to build a balanced team of three Champions to outsmart your opponent in 1v1 combat. You can expand your roster over time, mix and match Champions, and develop powerful team synergies to counter a variety of opponents. Each Champion is unique, with specific stats, skills, elements, and roles, similar to how Axies function in Axie Infinity. Champions can even pass down traits to their offspring through a process called Forging, akin to breeding in Axie​

Each Champion comes with distinct stats and elemental affinities, essential for crafting a well-balanced team and countering opponents strategically. Here’s a breakdown of the core stats and elemental types that influence a Champion’s effectiveness on the battlefield.

Core Champion Stats

1. Vitality: This represents the Champion’s overall health pool. Higher Vitality allows Champions to withstand more damage, making it an essential stat for Tanks or frontline Champions.
2. Initiative: This stat determines the order in which Champions act in battle. High Initiative allows a Champion to make the first move, which can be advantageous for Support roles looking to set up buffs early or DPS roles to initiate strong attacks.
3. Physical Power: A stat that influences the damage output of physical attacks. Physical Power is critical for Champions focusing on melee or ranged physical attacks, often suited to DPS roles.
4. Magical Power: This measures the effectiveness of a Champion’s magical (elemental) abilities. Champions with high Magical Power can deal stronger magical attacks, often seen in Support or Mage-type roles that rely on abilities instead of basic attacks.
5. Physical and Magical Resistance: These stats reduce incoming damage from physical or magical sources, respectively. High resistance can be crucial for Champions meant to soak up damage, especially in prolonged battles where sustainability is key.
6. Critical Chance and Critical Multiplier: Critical Chance defines the likelihood of landing a critical hit, while Critical Multiplier boosts the damage of that critical hit. Champions with high critical stats excel in dealing burst damage, which can turn the tide of battle quickly if timed well.

Elements and Affinities

Elements add an extra strategic layer to Champions Tactics, influencing both offensive and defensive interactions. Each Champion is attuned to one or more elements, which can amplify their abilities or protect them from certain attacks.

• Fire: Focused on high damage and offensive capabilities, Fire often introduces burning effects or damage over time. Fire is effective against Earth but weaker against Water, making it ideal for aggressive, damage-focused strategies.
• Water: Known for healing and defense, Water Champions can mitigate damage, often specializing in recovery for the team. Water is strong against Fire and supports sustainability in longer battles.
  
• Air: Emphasizing speed and agility, Air elements boost Initiative, allowing Air Champions to act early. Air is strong against Earth but has vulnerabilities to Darkness.
  
• Earth: Earth elements excel in defense, boosting resistance and physical stability. Earth Champions are effective against Water but susceptible to Fire, making them durable yet vulnerable under heavy Fire attacks.
  
• Darkness: Darkness focuses on debuffs, draining, and weakening opponents over time. Darkness Champions excel against Light, often disrupting enemy plans with status effects that decrease their effectiveness.
  
• Light: This element supports healing, buffs, and team protection, making Light Champions essential for resilience. Light counters Darkness and often provides boosts to allies’ defense or health.
  
• Order: Champions aligned with Order bring balanced and stabilizing effects, adding structure to chaotic scenarios. They offer control-focused abilities that can steady the battlefield.
  
• Technology: Champions with this element use precise, adaptive abilities through gadget-based or mechanical skills. Technology allows Champions to adjust dynamically and handle diverse battle conditions.
  
• Chaos: The final element, Chaos is unpredictable and powerful, introducing random effects or volatile attacks that can swing the momentum of battle. Chaos Champions often bring high-risk, high-reward abilities, making them wild cards capable of either securing victory or introducing significant variance.
  

Once the game begins, each player selects and reveals their first Champion simultaneously. After seeing your opponent’s choice, you have a chance to adjust with your second Champion. Both teams reveal their second Champions, and the same pattern repeats for the final selection. This reveal-counter system encourages mind games, bluffs, and strategic counters as you try to anticipate your opponent’s moves and save your strongest skills for the right moments. A key to victory lies in anticipating your opponent’s moves. Champions Tactics relies heavily on bluffing baiting your opponent into using powerful skills too early can leave them open to a perfectly timed counterattack.

After both players position their team of three Champions, the turn-based gameplay begins. Similar to how "speed" stats work in Axie Infinity Classic, the order in which Champions attack is based on their "Initiative" stat. However, there’s a bit of randomness added: Champions Tactics introduces a dice roll mechanic that can impact each Champion's Initiative score, creating variability in turn order each round.

Dice Roll Effect on Initiative and Damage

The Initiative stat, which controls turn order in combat, is influenced by dice rolls that add variability to a Champion’s base Initiative. This means that even Champions with naturally high Initiative may not always act first if their dice roll is unfavorable. The randomness introduced by these rolls keeps players on their toes, as turn order can shift unexpectedly, making it essential to adapt strategies each round based on the new turn sequence.

For damage calculations, high rolls offer a distinct advantage by increasing the chance of landing a critical hit, which applies a damage multiplier and greatly boosts the attack's impact. Beyond just damage, dice rolls also affect elemental interactions: depending on the roll and any elemental strengths or weaknesses between Champions, the effectiveness of an elemental attack can be further amplified or reduced. This layer of unpredictability requires players to remain flexible, leveraging both their Champions' strengths and the luck of the roll for maximum impact.

The Combat Begins

Right after each Champion's turn is determined in round 1, each player can then select an individual Champion and choose which skill or attack to cast. There are two primary types of damage in Champions Tactics: physical (affected by the Physical Power stat) and elemental (affected by Magical Power). Damage calculation takes into account several factors, including the defensive stats of the defending Champion and any damage multipliers caused by elemental strengths and weaknesses.

Skills also have cooldowns, often requiring a turn or two to recharge before they can be cast again. Keep in mind that skills with higher cooldowns are usually high-impact moves that can turn the tides of battle.

After round 1 is complete, the same pattern continues in successive rounds until all Champions on one team are eliminated, or either player surrenders. As simple as this may sound, this description only covers the basics. We’ll dive deeper into the intricacies of battle in the next section.

The Complexities of Battle

Here, we’ll explore how different strategies, playstyles, and combat features impact the outcome of a Champions Tactics match. Let’s go over the key ones you’ll likely encounter:

Skill Speed: As discussed earlier, a Champion’s base Initiative value plus the dice roll affects turn order. Additionally, each skill or ability has its own "speed" that impacts Initiative. Skill speeds are categorized as Normal (no added Initiative), Fast (adds +5 Initiative), and Very Fast (adds +10 Initiative). These mechanics work like trap cards, allowing you to surprise normally faster foes by attacking first.

Status Effects: Many skills in Champions Tactics apply status effects, which can target allies, self, or enemy Champions. Important effects include poison, initiative boosts or reductions, guaranteed critical hits, and dodge chance. These effects are often found in late-game teams focused on sustaining through early rounds and gradually wearing down opponents.

Reactive Skills: A unique feature of Champions, reactive skills trigger once per round when specific conditions are met. These scenarios include actions like your Champion moving first or a friendly Champion being defeated.

Crowd Control and Repositions: Another important combat mechanic centers on crowd control. As mentioned in earlier sections, players place their three Champions in either the front, middle, or backline positions. Typically, tanks are positioned in front, damage dealers in the middle, and support in the back. However, skills with crowd control effects can disrupt these positions, pulling backline units to the front or pushing frontline Champions to the back. This allows for playstyles that focus on isolating low-HP Champions and bursting them down in a single round. To counter this, some skills allow Champions to reposition themselves, such as moving one position forward, effectively resetting their placement.

Champion Targeting: Similar to crowd control, Champion skills have varying targeting options, from hitting the frontline, middle, or backline. Some skills can even target all enemy Champions. Healing and support skills work similarly, with certain abilities from backline supports able to heal or cleanse frontline tanks or even the entire team.

Forging And Earning Gold

At the Forge, players can combine two Champions to craft a new, stronger one. This process requires Gold or $OAS tokens and enhances the Champion’s stats, unlocking unique abilities that enable players to personalize their roster according to their tactics. Forging allows players to create specialized Champions that suit specific playstyles, expanding the strategic potential of each team​. 

Gold is the primary in-game currency and is essential for forging new Champions, upgrading abilities, and occasionally purchasing items from the Marketplace. Players can accumulate Gold through various activities:

• PvP Battles: Winning competitive PvP matches grants Gold, encouraging players to sharpen their skills and climb the ranks.
• Daily Quests: Completing daily objectives rewards Gold, ensuring consistent growth of resources for active players.
• Seasonal Events: Limited-time events offer extra Gold and rare rewards, providing incentives for players who engage consistently throughout the season​

And that’s the rundown! Now you’re geared up to dive headfirst into Champions Tactics and experiment with all the strategies, skills, and unpredictable turns Grimoria’s battles have to offer. Whether you're bluffing your way through with a high-speed move, outlasting opponents with a tanky late-game team, or stacking up those elemental combos, remember that every match brings new challenges and epic moments. So, build your roster, sharpen your skills, and get ready to dominate the ranks like the champion you are!