INTRODUCTION:
Tribe Nine is primarily a story driven action RPG with both 2D retro vibes and 3D modern combat. In this guide we will examine some tips for new players. We’ll cover the basics like re-rolling, team building, simplified tier lists for both characters and cards and additional tips to help you out in the early game. Looking for a review of the game? Check out this post.
RE-ROLLING:
This game has one of the quickest re-roll systems. Once you finish the introductory section of the game (roughly 15-20 mins), you’ll be given a pull. Once you complete this, you can then start the re-roll process. Go to your mailbox and claim the premium currency and login rewards. Then you can pull on the featured banner. To re-roll, you’ll want to go to the menu options and go back to the main menu. Next, the settings in the main menu (top left) will allow you to delete your data. When you start the game you will then have the option to SKIP the introduction. Click skip. Now claim your premium currency from your mail and repeat. You should be able to re-roll within 1-2 minutes per attempt. This will allow you to do several re-rolls. Good luck!
COMBAT:
The main mechanic in combat is based around generating tension. Tension is generated via various actions that knock an enemy off balance and put them into a broken state such as primary/secondary attacks, counter attacks and strategy skills. Counter attacks and strategy skills usually have higher break values. Each character will have different break values. Those with a higher break rating will cause more break damage and therefore more easily put enemies into a broken state. Once an enemy is in a broken state, you’ll have access to chain attacks. Perform the chain attacks to then gain tension. You’ll see your overall tension level in the blue bar in the top left of the screen. Tension is used for character’s ultimates and certain cards (type of gear). If you don’t interact with the tension system, you’ll be stuck doing basic attacks. Hence getting good at piloting character’s with high break values will help you in combat.
Another tip for those new to the game is that it may be helpful to use range characters. You won’t need to worry as much about being in the thick of combat and can learn the mechanics. Melee characters seem to be more challenging to learn as you can be trying to dodge/counter attack multiple enemies that are attacking you at the same time.
TEAM BUILDING:
As with most games a balanced team with the right composition can drastically impact your combat experience. A well balanced team usually includes a tank, attacker and support. Tanks usually have an agrro ability to get enemies to focus on them while having some form of damage mitigation. While your support can focus on buffing and healing the team and the attack can dish out damage. Within this group of 3 you’ll want some character’s with a high break ability. The free to play character Yo has a high break rating in case you don’t pull a character with good breaking ability. When I placed 2 character’s on my team with high breaking ability I was able to use tension skills and ultimates quite frequently. Directly controlling the character with a high breaking ability and doing counter attacks seems to generate a lot of tension. This can be challenging depending on how well you can time a counter. This isn’t 100% necessary as on my main team, I can pilot my support and can still win most fights with ease.
CHARACTER TIER LIST:
This is a simplified tier list based on a full JP list found here. Every character isn’t listed here. Instead this list focuses on specific roles and those that standout in those roles so you get an idea of who to aim for in your pulls. If a character isn’t on the list, it doesn’t mean they are not viable. You’ll need to examine their kit and who you have access to in order to see if they have a place on your team.
[HYBRID/BREAKER]:
Kazuki Aoyama: Easy to use, high breaking ability and can give your entire team a shield.
Yo Kuronaka: Has one of the highest break abilities in the game in their strategy skill. Secondary passive can heal the entire team. Ultimate can deal heavy damage.
*Please note Q also has a high break rating.
[TANK]:
Q: Can grab enemies attention and is also a high rated breaker with decent damage. In addition, while in berserk state attacks are considered evasion making it easier to dodge.
Roku Saigo : Durable tank with the ability to continuously recover HP and increase defense. Perhaps one of the most OP tanks in the game. With their block and passive that increases their defense they can reduce the damage of most hits. Combine that with Kazuki’s shield, passive regen, a life steal card and you have a unit that can tank all day.
[ATTACKER]:
Miu Jujo: Easy to use with high ranged damage and a low cost ultimate.
Jio Takinogawa: Good damage, secondary and counter attack can generate tension by throwing enemies off balance.
Enoki Yukigaya: Very high damage potential but more challenging to execute. Requires more investment.
Yutaka Gotanda: Can attack at range and move at the same time making him easy to use. His ultimate can buff your allies and has good damage. Fun to play.
[SUPPORT]:
Tsuruko Semba: A strong component of any team. Can heal and dish out damage with a simple to understand kit and ranged attacks. She’ll keep your team alive and kill enemies. Don’t forget to experiment with passive 2 to see if it fits your playstyle and team composition. This removes her regular healing ability for a boost in damage. High damage output is greatly valued in this game as it dramatically changes the difficulty of fights. You can offset the lack of healing with a card like Energy Steal.
Tsuki Iroha: Can buff allies critical rate with chain skills. Can also enhance your teams ability to break enemies more easily.
CARD TIER LIST:
Cards are listed based on those that increase your power/offense (e.g. those that can increase critical rate or ultimate damage) or survival (healing) and are easy to activate or can impact the entire team. All cards are not listed. Instead this is a simplified tier list that includes cards that stand out in their role. If a card isn’t listed, it does not mean it is not viable. In addition, star rarity does not mean it is necessarily better. Even 1 or 2 star options can be powerful. It comes down to what the card does and how easy it is to activate. This is once again based on my own experience and the list from here.
[3 Star Options]
Things to Hold On To: Increase the party critical hit rate.
Full Party: Increase critical rate and defense points for the entire team. Pairs with Strike Zone tension card to double effectiveness.
Fighting with Flames: Increase attack power of entire party.
[2 Star Options]
Pulsating Life: Increase ultimate skill damage multiplier of entire team.
Leading Wisdom: Increase ultimate skill damage multiplier and can boost attacks of other skills(primary/secondary/chain) based on stacks of kingship.
Gem of Flames: Increase operating character’s attack when other members take damage.
Power Harassment: Increase operating characters critical rate and decrease enemy tension.
[1 Star Options]
Energy Steal***: Life steal based on damage dealt. Provides healing without the need for a dedicated healer. Likely one of the best cards as the sustain it provides allows you to skip having a dedicate healer which in turn means higher damage output and making all your encounters much quicker.
Stimulation: When granting recovery, also grant clinical (additional HP regen).
Strike Zone: Increase secondary attack damage multiplier for the entire team. Pairs with Full Party tension card to increase that cards effectiveness (critical hit rate).
Maximization: Grant control (decrease enemy tension and increase operators critical hit) when operating character counterattacks.
Ferocity: Increase critical damage multiplier and revive a fallen character (1x). One of the most useful cards for challenging encounters.
GENERAL TIPS:
Learn the Combat System:
Get the right composition together and learn how to generate tension so you can execute special attacks and ultimates. Taking the time to learn the system will go a long way to make the experience more enjoyable and make most fights easier to complete. It can help to learn the mechanics while using a ranged character. The trickiest and most useful skill is to learn to counter attack. Counter attacks seem to grant a lot of tension especially with a character with a high break rating.
Gear & Potential (Build):
Specific gear stats and potential (individual builds) will be different depending on each character. Here is a general overview of what to keep in mind. Usually each unit will benefit from a specific stat type. Check out their skills for details. For example, Kazuki benefits from health so it’s a stat you’ll want to focus on in gear sub stats.
For most hybrid and attack units you’ll also want to heavily focus on attack stats/build. Sub stats such as attack, critical rate and critical multiplier. Another sub stat that may potentially make a big difference in your team is ultimate efficiency. This can allow you to potentially cast 2 ultimates back to back depending on your team and their individual ultimate costs. Ultimate efficiency can also allow you to stay at a certain tension level while casting 1 ultimate. Overall, its a stat that has benefit that can be easily missed.
For support or tank units, you’ll generally focus on support (which boosts chain attacks of other allies) or defense stats like health or defense to boost their survivability. You may also want to focus on attack stats as well for certain support units like Tsuruko as they can dish out a lot of damage. You’ll notice that challenging fights will become dramatically easier once you meet a certain DPS threshold in damage output. High damage decreases your overall fight time and shortening fights so that you won’t need as much defense stats to survive.
*Potential (Character Builds): You can easily reset a build at no cost so feel free to experiment with builds. I’ve found the most effective is usually focusing on attack damage for many of my characters except perhaps tank units. High damage output dramatically changes the difficulty of most fights.
Stamps:
To unlock level caps you’ll need to get stamps. You’ll get stamps from completing specific missions in the stamp book. This includes things like completing a certain number of fights or finding treasure in specific areas. You’ll need quite a lot so it’s easiest to do this while you are going through the main quest or just wandering about.
Avoid Battles When You Want to Roam:
If you’re just trying to move around the map, you can skip fights by just running around the enemy. As long as you don’t collide with them you don’t have to engage in a fight. This can save time when you are just roaming the map trying to complete quests or gather resources.
Targeting:
To make it easier to focus down enemies you can change the default targeting to target the same enemy that an ally is focusing on.
Complete Dailies:
After you finish the tutorial, you’ll be able to gain access to level B1 in the hotel. On the left side is a store that will allow you to pick up daily quests. These quests grant resources as well as premium currency. They are usually fairly quick to complete and you should be able to do all of them within a few minutes.
Replenishing Treasure:
Chests respawn/re-fill after a set amount of time. Hence areas you’ve already cleared will be restocked.
CLOSING THOUGHTS:
The main challenge in the game is getting the right team composition, generating tension and counter attacking. By taking the time to master these skills, you’ll have an easier time in combat. The game can be challenging but appears that you can use lower star characters and cards. Lastly, most of this game is about the story. Enjoy the journey. Use the characters that you like and have fun in the process.
GAME DETAILS
PLATFORMS: iOS, Android, PC
RELEASE: 2025
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER: Akatsuki Games Inc
GENRE/TAGS: Action RPG, Story Driven, RPG, Free to Play, PVE
TARGET AUDIENCE: Story driven RPG fans that enjoy anime and retro vibes
COVER IMAGE CREDIT: Tribe Nine
THANKS:
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