FAQ

Lots of questions are asked about units, gameplay, and features of LSWB. Compiled here are the most asked questions for your reference. Do not see an answer to your question? Head to the LSWB Discord to find the answer.

## **Where can I play Lego Star Wars Battles?**

The game is currently only available with a subscription to Apple Arcade and a supported Apple device such as iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. This game was previously in beta available on Android devices as well, but no longer. Apple Arcade is set for renewal/expiration September 2024.

## **I recently downloaded the game, what should I focus on?**

First of all, welcome to the game! Go connect on the discord and read through strategy and information pages to get a good idea of the game (especially "General Strategy"). This game is focused on grinding through playing a lot especially in the beginning of the game. Prepare to take a lot of time to build up card levels.

The beginning of the game is rather challenging with limited card options and often very difficult opponents (who are leveled higher than you, see below). But stick with it. Over time, you will get wins and acquire more cards. This game is about opening scans which requires time. It will take several thousand wins to feel like you are making progress. Even then, you will face opponents that well out rank you in card levels. But keep playing.

## **What is the purpose/end-goal of this game?**

Just like any other game - to play when it's fun and to stop playing when it's not.

This game is a weird transition from a clearly pay-to-win model. Since Apple Arcade makes the free (under the subscription), aspects of the game had to be changed. Scans that formerly required money or time to be unlocked, are now unlocked by earn medals. Therefore, this game has become purely about card acquisition and **time spent** grinding out games until all cards are at level 13 with the most difficult cards to obtain being epic cards. Since Apple Arcade is a set amount of money, time played is the only factor which results in a lot of resource farming.

Throughout the game, you do acquire studs and crystals, but their only purpose is leveling up cards received from scans. There becomes a point in the end-game where common cards and most rare cards are at level 13 and you are simply waiting for enough epic cards to level them up to the next level. Studs become rather irrelevant at that point because you have more than what you need.

What about **TROPHIES?!** Yes, indeed. Trophies are needed to advance planets to access more cards. After the final planet, Kessel, is unlocked, players are placed in Echelon tiers with end-game rewards. (Tiers 16-20 are the ideal tiers, 3,050+/side.) After Echelon 20, trophies are purely bragging rights on the Global Leader Board to have your Game Center ID posted to the top (though the higher trophies you have above 7k, the more difficult resource acquisition can be.)

## **What are the best decks to use?**

Ah, yes padawan. You have come to learn. A champion is required in each deck and there are a few other critical cards: BB-8/BB-9E, Stun (Seismic/Booma), Particle Beam, and 1 energy cycle card (Three Porgs/Two Battle Droids/One Storm Trooper). The other cards you choose are based on your chosen champion, personal play style, and levels. Want help choosing a champion? Learn more about building your decks.

## **Which champion should I invest tokens into?**

Getting a single champion to level 13 requires a total of 76 tokens which can take over 7 months of dedicated crystal investment. Which Champion to use is a personal choice to invest in either:

* Whichever champion you enjoy playing
* One of the top champions in the game

To help further, see: Choosing a Champion

## **How can I level up my base quickly?**

You earn experience for your base level every time you upgrade any card. The quickest way to level up is to upgrade all your cheapest units first. Arguably, the most efficient method of leveling up is to upgrade only the units you utilize.

Note: Leveling up your base only affects its damage, health, and sometimes the quantity of cards found in the shop.

## **Which cards should I level up?**

Since acquiring resources (cards and studs) take time, only level up cards in your regular deck and that you want to use. (For example, if you plan to remove AT-AT from your deck or never use Flame Tower (please don't, it's a stupid tower), don't bother using studs to level up these cards.) Card upgrades can get very expensive from Levels 11 to 13 and can get very expensive very fast when you have multiple cards ready for upgrade. You will want to upgrade your normally used cards as soon as they are available, so save studs for those.

Remember, having a higher-level base isn't necessarily a good thing, so no need to waste studs on cards you don't use for the next level of base that doesn't add much value.

**EXCEPTION:** A slight exception is made for epic cards. Even the silly epic cards (gungan gang, buzz droids, R2/C2, bantha) have crazy stats at level 12 and 13 (which takes about 20,000 wins to acquire). For this reason, try to always purchase reinforcement bundles for every epic when they appear for bonus epics at a reduced cost. See the shop page for more info about these bundles and making them appear.

## **Why do players forfeit games/drop trophies?**

For the first year of this game, a penalty system kept players from advancing too high because they would lose rewards after losing too many games. This mind set continues with some players as they grind out wins against lower-level opponents. However, the introduction of Echelon Rewards makes being over 6,100 trophies the sweet spot for the most value per game. Some lower-skill players will continue to play lower than they should simply for the sake of easy games.

## **Why am I always against players 2 levels above me?**

Matchmaking is **SOLELY** based on trophy level. You can be matched with anyone within a range of +/- 500 trophies from your side's trophy count. (i.e. Your LS trophies is 2200, you could be matched with an opponent DS trophy range from 1700 to 2700.)

Seeing players with base/unit levels higher than you could be an indication of you playing exceptionally well enough to climb or could be an unfortunate consequence of trophy dropping due to a lack of incentives for playing higher.

Note: Base levels do not dictate how strong an opponent is. Example: Someone with a level 9 base could have level 7-8 units while someone with a level 8 base could have level 10-11 units. Check out "Base" to see when you should focus on upgrading your base.

## **Can I avoid players by changing planets?**

No. The planet you choose to fight on is purely visual. Matchmaking is only based on trophy level. Players may see different planets while they battle the same game.

## **What is the purpose of planets then?**

Planets are *mostly* aesthetics for how the game field looks. In the early game, planets provide progress to unlocking new cards and increasing scan level. There are also 44 planet rewards earned for a total of 380 wins on that planet (see each planet's page for list of win rewards). Once each planet is unlocked and each win rewards achieved, planets are purely visual preference.

**NOTE:** Acquiring a scan from playing on a certain planet WILL NOT influence the cards received in that scan. The only factor for what cards appear in a scan is which planets are unlocked. Each unlocked planet has an equal chance to feature cards in each acquired scan. Playing a certain planet will not increase the likelihood of certain cards appearing in a scan.

## **What are Echelons?**

About a year into the game, echelons were introduced to incentivize players to increase trophy numbers for better rewards after unlocking Kessel. There are currently 20 echelon tiers with Tiers 16-20 offering the best rewards (highest LP, Stud, and Crystal amounts in addition to *free bonus scan for each win*) starting at 3050 trophies per side. Learn more about echelon rewards.

## **What is the emote code?**

At the start of the game you may see or use one of these emotes:

* "Good Game" = Take my base
* "Wow!" = Request for a base win (to help level up to Planet/Echelon reward level)
* "Good Luck!" = Let's play
* "Well Played" = Help me with the daily quest

**Note:** Not all players will understand the code and some may even trick you. Most regulars on the discord are happy to trade bases. But misuse the system and you will not be awarded future bases.

PLEASE use these carefully. If you are given a base, consider giving yours the next matchup. And as always, consider using good emote etiquette.

## **How do I get crystals?**

Crystals are typically earned by destroying an opponent's base. You may also receive crystals based on your Echelon Tier. Your scan level (# of planets unlocked based on trophies) determines how many crystals you will earn. For more, see "Crystals"

## **What is the daily maximum cap for crystals and studs?**

* Crystal cap is based on your trophy level. See "Crystals" for more information
* Stud cap is at 120 wins per day (Note: you may continue to earn studs through scans)

## **How do I check the global leaderboard?**

1. Load up the game and stay on the main battle page
2. Press the top banner containing your name and trophy count
3. Press your Game Center icon located in the top-left corner
4. Press "Leaderboards"
5. Switch to the "Global" tab
6. Optional: In the top right, change "All-Time" to "This Week" in order to see current players.

**Note:** Leaderboards only show all-time high trophy count. Not the current amount of trophies.

## **What are leagues for?**

Leagues determine additional rewards earned per win in addition to bonus rewards at the end of each week. Your final ranking when the week ends may also grant you additional rewards such as cards (a chance at a random champion for 1st place), crystals, and studs. Leagues have no impact on matchmaking as opponents are only based on trophy level. See "Leagues" for more information and the rewards for each tier.

## **What should I spend my crystals on?**

Champions and epic cards are your best crystal investments. More reasoning can be found here. From most to least important:

* Golden Champion Token (1000 crystals) - Regenerates every 3 days!
* Reinforcement Bundles (200-1500 crystals) - The best value on epic cards and limited.
* Specific Champion Token (1200 crystals) - One-time purchase that disappears forever after that champion is unlocked in any way (unlocked through scan or through purchase).
* Tactical Bundles (100-175 crystals) - Discounted prices but limited and only offered early in the game.
* Shop (Varying prices) - Best way to level up specific cards but costly. (Purchase epics, mostly.)
* Specific Champion Token (700 crystals) - Replaces the 1200 crystal token after that champion is unlocked in any way. Also a one-time purchase but can be purchased at any time after a champion is unlocked.

## **Are bundles worth buying?**

Generally, yes, as they offer discounts on cards for a limited time. There are several bundle types. From most to least important:

* Reinforcement Bundles (200-1500 crystals) - Yes. This is the best value on epic cards and limited to epics under level 9.
* Tactical Bundles (100-175 crystals) - Discounted prices but limited and only offered early in the game when crystals are scarce.

## **What does [insert abbreviation] mean?**

Please look through the abbreviations page.

## **Should I play or skip an event?**

Events are a bonus aspect to the game that do not affect your win counter, Leaderboard Points, or trophy count but will add medals towards a scan. Events are entirely optional however there are a few events worth playing. All events provide some mix of stud, crystal, and scan rewards. The additional scans can be helpful and give another opportunity to acquire rarer cards like epics and champions (though not always). However, if you are short on time in a week and your leaderboard is close, perhaps focus your time on ladder play to boost your leaderboard chance (as first place in most leagues will reward a champion in the scan). Additionally, if you are earning bonus scans from Echelons 16-20, rewards are slightly better in ladder if you have to choose between the two.

There are two events that you should ALWAYS do: (1) Events rewarding champion tokens and (2) emote events. Emotes may not seem as logical, but when that season repeats and you already have that emote, you will be awarded a champion token instead.

Crystal Mine events are always helpful as well to help boost your crystal counts to purchase champion tokens and epics. Stud Mine events, however, are a little less useful. After about 10,000 wins, you will have already acquired most of the studs you need to level up units and this event becomes less important to acquire studs from events.

Events can be a good opportunity to complete daily missions for cards that you do not have leveled up (which don't matter in events because everything is level 4) or do not play very often and don't want to risk trophies. Some events also provide opportunity for unique gameplay mechanics (inspire, tower defense, reinforcement events) that make the game more interesting.

You can see the FULL schedule of events in each season on the EVENTS page. Prepare and know what's coming in the schedule.

## **Why bother joining the LSWB Discord?**

The LSWB Discord is the cantina for everything Lego Star Wars Battles. Most of the top 100 players are represented in the discord and happy to provide help, suggestions, and guidance in your gameplay. Or maybe just some community and talk Star Wars stuff. Head on over and say hello!