Monuments & Orbs

**Monuments** are vital locations during a BattleForge match, used to claim one of the game's two resources, Elemental **orbs**. Each monument allows one player to claim one orb. Players are able to pick from four different orb colors: Fire, Frost, Nature or Shadow. Owning the correct Elemental orbs is required in order to be able to play cards: most cards require some orbs of a specific color and some orbs of any color. Orbs are not consumed when playing cards.

FireFrostNatureShadow

## Gameplay

### Start of the Game

You will always start a match with one free orb. The Element of this orb is determined by the first card you play.

### Claiming Additional Monuments

Constructing a monument requires ground presence near the monument. The construction has a power cost that increases based on the number of orbs in the player's control. The second orb costs 150 power, the third costs 250 power, the fourth orb costs 300 power, and any further orbs also cost 300 power. Constructing an orb takes some time.

If you summon the wrong orb, canceling it before it is complete will refund you the power required to rebuild it. If enemies destroy the orb while it is being constructed you only get 75 power back.

### Losing Monuments

A claimed monument has 3000 life points and a weak ranged attack that provides some additional defense. Monuments can be attacked like any other building and can be destroyed, leaving only the empty monument site behind. If the monument is destroyed, the orb that it held is lost. A new orb is instantly available to be built at that monument location. If a monument is destroyed, any power used to build it is completely lost: none of it goes into the void pool.

Rebuilding a lost monument only costs 100 power. The orb does not need to be rebuilt at the same monument.

If a player controls no orbs, they have a short grace period in which to rebuild one. If the grace period expires they lose the game.

### Effect on Allied Units

Creating new units near your claimed monuments prevents the units from being dazed. Allied units will regenerate while standing near the player's or allies' monuments, power wells, or structures.

## Amii Monument

The building card Amii Monument can also hold one orb. Amii monument does not use the above monument rules for power flow: it binds 90% of the card's power cost like any building card, and selecting an orb is a toggle ability that refunds 100% as void power right away.

## Strategy and Tips

### Story/Campaigns

In PvE, computer opponents are typically not constrained by power wells and monuments like the player. Thus, players cannot beat the computer with monument control strategies. However, note that the computer units are set on patrol paths that pass by monuments, and patrols are set to be sent there at crucial moments in the game.

### Player versus Player

In PvP matches, monuments are often the focal points of battles. Since monuments and orbs in a player's control define which era of cards are available to play, obtaining and defending orbs is of great importance. Similarly, if a player can limit opponents to fewer monuments and thus lower tiers of cards, he has a significant advantage and thus a high chance of winning.

Destroying opponents' orbs (and power wells) is not only effective in the above sense of limiting their capabilities, but also limiting their power. The power that was used up to build the orb (or well) is not regained as it would be for other losses. If you destroy an enemy orb before it is complete only 75 power gets refunded, not the entire amount.

### Orb Switching

Destroy current orbs as necessary to build new ones for 100 power each. This allows you to play with a larger variety of cards compared to only having a single color available.

## Trivia

* The card Amii Monument uses the building model for monuments from early alpha BattleForge. A bigger version of it can be seen in early BattleForge promotional artwork.