Guide › Strategy
Strategy guide
How battles really work in Musubi War: the numbers behind hitting, defending, musubi and leveling up, and how to use them.
Winning
A battle ends when a crew's leader falls. Protect yours and hunt theirs. On 3 and 4-team islands, a crew whose leader falls is out; the last crew standing wins. In Try Stay mode you can also win by holding the marked spot for 3 turns.
Musubi: your money
Income
At the start of each turn you earn 2 musubi, plus 2 for every village you own. Villages include huts, food trucks and harbors.Upkeep
Your leader, 4 monsters and 1 more per village you own are free to keep. Each monster beyond that costs 1 musubi a turn. More villages means a bigger army for free.Starting musubi
You start with 120 musubi on most 2-team islands, 150 on 3-team islands and 160 on 4-team islands, and you hire every monster 1 musubi cheaper than the computer does.Hitting and defending
Every swing either hits or misses. Your chance to hit is 100% minus the defense of the ground the target is standing on. A monster in the open is easy to hit; one on a mountain or a village is not.
| Ground | Defense · moves to enter |
|---|---|
| Village, keep, castle | 60% · 1 |
| Mountain | 60% · 3 |
| Tropical forest, hills | 50% · 2 |
| Grass, dirt road | 40% · 1 |
| Beach | 30% · 2 |
| Swamp | 30% · 3 |
| Shallow reef | 20% · 3 |
| Deep ocean, lava | cannot be entered (swimmers excepted for ocean) |
Attack from a village
Standing on a village gives you +20% chance to hit. Villages are the best place both to attack from and to be attacked on.Swimmers
Ocean monsters defend at 60% in water but only 20% on land. Amphibious monsters defend at 50% on reef and swamp.Hitting back
The monster you attack swings back in the same fight if it can reach you: a melee monster only answers attackers right next to it, a ranged one answers anything up to 2 tiles away. So a ranged monster attacking a melee one from 2 tiles takes no damage at all.Gang up
Monsters next to a stronger ally with Leadership hit 25% harder, and attacking from both sides lands a combo for extra damage.Healing
At the start of your turn: a monster on a village heals 4, a monster within 3 tiles of a healer heals 4, and a monster that rested (did not move or fight) heals 2. Pull hurt monsters back to a village instead of losing them.
Leveling up
Every fight earns experience: 3 times the enemy's level for each fight, plus 8 times its level for a knockout. A monster levels up after 30 experience per level it has (a little more for each upgrade it already took). When it levels up you choose one reward: +8 health, +1 damage on every hit, +1 move each turn or +5% defense.
Your leader
Whoever you pick to lead is promoted: more health and harder hits, and nearby weaker allies hit 25% harder. Your leader must stand on the keep to hire. Hire early, then move out carefully: if it falls, the battle is lost.
Disasters
The Grumble meter at the top counts down to the next disaster. When it fills, either the volcano opens and lava creeps across the island for a few turns, or a rogue wave floods the shore. Monsters in the way are shoved to safe ground and take 2 damage. Villages, keeps and castles are never harmed. Watch the meter and keep your leader away from vents and low beaches.
Jake
The mossy boulder on some islands is Jake, and he can wake up mid-battle. Feed him 14 musubi and he fights on your side for a few turns, or defeat him for a big prize (and a secret crew).
Treasure
Treasure chests hide on the map. Step onto one and answer a quick Hawaiian word question for bonus musubi. Brush up on the Hawaiian words page.
Fog of war
With fog on, you only see what your monsters can see. Ground you have explored stays uncovered, but enemies are only visible when one of your monsters is close. Send a scout ahead before marching your army in.
Cards
Every monster you send into battle joins your card collection, and its card levels up the more you use it, giving it extra health and perks in your battles. Using a favorite monster again and again makes it stronger. See any monster's page for its perks.
A simple plan that works
- Turn 1: hire two or three cheap monsters and send them to the nearest villages.
- Next turns: keep hiring while income grows; pick a healer and a ranged monster.
- Hold the middle villages on forest, hills or the villages themselves.
- Let the enemy attack into your good ground, then counter-attack hurt monsters.
- When their army thins, march on their leader with everything, leader last.