# ROBOTEK STRATEGY GUIDE

This guide should help you discover how the AI thinks and show you some advanced tricks to beat AI at its own game.

For starters, few basic rules:

1. Never leave your mainframe unprotected. Get robots.
2. Never leave your robots unprotected. Get a firewall.
3. Never bet on Hack. Especially not when you need it!

If you play by these rules, you will soon come to realise that lady luck is on your side. Why? Because it is you, player, who has a much better chance to score a perfect roll. Just bear in mind — that alone won't help you against an AI that's a master at exploiting your openings!

Try staying without robots for one turn and I can guarantee the AI will make sure you regret it. Letting the enemy robots shoot at your mainframe is like giving them free level-ups. Having friendly robots around is always the better strategy, even when they die a lot.

Nota bene: Splash damage from exploded robot is nothing compared to the full force of enemy firepower that made it explode in the first place.

Protecting your own robots helps them level up, giving you an advantage the AI will need incredible luck to overcome.

### SYMBOLISM: PRACTICAL USE

Tap any symbol on the slot machine for its detailed description. What it won't tell you is how to use the symbol to the fullest effect. Following this guide may just help you with that.

## TANKBOT

Tankbot is a damage sponge with an almost negligible damage output. That's fine though. Its protection gives you enough time to roll out some sweet lazer-action of your own. It's a unit that you can rely on to keep your healthbar safer for few more vital turns. Nothing less, nothing more.

## DRONE

A 'medium armor' robot, quite capable of standing its own ground. Its main advantage is a volley of projectiles. This means:

1. it is more effective at damage distribution (A Drone won't waste all of its firepower on a single weak unit)
2. it levels up quicker as it has a better chance to gain EXP from multiple kills and mainframe hits

Nota bene: Drone becomes especially deadly at the fourth, heroic level.

## DROID

Frail little robot that needs to be protected by a Firewall in order to be fully effective. It deals tremendous damage to a single target. Due to high base damage, it gets the most out of percent-based Energy Leak boosts.

A Droid won't last long in the open. But every turn you keep it alive, it kills or cripples something on the other side. Combine yourself a heroic level Droid coupled with the use of a Rapid Fire ability — and you have a combo with the scope to win the battle really quickly.

## Advanced WARFARE tips:

1. Less is more? Two good robots are better than three weak ones! Lower numbers reduce the probability of them being hacked. The AI hates the risk involved with the use of a hack, so it's less likely that it will attempt to steal your elite robots if you have less than 3 total.
2. More is even more! If you have 3 or more robots, try to steal another, even if you don't need it. The AI will surely try to hack some of its robots back, and it will most likely succeed — so let it take back the one you didn't even need.
3. Let the lil' ones have their fun. If both you and the AI lose robots in battle — always choose to call new ones. It's tempting to pray for an Unmaker when there's nothing standing in its way, but resist that urge and just call in some robots instead. Your robots get to fire directly at the enemy mainframe, which is a priceless EXP harvest.

## HACK

The first rule of hacking is — if you're going to use it, don't rely on it to tip the scales in your direction while you're taking a pummeling. Picture the scenario; you have no robots on the field and your enemy has a pack of high-level robots. The first thought is "hey, I can just use a hack and snag me one of them fancy robots for myself!" Great idea right? No. It's not. Here's why:

1. What if the hacking fails? You'll get hammered with their full force — Enemy robots would all level up like crazy and your chances to win fly straight out the window.
2. What if the hack succeeds? You'll get just one unit, which the enemy is most likely going to execute for its' insubordination in that very same round.

Is hacking any good then? Oh boy. Here's the skinny: Well used, it will most probably turn the tide of the entire battle in your favour. However, be sure to only use it when you are safe (in case it fails), or when the potential prize is worth the risk. Stealing a fresh heroic robot is a glorious triumph sometimes just too good to pass up!

Note: Chances to make a successful hack are listed in the symbol's description, however you have to multiply the chance with the number of enemy robots. If you roll 1 Hack symbol with only a 12% chance and the enemy has 3 robots, the probability you'll make a successful hijack is 36%.

## ENERGY LEAK

Imagine...

1. You have a pack of high-level robots. Your enemy has only a single weak one, or (better yet) none. That's when it's a good time for Energy Leak. Every stray shot that manages to hit the enemy mainframe translates directly into experience. Boosting your robots when they get to shoot at the big guy equals more level-ups for them. Level-up means full repair, better armor and better damage. Level-ups are totally worth it.
2. You have a pack of high-level robots... and the enemy has them too! Energy leak causes the enemy robots to be less effective, while giving a vital boost to your own forces. Therefore it's good to use Energy leak, especially when it grants few extra kills to your units. Even better when the enemy robots are hurt badly and levelled up. (More EXP for each kill and more enemy damage gets negated by the leak.)

Note: Energy Leak is best served with a side order of Droid and a sprinkling of the Rapid Fire ability. Such a combo can outshine even the mighty Unmaker Omega.

## FIREWALL

Unquestionably a must-have for any self-respecting Droid. Without a Firewall, your Droid dies. With a Firewall in place, your Droid can deliver numerous encores of its world famous, critically acclaimed laser show!

## Conclusive philosophy of HACKING:

With hacking you can rarely go wrong, but it should never be relied upon. Firewall or Hack alone won't win a match, but you'll be hard-pushed to win a match without them. It is always a good idea to take the worst possible outcome of a roll into equation! Sometimes, it's great to get one symbol of the three (i.e: successful hack, Firewall) but in the case of an unlucky roll, the other two symbols would be wasted (for example, you don't have any robots who'll reap the benefit of an Energy Leak, or, the enemy doesn't have enough robots to justify the use of a Hack). Always imagine the worst possible outcome and consider whether or not the other two categories wouldn't be a better course of action for the situation at hand.

## Introductory philosophy of POWERS:

Powers are all about the math. If the enemy employs the use of heroic robots, it's best to go with a Shock attack. This can swiftly reduce their high damage stats all the way down to zero. If there is a single strong Tankbot or Citadel Firewall, it's a good plan to take it down a notch with a laser and then let your robots go in for the kill. If there are any frail units hiding behind an enemy firewall, warm them up with Microwave blasts. The results can often be surprisingly effective.

## LASERS

Synthesized Damage in its purest, most destructive form. Oh wait. That'd be Nuke.

Just be reminded, that when making easy kills with a Particle Beam or the Unmaker Omega — your robots get no EXP out of it. They do however get a big kick out of watching it though. They even took the time to assure me quite recently, that it's witnessing precisely that level of carnage which makes them so proud to be on your side.

## MICROWAVE

Microwave may, at the first glance, appear to be the least effective of the offensive techniques. But appearances as they say, can be deceiving. Microwave can be in fact much more devastating than Unmaker in certain situations. Just be sure to multiply its damage by directing it at a higher number of enemy targets (this also includes the enemy mainframe). Also, microwaves penetrate through the firewall, which is good for trashing even the most heavily protected Droids. On top of that, microwave blasts always hit the enemy mainframe, which is great for finishing that nearly dead mainframe hiding behind a freshly summoned Tankbot.

## SHOCK

Even the weakest shock guarantees that the most dangerous enemy unit won't fire this round. Shock targets and you can scramble the hostile robot with the highest damage output. It's also fantastic for shutting down your own stolen (hacked) robots, as the enemy can't repair your models (Suck on that you dirty, thieving AI). On higher rolls, shocks deal damage to different targets — not unlike the microwave — disabling and damaging everything they can along the way. Mind the Firewalls though as shocks will never make it through them.

## USING ABILITIES RIGHT

Icons at the bottom represent Abilities — they unlock gradually as you level in the game. If you have enough cycles (you get 1 each turn) you can activate an ability and then spin the slots as usual — the ability will aid you afterwards. Remember to tap the cycle counter for descriptions of available abilities.

RAPID FIRE — Be sure to try and use this ability only after you've gotten yourself a good number of damage dealing robots on your side, i.e: when you've just hacked an enemy Elite Droid and suddenly found yourself with two of them. If you don't have enough capable robots in your service, RAPID FIRE won't help you at all and you'll only waste precious cycles using it.

EMERGENCY REPAIR — Just as the name suggests, it's best used only once things start to look really bleak with regards to the old healthbar. There is however one case where the use of Emergency Repair may grant you a victory — that is when you find yourself surrounded with severely damaged elite robots. ER brings your forces back in shape and all your opponent's previous efforts are suddenly rendered redundant.

SUMMON HERO — Save this for a moment when things start to look their bleakest for your team of robots. If you have 3 good robots and decide to add a hero to the mix, the AI will most likely attempt to steal it. And it will, sooner or later, succeed. Sadly...

NUKE — Nuking is fun. It's like a thousand suns exploding in a fiery testament to the fact that you are a mighty force to be reckoned with!
There is just one important thing to consider: If you both have Nukes, and you're both doing well with your health (like, at least 250+ hitpoints) it is better to let the enemy fire the Nuke first.
Sound absurd?
Think about it: you lose all your robots in the blast and the hostile forces accrue tons of EXP out of your mainframe. Then it's your turn. You make new robots and launch your Nuke. The enemy loses everything and your robots get the EXP. Now you're both devastated, you're both out of Nukes — but only you are the one surrounded with EXP'ed robots... Result!

Oh and one more thing: when it feels like your enemy is about to unleash some ungodly nuclear wrath, roll the Firewall. It will endure the blast and provide some shade for your radiation-ravaged mainframe.

## The AI Never Cheats — OR DOES IT?!?!

No. It doesn't. You can exhale now. That said, not every perfect roll is a pure coincidence. Some perfect rolls are forced by gaming mechanics that moderate unbalanced battles — this mechanic significantly favors player over the AI.

### HOW IT WORKS:

When one of the players scores too many perfect rolls and their health is much higher than the other player's health, a balancing mechanics kicks in to help the unfortunate player. This system adds a very small bonus chance to force a perfect roll. This chance increases as the health gap between the two players gets bigger.

In the absolute extreme situation, where one player has 100% health and the other player has just 1% health, the losing player is 'favored' with a bonus chance as big as 14% to force a perfect roll.

That is, when the 'favored' player is the AI.

If it is you, player, who needs help, then the bonus chance gets as high as 25% !

As soon as the 'favored' (read as unfortunate) player pulls a perfect roll (no matter if it was a forced or a 'normal' perfect roll), he loses the bonus chance.

To sum it up:

- The added chance triggers only in greatly one-sided battles.
- The added chance ends as soon as the 'favored' player makes a perfect roll of any kind.
- The added chance reaches its maximum at:
  14% bonus chance for the AI
  25% bonus chance for the player.

Nota bene: The bonus chance alone won't help much without viable tactics.

## SO THAT EXPLAINS WHY THE AI *always* ROLLS 2 UNMAKERS IN A ROW!

No, no, no it doesn't! If you experience 'highly improbable' streaks of luck or misfortune — then it is purely coincidental, but sadly not an improbable, occurrence. Remember that the slot machine is a lottery of just 3 symbols in 3 slots and the chances to make a few perfect rolls in a row are not as low as it may seem.

There are 27 possible outcomes of a roll on your slot machine. Out of these 27 outcomes only 9 start with the symbol you've selected by stopping the first reel. Out of these 9 possible outcomes, 4 contain double the desired symbol and just 1 is a perfect roll.

The chances to score a perfect roll are 1:8

AI is further handicapped to prevent it from performing long sequences of perfect rolls. The third perfect roll AI makes in a row is forcefully discarded.

The Good News: There is no limit to luck for players. Players can score an unlimited number of perfect rolls in a row.

## COIN OPERATED!

Coins can be inserted into your slot machine to upgrade its slot symbols. Each Coin adds an extra chance to trigger a particular side effect associated with the symbol selected. You are awarded with one more Coin at each level up. You can also get extra coins with any of the in-app purchases.

The AI only gets and invests 1 coin for each level of its mainframe. If you are battling a Le Puck Node (level 1) — the AI has invested just 1 coin. If you are battling for example the King Node (level 13) — you know that it has invested 13 coins into symbols of its choice.

Now if you've made any in-app purchase, you got extra Coins that are forever yours, giving you an everlasting advantage over the AI.

AI can only invest Coins it gets for its level. If you make a 10 Coin purchase, you are forever 10 Coins ahead of the AI.

Note: Purchased Coins are preserved even if you restart the Campaign in the Options. In case you wish to start the Campaign over, you can reinvest all your previously purchased Coins again.

Following list will show you the detailed numbers behind slot symbols upgrades:

- LUCKY STRIKE — Drone upgrade. Up to 28% probability (each time it fires its volley) to launch an extra missile. Lucky Strike bonus multiplies with the Rapid Fire ability.
- REPULSOR ARMOR — Tankbot upgrade. Up to 28% probability to block all incoming missiles from an enemy Tankbot or Drone.
- CRITICAL HIT — Droid upgrade. Up to 28% probability to cause extra 30% damage. Critical Hit damage bonus stacks with the Energy leak boost and it multiplies with the Rapid Fire ability!
- DEFLECTOR — Firewall upgrade. Up to 26% chance to deflect all incoming missiles from a hostile Tankbot or Drone.
- MESSY HACK — Hack upgrade. Up to 42% chance to scramble enemy robot upon failed hack attempt.
- SUPERBOOST — Energy Leak upgrade. Up to 38% probability to double both the boosting effect (your forces) and the draining effect (enemy forces) of your Energy Leak.
- ELECTRON FURY — Shock upgrade. Up to 22% chance to discharge 1 extra electron bolt!
- LASER CRITICAL — Lasers upgrade. Up to 27% chance to cause 20% higher damage.
- RESIDUAL BLAST — Microwave upgrade. Up to 22% chance to cause extra blast of 'Microwave 1.0' grade damage.

As you might have noticed, majority of these effects favor the 'unlucky' rolls, where even the three different and 'weak' slot symbols may suddenly make a tremendous impact on the ongoing battle.

Now get out there and show Empire of Machine who's the boss once and for all!

## Knowledge is power. Good luck!