Introduction

The following section is intended to explain and overview GunBoundM and its basic game-play elements for new or prospective players. GunBoundM, or simply 'GBM', is a turn-based artillery-shooting game. It is the mobile-device follow-up to the 2006 hit massively-multiplayer-online game GunBound, and borrows and adapts many of its predecessor's elements. The core game-play involves using one of a selection of 32 unique "mobiles" to aim your weapon and launch a shot at an opponent while taking into account different environmental factors that force you to adjust your aim and strategy. Mobiles take damage when a shot lands on them and after suffering several directs hits, will be destroyed. While there are several game mode variations (explained below), the general goal in GBM is to be the first to destroy your opponents' mobile(s).

GunBoundM Availability

GBM is a free-to-play multi-player game on the mobile device platform that includes optional in-game purchases. For iOS users, you can find this game on the App Store, and for Android users, the Play Store. New players can use a guest account, or sign into GBM through FaceBook or a GooglePlay account (android) or through Game Center (iOS). A guest account can be turned into a regular account at any time by linking it to and establishing it as a regular account. If an account is created on your device before linking a guest account to a regular account, all progress on the guest account will be erased and lost.

Getting Started

After downloading and signing in to a new account for the first time, the player will be guided through a brief in-game tutorial and explanation. You will learn the basic mechanics of shooting and items, gaining and using new mobiles, avatars, and spending resources. See the linked articles for a closer look at those elements. For the remainder of this article, the basic game-play mechanics and game modes that are not covered by the in-game tutorial will be explained in further detail.

Main Menu Screen Key

Cards

There are two major, and one lesser, character elements that are normally obtained by assembling them from 'cards': mobiles, which are the tanks the player controls, avatars, which are the human or humanoid characters riding the mobile who grant the mobile extra bonuses, and pets, which are small creatures following the mobile who add small, extra damage, stat buffs, or healing when the mobile's "Special Shot" becomes active.

To assemble a mobile to be used in battle, you must obtain five cards of that mobile in the matching class and appearance. For avatars and pets, only three matching cards are needed. Mobile, avatar, and pet cards can be found in their respective tabs within the "My Stock" option on the main menu and assembled from there. Cards are primarily purchased through the "Shop" using in-game resources. For information on obtaining cards, please refer to the spending guide.

Jewels

Jewels are items that can be attached to an avatar to give small, but non-negligible, buffs to the mobile the avatar is assigned to. There are five different colors of jewels, each giving bonuses to different elements of play. Red jewels increase pure offensive power or explosion range, Green jewels increase defense or HP, Yellow jewels increase attack power or explosion range higher than that of red jewels, but only under certain wind or turn-count conditions, Blue jewels increase the mobile's movement, climbing ability, or add time to your turn timer, and Purple jewels increase match-victory rewards in gold, GP, or mobile experience.

Jewels can be obtained in the "Jewel Gacha" tab of the shop by using gold, gems, or jewel pieces. Jewel pieces are obtained as free daily rewards and as prizes for winning in PvC modes of play. Jewel pieces cannot be equipped themselves, they can only be used to exchange for jewels.

Once a jewel is set to an avatar's jewel slot, it cannot be retrieved, and will remain there until replaced by another jewel or until the avatar itself is permanently deleted (either a new avatar being assigned to the mobile it is on, or by the mobile it is on being 'extracted'). A replaced jewel is not recovered and is lost permanently.

Game-play

Wind

Wind is a constantly acting force during game play that is indicated by the display in the center-top of the screen. As one might expect, the wind pushes projectiles in the direction it is blowing, with various levels of strength, as the projectile flies in the air. While the in-game tutorial and tips do explain that shots are aimed by dragging the cursor to aim and clicking the 'fire' button to launch your shot, and that the shot's aiming guide lines are not adjusted to wind, a few more important details are left unsaid. In regards to the wind, it is important to understand that most shots follow an arc with two distinct phases: the ascent, as it is fired and rises to its apex, or peak, and then the descent, as it falls toward the ground. While ascending, shots are affected by the wind very minimally (but not completely negligibly). It is not until the shot begins falling through its descent that wind begins to majorly affect the shot's trajectory. Wind that is perpendicular to a shot as it falls will be pushed along a curve in proportion to the strength of the wind as it falls. The longer a shot falls, the further the distance pushed will be. The closer to perpendicular the angle is, the stronger the effect will be.

Wind Strength and Direction: In normal PvP matches, the wind will vary randomly in direction and strength. Every third turn that is taken will result in a randomized change. The direction can be North, South, East, West, North-East, North-West, South-East, South-West, or approximately 5 degrees off of North, South, East, or West in either direction. Wind strength occurs in whole numbers between 3 and 12 (in 'easy' training battles, it will only range from 1-4 and in on specific maps within Royal Survival it goes as high as 13).

Unknown Wind: for the first two turns of a match, the wind direction will be known, but not its strength, which will display a "?" in place of a number. If shooting during this phase, it is recommended that you aim such that your shot's descent is parallel to the wind direction (if possible), or otherwise take a shot that is as low as can be, adjusting slightly for the direction the wind will blow it. This will minimize the window of error and usually result in a landed shot even when wind strength is unknown.

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Ultimately, the only way to be able to consistently land shots is by practice, practice, practice, however. Having a fundamental grasp on how the wind affects shots will only speed-up the process but mastery will always take time and experience.

Land Destruction and Bungee

Most shots in GBM cause the land within a certain radius to be destroyed, which can be anywhere from very little to huge craters, causing mobiles and totems to fall down if destroyed from underneath them. This can be used to disrupt an opponent's ability to make shots or move by trapping them in holes; but one of the strongest tactics land destruction is used for is to achieve a 'Bungee Shot', where an opponent is knocked-out, regardless of their remaining HP, by being dropped through to the bottom of the stage.

Items

At the beginning of each match, a random set of three items are determined which all players in the match will have. Items cannot be used in the first two turns of a game, after which players may begin using one per turn. Each item can only be used once per match. If an item is selected that requires you to fire a shot to use (which is all items except for the shield and first-aid kit) and you either skip your turn or the turn timer expires before taking a shot, the item will be lost and not recovered.

Tips:

• 1. While it is generally a good idea to use items earlier rather than later, since using them early assures you will not end the match without having taken advantage of them, there are times when waiting is more profitable. For instance, if you have an avatar that steals healing effects while at low health, such as Jessica, it's generally better to wait until you are in the health range for stealing to use a shield to maximize your chances of being able to use it before being destroyed. Teleports can be used for a number of strategies, but waiting until your ally is knocked out to teleport onto the opponent that isn't going immediately after you, is one common opportunity to look out for, especially if the following opponent has already used their own teleport.
• 2. If dual+ is used with SS selected, SS will be followed by S2.
• 3. The bomb cluster (officially called 'multi-shot'), is a strong projectile to be launched through clouds and is the only item that can interact with clouds. To land the bomb cluster onto a single target, a high angle shot is required, otherwise they will land in a spread-out fashion.
• 4. The bomb cluster and bungee drill (officially called 'bungee shot', which is not to be confused with the act of causing a bungee, also called a 'bungee shot') are the only two items that are launched as a projectile with the mobile's shot, and will always be launched in a standard arc, even if the mobile's shot is not.
• 5. Bungee drills will destroy some land but cause no damage (under some circumstances it will deal 1 damage). They will, however, break shields they contact.
• 6. Shields are destroyed by suffering any amount of damage, even a single point, but will take several seconds before vanishing and continue to protect the mobile for a moment. Some attacks have secondary effects or damage that is delayed enough to damage the target after the shield is broken.

Tornadoes

A tornado is an environmental element that often appears near the center of the map, extending vertically from the top to bottom. Shots that pass through a tornado curve around it, which will affect its trajectory and hang-time. The effect of the tornado becomes increasingly exaggerated the steeper the angle is of the passing projectile. For this reason, being on or just on the opposite side of a tornado is often an advantage, as your shots are given extra height and enemy shots can be frustrated by the precision required to land a shot in or near a tornado at anything except low angles, which stifles their attempts at SS meter boosting shots while assisting your own. On the other hand, it can be difficult, sometimes impossible, to land a shot from near a tornado to just on the opposite side of it if wind conditions are horizontally strong. If a projectile passes through a tornado, an additional shot bonus is accrued. A number of shots interact with tornadoes in peculiar ways, some beneficially and others detrimentally.

Clouds

Clouds are environmental elements that randomly spawn and change on the field of play. There are several types, each with their own effect. A projectile that passes through a cloud will invoke it's effect. It can accumulate multiple effects as it travels but as it passes through a death cloud, those effects are expunged and replaced with the death cloud effect.

Totems

Totems are objects that appear on most maps. They begin in an inactive form (indicated by not being alight), and can randomly activate or deactivate any given turn, but tend to activate after the second turn of the match. Once active, they display a circle of light about them. Any mobile located inside of this circle will receive that totem's corresponding bonus or penalty for the duration it is inside of the circle, or until the totem deactivates or is destroyed. The exception to this is the exploding totem, which does not activate for bonuses, rather, it explodes in a large radius, destroying a massive amount of land and dealing a large amount of damage to anything in its range when destroyed. Totems can usually be the target of attacks and can be destroyed after suffering a certain amount of damage (approximately 500). In the same vain, they can be used as cover to deflect damage or to restore health to a mobile who uses a vampire item on it.

Thor / Ice Thor

Thor and Ice Thor are stationary satellites that are sometimes present on the stage. Thor fires lasers while Ice Thor fires a barrage of ice clumps. Any mobile may trigger either Thor by activating a Thor cloud using their shot. The mobiles Aduka and Adum (Thor), and Ice Storm (Ice Thor) will cause their respective Thor to be present on the stage at all times if they are in a match, whether or not they are actively in play. These mobiles have shots that automatically trigger Thor without the need of a cloud. Both Thors begin at level 1 and gain levels over the course of the match as they deal damage, up to a 5th level, which is indicated as "Max". Thor will fire more powerful lasers and Ice Thor will hurl more ice clumps as they increase in level. Absent the aforementioned mobiles, only specific maps will have a specific Thor. If either Thor is present on a map it does not normally appear on as a result of the presence of one of the aforementioned mobiles, there will be no clouds spawned for it to be triggered by other mobiles. Some maps include smaller 'Twin Thors' situated in the top corners of the map. These Thors behave just like the regular one except that they are automatically engaged for all shots so long as the Twin Thor totem is active.

Communication

During a match, the speech bubble icon near the player's HUD can be used to display pictorial communications or 'emotes' to the other players. When playing 2v2 Score, a second tab will be available with pre-rendered text and marker options which can only be seen by your teammate. Marker options "hit here" and "caution" will allow you to select a point on the field of play to create an indication to your teammate. Visibility of chatting options can be toggled in the games settings menu at any time during a match.

Note on etiquette: it is widely regarded as poor form and disrespectful to spam demands of your teammate in an attempt to micro-manage them. Using these options to communicate less-obvious moves or to coordinate attacks are acceptable, but one should give their partner the benefit of the doubt in situations where their skill level suggests they are most likely aware of the correct or optimal move. Likewise, it is generally poor form to spam emotes during a match.

Chat options: You can communicate typed messages with teammates through the chat menu near the bottom left corner of the screen during a match providing your teammate is on your friend list or is a clanmate. This provides the ability to communicate more clearly during a match.

Pets

Pets can be purchased through the shop and equipped to an avatar. While the SS meter is full, the pet's ability is active. Most pets travel or otherwise fire upon the spot where a shot lands for a very small amount of extra damage (around 10-20). Some pets can heal for a small amount of health (20). A third type of pet increases a certain stat by a small amount while active. The primary value in a pet is that if it lands on a shielded opponent, it might break their shield before your shot arrives, allowing your shot to bypass the shield. For mobiles whose SS does not function well with or need a shield breaking pet, the healers or stat-buffing pets are recommended. Attacking pets primarily differ only in the manner by which they arrive at the target (some can go through land, others follow the arc trajectory). Some are able to attack a wider area of effect. Pets are relatively minimal in their overall usefulness beyond this, and are not recommended for new or intermediate players to be purchased. Free pets can be obtained easily through the Dungeon.

General Tips and Strategy

1. It can be helpful to note your current Special Shot Meter level and remaining health before deciding to take a high-angle or risky shot. For example, if you only need half a bar of meter to unlock your SS, taking any shot at all, even if you miss, will give you the remaining half-bar, which means you can take the safest shot available without taking an unnecessarily risky sky shot. Similarly, if you still need several bars to fill your meter but are within a single shot of being destroyed, you are almost certain to be destroyed before getting to use your SS at this point and thus, taking unnecessary shots to build your meter is inadvisable (at higher levels of play there may be an exception to this however, as the threat of an SS attack will force your opponent to attack you immediately, drawing attention away from your partner or other mobile).

2. When playing in any of the multi-mobile modes especially, one should be constantly aware of the other player's Special Shot meters. In general, it is not wise to ignore an opponent mobile who is much closer to filling their SS meter than is their ally.

3. A lot of improvement in a player's game can be made by familiarizing themselves with the abilities of avatars. Knowing what your opponent's avatar does helps inform the central crux of your optimal strategy and game plan. For example, If you are using the avatar Jessica who is within the health range for heal stealing, knowing that the opponent's Doctor M will be triggered if you attack it (thus giving you an opportunity to steal a large portion of its health gain) is of great advantage to you as a player. To see more details about avatar's and their abilities, please refer to the avatar guide.

4. In the 2v2 Score and Pro Battle modes, players should always be aware of both potential 'perfect game' opportunities and risks. A player can coordinate with their partner to create a perfect game opportunity or take preventative measures, up to including intentional self-destruction, to avoid the impending threat of a perfect game from their opponent. For more details about perfect games, see the entry in the glossary.

5. Players should also always have an awareness of which mobiles are next in the opponent's line-up. At any point in the match, you can check this by clicking on any player's profile image in their HUD at the top of the screen. One common example of a fatal mistake is to fail to notice an incoming JD while standing close to an edge, resulting in a surefire knockout of your mobile in one turn.

6. The fastest route to quickly gaining SS meter is by sky-shot and super-sky-shot. Because Special Shots are so powerful and many matches are determined by which player unlocks and uses theirs first, it should be evident that the majority of a player's growth in skill and win rate is a function of their ability to consistently connect on difficult-to-make shots. Combining this with the resource benefits offered, it is advised for new to intermediate players to spend around as much time playing training mode matches as they do playing PvP matches in order to accelerate skill level without the pressures and penalties involved in losing a great deal by learning exclusively from PvP matches.

7. There are many other strategies and tips that apply to specific mobiles. For more tips, see the "Tips and Techniques" section for your mobiles in the mobiles guide.

8. Mobiles suffer moderately more damage when struck from directly above or directly below (in terms of compass direction, not relative to the mobile's positional angle). This will be indicated by the 'good', 'great', or 'perfect' message seen while landing a shot.

9. There is a small 'weakness cycle' between the mobiles based on their 'type'. For more details, see the entry for 'type' in the glossary.

10. Matches cannot end in a draw. Whenever the last two opposing mobiles are knocked-out in the same turn, the loser will be the mobile who was knocked-out first (typically meaning the mobile who had fewer remaining HP at the start of the turn). This can be used to your advantage, or against you, when a mobile secures victory by attacking itself or an ally who is on top of the opponent mobile who has fewer remaining HP.

PvP Modes

In the four PvP (player vs. player) modes, human players compete against one another in various formats for gold and GP prizes. Only in 2v2 Score and Pro Battle is GP penalized from the loser of the match.

Matching: When a game mode is entered, a player is automatically queued to be paired with an eligible opponent and partner (in the case of 2v2 Score) within a certain time frame (approximately 30 seconds). The exact parameters of this eligibility are not known, but it is thought to be largely based on matching opponents within the same league (see below for more on leagues and ranks). Currently, if an eligible human opponent is not paired as the opponent of a human player, they will be matched against an computer controlled AI opponent instead. When queuing for a 2v2 Score match, a player may invite a friend or clanmate who is online at that time to be their partner instead of being randomly paired with a partner, which happens when selecting "just start" on the queuing options screen.

1v1 Duel Battle

In this mode, one player is matched against one other player. A map and item selection is revealed, and then each player will discreetly select one mobile from their currently active team to use for the match. The match will then follow standard procession until one player wins by knocking out the opponent's mobile first. There is no GP penalty for losing a Duel Battle. There is no minimum rank requirement.

2v2 Score

In this mode, four players are split into two teams of two. Each player will use their entire currently selected mobile line-up, one mobile at a time, in the order that they are arranged within the line-up. Each team will begin with three stocks (displayed as red and blue tank icons to either side of the wind indicator at the top of the screen). Each time a mobile is knocked-out, a stock is subtracted from their team. A team loses when all three of their stocks are depleted, and the other team correspondingly wins. Alternatively, a game can end in a 'perfect game' where two mobiles from the same team are knocked-out on the same turn, even if they had a stock remaining (see the glossary entry for more details). Items are randomly determined and all players will have the same item-set per match. Each player uses their items independently (i.e. the items are not shared by a team). For the first two turns, items cannot be used and the wind strength will not be revealed. The turn order is randomized, but it will always go in the following pattern: Player 1 from team A, Player 1 from team B, Player 2 from team A, Player 2 from team B. The GP penalty for losing a 2v2 Score match is -10 GP. The minimum required rank to play 2v2 Score is "Wooden Hammer", unless invited into a match by a friend or clanmate.

Pro Battle

In Pro Battle, two players are matched against each other using all three mobiles of their currently selected line-up, two at a time, in the order in which they are arranged within the line-up. The winner of the match will be the player who knocks-out all three of their opponents' mobiles first. Alternatively, a game can end in a 'perfect game' where two mobiles from the same team are knocked-out on the same turn, even if they had a mobile remaining (see the glossary entry for more details). Items are determined at random at the beginning of the match, and each player will have the same set of items. For the first two turns, items cannot be used and the wind strength will not be revealed. Which player goes first is randomized, but the turn order will always follow this pattern: Player 1 mobile A, Player 2 mobile A, Player 1 mobile B, Player 2 Mobile B. The GP penalty for losing a Pro Battle match is -10 GP. There is no minimum required rank to play Pro Battle.

Royal Survival

In Royal Survival, four players are matched in a free-for-all battle using one mobile selected from their current line-up. The map and items will be revealed first, following the discreet selection of mobile and spawning location. There is a small chance for any player to be given a "Super Mobile" (either 'Dragon' or 'Knight'). When this occurs, all three mobiles will temporarily be replaced on the selection screen by that mobile, effectively leaving the player with the choice of avatar. Multiple players may receive a super mobile in the same match. The game's winner will be the last player surviving. Turn order is determined randomly. There is no GP penalty for losing a Royal Survival match, nor do Royal Survival matches get counted in the players displayed seasonal win record. The minimum required rank for playing Royal Survival is "Wooden Hammer".

Play with Friends

Players may invite friends or clanmates to a no-steaks 1v1 Duel format match. There are no rewards or requirements.

PvC Modes

In PvC (player versus computer) battles, players play against various, often unique, AI controlled opponents. These battles, with the exception of 'easy' training, require the use of challenge tickets for each entry. The rewards for winning in these battles are generally large amounts of gold, experience, and in the case of winning streaks, jewel pieces.

Training Battles

Easy training is a simulated "Duel Battle" against an AI opponent. The AI is generally a very poor shot. There is no turn timer. There is no training ticket cost. There is no maximum win amount. The base reward for winning is 10 gold and a small amount of mobile experience. There is no streak bonuses.

Medium training is a simulated "Pro Battle" against an AI opponent on one of a selection of simplified stages that are unique to this mode. The AI is decent shot, but will miss frequently. There is no turn timer. There is no maximum win amount. It costs four training tickets per match. The base reward for winning is 200 gold and a small amount of mobile experience. Every fourth consecutive win will earn a streak bonus of 1-4 jewel pieces.

Hard training is a simulated "Pro Battle" against an AI opponent on one of standard stages. The AI is an excellent shot, but will miss occasionally. There is a standard turn timer active. There is no maximum win amount. It costs four training tickets per match. The base reward for winning is 500 gold and a large amount of mobile experience. Every fourth consecutive win will earn a streak bonus of 3-5 jewel pieces.

Event Battles

Event battles are special challenges with higher rewards and increased difficulty. They each have unique parameters and opponents. The maximum win amount for these events are 20 (with the exception of the "20 Masters" challenge, which has no maximum), after which you will no longer be able to participate in them.

World Boss

The world boss is a unique mode in which all players globally compete to deal as much damage to a single enemy as possible. The world boss spawns once every 8 hours simultaneously for everyone. It has a universal HP upon spawning that all players participating are depleting as they battle it. Each battle against the boss will use all three mobiles of your currently selected team simultaneously. The amount of damage a player deals in total for each boss-spawn determines their ranking for that boss. Providing the boss is successfully defeated, rewards will be issued to players based on their final rank. Independently from individual player ranking and rewards, a player's damage to the boss is also contributed toward their clan's collective total against the boss. Clans are rewarded CP based on ranking in the same manner, separately from the individual players. The boss is guaranteed to destroy your team after a set amount of turns, but a player may continue battling the boss to accumulate more damage as much as they like, providing they have enough training tickets and the boss hasn't been defeated.

Clans, Rank, and League

Clans

Clan: A Clan is an optional feature of the game where up to 40 players may join together to accumulate 'Clan Points', or 'CP', in order to increase the level of their Clan. The higher a Clan's level is, the more benefits they receive. Clan benefits include: increased health or attack power during training battles, increased accuracy rating during any mode of play, increased GP earned for victories in PvP modes, or increased Mobile experience points earned. A Clan can be anywhere between level 1 and 10. It requires exponentially greater CP to increase in level. Clans are also useful for finding other reliable players to partner with for 2v2 Score. A player may only be in one Clan at a time, and must wait for 24 hours after leaving a Clan before they can join a new one. Players may create their own Clan for a cost of 50,000 gold.

Clan Points: Clan Points, or CP, are the points awarded to Clans by their members through a variety of means. CP's primary function is to build and increase a Clan's level so that its members may access more bonuses. If a member of a Clan leaves before they have been in the Clan for one month, any CP they have contributed to the Clan will be revoked. CP can be gained in the following ways: A.) By 'donating' gems in the Clan menu. B.) By completing any one of several daily challenges that offer CP as a reward. C.) By Clan-member participation in any World Boss event, of which there are several each day. The higher the Clan collectively performs against the World Boss relative to other Clans for each event, the higher the CP reward is.

Clan Punishment: It is against GunBoundM terms and conditions for players to continuously delete and recreate accounts in order to accumulate easy gems to contribute towards a clan's CP. Softnyx monitors this behavior and will remove a significant amount of CP from a clan that has been found to be participating in this activity.

Rank

For a list of ranks and their requirements, click here

A player's Rank is a reflection of their total accumulated GP. GP, and therefore Rank, can increase or decrease with wins or loses in the PvP modes of play. When a player reaches a new rank for the first time, they receive a small reward of Gems, Gold, and Training Tickets. Ranks range from Chick to Supernova 3, and are indicated by the icon near a player's profile image.

League

For a list of leagues, their requirements, and rewards, click here

League is a type of ranking that is used to determine matching and to determine end-of-season rewards. The Leagues progress linearly as a player accumulates GP by winning PvP matches. The Leagues, in ascending order, are: Wood, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Hero, and Legend, all of which are themselves separated into three subdivisions with the exception of Legend, which only has two. At the beginning of each Season, each player's League standing is reduced by two subdivisions, except for players in Legend 1 or 2, who will be demoted to Hero 3. Leagues require exponentially more GP to reach at they ascend. Once in the Hero league or higher, only the top 40% of qualified players will be allowed to progress.

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Additional Credits:

DunnO

DeepFriedTomacco

~Kiowski~