Game River released Mechabellum out of Early Access on 26 September 2024 with Dreamhaven publishing. It is an auto-battler played entirely between rounds: you spend supply on units, place them on a grid, buy tech upgrades and draft reinforcement cards, then watch the battle resolve without touching anything. Around 29 units exist, and almost every one of them is the answer to some other one, so reading your opponent's board matters more than any single strong unit.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | 1v1 Ranked | Round-based deployment on a grid basics | Anti-air | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | 2v2 Team Battle | Unit tech upgrades mastery | Anti-air | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Free For All | Reinforcement card drafts + gear | Chaff swarm or Anti-air | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Solo Survival | Build optimization | Chaff swarm | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Rift Mode | Min-max | Chaff swarm or Air | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (1v1 Ranked)
The main competitive mode and where the counter-reading loop matters most. Practising against the Insane bot first is genuinely more useful than low-rating ladder games, because weak opponents punish none of your mistakes.
Level/Difficulty: Full matches, typically eight to twelve rounds Key Rewards: Ladder rating and the fastest exposure to real counter play
What to Do in 1v1 Ranked
- Learn Round-based deployment on a grid. Each round you spend supply on new units and reposition existing ones, then the battle plays out on its own. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Anti-air as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Look at the enemy board before you spend a single point of supply. You get to see what they fielded, and almost every unit in the game has a clean answer, so buying blind throws away the mode's central advantage.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Fang or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Round-based deployment on a grid fundamentals
- Anti-air selected and functional
- 1v1 Ranked main content cleared
- Ready for 2v2 Team Battle
Phase 2: Early Game (2v2 Team Battle)
Two players share a front against another pair, which changes what units are worth buying. Coordinating so one player covers air while the other covers chaff beats both players building the same board.
Level/Difficulty: Full matches with a partner Key Rewards: Coverage splits that are impossible in a solo game
What to Do in 2v2 Team Battle
- Work on Unit tech upgrades. Every unit has its own upgrade options bought individually, so an Arclight can take Anti-Air to cover your sky problem or Armor to survive longer against light attackers. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Fang if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Take the starting specialist that hands you a free unit rather than extra supply, particularly if the unit is rare. A unit on the board from round one compounds across the whole match in a way that a supply cushion does not.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Free For All.
- Consider whether Chaff swarm might suit your playstyle better than Anti-air.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Unit tech upgrades integrated into gameplay
- Fang acquired
- 2v2 Team Battle fully cleared
- Ready for Free For All
Phase 3: Mid Game (Free For All)
Multiple players competing at once, where committing everything into one opponent leaves you exposed to the rest. Board efficiency matters more here than any single strong matchup.
Level/Difficulty: Multiplayer lobbies Key Rewards: Practice at building boards that answer several different threats at once
What to Do in Free For All
- Master Reinforcement card drafts. Between rounds you pick from cards sorted into levels, from cheap level 0 options like Elite Marksman and Assault Fang up to level 3 cards like Nuke, Lightning Storm and Mustang Production Line. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Crawler. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Concentrate tech upgrades on two or three unit types instead of buying one for everything. Upgrades apply to every copy of that unit you own, so twelve upgraded Fangs beat four upgraded units of four different kinds.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Starting specialist selection for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Reinforcement card drafts mastered
- Crawler acquired or in progress
- Free For All fully cleared
- Ready for Solo Survival
Phase 4: Late Game (Solo Survival)
A single-player run against escalating waves, and the best place to learn what each unit and tech upgrade actually does without a human opponent punishing the experiment. A co-op version also exists.
Level/Difficulty: Escalating waves in a single run Key Rewards: Safe experimentation with unit tech and card drafts
What to Do in Solo Survival
- Finalize your build. You should be running Chaff swarm or Anti-air with optimized gear.
- Crawler should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Send fast or air units to the flank positions early. They stand a real chance of destroying the enemy control towers, which hands you an advantage at the start of the following round.
- Counter reading between rounds optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Rift Mode.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Crawler upgraded to max
- Solo Survival fully cleared
- Ready for Rift Mode
Phase 5: Endgame (Rift Mode)
A mode with rotating rule sets, which shakes up what is strong from one rotation to the next. Good for breaking habits, because a build that always works in ranked frequently falls apart under a different rule set.
Level/Difficulty: Rotating rule sets Key Rewards: Forced variety that exposes the gaps in your default build
What to Do in Rift Mode
- Rift Mode tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Skip reinforcement cards below rare rarity unless one directly fixes a hole in your board. A cheap common card that does not answer what just killed you is worse than saving the pick.
- The endgame loop: run Rift Mode, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Air for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Counter reading between rounds mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Rift Mode fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Buying units without looking at what the opponent fielded, when the whole mode is built on answering their board
- Spreading tech upgrades thinly across six unit types instead of concentrating them on two or three
- Clumping swarm units tightly, where a single Vulcan or other splash source clears the entire group in one pass
- Sending Melting Point into cheap swarms instead of saving it for the enemy giants it is designed to kill
- Ignoring the flank control towers entirely and losing the round-start advantage every single round
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Look at the enemy board before you spend a single point of supply. You get to see what they fielded, and almost every unit in the game has a clean answer, so buying blind throws away the mode's central advantage.
- Take the starting specialist that hands you a free unit rather than extra supply, particularly if the unit is rare. A unit on the board from round one compounds across the whole match in a way that a supply cushion does not.
- Concentrate tech upgrades on two or three unit types instead of buying one for everything. Upgrades apply to every copy of that unit you own, so twelve upgraded Fangs beat four upgraded units of four different kinds.
- Send fast or air units to the flank positions early. They stand a real chance of destroying the enemy control towers, which hands you an advantage at the start of the following round.
- Skip reinforcement cards below rare rarity unless one directly fixes a hole in your board. A cheap common card that does not answer what just killed you is worse than saving the pick.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Mechabellum Guides
- Mechabellum Mechabellum Overview
- Mechabellum Best Builds
- Mechabellum Tier List
- Mechabellum Beginner's Guide
- Mechabellum Tips & Tricks
- Mechabellum Weapons Guide
- Mechabellum Combat Guide
- Mechabellum Boss Guide
- Mechabellum Maps & Locations
- Mechabellum Crafting Guide
- Mechabellum Classes & Characters
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