Slice & Dice is a tactical roguelike where your party of five heroes fights enemies using dice instead of traditional combat systems. Each hero has a custom six-sided die with faces showing attacks, shields, heals, and special abilities. The strategic depth comes from rerolling dice, choosing which faces to use, and upgrading die faces at level-ups. With 100+ hero classes, 20+ difficulty levels, and runs taking 30-60 minutes, Slice & Dice is the most elegant dice-based combat system in gaming — simple to learn, endlessly deep to master.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough.
Essential Tips
1. Rerolling dice is free (up to your reroll limit) — use rerolls every turn
Rerolling dice is free (up to your reroll limit) — use rerolls every turn. A bad face on your healer when healing is needed should always be rerolled. Don't accept suboptimal faces passively.
2. Healing prevents more damage than extra offense in most situations — keeping your heroes alive for more turns generates more total damage than killing one enemy slightly faster
Healing prevents more damage than extra offense in most situations — keeping your heroes alive for more turns generates more total damage than killing one enemy slightly faster.
3. Shop items persist for the whole run — spending 5 gold on '+1 to all Sword faces' at the start means 15+ extra damage over the run
Shop items persist for the whole run — spending 5 gold on '+1 to all Sword faces' at the start means 15+ extra damage over the run. Early shop purchases have the highest total value.
4. Class upgrades at level-ups change die faces permanently
Class upgrades at level-ups change die faces permanently. Choose upgrades that cover your party's weakness — if you have strong damage but weak healing, upgrade your Healer's Heart faces.
5. Positioning matters for AoE dice — enemies are arranged in a line, and some AoE effects hit adjacent enemies
Positioning matters for AoE dice — enemies are arranged in a line, and some AoE effects hit adjacent enemies. Position your AoE heroes' targets to maximize collateral damage.
6. The two free rerolls per turn are your most valuable resource — use them on the hero whose current die face is least useful
The two free rerolls per turn are your most valuable resource — use them on the hero whose current die face is least useful. Rerolling a Shield face when you need damage is correct.
7. At least one Healer is mandatory — parties without healing die to sustained damage in boss fights
At least one Healer is mandatory — parties without healing die to sustained damage in boss fights. Even the best offensive party can't out-damage boss HP without surviving long enough.
8. Enemy attack numbers are visible before your turn — allocate Shield faces to heroes who will take the most damage
Enemy attack numbers are visible before your turn — allocate Shield faces to heroes who will take the most damage. Don't waste shields on heroes that aren't being targeted.
9. Boss fights last multiple turns, so sustained DPS builds (DoT, consistent damage) outperform burst builds (one big hit then nothing)
Boss fights last multiple turns, so sustained DPS builds (DoT, consistent damage) outperform burst builds (one big hit then nothing). Upgrade faces for reliability over peak damage.
10. Higher difficulty levels (20+ available) add modifiers like 'enemies have more HP' or 'fewer rerolls
Higher difficulty levels (20+ available) add modifiers like 'enemies have more HP' or 'fewer rerolls.' Start at difficulty 1 and increment by 1 each successful run for optimal progression.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive:
For Warrior (A-Tier):
- Warriors have dice weighted toward Sword (damage) and Shield (block) faces. Their upgrades focus on increasing damage per hit and adding cleave (multi-target damage). Warriors are reliable damage dealers with defensive utility. The Berserker upgrade path sacrifices shields for massive damage.
- Core gear: Damage-boosting items, cleave upgrades, attack power bonuses
- Stat priority: Sword face damage, cleave ability, attack frequency
For Mage (S-Tier):
- Mages have dice with spell faces dealing AoE damage, debuffs, or utility effects. Their upgrade paths include Fireball (AoE damage), Ice (freeze enemies), and Lightning (chain damage). Mages deal the highest AoE damage but have fewer defensive options. The best heroes for clearing multi-enemy encounters.
- Core gear: Spell damage items, AoE boost, mana-related upgrades
- Stat priority: Spell face damage, AoE coverage, special ability quality
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Slice & Dice's systems interact is where the real optimization lives:
dice combat + hero rerolling: Each turn, your five heroes roll their six-sided dice simultaneously. Combined with hero rerolling, you get free rerolls each turn to change unfavorable die results.
item shop + boss encounters: Between fights, a shop offers items that modify gameplay: extra rerolls, passive bonuses (all Sword faces deal +1), hero-specific upgrades, and new heroes to recruit. When paired with boss encounters, every few fights features a boss with high hp, unique abilities, and powerful attacks.
class upgrades scaling: At level-ups, you choose to upgrade one die face for one hero — changing a basic Sword (2 damage) to a better Sword (4 damage) or a special ability (3 damage + poison). Class upgrades are permanent for the run and define each hero's role. Choosing between offensive and defensive upgrades shapes your party's strategy.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Flaming Sword Die | Warrior for sustained fire damage over multiple turns | An upgraded Sword face that deals fire damage plus burning DoT. |
| Ice Staff Die | Mage for enemy control through freeze effects | An upgraded Spell face that deals ice damage and freezes the target (skip their next turn). |
| Holy Shield Die | Healer for combined blocking and healing on a single face | An upgraded Shield face that blocks damage AND heals the hero for the blocked amount. |
| Poison Arrow Die | Ranger for sustained single-target poison damage | An upgraded Ranged face that deals damage plus poison (stacking DoT). |
| Lightning Die | Mage for maximum AoE damage in multi-enemy fights | An upgraded Spell face that chains damage to 2-3 adjacent enemies. |
Location Efficiency
Forest Encounters (Encounters 1-5 (easy)): The starting battle set with basic enemies (goblins, wolves, slimes). Low damage output gives you time to learn die mechanics and hero abilities. The forest shop introduces the item system.
Cave Battles (Encounters 6-10 (medium)): Underground encounters with tougher enemies (trolls, bats, elementals). Enemies here deal more damage, requiring healers to be active. The cave boss is the first real difficulty check.
Castle Siege (Encounters 11-15 (hard)): Fortified enemies with shields and armor. Castle enemies require sustained damage to break through defenses. AoE damage is less effective; single-target burst damage matters more here.
Volcano (Encounters 16-19 (very hard)): Fire-themed encounters with enemies that deal fire DoT. Fire resistance items become valuable. The volcano boss is one of the hardest fights, combining high damage with fire pools that damage your party each turn.
Final Boss (Encounter 20 (final)): The ultimate encounter — a multi-phase boss with changing mechanics each phase. Phase 1 tests DPS, Phase 2 tests healing, Phase 3 tests both simultaneously. Defeating the Final Boss completes the run.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Not using all free rerolls — leaving rerolls unused is wasting your most valuable resource. Even if a die face is acceptable, rerolling might give something better. Use every reroll.
- Skipping the healer role — all-damage parties die on boss fights. At least one hero should have strong Heart faces for sustaining through multi-turn encounters.
- Buying expensive items late instead of cheap items early — a 3-gold item at encounter 1 provides value for 19 encounters. The same item at encounter 15 provides value for only 5.
- Upgrading the same hero every level-up — spread upgrades across the party. A team with one maxed hero and four weak heroes is worse than a balanced team with moderate upgrades on everyone.
- Wasting Shield faces when no enemies are attacking that hero — check enemy targeting before assigning shields. Shield faces used on untargeted heroes provide zero value.
Efficiency Quick Reference
| Aspect | Optimal Choice | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Warrior | A-tier, best overall |
| Starter | Mage | Most forgiving for learning |
| Equipment | Flaming Sword Die | Best resource-to-power ratio |
| First area | Forest Encounters | Basic item purchases, first level-ups, mechanic tutorial |
| Priority mechanic | dice combat | Everything else builds on this |
Pro Quick Tips
- Rerolling dice is free (up to your reroll limit) — use rerolls every turn. A bad face on your healer when healing is needed should always be rerolled. Don't accept suboptimal faces passively.
- Healing prevents more damage than extra offense in most situations — keeping your heroes alive for more turns generates more total damage than killing one enemy slightly faster.
- Shop items persist for the whole run — spending 5 gold on '+1 to all Sword faces' at the start means 15+ extra damage over the run. Early shop purchases have the highest total value.
- Start with Mage, switch to Warrior when ready
- Invest in Flaming Sword Die above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Forest Encounters → Cave Battles → Castle Siege → Volcano → Final Boss
- dice combat + hero rerolling together are stronger than either alone
For full build details, check builds. For progression path, see the walkthrough.
