Totally Accurate Battle Simulator Combat Guide: Master Every Mechanic

Q: How many factions are there?

Fourteen. Ten standard factions of seven units each cover Tribal, Farmer, Medieval, Ancient, Viking, Dynasty, Renaissance, Pirate, Spooky and Wild West, and four more are unlockable: Legacy with 16 units, Secret with 39, plus Good and Evil which are reached through portals.

Q: Can units from different factions be mixed?

Yes, and it is usually the right call. Nothing rewards a pure faction army, so the standard approach is to buy the cheapest adequate front line from whichever faction sells it, then spend the rest on ranged units from another.

Q: Why does the same army win one battle and lose the next?

Because nothing is scripted. Every wobbler is an active ragdoll, so balance, momentum and collision resolve slightly differently each run. If an army loses narrowly, replay it before redesigning it.

Q: What is the cheapest way to beat a giant unit?

Numbers or a Ballista. Twenty 50 gold Halflings will drag down a 2,200 gold Mammoth by attacking from angles it cannot swing at, and a single 900 gold Ballista handles a large slow target from range. Buying a bigger giant of your own is the expensive answer.

Q: Is there multiplayer?

Yes, online player versus player alongside the campaigns and sandbox. There are also creators for units, maps, factions, campaigns and battles, and Steam Workshop support, so custom armies show up in both sandbox and multiplayer matches.

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator combat guide covering every mechanic, advanced techniques, and the strategies that separate good players from great ones.

EarlyGuides Editorial Team

Researched and editorially reviewed. Updated August 12, 2026.

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator is Landfall's physics battle game, released in full on 1 April 2021 after two years in Early Access. You spend a gold budget on wobblers from 14 factions, place them on a battlefield, and then hand the whole thing over to an active ragdoll simulation that decides the outcome. A Halfling costs 50 gold and a Da Vinci Tank costs 4,000, and the interesting question is almost never which unit is better but which unit is better per gold against the army already sitting on the other side of the field.

Combat in Totally Accurate Battle Simulator rewards knowledge over reflexes. Understanding how each mechanic works (and how they interact) is what turns a struggling player into a dominant one. New here? Start with our beginner's guide for the basics.

Core Combat Mechanics

1. Gold budget placement

Campaign levels hand you a fixed pot of gold and an enemy army that is already placed and visible. Units are priced from the 50 gold Halfling up to the 4,000 gold Da Vinci Tank, and the budget is usually lower than the enemy's total value, so the level is a puzzle about cost efficiency rather than a fair fight.

Why it matters: This is the foundation of all combat. Everything else builds on this.

2. Active ragdoll physics

Every wobbler is a physics driven ragdoll that balances, swings and falls over on its own. Nothing about a fight is scripted, so identical armies produce different outcomes, and knockback, height and momentum matter as much as listed damage. A Longship or a Mammoth wins fights by shoving bodies, not by out-damaging them.

Why it matters: The most underrated mechanic. Players who master this early have a massive advantage.

3. Faction unlocks and campaigns

Ten themed factions cover Tribal, Farmer, Medieval, Ancient, Viking, Dynasty, Renaissance, Pirate, Spooky and Wild West, each with seven units. Four more are unlockable: Legacy with 16 units, Secret with 39, plus Good and Evil, which are reached through portals rather than bought.

Why it matters: Unlocks a new layer of gameplay depth once understood.

4. Unit possession

You can drop into any wobbler on the field and control it directly in first or third person while the rest of the battle continues around you. Possessing a Da Vinci Tank or a Zeus turns a losing simulation into a fight you steer, and it is the fastest way to understand why a unit keeps failing.

Why it matters: The tactical edge that separates average players from advanced ones.

5. Unit Creator and Workshop

The game ships with creators for units, maps, factions, campaigns and battles. Custom wobblers get their own weapons, stats and gold cost, and Steam Workshop carries other people's armies, so the roster is not limited to the 100 plus units Landfall shipped.

Why it matters: The endgame optimization mechanic. Small improvements here compound into massive gains.

How These Mechanics Combine

Understanding how mechanics interact is where real optimization happens:

Gold budget placement + Active ragdoll physics

Campaign levels hand you a fixed pot of gold and an enemy army that is already placed and visible. When combined with Active ragdoll physics, every wobbler is a physics driven ragdoll that balances, swings and falls over on its own. This combination is the core of every effective build.

Faction unlocks and campaigns + Unit possession

Ten themed factions cover Tribal, Farmer, Medieval, Ancient, Viking, Dynasty, Renaissance, Pirate, Spooky and Wild West, each with seven units. Paired with Unit possession, you can drop into any wobbler on the field and control it directly in first or third person while the rest of the battle continues around you. This is why the tier list favors builds that leverage both.

Unit Creator and Workshop as a Multiplier

The game ships with creators for units, maps, factions, campaigns and battles. Custom wobblers get their own weapons, stats and gold cost, and Steam Workshop carries other people's armies, so the roster is not limited to the 100 plus units Landfall shipped. This system amplifies everything else. The better your Unit Creator and Workshop optimization, the more your other mechanics pay off.

Combat by Build

Each build approaches combat differently:

Tribal (A-Tier)

Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: Halfling Primary mechanic: Gold budget placement

Tribal offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.

Farmer (A-Tier)

Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: Hoplite Primary mechanic: Active ragdoll physics

Farmer offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.

Ancient (A-Tier)

Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: Musketeer Primary mechanic: Faction unlocks and campaigns

Ancient offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.

Dynasty (A-Tier)

Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: Ballista Primary mechanic: Unit possession

Dynasty offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.

Renaissance (A-Tier)

Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: Da Vinci Tank Primary mechanic: Unit Creator and Workshop

Renaissance offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.

Advanced Combat Techniques

Damage Optimization

Match your equipment to your build's stat priorities
Exploit Gold budget placement for maximum damage windows
Chain Active ragdoll physics and Faction unlocks and campaigns for combo damage
Use Unit possession to create openings

Survivability

Learn enemy patterns before committing to attacks
Look at the enemy army before you spend a single gold coin. Every campaign level shows the opposing placement up front, so buying a 900 gold Ballista against twenty cheap infantry wastes the entire budget on the wrong answer.
Position using Gold budget placement to control spacing
Save defensive options for guaranteed survival, not comfort

Boss Combat

Bosses test your understanding of every mechanic. See our boss guide for fight-specific strategies.

Phase awareness: Most bosses change behavior at health thresholds
Patience over aggression: One extra hit per opening beats dying to greed
Build preparation: Swap gear and equipment for specific fights when needed

Common Combat Mistakes

Button mashing: Committed attacks have recovery frames. Mashing locks you into animations.
Ignoring Active ragdoll physics: This mechanic exists for a reason. Players who use it take significantly less damage.
Wrong equipment for the situation: Check our weapons guide for situational picks.
Not learning from deaths: Every death teaches something. If you don't know why you died, you'll die the same way again.
Overcommitting: Trading hits works in The Introduction but will get you killed in Legacy.

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