Crashlands is much more complex than the average iOS game, and players can easily waste a lot of time trying to figure out the subtleties of this enjoybable survival action RPG. With three gigantic zones to explore, a virtual cornucopia of items to craft, and a never-ending supply of unusual creatures to defeat, simply winging it can be frustrating.
Here are some tips to help players make the most out of their otherworldly experience.
Fight Smarter, Not Harder
It's a good idea to make sure you're equipped with the best armor and weapons available before venturing into battle, especially if you're heading into unexplored territory. You can also craft various single-use bombs and craft your own healing items. One little-known fact is that all healing items made by players have a shorter cooldown than found healing items.
In addition to having the right equipment, patience is much more effective than swiftness. Every creature on the planet Woanope has a specific attack sequence, and the area they will attack flashes red. All players have to do is learn the sequence, dodge the attack, rush in and attack, and then rush out before the next enemy attack lands. If the battle starts to look bleak, toss a bomb or two and use a healing item.
Fools Rush In
Rushing into fights without scanning the area around the enemy first is a common cause of a quick demise. Before initiating a battle, make sure there aren't any additional enemies close by that may be pulled into the fight or else you'll be caught in the middle of two or more attackers.
Also make sure that there aren't any resources in the area, as accidentally tapping one during battle will make the hero pause and harvest it. Enemies tend to keep on fighting instead of taking a cigarette break while you're harvesting, which means you're essentially giving them a free hit.
Year-Round Harvest
Whether you're exploring the landscape, fighting enemies, working on quests, or marveling at the oddities around every corner, you should always be on the lookout for resources to harvest. There's no limit to the number of items that Flux can carry, and some items require dozens of one or more items to craft. In addition, many resources are only located in specific areas, so why not grab several items wherever you go rather than return to the area over and over?
It's also possible to seed and grow several different plant resources. They can take a while to grow, but tossing a waterbomb on them makes them grow instantly. Simply toss a harvest bomb near several resources, and then will be instantly harvested!
Get Crafty
This game features hundreds of items to craft, so it pays to start crafting as much as possible early in the game. For example, players have to craft flooring and then create a floor before they can craft different workstations that let them craft additional items. Go the extra mile and add walls to your home base, and you have a building that protects against attacks!
Every crafted item has a quality level that ranges from white (worst) to green to blue to purple to orange (best). If you don't like the quality level or random buff from an item, it can be salvaged by tapping the icon in the upper right corner, and then you can try your luck crafting the item again.
Pets Aren't Just For Petting
Every creature that you encounter can be made into a pet by finding an egg and then placing it in a crafted hatchery. These eggs are rare, and they only drop from the medium or large size of each creature, so don't waste time farming the easier-to-kill small version. After a pet hatches, you can replace their current sidekick with the pet and it will aid them in battle.
The more the pet fights, the stronger it becomes. Pets only fight enemies that the player is currently fighting, so they can't be sent in to take care of enemies while players check their text messages. Another way to strengthen pets is to evolve them into stronger versions using essences and hard-to-find blueprints.
Flux Capacity
You have an unlimited number of lives when playing Crashlands, so it's okay to take risks. Flux will respawn at his home base, and all you have to do to reclaim his possessions is to go back to the spot where he died and tap on the gravestone. Voila! Everything in the corpse's inventory is magically transferred to the the living Flux. This is made even easier by using teleporters that are scattered around the map. Just remember to tap on every teleporter you encounter to ensure that you can make a quick return.
Size Matters, Avoid iPhone If You Can
If you can't play Crashlands on a PC, the next best platform is an iPad. I can't imagine having to navigate around Woanope using a small iPhone screen, even if it is the plus size. Many of the onscreen icons are already small, and I imagine that they're downright tiny on a 5.5" screen. Hell, I sometimes tap the wrong item or miss something altogether even when playing on an iPad. It would also be easy to miss items like plants and resources when they're displayed on a small screen.
Lastly, combat would be more challenging on an iPhone simply because the surface area of the iPhone is much smaller than the surface area of an iPad, but the surface area of your finger remains the same.
