Frequently asked questions

Gameplay Basics

How much LP do I start with? 8000. That value also sets the maximum recovery limit for each player during the duel.

Can high-level monsters be played without tributes? Yes. There are no level requirements or tributes needed to play any monster, and a newly summoned monster may attack on the turn it is played.

Can I pass my turn without playing a card? Not directly: you are required to play one card or combination every turn. The standard way to “pass” is placing a card face-down in defense position.

Can a monster attack more than once in a single turn? No: each monster may attack at most once per turn, and a monster that has declared an attack cannot alter its battle position during that turn.

Fusions

How do I perform a Fusion? Either by raising two or more cards in hand with up on the d-pad (numbering them in sequence) or by playing a card directly onto a monster on your field. The engine checks for a valid Fusion first, then an Equip, and discards cards if no recipe matches.

What happens if a fusion fails? If only one card is a monster, the monster stays on the field and the non-monster card is discarded. If both cards are monsters, the card played first is discarded and the second remains.

Why do I keep getting the same monster when fusing? Many recipes share input type pairings and output monsters. Nekogal #2 is produced by 1,200 recipes, Mystical Sand by 1,174, and Cyber Soldier by 1,008.

Does a fusion always yield a monster stronger than the materials? Almost always: across 24,968 evaluable monster fusions (monster + monster → monster), 24,955 produce a result with higher ATK than either material. The 13 non-conforming combinations represent the game’s rare exceptions.

Do cards fused during a duel get added to my collection? No. A card enters your permanent trunk only via post-duel drops, the password shop, or the starter deck.

Traps, Fields, and Guardian Stars

Which Traps should I prioritize? The six attack-triggered Traps each operate on an ATK limit: House of Adhesive Tape at 500, Eatgaboon at 1000, Bear Trap at 1500, Invisible Wire at 2000, Acid Trap Hole at 3000, and Widespread Ruin at 25500.

What effects do Field terrains have? Monster types gain or lose ±500 ATK and DEF depending on the active Field. In Umi (sea), Machine and Pyro monsters lose 500; in Forest, Plant, Beast, Insect, and Beast-Warrior monsters gain 500.

How do Guardian Stars interact? Each monster has two Guardian Stars; you select one when summoning it. Favorable matchups grant +500 ATK and DEF; unfavorable ones apply −500.

Which Guardian Star beats which? The ten stars form two closed cycles: a four-star Solar cycle (Sun > Moon > Venus > Mercury > Sun) and a six-star Outer cycle (Mars > Jupiter > Saturn > Uranus > Pluto > Neptune > Mars). Stars across different cycles never interact.

What benefit does an Equip card provide? It permanently boosts the target monster’s ATK and DEF: +500 per equip tier, while Megamorph (tier 2) grants +1000. The Equip card is consumed upon activation.

Duel Rank

How is duel rank calculated? Each side starts at 50 points, modified by ten performance criteria (turns taken, effective attacks, defensive wins, face-down plays, pure magic, traps triggered, cards drawn from deck, remaining LP, initiated fusions, and equips used). Each criterion evaluates against custom threshold steps.

Which rank gives the best drops and most Starchips? High scores (90+) yield POW ranks; low scores (≤9) yield TEC ranks. Drop pools map to POW for S/A-POW, BCD for middle tiers, and TEC for S/A-TEC. Review rank payout tables under Ranks and drop pools under Opponents.

Does triggering Traps lower my rank? Yes, on the POW axis. Triggered Traps subtract points: 1–2 triggers deducts 8 points, and 7 or more deducts 32 points.

Does fusing penalize my rank score? No: initiating fusions from hand grants 4 points initially, only penalizing your score once you exceed 4 fusions (−4 up to 9, −8 up to 14, and −12 for 15+).

Accounts and Online Play

Is creating an account mandatory? For online play, yes: the server requires an authenticated session even for spectator access. Local offline play remains completely separate. An account preserves your trunk collection, Starchips balance, and ladder ranking.

Why do I see fewer duplicate drops over time? Cards with many accumulated copies carry reduced weight in reward rolls, with overall probability shares renormalized over the remaining pool. Milestone copy thresholds are detailed under Opponents.

What are “base”, “repeated”, and “mastered” tiers? They represent three reward tiers based on your monthly win count against a specific opponent. Tier transition thresholds are listed under Opponents.

How do ante wagers handle cards? Wager matches are not yet live: they are specified in design documents but await server implementation. When activated, the loser forfeits their staked card to the winner.

Can I trade cards with other duelists? Yes, but trading incurs Starchip fees and enforces eligibility rules: account level requirements, cooldown periods, and non-tradeable starter deck cards.

What is the welcome pack? A launch booster pack containing randomized cards to complement your starter deck, claimable during an opening event window. Each account opens it once, and its contents cannot be traded. Specific card pools and drop weights are detailed in Meta Changes.

What qualifies for friendly ranking? Dueling counts toward rankings only if there is a decisive victor and the match meets minimum duration thresholds: minimum turns and seconds elapsed, with a daily win limit against the same account. Parameters are listed under Meta Changes.

Pending Features

• Card Wagers (Ante) and Ranked Competitive Mode: these systems are defined in design documents, but are not yet implemented in production code. Currently, 2-player battles operate exclusively as friendly matches.