Fans of the Ni no Kuni series will appreciate Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds for applying a rather compelling RPG experience in the growing mobile MMO scene. After all, the game takes the serious narratives of Ni no Kuni and adds a VR spin to it, with Cross Worlds taking place in a VR game called “Soul Divers” in the brink of destruction. Players who love Ni no Kuni’s story will probably dive straight into Cross Worlds. However, newcomers may feel a bit overwhelmed with its general mechanics.
Thankfully, understanding how gameplay elements such as Classes, Skills, and even Skill Books synergize can help players blaze their way through the game in no time. However, just how should newcomers approach this Ni no Kuni MMO?
Choose A Class Based On Playstyle, Not Meta
Being an MMORPG, it’s natural for players of Cross Worlds to find the meta-defining Class and try to pursue the game with easy builds in mind. However, given how the game eventually relies on more expansive content as players reach the endgame, players of the Ni no Kuni game would eventually realize that a lot of the title’s latter content require synergy from all Classes. Since the game eventually becomes routinary due to the existence of various Dailies and events, players may want to choose a Class based on their playstyle instead. At its core, here are the Classes alongside their preferred playstyles:
- Swordsman: Serving as the game’s frontline melee DPS, the Swordsman relies on swift and fast strikes to eliminate enemies before they can counter-attack. Players who prefer a more straightforward Class will enjoy playing the Swordsman.
- Destroyer: Designated as the tank, the Destroyer focuses on staying in the frontlines and ensuring enemies stick to them as the target. Players who prefer going head-on and defending their teammates would appreciate this Class.
- Witch: Magic is her game, and she dominates the long-ranged scene quite easily. Her plethora of extremely powerful spells and Class Core Abiltiies allow her to solo minions and even some elites, provided players know how to distance themselves properly. Players who want to play solo may want to consider the witch.
- Rogue: Long-ranged support is the name of the game for the Rogue, and they excel in providing distant firepower while annoying enemies. They specialize in stealing aggro from tanks to distract foes, with their kit built on speed while their allies finish off the targets who lost their focus.
- Engineer: Healing is their specialty, and the Engineer is the Class in the game built specifically for heavy support. Equipped with light crowd control, players who like healing others will like the Engineer. Of course, this Class can be demanding with regards to timing and learning rotations due to their critical nature in parties.
Capitalize On The Menus
One of the most fatal flaws players can make when playing an MMO is underestimating its UI, which can easily lead to being overwhelmed with information. Unlike other games, Cross Worlds has a rather straightforward approach to its UI, which players can easily take advantage of to have an easier gameplay experience. Players of Cross Worlds who enter the game for the first time may want to look into understanding these elements carefully so they can adjust to abrupt situations much faster.
Character Status
The character status screen is on the top-left of the UI, and this denotes the basic information players need to know about the character - especially in combat. This tab denotes the character’s Level and Combat HP. Other important components are the following:
- Combat Power: This summarizes the strength of the character overall, including their equipment and other bonuses.
- Health Potion, Energy Drink: Players can assign Health Potions and Energy Drinks to be automatically consumed here.
- Current Buffs: This displays the current number of buffs available, useful for melee Classes such as the Swordsman to note their bonuses.
- Plus Sign: Players can click this to use buff-inducing items in the inventory.
- Party Menu: This accesses the party menu where players can team up.
- Quests: This displays the current quests available to players.
Information Tab
Players who click on the three lines or the hamburger icon on the game information screen will close the UI and open a more in-depth menu for players to look into. In other MMOs, this menu acts like a repository of all information players may need to know regarding their progress in the game.
However, while their names can be self-explanatory, there are a few items in the menu that seem “redundant” for players unless they know what they entail. In crucial moments, having a lot of details in the menu can be confusing for intensive Classes such as the Engineer Here are menu items to take note of:
- Records: This displays all the achievements players have unlocked in the game, as well as the way to claim rewards for them. These include adventurer records, collection, codex, and achievements.
- Power Up: This displays the Higgledies, terto puzzle, and heart stars menus. These are part of the repetitive aspect of the game.
- Missions: This loads all things questing in the game, especially handbooks, reputations, and dailies.
- Challenge: This accesses the PVE aspect of the game, including World Boss, Field Boss, Adventure, Labyrinth of Dreams, Dimensional Border, and Chaos Field.
- Battlefield: This accesses all things PVP, such as Familiar Arena, Lava Valley, and Duel Yard.
Understand How Character Progress Works
Similar to other MMOs, players in this Ni no Kuni title do level up by earning experience points. However, Cross Worlds has a more extensive method of character progression compared to other games. A huge part of this has to do with the fact that the game does encourage players to try out all Classes in the game, with the game allowing players to create a character of each Class in a single server.
Character Stats
One of the best ways to note a character’s current progress is by checking out their progression in terms of stats. Unfortunately, there’s no convenient character menu that lets players see this right off the bat. For players interested in more in-depth numbers associated with their character, they can check out their stats via the Inventory Screen. From here, they can tap on the magnifying glass just beside their Combat Power. This matters especially for players who pay attention to stats during combat, such as when Class Passives in Cross Worlds activate for their character.
Take Note Of Class Grades
When players level up, they have a “Class Level Up” and not simply a level up, and this is because the game takes note of the player’s progress for each character they have in that server. This is important, as getting 20 Levels of each Class unlocks a Class Grade that provides players with nifty bonuses, helpful for the likes of the offensive support Rogue. These include cosmetics, stat boosts, and other freebies.
Moreover, Class Grades also boost the limit of how much Territe players can gain and store everyday. Territe is one of the premium currencies in Cross Worlds that also acts as one of its cryptocurrency tokens.
Check Out Heart Stars
Players can further augment their base stats through the Heart Star system. This constellation-like system acts as a progress tree wherein players can fill out nodes with special bonuses as they grow their Heart Stars. Players can improve their Heart Stars and the bonuses they provide by tending to their Familiars’ Forest, serving as the home of their Familiars. This is because their Familiars will often provide players with Heart Star materials depending on the mood they have, which is tied to the beauty of their Familiars’ Forest.
Boost Combat Power Whenever Possible
Combat Power, or CP, is also an extremely important element in Cross Worlds gameplay. Taking cues from Gear Score in other titles, Combat Power is the numerical value associated with the player’s current progress - from their gear, features equipped, and other bonuses. A lot of dungeons and quests are often gated with recommended CP, so players are advised to keep track of this. Here are ways players can boost their CP in Cross Worlds:
- Level Up: Leveling up a Class provides a small boost in CP.
- Boost Equipment, Familiars: Whenever they get the chance, players should boost the potency of their Equipment and Familiars as ranking them up rewards them with CP. These include actions such as Enhancements, enhancement through transfers or absorptions, and even Awakenings.
- Power Up the Mount: Aside from giving players a boost of speed, players can actually get a nifty CP boost whenever they Power Up their Mount.
- Records: Players who discover new things in the game will see this progress tracked in the Records. These range from adding things to their Collection, discovering new things related to Battle, Adventure, and Challenge, doing Social things and even while they Power Up. More importantly, this progress also merits rewards, a lot of which are small boosts in CP.
- Class Grade: One of the rewards when boosting one’s Class Grade is a massive boost in CP, which players should capitalize on during their progress.
Exploit Opportunities In Combat
Combat in Cross Worlds is similar to most other MMOs, where players target a particular opponent or set of opponents and eliminate them through the use of their spells. However, the Ni no Kuni game do offer some nuances when it comes to their combat mechanics, such as buffs from Higgledies and other oddities, which newcomers can take advantage of as soon as they understand the little intricacies involved in the process.
The Combat Menu
Despite the existence of an auto-battle option in the game, Cross Worlds does have a rather extensive combat system. Unlike other mobile MMOs where players are usually kept to around three to four skills at the same time, the Ni no Kuni game can have players access up to six other skills and two movement skills in the game. While this seems overwhelming at first glance, players can actually make sense of the game’s combat if they know what each button represented. Here’s how the skill setup is divided:
- Normal Attack: Central Icon
- Roll, Jump: Lower-Left Corner, Upper-Right Corner
- Class Skills: 3 Upper Left Buttons, these denote the character’s Skills exclusive tied to their Class
- Special Skills: 3 Lower Right Buttons, these denote non-Class Skills players can acquire through Spell Books.
- Weapon Switch: Players can switch between three weapons with the three icons on top of the skill icons.
The Element System
Similar to other MMOs, Ni no Kuni does offer elemental-based damage, which does different things to opponents. However, Weapons, Enemies, and even Familiars have element types. Not only that, but the game has a dynamic element weakness/strength system that players need to exploit to maximize their damage output. This is also exactly the reason why players can bring up to three different weapons in the game, as the game expects players to want opportunities to counter foes through different elements, combined with their other Abilities and their Class’s Burst Skill.
- Fire is Strong against Earth
- Earth is Strong against Water
- Water is Strong against Fire
- Light is Strong against Dark
- Dark is Strong against Light
- Strong elements deal 50-percent more damage to its weaker half
- Weaker elements deal 50-percent less damage to its stronger half
Attack Stat, Polishing
Another in-depth mechanic the game doesn’t often reveal is its Attack stat and the Polish system. At its core, the player’s Attack reveals how strong their attacks become in combat. However, this is determined not by the current weapon equipped but rather all the weapons equipped by the player. This allows Cross Worlds to put particular attention to leveling up and upgrading multiple pieces of equipment.
Moreover, the game also has a Polish system, where players can apply an elemental varnish to both weapons and armor in order to boost both the player’s Attack and Defense. It’s recommended for players to apply the same elemental varnish to their weapon or armor’s element in order to get an experience bonus.
Pay Attention To Familiars
One unique component in Cross Worlds that enhances its potential as a solo MMO is its Familiar system. At some point during the main quest, players will gather Familiar Eggs as rewards. Through Dream Shards from the Familiars’ Cradle and some dailies, players can hatch these Familiar Eggs after waiting for some particular time. Sometimes, Brighterflies can also spawn wild Familiars, which players can acquire by giving them food and taming them. Here are integral components of Familiars players need to be aware of:
- Awakening: Boosting the Familiar’s potency through Awakening is also possible, as this boosts both their skills and base stats. This applies not just for high-star Familiars but also low-star Familiars players may possess, as their higher-star upgrades may have better skills.
- Elements: Familiars also interact with each other and the opponents according to their Element, which means they may get boosts when teaming up with Familiars of the same element or against creatures of Elements weak to theirs.
- Familiar Arena: The Familiar Arena is a PVP component that allows players to pit their Familiars against an opponent’s. Participating in this mode rewards players with materials for their Competitive Heart Star, which can also boost their base stats.
Take Note Of Various Quests
Being an isekai game that is also an MMO, it’s natural for Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds to offer loads of activity options for players. However, the various activities the game offers come from different sources, and each of these activities offer various rewards for players. Here are some of the most important quests and activities players could do while leveling up in the game:
Daily Quests, Weekly Quests Rake In Rewards
As with other MMOs, Cross Worlds does have a separate mechanic for Daily Quests and Weekly Quests. Players can access both these quests from the Quest Menu, of which they will see bars they need to fill up whenever they complete these random tasks. Given the number of activities players could do in the game, it’s easy to fill up these bars.
It’s also recommended for players to be diligent in these activities to discover secrets in the game, similar to mysteries in franchise entries like Ni no Kuni 2. This is especially in the part of the more challenging Weekly Quests. Completing these allows players to acquire rewards such as coveted Familiar Gacha, Equipment Gacha, and Lucky Pot tickets.
Swift Solutions Help With Basic Materials
When players become a part of the Swift Solutions mercenary guild, they gain access to errands that people ask the guild to do. These are optional quests that often give players decent Gold and experience, as well as some low-level crafting rewards.
Players can do up to five Swift Solutions per day, which can increase when players turn in a Swift Solutions Certificates. If players have the extra Gold, they can actually pay in Gold to complete these quests immediately. At a certain point, completing the quest via Gold just gives players back the Gold they’ve spent (with a little bonus) plus the crafting materials.
Conquest Quests Help With Enhancements
Similar to Swift Solutions, players can also take on the role of Conquest Quests to eliminate a certain number of creatures in a zone. They work exactly the same way as Swift Solutions quests, in that players can accept around five per day, with the option of completing them with Gold.
This time around, instead of gaining experience, players get Enhancement Materials instead. The Conquest Quests are a great way for players to earn enough Enhancement Materials to start leveling up their basic equipment.
Build Reputation
While questing remains an obvious way of leveling up in an RPG or an MMO like Cross Worlds, it helps for players to know just what kinds of quests to do to maximize their time in the game. It’s highly recommended for players to focus building their Reputation as soon as they enter a new area, as the progress of the Main Quest is gated by Reputation Level.
Thankfully, most Reputation Quests are straightforward for players to finish quickly. Players can access the Reputation Quest menu via the Missions tab in the main menu, wherein they can see evolving Reputation tree per area they can currently access. It’s recommended for new players to do quests in Evermore first, as they slowly unlock new features and mechanics for newcomers to the game.
Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds was released globally in 2022 for the Android, iOS, and PC.