Game of Thrones has been over for a while now, but fans know that there's far more to the world originally dreamt up by the man with two middle initials that has yet to be explored. Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall is telling part of the history of Westeros, 48 years before the HBO series, to be exact. Even better, you get to play through it instead of just watching it in the form of a mobile tactical RPG.
While the main cast of characters in Beyond the Wall is new, it's not a spoiler to say that icons like Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen show up as well. It's that mix of the familiar and the fresh that is most intriguing about this game, and the simple but challenging gameplay can also easily draw you in. Convinced to download Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall for free and give it a try? We endorse that idea, but also humbly suggest you read on for tips and tricks that will help you get acclimated to a land where ice and fire are very much in evidence.
Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall — An overview for beginners
You'll need both Heroes and Units to prevail
It's sad to say that not everyone can be a hero, but that doesn't mean everyone in Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall doesnt have their part to play. As you play through the game, you'll assemble a roster of both Heroes — named characters like the aforementioned Jon and Daenerys, as well as those created just for the game like Alvar Spyre and Dramon Blackwood — and Units like the Champion of Winter and Winterfell Rider. You can find the former in the Hearth and the latter in the Barracks.
Though it would be a lot of fun to have a team composed of just Heroes, Beyond the Wall challenges you with a limited number of Heroes and Units you can deploy in each battle, meaning it's important to have a well-rounded selection of both. The techniques used to level them up are similar but require different items, and while Units can be improved by ranking up their equipment, Heroes have Hero Traits instead: skill trees with two branches that can help you customize a favorite Hero to your play style. In the end, though, Heroes and Units are controlled in the same way in combat, which makes for a great segue to ...
The basics of combat
As we noted at the start, Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall is a turn-based, tactical RPG. In most battles, you'll pick one Hero and several Units to deploy on a 4x8 square grid. After starting the battle, combat is fairly straightforward. You can tap on any Hero or Unit to see squares they can move to highlighted in blue, as well as squares they can't get to but can reach with attacks in red. Enimies you can attack are marked with a red circle, and if you double-tap, your character will move to the proper range and attack — but be wary, because the enemy may also be able to counterattack if not defeated. If you only want to move, just tap once on a blue square and tap again to confirm.
Heroes and Units alike also have special abilities that generally start a battle on a cooldown timer before they are available to use. A character with an ability they can use that turn has their portrait at the bottom of the screen light up with a fiery aura, and the button to use it will become active in the bottom-right corner of the screen, while enemies within range of it will have a red circle.
Once you've taken actions for all of your characters, the enemy side will perform their actions, with play passing back and forth until one side is defeated or a certain number of turns has expired. Be sure to read the victory conditions carefully for each battle, as they can differ and don't always require you to wipe out all your enemies to win.
A land of many currencies
Since this is a free-to-play game, you've probably guessed that there is more than one type of currency to acquire, and you're correct. Here's a quick rundown of the ones you'll see most often:
- Copper Penny - Used to level up Units and Heroes (with the proper Tomes), upgrade buildings and buy items from the Merchant.
- Silver Stag - Used to buy even better items, and sometimes for draws from the Night's Watch Oath.
- Gold Dragon - The rarest of coins, these can buy you items in special purchase events.
Interestingly, none of these currencies are used to make draws for new characters except when certain limited time events are active. The rest of the time, you'll need Carved Glyphs, which you can buy from the Castle Merchant for 300 Silver Stags each. Doing a 10x draw from the Night's Watch Oath costs 10 Carved Glyphs, so any time you have saved up 3,000 Silver Stags, you've got enough for it. Math is fun!
Learning the main game screen
When you're not ranging, taking on story quests or tackling any of the other content in Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall, you'll get used to tapping and dragging from side to side to maneuver your way around the main game screen. Let's briefly explore all your options from left to right:
- Lodge- By using Ravens and Watch Recruiters, you can use the Lodge to find more units from specific regions of Westeros several times a day. It only costs some Copper Pennies and time, and the more often you recruit from a certain region, the better the potential rewards.
- Merchant - We've talked about this chap already, though he actually has several tabs with different items for your shopping pleasure. You can also access the Merchant by tapping the 'Shop' icon at the bottom of the main game screen.
- Legendary Events - These are special maps where you can earn Heroes or shards of Heroes as rewards.
- Challenges - The battles here don't advance the story, but they do test your ability to strategize effectively with unique enemies, victory conditions and restrictions.
- Beyond the Wall - The game's main story mode can be found ... wait for it ... beyond this wall.
- Codex - Need to replay part of the story you missed or learn what a specific Hero or Unit can do? The Codex is where you want to go.
- Hearth - Home to your Heroes, tap here to power them up or see how many shards you need to unlock more.
- Hero Arena - If you fancy some PvP, you can find it here, but only after you've reached Lord Commander Level 20 for your profile.
- Barracks - Your Units are bunked here, so visit to level them up or improve their gear.
Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall Tips and Tricks
How to unlock Jon Snow
It's actually pretty easy to obtain the man who once was told he knew nothing just by playing the game's tutorial and getting introduced to Legendary Events for the first time. According to the in-game story, you'll be able to see into the future thanks to a Weirwood tree and the power of the Greensight, and all you need to do to acquire Jon Snow is defeat one ridiculously easy challenge pitting him against a lone enemy.
Seriously. This might be the simplest thing you ever do in the game. On the down side, Jon Snow and other Heroes from the Future are locked in some of the game modes, so you won't get to use him all the time, but at least you won't have to worry that you'll never get him.
How to get free Silver Stags
Let's be real, Carved Glyphs are what you really want so you can draw new characters, but we've already established that you can buy them using Silver Stags. So how can you get more of those for free?
The best ways are to complete Daily Quests and Achievements, both of which can be found using their respective icons at the bottom of the main game screen. Daily Quests reset at 05:00 and offer a variety of rewards, including Silver Stags and chests that open after you've done a certain amount of quest activity. Achievements are ongoing objectives you can accomplish mostly just in the course of regular play, and every one offers Silver Stags (and Copper Pennies).
How to keep characters alive in combat
Beating levels Beyond the Wall with three stars is important, because it means you can later use the Patrol option to receive the rewards for beating that level without actually resorting to violence. To get those three stars means keeping everyone alive, and that can be difficult in a game where opposing damage comes easily.
There are two tools you have at your disposal when staying alive is critical. One is to take advantage of the objects on the board and use them to hide behind. The other is to tap the 'Danger Zone' button, which will outline all the squares on the board that enemies can reach with attacks in the next turn. Want to make sure a Hero or Unit doesn't get attacked? Keep them out of the Danger Zone. The heck with Kenny Loggins.
How to quickly autoplay battles
If you're an experienced mobile RPG player you likely know this already, but if you're new to the genre, it might seem silly to spend time on a battle you already know you will win, often because your characters are simply way more powerful than your foes. Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall has just what you need in the form of options to help autoplay battles at high speed.
In any battle, simply tap the small 'AUTO' button to let the AI control your team, then the fast-forward button right above it to speed things up like everyone fighting was channeling the Speed Force. You can take back control by toggling those buttons off. Just be aware that if you leave them on to the end of a fight, they will default to being on at the beginning of your next battle.
Have more Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall questions we haven't covered here?
This article isn't intended to be an exhaustive guide to Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall by any means, as there's a lot to uncover in this particular title. However, if you're stuck near the beginning of your experience and need guidance on something we don't already have here, please let us know in the comments section and we'll do our best to address it in an update.
Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall
This officially-licensed RPG lets you control the Night's Watch and play as characters like Jon Snow, Jaime Lannister and Melisandre.
