CATS is an explosive new game for Android developed by ZeptoLab. It's a game that challenges you to build the best battling war machine using parts you unlock from timed crates as you work your way up the rankings.
It's easy enough to learn the base mechanics at play here, but harder to actually unlock and determine the best strategies to win. You'll need to invest some time —and probably some money, if we're being honest here — if you want to progress quickly. But some smart tips and tricks will help you get the edge on your opponents without spending for in-app purchases.
Here's the best strategies we've found so far.
Things you need to know to get started
Your death machines are comprised of three things: the body, the wheels, and the weapons/accessories.
The most important component is the body. When determining which body to start building your machine around, you'll want to consider the style, weapon placement, and power rating. As we'll discuss in the next section, anything with a wedge shape is automatically best suited to win most fights, but the location of the fixed weapon sockets and the power levels are equally important. The body power level determines how many weapons you can add, while the weapon sockets show where they can be placed.
After time you're going to collect some pretty garbage parts that will never win you any fights. but are still valuable for upgrading. You're able to fuse parts together to upgrade them by dragging the part you want to fuse to the stats page for the part you want to upgrade. This is not the time to be hoarding parts — if you've got the credits needed to fuse and upgrade a part you should do it.
Selecting the right wheels is also important. Go too small and you may lack the traction needed to push against the opponent. Go too big and you're susceptible to being flipped. This is where you're going to have to do some independent testing to find the right wheel combinations that serve your needs. I've seen some pretty interesting designs that only use one set of wheels, too, so don't feel limited by traditional design tropes.
Get low
If you've ever participated in a robotic sumo match (or sumo matches in general, I guess), you know there are two keys to victory — get low and maintain your footing. The same theory comes into play in CATS, where you'll often be able to get the upper hand on your opponent right quick by getting underneath them at first contact. By that logic, wedges with a low center of gravity are your best build types.
The "classic" body type is a great option to use, especially if you unlock one with advantageous weapon positioning near the front for a drill or a chainsaw. Otherwise, you may want to equip a forklift to give you an artificial lift when you get in tight with your opponent.
When you're first starting out, you're going to be somewhat limited by the parts available to you, and then limited based on the configuration of the body — where the weapon posts are positioned and its overall power capacity. If you come across anything with a power capacity of 10 or more you're going to want to keep it, since it should allow you to mix and match multiple weapons.
Pick up design tips from your opponents
One of the benefits of battles being played out automatically is that the results are purely based on a combination of physics and the design of the machines battling. As you play through the Championship or Quick Fight modes, take note of any and all design choices that prove to be really successful. Granted sometimes machines simply have While maybe you don't have the parts to copy it exactly just yet, you'll want to remember which combinations were especially effective.
Being able to recognize superior designs will also help you extend your Quick Fight win streaks, as you should be able to cherrypick opponents with whom you have an upper hand over.
Take advantage of bonuses to your advantage
Certain parts were just made to be together, which you'll discover from the the bonuses linked to special parts them. These can have an effect on your machine's total health, or boost the strength of a specific weapon type.
Combining these special parts together might seem like the perfect strategy, but you also need to avoid forcing the issue and creating a machine that's supercharged with bonuses but still lacking in the fundamentals of good design. Then again, if you manage to muster up a supercharged weapon, you don't technically even need wheels to win. Maximizing your rockets and then operating as a motionless turret might not feel in the spirit of the game, but it sure can be effective!
