Total Battle: War Strategy

Review by eFreeware

Total Battle throws you into a shared online world where hundreds of kingdoms and countless player castles sit on the same map, and everything you build is aimed at war. That scale is the first thing I notice about it: this is not a self-contained campaign you finish and set aside, but a persistent world where other lords are building, fighting and expanding at the same time as you. The developer, Scorewarrior, has been running it since October 2018, and it now sits past 50 million installs with a 4.1 average from more than 355,000 ratings.

If you like the idea of raising a castle, training troops and testing them against both computer-controlled enemies and other players, this is built for exactly that. It is free to download and carries in-app purchases. The rating puts it in solid territory for a game of this size, and the content rating of Everyone 10+ suggests the fantasy warfare stays within fairly broad bounds.

A shared map instead of a private campaign

What separates this from a lot of strategy games on phones is that the world is populated. The developer describes an MMO 4X real-time strategy game with both player-versus-environment and player-versus-player modes, and a map dotted with deserts, forests and mountain ranges. Scattered across it are points of interest worth seeking out: abandoned gold mines, battle arenas and ancient crypts holding treasure.

That mixture gives the game two different rhythms. There is the steady work of growing your base and army, and there is the sharper business of competing for territory and climbing the war rankings. Regular competitions and challenges are part of the package, which suggests the game is designed to keep pulling players back rather than letting them settle into a routine.

The historical framing is worth mentioning too. The developer sets the game across several epochs, moving from ancient times through the medieval period and on to the age of discovery, with magic kingdoms and fantasy elements woven in alongside the historical ones. It is a broad canvas rather than a strict simulation of any one period.

Building the castle and the army inside it

Everything starts with your base, which sits at the heart of your castle and serves as the military center of your empire. From there you develop your forces along a long progression: guardsmen with basic weapons give way to proper warriors, and eventually to titans, dragons, elementals and other fantastic beasts. Each unit type has its own abilities, so the composition of your army matters when you send it against monsters or other players.

The developer is explicit that not every strategy pays off, and that dedication, planning and good management are what carry a war. I read that as a fair warning: this is a game where the choices you make about troops and targets have consequences, and where a careless attack can cost you. Defending your own territory and eliminating enemy troops are as much a part of the loop as conquest.

Managing an army of this variety means juggling more than raw numbers. Different units suit different jobs, and dozens of types of magic enemies at different levels are out there to test whatever you field. The appeal, for me, is that the army-building layer is deep enough to reward attention without becoming a spreadsheet.

Heroes, captains and RPG-style growth

Layered on top of the troops is a character system borrowed from role-playing games. You recruit heroes and captains, each with skills suited to different situations, and you level them up and craft equipment for them. Placing a hero at the head of a legion lets that force earn experience and fight more effectively.

The developer compares the equipment and leveling to what you would find in a large online role-playing game, and that framing makes sense given how much of the progression runs through characters rather than buildings alone. Summoning captains to lead your warriors is described as central to achieving victory, which tells me the game wants you to think about who commands, not just what they command.

For players who enjoy watching a roster of characters grow over months, this is likely the most engaging part of the game. It also adds a second axis of planning alongside the base: you are deciding which heroes to invest in and how their skills fit the fights ahead.

The dragon you raise and name

One feature stands out from the rest of the army list. A dragon can be named and sent into battle against your toughest foes. The developer presents its strength as indispensable when besieging mighty magical citadels, which places it as a specialist tool for the hardest targets rather than an everyday unit.

I like that the dragon is framed as a personal project. Naming it and developing it gives the game a focal point beyond the anonymous ranks of troops, and it gives you something to work toward that is not just another tier of soldier. It also fits the fantasy side of the setting, where magic kingdoms and citadels sit alongside the historical epochs.

Clans, allies and the social side of war

Total Battle is built to be played with other people. You can join clans, fight alongside them, and play with users from around the world. The developer pitches this as a way to find like-minded players, team up with friends and pursue shared goals, and it points to the support of thousands of allies as a route to dominating the world.

The practical effect is that the game offers a solo path and a group path, and the group one looks considerably more rewarding. Capturing territory and rising through the war rankings are activities that make more sense with a clan behind you, and competitions and challenges give those groups something to aim at together.

If you would rather play quietly on your own, the base building and hero development still stand on their own, but the competitive layer is clearly designed around cooperation. That is worth weighing before you commit, because the social side is not a side dish here.

Who this world is built for

This suits players who enjoy long-horizon strategy games, the sort where progress is measured over weeks and where the map keeps changing because other people are playing on it. If you like the idea of running a castle, choosing which troops and heroes to develop, and testing those decisions against real opponents, the structure here lines up well. The mixture of historical epochs and fantasy elements also gives it a broader flavor than a straight medieval war game.

It is equally suited to players who want a clan to belong to. The social layer, the rankings and the regular competitions give a group something to organize around, and the shared world means there is always something happening beyond your own borders. Players who prefer a story with an ending, or who want a game they can finish and move on from, will find the open-ended format less satisfying.

The free download with in-app purchases is the standard model for this genre. One practical point: the game is rated Everyone 10+, so it is pitched at a fairly wide audience, though the competitive multiplayer and the pressure to keep up with other lords are worth considering if you are thinking about a younger player.

A long campaign for clan-minded strategists

Total Battle is a substantial, ongoing online strategy game rather than a quick distraction, and it is best approached as something you will return to over months. The combination of a shared world, deep army and hero progression, a dragon to raise and clans to fight beside gives it more staying power than a single-player base builder, and the 4.1 average across a very large number of ratings suggests the formula has held up for a lot of players.

My recommendation is for anyone who enjoys 4X strategy with a social backbone and does not mind in-app purchases being part of the experience. If you want a self-contained campaign or prefer to avoid competitive multiplayer entirely, the shape of this game will not match what you are after. For everyone else, it is a free way to try a very large war strategy world and see whether the long game appeals.

What's new in version 348.2.111-release

Bug fixes and stability improvements. We would be happy to hear your feedback and suggestions. Please send them to [email protected]