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Heroes of Dragon Age was a freemium game released on December 5th, 2013 for iOS and Android devices.[1] The game allows players to purchase and collect 3D figures of key characters (called "heroes" in the game) from Dragon Age, form them into a squad, and then battle human and AI-controlled foes.

The game functions as a squad-based strategy game with the battles played out automatically and the outcome contingent upon the selection of characters in the five-person party, their abilities and formation on the battlefield, as well as any runes that are buffing the team.[2]

The game is light on lore, and rather than telling an original story, is instead based on "what if?" scenarios. Each quest—there are 16 available in the single-player format, exploring extant game lore—is a self-contained map and lets players re-experience key moments from not just the previous Dragon Age games, but also the novels, codex entries and more. For example, quests during the Fifth Blight, and quests telling the story of the fall of Arlathan are available. PvP battles and events are available as well.[2]

Heroes of Dragon Age was shut down on January 24th, 2023.[3]

HoDALoadingScreen4

The loading screen of Heroes of Dragon Age 4.2 featuring Iron Bull, Vivienne, Cole and Cassandra Pentaghast battling the Fereldan Frostback

Patch releases[]

At launch, Heroes of Dragon Age included more than one hundred unique characters, each with four potential evolutions or variations. Characters are available through grinding or via an in-game cash store.[2] Post-launch support has increased this number with characters from the newest game Dragon Age: Inquisition, and other pieces of franchise lore.

In game HoDA

The game features tutorials for combat and other functions.[2]

Developer Capital Games predicts that the game will be supported for at least a year after release, perhaps even several years, with new characters and features continually added.[2]

  • On 17 June, 2014, Heroes of Dragon Age Version 2.0 was released, offering some new features such as Fortification and improvements on many old ones.
  • On 22 October, 2014, Version 3.0 was released, replacing PvE map and daily challenges with the Nexus.
  • On 18 February, 2016, Version 4.0 was released, introducing Guilds and Guild Wars.
  • On 03 November 2016, Version 5.0 was released, introducing Gear and the Mythic Rarity.[4]
  • On 20 March 2017, Version 5.1 was released, introducing Fortification Removals, Wisp Ascension, and devoted Proving Grounds defense squads.[5]
  • On 12 July 2017, Version 5.2 was released, introducing Multiple Consume and Vaults.[6]
  • On 28 February 2018, Version 5.3 was released, introducing Squad-Based Runes, and improving Ally List battles and several user experience items. [7]

Classes of characters[]

HoDA store

The in-game store showing the three pack options.

Characters are sorted into different classes (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythic) and have rock/paper/scissor-style pros and cons.[8] [9] When a new character is obtained, the resulting character is determined in a "lottery" style, with a random chance of obtaining any one character, the likelihood of receiving a Rare or Epic character, for example, which can be increased by grinding or payment.

The Mythic rarity can only be obtained by acquiring a Tome of Ascension, and equipping it onto a Legendary Hero after unlocking its fourth Gear slot by equipping three additional pieces of Gear first. The exception to this is Wisps, which may be naturally acquired as Mythic rarity through Wisp packs, Flash Packs, and in the keyed Giant Wisp quest event.

Characters can be purchased from various Hero Packs in the in-game store for gold or gems. There is also a one-time-use "Ultimate" pack that guarantees an Epic unit, available for $0.99.[10]

Characters can also be earned through the completion of PvE Daily Events and Gauntlet Events in the Nexus.

Factions[]

Main article: Factions (Heroes of Dragon Age)

Heroes of Dragon Age uses colors to display the nature, or faction, of the units.[11] The colored circular plate in each character's base denotes their status. The coloring rationale, with some exceptions, is defined below:

  • Black: The dark forces of Thedas, such as darkspawn, undead and demons.
  • Blue: Magical beings, such as elves, mages and spirits.
  • Red: Those outside of the major order, such as wild animals, rogues, apostates, and Qunari.
  • White: The established order of Thedas, such as nobility, ordinary soldiers, templars, and Grey Wardens.
  • Giant: Beings that are larger than ordinary men, such as golems, ogres and dragons. Also known as "Large Creatures".
    • Giant is technically considered as a faction, but its characters do not count towards any faction bonuses.

Exceptions appear to be instances where a character's nature is mixed. An example is Alistair's color plate, which is black/white, denoting his status as a Grey Warden. There are also blood mages, for example, who have white plates, such as some of the Tevinter units, while Merrill, alternatively, has a blue/black plate, denoting her status as a Dalish blood mage.

When four characters of the same faction are used simultaneously, a faction bonus is granted. This bonus is the character's percentages added together. Common characters add 1%, Uncommon characters add 2%, Rare characters add 3%, Epic characters add 4%, Legendary characters add 5%, and Mythic characters add 6%. For example, a party comprised of 1 Rare (3%), 1 Epic (4%), 1 Legendary (5%), and 1 Mythic (6%) characters of the same color would grant an 18% Faction bonus. Characters of two different factions count towards either faction, but a team comprised entirely of matching dual-faction heroes does not receive a double bonus.

Hero Packs[]

The easiest way to obtain characters is by purchasing packs in the in-game store. There are several different types of packs available at all times, with special ones on offer from time to time. These special packs often include characters which cannot be obtained elsewhere in the game.

Note: Guarantees within the Champion and Grand Champion packs occasionally change during special promotions, as does the cost of those packs.
  • Recruit Pack: Drops one character and a chance at one rune. Guaranteed Common, with a chance at heroes of a higher class. Cost: 350 Gold
  • Soldier Pack: Drops one character or large creature and a chance at one rune. Guaranteed Uncommon, with a chance at heroes of a higher class. Progressive RNG leads to a very high chance of dropping a Legendary roughly every 300 packs. Cost: 1500 Gold
  • Knight Pack: Drops one character or large creature and one rune. Guaranteed Rare, with a chance at heroes of a higher class and an Epic or Legendary rune. Guarantees a Legendary every 20th pack. Cost: 25000 Gold
  • Commander Pack: Drops one Legendary character and one Legendary rune. Cost: 750000 Gold
  • Iron Pack: Drops one character. Guaranteed Epic, with a chance for a One Star Legendary hero instead. Guarantees a Legendary every 6th pack. Cost: Reward from specified PvP events, occasional daily login reward
  • Bloodstone Pack: Drops one character. Guaranteed Legendary with chance for a Two- or Three-Star Legendary hero instead. Cost: Reward from specified PvP events, rare daily login reward.
  • Champion Pack: Drops one character and one rune or Gear. Guaranteed Epic character or better. Guaranteed at least 1 Legendary in every 4 packs purchased, at least 1 Featured Legendary in every 20 packs purchased until all Featured Legendaries have been acquired, and at least 1 2-star or 3-star Legendary in every 80 packs purchased. Guarantees at least 1 Legendary Gear in every 50 packs purchased. Cost: 30 gems
  • Grand Champion Pack: Drops 9 characters. Drops two guaranteed Legendaries, Three guaranteed Epics, and Four Legendary or Mythic Wisps with 2 chances to be a Legendary hero instead, 2 Gear, and 5 Runes. Chance at a Tome of Ascension. Guarantees at least 1 Featured Legendary in every 2 packs purchased until all Featured Legendaries have been acquired, and at least 1 2-star or 3-star Legendary in every 6 packs purchased. Guarantees at least 1 Legendary Gear in every 5 packs purchased. Cost: 260 gems
  • New Release Pack: Drops 1 Legendary character, 1 wisp, and 1 gear, with chance at Tome of Ascension. If not previously acquired, guarantees a hero from the most recent new hero release week. If already acquired, will grant a Mythic wisp instead. Gear is guaranteed to be from the most recent new hero release week. Cost: 199 gems
  • Hero Booster Pack: Drops 10 wisps, all epic or better. Guaranteed 3 Legendary and 1 Mythic. All wisps are of the same faction. Cost: 25 gems

All packs have a chance at producing a Rare, Epic or Legendary character, yet the lower level the pack, the less chance of granting a more desirable character. Recruit packs have a low chance of dropping anything better than an Uncommon hero.

In the Grand Champion Pack, when the 2-star/3-star Guarantee is triggered, this Legendary replaces one of the Wisp Heroes.

In the Champion Pack, when Guarantees collide, the lesser guarantee is deferred by one pack and then the counter starts over. 2-star/3-star Guarantee takes precedence over the Featured Guarantee, which takes precedence over the Legendary Guarantee.[12]

Item Packs[]

The easiest way to obtain Gear and Runes is by purchasing packs in the in-game store, although every Weekly Nexus event also has a chance to drop Gear. There are several different types of packs available at all times, with special ones on offer from time to time. All Gear packs have a chance to drop a Tome of Ascension, with improving rates in the greater packs.

  • Peasant Gear Pack: Drops one piece of gear, rarity Common or better, with chance up to Rare. Cost: 2,000 gold
  • Merchant Gear Pack: Drops one piece of gear, rarity Uncommon or better, with chance up to Epic. Cost: 10,000 gold
  • Novice Gear Pack: Drops one piece of gear, rarity Rare or better, with chance up to Legendary. Cost: 25,000 gold
  • Journeyman Gear Pack: Drops two pieces of gear, rarity Rare or better, with chance up to Mythic. Good chance at Epic. Guarantees at least 1 Tome of Ascension every 70 packs. Cost: 19 gems
  • Masterwork Gear Pack: Drops three pieces of gear, rarity Rare or better, with chance up to Mythic. Good chance at Legendary. Guarantees at least 1 Tome of Ascension every 25 packs. Cost: 32 gems[13]
  • Speed Kills Rune Pack: One guaranteed Legendary Speed Rune with a chance for Mythic Speed Rune. Also includes two additional Epic or Legendary Power, Health, or Speed runes. Cost: 9 gems
  • Ancient Lore Rune Pack: One Guaranteed Legendary Rune of Knowledge, with a chance for a Mythic Rune of Knowledge. Also includes two additional Epic or Legendary Runes of Knowledge. Cost: 5 gems
  • Grab Bag Rune Pack: Guaranteed three Rare or better runes of any type. Cost: 10,000 gold

Consuming[]

Consuming HoDA 2

Multiple characters can be consumed at once.

The game encourages the purchasing of lower rank characters in order to use their abilities to develop more desirable characters in a process called "consuming." The abilities of unused characters can be applied to--or consumed by--other characters to strengthen them and improve their abilities. Common units in particular are encouraged for use in consumption, but characters of any rank can be consumed; consuming uncommon, rare, epic, and legendary characters will provide a higher boost in XP and 2x damage %.

Consuming transfers XP to the main character and increases their 2x damage %, unlocks additional Fortify slots, and can Tier them up. Bonuses to experience gained are awarded when the characters consumed share a Faction color.

Consuming duplicate characters will automatically tier the character up. Consuming characters of the same faction as the main character grants additional bonuses. As of Version 5.2, Tier bonuses no longer apply, and consume values are linear based on the Tier being consumed.

With the release of version 2.0 of the game, new characters called Wisps have been introduced. These wisps grant high bonuses when consumed, depending on the rarity of the wisp. Consuming a wisp that is of the same faction as the character gives an additional boost.

Consume progress[]

A "Consume Progress" bar shows what bonus will be unlocked next, and the percentage of progress towards that bonus. The amount needed towards each bonus is dependent upon the rarity of the character. The higher the rarity, the more points needed to reach the next bonus. The default order is as follows, although some characters may have unique progression tables:

  • 2x Damage: 2%
  • 2x Damage: 3%
  • Fortification Slot (see Fortifying below)
  • 2x Damage: 4%
  • 2x Damage: 5%
  • 2x Damage: 6%
  • Fortification Slot
  • 2x Damage: 7%
  • 2x Damage: 8%
  • 2x Damage: 9%
  • 2x Damage: 10%
  • Fortification Slot
  • Tier 2
  • 2x Damage: 11%
  • 2x Damage: 12%
  • 2x Damage: 13%
  • Fortification Slot
  • 2x Damage: 14%
  • 2x Damage: 15%
  • 2x Damage: 16%
  • 2x Damage: 17%
  • Tier 3
  • 2x Damage: 18%
  • 2x Damage: 19%
  • 2x Damage: 20%
  • Fortification Slot
  • 2x Damage: 21%
  • 2x Damage: 22%
  • 2x Damage: 23%
  • Fortification Slot
  • Tier 4
  • 2x Damage: 24%
  • 2x Damage: 25%
  • Fortification Slot
  • 2x Damage: 26%
  • 2x Damage: 27%
  • 2x Damage: 28%
  • 2x Damage: 29%
  • 2x Damage: 30%

Different heroes have varying orders of Fortification slots to unlock, but will be unlocked in order from left-to-right, top-to-bottom. Every hero begins with the first two slots unlocked.

Consume Multiple[]

With Version 5.2, Consume Multiple was introduced to the game, allowing players to consume several heroes at once into a target. Matching is based on the heroes placed on the circles surrounding the center pedestal, known as "seeds".

  • Consume identical: All of the exact same hero of the exact same tier as the seeds will be consumed.
  • Consume rarity: All heroes of the same rarity as the seeds will be consumed.
  • Consume faction: All heroes of the exact same faction and of matching rarity as the seeds will be consumed. If you have a dual faction hero on the consume circles, it will only match the exact same dual faction, so if you want to consume all rare reds and all rare red/whites, you'll need to use two heroes for seeding.

Consume matching is based on the heroes placed within the consume circles surrounding the center pedestal. The system does not match based on the hero placed as the target on the center pedestal, but only those on the consume circles. Any hero that has any fortifications slotted, gear equipped, or is assigned to a squad will be ignored by the Consume Multiple interface.[6]

Fortifying[]

A new system called "Fortification" was added with the 2.0 update. All characters have 10 fortification slots, 5 for health and 5 for power. Each new character obtained starts with only 2 slots available, which may differ based on the hero's class. Additional slots can be unlocked through Consume.

Fortifying consists of placing unused characters into these slots, and based on that character's rarity, tier, and faction will give a permanent bonus to either health or power (depending on which type of slot you place the character in). Using a character of the same faction as the one being fortified will grant a higher bonus. Slotted characters can also be combined with identical characters in order to tier them up and increase the bonuses.

Fortifications may be removed from a hero for a small cost, depending on the fortification's rarity.

Characters[]

See Characters (Heroes of Dragon Age).

Combat features[]

Main article: Combat (Heroes of Dragon Age)
  • Stun - makes target lose one turn
  • Gains power - gains a percentage of the hero's power per attack
  • Slows - lowers initiative of target by 1
  • Heals - gains health
  • Drains power - lowers power of target, often as a percentage of the attacker's power
  • Cross faction hit (bonus for attacking the opposing color): add 25% damage
  • Aura - has passive ability that buffs hero's party, such as raising allies' power or health
  • Elusive - is less likely to be targeted
  • Flank - usually attacks the back row first
  • Resilience - has resistance to stun, slow, power drain, etc.
  • Hatred - targets a specific group
  • Taunt - is more likely to be attacked
  • Curse - prevents target from gaining power or health
  • Defender - absorbs a percentage of damage for allies when also attacked
  • Levy - uses a percentage of the target's own power against it as bonus damage
  • Mark - applies a mark to an enemy, causing allies to target that enemy and deal bonus damage

Runes[]

Main article: Runes (Heroes of Dragon Age)

Runes can be used (maximum of two at once) to give an advantage in battles and quests. Runes expire after a certain time if unused, and have varying effects and duration based on their rarity. They can be obtained by summoning a character through a pack, earning banners in PvP events, and completing PvE events.

Runes are applied per squad, allowing for customization of the squads being used and offering variety in strategy against opponents.

Two identical runes can be crafted together to raise them to the next rarity. On reaching Mythic rarity, two identical runes can then be crafted together to double their active duration at the cost of inventory expiration time.

Gallery[]

References[]

External links[]

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