Gems of War Mana Guide [How To Play – Troops/Hero]

Understanding the Gems of War Mana system is one of the hurdles a new player has to overcome upon entering the game.

While other match-3 games of this type employ a shared Mana distribution system, Gems of War utilises a first-priority trickle-down approach.

Once you understand how it all works, you’ll appreciate the added depth it adds to the game.

Gems of War Mana in a Nutshell

At the start of the battle, gems will appear randomly across an eight-by-eight grid.

The gems appear in six colours:

• EARTH (Brown)
• AIR (Yellow)
• WATER (Blue)
• NATURE (Green)
• FIRE (Red)
• MAGIC (Purple)

Your Troops (and Hero) will be aligned to the left of the screen like so:

As you can see, each Troop has a small circle with two numbers inside of it.

The bottom Troop, which is Immortal Ossifer, displays 0/30.

That is the number of Mana he will need to charge his Spell, and the colours behind it (Blue/Red/Purple) represent the colours of the gems that will charge him.

When you match gems, you charge your Hero and Troops.

So, if the first Troop can be charged with Blue gems, and you match three Blue gems, then that Troop’s Mana will increase by three.

As seen below:

Cool, we’re all on the same page, right? Simple.

OK, let’s move on to explaining how the trickle-down Mana economy works in Gems of War.

How Mana Works in Gems of War (Players Guide)

I have reposted the last image again. This time, notice how the first two Troops both require exactly the same amount of Mana and utilise the same Mana elements.

0/14 to charge. The elements are WATER (Blue) and AIR (Yellow):

In Gems of War, only the first Troop would receive Mana from matching three Blue gems in this case.

Troops positioned below a primary Troop won’t receive any:

If you wanted to charge the second Troop, you would need to wait until the first Troop was charged, and once charged, continue to collect Blue (or Yellow) gems.

That is why I call it a trickle-down system: Mana must overflow from the primary in order for it to reach those below.

Of course, due to this, you wouldn’t want to create a team with two Troops who both required the same Mana elements to charge.

The trickle-down Mana system also impacts where you position your Troops once you’ve chosen them.

And that’s why finding synergy in Gems of War is so interesting.

As a result, it often takes careful consideration to build an effective team.

Gems of War: Mana Surge Explained (How it Works)

While we’re here, let me explain Mana Surges.

A Mana Surge will double the amount of Mana you receive from a gem match.

Usually, matching three gems will mean that the first relevant Troop on your team will receive three Mana. However, with a Mana Surge, they will receive six.

A Mana Surge is a random event that will occur organically when you’re matching gems. However, you can increase the chances of it occurring.

How?

Primarily by leveling your Hero (your avatar).

The more you play, the more experience you gain, and the more your Hero will level up.

With each level achieved, you can choose to level one of two colour elements called Masteries.

You can also gain Mastery Points from your Guild, Pets, and Kingdoms.

Here’s a screenshot of my Gem Mastery profile page:

You can find yours by hitting your profile image (top left) and selecting the Masteries tab (second along, next to Skills).

It’s worth noting that some weapons are unlocked as you reach certain Masterery levels. You can find a list of them at the Gems of War website.

Gems of War Mana Guide

My final thoughts:

The Gems of War Mana system is cool because it adds to the level of strategy and synergy required to succeed.

I’m currently at level 242, so still very young; however, I wanted to share this guide because lack of knowledge had previously hindered my enjoyment of the game.

I hope you find it helpful.

If you see any errors, please let me know, and I’ll correct them; however, this is intended as an introductory guide to avoid confusing any would-be players.

You can find all my Gems of War content here.

Copyright: oldcynic.com
Images are screenshots used by way of review/tutorial
Gems of War is owned by 505 Games and Infinity Plus Two