In this Squad Busters beginner's guide, we'll show you everything you need to know to help you understand Supercell's latest mobile game. Squad Busters officially went global this week, bringing iconic Supercell characters from various franchises into one game. This guide will show you how the gameplay works, all characters, mods, and spells, and how to evolve your characters. We'll also show you various aspects of the menu as well like the Worlds, Book, Gem Pass, and more. Without further ado, let's dive right into Squad Busters.

Squad Busters Beginner's Guide – What Is Squad Busters?

Squad Busters is a multiplayer Party Action Game where players can collect, use, and upgrade iconic characters from various Supercell Franchises. The game features only one mode right now, but with several maps and modifiers to make each game unique. Here's how it works.

Squad Busters Beginner's Guide Gameplay

The overall objective of a Squad Busters game is to try and earn as many Gems as possible while not getting busted (defeated). The player can collect Gems in the following ways:

  • Defeat Monsters – Some Monsters drop Gems when defeated.
  • Loot – Specific Characters can loot certain items on the map to receive Coins and Gems (i.e. Greg can chop Trees, Mavis picks Carrots, etc.)
  • Gem Mine – Grab Gems from the gem mine, which spews out gems near the end of the match.
  • Busting enemy Squads (Also rewards a free chest).

However, players are limited to how many matches they can play per day. You need to spend Chest Tickets to play a match. When you run out of Chest Tickets, a cooldown timer lets you know when you can play next. You can also earn Chest Tickets from the Shop, Gem Pass, and Squad Journey menus.

During a normal match, the asks you to select one of up to three characters. For example, you may have the option to pick Barbarian, Primo, or Greg. The character you select begins in their most basic form, but can be leveled up throughout the match. For your first game in the tutorial, you'll automatically be assigned a Barbarian.

To upgrade your characters in Squad Busters, you need to unlock Chests, which are located all over the map. However, in order to open Chests, you need to obtain coins. Some of the methods above also grant you coins, but generally defeating enemies and Squads while looting are the preferred methods.

When you open a chest, you once again have the chance to select one of up to three characters. The more characters you have in your squad, the higher the price of chests become, but there's a way around that. When you earn three of the same character in Squad Busters, they fuse to become a more powerful unit. This not only lowers the costs of the next Chest, but gives you a more powerful squad in general.

Additionally, players can earn a free Chest for busting an enemy Squad. However, you'll need to make sure you're prepared. To do so, there's a couple of things you should know about Squad Buster's Gameplay Mechanics:

  • Turbos – All players have the ability to Turbo, which increases their squad's movement speed briefly. This is especially useful in looting the Gem Mine, traversing the map, and catching up to other squads. You'll want to time your Turbos effectively, as they need to recharge when used. However, can increase their Turbo count by picking them up on the map or if there's a modifier.
  • Spells – Battle items give your player an advantage in combat in several ways. Overall, the game features two different spell types – Normal & Super – the latter of which is generally more effective. Check out a full list of Spells and Modifiers below:
  • Battle Modifiers – Modifier that effects the entire match. Overall, Squad Busters features 30 total modifiers at launch. Sometimes a match can have up to two battle mods at once. Check out a full list of Spells and Modifiers down below.

Squad Busters Guide – All Spells At Launch

  • Normal Spells
      • Heal – Heals Squad for eight seconds
      • Freeze – Slows down all enemies/characters in the area
      • Cannon – Deploys cannon to attack monsters
      • Lightning – Strike up to three foes with lightning. Fusion characters receive more damage
      • Furnace – Deploys Furnace that releases fire spirits
      • Rage – Increases damage for all units
      • Bomb – Drops a bomb that damages and knocks back all enemies
      • Shrink – Shrinks enemies in the area, weakening them
      • The Log – Spawns a log that damages enemies in its path.
    • Super Spells
      • Skeletons – Spawns a barrel that unleashes a group of Skeletons
      • Royal Delivery – Spawns an elite royal recruit
      • Heal Station – Deploys heal station that heals Fusion units faster

Squad Busters Guide – All Modifiers At Launch

* indicates the Modifier is currently unavailable, but may come at a later date.

Modifier NameEffect
1 Coin ChestMakes any Chest cost 1 coin
Angry VinesVines grow more aggressively
Baby BattleAll characters revert to Baby form
Chest ImpostersSpawns Fake Chest monsters on the map
DoppelgangersAll characters transform to newly earned character
Double TroubleReceive double the amount of characters from a chest
Epic OverloadEvery Chest offers an Epic Character
Fusion StartYou receive a fused character at the start of battle
*Gem Hot PotMagic Pots filled with gems surround the map
Gem OverloadGems drop from every loot-able source
Gift CrittersSpawns robots that drop Gems when defeated
Golden BootsSupercharges all Turbo Boosts
*Golem MeteorsGolems fall from the sky
Loot Goblin RushGoblin Gangs spawn all over the map
Loot SurgeLoot spawns all over the map
MEGA StartPlayers receive a free MEGA unit at the start of a match.
Monster PetsChests spawn monsters to aid you
Piñata PartyLoot-filled Piñatas surround the map
Ring GrabSpawns Gem Rings (valued at 50 Gems apiece)
Royal HauntRoyal Ghosts surround the map
Spell OverloadSpells spawn all over the map
Super Gem MineGem Mine bursts out more Gems
*Super Ice SpiritsGiant Ice Spirits Jump around the map
Tree GiantsGem-Filled tree Giant Monsters roam the map
Turbo OverloadTurbo Boots spawn everywhere
Whack-A-MoleGem-Filled Mole Robots spawn everywhere

Note that the current listing of battle mods is subject to change.

At level 12, the player then get access to Battle Items and the Battle Bag. When you unlock the Battle Bag, you can store Battle items in there to help you in battle. When the Battle Bag charges up, you can use any of the items below, if you have them:

  • Reroll Token – Change your starting character before battle
  • Chest Key – Free Chest key unlock
  • Fusion Key – Next Chest gives you fused character
  • Epic Key – Gives player a choice of Epic characters only

Overall, that includes all general rules of Squad Busters' gameplay. As you level up and unlock more worlds, you'll come across a few more mechanics. But at that point, you'll likely understand everything the game is offering.

Now that we're done talking about the gameplay, it's time to explore some of the menus in the game.

Squad Busters Beginner's Guide – Menus

Overall, Squad Busters features a few menus where you'll be spending your time in between matches:

  • Player Profile – Customize Your profile and see your stats
  • Shop – Buy characters, Chest Tickets, and enter content creator codes
  • Squad Journey – A series of worlds in which completing challenges earns you points. The more points you earn, the more tiers you unlock. All tiers come with their own rewards, like Chests, Characters, Plaza Upgrades, and more.
  • Squad – A screen showing all currently collected characters. This is where you can evolve your characters
  • Book – A challenge menu that rewards you for defeating monsters, playing different modifiers, and using different spells. These challenges reward point needed to progress through worlds.
  • Friends – A menu to see a list of friends
  • Party Up – Lets you join or host a lobby
  • *Beginner Challenge – A series of challenges for new players to help them earn extra gold and other rewards.
  • Gem Pass Squad Buster's version of a season Pass. Free Passes offer rewards, but Paid Passes offer even more.
  • News – Supercell often releases new information on Squad Busters and other titles here.
  • Settings

Squad Busters All Characters At Launch

Overall, Squad Busters features 27 characters at launch, with three more confirmed characters on the way.

CharacterRarityUnlock
BarbarianCommonFREE
BoCommonDesert World Reward (#16)
ChickenCommonGreen World Reward (#6)
ColtCommonGreen World Reward (#2)
El PrimoCommonFREE
GoblinCommonGreen World Reward (#4)
GregCommonFREE
HeavyCommonBeach World Reward (#63)
MavisCommonRoyal World Reward (#42)
ShellyCommonDesert World Reward (#20)
TraderCommonRoyal World Reward (#36)
BeaRareUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Desert World
DynamikeRareUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Green World
Hog RiderRareUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Green World
MedicRareUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Green World
NitaRareDesert World Reward (#30)
PamRareUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Royal World
PennyRareUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Beach World
TankRareUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Beach World
WizardRareUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Royal World
Jessie (Coming Soon)RareTBA
Ice Wizard (Coming Soon)RareTBA
Archer QueenEpicConnect Supercell ID OR Green World Chest Reward
Barbarian KingEpicPre-Registration or Green World Chest Reward
Battle HealerEpicUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Desert World
MaxEpicUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Desert World
MortisEpicUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Royal World
Royale KingEpicUnlockable Via Character Chests Once Player Has Reached Royal World
WitchEpicGreen World Reward (#10)
Dr. TEpicTBA

Additionally, the game features four total Mega Units at launch. Mega Units are essentially more powerful units of basic characters. They also come with special abilities to give them the edge.

  • Common Mega Units:
    • Dragon Chicken
    • El Tigre
    • Magical Shelly
    • Street Trader (Coming Soon)
  • Rares:
    • Fast Food Tank (Coming Soon)
  • Epics
    • Kitsune Witch
    • Resort Royale King (Coming Soon)

How To Upgrade Your Characters in Squad Busters

In order to evolve your Squad Buster characters, players must collect characters via chests or from the Shop. These chests aren't like the ones you open in-game. These chests actually give you a number of a particular character. When you earn a certain amount of characters (i.e. – 10 Barbarians), you can merge them to evolve the character. From now on, you'll now always start with an evolved Barbarian.

Each character can be evolved up to four times, with each evolution requiring even more characters. For example, you'll need to merge 10 baby Barbarians 10 total times in order to merge your Stage 2 Barbarians.

Overall, that includes everything you need in this Squad Busters Beginner's Guide, the latest mobile game from Supercell. We hope this guide helped you understand the game's mechanics and characters. If Squad Busters does well, then we may see more characters, modes, and mechanics implemented in the future.

For more Supercell gaming news, check out the latest Brawl Stars Brawler, Draco. The newest Legendary Brawler is now available for Early Access and releases in less than one week.

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