It’s become common for there to be minigames within open-world games to break up the dynamic and bring a bit of variety to the hours gamers normally spend playing. The new Horizon is no exception, just like other sagas such as The Witcher and Fallout. So, it’s a good idea to look over the rules and concepts of this minigame, as it can be a good source of Skill Points and currency without having to do much more than move pieces on a board.
Basic concepts and rules of Machine Strike
Now we’re going to quickly go over the basic concepts of the Machine Strike minigame so you’ll understand how it works:
To win a match, you have to get seven victory points before your opponent or destroy all their machines/pieces.
At the beginning of the matches: players choose a set of pieces and lay them out in the two rows closest to them (each piece costs a certain number of setup points and you can spend up to 10). The owner of the board always decides who goes first.
Each turn: the player can move up to two pieces on the board. You don’t have to attack your opponent but to finish a turn you do have to move.
The pieces have weak spots: and also armour, which affects how much damage they can take. Blue denotes armoured sides and red, weak ones.
There are also special skills: that only some machines have and give them passive advantages in the game, such as giving pieces nearby extra strength.
The Machine Strike boards play a role that can be decisive in the matches. The standard boards are an eight-by-eight grid with up to six types of terrain that affect the strength of the machines on them.
Chasm Terrain: -2 power (only accessible to flying machines).
Marsh Terrain: -1 power (pieces that land there get stuck).
Grassland Terrain: +0 power.
Forest Terrain: +1 power.
Hill Terrain: +2 power.
Mountain Terrain: +3 power.
Types of pieces
The Machine Strike pieces are based on the game’s machines and there are six different types, each with its own skills:
Melee: always attacks the first machine it finds within reach.
Gunner: always attacks to the furthest limit of its attack reach.
Ram: always attacks the first machine it finds within reach and pushes it back. Then it takes that terrain.
Dash: always moves to the outer limit of its attack reach, damages all the machines in its way, including allies, and turns them 180°. To attack, at the end of its reach there has to be a free terrain square where it can end the play.
Swoop: always attacks the first machine it finds within reach and moves right next to it. Gains +1 Combat Power on all terrains and can ignore all terrain penalties.
Pull: always attacks the first machine it finds within reach and pulls the enemy one terrain closer to it. Gains +1 Combat Power on Marsh terrain and can traverse it without hindering its movement.
