Experienced mobile game developer, Super Awesome Inc., knows a thing or two about making enjoyable idle role-playing games (RPGs), and Dino Knight is another one of their latest titles fitting into that category.
Borrowing familiar concepts from games such as Alien Invasion: RPG Idle Space, you’ll get comfy with the simple user interface (UI) while watching your Dino Knight Hero clear endless waves of enemies on the screen.
Photo: Super Awesome Inc.
Although it’s easy to pick up, some things can be a bit confusing the first time around, especially when there’s minimal dialogue in-game, so here’s a beginner’s guide to help you on your way.
Jurassic Warrior
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In Dino Knight, you’re the unnamed hero – a T-Rex, at the same time – who’s hell-bent on ridding the world of countless hordes of monsters and abominations. The in-game narrative is almost non-existent save for a few tutorial pop-ups that guide you here and there.
Still, the game’s story was never intended to be the main focus at all. Instead, it’s the casual nature of auto-battles that you’re playing the game for, to kill off time.
Photo: Super Awesome Inc.
To this end, Dino Knight isn’t a Game of the Year contender, but it’s entirely fun for you to just lay back and help your in-game avatar grind through the levels for the loot and rewards.
Speaking of which…
Basic Currencies/ Resources
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To kick things off, there are a couple of resources that you need to be aware of since they’re not explained right off the bat. Immediately from the home screen (as well as where battles take place), you’ll notice two in-game currencies at the top.
These are:
- Gold/ Coins
- This is the primary currency you use for all essential activities, such as enhancing your Attack, HP, etc.
- Diamonds/ Gems
- This is the premium currency required for more important aspects, like hero buffs or weapon summoning.
Photo: Super Awesome Inc.
Both of them don’t seem to have proper names in the game, but their icons clearly suggest what they are. You can get both of them by simply letting the game run its course, allowing your hero to collect them by defeating mobs non-stop.
These Dino Knight currencies can also be acquired by completing missions (daily, weekly, etc.) or achievements; all of them lined up on the right side of the main screen.
Believe it or not, you’ll find yourself becoming rich in no time, to clear the early-game content faster.
Photo: Super Awesome Inc.
If you need even more of them quickly, the game lets you do so by watching free ads instead. Spare a few seconds to do so, and you’ll instantly get the money or Gems to power up your hero’s stats.
When it comes to gear upgrades, other resources are used instead, which are explained below:
Weapons And Shields In Dino Knight
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There’s only so much that your hero’s personal stats can do when fighting off hordes of monsters in the game. Here’s where the in-game gear comes into play, supplementing the shortcomings.
Your character’s progress is directly tied to the gear that they wear, which is expanded into three categories:
- Weapon
- A selection of weapons will be available for you to pick, each with its own rarity, tier, and stats.
- Shield
- Different shields offer varying stats and benefits according to their tier and rarity.
- Runes
- Items that provide passive buffs as soon as they are enhanced.
To get better equipment, you’ll need to summon them by clicking on the Chest icon located at the bottom of the screen, right of the Rune icon.
In doing so, you’ll get multiple new weapons or shields to be considered, with varying chances of acquiring higher-grade ones.
Photo: Super Awesome Inc.
Cumulative stacks of the same weapon or shield will eventually let you combine them into their rarer versions, so you benefit from summoning them repeatedly!
That being said, the limiting factor to continuously do this is the amount of Gems you have. As such, you’ll need to let your character grind them autonomously in the background, completing missions and achievements that’ll reward more Gems once done.
Photo: Super Awesome Inc.
Your weapons and shields can be enhanced as well. This consumes Equipment Enhancers (represented by the small green diamond icon) that are exclusively acquired by beating the respective Equipment Enhancer Dungeon unlocked slightly later in the game.
The rarities of weapons and shields can be seen here, with the latter ones being more powerful:
- Common (Grey)
- Uncommon (Green)
- Rare (Blue)
- Epic (Red)
- Legendary (Purple)
- Mythic (Orange)
- Transcendent (Gold/ Yellow)
Understandably, the higher the weapon/ shield tier, the better their stat boosts provided. However, they’re extremely difficult to summon, so getting a lot of lower-grade ones can be of better use in the long run (combine them to get upgraded versions).
Destructive Skills
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Apart from the gear, you can also use powerful spells and abilities that are automatically learned once you’ve reached specific character levels. These skills range from brutal damage-dealing cleaves to health-restoring shields.
Depending on your hero’s current level, you’ll have limited slots to equip the skills, requiring you to strategize the best synergies that identify with your preferred playstyle.
Photo: Super Awesome Inc.
Think becoming a shield-conjuring T-Rex seems boring and old school? Feel free to stack multiple explosive attacks or debilitating swings, then!
Unlike weapons and shields, your skills are enhanced by using Skill Enhancers (denoted by the red triangle icon) that are acquired by defeating Skill Enhancer Dungeons instead.
Photo: Super Awesome Inc.
So, apart from the idle gameplay loop, you’ll need to partake in dungeons that’ll only open once you’re better leveled and have their specific keys as well (dropped by common mobs).
On the topic of dungeons, though:
Game Modes
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Besides the customary home screen where the primary battles take place as soon as you boot up the game, other game modes exist to let you gather the different resources needed to upgrade your equipment, skills, and runes.
These side modes encompass the mini-dungeons, each being:
- Gold Dungeon
- Best way to accumulate Gold/ Coins quickly.
- Equipment Enhancer Dungeon
- The only place for you to farm Equipment Enhancers.
- Skill Enhancer Dungeon
- Home to the much-needed Skill Enhancers.
- Rune Dungeon
- Key to farming Rune Enhancers to bolster your hero’s passive abilities.
As their names suggest, each dungeon specifically rewards you with their respective resources once you defeat them.
Photo: Super Awesome Inc.
Combat is still the same auto-battler, though, but the Bosses are normally a bit tougher to take down unless your hero is all jacked up with the gear and skills.
If the win seems out of reach, you can change the difficulty level of each dungeon depending on your hero’s combat prowess, but this does affect the resources to be gained afterward.
Photo: Super Awesome Inc.
Still, there’s no real consequence to losing in Dino Knight, so you should definitely try the dungeons out as soon as you get their respective Dungeon Keys from beating the main mobs!
Even without the keys, you can still enter the dungeons via free video ads, which is certainly a small ask to support the game’s developers.
Tips & Tricks
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Despite being a straightforward idle RPG, there are a few things that you can leverage to progress better in-game. If you’re interested in some advice, here are a few tips and tricks that you might find useful:
Check every tab for daily freebies
Similar to many other mobile games these days, you’ll get tons of free rewards by checking out the different tabs available in-game. From the daily login event to cumulative check-ins, it’s easy to collect those precious Coins and Gems if you’re diligent.
Enjoy the ads
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Every freemium game relies on ads to help developers generate revenue, and Dino Knight is no different. However, Super Awesome Inc. does a good job of not restricting game progress behind forced videos, opting to set them up for improved premium currencies and rewards instead.
It’s an admirable gesture for everyone; promoting us to play the game more. A few seconds of your time is a fair trade for more Coins or Gems, in all honesty.
Complete the pop-up tasks
Sometimes, we just want to do things off the beaten path. In this case, by experimenting with everything for ourselves.
Although there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s more advisable to follow the game’s recommended targets in the early game, represented by small pop-ups that frequently appear around the middle of the screen.
Once all the mechanics and details are second nature to you, then these become optional later on.
Summon, summon, summon
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Arguably, the key to consistent success in Dino Knight is summoning more and more weapons, shields, and runes. This is the best and ONLY way to acquire improved gear, besides collecting dupes to combine them for the tier upgrades.
Considering Gems are given generously in the game, there should be minimal excuses to not use those premium currencies for repeated item summons.
Bulk up every second you get
Since you gain Gold/ Coins for every enemy defeated (including stage clears), you’ll eventually accumulate BILLIONS of them in just a matter of hours. Use them to elevate your character’s stats as soon as possible.
The basic ones (Attack, HP, etc.) are quite cheap to increase, but special ones (Crit Chance, Crit Damage, etc.) are exponentially more expensive, so saving the money to focus on the more exclusive ones might be a less worthy investment of your time and resources.
Conclusion
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Dino Knight is a quick grab for anyone looking for a quirky distraction to pass the time. After all, people love cute dinosaurs, especially when they’re donning adorable outfits or oversized armor!
While you’re still here, consider checking out our guides for AFK Football and Immortal Rising too. You might find them to be interesting reads as well!
