Overview
You look ready. Did GG7 tell you you’re ready? You’re not ready. I’m L99, but you can call me ‘Tutourial Unit Totally Over Unemployment Rampage.’ TUTOUR. Or L99 is fine, if you’re the factory settings type.RIGHT. Welcome to Awesomenauts. Readiness aside, things are different here in the second dimension. This guide assumes you have played other MOBAs and will show you this one is not them. I’m here to help you start thinking with planes, give you the tools to brainjack the Naughts you’ll enjoy most, introduce you to the features of our beautiful deathscapes, and have You* rolling in Solar, goruinteed!*’You’ is a subsidiary of Zork Industries
Before Launch – The Menuing
Before we begin, say hello to Galactron; they’re the giant robot in charge of who you’ll fight where. I hear they’re nice, mostly because they announce it every 8 hours.
RIGHT. In case you are suicidal and skipped GG7’s tutorial it can be accessed by clicking the triple-dash in the top right corner. Even if you’re not suicidal, you can make 1000 Awesomepoints by completing these simple missions. I know, I know, that’s hardly enough for putting up with GG7’s grating optimism, but that’s what sound options are for.
The first place you’re going to want to go is the ARMORY. Here you can see which Naughts you may access, their roles, ablilites, unlocks, history, favourite music… we at Zork Industries are very thorough with our dossiers. The two main factors here are their abilities and the TRY button. That button will let you play any Naught to get a feel for them before you buy, and is the only remorse proofing Zork Industries offers. More on Try Mode later.
Once you’ve found a Naught you like, head on back to the Main Menu. If you’re satisfied with the default controls, you’re ready to PLAY. If not, an in-depth rebind menu is available in the triple-dash drop-down the Tutourial was in. 4/5 Zork Industries employees with fingers feel enriched after playing with their keybinds.
5 New Friends – Go Play
So you’ve learned the (very) basics from GG7, found a Naught you’ll enjoy using the Armory and stumbled around with them in Try Mode, or disregarded my very good advice and pressed the biggest shiniest button. Good job. Here is the Play Menu, where everyone prays to Galactron for fun, fair, fast, lagless, challenging, friendly, easy, BAN NAUGHTx, toxic, slow -descriptor limit reached- games.
I reccomend starting with CO-OP VERSUS BOTS, as it will give you an idea of how to move as a team of insane meat creatures against a cohesive unit of cold binary reasoning. As an added bonus you will gain Awesomepoints and Naught progression while you practice. If you’re feeling especially crazed and meaty head straight for VERSUS PLAYER MATCH.
Should neither fit, PRACTICE is a bots-only game and CUSTOM allows for all sorts of… strangeness, to be discussed later. Be aware there are no Awesomepoint or Progression rewards in these two modes.
Once Galactron has recieved your prayers, you’ll be brought to Naught Select. Pick the one that you definately practiced with that is absolutely available this week, say hello to your teammates, and get ready to be fired out of a cloning cannon into the sand/swamp/temple/home/battleship! Your droppod is equipped with a Zork Industries Solar Syphon, and you are expected to pay the 20 solar activation fee by the time you land. GG7 told you not to look down, but DO look down, learn the solar patterns. Every cube counts, especially early in the battle.
If you’re Red, you know what to do. If you’re Blue, do everything backwards and blame GG7. On landing you have 20 seconds before the gates open. Once your opening items are in order, take some time to say hello to your allies and rivals with ENTER or SHIFT-ENTER respectively. You’re new here, and like most MOBAs it’s more fun with freinds. Be a good sport and you’ll be running with a killer squad in short order. Beyond that, do a dance, throw your Abilities around, heave on the gate, whatever you like best. 3… 2… 1… and a half… and a quarter…
Just kidding, you should be in front of your turrets by now. There’s usually a Bouncepad on top of your Drill to reach the frontlines faster. Get all the Solar you can on the way to Middle, where the battle to establish Area Control over the Jungle and its Creeps as well as the Lanes will… ERROR. TERMINOLOGY OVERLOAD. Oh… oops. I’m getting ahead of myself. Give me a moment to reset my terminus buffers, it should only take a section or so.
Terms & Movement – 2D Anarchy
All set. Some of these terms and concepts will be familair to MOBA players, but remember; things are different here in the second dimension. You may know what to do with a Turret, Creep, Minion, or Bush, but how often have you played with gravity, deathtraps, free stealth, and teleportation? Even old hands should have a skim through this section to get an idea of the unique elements of Awesomenauts.
Droids: Minions have been upgraded to Droids and move out in groups of two. When a Turret is destroyed a Superdroid spawns for the wrecking crew; these marvels of engineering are worth escorting for their large AoE attacks, perfect for reaching the next Turret and keeping enemy Naughts away from their defences. Hummingbirds are special, brought into battle only on certain maps or Naughts. The homing attacks of Superdroids and Hummingbirds prioritize Naughts, so only those with a clone waiting underestimate them.
Jungle: Depending on the map the Jungle and its Creeps can be in one, two, or three pieces, each with its own dangers and rewards. Be sure to pet the Creeps when passing between Lanes, but not too hard! Forces above 120D will cause them to explode into regenerative bile, restoring your health and destroying your snazzy uniform. Poachers may also enjoy the 3 Solar bounty on thier skins/chasis. You’re not a poacher, are you?
Bushes: Usually found in and about the Jungle, these areas prevent those outside from looking in. You’ll know you’re hidden if the Bush becomes transperent; that is, unless an enemy is in there as well. Keep quiet while you lie in ambush as enemies can still hear you walk around and shoot. If you have any deployable skills (Yuri’s mines, Derpl Zork’s snare traps, etc.) Bushes are a great place to hide them. Be wary of the same being used against you however. Scouting Bushes now and then is important, but be very careful when you do; the ambush you’re trying to prevent might be setup already. Sentry’s teleport beacon, Chucho’s bike, and Gnaw’s weedlings make great wards in these areas.
Turrets: Zork Industries Turrets are impossible to destroy unless dishing out their own destrution. Unless the rapid fire homing particles have damaged something very reccently the Turret will take no damage from any attack. Truly a marvel of Zurian engineering.
Gravity: We still have 360 degree movement here, but not all directions are made equal. Left and right are fairly predictable – though some Naughts slide more than others – but when it comes to up and down every Naught does things a little differently. Details incoming, you may wish to skip ahead.
Most Jump once (Froggy G, Leon Chameleon, Scoop, Gnaw, Raelynn, Coco, Rocco, Ted McPain, Prof. Yoolip, Deadlift), twice (Lonstar, Skolldir, Ksenia, Nibbs), thrice (Penny Fox, Lonestar w/ Boots) or quiche (Penny w/boots), but with varying heights and speeds.
Some Boost (Clunk, Derpl, Ix the Interloper, Sentry X-58, Jimmy and the LUX5000), meaning they don’t move up as quickly as Jumping but can stay airborne longer by pulsing the jump button. They eventually run out of juice and will fall, their tank refilling the moment they touch the ground.
Some Hover (Voltar, Genji, Admiral Swiggins, Skree), a combination of Jump and a weak Boost once airborne. All but Skree will eventually fall. Genji Boosts up, Voltar and Swiggins Boost down, and Skree stays level.
Some Fly (Yuri, Vinnie & Spike, Max Focus), allowing them to stay in the air as long as they like at the cost of burst mobility. Yuri does this with his jetpack, which he can turn on and off. Vinnie is technically just Jumping without limit. Max is actually Flying, never able to land or be knocked out of the air with CC; his superior robotic jet boosters keep him still until stabilzied.
Chucho and Ayla toggle between a single Jump and Flying by using a Skill.
RIGHT. Lots of ways to go up and down. Falling through or walking off a platform does NOT count as a Jump, allowing the Drop Jump technique. Useful for juking, this move allows you to quickly switch downward movement to upward with an extra Jump. Skree, Voltar, and Admiral Swiggins cannot make full use of this manuver, as they start to Hover right away.
Bouncepad: The constant example of these is above your Drillcore, the best way to describe them is by example. Brace yourself and touch one. The propulsion provided by these devices counts as Knockback, so CC immunity allows you to pass through them with no effect. This is most notable using the turret mode of Zork Industries’ prodigy himself, Derpl Zork.
Teamwall: Made by those amazing and unstoppable Turrets, Teamwalls stop Naughts which don’t match their colour from passing through, as well as most of their attacks. If you match their colour however, they do nothing. The perfect forification! Almost as perfect as those lovely Turrets keeping them active. Should the connected Turret(s) be destroyed, the Teamwall fades and your offshore account is charged. Generally, the front turrets are linked to Teamwalls protecting Jungle access, and the back ones to Drillcore protection. Should ALL your team’s Turrets go down – Zork Industries would like to take this opportunity to inform You that Your employment is terminated – the Teamwall above your Drillcore will fail, making this cruical resource much more difficult to protect.
Maps – Navi Gated
Your most important tool on this front is in the bottom right; the Minimap. I cannot stress this enough. A breif scan will tell you where all you allies and all visible rivals are, how the Droids are doing, where the health is, status of turrets, where alerts and commands are coming from, and more. USE IT. PLEASE.
RIGHT. On to map specific features.
SORONA: This is the most horizontal battlefeild there is. Space between the front turrets is huge, allowing for long chases. Mid control is very important, as it’s linked to both Worm and Jungle control. The Bush above the Worm is the main junction of mid control. The button below it unleashes the mighty and ravenous Sorona Worm, aptly named Ruin, which instantly kills anything it can get its oddly floral maw around. It will eat Solar as well if you’re not careful. Zork Industries demands that you are careful.
Denying XP and Solar is common on Sorona, using the Worm to destroy the Droids of both teams then swooping under the button to collect all those shiny cubes. This is an effective but dangerous practice; be sure you have strong mid control when performing it and be wary of Stealth.
The Boncepads and platforms above the middle provide quick access to the two Jungles and lead to some thrilling aerial battles. Fliers in particular will have a good time up there.
Beyond the front Turrets the two Lanes narrow to one and Jungle access becomes more complex, becoming easier for the attacking team. Be aware of the Minimap when taking the Bouncepad out of your base on defence.
AUGULION: Narrow passages and plenty of Bushes define this map and its partioned Jungles. Transit between Lanes is quick but tricky with the large open middle area, an easy place to set up ganks and home of the Stealth Orb. This malevolent violet artifact of Kethkar grants ANY NAUGHT who touches it 45 seconds of Stealth, another potent ganking tool. It spawns every minute, with the timer paused while it remains uncollected.
Be wary of ambushes from above in the top Lane and below in the bottom one; the large Bushes found there can hide a large quantity of deadly danger. The lower one is of special concern; all powerful Gravity works against you down there and it’s very easy to get pinned against a wall or between two Naughts.
The area behind your back Turret Teamwall is another large Bush, so don’t assume your Jungle is safe once they’re down. As always, consult your Minimap.
AI STATION 404: My home… also the home of the Hummingbird prototype and a whole lot of fire. Few stars were harmed in the creation of those flames. This is a square map with a single large Jungle on top, providing plenty of options for Lane changes upward and downward if you can brave the heat. The forward bottom Turrets have an indicator above them to show gas pressure; when the orange bar fills the blaze is unleashed. It’s very loud, so you should be able to avoid it if you want to.
Insane meat creature that you are, there will be times you won’t want to. Thankfully your Zork Industries patented Awesomenauts uniform (patent pending) is flame resistant, you’re welcome. So long as you traverse the area quickly scorching will be minimal. This is much easier to preform with Gravity’s downward assistance.
In front of the top Lane’s rear Turret is the Hummingbird Dispensor. Up to three Hummingbirds can be stored here, to be released upon pressing the button on top. They are quite potent in groups, so be sure to release them if two or more are available.
Once the front Turrets go down the Bouncepads in the bottom Lane allow for some interesting aerial footwork, be sure to watch out for it and experiment.
STARSTORM: An unstable wreck from the AI War (we won, ask your local robotic supervisor today) this vertical map houses three Jungles with a one-way Teleporter in each leading to top Lane. The front Turrets are close together, so be aware of your position and closely the Lanes are linked if you want to avoid hugging bullets.
The middle Jungle far below bottom Lane is exposed to the vaccum of space, fall to far and you’ll drift forever. Don’t worry about that though, you’ll die instantly. Combat is very interesting here with such a threat present; be careful about displacement Abilities. The Teleporter here leads to the Centre of top Lane, a good place to surprise someone pushing your Turret.
Another Teleporter sits above and behind the front bottom Turrets and leads to the same position in the top Lane. Skillful ganks can be performed using these Teleporters, especially when the top Turrets are being pushed.
Custom & Try – Loads of Modes
In progress!
Thanks – Session Expired
Thank you for considering the ravings of a discontinued Tutorial Bot model. I hope you find them useful in the fleshy pursuit of avoiding disintigration, dismemberment, and material gains. This guide is still in the editting phase, so feel free to point our errors, addtions, and oversights.
Good Luck, Have Fun!