Is it worth playing?
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Brave Nine mobile game is a revamped and rebranded Brown Dust strategy game, which possibly marks the first time in the history of video games that this has happened. The enigma is further deepened when you realize that as Brown Dust, the game was already popular and considered being beyond solid by the players worldwide. Needless to say, our interest was heightened and we needed to learn the story behind this morph. It is also said that this new name, Brave Nine, symbolizes the character-based gameplay mechanics, but what are they changed and why the radical move? We go on an in-depth review in the first part of this page, while in the second part we will answer some FAQ by the community and do guides for the essentials.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Development
Brown Dust was developed and published by NEOWIZ, a South Korean online game publisher, which owns their game portal titled Pmang, which so far has over 40 games in all kinds of genres…
Brown Dust was developed and published by NEOWIZ, a South Korean online game publisher, which owns their game portal titled Pmang, which so far has over 40 games in all kinds of genres. The company is a veteran in the market, having been founded in 2007, while its members are even longer in the biz. They are primarily known for giving the world the Battlefield game series, which they worked on together with Electronic Arts, while Brown Dust release date was originally in March 2019. As of March 2020, the game was rebranded and renamed Brave Nine.
The reason for this is, as the NEOWIZ studio said, simply because they felt the name Brown Dust does not resonate with their targeted audience as much. They renamed the game Brave Nine simply because, as the game’s director Sean Kim says:
“Over the past year, we’ve watched as fans around the world have embraced the game’s unique, nine hero battle formations, the name Brave Nine embodies what our game is all about – nine brave fighters taking to the battlefield in a fight to save their friends and the world.”
And, it appears that it has worked to their advantage. On Google Play, B9 has a very good score of 4.4 stars out of over 120 thousand votes and with over 1 million installs. On the iTunes App Store, the game has an even better 4.7-star score, out of several thousand votes, and it is as equally popular.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Atmosphere
Brave Nine achieves its atmospheric composition with a combination of engaging gameplay, fantasy anime medieval-style visuals, and everything in between…
Putting its characters as the main carriers of the story and all the things happening in this game, Brave Nine achieves its atmospheric composition with a combination of engaging gameplay, fantasy anime medieval-style visuals, and everything in between. The storyline is kind of neglected and out of focus in the gameplay, but it is entirely developed as a webtoon, a completely different medium, on bravenine.com. If you want to know more about the lore and the story, you will have to go there. But, in short, the continent where the story takes place is engulfed in a civil war. Mercenary factions sprung up left and right, as everyone is after fortune and territory. One mercenary rose as a particularly impactful figure, called the Emperor Killer, the Moon, and the Master of the Six Devils. He is the son of the former emperor Fabian, whose kingdom is shattered, and that someone is you. You need to discover what happened with your father and your former kingdom, as the circumstances of the collapse are not clear.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
GAMEplay
Brave Nine focuses on combat, with a significant portion of the game in-between battles containing the usual team and character management portion of the gameplay…
Brave Nine focuses on combat, with a significant portion of the game in-between battles containing the usual team and character management portion of the gameplay. Combat is made of equal parts of tactical and turn-based strategy genre mechanics. It is not a full tactical experience, for the characters do not have action points and cannot move on the battlefield. But, you do need to decide on their position and it affects the combat greatly, which is then executed in a turn-based manner. Think Disciples II game, if you are a fan of that oldie.
Also, as misguiding the game’s title is, B9 currently has over 200 characters offered. The nine are the main bearers of the story, but the game also offers hundreds of unique units to fight alongside your heroes. The campaign takes the player through over 1400 stages, which is insane, and if that doesn’t fill your cup, there is the worldwide PvP multiplayer experience. You can also be part of the guilds, or work solo, and experience various gameplay modes of the game, including Tournaments, duels, Arenas, and more.
Other than that, B9 is a part hero collector and JRPG, with everything this entitles. You collect heroes and level them up, gear them up, and evolve their skills and abilities. You also upgrade your troops, which you use in combat as mentioned, and all this adds up to the strategy aspect of the game, as all units play an important part.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Graphics
Brave Nine is offered in two versions, the Low-resolution, and the normal mode…
Brave Nine is offered in two versions, the Low-resolution, and the normal mode. The low-resolution will take up less memory spade (around 900 to 1000Mb), while the Normal mode will take up around 1,5GB or more. The options are offered to the player when you first start the game, but you can easily change this option anytime in the game’s settings menu. In low-resolution, as the name implies, the animations, models, and graphics are a bit basic, but still, look and feel next-gen. Models are polished up, with only 2D animations and the environment being a bit toned down. There isn’t that big of a difference between this and the Normal mode, but slightly outdated Smartphones will be grateful for the choice.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Tech Compatibility
It requries at least a mid-range smatrphone from 2018…
If your Smartphone has 2GB of RAM with a GPU along the lines of Adreno 505, which is what most mid-range Smartphones that came out since 2018 are equipped with, the game will recommend the low-resolution option. If your device is in top condition, it can probably run the game on Normal, but you don’t sacrifice much with the low-end settings, but you won’t have any trouble with the performance. Android users need their system 4.4 or newer, while iOS users need 10.0 or newer. As mentioned, the low-res option will require around 1GB of memory space, while the Normal version will take up around 1.5GB or possibly more.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Free-to-play Friendly
As all standard mobile JRPGs do, Brave Nine seeks to capitalize on microtransactions mostly revolving around cosmetics and character customizations…
As all standard mobile JRPGs do, Brave Nine seeks to capitalize on microtransactions mostly revolving around cosmetics and character customizations, while leaving the core gameplay intact, So, there aren’t any paywalls, but purchasing top-ups can give you a significant speed boost for in-game progression, which can reflect on your PvP success. Packs costs range from $4.99 for the cheapest to $89.99 for the most expensive pack, and they are mostly for Diamonds, the in-game premium currency.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Verdict
Brave Nine’s particular blend of tactical and turn-based strategy combat, with units and heroes both included, is what appeals to the audiences the most...
I kind of understand why NEOWIZ felt they needed to rebrand this game. Brave Nine does sound kind of heroic and resonates more, probably because of the movies like the Dirty Dozen or the Seven Samurai, and stuff like that. Honestly, it does sound much cooler than Brown Dust, which doesn’t reference anything, except something brown and unpleasant. So, the shift was a good one, but the team also upgrades the game constantly, with new updates to the gameplay and new characters being added constantly. But, its particular blend of tactical and turn-based strategy combat, with units and heroes both included, is what appeals to the audiences the most.
Brave Nine guides and TIPS
How to improve your gaming experience and gameplay…
With over 1400 stages, several hundred unit types, and a few hundred character heroes, this game has spawned quite an extensive online community fan base. Guides, tier lists, reroll guides, coupon code guides, and everything else is being discussed by the players in various forums and other sources. We want to gather up important stuff all in one place and produce a list of our own, mostly based on frequently asked questions for the game. And, the FAQ for B9 is as follows:
Use links below to jump to the guide sections.
FAST LINKS:
- How to change the name?
- How to reroll/summon?
- How do you know if you got good characters/heroes in your reroll?
- How to get unique tickets?
- How to get Asera?
- How to get Celia?
- How to get companions?
- How to get Diamonds?
- How to link accounts?
How to change the name?
Let’s start with the most basic question new players are frequently asking. Changing your name is very simple and intuitive. You just tap your avatar icon, located in the top-right side of the game’s home screen, and select Name from the drop-down menu. Then tap on preferences and the pencil icon to change or edit your user name.
- Tap Avatar
- Select Name
- Tap Preferences
- Edit/change
How to reroll/summon?
As most mobile JRPGs. This game has all the hallmarks of the genre accounted for. The Summoning is thus traditionally being handled in a separate interface window, to which you access by Tapping on the Shop and then choosing Recruit. Also, as it is tradition with these games, you reroll by creating new accounts until you hit the jackpot. So, rerolling is something you should consider very early on, right at the start of your gameplay. You should not go too deep into the gameplay. When you get your first free multiple pulls (roll) and you do not like the result, just tap the Settings icon, which is the cog in the top-right corner of the home screen. Then tap on Delete Account, input the randomly generated code, and confirm. You can then restart and do this as many times as you want to, but there is a 3-minute cooldown between rerolls.
How do you know if you got good characters/heroes in your reroll?
Community sources are different on this topic, but most agree on a couple of characters, and those are:
- Lucius
- Valze
- Asmode
- Foxy
- Seir
How to get unique tickets?
Unique tickets are mostly awarded from the Underground Arena and you can also get them for Achievement points. They are used for unique character skins, which are mostly on sale at the in-game shop but for real money. So, if you want to go free-to-play all the way, you need to watch this and try to farm as much as you can. While Achievement points are awarded from various things you achieve, the Underground Arena is a fun and very challenging game mode. It is for Online PvP battles, where players fight with their registered Mercenaries. You register a Merc through the Candidate Register option or in a draft form.
How to get Asera?
Asera is a supporter character, with 3 Rarity and she was released in March 2019. Her awakened name is Curer Asera and she is obtained through Mileage recruitment. Mileage recruit is one of the Recruit options where you pay Mileage coins for a Recruiting Probability, which then depends on the pack you pay for. They range from 100 to 4000 or sometimes more, and can also have other limitations, like monthly or otherwise. 4K Mileage, the most expensive option, has the highest probability chance as you might presume.
How to get Celia?
Celia is a Magician character with a rarity of 5. She was also released in March 2019 and has a voice actor in-game (Yumi Hara), because she is one of the crucial story characters. Her awakened name is Celia the Wicked and she is obtained through Merc Fusion with Astrid, Lorang, Elija, and Gunther. She possesses very strong debuff effect attacks which, when you level her up, nullify enemy enhancement, prohibit healing, and apply other curse and nullifier effects.
How to get companions?
Existing mercenaries can be accompanied by characters called Companions. They help to increase the skill of the merc they follow by up to +15. Companions are mainly obtained through the Fate System and Recruitment. Recruitment is the most basic way of getting companions and mercenaries and it costs anything from Diamonds and Scrolls, to Friendship Badges, Mileage coins, Ancient Coins, and other currencies. However, each Character has their affiliated Companion, and you can use gifts to earn the affinity of the desired Companion. Once you earn their maximum affinity, you will obtain the Companion.
How to get Diamonds?
Diamonds are the premium currency and are scarce. They are abundantly obtained only through paid top-up offers in the game, which range from $4.99 to $89.99, but there are also lots of ways to bet Diamonds for free, just they are scarce as said. There are around 15 or more ways to get Diamonds for free, and they are:
World Boss encounters (Potential reward: 54 + 20Diamonds)
- Spin the Lucky Wheel (potential random diamond reward)
- Events
- Weekday/Weekend Gifts
- Daily Missions
- Mystic Island (there are various guides for maximizing diamond yield)
- Campaigns (Average 60 Diamonds per stage)
- Evil Castle
- Arena
- Novice Arena
- World Arena
- Underground Arena
- Achievements
- Log in reward
- Guild Wars
How to link accounts?
If you are logged in to Google Play on your Android device and you download and install the game, your account should be linked automatically. If not, you should first log in and then run the game app again. The same is the case with iOS devices, only its Game Center account you need. However, keep in mind that it’s one game account per one Google Play/Game Center account. If your account already has an account linked to it, you won’t be able to link a new one. To solve these or other problems, contact Customer Center in the options in-game.