Millions of mobile gamers around the globe have played GungHo Online's role-playing hybridPuzzle & Dragons, but how many are playing it right? We asked the developer for some tips and tricks to help survive the game's unique brand of match-three madness. 

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Puzzle & Dragons starts off easy — collect colorful creatures, take them into dungeons, playBejeweled to kill things. But this is no Bejeweled, there's more to creature control than simply collection, and those monsters won't be pushovers for long. Here are five pieces of wisdom to help you excel, direct from the fine folks at developer GungHo Online. P

1. Embrace the Freedom!P

Most match-3 games have you sliding colorful shapes around one space at a time. It’s difficult for new players to break this habit, but they will have to in order to get the most out of Puzzle & Dragons. So grab that Orb and put it wherever you want.P

2. Don’t go for the quick and easy move - take your time.P

The enemy isn’t going anywhere. There is no time limit, but once you grab an Orb and move it, a turn will go by. You’ve only got so many turns before the enemy hits back. Think about what you want to do and go for it. Here’s an example:P
Puzzle & Dragons How To: Five Tips For Attaining Puzzle Mastery
Puzzle & Dragons How To: Five Tips For Attaining Puzzle Mastery

3. Make some Friends!P

Whenever you enter a Dungeon, you have the option to bring along a Helper Monster. If you bring a Friend, you can take full advantage of their Monster’s Leader Skill. If you bring a User, you won’t get to use their Leader Skill. Although, when you complete the Dungeon, you’ll have the chance to invite them to be your Friend.P
Puzzle & Dragons How To: Five Tips For Attaining Puzzle Mastery

4. Bring the right Leader to the right Dungeon.P

Leader Skills drastically affect your Dungeon crawling success. Build your teams and plan your Leaders based on the challenges faced in each Dungeon. If you have two Monsters who can reduce Fire damage in a Fire Dungeon, you’ll be un-scorchable!P
Here are some popular Leader/Helper combinations:P
Healer + Damage Reducer: Great for most early DungeonsP
Puzzle & Dragons How To: Five Tips For Attaining Puzzle Mastery1SEXPAND
*Some Healers can recover HP with ANY Orb match - with enough damage reduction, it becomes impossible to die!P
Double Damage Reduction: Particularly helpful in mono-elemental DungeonsP
Puzzle & Dragons How To: Five Tips For Attaining Puzzle MasterySEXPAND
Quadruple HP+RCV: A “turtle” team with tons of HP and the power to heal up quicklyP
Puzzle & Dragons How To: Five Tips For Attaining Puzzle Mastery2SEXPAND
*Leader skill doubles HP/RCV and if you bring another, the effects stackP
Spike Damage: For advanced players - these teams can do a lot of damage and rely heavily on skillP
Puzzle & Dragons How To: Five Tips For Attaining Puzzle MasterySEXPAND

5. Every Monster has its use, even if it’s fodder!P

You may notice some Monsters are labeled Enhance Material and some Evo Material. With perhaps one exception (Keeper of Rainbow) these Monsters aren’t meant for your team - they are meant to Power Up your team!P
Pengdra: Level up and Evolve these little guys for some massive EXP!P
Puzzle & Dragons How To: Five Tips For Attaining Puzzle MasterySEXPAND
Metal/Jewel Dragons: The smaller ones can help Evolve Pengdra, and the bigger ones are the most efficient ways to obtain EXP!P
Puzzle & Dragons How To: Five Tips For Attaining Puzzle Mastery
Think you've got better advice? Feel free to fill the comment section with your own tips and tricks for taking on Puzzle & Dragons.
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