Total Battle Beginner Guide: What to Do First (2026)

For new Total Battle players, and for clan leaders who want a simple guide to send new members. Checked October 31, 2026.

Short answer: In Total Battle, grow your Capitol to level 6 or 7 to open building lots, use the 24 hour Novice Boost well, and level captains by hunting monster squads and exploring Crypts. Learn the five troop types: guardsmen for monsters, specialists for players. Join a clan early, since clan chests, tech and help speed everything up.

See Total Battle packs and prices

Total Battle throws a lot at you on day one: a city, a hero, captains, monsters on the map, Crypts, clans and a shop full of offers. Most of it can wait. A few things cannot.

Your first day

What experienced players tell new members to do on day one:

• Use the Novice Boost. It starts after the first tutorial missions and lasts 24 hours. Marches are faster, the Watchtower is on, construction can be sped up for free, and Temple revival costs 10 times less.
• Push the Capitol to level 6 or 7. That opens many empty lots for production buildings.
• Follow the story missions. Each step gives resources and they are quick, so they are a good default when you do not know what to do next.
• Gather with the right troops. Players report that spearmen carry the most per march (around 250, against 200 for Riders and 100 for Archers), so they are the usual pick for resource runs.

The five troop types

From the official types of troops article:

Each troop has three traits under its name that decide its weaknesses and bonuses. Check them in the Army tab before a fight.

Who hits first: initiative

Higher initiative always attacks first, once per round. With equal initiative, the first attacker is random. Engineer corps only get bonus initiative against troops with the Fortification trait, and fortifications have higher base initiative than troops. That is why walls hurt early attackers.

Captains

Your hero leads one march. Captains lead the others: against monsters, into Crypts and to resource points. Per the help center, they level fastest by attacking monster squads and other players, and also from Crypts and experience chests. Our best captains guide lists all of them.

Crypts and Tar

Crypts give captain experience and loot. Exploring them costs Tar. Per the help center, sending more Tar than the base need speeds up exploration and adds a 10% efficiency bonus, and some bonuses give a chance to explore twice as much in one strike at no extra Tar.

VIP and Premium

• VIP has 25 levels. It speeds up resource production, gathering, construction, research and marches, and makes units stronger. Points come from Gold, clan chests and offers. It runs out after a set time, so keep it active during pushes.
• Premium is separate and lasts 7 days. It gives instant speed-ups for most processes and one of three titles: Great Archaeologist (Crypts), Great Marshal (+25% army strength and health) or Great Ruler (+75% research and construction speed).

Tournaments

A regular tournament is always running. They start at random, last 2 to 5 hours, and the top 100 players get rewards. Examples: Castle Development (building), Call of Duty (training troops), Beastslayer (monsters) and Crypt Raiders. Line up the work you were going to do anyway with the tournament that scores it.

Join a clan early

A clan speeds up almost everything. Clan members send help for training, research and construction, clan technologies add bonuses, and clan chests from monster hunts give rewards, including VIP points. The help center also notes that some Union of Triumph rewards lock when you switch to a new clan, so pick one you plan to stay in.

Beginner mistakes to avoid

• Wasting the Novice Boost by logging off on day one.
• Sending specialists at monsters and guardsmen at players. Match the troop to the target.
• Leaving captain slots empty. Every captain is another march.
• Buying a second offer before claiming the Free Sale from the first.
• Sharing your login with anyone. Account sharing is not allowed in Total Battle, and the help center warns it can cost you the account.
• Buying resources from players or outside sites. The game says those purchases are not credited.

For spenders and clan leaders

If you plan to spend, the first weeks are when it goes furthest. A simple order:

1. Claim free rewards first. Daily gift, YouTube gift and the Triumphal Challenge free pass. Our free gifts guide lists them.
2. Start a Triumphal Challenge pass at the start of a season so the Valor and Experience boost runs the full 30 days.
3. Get VIP active during growth pushes, and pick the Great Ruler Premium title while you build.
4. Claim every Free Sale before the next purchase.

For clan leaders: send new members this guide, set a simple rule for help requests, and point them to tournaments that match what the clan needs that day. The alliance leader page has more on onboarding new members.

Where Packsify fits

Total Battle sells packs in the game through the App Store and Google Play, and through its official web store, which is a real option. Packsify is for players who want the exact App Store or Google Play pack bought for them. With Packsify you get up to 13% more pack value for the same money. Packsify buys the exact pack through the official Apple App Store or Google Play, the same way a purchase on your own phone works. Read how we keep accounts safe before your first order.

Check Packsify for Total Battle

More Total Battle guides: best captains, codes and free gifts, how to top up.

Packsify is an independent service, not affiliated with Total Battle or its publisher.

Sources: official Total Battle help center: types of troops, Premium, account safety.

Spotted a mistake? Tell us in the Play Smarter Discord and we will fix it.