Puzzles and Dragons 0 can be considered the lite version of the widely popular mobile game known as Puzzle and Dragons, developed and published by GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc., of Japanese origin. The game features a more beginner-friendly experience, which targets a newer audience that its main counterpart, P&D, is missing. Puzzles and Dragons 0 features its core gameplay as match 3 mechanics with the added twist of team building, strategy and skill, evolutions, and inventory management. All these systems work together to bring a completely new type of gameplay mechanic, which is Puzzle and Dragons
Puzzle and Dragons 0: Beyond match-3 mechanics and more
1. Strategic Team Building
On why Puzzle and Dragons 0 is different from other strategy games, even with the match-3 mechanics, is that the game blends in its core match-3 mechanic with other elements like team building and a turn-based RPG system.
The teams in PAD0 are comprised of 4 sub-monsters at the beginning, and then later 5 when the dungeon gets advanced. Each team has a unique team leader assigned by the player around whom the team is based and the playstyle being played, obviously, with team building synergy comes into play and suddenly building a team isn’t about picking the strongest character available anymore it’s about picking characters and leaders that synergises well with each other.
2. Dungeon Design and Tactical Planning
While early dungeons are fairly forgiving, Puzzle and Dragons 0 gradually introduces enemy patterns, attack timers, and status effects that require players to plan. Enemies in PAD0 attack players in a turn-based manner. Some may attack the player after each move they make, while others might hit hard but only after every 3rd move the player makes.
This adds another layer of depth to the game and combat mechanics as players can’t solely rely on match-3 mechanics and luck, as each level is designed differently and will need different playstyles and team compositions before entering a dungeon
3. Skill Management and Timing
Depending on your playtime, every team consists of either 3 or 4 sub-monsters with a team leader. Every monster in the team has an active skill, each with its own unique powers, like different status effects or skipping the enemy monster’s turn, healing the overall team, etc. These skills are activated once a specific number of turns have been done.
On the opponent side, each monster has its own turn-based countdown shown by the number above its head in the image above. Each monster varies differently and can have its own status effects and abilities for players to figure out and work around
4. Understanding the Leveling and progression system
Unlike its predecessor, Puzzle and Dragons, which has a pretty complex upgrade and progression system, Puzzle and Dragons 0 keeps things simple due to its beginner-friendly and onboarding nature. Monsters in the team can level up naturally as they clear various dungeons and levels offered by the game, which is beneficial for both active and passive abilities. Another progressive aspect in the game is the evolution of sub-monsters. Once players get enough element crystals, they can use them to evolve their monsters. Evolution isn’t just an increase in stat change; it completely flips around how a monster’s core mechanics work, making it a much stronger version of itself.
Now choosing which monster to evolve is purely dependent on you’re favorability and how well the evolved monster will synergize with your team
5. The long-term gameplay loop
At the end Puzzle and Dragons 0 is based around the more complex loop of the original Puzzle and Dragons with a beginners friendly tone of its own and less complex systems to attract newer audiences while still delivering without compromising the basic gameplay loop of: make your team, raid dungeons, level up, raiding dungeons again, evolving your monsters and giving the satisfaction of progression and leveling up.
.
Final Thoughts
Conclusion, Puzzle and Dragons 0 may look like a more watered-down version of its much more mainstream version, Puzzle and Dragons, but the game still retains a lot of the in-depth mechanics and detailing that the first one has, without sacrificing the beginner friendly onboard experience its trying to offer to attract newer players to its mainline genre
Puzzle and Dragons serves best to players who are tired of the generic match-3 genre and want something new in their gameplay, without things getting too complex that may ruin their gameplay experience.
Read our other related articles:
- Puzzle & Dragons The Fist of the North Star collaboration brings new events and rewards
- Puzzle and Dragons 0 Beginners Guide and Tips
- PUZZLE & DRAGONS 0 redeem codes and how to use them
- GungHo announces PUZZLE & DRAGONS 0, a new chapter in the hit series, launching in May 2025
What are your thoughts on our Puzzle and Dragons 0 strategy guide? Did you find this Guide helpful? Make sure to comment below!
For more Mobile Gaming news and updates, join our WhatsApp group, Telegram Group, or Discord server. Also, follow us on Google News, Instagram, and Twitter for quick updates.
