Phantom Brigade – Beginner’s guide

Phantom Brigade is a relatively simple game. You have your giant robots, you have give them orders, you kill the enemy. However, even after passing the tutorial, you may still need some help. So here’s our beginner’s guide for Phantom Brigade.

Our beginner’s guide for Phantom Brigade

How do I command units?

You can click on enemy units to see a detailed breakdown of their timeline. Screenshot by PC Invasion

In Phantom Brigade, each unit is given orders individually. Select a unit by either clicking them on the field or on their tab above the timeline Afterwards, you can select an order you want to issue by clicking on an icon above the unit tab. If it’s a movement order, you can select where the unit will go on the battlefield. If it’s an attack or defend order, first select a spot for it on the timeline, then choose the target on the field.

• Orders of the same type (attack and attack, move and move) cannot overlap.
• New run or wait orders will always be put right after the end of the last run or wait order.
• New run or melee order will always be put right after the end of whichever order concludes last as they take up both movement and attack actions.
• You can click regular attack actions to move them on the timeline.

Orders may go past the 5-second window, but only a little. Attack orders will continue the next turn. Wait or run orders can be canceled in the next order phase.

How do I move units in Phantom Brigade?

The jump range is not project straight onto the terrain, so there may be some fiddliness into setting the jump to falling within maximum range. Screenshot by PC Invasion

Units in Phantom Brigade most often move using the Run order. To set a Run order, select where the unit will go on the battlefield. You will see dotted line for the route. The length of the route versus the speed of your robot will determine how long the Run movement will take.

• Jump (and Melee) are special move orders: you can’t shoot/defend during them.
• Jump (and Melee) will always take the same amount of time, no matter the maximum distance of the jump.

Beyond the above, there are other tips in regards to jumping in your mech. A slower mech with good heat handling can get around faster by jumping. There’s a minimum range required for jumps, and terrain often gets in the way of the jump arc. Often times, it’s enough to back up a little before jumping.

You can see whether your mech will collide with other units during movement by mousing over the the entire order on the timeline and looking for yellow bubbles on the movement path. The game will not warn you about crashes nor will it pause you before executing orders if they would result in crashes. It’s absolutely safe to crash into mechs of lower weight class and all vehicles, though — this stuns them.

How do I fight in Phantom Brigade?

Missile paths are not drawn after launching and moving over the timeline doesn’t simulate their flight. Screenshot by PC Invasion

Fighting orders in Phantom Brigade can be carried out at the same time as movement orders. When you give an attack order, you’ll be able to see optimum weapon range and the chance to hit the target on the battle map. By setting an attack order first and then drawing up a movement that happens during the same time, you can see how movement will impact accuracy and whether the target will remain in optimum range or become blocked.

• Some weapons have a fixed scatter amount with no regard to movement, so those are good to use on the move.
• Phantom Brigade will tell you when the missiles will hit, but not simulate them in planning mode.
• Weapon turrets can mostly be ignored by just staying outside their range – the game will display it during movement order planning.
• When planning melee attack, the melee weapon slash demonstrates the trajectory the weapon will take during the attack. You can use this to set up hits on specific targets.
• Using concussive weapons to concuss pilots will award you undamaged loot.

How does campaign map gameplay work in Phantom Brigade?

Equipment saved through random events could be used in subsequent random events. Screenshot by PC Invasion

On the campaign map, you move your mech around with your mobile base. The normal cruise movement mode is always accessible.

You can research Stealth (which decreases the range you can be detected, but slows you down) and Overdrive (makes you faster, but detected from further out). Those modes rely on battery power. Regardless of Stealth, if you stay detected long enough by a settlement, it will call in reinforcements.

• Attack resource caches for more loot and workshop charges.
• Workshop charges unlock weapon and gear production in the workshop.
• Equipment convoys are also a good source of workshop charges.
• The mobile base has to be upgraded via the research screen to be able to produce Uncommon and Rare equipment.
• Some of the research options offer tradeoffs, especially when it comes to the bases’ speed and detectability.
• If you have the salvage capacity, don’t turn parts with interesting mods into salvage post battle.
• You can take the mods out in the inventory screen; there’s a button for scrapping parts but not the detachable mods.

To liberate a province, you need to click the “Contest Province” button to start the process. Any settlements you freed already won’t count. As a province is contested, some bases and patrols will be marked as critical. Usually, it takes freeing 4 of them to fully liberate a province.

• Home Guard battles are just timed events; if the timer runs out, Home Guard loses and their force gauge goes down. If the gauge fully depletes, the liberation fails.
• Any battle fought in the contested province depletes enemy strength, but the critical ones do it better.

Phantom Brigade is available on Steam.