How to play The Rookie

Recruit, choose a rival, watch the duel, level up, repeat. Here is the whole loop and the small rules that shape your day.

The core loop

Fighters. From the main menu you open your roster. Tap a fighter to continue its career, or tap an empty slot to recruit a new one.
Profile. Every fighter has a profile with its level, stats, health, record, and a rack with every weapon and every skill. The ones you own are lit; the rest are dim silhouettes, the collection you can still complete.
Fight! Press the fight button and the game shows four rivals of your level, with only their stats visible: race portrait, level and strength, agility, speed and endurance. Their weapons, skills and pets are a surprise.
Auto-battle. Pick a rival and watch. Fighters and pets move, weapons are drawn or thrown, skills trigger and combos chain. You can change the battle speed and skip combos.
Result. Victory or defeat both give experience. Win or lose, the combat rules decided it, not a button press.
Level-up. When a level arrives, the game offers two upgrades and you take one. Read more in progression.

Choosing a rival

The four rivals stay the same until your next fight, so backing out of the screen does not re-roll them. Picking a weaker opponent is your call, and so is going for the bigger challenge. A rookie streak helps newcomers: for a new fighter, the first three fights face rivals one level lower.

Ten fights a day, then rest

Each fighter can fight 10 times a day. After that it rests until the next local midnight; the profile shows the time left. Every fighter has its own count, so a second or third fighter lets you play more while the first one rests. The first win of the day gives bonus experience.

Tips and reminders

The first time you reach each screen, a short tip card explains it. You can skip them and bring them back later in Settings. The game can also send a local reminder when your fighters have rested (never at night) and a nudge after a few days away; the notification permission is only asked the first time a fighter rests.

Online and offline

Fights, level-ups, purchases and recruiting are decided by the server, so they need a connection. Offline, the game shows the last known state. Your fighters and progress live in your account, and a one-time recovery code moves the account to a new phone. See privacy and safety for what the account stores.