Omega Strikers is a free to play, fast-paced 3v3 “footbrawler” from Odyssey Interactive. The game is described as a “footbrawler” due to its mix of soccer/hockey style scoring, and MOBA style brawling and abilities. The goal of the game is simple – strike the core into the goal and win, but each character has unique abilities to help them control the core and knockout the competition (literally). To help you get into this new highly-addictive game, we’ve put together a beginner guide for Omega Strikers to show you the ropes and give you the best tips and tricks to become an all-star striker!
Beginner Guide to Omega Strikers
In this guide, we’ll cover the game modes, the core mechanics, and some tips and tricks to get you striking! Let’s get into it!
Game Modes
To start with, players must select a game mode, and there are a few to choose from. All game modes are 3v3, and players can queue with their friends in all modes.
Quickplay
Quickplay is the most casual mode, in which teams compete in a single first-to-five match. Co-op versus AI is the same as Quickplay, but the enemy team will be AI rather than other people. This mode is currently the only way to practice without playing against other people. At the time of writing there is no dedicated practice mode, but Odyssey has stated that this mode is coming soon.
Normal Mode
Normal mode is the standard mode of play. Players compete in a series of first-to-three sets, and the first team to win three sets wins the match. At the start of the match, players can select their character and equip a piece of gear to augment their playstyle.
Players also select one of two starting Awakenings (modifiers that provide additional bonuses) at the top of the screen. After each round, there is a draft to select another Awakening. There are eight to choose from, one of which is available to all players.
Competitive
Competitive mode is the same as normal mode, but at the start of the round, each team can choose to ban a character. For example, more lethal characters (we’re looking at you, X) are common bans on AI.Mi’s App due to the map’s center pit.
The other big difference is that in Competitive, players are now competing to climb the ranked ladder. There are eight ranks, and reaching some of the higher ranks grants cosmetic rewards.
Core Mechanics of Omega Strikers
Now that we have the game modes out of the way, let’s get into this Omega Strikers beginner guide by showcasing some of the core (no pun intended) mechanics of the game!
The Core
The core is akin to the ball or puck in soccer or hockey, and can be moved by either striking it or hitting it with an ability. Hitting the core multiple times in a row speeds it up, and it speeds up even more in overtime. The core bounces off walls and any other player creation that stays on the field. The color of the core, ranging from yellow to deep pink, indicates how fast it will fly when struck.
Meters (Health, XP, Energy)
Health
Omega Strikers refers to health as Stagger. Players lose stagger by taking damage from opponents and some map hazards. When the health bar is depleted, strikers become staggered. In this state, you are highly susceptible to knockback and thus, a knockout.
While staggered, strikers will begin to regain health rapidly, and the staggered state ends when the meter reaches half health. However, the staggered state timer is reset by taking damage. Small green Power Orbs spawn around the map, which heal strikers and grant XP.
XP
Each player begins a match at level 1 and earns experience, or XP, passively throughout the match. Strikers level up by earning XP, and each level increases all of your attributes (health, speed, power, lower cooldowns, etc.).
Strikes, saves, knockouts, collecting those small green Power Orbs, and scoring/assisting in scoring goals grant additional XP. The highest XP level is 10, indicated by an Omega symbol. The amount of XP each striker gains in each round determines the draft order for Awakenings.
Energy
The yellow bar underneath your stagger bar is the energy meter. This meter is divided into 3 sections. When at least one of the three is full, you can cast an evade. In this state, strikers are elusive and avoid all incoming damage and knockback. Casting an evade will use one of the three charges as long as the meter isn’t full. When the meter is completely full, it turns blue and has a different ability — the energy burst, commonly known as a core flip.
Casting an energy burst evades, knocks enemies away, and flips the core into the air. In this state, the caster has complete control of the core, and it flies super fast when struck. Core flipping can provide offensive utility by taking down goal gates and scoring. It provides defensive power as well, as it can save tough goals, or retain control of the core in clutch spots.
Just note that as soon as you launch the core, you no longer have complete control over it. Opponents can immediately take control back with good timing.
Positions
There are two main positions in Omega Strikers – forward and goalie. There are two forwards and one goalie on the field. Forwards try to keep the core on the enemy side, whilst knocking down goal barriers. Once those barriers are down, the forwards are either trying to score, or enable their other forward to score.
The goalie is the protector of both the goal barriers and the goal once it unlocks. The goalie typically stays in and around the goal arc, but is often the striker enabling big plays with good passes and deflections from the arc. There’s nothing preventing the goalie from playing forward if they see an opportunity, but it does leave your team extremely vulnerable to being scored on.
Striking
Every character in Omega Strikers has one ability in common – the strike. Striking is the most basic way to hit the core and send it flying in the direction you’re aiming. The size of each character’s strike zone is determined by their size. The larger the character, the larger the strike zone.
There are some Awakenings that specifically buff your size, and certain characters’ abilities can also temporarily increase your size/strike zone.
The strike is on a one-second cool down, so the timing of your strikes is one of the most important elements of improving at the game. It may be tempting to strike the core whenever it’s close to you, but try to avoid this temptation and learn to strike the core when the time is right.
Abilities & Awakenings
Aside from the strike, each character has three unique abilities – primary, secondary, and special. These abilities are on cooldown timers that vary from one ability to the next.
Primary abilities usually hit the core and deal damage to enemies. Secondary abilities are typically movement abilities, including speed boosts, dashes, and teleports.
Special abilities vary from character to character. These abilities unlock at XP level 2 for each striker. Special abilities have the longest cooldown of the three, but are usually very impactful if used at the right time.
Ability Types and Awakenings
Each ability is categorized into different types. The types of abilities for each character can be seen in the Strikers menu in the top left of the lobby screen. Knowing what types of abilities your character has is one of the keys to picking the right Awakenings (random selection of buffs).
The main types of abilities are:
- Melee
- Projectile
- Dash
- Haste
- Jump
- Teleport
- Creation
- Buff/Debuff
- Impact
There are Awakenings that directly impact these types of abilities, and there are others that affect a character’s base stats. Some of these abilities affect max stagger, size, power, speed, cooldown rate, and number of ability charges, to name a few. Abilities that do not affect your character at all (and are useless) will be indicated with a yellow caution symbol in the awakening box.
The Goal & Barriers
There are a few things to note about the goal area in Omega Strikers. Each map has either one or two goal barriers that open the gates when struck by the core. Your goal at the start of each map is to hit these barriers with the core as fast as possible, so you can start trying to score.
On maps that have two goal barriers, it’s often okay to allow one barrier to go down in order to make it easier to defend the other. There is also a passive buff to any player standing in their own goal arc, which grants resistance to knockback and debuffs.
Passing
When first starting out, it’s tempting to mash strike whenever the core comes near you. To improve quickly, you’ll have to learn how to pass effectively. The direction that strikes and abilities are cast in is determined by the position of whatever you use to aim. There is a small arrow next to your character’s strike zone indicating this direction.
When you have an open teammate, it’s always better to aim the core at them rather than hitting the core back at the enemy. The community refers to the latter as “ping-ponging” and it’s very much frowned upon in most situations.
In spots when no one on your team is open, it’s best to hit the core away from the enemy. Using walls and unpredictable angles can be good ways to achieve this. Additionally, don’t forget to use your offensive abilities to temporarily stun your opponents and create openings for passing.
Knockouts
Players are knocked out of the field of play by getting knocked back into the yellow line around the map’s edges (this includes the goal areas). A knocked out player is taken out of play for 10 seconds, before respawning near their goal.
Typically, the best way to enable a knockout is by dealing enough damage with your abilities to stagger your opponents. Staggered enemies are affected much more by knockback, making them easier to knock off the field.
However, you can still be knocked out even when your stagger bar hasn’t been depleted. Characters with high knockback abilities can still forcibly push you out if you’re too close to the edges, so keep that in mind when playing against certain characters.
It’s best practice to stay away from the edges when you can, as the closer you are to the yellow line the easier it is to chase you down and knock you out. Conversely, you should try to look for good opportunities to knock out enemies who are near the edges. The XP bonus and 10 seconds of reduced opposition is usually enough to score a goal.
Best Tips and Tricks for Omega Strikers
To go along with the core mechanics, here’s a list of some tips and tricks to help you become a Corestrike champion in Omega Strikers!
- Familiarize yourself with each character’s abilities and learn their uses.
- The core can be hit while it’s behind you, as long as it’s within your strike zone.
- Striking cancels the elusive effect from casting an evade.
- Anticipate where the core is going instead of following it around — it’s often best to let it come to you, but you can still be proactive with your positioning.
- Try to create open lanes for your forward(s) – the less enemies there are in the direct path of the other forward, the better.
- Avoid huddling too closely with your team – you want to be spread out enough to take advantage of passing (and to avoid being hit by AoE abilities).
- When opponents have core control, try to position yourself as a blocker between the enemy forwards to try to intercept the core and regain control.
- Use wall bounces to stall out opponents and pass to yourself (especially if one of your teammates has been knocked out).
- Be as unpredictable as possible with your movement and passing.
- Be the last to hit the core if you can help.
- Pass, pass, pass – we can not stress this enough! Don’t hit the core to the enemy!
Join the High Ground!
We hope you found our Omega Strikers beginner guide useful! Now you can get out on the field and get to striking! Who is your favorite character in Omega Strikers so far?
Let us know in the comments below, and share some ideas that you’d like to see us cover in the future. You can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more gaming content!
Happy gaming!
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