Main Walkthrough

It's more or less standard procedure for modern RPGs to have a table-top minigame built into the works, and for Sea of Stars that minigame is Wheels. A two-player game found usually (but not always) in taverns, Wheels is something you can largely ignore... though if you do, you'll miss out on a few secrets. As well as a pretty fun little experience.

This guide covers the ins and outs of Wheels in Sea of Stars. We'll start with unlocking the game in the first place.

Unlocking Wheels

In order to play Wheels you first need to make it to the Port Town of Brisk. Once in Brisk you'll meet a recurring band of pirates, and they will swindle the party into helping them. Speak to Yolande after the armwrestling match - she's the olive-skinned pirate with the pigtails - and she'll give you three things: A Copper Wheel, a Warrior Figurine, and a Mage Figurine. You're now ready to play Wheels.

Wheels is played in the taverns of Sea of Stars. You won't find a Wheels table everywhere you go, but most taverns will have one. Look for furniture that would be better suited to a casino and you'll be on your way to playing Wheels.

How to play Wheels

Wheels is a game of attack and defense. On either side of the Wheels table is a Crown, which represents yours - and the opponent's - life force. The crown has ten hit points, and the first Crown to be reduced to zero hit points is the loser. The goal of Wheels is to attack your opponent's Crown while protecting your own.

Wheels takes place over a series of rounds. Each round the player and the opponent receive three spins of the five slots (wheels, if you prefer) on their side of the table. You can reroll all five slots, or 'lock in' any number of slots and roll the remainder. Each icon on the slots affects something on the board, and when you've spun three times the effects are put into play.

Each player starts a game of Wheels with two Heroes, corresponding to the Figurines that you collect by playing and winning matches. The Heroes are responsible for attacking the other player's crown. The icons on the slots distribute Energy to the two Heroes, and every point of Energy lowers the Action Rod next to the Hero on the table. Once the Action Rod is lowered all the way into the table the Hero will attack the opponent's Crown. Green Diamonds distribute Energy to the Hero on the right side of the board, while Orange Squares distribute Energy to the Hero on the left side of the Board.

The slots have another icon, as well: The Hammer. When you've accumulated enough Hammer Energy you'll raise your side's Bulwark onto the table. The Bulwark is responsible for protecting the Crown from harm. Accumulating Hammer Energy will raise the Bulwark, while getting hit by the enemy's Heroes will lower the Bulwark. Until the Bulwark is lowered back into the table the Crown can't take any damage. (There are exceptions to this, but we'll get into those below.)

Heroes start off at the Bronze level. Over time, however, Heroes can accumulate experience and level up making their actions stronger. There are two ways to gain experience:

  • Line up slot icons with blue backgrounds. Heroes gain 1 experience for every retained slot with a blue background that matches their Energy type.
  • Take actions. Every time a Hero attacks the enemy they will gain 2 experience.

Heroes can evolve to Silver and Gold tiers. The strength of their attacks is indicated beneath the Hero. The number next to the dagger indicates how much damage the Hero will do to the Crown with their attack, while the brick wall indicates how much damage the Hero will do the Bulwark.

Once a Hero has evolved to their Gold form they won't evolve any further. Instead, the experience they accumulate will go into a Bomb that is sent directly at the opponent's Crown. The Bomb ignores the Bulwark completely.

Hero Types

As you win more matches you'll earn Figurines. Each Figurine you collect unlocks a different Hero that you can deploy when setting up a match of Wheels. There are six different Heroes to can use:

  • Warrior - A well-rounded fighter with no major strengths or weaknesses. Tends to get stonewalled by the Bulwark.
  • Mage - A bit weaker than the Warrior, but it launches two fireballs per turn. The second fireball will fly right over a Bulwark of any height, striking the Crown. Takes a long time to charge up, however.
  • Archer - Strong against the Crown but weak against the Bulwark. The Archer's arrows will travel over the Bulwark so long as it is only at a height of 2. Bulwarks build up quickly so Archers often get stonewalled.
  • Engineer - Strong against the Bulwark but weak against the Crown. The Engineer will automatically raise its own team's Bulwark by two units when taking an action. Great for maintaining a strong Bulwark, but bad for launching an offensive.
  • Assassin - When attacking it delays the enemy's Hero with the least amount of Energy. The Assassin ignores the Bulwark completely, but does little damage. Difficult to set up and weak, but very effective once you get the hang of things.
  • Priest - Rather than attacking the Priest heals its team's Crown, and will contribute Energy to the other Hero on its team. A great counter for most units, particularly the Assassin, but useless when mounting an offensive.
We'll discuss which Heroes to use below, when we get to strategy. In general, however, the Mage seems to be regarded as the best Hero, and the one to use in most matches. The Mage's ability to blast fire right over any Bulwark makes it a superior choice for virtually any battle.


Rewards

Whenever you approach a Wheels player in a tavern you can choose from one of two match types: Casual or Champion. Casual matches will earn you a bit of gold, and are good for practicing. Champion matches, on the other hand, can earn you additional Figurines, expanding your combat options with new Heroes. You'll also earn new Wheels which change the slots that come up when playing. 

The rewards you can earn are as follows:
  • Archer Figurine
  • Bronze Wheel
  • Silver Wheel
  • Engineer Figurine
  • Gold Wheel
  • Priest Figurine
  • Diamond Wheel
  • Assassin Figurine
  • Platinum Wheel
The rewards you receive in Wheels are earned in a particular order. Start your career in the Cloud Kingdom or Repine, for example, and you'll still receive the first reward on this list if you win a Champion match. The matches get harder as you progress further into the game, so it's wise to move from tavern to tavern and get stronger as you go, rather than trying to jump ahead.


The locations where you can play Wheels are as follows:
  • Mooncradle
  • Stonemasons Outpost
  • Port Town of Brisk
  • Town of Lucent
  • The Vespertine
  • Lake Docarria
  • Town of Mirth
  • Cloud Kingdom
  • Repine - Need to purchase the Deployable Wheels Table from the Watchmaker for 250 gold

The Watchmaker

When you first visit the Watchmaker in Clockwork Castle you'll probably notice that she has a Wheels table in her workroom. You can challenge her to a game, but first you need to defeat every other Champion in Sea of Stars. You can check which islands still have active Wheels Champions via the Falcon-Eyed Parrot, in the Map.

Unsurprisingly, the Watchmaker is a tough opponent. If you can beat her, however, you'll earn a special prize: A Flimsy Hammer. This weird little key item will help you unearth something special elsewhere in the game... if you have the patience to fight for it, anyway. You'll also earn the Clockwork Champion Achievement for defeating the Watchmaker.


Tips and Tricks

Wheels is a challenging game, and much of the time the final result will come down to the luck of the draw. Here are some tips to make your Wheels matches a little less frustrating.
  • Stick with the Mage in basically every match. The Mage's ability to fire over Bulwarks is invaluable, and if there is no Bulwark the Mage will just hit twitce.
  • The Mage aside, choose your second Hero based on the opponent's Heroes. If they're using Warriors or Archers, for example, you may want an Engineer to quickly build up your Bulwark. An opponent who can bypass your Bulwark should be countered with a full-on offensive, so consider an Archer, Warrior, or Priest when facing an Assassin or Mage. Engineers will throw up a Bulwark in a hurry, so consider an Assassin to slip past their defenses.
  • Try to end your turns before reaching three spins of the slots, when possible. Once you've chosen your five slots the spinning round ends immediately, forcing the opponent to settle for what they already have.
  • Always toss up a Bulwark if you're facing opponents other than an Assassin / Priest combo. Warriors and Archers seem a bit impotent at times, since they just toss themselves uselessly at Bulwarks, but if you don't have a Bulwark they will demolish your Crown.
  • Don't get too cocky. You may be up ten HP on your opponent then hit some terrible luck and find yourself run down to nothing within a round or two. Stick to your game plan and don't try to rush things too much.
  • Know when to give up. If your opponent is having incredible luck and has a Gold Hero before you've even evolved one of your Heroes, for example, you're likely in deep trouble. You can retire the match and try again.

Main Walkthrough