Battles — how combat works in Hexonomica

You share one map with various monsters. This page explains, in plain language, who fights whom, what decides the outcome, and which bonuses can tip the scales in your favour.

When does a battle start?

A battle starts when you discover an enemy and press the Battle button.

On monster hexes
Every time you open a hex hiding rats, spiders, mushrooms, survivors or other creatures, you're offered to enter a fight.
On hexes with buildings guarded by monsters
Most useful buildings have a guard — fight them to get the treasure.

Fighter characteristics

Every creature in the game — slave, knight, rat, robot, mummy — has the same four base stats.

Attack — how much damage the fighter deals on a successful hit.
Health — how much damage the fighter can take before falling in battle.
Defense — reduces incoming damage; the higher it is, the harder the fighter is to kill.
Luck — affects the chance of landing an attack. Sometimes fighters will miss.

Hint: attack and luck decide the fate of a single hit, while health and defense decide whether your army is still standing at the end of the fight.

Player's basic army

Slave — the cheapest worker. Slow, but reliable in defence.
Knight — a sturdy all-rounder with balanced attack and defense.
Paladin — a level-4 elite unit with strong defense and stable luck.
Berserk — a glass cannon: high attack, but low health.
Robot — a late-game tank with a huge health pool and steady damage.

Wild monsters

Early monsters. Rat, spider, zombie boy — small, weak, but very numerous. You meet them on almost every undiscovered hex.
Mushrooms. Hungry mushroom, poisonous boletus, psi-mushroom — they stand on one hex, hit hard for their level, and can drop a special chest.
Desert threats. Mummy, sand worm — strong fighters adapted to sand hexes.
Faction creatures. Ice wolf / fire fox, ice bear / fire tiger — predators of their own faction.
Golems. Ice and fire golems — heavy late-game tanks with very high defense.

Special NPCs

Survivor — a wandering human enemy that appears as part of quests. Balanced stats with no clear specialisation.
Shrike — a level-6 elite NPC from the future. Only a very strong army can take one down.
Sand worm — a desert boss lurking near ore deposits. Heavy damage and a rare chest as reward.

Where to learn more

The Bestiary page is on its way as part of the Hexopedia series.

Hexopedia · Battles. Tip: fight gradually, build a balanced army and remember that luck can turn even a small squad into a winner.