Tales of Luminaria, the latest title from Bandai Namco in theTales ofseries, has hit smartphones around the world, and players are diving in to discover the latest story in this long-running franchise. With fast-paced combat and a story featuring a robust cast of 21 colorful characters, there’s a lot toTales of Luminariafor players to experience.

RELATED:The Best Tales Of Games, According To Metacritic

As the first mobile title in the series in many years,Tales of Luminariaoffers long-time fans of the series several new mechanics to learn to fully enjoy everything the game has to offer. These are a few key things that new players should know before startingTales of Luminaria.

10Gacha Mechanics

Similar to the popular mobile/console title,Genshin Impact,Tales of Luminariautilizesgacha mechanics as a means of making money. Players can use a premium currency calledPB-Stonesto purchase randomized items from what is essentially a prize machine, and these items have a direct effect on character power levels.

There’s also an incentive to purchase multiple pulls at once, as the chances of getting rarer items are increased. While PB-Stones can be purchased in bundles for real money, they can also be earned in-game by completing specific missions during each episode.

several different colored rocks and crystals floating: a window for purchasing randomized items within the game

9Episodic Narrative With Shifting POV

The story ofTales of Luminariais told in a shifting, episodic manner, with each episode focusing on a different major character in the game’s overall narrative. Itplaces each character at the center of their own corner of the story, giving players the chance to connect with each member of the game’s large cast.

Several episodes are available now, and the developer has confirmed that new ones will be added each week.Each character is currently confirmed to have eight episodes total, which brings the eventual episode count to 168 total episodes once everything is released.

two young men in the foreground face off against a scantily clad woman with purple hair; a blonde girl points a spear at the screen while a young man with green hair stands in the background

8Combat Is Tied To One Button

Tales of Luminariais structured to be played in portrait mode, so the entire game can be effectively played with one hand. to facilitate this, the entire combat suite for each character is tied to a single button in the bottom-middle of the screen.

RELATED:Tales Of Arise: Best Skills For The Early Game

While characters have different weapons and combat abilities,all movement, dodging, and basic attacks are controlled by this single button. This is a huge departure fromthe combat of previous games in the franchise, and the all-in-one nature of the button does cause incorrect inputs from time to time.

7Multiple Paths Of Progression

Characters level up in a way similar to other RPGs by earning experience to raise their level and boost their power level. However, they also get power boosts from unlocking new equipment or leveling up existing pieces.

Armor and weapons can only be acquired by using the gacha pulls, which require a premium currency. While this system isn’t necessary to play through the game’s story content, each character also comes with a level cap that can only be raised by obtaining new equipment.

a man in red cloak shoots red lightning at an enemy knight; a woman in black clothing stands at the entrance to a large cave

6Experience Can Only Be Earned In Episodes

Every character inTales of Luminarialevels up through combat, with each defeated enemy awarding a certain amount of experience depending on how difficult they were.The only battles that award experience, however, are the ones inside the episodes.

Challenge battles and multiplayer bosses don’t earn any experience, and there’s noopen-world for players to explore and train their characters. The only way to train up a character is to replay their episode(s) until they’ve hit their level cap.

a power ranking list with different characters arranged by power level; a blonde girl in a white and orange dress with various stats next to her

5Equip Healing Items First

Tales of Luminariais generous in that it automatically equips any new armor or weapons to applicable characters, but it doesn’t do the same for healing items. And since equipment can only be changed while in the main menu,players will need to equip any healing items before starting an episode.

What’s more, characters have dishes they like more than others, and these preferences influence the effectiveness of the dish. The game doesn’t check for these preferences, or if the food can be used for healing at all, so playerscheck on their equipment before starting any mission in the game.

a young blonde woman aims a spear at pink, tadpole enemies on the ground; the blonde woman and two men face a horned, red monster

4Weapons And Armor Have Assigned Abilities

Gear players get automatically provide power bonuses for associated characters, but each weapon and set of clothing also have special abilities calledArtesconnected to them. These Artes range from passive benefits to powerful new attacks.

RELATED:Tales Of Arise: Best Artes For The Early Game

Equipping each piece of gear in different slots changes how these abilities are equipped. Armor always assigns the Mystic Arte, a powerful attack that needs to be charged up, while weapons provide the passive buffs and more basic Artes that can still pack a punch.

3Character Factions Affect Power Level

Raising the power level of different characters also increases the strength of other characters in the same faction.Similar to games likeThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,Tales of Luminariafeatures warring factionslocked in a conflict that has been raging across the continent for many years.

Leveling up characters in each faction provides a small boost to every other character in the faction. It’s one additional way for players to maximize the potential power of their favorite character, even if it means spending a little extra time building up characters the player isn’t interested in investing in.

an equipment screen with various food items; an ingredients purchase screen with character faces and emojis indicating how much they like that dish

2Multiplayer Is Very Limited

Many mobile games feature robust multiplayer functionality, either cooperatively or competitively. Even exploration and narrative-heavy games likeGenshin Impactprovide a means for players to work togetherto complete missions and explore the world.

Tales of Luminaria, unfortunately, doesn’t have such a robust system, relegating its current multiplayer offering to a time-limited boss battle that can be taken on with up to three other players. It’s possible more multiplayer offerings could appear in the future, but for now, that’s all the game has.

a menu showing different sets of armor; a character dashing in a blue aura through an enemy knight with their sword out

1Coins Are Used For Food

Tales of Luminariahas two distinct currencies,PB-Stones and Gald, and while it’s clear what PB-Stones are used for, it isn’t as immediately clear where players can spend their Gald. Currently, Gald can only be spent on one thing: food.

In the “Dishes” tab of the main menu, players can find new recipes available for purchase, as well as ingredients necessary to cook any of the game’s meals. Some ingredients can be found while exploring each episode, but players will need to spend their Gald on these ingredients if they want to make food in larger quantities.

two young men in fancy attire stand looking at something offscreen; a banner that says “ally bonus” with character faces underneath and associated numbers

Tales of Luminariacan be played on Android and iOS devices.

start screen with a spectral lion at the top and difficulty setting below; a group of characters and a large, green-tinted lion face off on a round, stained glass arena

a list of recipes and images of each one above it; a shopping cart screen that has the total amount at the top and each ingredient and quantity below