In an eggshell…

Dinowaurs is a 1-on-1 real-time strategy/arena combat multiplayer Flash game. Phew… There’s a lot more to Dinowaurs than that short-but-to-the-point sentence, so we’ll attempt to illustrate more about the game in a FAQ. If you have questions, please reply in the comments below, and we’ll answer those that are most… frequent.

Thanks!

FAQ

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• What is Dinowaurs?
• How do I get trophies?
• I can’t zoom out, my screen doesn’t move with my dino, what gives?
• Does it matter which dino I pick?
• What are all the possible boosts?
• What do these different stars mean on the boost screen?
• What does my level mean?
• What’s the best weapon?
• What’s the best way to win?
• Why do I lose, I pick good strategies, what gives?
• I don’t want to read all that, how can I get better fast?

• Why didn’t I earn any DNA in that match? [coming soon]
• What do all the high scores mean? [coming soon]

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What is Dinowaurs?

Dinowaurs recreates the childhood joy of fighting dinosaurs against each other. In the game, two opposing teams of villagers attempt to gain each other’s land by strapping crazy weapons to dinosaurs and forcing them to fight each other. The dinosaurs themselves are actually oblivious to the fact that they’re fighting.

Dinowaurs is a free-to-play multiplayer online combat/strategy game played in real-time. It has MMO-like persistence and character customization, and can be played in your web browser if you have Flash 9.

You play the game by (indirectly) controlling a dinosaur that can be equipped with weapons meant to destroy the enemy’s dinosaur and villages in an arena. Each village produces gold and allows you to buy and equip weapons there using a simple drag-and-drop interface.

Once your dino is equipped with up to two weapons, you can go out and attack the enemy. Be careful of enemy villages, since they’ll attack you with some of the same weapons you have. The other player will of course be trying to do the same to you. If you kill the enemy dino, it will hatch out of a new egg at its nearest village.

If you destroy an enemy’s village, you can build your own village there instead. Once you capture all the villages in the arena, you win.

Each player gets up to three dinosaurs per account. Upon creation of a dinosaur, the player chooses one of four herbivorous dinosaur species. Dinosaurs can then be customized with built-in, unlockable, and purchasable accessories, like helmets, tattoos, suits, and more. Extra weapons will also be available at a later time.

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I can’t zoom out, my screen doesn’t move with my dino, what gives?

Some older versions of flash player don’t agree with certain parts of Dinowaurs. The easiest way to fix this problem is to download and install the latest version of flash player. If that doesn’t work, make sure to send in a bug report on Kongregate and let us know what’s going on. Thanks!

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How do I get trophies?

There are a total of four different trophies you can earn. And each of those can be trophies can be upgraded in rank; bronze, silver and gold.

Bronze Egg - Total Games Played

This trophy is based on the amount of games played total no matter if you won or lost. The bronze is earned after you’ve completed 50 or more games. So get in there and start losing as fast as you can!

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Bronze Bone - Total Dino Kills

The more dinos you kill the prettier your bone will be. You’ll receive this particular bone after killing 50 enemy dinos.

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Bronze Meteor - Total Strike Distance

Strike distance is measured in Megapixels and is harder to come by than you think. If you get this bronze meteor, you’re a real striking fiend. 1 MP and you’ve earned it!

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Bronze Villager - Total Villages Destroyed

Destroy enough villages and you’ll be at the top of the Dinowaurs ranks. Pound 50 and you’ve got a bronzed villager you can show off to your friends.

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Known Trophy Ranks

It is widely known that there are only three trophy ranks in all of Pangaea. However some rogue villagers protest that there are more. But that’s nonsense…

Trophy Rank	Games Played (Egg)	Total Kills (Bone)	Strike Distance (Meteor)	Villages Destroyed (Villager)
Bronze	20	50	1 MegaPixel	50
Silver	100	250	4 MP	250
Gold	500	1250	16 MP	1250
????	????	????	????	????
????	????	????	????	????

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Does it matter which dino I pick?

No. The only difference between the species of dino you select is their look. They have the exact same sized hitbox, the same speed, the same health and everything else.

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What are all the possible boosts?

When selecting a boost for a certain ranked, non-specialty item, you can choose any of the 9 weapons as a boost or dino speed.

• Cannon Damage - makes each projectile do more damage.
• SAM Damage
• Castle Damage
• Cluster Damage
• Meteor Range - extends the possible range of the strike weapon.
• Jetpack Power - increases the distance of a jetpack burst.
• Law Firm Lifespan - increases the amount of time a lawyer will attack for.
• USS Range
• Flame Lifespan - increases the amount of time flames last on the ground.
• Dino Speed - increases your dino’s movement rate.

Beyond the standard boosts, there are certain specialty boosts that add stats in addition to your regular boosts.

• Suits - All suits increase your defense at the same rate, no matter the suit.
• Carrot on a Stick - increases the amount of DNA you earn. 2 DNA per dino kill and 5 extra per match win.

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What do these different stars mean on the boost screen?

When purchasing an accessory, there are three possible ratings. 1, 2 or 3 stars. Each star awards that accessory an additional point of boost power. 3 star items give you the most boost power. In each category (head, feet, tail and back) there can only be one boost applied per region. Dinowaurs automatically picks the highest rated accessory equipped in each region.

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What does my level mean?

You bet! All 50 of them if you’d like! You get levels for winning games. The more wins you get the closer you are to your next level. Every 10 levels you get a new badge or class. This helps to differentiate between players of a vastly different experience level.

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Levels 0-9

From level 0-9 you’ll see the metallic badge and have a white level color. You’re a noob, it’s ok. But that’ll all change soon enough.

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Level 10 - 100 wins

OOoo color! Now you’re a greenhorn, and you can throw your weight around a bit. Nice job, it wasn’t easy, but it was all worth it. Especially with some of the D.N.A. handy now you can finally make that Charles Bronson look-a-like.

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Level 20 - 400 wins

Intuition blue! Woohoo! The middle of the road, you’re closer to 50 than you think, keep it up!

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Level 30 - 900 wins

Hexagons FTW! Reach high, you’re close to the stars!

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Level 40 - 1600 wins

No literally, reach for that star. You’ve got it. You can pretty much stop anyone you want to now. Even the mighty T-Rex cowers in your presence.

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Level 50 - 2500 wins

Wow. You are a legend. Notify the world. It will be impressed.

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What’s the best weapon?

Good question. The answer isn’t so simple. There really isn’t a best weapon in Dinowaurs, because every situation calls for the right weapon. In order to pick the right weapon, we’ve broken them down below so you can understand them better and use them properly to achieve maximum victory!

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Cannon

The pistol. The cannon is the default weapon, and often dismissed by most players. However it can be very useful when defending villages from oncoming dinos and still wishing to save money for a larger purchase later on. Also, can be a great secondary weapon for finishing off enemies or villages cheaply and efficiently.

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S.A.M.

The rifle The SAM is a long range, precise weapon. It’s precise and damaging, but not the easiest thing in the world to aim. Experienced players will choose their SAM shots wisely as spamming it due to poor aim will lead to you becoming very poor very quickly.

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Castle

The shotgun. Few things are better for defending in a close quarters battle, and few things kill a village faster for so cheap. The castle is an essential if you’re planning on fighting many dino v. dino battles.

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Cluster Bomb

The cluster has the most potential to deal huge damage, but is hard to master. Timing a cluster shot right is an art, and is even hard against a moving target. Be warned, these shots are not inexpensive and wildly shooting it will put you in the poorhouse faster than SAM spamming.

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Meteor Dish

The anti-dino strike. The strike can be a formiddable weapon and gain ground quickly without much effort, however its cost and long shot time can quickly render you an easy target for a whole host of cheaper weapons.

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Jetpack

The jetpack provides and agility burst and can make just about any weapon more effective, at a price of course. Use it either to rush your opponent for a blitzkrieg style offense, or dodge oncoming strikes and flames at will.

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Lawfirm

The most crooked weapon of all. The strike provides a sneaky way of damaging your opponent behind enemy lines. Lawyers are expensive and it takes a team to do a decent amount of damage. They can be easily dispatched by stomping on them or shooting them with any weapon.

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U.S.S. Iowa

The long range village killer powerhouse. This strike weapon sends 5 nukes into enemy territory for massive damage. Due to its long range and high cost, it can render you fairly vulnerable while shooting it.

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Flamethrower

The most defensive weapon in the game, lays down a blanket of flames that will stop most enemies from approaching any further. In this way, it can be used to control the terrain and the movement of the enemy. It’s also good close range as it deals a short burst of massive damage upon firing. Be careful though, the flames can damage you as well.

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What’s the best way to win?

Just like the weapons, there’s no way to answer this simply. However there are some simple strategies we’ve come up with that may help you win certain games if you use them in the right situation.

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Castlepacking [Castle + Jetpack]

Overview
Often used for rushing the opponent and getting to their villages quickly. Many castlepackers purchase these two at their tier1 after they save up enough money and then charge forward making sure not to overheat their jetpack.

Strengths
Castle provides quick killing power up close and the jetpack offers the means to get up close to make the castle most effective. Added mobility makes you a hard target to hit and has the ability to end games quickly when executed expertly.

Weaknesses
Costly as a rush tactic. The jetpack costs a good bit and can be easily overheated, leaving you exposed to long range attacks.

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Conservative Trajectory [SAM + Castle]

Overview
Both combinations cover long and short range tactical warfare. Experienced players with higher accuracy and conservative shot selection will benefit most from this strategy.

Strengths
Long range weapons like strikes and other tier3 weapons, or poor execution and wasteful shots can lead to zero money and an inability to fire on the enemy.

Weaknesses
Costly as a rush tactic. The jetpack costs a good bit and can be easily overheated, leaving you exposed to long range attacks.

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Expert Trajectory [Cluster + Castle]

Overview
Similar to the [SAM + Castle] combo, has greater reach and power if executed properly.

Strengths
Does massive damage to villages and is long range enough to kill most tier2 villages before taking the enemy tier1 village. Castle provides exceptional close range defense.

Weaknesses
The cluster bomb will sap money away very quickly as it can be fired repeatedly fairly fast. Wild shooting will leave many players broke and exposed to enemy attacks.

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Anti-Dino Strike [Meteor Dish + Castle]

Overview
Use the meteor to take down oncoming dinos and the closest enemy village in order to capture enemy territory.

Strengths
The longest range dino killing tactic deters enemies from getting close and gaining ground by conventional means.

Weaknesses
Expensive shot cost, telegraphed meteor drops and limited range make this weapon easily countered through long range tier3 weapon strategies or close range tactics.

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Lawyer Sneak Attack [Lawfirm + SAM]

Overview
Launch lawyers at tier2 and tier3 before destroying the tier1 to eliminate the opponents gold production.

Strengths
Damages opponents economy without sending the dino to a high tier village for chepaer upgrades. Long range and subtle which allows for stealth deployment of lawyers. Sends most players into a micro-management frenzy to protect their villages from lawyers, leaving other villages vulnerable.

Weaknesses
Rush tactics and aggresive anti-dino counters make the lawfirm hard to execute properly.

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Airstrike Rush [U.S.S. + Cannon]

Overview
At tier2 or tier3 purchase a U.S.S. and much like the Lawyer Sneak Attack, take out the opponents tier2.

Strengths
Long range and highly effective against villages due to their immobile state.

Weaknesses
Very weak against any trajectory attacks from dinos as bombs drop slowly enough for enemy dinos to avoid.

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Flame Push [Flamethrower + SAM]

Overview
Purchase flamethrower at tier2 along with SAM using the flamethrower as a close range defensive weapon, and the SAM to shoot over the flames if the opponent avoids them.

Strengths
Disorients opponents and forces them to stay back. Burns villages quickly.

Weaknesses
Meteor Dish can easily dispatch oncoming an oncoming flame push due to its range. Own flames do damage to your own villages and can delay capturing a village zone.

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The Works [U.S.S. + Flamethrower]

Overview
Save up enough money, purchase both of these at the tier3 giving up your own tier1 and possible tier2. Start by taking out enemy villages while throwing down flames in front to stop opponent from making progress.

Strengths
Extremely powerful with the longest range and best anti-village weapon in the game and the best anti-dino close range defensive weapon in the game.

Weaknesses
Very expensive and risky accellerating the game into its late stages on purpose. Costly shot costs without much economy as it forces sacrifice of your own villages.

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Switcheroo [Jetpack + Cannon/Castle]

Overview
Refrain from killing the enemy dino and only kill the opponents villages. Often best performed by waiting for the enemy dino to charge ahead, jumping over the dino and taking out the tiers and capturing villages quickly.

Strengths
Quickly take over the enemy villages faster than the enemy can take yours over. Leaving you with an advantage and cheaper weapons at tier3.

Weaknesses
Without perfect execution, it’s easy to get killed by tier3 and get sent back to your side or overheat the jetpack and slow your progress. Also can be countered with a well placed meteor, or a suicide back to your tier2 in order to defend the oncoming jetpack rush.

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Why do I lose, I pick good strategies, what gives?

Sometimes a good solid strategy isn’t enough to win a match of Dinowaurs. You need to execute that strategy well. Besides the basics like good aim, conservative shot selection and missile dodging; here are some other helpful tips that go a bit further into the nuances of Dinowaurs combat courtesy JTtheGhost.

On using the cannon.

Using the cannon early on in a game in concert with expert dodging of enemy volleys will save you money while wasting theirs. It’s possible that you will lose the battle, however the money saved is much more worth the loss so you can win the whole war.

Deception: The art of the sneak attack.

Much like in Halo 2 or 3, if you have the energy sword, you want to hide it until you have to use it. If you have the castle, hide it until you’re close enough. If you have a lawfirm, hide it until you’re in optimal range to do massive damage to the opponents higher tiers. This technique may seem insignificant, but few things can be more powerful than the element of surprise.

Stay close to villages for an advantage.

When near a village (outlined in white) it builds faster, your dino heals slowly and you can interact with the village menu. It’s important to be aware of because in hectic firefights a fast building village will be much more resilient to the attack if you’re near it, therefore you can defend much better against the attack.

Never leave a village without it.

It’s important to at least always have two weapons. The option of having that second weapon can provide a completely new battle tactic, or cheap defense in the form of the cannon. Never equip a new weapon over an old one if it means you’ll have just 1 weapons equipped.

Shotgunning: Increase your rate of fire.

Most useful with the cannon, although all weapons can benefit from mastering this skill. The minimum amount of power needed to fire a weapon is three bars on the aimer. By getting in tune to this rythym, your rate of fire will drastically increase, providing much more damage per second in close range fire fights.

Gold conservation and you.

Gold is incredibly important to winning a match of Dinowaurs. Purchase weapons at higher tiers to save on their purchase cost. Use the cannon in situations it is called for as to save on shot costs, and because it has more range than the castle, it can be helpful when firing at an opponent on lower ground. Finally, instead of attacking aggressively, simply dodge and defend while attacking as little as possible.

Villages and dinos: An unlikely shield.

Use a village or dino to block the opposite object. For example: If you stand in front of your tier1, and absorb the damage, you can stop them from hitting it, by sacrificing your dinos health. Alternatively, use the village to block the shots from reaching your dino. Remember that this only works with your own buildings, when in enemy territory, their own teirs will not block their shots.

Be cautious of when and where you build, it’s not always essential.

Remember that each village tier has a different amount of health. Your tier1 puts out the least money and has the least health, often being easily destroyed, it is important that you decide if it is worth it to build a village and if you will be able to defend it or not before you do. A village being destroyed quickly wastes money rather then gains money. While that is important, a village can be a good distraction, since your opponent will most likely not skip the opportunity to kill it.

Choose your shots and targets wisely.

Sometimes it is wiser to not attack the opponent directly in a close up firefight. Running past the opponent will often cause them to give chase to you. You can use this opportunity to destroy their tiers, cutting their money production, while they chase you rather then stopping your own money production.

To chase or not to chase.

It is much easier to kill a dino giving chase to yours as you’ll have to charge up your shot much less since the dino continues to walk into your shots. This is a perfect opportunity to use the cannon since it is cheap and can sometimes more effective than a chasing SAM.

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I don’t want to read all that, how can I get better fast?

Well, it’d be more efficient to read up on those strategies and have them under your belt, but sometimes you just need some quick and dirty advice. JTtheGhost put together three important things to keep in mind while playing Dinowaurs. These general rules of thumb will put you well on your way to mastering The Art of Waur

Never Give Up

Always have a drive to win, giving up early can cost you the match, as your opponent is only human, and while may make it seem like they have alot of money could run out at any moment, which will give you the temporary advantage to get back in the game to win.

Think on Your Feet

You always should be thinking ahead with strategy. Strategy can often be the deciding factor in maps. Map strategies can differ map to map. Observation of your opponents movements is also important. Trying to analyze your opponents strategy and next move, and how to counter it is important. Knowledge of different weapons is very important to this, knowledge is essential.

Be Handy with the Steel

Pure skill/reaction. Being able to react quickly in situations of direct confrontation are also extremely important, direction, aim, timing, are all very important when things come down to this, and this factor also can cause you to slip up when everything seems lost for the opponent.