Boom Squad Beginner's Guide: Spread Direction Beats Star Level

"Boom Squad" is a working translation. The game currently runs in Chinese on WeChat and Android, so the unit names below are descriptions rather than the exact labels in your client. The decision that makes or breaks a run is not which unit is rarer. It is where the unit is standing, because each unit spreads its damage in a fixed direction, and a rare unit facing an empty lane does almost nothing.

Every unit has one spread direction

The direction is part of the unit, not a choice you make. Read it before you merge, because merging two copies into a badly placed slot does not fix the placement; it just makes the wrong square stronger.

The pitcher bear covers both sides, so the middle gives it two lanes of value. On an edge it covers one lane and idles. The witch cat fires upward, so the bottom row points it through the whole board. The hip-hop leopard fires downward, which is why the top row is its home: from there it reaches the back line instead of hitting the front units everyone else is already hitting.

If the witch cat spawns on the top row, skip the turn and wait for the next copy. Merging it there creates a strong unit that fires into a wall of nothing. A skipped turn costs one round; a badly placed unit costs the run.

Blue is combat power, black is star level

The interface puts two numbers on every unit, and new players read the wrong one. Blue text is combat power. The black ring is star level.

Combat power decides attack and health. Star level decides how far the unit can evolve. A three-star unit with low combat power hits softer than a two-star unit with high combat power, which is why a board can look upgraded and still lose.

If two copies of the same unit look comparable, compare the blue number before merging. If a lower-star unit has the higher blue number, merge the other direction or wait.

Level 5 needs 20 power, not two level-3 copies

Ultimate evolution requires the unit at level 4 and a total combat power of at least 20. Only then does it become level 5, with a visible jump in size and attack.

That gate is why "merge two level-3 copies" is incomplete advice. Check the power total first. If the pair will land below 20, feed it power through spread damage and fighting before you merge, and merge later.

• If a level-4 unit is below 20 power, do not merge it yet. Let it fight a wave with good coverage.
• If a level-4 unit is at 20 or above, merge immediately; the evolution is available and waiting gains nothing.
• If the first round gives you a bad placement, take the hit, fill the board on round two, and merge after that.

Taking one hit to set up the board is usually better than merging into a direction that cannot reach anything. The health you lose is smaller than the damage you lose from a wasted ultimate.

Rarity sets the panel, skills come earlier on blue and purple

The rough panel equivalence is level 7 gold, level 9 purple, level 11 blue. That is a panel comparison, not a ranking of the units.

Two corrections follow. First, blue and purple unlock their skills earlier, so a high-level blue or purple unit often beats a low-level gold one despite the panel math. Second, gold units spread three to four tiles while green, blue and purple spread two to three, so gold still wins on coverage.

If a level 11 blue unit out-damages your level 7 gold, keep the blue and stop chasing gold copies. If you are choosing between a fresh gold at level 5 and a leveled purple at level 9, the purple is the better board.

Front row four, and cans on the carry

The recommended shape is five units with as much front-line weight as you can fit: ideally four front plus one back, with three front plus two back as the accepted fallback. Too many front units crowd each other and lose damage to overlap. Too many back units get focused and die before they fire.

If your front row is already four and a fifth front unit would overlap, place the new unit in the back and let it cover a lane. If your back row is dying every wave, move one ranged unit forward rather than adding a sixth back unit.

Cans are hero experience, and they belong to core gold units only. Feeding a can to a support card raises a unit that is not carrying your damage. If a can would go to a support, hold it until a core gold unit is on the board.

FAQ

Does star level or combat power matter more?

Combat power decides attack and health, so it matters more in a fight. Star level only gates evolution, and a high-star unit with low power still hits softly.

What should I do if the witch cat spawns at the top?

Skip the turn and wait for the next copy. Merging it at the top points its upward spread at empty space, and a wasted mythical is worse than a lost round.

Do I need two level-3 copies to reach level 5?

No. Ultimate evolution needs the unit at level 4 plus 20 total combat power. If the merge would land below 20, let the unit fight and gain power first.