Sea of Stars – Wheels minigame guide: How to play, best Heroes, more

Wheels is an inventive and at times, challenging minigame in Sea of Stars. So from how the unique battler works to a rundown of the Heroes involved, here’s everything you need to know.

Through many of the most iconic RPGs of our time, we’ve seen a range of popular minigames come into focus. Whether it’s Gwent in The Witcher series or Holotactics in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, everyone has their personal favorites.

Now, Sea of Stars has entered the conversation with a mini-game of its own: Wheels. Given it’s a completely unique challenge with its own rules of engagement, there’s plenty to learn on your way to mastering it all.

So if you’re scratching your head wondering how it works, look no further. Here’s a complete rundown on the Wheels minigame in Sea of Stars.

What is Wheels in Sea of Stars?

As you may have figured out by now, Wheels is the unique minigame found throughout Sea of Stars. What begins in just one location soon finds its way all across the sprawling map, as almost every social area will have at least one player looking to challenge you.

Of course, it’s a completely optional part of the game. So there’s no obligation to take time away from the main path to wrap your head around Wheels. But for those who do want to, an exciting and rewarding minigame awaits. Here’s how it works.

Sabotage Studio

Wheels functions as the name implies, by spinning the wheel and hoping luck is on your side.

How to play Wheels in Sea of Stars: Full minigame guide

At its core, Wheels is a 1v1 minigame where you challenge a single NPC. Each player picks two Heroes to fill their side of the board with one simple goal in mind: use your Heroes to destroy the enemy’s base (Crown) before they destroy yours.

This is accomplished by ‘spinning the wheel’ and locking in the optimal rolls. There are three different options you can land on in each column: Hammers, Squares, and Diamonds. Here’s what they do:

• Hammers: Build your wall (Bulwark) to defend your crown from standard hits.
• Squares: Contribute progress to your next attack from the Hero on your left-hand side.
• Diamonds: Contribute progress to your next attack from the Hero on your right-hand side.

Both Squares and Diamonds also have the chance of landing on an option with a blue background. These are the rarest to find and instantly provide XP so your Hero can level up.

Each Hero has three levels to advance through in a game of Wheels. Starting at Bronze, you then work your way to Silver and Gold. The higher your level, the better your stats. Not only do you increase your level by landing on tiles with blue backgrounds, but also by completing actions.

The name of the game is to keep your base (Crown) protected while dealing damage to the opposing side. The first to deal 10 damage (and in some cases, even more) is declared the winner. 

Some Heroes are better at defending, while others are more aggressive. This means who you pick to enter each battle is often crucial. Each Hero comes with its own unique stats and abilities which you’ll learn along the way (more on that below). 

All Heroes for Wheels minigame in Sea of Stars

• Warrior: A stead and moderately fast damage dealer. Since damage doesn’t carry over, this one is easily blocked by the Bulwark.
• Mage: Attacks twice. The first fireball is at the ground level and easily blocked by the Bulwark, while the second fireball flies at a height of 6 units, guaranteeing a hit on the Crown even if the Bulwark is maxed out.
• Archer: Strong against Crown, weak against Bulwark. The arrow flies at a height of 3 units, hitting the Crown when the Bulwark is at 2 or less.
• Engineer: Strong against Bulwark, weak against Crown. As a bonus, the engineer raises its team’s Bulwark by 2 units whenever it acts.
• Assassin: Attacks delay the opponent’s Hero with the least amount of energy left before acting. Also deals low damage to the Crown directly, disregarding Bulwar.
• Priest: Support Hero. Heals its team’s Crown and gives energy to its fellow Hero.

Sabotage Studio

Learning the ins and outs of each unique Hero is a huge key to success in Wheels.

Tips for easier Wheels wins in Sea of Stars

Given each game of Wheels plays out differently, and it is inherently luck-based depending on your rolls, there’s only so much you can do to strategize. But with enough experience, you’ll start picking up certain tricks to make for an easier time on the board. Here’s a handful of tips that might help you along the way.

• Keep an eye out for enemy attacks: If either opposing class is one or two Squares/Diamonds away from an attack, prioritize locking in Hammers to fortify your base and block incoming damage.
• Early levels are key: The longer a game goes, the harder it is to come from behind. So try to prioritize double/triple Squares/Diamonds, and especially those with blue backgrounds for early XP.
• Know the classes: Being aware of opposing abilities is crucial. If you know what type of attack is coming your way, you’ll know exactly how high your wall (Bulwark) needs to be to block it.
• Don’t worry about balance: It’s totally viable to focus all of your early game rolls on one class, rather than balancing across both. In fact, a rapid climb to Gold with just one class could be enough to seal a quick victory.

Sabotage Studio

Getting the upper hand early is vital.

So there you have it, everything you need to know to start piling up wins in Sea of Stars’ Wheels minigame. While it can seem overwhelming at first, especially having to read through a bunch of in-game tutorials, you’ll no doubt get the hang of it all after experiencing a few games for yourself.