War of Dots is a free-to-play real-time strategy game that strips the genre down to its absolute core. No complex UI, no tech trees, no endless menus. Just dots, terrain, positioning, and decision-making. It looks simple, but the game moves fast, and understanding the basics early makes a huge difference.
This guide explains how the game works, what each unit does, how terrain and morale affect combat, and how the economy functions.
War of Dots Beginner Guide Wiki – Unit Types
- Blue dots are your army
- Red dots are the enemy
- Yellow circles are cities
- Stars mark capitals
To win a match, you must capture the enemy capital and control at least 80% of the cities on the map.
Inside some units, you’ll see circles or ovals. These represent heavy divisions, which are stronger but slower than regular units.
Unit Types
There are only two unit types in War of Dots, but they behave very differently.
Light Units
- Faster movement
- Cheaper to produce
- Affected less by terrain like forests and hills
- Weaker in direct combat
Heavy Units
- More health
- Deal more damage
- Move slower
- Perform poorly in forests and hills
- Harder to disengage once committed
Heavy units are best used at the front of an attack, but once they move in, pulling them back is difficult. Overextending them often leads to losses.
Selecting and Controlling Units
- Click and drag to draw a loop around units to select them
- You can select multiple units at once
- S stops selected units
- C clears current orders
Units can be given curved or looping movement paths, which allows for flanking and repositioning rather than just straight-line attacks.
Combat, Health, and Morale
When a unit is fighting, it will shake, indicating active combat.
- Green bar shows health
- Units with low health appear visually damaged
- Units heal when far from enemies
- Healing is twice as fast inside cities
Morale is just as important as health:
- Morale drops when attacking
- Low morale reduces combat effectiveness
- Attacking costs more health and morale than defending
This means constant attacking is inefficient. Defending and letting enemies attack you is often the better play.
Terrain Types and Their Effects
There are eight terrain types, and they matter a lot.
Plains
- No penalties
- All units behave normally
Forests and Hills
- Light units move normally
- Heavy units are slowed
- Heavy units deal much less damage
Water
- Slows all units
- Weakens all units
- Deals damage over time
- Units can enter water but at great risk
Mountains
- Completely impassable
Sand
- Slows only light units
Snow and Mud
- Weakens all units
Cities and bridges behave like plains and are safe zones for movement and recovery.
Ships and Water Movement
Any unit placed in water will convert into a ship after 5 seconds. While this allows movement across water, it is dangerous due to damage and weakness. Water travel should be planned carefully and used sparingly.
Economy and Supply System
Each city generates money and can supply up to five units.
Key rules:
- Units outside cities consume money
- Units inside cities cost no upkeep
- If you exceed your supply, extra units will slowly die
- Encircled groups act as separate economies
If a group of units is cut off from your main territory, they depend entirely on cities inside that pocket. Cutting off enemy cities can cripple their armies without direct combat.
Unit Production
Production is simple and fast.
- Light units cost 200
- Heavy units cost 400
Light units are cheaper and easier to maintain. Heavy units are stronger but more expensive and harder to support. Balancing production is essential to avoid supply collapse.
War of Dots is intentionally minimal. It removes complexity so the focus is entirely on positioning, timing, and restraint. Matches are quick, decisions are immediate, and mistakes are punished fast.