Team Building is the core gameplay of Cookie Run: Kingdom. It refers to the strategy involved in arranging teams for various battle-oriented modes.
Basics[]
Fundamentals[]
- Teams can use a maximum of three Treasures and five Cookies, with each individual Cookie able to equip up to five Toppings and one Beascuit. Players may only use Treasures, Cookies, and items that they have already obtained.
- Certain stages, such as those found in Master Mode or Special Episodes, may come with their own Special Requirements or additional restrictions - pay attention to these. In Kingdom Arena, no more than four Cookies of the Ancient, Dragon, Legendary, and Beast rarities may be used in a given team.
- The power level of any given Cookie or team is most useful when compared to itself, such as a mirror matchup in Kingdom Arena or when judging the effects of an upgrade on an isolated Cookie. A higher power level does not automatically mean that something is stronger than something else with a lower power level when considering utility and synergy.
- There is no "one size fits all" team that will suit every single mode, so do not try to make one and do not rely too heavily on guides - instead, learn why a team is good in the first place and try building others on your own (as that's most of CRK's gameplay, after all).
- However, there are general rules that can apply to the vast majority of teams, such wanting to have at least one Cookie that can restore health and one that can mitigate damage taken.
Terminology[]
Official Terms[]
- Type (also known as class or role) - One of eight ( ) categories denoting a Cookie's general function in battle.
- Position - One of three ( ) columns in which a Cookie will stand on a team. If there are more than two Cookies of the same position on any given team, their position will then be decided based on each Cookie's individual priority.
- Rarity - One of eight categories denoting a Cookie's obtainability in the Gacha and their efficacy in battle.
- Element - One of 9 damage types that only certain Cookies are able to deal with either their Skill or regular attack. Cookies of the same element work well together, and certain Cookies can provide buffs exclusively to a certain element's damage.
- Status Effects - Refers to both buffs and debuffs; temporary statuses that affect the behavior and stats of the inflicted unit. Can be applied to Cookies, Summoned Creatures, and Enemies.
Colloquial Terms[]
- Tank - A Cookie, generally of the Front position and either the Charge or Defense type, that is primarily responsible for enduring large amounts of damage and protecting the rest of the team.
- DPS - "Damage per second"; A Cookie, generally of the Middle or Rear position, that is primarily responsible for eliminating enemies.
- AoE - "Area of effect"; Skills or attacks that affect all targets within a given range.
- DoT - "Damage over time"; Damage that lingers past the initial infliction, such as Burn or Poison.
- META - "Most effective tactic/team available"; The most popular and successful selection of Cookies at a given time.
- [#]-[#]-[#] - A basic team setup based on the number of Cookies per position, from Front to Rear (ex: 2-2-1 = two tanks, two DPS, one healer).
- PvP/PvE - "Player vs player" (Kingdom Arena) and "player vs environment" (World Exploration).
Building a Cookie[]
The first step to properly building a Cookie is to understand what they do by reading their Skill description, especially since some Skills may list which specific statistic they might stack off of, and additional abilities that complement that Cookie's skill. This also helps determine what role a Cookie is intended to play, as their Type may not always give it away. For example, while Rebel Cookie and Royal Margarine Cookie are both Ambush Cookies, a typically damage-oriented Type, where they truly shine is in amplifying the damage dealt by others (as seen in many Red Velvet Dragon teams), making them more suited for Swift Chocolate toppings than the expected Searing Raspberry toppings.
When it comes to Toppings and Beascuits, it is generally accepted that Amplify Buff, DEF (with the minor exception of Financier Cookie), Crit Resist, Debuff Resist, and HP (with the exception of Elder Faerie Cookie and Wildberry Cookie) are all largely useless stats, with each of their respective Topping types being better off broken down into Topping Pieces. As a general rule of thumb, tanks should focus on DMG Resist, damage dealers should focus on ATK or CRIT% depending on the Cookie, and healers should focus on Cooldown, though of course every Cookie can benefit from all four stats to varying degrees. With Beascuits in particular, their unique stat of DMG Resist Bypass is essentially a much better version of an ATK bonus that damage dealers may prioritize for PvP battles, where opposing Cookies are sure to utilize DMG Resist.
Cookies can also receive additional buffs from more generalized sources, such as Landmarks, Sugar Gnome Laboratory technologies, Bonds, and Costume Sets, with the former two sources making the largest differences.
Team Synergy[]
When building a team, it is vital to understand each individual Cookie's intended use and what purpose they serve, such as damage or survivability. Rather than simply compiling a team of one's highest power Cookies, it is more effective to choose a specific theme to focus on, such as a team dedicated to enhancing a single damage dealer (i.e. Crème Brûlée Cookie or Prune Juice Cookie teams), or a team whose Cookies can explicitly counter certain hazards (see below).
It may also be helpful to check which update a Cookie was released in and which Cookies came before or after them, which may indicate which Cookies they'll work well with (i.e. Shining Glitter Cookie, Black Lemonade Cookie, and Rockstar Cookie all having CRIT-related Skills). At this point in the game's lifespan, most new Cookies and Magic Candies are released with a specific purpose in mind. (i.e. Clotted Cream Cookie was released as a hard counter to Tea Knight Cookie; Eclair Cookie, was released alongside a Guilds rework, being vital against the Red Velvet Dragon during his time).
Buffs and Debuffs[]
It is also important to make sure no Cookie is actively squandering the abilities of another. For example, the large majority of Crimson Coral Cookie's viability comes from her Coral Armor buff, which only activates if she is the only Cookie occupying a team's Front position, and should only ever tank alone. Conversely, many Cookies can only reach their full potential when paired with their intended companion Cookie(s), such as Blueberry Pie Cookie relying on teammates to increase her stacks of Greed and Mercurial Knight Cookie who gains a unique buff when paired with Silverbell Cookie.
Certain Cookies also benefit more from certain buffs than others, which should also be taken into account when choosing Toppings and Beascuits. For example, Cookies with temporary transformations such as Madeleine Cookie and Werewolf Cookie will take advantage of ATK SPD Up buffs in order to get out more attacks per Skill cast, while the same buff won't make much of a difference on a Cookie whose skill only casts once, such as Parfait Cookie. Some Cookies may even gain zero benefit from certain buffs, such as a Water Cookie having no use for a Fire damage increase.
Treasures[]
- It is important to read a Treasure's description before using it to ensure that it is actually having the intended effect. For example, while Seamstress's Pin Cushion may seem like a useful ATK Up buff at a cursory glance, it only applies to Summoned Creatures.
- With the exception of Priestess Cookie's Paper Charm in PvP and Explorer's Monocle in a select few World Exploration stages, all other Active Treasures are largely useless, or at least are completely outclassed by useful Passive Treasures.
- The three most frequently used Treasures are the Old Pilgrim's Scroll, Dream Conductor's Whistle, and Squishy Jelly Watch, as the buffs provided are useful for every single team.
- Anecdotally, these are followed by Vial of Raging Dunes, Sugar Swan's Shining Feather, Librarian's Enchanted Robes, and Grim-looking Scythe, which are more specialized depending on the team.
Countering[]
Understanding the proper way to counter certain enemies is a much better way of clearing difficult levels than simply trying to brute force them or having to always search for a guide, especially in PvE modes. Many boss enemies will have a particular gimmick intended to be exploited for victory, such as being vulnerable to a specific debuff, making it vital to at least check what Skills they have beforehand.
With over 100 Cookies available in the game, Cookies will inevitably have overlapping uses for their skills, so if one does use a guide and either lacks a listed Cookie or finds them ineffective, there is usually a suitable substitution (with some exceptions). For example, some debuffs with different names ultimately serve the same purpose, such as Freeze, Shackles, Silence, Sleep, Stun, and Vines all being primarily used to immobilize enemies.
Some examples of counter-picking are listed below.
- Pure Vanilla Cookie is currently the only Cookie capable of cleansing Injury.
- HP Shields are nullified by the Zap debuff inflicted by Electricity Cookies.
- Hit Shields are best broken through by Cookies whose Skills inflict multiple hits at once, such as Twizzly Gummy Cookie or Blackberry Cookie.
- Enemies that only attack immediately in front of them, such as Cake Hounds and Yeast Spores, are countered by Icicle Yeti Cookie and Summoner Cookies that can summon melee-range summoned creatures.
- Enemies whose main strength lies in their attack speed, either by attacking quickly or healing themselves, can be slowed by the Frost debuff inflicted by Ice Cookies.
- Enemies that rely on buffing themselves, such as those who acquire Frenzy, can prevented from receiving them via the Curses applied by Affogato Cookie and Stardust Cookie.
- Boss stages, due to their typical lack of regular enemies, are more suited to Cookies whose Skills either deal large amounts of damage to a small/singular number of targets (i.e. Tarte Tatin Cookie, Sorbet Shark Cookie), those that provide useful buffs or debuffs to maximize damage (i.e. Linzer Cookie, Mint Choco Cookie).
- Overwhelming swarms of enemies can be managed by consistent cycling of crowd control abilities, such as those utilized by White Lily Cookie, Mozzarella Cookie, and Frost Queen Cookie.
- Smaller numbers of enemies, such as bosses, may also be Stunlocked by cycling two or more of the Skills used by Pinecone Cookie, Wildberry Cookie, Schwarzwälder, and Stormbringer Cookie.