One Punch Man World guide for beginners
Eight tips that will help you operate Saitama's world as if you were born there.
While we may’ve seen plenty of game closures during 2023, and even a few strange ones this year, fortunately, there are still some big new titles hitting storefronts in 2024. One of these is Perfect World’s latest game, set in the universe of the hit manga and anime, One Punch Man World!
Letting you step into the shoes of not just the hero nobody knows, but his allies and…not-so-much-allies, OPM World is a third-person action brawler. We’ve gotten hands-on with the game as it was released today, and put together this beginner’s guide to let you jump right into the game.
If you're worried about whether or not your phone can run this - pretty graphically neat - game, then check out the device specifications.
But first, who the hell is the hero nobody knows?
What is One Punch Man?
Set in a world where superheroes are not only commonplace but actively ranked based on their abilities and powers, One Punch Man follows the story of the obscure, down-on-his-luck hero Saitama. Despite being completely unknown to the average person in this world, thanks to a gruelling training regimen - which cost him his hair - Saitama has become possibly the most powerful hero on the planet, able to take out any villain or monster with a single punch, hence the name ‘One Punch Man’ (although most people just call him ‘caped baldy’).It’s a world of eclectic heroes and villains ranging from the ultra-powerful and arrogant to the powerless but sincere. Although the only thing that bothers Saitama is the complete lack of challenge when he can take out anyone with a single punch…
With that all said and done, let’s find out how Saitama’s journey starts in One Punch Man World, and get into the game!
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Tip #1 - Learn combat
One Punch Man World utilises a familiar 3D brawler system that’s typical of mobile. You’ll automatically lock on to enemies, and move with the left stick that appears on the screen. Meanwhile, you’ll have several attack buttons and a dodge on the right side of the screen. When you use your dodge, some attacks will change and be used differently. You'll also have access to a powerful ultimate ability, and link attacks when fighting in a team with other characters.
Interestingly, OPMW is one of the few games we’ve seen recently that lets you manually switch your lock-on. If you tap anywhere on the screen aside from the buttons you’ll be able to switch to another enemy, letting you more strategically battle your foes. To win in combat, dodging is key, and you'll need to actively participate in the battle. Unlike other genres such as auto-battlers, being able to dodge attacks is vital to ensuring you're not eating damage you'd otherwise have avoided.
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Tip #2 - Learn the unique mechanics
You'll usually play as heroes other than Saitama for non-story missions. Each of these has unique mechanics and damage types - of which there are four: Morale, Technique, Assault & Overpower. Lightning Max, for example, accumulates a resource called ‘Gunpowder’ in a fight. He can spend this resource during additional attacks to form powerful combos.
Before each battle you'll usually get a preview of what damage type a monster or opponent is weak to. For those that're weak to a certain type, they'll take 40% more damage. So you'll want to have at least one hero on your team that does that type of damage to maximise your success. You can practice with each hero in training mode to get a feel for them there.
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Tip #3 - Explore the world
In the game’s overworld, you’ll explore various locations from the One Punch Man universe, including the Hero Association and Z City. You'll need to interact with NPCs in these locations to advance the story and complete optional tasks. But you can also explore them at will to discover collectibles, side-stories and various locations like supermarkets and game centres to explore.
In the Hero Association, you can also access the Joint Action System, which serves as your grindathon for levelling up your team the fastest. It'll provide XP cards and allow you to build up your various team members and get an idea of how each hero plays.
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Tip #4 - Advancing the Plot
You’ll need to slowly grow your team’s level to unlock new content. So expect there to be some grinding, as that’ll require rinsing the Joint Action System a few times to build up your EXP as well as completing optional side-quests. You can increase your Team Experience by completing challenges and finding various collectibles such as Mystery Tokens and Figurines which unlock side-quests.
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Tip #5 - Gather the right characters and create a strong team
Since Saitama is so overpowered, you'll basically be using any other character but him for non-story missions. Before each mission, if you aren't required to use certain characters you'll get the chance to modify your team to suit the battle ahead. Make sure to compose the right one, as your chances of victory depend upon it directly. You can increase your different character's abilities by adding Impression Arms, which serve as unlockable skills that you can equip a maximum of three unique ones onto any given character.
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Tip #6 - Interact with environment
While you may think places like supermarkets, restaurants and vending machines are just set-dressing, you can actually interact with some of these. You can spend one of the in-game currencies, credits, on acquiring consumables that can temporarily raise stats like DEF during a battle and can help tip the scales in your favour.
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Tip #7 - Use duplicates to upgrade your meta characters
Thankfully, Gacha is fairly light in OMP World and you'll be able to unlock several characters simply by playing through the story and plot. However, gacha is still vital for unlocking new Impression Arms which you'll need to upgrade your characters. Duplicates of your Impression Arms can, of course, be used to upgrade those you've already acquired.
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Tip #8 - Learn how to use currencies correctly
In terms of in-game currencies, these are pretty typical as well. Credits are your standard ‘in-universe’ currency that can be used for unlocking goodies and stuff like consumables. Meanwhile, World Silver and World Gold can be used to unlock different packs containing consumables such as energy or to make draws from the gacha.
Finally, you have energy. Which, as you can guess, is a consumable that is needed to engage in missions like the Joint Action System. You’ll need to save this up, or purchase more, to keep grinding away at missions, and it can be acquired both as a standard reward, as a timed replenishment and in boxes.
And that’s all the basics you’ll need to get started with One Punch Man: World! Stay tuned for extra coverage, including codes, more detailed guides, character tier lists and more!
