Summoners War: Com2uS's Mobile RPG That Conquered the World

Summoners War: Sky Arena is a mobile turn-based RPG developed by Korean game company Com2uS. It launched on April 17, 2014, and was unveiled to the global market at the E3 game show in the US in June of the same year. The player becomes a summoner, gathers monsters using summoning scrolls, and builds teams of monsters for turn-based battles.

Summoners War is often cited as the Korean mobile game that has achieved the greatest success overseas. According to Korean Wikipedia, 84% of its total revenue came from overseas, and English Wikipedia reports that its revenue surpassed $1 billion by June 2017, three years after launch, with $890 million of that coming from outside Korea.

In this post, we cover how Summoners War began, how it's played, why it's considered a classic, and its follow-up games and how to enjoy it today.

At a Glance

Origins

A Game Aimed at the World from the Start

Summoners War was built from the start to target the global market. English Wikipedia explains that to break into the global market, Com2uS gave the game broad language support, making it playable in 14 languages. The company also ran large-scale marketing campaigns in overseas markets like North America to build the brand.

Unveiling and launching it on June 12, 2014, at E3, one of the world's biggest gaming events, was also part of this strategy. Unlike many Korean mobile games that looked only to the Korean market, Summoners War had players in many countries in mind from the beginning.

Monsters That Move in 3D

International reviewer Nick Shively pointed out that most mobile MMORPGs are card-based, so you never see creatures moving in 3D. Summoners War showed its monsters moving in 3D during battle, and he cited this as a strength that set it apart from other games.

Gameplay

Summoning, Evolution, and Awakening

Players obtain monsters by opening summoning scrolls. Newly summoned monsters have grades from 1 star to 5 stars, with 4-star and 5-star monsters being the rarest. The number of stars a monster has when first summoned is called its "natural" grade.

There are three main ways to develop monsters.

• Power-up: Monsters gain experience by being sent into battle or by using other monsters as material.
• Evolution: Using other monsters as material raises a monster's star grade and level cap. The maximum is 6 stars and level 40.
• Awakening: Collecting essences of each element and essences of magic transforms a monster. When awakened, a monster's appearance and name change and its stats increase, and it may gain new skills or have its skills strengthened.

Five Elements

Every monster has one of five elements: Water, Fire, Wind, Light, or Dark.

Monsters with the same name but different elements have different skills, so they're effectively treated as different monsters. Each monster also has a type, such as Support, Defense, HP, or Attack.

Runes: The Heart of the Game

The heart of Summoners War is runes. Each monster can equip up to six runes, and matching two or four of the same type creates a set effect. For example, two Energy runes increase HP by 15%, and four Violent runes give a 22% chance of an extra turn.

Runes are powered up with the in-game currency mana, and the higher the level you upgrade to, the lower the success rate. Runes mainly come from the "Cairos Dungeon." Each dungeon drops different runes, such as Swift runes in Giant's Keep, Violent runes in Dragon's Lair, and Will runes in Necropolis, so players often run one dungeon repeatedly for the runes they want. Deciding which runes to put on which monster is what gives this game its depth.

Competitive Content

Story mode is played solo, but there's also plenty of content played with other people.

• Guild Battle: You set up defenses with two teams of three monsters each and attack and defend against other guilds of similar rank.
• Siege Battle: Three guilds compete for points on one map by capturing each other's bases.
• Raid (Rift of Worlds): Three players each form a team of six monsters to fight a three-headed boss.
• World Arena: You take turns picking five monsters in real time against another player, each side bans one, and then you fight.

Why It's a Classic

Success Proven Overseas

The greatest significance of Summoners War is its overseas performance. According to English Wikipedia, it ranked in the top 10 by revenue in more than 84 countries on the Apple App Store and more than 54 countries on Google Play. Korean Wikipedia explains that it ranked first in revenue on both major app markets in France and did well enough in Southeast Asia to be called a "national RPG."

A Balance of Collecting and Strategy

The fun of collecting monsters is combined with the strategic fun of thinking about elemental matchups and rune combinations. Because the same monster can play very different roles depending on which runes you equip, there's still more to study even after playing for a long time. International reviews praised its high level of polish, interesting systems, and 3D battle visuals.

Shortcomings

Of course, drawbacks were pointed out too: collecting strong monsters requires repeating the same dungeons for a long time, which can be tiring, and the story is ordinary. One reviewer said the game is designed to extract as much money as possible from players, but that it's plenty of fun even if you don't spend a cent.

Series and Influence

The success of Summoners War grew into an intellectual property (IP).

In 2020, it also collaborated with Capcom's Street Fighter series to add Ryu, Chun-Li, Ken, M. Bison, and Dhalsim as monsters. Globally known fighting game characters coming to a Korean mobile game showed how well known Summoners War was overseas.

Summoners War showed that a Korean mobile game could go beyond the domestic market and be loved for a long time in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Its approach of supporting multiple languages from the start and investing heavily in overseas marketing also became a good reference point for the global strategies of Korean game companies that followed.

How to Play It Today

Summoners War: Sky Arena is still in service. You can download it for free from the iOS App Store or Google Play and start playing, and news about updates and events is available on the official site.

If you're just starting, it's a good idea to develop your basic monsters through story mode while first learning elemental matchups and rune set effects. Once you can enter the Cairos Dungeon, refine your team as you collect the runes you need. Since summoning involves probabilities, we recommend spending money only within a limit you've set in advance.

References

• Summoners War: Sky Arena – Wikipedia
• Summoners War: Sky Arena - Wikipedia (Korean)
• Summoners War Official Site
• Com2uS Official Site