Order Automatica tutorial: Master the 3x3 Grid, Synergies, and Auto-Battles

Learn the Order Automatica tutorial basics: manage Essence, position allies, merge units, exploit synergies, and survive automated battles.

Order Automatica tutorial: understand the ritual loop

Winning in Order Automatica is decided before the first attack: the right unit, cell, and upgrade can turn a tiny board into a reliable engine. This Order Automatica tutorial explains the preparation-to-battle loop, so new players can stop guessing why an apparently strong team collapses. Use this Order Automatica tutorial to read the 3x3 grid, combine allies, manage Essence, and build around the opponent instead of chasing every attractive shop roll.

Order Automatica is a dark tactical roguelite auto-battler built around a nine-cell ritual grid. You recruit allies, arrange them, apply items and cell effects, then watch the battle resolve automatically. The strategy comes from preparing for the fight rather than controlling individual attacks.

This guide draws on the creator’s v0.3.0 how-to-play demonstration, the Order Automatica Steam community overview, and independent preview footage. Player experience note: exact unit values, item names, and balance may change between builds, so treat specific numbers below as examples from the referenced version.

Phase	What you do	What matters most
Preparation	Buy allies, refresh the shop, arrange the grid, and equip upgrades	Build a coherent team while watching the opposing board
Battle	Let attacks and abilities resolve automatically	Track attack order, targeting rules, and trigger timing
After battle	Choose an Indulgence after a win and return to preparation	Convert the result into better scaling for the next fight

In the demonstrated ritual, the objective is to earn nine wins while protecting three candles, or lives. Destroying every enemy wins the battle. Losing all of your own allies counts as a defeat, and the tutorial explains that there are no draws.

After combat, surviving units are resurrected for the next preparation phase. That means a damaged team is not permanently damaged; your decisions between battles determine how much stronger it becomes.

Read the 3x3 grid before buying anything

The grid is more than storage. Each cell has a number from 1 through 9, and that number determines when the ally acts. Cell 1 acts early, while cell 9 acts late. Independent coverage also notes that an ally in tile 9 moves last, making placement an important part of your battle plan.

The attack system is intentionally different from a traditional tactical RPG. In the v0.3.0 demonstration, a normal attack targets a random enemy in the closest occupied column. It does not necessarily strike the enemy directly opposite the attacker.

Rule	How it works	Practical consequence
Cell numbers	Cells 1–9 determine attack order	Use early cells for effects that need to happen quickly and late cells for slower support
Matching turns	Corresponding turn numbers on both grids resolve together	You do not always gain an advantage simply because your unit acts first visually
Normal targeting	The attacker selects a random ally in the closest occupied enemy column	You can influence which column is available, but not always the exact target
Adjacency	Adjacent means up, down, left, or right	Diagonal units do not benefit from effects that require adjacency
Upgrade alignment	Three copies of the same ally can be combined in a row or column	Save duplicates and plan horizontal or vertical placement
Empty spaces	Some abilities summon into empty cells, rows, or adjacent spaces	Avoid filling every slot if your strategy depends on summons

For example, if the nearest enemy column contains three allies, your normal attack may select any one of those three. Moving a unit to another numbered cell changes its timing, but it does not guarantee a specific target.

Pay close attention to the word “adjacent.” A Life Holder-style death effect can support units directly beside it, but a diagonal ally is not included. Place death-trigger units in the middle or beside the allies you want to benefit.

The grid also determines whether a summon can function. A unit that fills empty spaces in its row becomes less effective if you occupy those spaces with unrelated allies. In a summon-focused build, open cells are a resource.

Order Automatica tutorial: turn Essence into a plan

Essence is the game’s shop currency. You spend it on allies and upgrades, then decide whether to preserve the rest, refresh the available choices, or sell something that no longer supports your plan.

Do not memorize one opening budget. The referenced gameplay videos show different starting amounts, which suggests that the opening economy can vary by mode or build. Trust the current Essence total and the prices displayed on your screen.

Shop action	Best use	Common mistake
Buy an ally	Start a team, complete a duplicate, or add a missing role	Purchasing unrelated units just to fill space
Reattune the shop	Search for a needed duplicate, counter, or item	Refreshing repeatedly without a clear target
Sell or dismiss	Recover Essence from a weak or obsolete ally	Selling the only unit holding a key synergy
Freeze a shop option	Preserve a useful duplicate or upgrade piece for the next preparation	Freezing something without a realistic plan to buy it
Equip an item	Add stats, retaliation, targeting, death, or summon effects	Giving a powerful item to a unit that cannot trigger it
Choose an Indulgence	Improve a team-wide strategy	Selecting a bonus that does not match your board

The most important upgrade rule is simple: buy three copies of the same ally and place them in a row or column. The copies combine into a stronger level, with level 3 shown as the maximum in the referenced tutorial footage.

A Blood Keeper demonstrates why level planning matters. Its kill effect grants itself attack and health when an enemy damaged by it dies during that turn. The displayed values in the walkthrough increase from 1 at level 1 to 3 at level 2 and 6 at level 3.

That does not mean every run should force a Blood Keeper. It does mean you should recognize when a duplicate is more valuable than a brand-new level 1 unit. If you already own two copies, a third copy may improve your board more than a slightly stronger standalone purchase.

The creator’s tutorial also demonstrates freezing a shop ally to keep it available for the next preparation phase. Use that option when the frozen unit directly advances your upgrade or synergy. Otherwise, you may be spending resources to preserve a card you will never buy.

Indulgences affect the whole grid, so choose them after identifying your team’s direction. A retaliation bonus is much better when you already have a retaliation item or unit. A summon bonus becomes more valuable when your board creates several low-level allies.

Order Automatica tutorial: build around triggers and counters

A successful team is usually more than a collection of high-stat units. The strongest boards connect a unit’s ability, its position, an item, and an Indulgence.

The following examples come from the referenced tutorial and player experience footage. They are useful templates, not guaranteed tier-list recommendations.

Strategy	Example pieces	Positioning idea	Main risk
Kill and retaliation	Blood Keeper, Spiked Helmet, retaliation Indulgence	Put the kill engine where it can act often and receive attacks	It loses momentum if it cannot secure kills
Death support	Life Holder plus adjacent attackers	Place beneficiaries directly beside the death-trigger unit	Diagonal placement will not activate the intended support
Summon swarm	Hermit, summon-focused Indulgence, summon-on-death items	Preserve empty spaces in the relevant row or around the summoner	Individual summons may be fragile without buffs
Ability denial	Faithless Pylon against ability-heavy enemies	Use it when the opposing board relies on damage abilities	The demonstrated effect was limited by enemy level
Wide board	Several complementary allies instead of one carry	Fill the grid while maintaining a clear role for each unit	Spreading Essence across too many unrelated units

A practical synergy example

The v0.3.0 walkthrough shows a particularly clear kill-and-retaliation interaction. The Spiked Helmet returns retaliation damage based on the attacking ally’s level. When paired with a Blood Keeper, each successful kill can make the unit harder to remove while the item punishes enemies that attack it.

The same demonstration uses a retaliation Indulgence that increases retaliation damage by 1. The result is powerful against a board that produces many weaker summons, because the Blood Keeper can gain statistics while the item helps eliminate attackers.

This is a demonstration example rather than a permanent “best build.” The lesson is to combine effects that answer the same question: How does this team create value every time an attack, kill, death, or summon occurs?

A summon strategy works differently. The Hermit shown in player footage creates fish in empty spaces in its row. A summon Indulgence can improve those summoned units, while a death-trigger item can add even more bodies later. This approach favors board width, but it must still account for the opponent’s scaling.

Faithless Pylon offers another type of answer. In the referenced build, it can negate damage from enemy abilities for the rest of the battle when the relevant enemy is at the same level or lower. Against an ability-heavy team, that kind of prevention may matter more than another small attack increase.

The most useful habit in this Order Automatica tutorial is to identify one engine before spending heavily:

Choose the effect you want to repeat: kills, deaths, summons, retaliation, or ability denial.
Find an ally that activates or benefits from that effect.
Add an item or Indulgence that reinforces the same trigger.
Arrange the grid so the effect can reach the correct row, column, or neighbor.
Watch one battle carefully before committing to more rerolls.

Order Automatica tutorial: survive scaling, curses, and bad rolls

The enemy board improves as the ritual continues. The creator’s demonstration shows opponents adding units and developing their own strategy, while player footage also illustrates how quickly a board can become difficult to read.

Preview the next enemy whenever the game allows it. Look for the feature that will decide the battle: a large stat carrier, a summon engine, a death effect, or an ability that can wipe several allies. Then spend your limited Essence on an answer rather than on a generic upgrade.

Community reports: independent gameplay footage describes curses that can lock one of your units, remove money at the start of preparation, or create a negative cell effect. These choices can be worthwhile when their associated benefit advances your build, but they should never be treated as free bonuses.

Mistake	Why it causes problems	Better response
Ignoring the enemy preview	You may build directly into the opponent’s strength	Identify the enemy’s main engine before shopping
Assuming diagonals count as adjacent	Support abilities fail to reach intended allies	Use cardinal neighbors only
Chasing every new unit	Your team has no upgrade path or shared trigger	Commit to one anchor and complementary support
Relying on one oversized ally	A wide summon board or counter can overwhelm it	Add utility, protection, or a second source of damage
Taking every curse	Locked cells and lost Essence can destroy your economy	Pick a curse only when its reward supports the plan
Using autoplay immediately	You miss why a battle was won or lost	Step through early fights, then use speed or autoplay
Rerolling without a goal	Essence disappears without improving the board	Refresh only when searching for a specific duplicate or counter

Use the battle controls as a learning tool. The walkthrough refers to a “Bear Witness” option that lets you advance through combat step by step. Once you understand the sequence, the game supports faster playback and autoplay, allowing you to focus on preparation instead of watching every animation.

Before starting a battle, ask five questions:

Which ally needs to act first?
Does any death effect require a specific neighbor?
Am I saving space for a summon?
What enemy ability or unit must my team answer?
What is my next realistic level-up?

If you cannot answer the final question, do not automatically spend all remaining Essence. A modest board with a clear upgrade path is often more useful than a crowded board of unrelated level 1 allies.

The best way to improve is to treat each loss as information. Check whether the problem was timing, targeting, positioning, insufficient stats, or a missing counter. Then change one or two variables in the next preparation phase instead of rebuilding everything at random.

FAQ: Order Automatica tutorial questions

What does the Order Automatica tutorial teach first?

The Order Automatica tutorial introduces the shop, Essence, ally placement, automatic combat, attack order, and team-wide Indulgences. It also demonstrates how units, items, and cell effects create synergies.

How do allies attack in Order Automatica?

Cells 1 through 9 determine attack order. In the referenced rules, a normal attack selects a random enemy in the closest occupied column. Attacks with matching turn numbers resolve together, so carefully reading timing is more important than assuming the first animation guarantees victory.

How do I level an ally in the Order Automatica tutorial?

Buy three copies of the same ally and place them in a single row or column. They combine into a higher-level ally. The referenced tutorial shows levels 1, 2, and 3, with abilities becoming stronger at each level.

Can I control battles manually?

You cannot directly command each attack. You control preparation, positioning, purchases, and upgrades. During combat, you can step through events to study them, increase the speed, or enable autoplay once you understand your team’s triggers.