FAQ

Click on the register button on the web site and sign up. Once the game is live, or if you are in the Beta, you can then register with the game proper. Fill in your account information and log in. Once in the game, you will start on the “My Iczer” Tab, where you can see your Stats. On the top of the screen, you will see a set of tabs that will let you navigate around the various areas of Alteil. Under the “Game” Tab you will find the main components of Alteil proper.

How do I choose my Starter card set?

The first time you log in and go to the “Game” Tab, a screen will pop up asking you to choose a set. You’ll be able to preview them first. Each set will concentrate on one of the four Spheres of Influence, Refess (yellow), Lawtia (purple), Gowen (Red) or Falkow (blue). Each set has 50 cards, so you’ll have enough extra cards to customize and personalize your Card File.

Does Alteil really require no downloads?

Yes. Alteil can run in any web browser with no downloads, but please check out the System Requirements for more details.

Is Alteil really free to play?

Yes, Alteil has no monthly fee and your Starter card set is free. You also earn new cards for free by leveling up and by dueling in the main arenas. It can take some time to get new cards this way, so if you like you can visit the Shop and purchase booster packs to get them quicker. We will also offer pets, Avatars and similar items in the Shop. Remember, it doesn’t matter how you get your cards. Purchased cards and free cards can be played side by side, and we will never require you to purchase cards to participate in tournaments or other special events.

Can I choose my opponents online?

Yes, in the Training arena, you can create a room, like a chat room, and your opponents will join you. You can password protect dueling rooms and only give your friends the password. However, you will not earn Experience, Ranking Points, or new cards by dueling in the Training arena. In the main arenas, your opponents are chosen randomly.

What is Gran and what is Fight Money? What's the difference?

Gran is Alteil money you buy under the Cashier Tab with real-world money. Fight Money is money you earn by dueling. Many items in the shop have two different prices, one if you buy in FM and one if you buy in Gran.

What is “Mirage Master”?

Mirage Master is a one player mini-game on the Alteil site. You can access it from the My Iczer page, or from the main site. Playing will earn you a little extra Gran and FM, so give it a try.

What are the System Requirements?

We support IE 5.5 SP2 or better, Firefox 1.x or better, Chrome 1.x or better. All browsers require Flash 7 or better. Multiple users on one LAN are not supported. Stability may vary depending on computer and Internet speed. More information can be found on the Tech Support page.

*IE 8 Beta 2 does NOT handle flash well. There is an icon to the right of the address bar called Compatibility Mode/View. Turning that on does improve performance a bit, but it's not perfect.

How can I contact the Alteil support team?

Our Business hours are:
Monday-Friday, 10 AM to 6 PM EST, except holidays
If we receive your support email during business hours, we will respond that day. Some problems may take longer than others. However, if you don't receive a response in a week, there's a chance that we did not receive your email. Please resend it.

How can I learn to play Alteil?

There is an Flash Tutorial available on the website. Also there is a basic HTML Tutorial for those with slow connection speed or who wish read without all the fancy Flash graphics. We have also added an In-Depth Guide to help clarify some extra things. Really, the best thing to do is play and try things out. You can also ask questions on the Forums, or read through the FAQ and the Card List.

What does “SP” do?

SP, or Spell Points, are your resource. You use it to activate cards. Level 1 cards need 1 SP, level 4 cards need 4 SP, and so on.

It’s my first duel, and I can’t play a card even though I have enough SP. What’s going on?

In addition to having enough SP, you need to have a high enough level in the appropriate Sphere of Influence. Over on the right side of the game screen, you can see four zeroes, over four colored symbols. These colors correspond to the four card colors. To use a level two red card, you need to have at least level 2 in the red Sphere of Influence (Gowen). To raise your Spheres of Influence, just click on the “up” arrow above the appropriate number. Once you raise a Sphere of Influence, it stays for the rest of the game.

My card has several skills on it, but I can’t use them in battle. What’s wrong?

You can only actively use “Action Skills” in battle. If you have enough SP to use them, they will appear on the action menu, along with “Attack,” “Stand by,” and “Move.” Soul Skills only come into play if the card is set as one of your five “Soul Cards” in the Card File before the duel. All other skills happen automatically, when certain conditions are met.

My card has an Action Skill, but it’s not appearing in the Action Menu. What’s wrong?

Many Action Skills require an SP cost. If you don’t have enough SP left, then you can’t use the Action Skill this turn, and it will not appear as an option.

What is the difference between an “Auto Skill” and a “Start Skill”?

Both skills happen automatically. Start Skills happen at the very beginning of the Action Phase. Auto Skills happen at the beginning of the card in question’s turn. For example, if a card has an Auto Skill, DF+5, and a Start skill, DF+5, but is slower than the enemy, then it will play out in this order: First, his start skill will add +5 to his defense. Then the enemy will attack. Then his Auto skill will add another +5 to his defense, too late to help him against his attacker. Finally, he will take his action.

What does “Open” and “Close” mean?

Open is our word for turning a card face up. Close is our word for turning a card face down. For example, an Open skill would go off when you first turn the card face up, when you reveal your card to your opponent.

My card has a RNG (range) of 3. Why can’t I hit the enemy in row 3?

A good way to think of RNG is this: with a RNG of 1, you can only attack the person right in front of you. With a RNG of 2, you can attack over his head and hit the guy behind him. With a RNG of 3, you can attack over two people and hit the guy behind them. The number of rows between you and your target doesn’t matter, the number of Units between you and your target does matter. You can learn more about range here.

Will individual cards ever be sold online? Will everything have both a Gran and Fight Money price, or will some things be exclusively for sale in Gran or FM?

Cards in the shop are generally random and Gran only. You get non-Gran cards outside of the shop in treasure battles, for leveling, etc. Most other items in the shop have both Gran and FM prices, but occasionally there is a limited time Avatar piece for FM only. There is a way to get cards with Fight Money in the Japanese game (it requires a LOT of Fight Money) but it's in many ways more special than Gran cards (check out the thread about trading for more info). Also, once the Japanese had a ton of cards out, they added a way to buy random cards with FM, but these cards were limited and tagged so they could not be Recycled into Gran. It's a carefully guarded rule in Alteil that FM can never be turned into Gran, and Gran can never be turned into FM. This means that we can offer FM exclusives (Gran exclusives will be less so because shop cards are Gran only already) and also do things like charge a small amount of FM as a tournament entry fee to make sure that everyone who signs up has at least dueled 3 or 4 times before.

How do I sign up to be a Beta Tester? Will there be a second registration for the Beta for those who aren't Alpha testers?

If you alpha tested you’re automatically in for the beta. If you want in on the Beta all you really need to do is be signed up on the site. The Beta will be much larger and much less restricted. Though there is a cap on the total number of sign ups it will be much higher.

What are Treasure Battles?

"Treasure battles are simple. Every now and then, you will get a "Treasure battle" A random card is revealed at the beginning of a duel bestowed by the computer, and the winner takes it.

Can Alpha and Beta Testers choose new decks for the launch? Will experience gained during the tests carry over to the launch?

You'll be able to choose a new starter for the beta, and I think a new starter for the launch, too. Experience will be carried over from the beta to the launch, (not sure about from the Alpha to the beta since the accounts aren't the same.) The way the exp carry over will work is that the exp will be carried over but not your card choices (you get cards every time you level up). So if you're level 3, you've got two extra cards of your choice. These will not carry over, but the first time you go to the Arena after launch, it will ask you to choose both again. So, as a nice bonus, if you don't like your choice during the beta, you can always choose something different when the game goes live. This is all in addition to the freebies we'll be giving Alphas and Betas. I don't know, Alphas, how about a pet or an avatar that looks like the "waiting sphere"?

What are Counter Skills?

Counter skills are triggered when the unit is hit, but does NOT go below 0 HP. (As opposed to Close skills, which are triggered when the unit is hit and does go below 0 HP)

Will Cards I’ve Bought Ever Be Changed?

The japanese are totally in charge of cards and game balance, but we have discussed it with them on several occasions. We're never planning on banning any card, and we'd like to keep nerfing cards to the minimum. You might have noticed if you've looked at the card list and were at A-kon, that many cards have already been nerfed a little-- Like LeBeau and Will o' the Wisp (although I can tell you both are still very effective). The idea is to do the nerfing before launch, so no one has bought anything yet, and then if we can as more cards come out, we'll return their abilities. Unfortunately, in this type of game, modifying cards slightly over time is pretty hard to avoid (look at the errata section of MtG's website), at least here since the cards are virtual, the change actually happens on your cards... and you not sitting there at a tournament pulling out your LeBeau for a big move when the judge suddenly tells you your card doesn't work that way any more...

Has Will o’ the Wisp changed?

The card was changed sometime between the A-Kon preview and the start of the alpha test such that Will o' the Wisp no longer adds 2 SP. From my understanding, the Japanese team changed some abilities around throughout the entire basic set in order to improve game-play and balance. Will o' the Wisp specifically was changed because originally, if you might have noticed, all of the starter decks had 3 copies of Will o' the Wisp in them. Card-Game balance 101: if EVERY deck has copies of the same card in it, that card is probably overpowered. I know I personally experienced several Backlashes (special event when both players play the same card on the same turn; they basically cancel each other out) during my few plays at A-Kon, including one game where we almost backlashed all 3 wisps (I decided not to press it and let the other guy play his, since at that point I had the upper hand on the field).

Among the 4 starter files, are they the same as those in the Japanese version?

Our starters are similar to the set 1 starters on the Japanese game (I think), but the Japanese have tweaked them a little to improve their balance. They've extensively tested them to make sure that none of them is too weak or too strong compared to the others.

What is Lavato Heroes?

Another mini-game using the Alteil Cards like Mirage Master. This one is a bit more complicated, so it may be a little time before it is active. It plays a bit like Alteil but the battles are one unit versus one unit.

Are we starting the same way the Japanese did?

We're starting a lot like the Japanese first set, we just have a few more of the features they didn't add until later. Card skills that might be a different because of game balance issues will probably be changed to match the Japanese once enough cards are out that such things are not big issues. The one thing is that we've heard that overall, the Japanese soul skills are a little unbalanced. Basically, there are just a small number of soul skills strong enough to be worth using, so everyone ends up using the same ones. Right now fixing that would involve too many changes in the Japanese cards, but they're going to try and avoid that problem in the English version. This is why pretty much every soul skill for the 1st 100 is different from the test at Akon.

Can I trade cards in Alteil?

There is no trading between Iczers or between diferent accounts. You can trade in cards. The way the card recycling system works is that you cantrade cards you don't need for Gran. Then you can use that Gran to buy more packs which gives you a chance to get different cards. There is no bidding or auction house system either. The game is designed to be fair, even between players with starter decks and those who have spent gobs of money of cards. So trading to get three high rarity cards is unfair to people who have lots of gran or extra cards. There are tournaments from time to time and some prizes may be specific cards or specific types of cards to choose from to help fill gaps in people's collections.

How I earn gran without actually spending money?

There are a couple of ways. The first and most popular is Mirage Master. You can win up to 15 gran a day if you are persistent. Second is through the arena, a smidgen for each win. Third is throught tournaments, although they usually cost gran to enter, you can win a bit more by placing. And fourthly, is through recycling cards. You get gran based on the rarity of the card traded in.

What is Backlash?

Backlash is an occurrence when you and your opponent both play the same card on the same turn. You will get a screen like this: BACKLASH! Both cards do not pass go, they do not collect $200, and they go directly to j..., err I mean the graveyard. No LP loss occurs for any backlash occurrence.

What is Character Backlash?

Character backlash occurs when there is already one unit on the field, say Bellydancer / Kurina. As long as that card in on the battlefield, in play, closed, disengaged, engaged or otherwise, no other copy of that card can be played by either side. The only time you can play the same character card again is when it is in the graveyard or removed from play.

Which levels do you get cards?

This is a very common question with a very easy answer. Levels 2-10, free card every level. Then 15 and 20. Then every 10th level after that. There is no level cap currently, so you can go on forever leveling up.

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What's is LP and what is the maximum LP you can have?

There are five slots above your 25 playable card in the card file screen. These are your soul slots. Each card except for grimoires have a LP stat, from 1-3 points All five cards' LP combined together make your total life points +1. Start off with 1 and can have a maximum of 15 LP extra. So say you have 3 Haste Soldiers and two Moonlight Warriors in your soul slots. The soldiers have 1 LP each and your warriors 2 each. So 1+1+1+2+2+1(starting LP) = 8 LP.

What are soul cards?

Soul Cards are the five cards above your Avatar. The enemy has five Soul Cards too, you can see them above yours face down. When a Soul Card is triggered, its Soul Skill goes off. This is the only time a card's Soul Skill can be activated. Cards in play as units never use their Soul Skills. Soul Skills go off when you take damage directly, and lose Life Points. Each time a card goes to graveyard you lose one LP and your rightmost soul card loses 1 LP. The Moonlight Warrior takes two cards to go to the graveyard for it to activate. So after two cards get sent to that great palace in the sky, the card's soul ability goes off. Currently, there is no direct way to block a soul card's ability from going off. You can learn more about Soul Cards here.

What is RP?

RP stands for Rating Points. Every time you win, you go up in points and every time you lose you go down in rating points. You can only go up or down in the rating when your fighting in the Folrart Arena. Your rating points start off at 1500/1500. The first number is your actual RP ranking. The second number is the highest RP you've ever had in your history as an Iczer. The amount of RP you gain or lose is dependent on many of factors but the most prominent and obvious one is the difference in levels between you and your opponent. Although, there is a cap to the amount you can win or lose.

How RP is calculated is a closely guarded Alteil secret, but rest assured if you consistently win, your RP with be very respectable.

If you happen to take a look at the RP rankings on the home page and scratch your head, let us take some time to clarify some things. The RP is mostly based on your win record; the more you win the closer to perfect your RP will be. But say there's two Iczers, let's call them Bruce Leroy and Sho'nuff, and they both play 30 matches and win them all, will they have the same RP ranking? Probably not. Again, it depends on who you're fighting. Bruce Leroy may have faced alot of level 20s and 30s early on which would of netted him more RP than fighting opponents around the same level. Alteil tries very hard to match like leved opponents, but sometimes there's no one in the room near their level. Also, your place in the Alteil ranking scheme can be seen on the right side of the My Iczer menu.

How to add friends?

After any battle, you are given the option to befriend your opponent or just return to the arena. You can view your friends list in the mail section. There is a box on the left with a friends list tab. You can send them mail, block, and unblock them here. You can also go to the chatroom and add friends from there.

What do partners do?

Partners are characters that pop up in the lower right corner. They offer moral support and tips on how to play the game. They do not add SP or enhance your card playing abilities or alter the duel in any way shape or form. They are there for support and to look cool.

How often are treasure battles?

A treasure battle is a rare and wondrous occasion. They happen at random and the exact percentage of occurrence is unbeknown to us. There are sometimes special events that will raise the chance of a treasure battle, but they do not happen frequently.

I keep getting disconnected!

The game is quite stable and runs on any browser with the latest version of Flash enabled. If you are having trouble staying connected, you may have low bandwidth issues. Try disabling any torrent programs or downloading applications. If it still is disconnecting, try exiting Alteil and reloading the game. Also some browsers have issues with being open for a long period of time. Try restarting the browser. If that doesn't work try restarting the computer. If none of those solutions work, feel free to contact us This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will look into the issue.

What order do skills get activated?

Open Skill, Rank Up (only for Gowen) Start Skill, Auto Skill, Action Skill, Counter Skill, Close Skill

All of these skills are AGI dependent. If a card has no AGI as in a grimoire, the order is randomly chosen.

What order do closed cards die in? What if it's Tempest?

Cards die in a first in, first out style. That mean whichever card got closed (the card has lost all it's hit points and is flipped over) first, leaves the board first. This continues until all closed cards are removed from the battlefield. Cards that target a row or column of enemies work as such; if they kill more than one card, they die in number order. The battlefield position 1-9 determines which card leaves first.

As for Tempest, whoever casts Temptest, their cards die in order from 1 through 9 and then your opponents' cards die in the same order. Be careful with it's usage!

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