March of Giants: How to Play the Pioneer Test

Win by opening and destroying two Bastions

March of Giants puts two teams of four Giants on the battlefield. Each side protects three Bastions; destroying two enemy Bastions wins. Plan fights around a lane opening, a defended Bastion or resources for the next push.

You control a Giant directly and command rallied Soldiers alongside it. Those troops can change lanes, scout and collect resources. Battleworks add temporary reinforcements and field positions, giving you army decisions alongside the familiar hero abilities and item purchases of a MOBA.

A practical route through your first match

Choose one of your unlocked Giants and start with its recommended build. The sequence below is a beginner plan based on the official mechanics; adapt to the battlefield rather than treating it as a fixed winning script.

Soldier controls: charge, redirect, recall and scout

Move your Giant among friendly Soldiers to rally them automatically. Glowing Strike Lights on their helmets identify your commanded group. Soldiers and tanks arrive behind your Bastions; rally limits vary by Giant, and Max Rally items bought with Merits expand your capacity.

Use D to charge, D during that charge to redirect, or F once to recall charging Soldiers. F twice releases the group from your command. These are the October 9 publisher’s default Pioneer commands; check your keybindings if you remapped them.

1. 1Meet a friendly wave, check its Strike Lights and choose one reachable fight or objective before using D.
2. 2Reassess the push: use D while charging if a new target matters more, or F to withdraw from an unfavorable fight. Avoid pulling troops off a useful Bastion push without a reason.
3. 3Use Shift + D to scout fog or collect nearby Merits and Supplies while your Giant holds position. Watch the result before committing your Giant or spending Supplies on a supporting Battlework.
4. 4Keep Soldiers involved in skirmishes. Stomp or intercept hostile troops, or move out of their charge; stomp has a cooldown and large waves can break through.

A sealed Bastion needs a Soldier attack

An enemy Bastion is protected until Soldiers attack and open its cover. Send troops forward, then attack during the opening. Let friendly tanks enter its range first: the structure initially targets the unit that arrived first, giving your Giant more time to deal damage.

Watch enemy defenders and the Bastion’s target. Back away when the window closes or your push loses its front line; sending your Giant alone at a sealed structure wastes the approach.

Merits strengthen your build; Supplies buy Battleworks

Keep the two resources separate when planning a push. You may have a stronger Giant but still need Supplies to deploy the Ironclad or defensive position your team needs. The official starter guide gives a three-minute respawn after collection for its map Supply Drops; that timer does not describe every Supply source.

Battleworks keys, Supply costs and when to use each one

These costs follow Ubisoft’s October 7 Pioneer starter guide. Match the deployment to the obstacle: Cavalry clears Soldier positions and ignores buildings; Ironclad supports a structural push. Check the current in-game cost if a later update changes a value.

The October 10 official key map selects the five normal Battleworks with 1–5. Soldier Drop reinforcements and Cavalry size scale with Max Rally; check your live stat and deployment tooltip before choosing them.

Key 6 selects the legendary Sovereign Gun after defeating A.M.S. Abomination and retrieving its salvage. It targets defensive buildings in range and can pierce Bastion shields. Use this siege reward for a coordinated structural push; its Supply price is not specified in the announcement.

Use Army Camps, shops and Augments between lanes

Army Camps provide Merits, Supplies, vision and access to a shop without a Recall. Destroying an enemy Army Camp denies those resources and grants your team an Augment Point. Scout nearby control before you commit to a long push.

Augments change abilities during the match, including range, area, duration or projectile count. The starter guide also identifies friendly Augment Field Camps and defeating Abomination as sources of Augment Points. Pick an upgrade for your actual Giant and match situation.

• Siege Dozer: send Soldiers to claim the war machine, then direct it toward an enemy building.
• Colossus: a defensive turret near the center-lane baseline can help resist an enemy Giant push.
• Shops: use field access to buy items beyond the equipped build; threatening enemy shops limits their convenient upgrade access.
• Shortcut tunnels connect midlane with top and bottom lanes near the baseline.

At 12 minutes: coordinate around A.M.S. Abomination

The 2026 Pioneer rules place the A.M.S. Abomination on the battlefield at the 12-minute mark, following a visible route. Its attacks threaten nearby combat, so call the objective and organize your team before engaging.

Defeating it and retrieving its salvage grants the legendary Sovereign Gun, named in the October 10 Battleworks announcement. Convert that siege advantage into a coordinated push, while keeping an eye on your own Bastions.

Starting Giants and a build you can learn

Every player starts with Victoria, Solace, Kragg and Elaris, plus four random Giants. In-game challenges award Giant Tokens for further unlocks. Pandemos is scheduled to join on October 12; his permanent Pioneer unlock uses the reward program.

Begin with the recommended build. Kinetic Power supports physical and basic-attack emphasis; Alchemic Power supports ability-focused builds. Soldier investment gives another direction. Choose based on your Giant’s kit and the fights you are facing.

The Pioneer update changes Soldiers, Battleworks, neutral objectives, itemization and match pacing from the September 2025 Alpha. Use 2026 rules for your decisions rather than importing old prices or tier rankings.

Play this test, then plan your next task

The free Pioneer test runs October 7–18 on Windows PC through Steam in supported countries. Entry uses playtest invitations and may depend on capacity. The base game remains announced; Ubisoft plans Early Access for summer 2027 and has not supplied an exact release day.