This is a guide written by our friend and guru Match 3 player Kathy Lew (SynthpopAddict), covering the tricky levels of our game DragonScales 4: Master Chambers.
If you purchased this game from elsewhere, the Steam version uses the same save game file. If you create a new player, delete all the old player profiles, then exit and restart the game for a “clean” start so the “best time” to beat in levels is the true default “best time”.
There’s only a long adventure mode in DS4 consisting of 18 worlds with 10 levels per world. The mode selection screen is confusing because the “normal” and “heroic” modes are simply worlds 7-12 and worlds 13-18 respectively, not a difficulty selection option. I did not appreciate that much more difficulty in the “heroic” section of the game compared to “normal”.
As with previous DragonScales games, you can replay any previously completed level by going back to the levels map. You can check if you got all the stars since there is a star either lit or unlit by the level button for levels with stars. If you didn’t get “best time”, the level button will not have a halo. The Achievements button in the top right displays all current in-game trophies you’ve won. Trophies are also displayed at the bottom when you enter a new world.
Trophy collectors will want to click the “Show Stats” button at the top right of the level screen to see how they’re doing as they go along. By default your stats are hidden and you otherwise won’t know how well you performed until you finish a level.
There are only 2 powerups. I never use Prescience, but Blade comes in handy for removing a scale here and there. Something I really like about this game and the later DS games is they upgraded the game engine so now you can play fast… earlier games especially DS1 are a little clunky with the pace of placing scales into the board.
Coin bags and gold collected from winning levels are used to pay for using the powerups and for working on the enough gold collected trophies.
If you want all the trophies, you’ll have to play through the game a few times, as the 1 million points scored one takes about three runs through the entire game to get, and the 15,000 scales collected always takes me 2 runs through.
Other tips will be given in the partial walkthrough sections.
Hidden stars and the hidden arrow of 10-4: The only tipoff you get on the hidden stars is the star button at the top of the level flashing, except for the first one, where the dragon tells you the location.
2-5: bottom space of the 5th column from the left
2-8: middle spot of the far right column
2-10: 2nd spot from the bottom of the 3rd column from the right
3-3: 2nd spot from the top of the far left column
4-2: 2nd spot from the bottom of the 4th column from the right – this is in the long narrow area just above the gap in the playfield
4-3: top spot of the center column (count in 7 columns from either side)
5-4: middle spot of the far right column
5-5: top spot of the 8th column from the left (this is the column in the left center next to 2 singleton spaces a little way past the rocks)
5-8: 2nd spot from the bottom of the far left column
6-5: Exclude the singleton space on the top left (the one with the blue patterned scale) when counting columns. Bottom spot of the 2nd column from the left.
6-6: 2nd spot from the top of the 3rd column from the right
6-8: 2nd spot from the top of the 4th column from the left
7-2: top spot of the far right column
7-4: top spot of the 3rd column from the left
7-5: top spot of the 4th column from the right
7-10: top spot of the 5th column from the right
8-4: top spot of the 2nd column from the left
8-7: 4th spot from the top of the far left column
8-8: 2nd spot from the top of the far right column
8-9: top spot of the far right column
8-10: top spot of the 6th column from the left
9-5: top reachable spot of the far left column before exploding any bombs
9-6: bottom spot of the far right column
9-8: middle spot of the far right column
9-10: top spot of the far right column
10-3: 4th spot from the top of the 5th column from the right
10-4: the arrow is on the top spot of the 7th column from the left
10-6: top spot of the 6th column from the right
10-8: bottom spot of the 2nd column from the left
10-9: 3rd spot from the top of the far right column
10-10: top spot of the 4th column from the right
11-1: 2nd spot from the bottom of the 5th column from the left
11-8: bottom spot of the 3rd column from the right
14-2: 3rd spot from the top of the 5th column from the right
14-3: 2nd spot from the bottom of the far left column
14-4: top spot of the far left column
14-5: 4th spot from the bottom of the far right column
15-1: 2nd spot from the bottom of the 7th column from the left
15-3: bottom spot of the 3rd column from the left
15-9: bottom spot of the far left column
18-2: bottom spot of the far left column
18-10: 2nd spot from the top of the 4th column from the right
Tips/WT for hard levels
3-7: Use pink to get the star and blue for the coin bag.
3-9: The dragon tips you off to one hidden bomb location, but with the way the patterned scales are placed, you’re going to stumble across at least some of the others while clearing out room with your matches in order to get to the patterned scales. The last time I played this, I found 4 bombs, but all the walls don’t ever completely disappear. Once you blow up 2-3 bombs, the patterned scales are accessible through narrow gaps.
3-10: Work on reaching the star first. There’s 2 hidden bombs in the area on the center right which you’ll stumble across eventually with all the “building in, clearing out” you have to do to reach that pesky star. This will open up a spot by the coin bag for you. A third hidden bomb is somewhere near the lower left section.
World 4: Those shifting patterned scales will stop moving if the playfield is filled up enough. Go for the easy to reach ones first and let the ones in the corners hopefully move to a better location.
4-6: The conveyor belt which moves scales 1 space over every time you make a move is introduced. The trick to getting those patterned scales on the conveyor is to work on one at a time and put at least 1 of the matching color on the nonmoving column next to the conveyor. The other matching scale can either go next to this one or next to the patterned scale on the conveyor. Then just put stuff down elsewhere and let the conveyor bring the patterned scale into the setup. Repeat this process until all the patterned scales are gone from the conveyor.
4-7: Use the same strategy from 4-6 to explode the bombs on the left, but you want to make sure the setups only explode the bombs when they are in one of the top 3 spaces of the column. You don’t have to explode every bomb and there’s a few extras in case you set one off in the wrong place. As soon as you can access the far right column, use the strategy again for the stars and patterned scales on the right.
World 5: Match next to a rock to break it.
5-4: There isn’t just a star hiding in this one (middle space of the far right column), but 2 coin bags are hiding somewhere in the “open” spots of that field of rocks.
5-8: I found 3 hidden coin bags in this one along with the hidden star (2nd spot from the bottom of the far left column). 2 coin bags were in the center area, one near the middle and one on the bottom; the third was either the singleton space near the top right corner or close by. I’m not sure if the hidden coin bags are randomly placed each time you play though, as one of the later DragonScales games does move hidden coin bags around every time.
6-4: Use the green patterned scale in the top right as an obstacle so you can create a setup for collecting the star first before doing anything else. If you get rid of that scale you can’t reach the star.
7-3: Use the lower of the 2 runes on the far left column as an obstacle to create a setup for clearing out the rune and red patterned scale in the top left (I put red onto the higher rune to make it easier). If you clear the lower rune before getting the red patterned scale, you can’t reach that scale anymore.
8-5: Remove the patterned scales from the bottom before clearing anything higher up or the skulls will be hopelessly buried.
8-6: Same thing as with 8-5. This time, it’s the bottom left corner which must have the patterned scales removed before touching the patterned scales above or the skulls will be impossible to remove. Wait for a scale set which is blue, green, something or green, blue, something to put atop the patterned scales on the bottom left for a setup and then match the scales out using another scale set with both blue and green in it so the top scales don’t get cleared.
9-3:
1) Explode the first bomb when it is on the bottom space of the center column – set up a pair of matching scales somewhere next to the moving column and when a bomb is in the bottom spot, match it.
2) Get the pink patterned scale immediately next to the 2 walls on the left so you can reach the other pink patterned scale in the bottom left corner.
3) Put a pink scale on the arrow immediately next to the pink patterned scale so you have a match setup and match out the scales so the arrow trips.
4) Set up 2 matching scales around the 3rd space from the bottom of the moving column. When a bomb moves into the 3rd space from the bottom, match over it so the explosion clears the higher of the 2 walls on the left.
5) There is now a narrow access point to the pink patterned scale in the upper left and the bomb which is below it.
6) Do NOT trip the arrow on the left! Work your way into exploding the bomb below the pink patterned scale using pink so the pink patterned scale will also be collected.
7) You now have an access point to the pink patterned scale on the top right corner and the arrow next to it. Use pink over the arrow and match it out.
8) Get the rest of the patterned scales.
9-5:
1) Get the hidden star which is in the highest reachable spot of the far left column.
2) Explode only the bomb in the bottom left corner.
3) The arrow surrounded by all the color-specific spaces has to be tripped next. The secret to doing it is the color you put onto the arrow must match one of the color-specific spaces around it so you can get the 2 matching scales next to the arrow.
4) Trip the arrow in the bottom right corner. You can explode the bomb in the center to get an access point from the upper part of the narrow area, but I worked my way to the arrow via the bottom.
5) Explode the bomb in the top right corner.
6) Work your way to the red patterned scale in the top left corner.
9-6: Yikes! I confess to perpetually forgetting how you’re supposed to do this one, which is part of the reason why I enjoy writing WTs because sometimes, I need them for myself.
1) Get the hidden star which is in the bottom spot of the far right column.
2) Trip the down arrow in the top right corner to lower the bomb.
3) Explode the bomb so it removes 2 walls in the center.
4) Trip the up arrow in the top left to move a wall out of the way. Do NOT trip the down arrow!
5) Put a scale set in the bottom left so it covers the 3 bottom spaces of the 3 leftmost columns (bottom space of the far left column, bottom space of the 2nd column from the left, and bottom space of the 3rd column from the left).
6) Whatever color is in the bottom space of the far left column, put the matching color onto the bomb and the same color onto the space above the bomb. You’ll either have to do some clearing out of the blocking scales to get the same color put onto the spot above the bomb, or use the Blade powerup.
7) Trip the down arrow to move your setup of the 2 paired scales down which will explode the bomb.
8) Work your way into tripping the up arrow at the bottom.
9) Get the red patterned scale in the top.
9-7: Put green in the “island” next to the green patterned scale, then put green into the space below the arrow so when the arrow is tripped, the green will match out in the “island”.
9-8: The hidden star is in the middle spot of the far right column. There’s an “island” of 3 empty spaces near the blue patterned scale in the top left. Put blue into the leftmost space of this “island” so when the arrow in the bottom left corner is tripped, the blue patterned scale will match out. Trip the rest of the arrows to be able to reach the red patterned scale in the top.
9-9: There are 2 “islands” of 3 spaces each near the green patterned scale. Put green into the closest spaces by the scale (this is the 4th column in of the playfield on either side) – wait for sets with green on the end to put into the “islands” – so when you trip the single up arrow the “islands” will all join together and match out that pesky scale. Do NOT trip any of the down arrows!
9-10:
1) Without tripping any of the arrows, collect the hidden star which is in the top spot of the far right column.
2) Now it’s sneaky. Make a setup of 2 matching scales next to the moving row where you can get a match in the 4th column from the left.
3) Make moves somewhere else, but don’t explode the bomb, until the UP arrow moves into the 4th column from the left. As soon as it gets there, match out the arrow to trip it.
4) The bomb gets raised. Explode it to remove a wall on the right.
5) Make a setup of 2 matching scales next to the moving row where you can get a match in the 2nd column from the right.
6) Make moves somewhere else until the down arrow moves into the 2nd column from the right. As soon as it’s there, match it to trip it.
7) You can do the rest.
10-4: Work on tripping the hidden arrow (top spot of the 7th column from the left) first if you want the star. If you make too many matches, I think there may be a bug where the arrow won’t trip.
10-5: Put purple into the highest reachable spot of the far left column to start with, then work your way into tripping the arrow in the bottom center and then the one in the bottom left corner. The purple you placed in the beginning will make getting that pesky purple patterned scale a lot easier. The arrow in the bottom left corner is extremely difficult to reach, so you’ll probably have to use the Blade powerup a few times.
World 12: Pay attention to the flood counter at the top right. This tells you how many moves you have left before more scales are added at the bottom of the board. The stack can touch the top of the screen, but if it goes above the top, you’ll have to start over. Use those cascades!
12-4: This one is a huge matter of luck with getting the cascades and matches in just the right places. Because the board adds scales after every 3 moves, if you aren’t getting anywhere after about 3 minutes with dropping at least 2 of the skulls, reset the board and keep trying.
12-7: A lot like 12-4 in needing a fair bit of luck with the cascades and getting the right colors at the right time.
12-10: Use the gravity to split the scale sets so you can set up matches in between the columns of scales already present.
14-4:
1) Set up a match on both the green and red patterned scales on the left by putting a scale set with green and red in it where the green goes on top of the green patterned scale and you drop the something, then the red, down the 2nd column from the left.
2) Match out the green and red on the left simultaneously with a scale set that has green and red in it.
3) The hidden star is on the top spot of the far left column, so build a small stack leading up there with 2 of the same color just under the top spot and dropping the other scales down the adjacent column. Then bring the matching scale into the top spot.
4) Drop a blue on top of the blue patterned scale on the bottom right, then bring in the matching blue later by dropping stuff down into the 2nd column from the right until the stack there is high enough for you to drop a blue in for the match. Alternatively, stack up 2 blues in the 2nd column from the right for the patterned scale.
16-8:
1) First set: Put blue into the bottom space of the far left column, then the red in the bottom space of the 2nd column from the left, and the pink in the bottom space of the 3rd column from the left.
2) Second set: Pink in middle spot of 2nd column from left, green in middle spot of 3rd column from left, blue above green you just placed.
3) Third set: Red in bottom spot of 3rd column from right, green in 2nd spot from bottom of 4th column from right, pink below green you just placed.
4) Fourth set: Pink in top spot of 3rd column from right, green in top spot of 2nd column from right, red in far right column.
5) Last set: Put blue by the pinks and the other 2 scales will fill in the remaining spaces.
16-10:
1) Trip the arrow using blue.
2) Explode the bomb with pink.
3) Put the next scale set into the 3 spaces near the bottom.
4) Put the pink above the blue and the next 2 scales into the adjacent column.
5) The last scale set fills in the 3 remaining spaces sticking out.
17-1: If you want the star, you’ll have to clear out most of the 3rd column from the right to get an access point to it, and put the same color onto the star as whatever color is in the bottom space of the 3rd column from the right.
17-5: Get the patterned scales from the bottom right before working on collecting the star in the top right corner.
17-7: To reach the star, get the yellow patterned scale in the next column over to open up an access point, then “build in, clear out” until you can match out the star.
17-8: Get at least one of the skulls in the middle of the bottom row dropped out before working on the star and skulls on the edges. This one is a real matter of luck with getting the right colors at the right time if you don’t want to use powerups.
18-8: Work on dropping out one skull at a time before lowering another to avoid the skulls getting hopelessly buried.
18-9: Clear all the patterned scales from the bottom before getting anything from the top. If both skulls in a section fall down atop both patterned scales on the bottom, the level will be impossible to finish.