Okay, so the devs dropped another tournament mode on us — this time it’s called “Holy Grail War” and it’s basically Martial Arts Tournament but with team mechanics and a weird relic system. I’ve played through the first cycle, and here’s what you actually need to know before diving in.
Holy Grail War is a team-based PvP tournament that runs in three stages:
- Qualifiers — everyone fights to make top 64
- Round Robin — bracket matches start
- Finals — the whales battle it out
You team up with one other player (so it’s 2v2 essentially), and your combined strength determines how far you progress. Even if you don’t make it past qualifiers, you still get rewards — which is honestly the only reason I’m even bothering with this mode.
The Team System
You’ve got two options:
Create Your Own Team
- Pick a team name (mine’s “PleaseCarryMe” because honesty matters)
- Set a minimum power requirement (500k, 5M, 50B, whatever)
- Choose between:
- Auto-accept — first person who meets your requirement joins
- Manual approval — you review applications like some kind of PvP job interview
Join Someone Else’s Team
- Browse available teams
- Hope someone with higher power than you is feeling generous
Real Talk: If you’re under 10M power, you’re going to struggle finding a decent partner unless you have friends already playing. The whales set their minimum to billions, and casual teams get stomped in qualifiers. It’s rough out there.
The Rewards
The shop uses Holy Grail Fragments as currency, which you earn by:
- Winning matches (obviously)
- Voting for other teams and collecting when they win (free passive income, always do this)
- Participation rewards even if you lose
What You Should Buy First
From my testing, here’s the priority order:
1. Keys (Treasure & Gem) — Always First
These are the best value in the shop, period. Don’t even think about skipping them.
2. Holy Grail Relic Chests
These unlock permanent account-wide buffs through a new relic system. You’ll probably need to buy the chest 5-6 times to complete a full relic set.
Good relics to target:
- Dead Sea Scroll — +5% final damage for first 3 turns (scales to 10% at max level)
- Da Vinci Codex — Iron shield giving 5% damage reduction
- Anything with Armor Break (new stat, very strong right now)
The relics with a special mark can be equipped in your loadout for extra passive bonuses. I’m running the Olympic Crown (+15% lightning damage first 3 turns) and it’s noticeable.
3. Kabuda Outfit
Gives +1% global attack. Stats-wise it’s solid, but aesthetically? I’m not sold. The God outfit from regular Martial Arts Tournament looks way better, but I’m a sucker for min-maxing so I’ll probably grab it anyway.
4. Everything Else
Wishing scrolls, artifact keys, ninja headbands — standard gacha currency stuff. Grab what you need after the core items.
The Title Rewards
If you place high enough, you get permanent titles with stat boosts:
- Peerless Twins (Top tier) — +5% global HP
- Heroic Duo (Mid tier) — +3% global HP
- Extraordinary Pair (Participation) — +2% global HP
These stack with your other titles, so if you’re a collector they’re worth pushing for. If you’re casual, don’t stress — the HP boost isn’t game-breaking.
Is It Worth Your Time?
Yes, if:
- You have a reliable partner with similar power
- You’re already competitive in regular tournaments
- You want the relic system bonuses (they’re actually pretty good)
Skip it if:
- You’re under 5M power and have no team
- You’re burned out on constant PvP events
- You hate timed limited content
My Hot Take: The relic system is the only genuinely cool addition here. The tournament itself is just recycled content with a team coat of paint. The fact that you can earn fragments by voting on other teams’ matches is smart design though — at least you’re not completely locked out of rewards if you lose early.
Common Mistakes I’ve Seen
- Ignoring the Voting System — Free fragments just for clicking. Do it.
- Buying the Outfit First — Keys are always better value early.
- Setting Team Power Too Low — You’ll get paired with someone who can’t contribute, then get stomped in qualifiers.
- Not Equipping Your Relics — They don’t work unless you manually add them to your loadout (bottom right menu).
I’m going all-in on keys → relic chests → outfit, in that order. The Dead Sea Scroll relic is a must-have for burst damage teams, and the armor break stat seems undervalued right now (probably gets nerfed next patch, so grab it while it’s good).
For team comp, I’m running lightning-focused artifacts (Olympic Crown + Holy Grail combo) and pairing with someone who stacks attack buffs. If we make top 64, great. If not, at least I’m farming fragments.
Holy Grail War is another layer of FOMO wrapped in shiny new relics. The good news? You don’t have to win to get value — just participate, vote on matches, and slowly build your relic collection. The bad news? If you’re already struggling to keep up with the game’s pace, this is just one more thing on the pile.
Worth trying at least once to see if the relic buffs fit your playstyle. After that, it’s up to you whether the grind is worth it.
