The Badge Dojo is one of the most rewarding permanent modes in Clash of Critters, and it is also one of the most misunderstood. Players who treat it as an afterthought miss out on thousands of free pinballs and permanent stat boosts that carry across every battle. Each of the five elemental tracks runs independently, each has its own master NPC, and clearing them all can push your Tatari roster to a noticeably stronger baseline.
What is the Badge Dojo?
The Badge Dojo is a tower-style challenge mode built around 5-on-5 battles. You fight through a series of stages against progressively tougher opponent teams, earning rewards at key checkpoints along the way. The real incentive is the Tatari badges you collect at the end of each dojo tier. These badges provide permanent percentage-based stat bonuses to all Tatari of the matching element type, making them some of the most impactful upgrades in the game.
The five elemental dojos are Water (headed by Felicia), Fire (headed by Lobert), Grass (headed by Mycelia), Rock (headed by Sheldon), and Lightning (headed by Hopper). Each master NPC represents their element and serves as the final boss of each dojo tier.
Water Dojo master Felicia
How do you unlock each dojo tier?
Unlocking higher dojo tiers requires you to have evolved Tatari of the matching element at specific rarity levels. Here is the full breakdown:
The progression is steep by Dojo 5 and beyond. Getting six Red evolutions of a single element takes serious roster investment, which is why focusing on one or two elements first is a smarter approach than spreading resources across all five simultaneously.
Prioritize whichever element your strongest Tatari belong to. Unlocking deeper dojo tiers in one element earlier means more badge bonuses stacking on your main team.
What badges and rewards does each element offer?
Every dojo has 10 stages per tier, with the tenth stage always being a rematch against the element master. Rewards are scattered throughout, including Tatari Capsules, Pinballs, and Tatari Wishboxes. The badge itself drops at stage 10.
Water Dojo rewards
- Dojo 1 completion (stage 1-10): Drop Badge featuring Swaystroll (+10% to all Water Tatari stats)
- Dojo 2 completion (stage 2-10): Wet Badge featuring Ripplewing (+20% HP to all Water Tataris)
- Notable mid-tier rewards include Tatari Wishboxes at stages 1-9 (3 Wishboxes) and 2-9 (5 Wishboxes)
Fire Dojo rewards
- Dojo 1 completion (stage 1-10): Emberling Badge featuring Pyroprawn (+10% to all Fire Tatari stats)
- Dojo 2 completion (stage 2-10): Warm Badge featuring Firecoil (+20% HP to all Fire Tataris)
- Stage 2-9 drops 5 Tatari Wishboxes before the final boss
Grass Dojo rewards
- Dojo 1 completion (stage 1-10): Sprout Badge featuring Jarachnid (+10% to all Grass Tatari stats)
- Dojo 2 completion (stage 2-10): Green Badge featuring Stalkerix (+20% HP to all Grass Tataris)
- Dojo 3 completion (stage 3-10): Seedling Badge featuring Pandarrior (+20% to all Grass Tatari ATK)
- Stage 3-9 alone rewards 10 Tatari Wishboxes, making the Grass Dojo one of the most generous tracks for late-game players
Rock Dojo rewards
- Dojo 1 completion (stage 1-10): Shard Badge featuring Gemsnail (+10% to all Rock Tatari stats)
- Mid-tier checkpoints at stages 1-5 and 1-9 provide Wishboxes before reaching Sheldon
Lightning Dojo rewards
- Dojo 1 completion (stage 1-10): Badge featuring Buzzbeak (+10% to all Fire Tatari stats)
- Stage 1-9 rewards 3 Tatari Wishboxes ahead of the Hopper boss fight
The Lightning Dojo tier 1 badge bonus currently reads as applying to Fire Tatari stats rather than Lightning. Double-check in-game to confirm the current state, as this may reflect a data quirk in the source material.
Fire Dojo master Lobert
How does the Trainer Title system work?
Badges you earn are not just stat tools. They count toward your Trainer Title, a rank displayed on your user profile that signals how far you have progressed through the dojo system. Titles scale with the total number of badges owned:
Reaching Supreme Trainer means clearing a substantial portion of the dojo across all five elements. For players who enjoy visible progression markers, this is the Badge Dojo's version of a prestige system.
Why should you prioritize the Badge Dojo for free pinballs?
The Badge Dojo is one of the best free-to-play pinball sources in the game. Certain milestone stages reward 400 to 450 pinballs at a time, and with five separate elemental tracks each running multiple tiers, the cumulative pinball total across all dojos reaches into the thousands. Each element essentially runs its own reward track, so fully completing one does not exhaust the others.
Compared to daily quests (roughly 10 pinballs each) or the Mall's daily gift (around 60 pinballs), a single dojo checkpoint can outpace several days of routine rewards in one clear. That math makes consistent dojo progress one of the highest-value activities for free-to-play players.
Do not auto-deploy your formation without checking it first. Tougher dojo stages, especially the boss rounds at stage 10, can punish weak placement. Manual formation adjustments before difficult fights make a measurable difference in clear rates.
What Tatari should you bring to each dojo?
Each dojo does not restrict you to using only same-element Tatari. You can build mixed teams. That said, the badge bonuses you earn apply to same-element Tatari, so investing in a focused element roster compounds over time.
The opponent teams in early tiers (Dojo 1) often include a mix of Blue and Purple tier Tatari. By Dojo 2, Gold-tier Tatari appear regularly in enemy formations. Dojo 3 stages in the Grass track, for example, feature Slobberlama, Cactobloom, Pandaroot, and Stalkerix on multiple teams, all Gold-tier or higher.
Bringing a balanced team with at least one Tank or Guardian to absorb hits, a Healer like Buddi or Sunfleur if your roster allows, and strong DPS Tatari gives you the best chance across all five elements without needing a specialized build for each.
Tatari come in six combat roles: DPS, Tank, Guardian, Support, Healer, and Specialist. Dojo teams tend to lean heavily on DPS and Tank combos, so bringing a Guardian or Healer of your own can shift fights in your favor.
Building your dojo strategy from scratch
The most efficient path through the Badge Dojo is not random. Start with the element where you already own seven or more Tatari to unlock Dojo 1 immediately. From there, focus on evolving those same Tatari to Gold to unlock Dojo 2, rather than spreading evolution materials across multiple elements.
Grass has the most confirmed dojo tiers in the current data (three tiers with documented rewards), making it a strong candidate for early investment if your Tatari collection skews that way. The Grass Dojo 3 completion alone rewards a +20% ATK badge for all Grass Tatari, which is a significant offensive multiplier.
For players still building their roster, the Clash of Critters guides collection covers additional progression topics including team building and resource management that pair directly with dojo preparation.
The Badge Dojo rewards patience more than any other mode. Each stage cleared is permanent progress, each badge stacks on your roster permanently, and the pinball income compounds as you open more elemental tracks. If you have been ignoring it in favor of events or campaign stages, the time to start is now. Check out more on the Clash of Critters game page, or explore other casual games with similar collector-battler mechanics if you want to branch out while you wait for your Tatari to evolve.