Elemental Strategy: Rubble

Rubble is a hands-down favorite for holding large groups of enemies at bay. With a few upgrades, Rubble becomes brutally effective at eliminating large groups of enemies quickly.

Early on, Rubble will most likely be the backbone of your offense due to his ranged attacks. His Gravel Blast attack fires in every direction, stunning enemies and knocking them down. You’ll want to get the Razor Stone upgrade as quickly as possible to make the Gravel Blast more effective. Even though an upgraded Gravel Blast doesn’t inflict massive amounts of damage, the boulders hit enemies on the initial burst and when they roll back to rejoin Rubble, disrupting their attacks and movement.

This is important because Rubble is very slow and vulnerable until he recomposes himself after a Gravel Blast. In addition, remember that boulders rejoin Rubble in a path straight back to him, so maneuvering Rubble to place enemies between him and his returning boulders inflicts maximal damage, and buys Rubble some valuable time to recompose himself. 

Expert Tip: A fully upgraded Rubble makes quick, easy work of the Warrior Trainer’s first Troll Challenge, where you must eliminate a set number of endlessly spawning Trolls within a time limit. Just sit in the middle of the swarm, keep moving, and keep Gravel Blasting. You’ll have no problem winning the challenge (and an Elemental Fruit).

Get the Razor Stone and Rapid Charge upgrades as soon as possible to improve Rubble’s offensive power. Razor Stone adds damage to Rubble’s attacks (instead of just stunning enemies) and Rapid Charge shaves valuable time off of the Gravel Blast’s initial charge up. Stone Storm is a vicious, machine-gun style attack against one or more enemies, and is the most damaging attack Rubble has, so get it and the Sprit Up upgrades after Razor Stone and Rapid Charge. The enemies you’ll face earlier in the game are relatively weak and you can use Rubble's standard Sling Stone, Stone Chip, and Gravel Blast to deal with them. For stronger enemies, you’ll want Stone Storm.

Rubble’s Gravel Blast is so useful you may find yourself resorting to it throughout the game. Although Rubble’s attacks aren’t as strong or useful as some of the other Elemental Warriors later in the game, the Gravel Blast is still perfect for buying time in tight situations. The Stone Storm is also a good choice for taking out Water Trolls that have been “hydrated” (made vulnerable) by Deep Blue’s Water Cannons, or taking out Elemental Ice Trolls that have had their shields snatched away by Flex.