Common Issue Fixes and How to Get Started with LEGO Dimensions

It’s launch week for the latest addition to the Toys to Life video game genre, LEGO Dimensions and now everyone from North America to the EU has had the chance to grab it on day one. 

I know a lot of questions were already covered just a day or so ago in 7 Things You Should Know Before Playing LEGO Dimensions but there has been a surprising amount of stuff that you probably want to know before you get too far into the game.

Is your game pad working/toy tags reading?

This is related to the additional point I made in the article above (I felt it was important enough to stretch the 6 points to 7!) about needing to keep the toy pad close to you because you’ll be switching stuff around on it fairly often – and yet far away from any marauding toddlers that might like sucking on choking hazards.

Many gamers are reporting a few issues getting their toy pad to recognize their minifigs and their discs – but not all of them are related to defective products. Though the toy pad is wired, placing it near any other kind of technology can mess with it and prevent it from reading your discs properly (e.g. putting it on top of a laptop, near a phone, etc.) You can also try placing it on a flat surface, and away from carpet.

How long is the game with just the starter pack/do I need to buy DLC right away? 

I understand, it’s a lot of money to push out right away. The majority of early reviews for LEGO Dimensions have stated the playtime for the base game to be approximately 10 hours, however if you’re the kind of player who likes exploring, collecting, and picking up achievements, you’re in for quite a long haul. 

As one Reddit user put it:

“I just played through some of the Wizard of Oz adventure world and after only about 50 minutes I had collected 2 gold bricks (out of 27), a red brick, and nearly 80,000+ studs. And the “Rule Breaker” meter wasn’t even 1/3 of the way full yet.”

Note that a lot of this will be hunting up studs in order to collect all your gold bricks, even with the red multiplier brick since it only goes up to x 2 in this game. 

Fair warning: The base game is a lot of fun to play, but you probably aren’t going to get full enjoyment out of it with just the three starting characters in the game and you will be locked out of a lot of content that requires additional packs/characters to access.

Where do you find the red multiplier brick?

This can only be found in the Lord of the Rings level. Watch this video tutorial below:

Similarly, check out this video to find the mini-kit detector in The LEGO Movie world:

What can your characters do? 

This chart is a handy infographic of all the abilities each of the charcters have – it is mostly correct except for a few noticeable exceptions (e.g. Wyldstyle can, in fact, use Master Build). 

The updated version is a Google Drive Doc which is formatted less prettily, but a little more accurately. You can also find the second sheet with the (incomplete) ability list for vehicles and gadgets.

Some other quick things to know:

• If you have any of the extra DLC packs and you want to use these characters in-game, you will need to play through their corresponding world first (you don’t have to beat it, but it may take 10-20 minutes of gameplay).
• If you want everything (including store exclusives, etc.) this will set you back about $500 USD (if you’re checking via the Amazon calculator, be aware that marketplace sellers are posting many of the store exclusives for much higher than they should be and the total inflates upwards of $700). 

If you have any other questions, please feel free to leave a comment!