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Tequila
Apr 16, 2002
DRIVE BY RANDOM TITLING! YOU MAY BE NEXT!
Effort post on pulls & gem spending in general:

This game is pretty generous with both the gold and gem 10x pulls in terms of cost and content so you're better off saving for them.

Gold pulls aren't a terrible idea if you're low leveled and only have a few heroes because the guaranteed blue gear can potentially save you a few days of grinding and there's a not insignificant chance of getting a hero out of them. However, this becomes cost prohibitive very quickly as you start getting blue and purple skills to train on more heroes so don't do this too much.

On average, gem pulls will get you 3 "complete" heroes (dupes will be converted to shards) so if you want to get more heroes, this will be the best way to do it.

I usually save my gems for 10x pulls and the midas touch daily quest.

Gemming for stamina is generally not worth it unless:
* You've done all of the daily quests and the boost will unlock a new feature (ex: crusade, trials, outlands portal, booty cave, etc.)
* There's some specific event like the double drops from normal dungeons event going on at the time of those post.
* You're super impatient and just want to get the last few loving shards on that 80 shard hero you've been grinding for the last month or so goddammit.

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vulturesrow
Sep 25, 2011

Always gotta pay it forward.
Thoughts on Emberblade? I still have the starting 5 plus Professional Killer And cleric.

Victis
Mar 26, 2008

So one thing I learned that might not be immediately obvious (unless I'm just stupid): Heroes unlock via stones at a set number of stars. For example I thought that spending 80 stones on a hero would give me an expensive 1* hero, but an 80 stone hero unlocks all the way to 3*, 30 stone at 2* etc.

Makes sense in retrospect, all heroes cost the same amount in stones regardless if you evolve them up or just purchase them, it's just more of an investment with no early 1* or 2* usage.

vulturesrow posted:

Thoughts on Emberblade? I still have the starting 5 plus Professional Killer And cleric.

Seems like an ok front line DPS? Doesn't seem to have the HP or anything to mitigate physical damage (unless his chains do something weird) to be a true tank but has a nice magic damage shield. I wouldn't use it at 1 star but I'm not great at judging things that don't have a traditional role.

Victis fucked around with this message at 16:42 on Feb 11, 2015

Wilmott Snipes
May 29, 2002

It's daddy shithead, where's the bourbon?

vulturesrow posted:

Thoughts on Emberblade? I still have the starting 5 plus Professional Killer And cleric.

I've been using Emberblade in place of Admiral and it seems to work better during quests. He can teleport into the back lines to help soften them up while he can take magic hits. But yeah health wise definitely leaves something to be desired. Just pulled a Phoenix, who would that replace in this lineup?

Cleric
Emberblade
Leave's Shadow
Mystic
Wind Master
Chaplain

Dreylad
Jun 19, 2001
Phoenix should probably replace Mystic or Cleric in that lineup.

vulturesrow
Sep 25, 2011

Always gotta pay it forward.
I'm thinking about Cleric, Emberblade, lightning master, Chaplain, and leaves shadow. I kind of want to work in pk somewhere though. Any suggestions?

Wilmott Snipes
May 29, 2002

It's daddy shithead, where's the bourbon?

Dreylad posted:

Phoenix should probably replace Mystic or Cleric in that lineup.

Thanks much, I'll try that. Just trying to get to 42 for the booty caves.

Dimix
Aug 1, 2004
What are you guys using in raids? In general and against the silencer boss in chapter 7.

Im doing respectable damage on silencer boss with the below but I'm getting beat by people lower than me even though I've made it the full minute 30 before.

3 wind master
2 shadow leaf
3 warchief
4 commando
3 succubus

Zotix
Aug 14, 2011



What should I focus on here going forward?




Victis
Mar 26, 2008

Heroes Charge so bittersweet; unlock Warchief, promote him to purple and spend all my gold maxing his skills, and the final Crusade chest gives me Deathknight...

Certainly not the worst turn of events but I would have much rather maxed DK skills.

Dreylad
Jun 19, 2001
You could do both! And you need several teams to compete in the Grand Arena anyway.

Echophonic
Sep 16, 2005

ha;lp
Gun Saliva
Man, the gold chest isn't bad at all when you're starting out. I just got a Phoenix from a 10-pull and a Sniper, but I already had him, so I'm almost halfway to a rank-up.

vulturesrow
Sep 25, 2011

Always gotta pay it forward.
My crusade store has the following tokens right now:

Vanguard Warrior
Frost Mage
Commando
Rifleman
Phoenix
Mystic
Wind Master
Pilot

Are any of these worth dropping 500 points on? Current heroes I have are starting 5 plus Professional Killer, Cleric, and Embersword.


Echophonic posted:

Man, the gold chest isn't bad at all when you're starting out. I just got a Phoenix from a 10-pull and a Sniper, but I already had him, so I'm almost halfway to a rank-up.

I did a 10x pull and the only hero I got was 1x Commando token. :argh:

Niton
Oct 21, 2010

Your Lord and Savior has finally arrived!

..got any kibble?

vulturesrow posted:

My crusade store has the following tokens right now:

Vanguard Warrior
Frost Mage
Commando
Rifleman
Phoenix
Mystic
Wind Master
Pilot

Are any of these worth dropping 500 points on? Current heroes I have are starting 5 plus Professional Killer, Cleric, and Embersword.


I did a 10x pull and the only hero I got was 1x Commando token. :argh:

The heroes in the Crusade store are static - you can buy 5 pieces for 500 each day, or more often if you waste coins refreshing. In my opinion, Phoenix and Commando are the two best offered there.

Victis
Mar 26, 2008

Niton posted:

The heroes in the Crusade store are static - you can buy 5 pieces for 500 each day, or more often if you waste coins refreshing. In my opinion, Phoenix and Commando are the two best offered there.

It's only 10 coins/refresh for the first 2 refreshes, I just rushed to 4* Commando (since I didn't need another mage). I'll probably do Mystic after Commando is done.

Tequila
Apr 16, 2002
DRIVE BY RANDOM TITLING! YOU MAY BE NEXT!
Mystic and Frost Mage are also good complements to a solid magic team.

Dimix
Aug 1, 2004

Victis posted:

It's only 10 coins/refresh for the first 2 refreshes, I just rushed to 4* Commando (since I didn't need another mage). I'll probably do Mystic after Commando is done.

I'd recommend using the refresh and rushing one thing instead of buying more than 1 character's tokens. Got my 5 star commando today and gonna either rush Phoenix or frost mage next.

vulturesrow
Sep 25, 2011

Always gotta pay it forward.
Based on the heroes I listed above that i already have would phoenix or commando be better?

Echophonic
Sep 16, 2005

ha;lp
Gun Saliva

vulturesrow posted:

My crusade store has the following tokens right now:

Vanguard Warrior
Frost Mage
Commando
Rifleman
Phoenix
Mystic
Wind Master
Pilot

Are any of these worth dropping 500 points on? Current heroes I have are starting 5 plus Professional Killer, Cleric, and Embersword.


I did a 10x pull and the only hero I got was 1x Commando token. :argh:

I've done quite a few. I got a lot of cash from some gear I got from a gem chest. I think I got Psychopath from a chest, but I forget which one.

Dreylad
Jun 19, 2001

Victis posted:

It's only 10 coins/refresh for the first 2 refreshes, I just rushed to 4* Commando (since I didn't need another mage). I'll probably do Mystic after Commando is done.

I had no idea you could refresh. That explains running into teams with a bunch of 5 star heroes.

rundxdi
Feb 3, 2004

Soup Of The Day

Trying this out as rundxdi. Any advice for what i should be spending my various uh....whatevers on? Idk, stamina, other things. I'm like team level 12 or something so I havent played much and dont really know what im doing. Just been going through the chapters.

q_k
Dec 31, 2007





rundxdi posted:

Trying this out as rundxdi. Any advice for what i should be spending my various uh....whatevers on? Idk, stamina, other things. I'm like team level 12 or something so I havent played much and dont really know what im doing. Just been going through the chapters.

I would say save up for a 10x gold chest pull. Stamina might not be a horrible idea until you open up crusades which is a huge source of income and heroes.

vulturesrow
Sep 25, 2011

Always gotta pay it forward.
I bought commando from the crusades store. She is really good. I've been running her, leaves shadow, and pro killer in the back and with cleric and lightning master up front I've Bern wedding stuff pretty consistently. Still haven't been able to get past stage 10 on crusade yet. I think I'm holding ultis too long.

overseer07
Mar 30, 2003
Pillbug
It's only been a few hours, and I'm already missing the 2x quest rewards.

Looks like it isn't possible to move a character to purple until the low 50's. Is that right, or are there some than can go earlier?

Dimix
Aug 1, 2004
Lightning master hits purple early. He'll probably be replaced though so you can weigh the pros/cons

overseer07
Mar 30, 2003
Pillbug
drat. I already don't use him.

Tequila
Apr 16, 2002
DRIVE BY RANDOM TITLING! YOU MAY BE NEXT!
Lightning master gets somewhat viable again once he hits purple since his purple ability gives a massive magic attack boost. There are many better options to choose from but he'll do in a pinch until you get more stuff to purple.

gey muckle mowser
Aug 5, 2003

Do you know anything about...
witches?



Buglord
I use Lightning Master in crusades as one of the heroes I charge up and save for a tough wave. His high energy regen means he can usually get two ultimates off in one round. He's definitely not great, but mine is two stars and purple and he's okay as filler DPS for caves and the magic-only trial and such.

I'm only two shards away from a 3-star Shadowleaf, and I'm spending all my crusade points right now on upgrading Commando (about a quarter of the way to 4-star). I'm running Shadowleaf/Commando/Succubus/Phoenix/War Chief for PvP right now and having a lot of success. The only hero that regularly gives me trouble is Death Mage, who seems ridiculously strong.

vulturesrow
Sep 25, 2011

Always gotta pay it forward.
Need some advice on my lowbie arena team. Shadow Leaf, Commando, and Pro Killer are all in. Remaining are the 4 other starters plus Emberblade and Cleric. Everyone is either Blue or Blue+1. Any recommendations on filling it out?

DemonMage
Oct 14, 2004



What happens in the course of duty is up to you...
Ember Blade and Chaplain are both super solid.

vulturesrow
Sep 25, 2011

Always gotta pay it forward.

DemonMage posted:

Ember Blade and Chaplain are both super solid.

I'm not sure what to think of Chaplain in Arena. Damage piles up so quick that her healing doesn't seem to mitigate it all that much. On the other hand Convert is a nice skill but the duration seems pretty short.

And whoever posted heroes love shoes love shoes wasn't kidding, I keep having to go and run that instance constantly. :negative:

DemonMage
Oct 14, 2004



What happens in the course of duty is up to you...
How much have you been leveling her healing skill? I'm 43 with a 1* Chaplain and maxed her healing skill (and convert) and I find it heals a pretty significant chunk of damage and I get it off 95% of the time against similar power teams. Occasionally things like my Ember Blade not getting his Magic Immunity shield up happens, which lets them move onto my back line quicker and the Chaplain gets taken out, but it's still a solid healing skill the vast majority of the time.

I specifically run: 1* Ember Blade, 1* Chaplain, 2* Commando, 3* Wind Master, 2* Shadow Leaf for arena. Only rank 11,677 right now but a lot of my Middle rank options are taken up by people with 2-3k power or more ahead of me so I usually have to go against the Right team.

EzEight
Jan 21, 2014
I finally understand why Frost Mage Helga is top tier.

Upgraded her to purple and the first of 2 purple gear is an item that boosts her spell power and regen. Solskeith

Upgraded that to 3 star and she is regenning 700en per wave. That is pretty much a guaranteed Ult out of the gate.

If you get a clump of enemies, thats 4-6k of splash. Just mop up with someone else works well with Mystic's Magic cannon or Lightning elemental.

Dreylad
Jun 19, 2001
Chaplain is someone you use for PvE, not PvP. In PvP you need as much damage as possible and she's not going to charge her ult fast enough to make much use of it. There are better support heroes like Mystic, Commando, and Old Curse who are better for PvP because of their control and raw damage output.

Mind you that in lower levels she might be better, but once you start hitting Blue +1/Purple you should sub her out for another hero.

Of course there's always that hilarious moment where your Chaplain charms an enemy hero and they ult their team. Bonus points if it's a AxeBrute who dunks another hero.

EzEight posted:

If you get a clump of enemies, thats 4-6k of splash. Just mop up with someone else works well with Mystic's Magic cannon or Lightning elemental.

Death Mage is also another hero who charges really quick which is why I can now have her roll through an entire Crusade without really changing my lineup.

Death Mage/Mystic/Frost Mage/Phoenix/Old Curse is a pretty crazy, magic-heavy combo.

Dreylad fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Feb 14, 2015

gey muckle mowser
Aug 5, 2003

Do you know anything about...
witches?



Buglord

vulturesrow posted:

Need some advice on my lowbie arena team. Shadow Leaf, Commando, and Pro Killer are all in. Remaining are the 4 other starters plus Emberblade and Cleric. Everyone is either Blue or Blue+1. Any recommendations on filling it out?

For lower-level teams, I think Admiral is actually a pretty decent choice, at least until mid-50s or so. I had her in both my arena and PvE teams until I got War Chief to purple and she did quite well. The rest of your team is pretty squishy, and I don't really like Cleric for the arena, since he can be shut down by control/stuns too easily, so Admiral might be a good option for now. I'm not sure how tanky Emberblade is though, I haven't used him at all yet.

vulturesrow
Sep 25, 2011

Always gotta pay it forward.

Daveski posted:

For lower-level teams, I think Admiral is actually a pretty decent choice, at least until mid-50s or so. I had her in both my arena and PvE teams until I got War Chief to purple and she did quite well. The rest of your team is pretty squishy, and I don't really like Cleric for the arena, since he can be shut down by control/stuns too easily, so Admiral might be a good option for now. I'm not sure how tanky Emberblade is though, I haven't used him at all yet.

Emberblade holds up surprisingly well thanks to his magic shield and his green skill. With Commando's buffs he hits pretty hard for a frontline hero. So far I'm pretty happy with him, Lightning Master, Commando, Leaves Shadow, and Pro Killer as my arena comp.

Echophonic
Sep 16, 2005

ha;lp
Gun Saliva
Ok, so I've made to Rank 40 just kind of plugging along. I had a few questions about what I should be doing.

My current selection is the starting 5, Succubus, Commander, Mystic, Cleric, Ember Blade, Vanguard Warrior, Phoenix, Sniper, and Professional Killer. I am decidedly unimpressed with the Vanguard Warrior and the Pro Killer seems... okayish. I'm not good enough at the arena to really dig in and go for the Death Knight. Any other good heroes from Crusade or should I just focus on Commander shards?

I kind of feel like the 10x gem chests are a bit of a trap. I bought one with my bonus gems from the monthly card and got a ton of stuff I can't use and I think some 1* hero. The 10x gold pulls are awesome, though. I've gotten a Mystic, a Phoenix, and some other full heroes that got converted to shards. I should be using gems for stamina, midas, and skill points, right?

What heroes should I be focusing on getting from the campaign? I'm currently working on the Ice Mage and Machinist. I have the Cleric and Sniper already.

Also, I have access to a 'Random Black Marketer'. What the heck is that?

Any other pro-tips would be helpful.

DemonMage
Oct 14, 2004



What happens in the course of duty is up to you...

Echophonic posted:

I kind of feel like the 10x gem chests are a bit of a trap. I bought one with my bonus gems from the monthly card and got a ton of stuff I can't use and I think some 1* hero. The 10x gold pulls are awesome, though. I've gotten a Mystic, a Phoenix, and some other full heroes that got converted to shards. I should be using gems for stamina, midas, and skill points, right?

Gems for stamina isn't actually that great (despite what I said before), I guess if you feel the chests aren't worth it then it's alright. Midas unless you get super lucky quickly becomes pretty expensive for the gold you get which pales compared to Crusade gold. Finishing Crusade will net you like 700k, without some good 4-10x Midas you're burning a ton of diamonds to get that.

The problem with buying stamina is that stamina = Player Level experience 1:1, so each buy gets you 120 experience. That's maybe 1/10th of a level if you're lucky (less with each level you gain). So it's alright for farming certain items or hero pieces in elite if you really need, but it's not as good of a buy as it looks like originally since you're heavily gated by your Player Level. I've had Chapter 6 done and just sitting here not able to do new normal content for like 4 levels now, since you don't unlock Chapter 7 until 46.

quote:

Also, I have access to a 'Random Black Marketer'. What the heck is that?

It's like the random goblin merchant, finishing a dungeon will sometimes make it show up and you can buy things from it. It's far more rare.

Echophonic
Sep 16, 2005

ha;lp
Gun Saliva
Oh, I just do the one Midas a day for the account XP.

I figured getting a stamina refill here and there is good for progression when I can sit around and use it to get stuff to rank up my dudes and dudettes. I'm not burning every gem I get on it or anything. Is my assessment on the gem chests off in some way?

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DemonMage
Oct 14, 2004



What happens in the course of duty is up to you...
Well there are plenty of good 1* heroes, since you can rank them up to 5* starting off with more stars doesn't necessarily mean they'll be better in the end.

And a 10x gem chest will always give a hero, which isn't a bad thing. It's 7 pieces towards ranking up, or possibly something cool if its new. Lets you fill out the roster and you can use those for Grand Arena and Booty Cave defense if nothing else.

I've not opened too many gem chests since I was blowing gems on tons of stamina/gold originally before they did the recent crusade matching pass. But they sure sound like the best use of gems besides 1x Midas and occasionally some stamina.

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