Random Thoughts

JP 8th Anniversary Stream (Feb 20) Predictions/Hopes

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Introduction

PAD is an incredibly old game from a mobile standard and it is somewhat amazing that we are still playing after thousands of days.

As such, new content has to be continuously released in order to keep players excited/happy and anniversary streams tend to have a higher degree of hype. This is a common practice across all games (Fire Emblem Heroes is the other I play) and even though we are stuck 1-2 months behind JP in regards to content, it is still exciting to see what new big things are coming to PAD.

This post will mostly be a conversational piece that talks about features/content I would like to see in the future as well as being a place for my readers to voice their thoughts and concerns.

The PAD 8th year anniversary stream will take place on Feb. 20.

Video commentary

–video coming soon–

Quality of life improvements

The landscape of PAD has greatly changed over the years as we have had several major UI overhauls along with changes to improve our overall experience outside of dungeons.

As weird as it sounds, Quality of Life improvements are some of my favourite changes that can happen in Puzzle and Dragons as even saving 1-2 clicks for a specific task quickly adds up with years of play.

More stacking

In a previous update, Evolution, Enhance, and Awoken material could stack and it opened up probably 800 odd Box space for myself and was truly magical along with the Monster Box Folders.

While this has been wonderful, there are still several items that are not stack-able and can potentially clog up your Monster Box. Right now, the largest culprits are Rainbow Event Medals :eventmedal: and any Event/Collab tokens in their Bronze/Silver/Gold denominations.

Edit team right before entering dungeon

The final screen that shows your team, Solo Badge, and Friend’s helper should also function as an Edit Team because there are far too many times I am about to enter and then realize a small change needs to be made.

This results in clicking back and forth along with re-selecting a Friend and so many unnecessary click could be saved if changes could be made right before entering a Dungeon.

Rework Super Awakenings

Super Awakenings have become a staple part of our Puzzle and Dragon’s experience and is somewhat responsible for killing Coop as so many cards/teams cannot function without them. Regardless of that, the way we unlock and change our Super Awakenings feels archaic and unpleasant overall.

While we are able to acquire Plus Eggs much faster compared to before, the gambling aspect for Super Awakenings is not a fun experience.

What I propose instead is not to remove the roulette aspect but to have previously rolled Super Awakenings available and can be swapped for free with other unlocked Super Awakenings. This means a card with three possible options would require 297*3 Plus Eggs to have all unlocked.

For example, Diaochan can gain either Super Skill Boost or Full Bind Immunity . Each option has their merits and there have been times I would have liked to been able to choose for the dungeon at hand. Right now I would have to waste further 297’s on a gamble to switch whereas with my suggestion, I could swap at will assuming I already unlocked via the Roulette.

This change would also prevent the unlucky scenarios of constantly failing to roll the Super Awakening you desire and depleting your Plus Egg stash.

New in game items

Puzzle and Dragons has done a Fantastic job of keeping currencies to a minimum as it alleviates bloat and makes it easier to understand what is valuable. At this point in time, Magic Stones, Plus Eggs, and maybe Coins are the main “currencies” players have to manage but also means are so many ways to add more spice to the game.

Things such as Stamina potions (refill X amount for free), Box/Friend space tokens to increase them for free, or even a Revive potion for failing a dungeon. Essentially, create rewards as alternatives for Magic Stone spending. Furthermore, GungHo could even start to sell these items as part of IAP bundles which may entice newer players as it can quickly help them get going.

Friend list

I feel the Friend list system is outdated as we now require much more specific set ups compared to before as we now have to juggle Super Awakenings, Latent Awakenings, and Weapon Assists which can be frustrating in itself.

I am not sure how to amend this but perhaps not locking a self leader pairing to a specific team would be nice (still only have 1 copy of that card but it can be a self leader pairing on team 3 but used as a sub on team 4).

New game mode

Let’s face it, PAD can become repetitive sometimes and right now, the meta is becoming more restrictive due to the Transform cards who are not introducing new ways to play the game, only how we team build.

Furthermore, these teams also require a new set of subs/inherits which is both good and bad. It is good for newer players as they can quickly “catch up” as they can potentially roll an entire end game team from the Yu-Gi-Oh Collab (look at Pancaaake HERE). On the other hand, quite a few older cards have become less used which is understandable but I feel we need something new to really change things up.

As such, I would like to get away from the continuous pursuit of rare Collab/Seasonal cards and instead create a game mode that is just fun. What I propose would be similar to Fire Emblem Heroes’s Hall of Forums game mode.

Sandbox game mode

Sandbox-style games are those that give players massive amounts of choice/options when playing through which essentially gives a fully customizable experience. With this in mind, we can most certainly create something new due to the massive amount of existing content.

My idea is essentially a giant Rogue-style experience in that players are given 6 old Pantheon cards at level 1 with no active, leader skill, awakenings, pluses, etc. with this event lasting for a finite period of time that costs stamina to enter. Furthermore, each card will have a blank Weapon Assist that can also be upgraded through clearing dungeons.

Players will then have to go through progressively harder dungeons with this generic team and upon successfully completing each level, they can then upgrade 2 cards of their choice in 2 different metrics:

  • Gain random awakenings (4 shown, choose 2)
  • Pluses
  • New active (2 shown, choose 1)
  • New Leader Skill (2 shown, choose 1)
  • Latent awakenings (2 shown, choose 1)
  • Colour change (2 shown, choose 1)
  • Monster experience
  • Evolve after a certain level for better stats etc.

Furthermore, all cards will receive some Monster Experience for successfully clearing a level. Over time, this will allow players to “build their own card/team” in a unique manner as who is your leader/sub can be changed at will.

Each level could give various rewards for first time clears but may also require players going back and grinding for more upgrades from beatable levels. At the end of the event, there could be total achievement rewards for clearing various difficulties.

This new mode idea would be only available for a limited time and would use stamina and maybe have a cap/limit to how many dungeons can be attempted per day.

It could also be a way to show your love for a particular card as you could go super hard into making a “Super unit.”

New mechanics/next wave of Powercreep

Powercreep is vital to any longstanding PvE game as there must be newer and harder content to play along with new tools to overcome them. As such, I feel it is not too far a stretch for GungHo to tease new content on their 8th anniversary stream and will probably come in the form of new GFE and perhaps a brand new Collab announcement. There will probably be new Transforming cards as well who may further push the power potential of leader skills.

Weapon Assists

Weapon Assists have become a crucial part of team building and this past year, we have seen stronger and stronger options become available. As such, it would not be a far stretch to continue down this path. For example, cards with 5 Resists/1 Super Resist may start to come out (we already have cards with 4) along with maybe the two major remaining offensive awakenings: 7 Combo 45 and VDP .

In addition to this, spicier options for Skill Boost Skill Boost will become a hot topic due to Transforming and maybe even a double Skill Boost Weapon Assist may come out.

Forced colour skyfalls

We already have 99 turn Skyfall buffs along with 4 element Forced Skyfall actives that last a single turn. Perhaps a new ability to prevent a single colour from falling down may be released. For example, a Skyfall buff that prevents Wood orbs from falling down. This will help any team that does not require Wood orbs along with promoting Skyfalls.

Kanna gets a new evolution

So old and so neglected.

Crown alternatives – Achievement Titles

Right now, there is no way outside of Crowns to show of your Puzzling skills/commitment to this game which feels silly considering how much content is currently available. What I propose would not remove Crowns but instead give players another way to show off their variuos levels of achievement.

What I would like to see is something akin to the Titles that can be earned in World of Warcraft. Essentially, you have various hurdles/goals to try and achieve in order to get some extra text before or after your name.

For example perform 2,000 awakenings (numbers can vary) and you could be called “The Awoken” so I would then become The Awoken Mantastic. Clear Arenas X number of times for Arena Lord Mantastic or Mantastic the Dragon Seed if I have 100 Dragon Seeds in my Monster Box.

There could be weird/comical titles along with those that would require heavy grinding but at least it gives players new goals to try and achieve along with providing another way to stand out compared to their friends. Remember, there is no “real goal” for Puzzle and Dragons so having new things to work towards is healthy and fun overall.

More Titles can be periodically released and could either be new types of achievements or just higher numbers of existing ones.

Conclusion

Puzzle and Dragons will be having a special 8 year anniversary stream in JP on February 20. I feel that GungHo will be teasing plenty of content and hope some of my various points are addressed, especially the Quality of Life ones.

Let me know what you would like to see in the upcoming anniversary stream along with any suggestions I have not thought of.

Happy Puzzling!

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57 thoughts on “JP 8th Anniversary Stream (Feb 20) Predictions/Hopes”

  4. QoL on skillups would be nice. How about a “skill up search” button on every card right next to the Evo Seach Button? And you can skill up from that screen.

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  5. Your sections detailing New Game Mode and Powercreep are precisely why I’m taking a break from the game. I’m sick of doing the same thing over and over again, trying to get medals to exchange for the newest Collab equip. And feeling like I need to save all my stones for the next big thing (which seems to happen every event now) is draining on me.

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    1. Yeah having cards become dated much faster does not feel satisfying overall. Right now they are just churning our the same style of leader skill but with higher multipliers so it is easier to be powercrept

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  8. Would being able to search for leader pairings prior to dungeon entry defeat the purpose of a friend’s list?

    I like to try out new leaders when I pull them. And certainly, while my friendlist IMMEDIATELY had a hundred Yugis on there, there are times when I roll cards NOT from the latest collab, but struggle to get past initial teambuilding when I don’t have a pair. I am not one to take to the discord or reddit to LF specific leaders (maybe I should be), so I typically revert back to my regular teams as I can find a relevant leader pairing.

    This leads me to believe it would be nice to search for leaders, or for colors or styles or conditions that match what I am going for. Of course, if I can just search for the perfect leader every time, why bother maintaining a friendlist? That extra 5 pal points isn’t much of a sticking point.

    Anyway, my vote for QoL goes to improving my ability to find a leader pairing. Maybe I forfeit my Pal earnings, and/or maybe using ACTUAL friends feels more rewarding (looking at the difference between “friend” and “best friend” as a precedent), but it would be nice to feel a little freer to experiment.

    ❤ you Mantastic, you are our #1 asset!!!

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    1. I feel the problem you outlined is a side effect of the friend’s list becoming outdated

      Before all you needed was the leader. Now you need the right leader, assist, and latents which can be difficult. Furthermore, the idea of you just defaulting to your original popular leads because that’s all you can find is another issue.

      I feel the friend system needs an overhaul as it feels pretty flat at the moment

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  11. For the love of chocolate, an in game set of icons or description of what my actives do. Countless times I forget what my friend leads unfamiliar inherit does, and far too many times I’ve mixed up which of my inherits is which and popped anti-void instead of anti-absorb, or a board change plus effect when the effect wasn’t the void/absorb I thought I remembered. Very not fun. A few icons would do the trick tersely, or just show the text if you hover long enough. Quality of life please, gungho.

    Make coins useful by letting me buy more team slots for 500m coins, or 750m coins, or some such. Or let me buy the ability reset sad Tamara’s at 100m coins a piece of something. Make coins relevant again, 999999999+ is silly.

    I wouldn’t mind some leader skills or enemy effects where the input directions change, in a demagnetized fashion, and left and right, or up and down swap, or the board only allows diagonal moves for one turn, or the inputs invert up/down as you cross the middle 3rd/4th columns of the board. There is unmined ground in remapped inputs that is quite unexplored.

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  13. I’ve got a suggestion that trumps all of yours

    How about showing some teasers for the DMC collab we were promised an entire year ago

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  14. Small typo but “various” in your article says variuos. Just something I noticed. Overall, this article resonates with me as well. Glad to see your opinion on some QoL changes.

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  15. Have 2 ideas:
    1/add a latent tama who add a sub type (e.g. machine, balanced…) to fit on restrictive type leaders (hello Nere!)
    2/ add an exchange token (can only be given on very special event) to trade for 5stars+ monsters (dreaming I know). I have several diaochan who will be pleased to find a new home

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    1. How many diaochan? She is a very versatile sub that can fit on many teams so I would not be too hasty to get rid of them. (teams that she can be on include Yugi, Dmeta(dated, however) and many others)

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            1. I mean her reincarnated form is very useful as I have already said. You may be more inclined to only keep one but she is a very powerful sub in terms of utility and versatility.

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              1. Yes, currently diaochan is the strongest sub according gamewith, and i use it on yugi x hbastet team 7×6 swap leader or yugi x yugi 6×5 team.

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    2. I feel adding additional typings would make things far too easy to team build. With that being said, if it was restricted to one card per team maybe. Also, probably should be an inherit-style ability, not a latent

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  17. How about a “puppeteer/ brave” style series of skills that operates on type (healer/devil/etc)? Might be especially useful for less developed boxes to be able to temporarily allow an off type sub to take full advantage of leader skills. Or make an enemy vulnerable to a a different set of killers.

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    1. I feel changing the enemy’s typing would be interesting assuming it comes with a useful secondary effect (eg. orb changer)

      Someone else also mentioned changing the typing of your cards but I feel it would make team building too easy as there would be no more restrictions

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      1. I agree a permanent type change/addition via latent as suggested in the other comment would probably be too much. But an assist skill that changes the owning card’s type for one turn might be just enough boost for a player with a less-developed box to finish a problem floor. A niche skill, probably only practical for a single use in most dungeons. I suspect players with advanced boxes would rather not give up a more generally useful skill.

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  18. I wish there was a different vdp option via awakenings. Part of what makes the game fun is playing different teams with different play styles. Not to mention that’s how you improve as a player. Cross leaders can’t do a thing to vdp spawns with high combo absorb unless you have a 7×6 board. But as far as what I’d like to see……
    – maybe make a cross awakening at 1.5x damage that penetrates the shield.
    – lower combo orb activation to 9 orbs (maybe 6 if it doesn’t break the game)
    – make heart L’s reduce damage by 10% instead of 5%.
    – increase auto recover from 1000hp to 3000hp(or more)
    – actives on/off switch for pantheon weapon assist (make pantheon weapons)
    – make a search function for actives (so many cards and I cant always remember what cards does what. Only the active I need) I know this is difficult since lots of actives do multiple things.

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    1. I agree that there should be more solutions for solving various mechanics via an awakening. Awakenings promote matching which is what the game is all about.

      I like the idea of a cross for 1.5x ATK. Prevents instant activation of all those match-6 leaders but helps rainbow/non blob teams

      I feel Combo Orb can never truly shine due to VDP requiring 9 and a VDP always being the better choice

      I had almost forgotten about Heart L’s. They need some love

      The idea of a stronger search function would be wonderful as I always have to rely on Ilmina.com

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  19. Sadly, I think the only things that are gonna be announced are new Pixel evolutions for Zeus and Hera, the Four Noble Ones series and the Chinese God series, the Odin chapter added to the Story mode, Nere and Faska and/or the return of the SAO collab. I could be very, very wrong, but we’ll see in the near future.

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  20. I’m seeing a lot of people on my consistent friend list start to be less active after the Yugi-Oh collab. I would very much appreciate a friend list update, or expansion, or anything. Having a huge chunk of your friend list turn into the next hottest lead overnight and not having enough people to pair with is pretty hard.

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    2. So much better compared to before

      She has 4SB, Full Blind, and Cloud/VDP or more TPA. Can function as a sub much more easily and helps transform cards

      Also a pretty braindead leader for 324x and high defensive stats

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  22. Ideas I think would be fun:

    more different patterns/shapes beyond “L”, “cross”, “VDP”, “columns”, and “rows”. Cards with “make a checkerboard of red&blue”, or “make bigger crosses” or “make a smiley face” might add another level of thinking to the game.
    very long move-time, very complex dungeons. Many dungeons seem to have a lot of time pressure. I think a long move-time “get a perfect solve with crosses & VDP (that requires visualizing cascading patterns) on every level” dungeon would be interesting.

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    1. Yeah i agree that incorporating more special patterns for awakenings would be helpful. I remember someone mentioned a special Cross that would pierce through Voids but for less dmg etc or perhaps a FUA-style match for a colour not hearts

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