I have been playing Puzzle and Dragons for over 2,700 days and in this time I have seen monsters rise and fall, a constantly shifting meta, along with Farmables being a top tier leader. Furthermore, I have witnessed the constantly evolving mechanics of current end game dungeons along with the cards released to counter them.
As a whole, PAD is by far my longest played game and would technically qualify as my longest relationship, but like any relationship, it requires work, dedication, and patience to truly succeed.
Obviously I love Puzzle and Dragons but at the same time, I can be critical about the short comings of this game along with how I feel the meta is shifting and whether or not it is for the better.
With that being said, there has never been a better time to play PAD due to the exceptionally generous hand outs by GungHo that include copious amounts of Magic Stones and special Godfest rolls which is further diminishing the concept of early game PAD.
With all of this in mind, I would like to examine the current state of the game through this article by highlighting what works and areas that need improvement.
On a side note, my previous State of the Game article highlights other important aspects with many of my views holding true to this day.
My wrists (and back + neck) are constantly flaring up which makes it difficult to produce content. With that being said, here is a recap of the upcoming NA news for June 2021 from GHNA and myself. I have included screenshots of the notable news points in case watching videos is not ideal.
The general gist of Question Time posts are for players to ask various PAD-related questions that do not have a simple/Google-able answer or related article on my website. I do play other games and have often found myself having specific/unique questions about it but have no where to go and can imagine this may hold true for some of my readers.
With that being said, there will be some restrictions on the types of questions I will be answering.
If planning on commenting on a regular basis, it is advantageous to create a WordPress account to both receive notifications as well as giving me a point of reference as to who I am responding to.
Do’s and Don’t
For the most part, almost any question will be answered, even some non-invasive Off-Topic ones; however, it is best to ask questions that require explanation/why/my personal opinion. The following examples are Fantastic types of questions to ask:
Of these options, what is the best Yusuke team I can make for Arena 3?
What direction do you think GungHo will take with the 4x HP leads?
Can Heart Cross teams be revived and if so, how?
The following types of questions will not be answered by me either because it has a simple Google-able answer or shows a lack of effort on the reader’s part:
Anything that Google/Padx can answer
A link to your entire Monster Box and saying “make me a team”
Conclusion
I hope my readers use this opportunity to ask questions that will hopefully improve their overall game play and progression.
Happy Puzzling!
The REMDra Fever “Ranking” Dungeon returns to North America and gives players a chance to grind for a (cosmetic) Crown by accumulating 999,999 points over any number of runs. While this is exciting, it will take numerous clears to achieve but there are ways to bolster your score to save time, stamina, and mental sanity. Generally speaking, no Water orbs will take less effort overall as it is much easier to achieve a higher combo count due to only 5 possible orb types appearing. Furthermore, the inclusion TPA (200 pts) and Recover Bind (1,000 pts) will help hasten this process.
As with all REMDra Fever events, the dungeon is quite lucrative to run over and over again as it only costs 25 stamina and offers valuable drops. Furthermore, any number of players can achieve a Crown and is not only given to the first X number of players to hit the score cap of 999,999.
This article will explain the rules for REMDra Fever and how to maximize your score potential and how to farm it as efficiently as possible once you are satisfied with your score.
The Mystics & Spectres returns to North America but only includes buffs for 2 cards along with no new monsters being added. As such, the vast majority of cards have remained stagnant and while nothing can ever be “nerfed” in PAD, not receiving buffs means cards will fall behind as newer things are released.
With that being said, there is still tremendous value within the actual Mystics & Spectres cards but we will be plagued by the worst REM set up which lumps all of these event cards into the regular REM. This results in a 5 Magic Stone price tag, no GFE, and no collateral benefits along with painful rolling rates for the top rarity cards who are the true prizes for this event.
Taking all of this into consideration, there is still value to be had rolling within this event but if you have done so in the past, there may be little reason to continue chucking Magic Stones here in the hopes of acquiring a 7-star card due to the terribly designed REM.
Video commentary
—video coming Monday—
Overview
Mystics & Spectres REM Pros & Cons – May 2021
Pros
Cons
All 7-star cards are outstanding leaders
Capable of clearing all content
All cards feature Weapon Assists
All Mystics & Spectre cards have value
Not an exclusive REM
Rolling pool has regular REM
No GFE
Countless unevolved Pantheons
50% cards are Mystics & Spectres
Cannot Monster Exchange for top rarity
Have to roll
Essentially no buffs overall
Makes cards fall behind in Powercreep
Mystics & Spectres REM
7 Star base
(4% total)
6 Star base
(18% total)
5 Star base
(28% total)
Mystics & Spectres – May 2021
S
A
B
C
D
Order within each tier is random and not reflective of ranking
The rolling pool does not add up to 100% because Pantheons are also included
Icons show Base form
Regardless of card’s ranking, you should always keep it if it is your very first time acquiring them
Puzzle and Dragons is a tremendously deep game that has years worth of content waiting for players. Sadly, there is essentially no in-game information as to what mechanics, spawns, or what can actually happen in a dungeon which in turn creates a terrible guessing game.
Thankfully, we are eventually able to “solve” any dungeon with enough trial and error and for myself, what I find most helpful when trying to tackle a new dungeon is a Checklist of notable mechanics. From this Checklist, I will try my best to address all of the dangerous mechanics while prioritizing unavoidable abilities.
With this in mind, I would like to create a master Checklist for all of the Arena, Colosseum, and World of Carnage dungeons to help players better prepare themselves as knowing what can possibly happen is a huge asset in PAD.
Video commentary
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How to use my checklists
With any dungeon, there are avoidable and unavoidable mechanics and it is important to address the unavoidable mechanics first. As such, there will be a priority-like system when looking at dungeon mechanics and you may have to forgo certain solutions depending on the depth of your Monster Box. Furthermore, certain teams/leaders may naturally counter specific mechanics. Continue reading Arenas, Colosseum & WoC/Shura Mechanics Checklist→
The general gist of Question Time posts are for players to ask various PAD-related questions that do not have a simple/Google-able answer or related article on my website. I do play other games and have often found myself having specific/unique questions about it but have no where to go and can imagine this may hold true for some of my readers.
With that being said, there will be some restrictions on the types of questions I will be answering.
If planning on commenting on a regular basis, it is advantageous to create a WordPress account to both receive notifications as well as giving me a point of reference as to who I am responding to.
Do’s and Don’t
For the most part, almost any question will be answered, even some non-invasive Off-Topic ones; however, it is best to ask questions that require explanation/why/my personal opinion. The following examples are Fantastic types of questions to ask:
Of these options, what is the best Yusuke team I can make for Arena 3?
What direction do you think GungHo will take with the 4x HP leads?
Can Heart Cross teams be revived and if so, how?
The following types of questions will not be answered by me either because it has a simple Google-able answer or shows a lack of effort on the reader’s part:
Anything that Google/Padx can answer
A link to your entire Monster Box and saying “make me a team”
Conclusion
I hope my readers use this opportunity to ask questions that will hopefully improve their overall game play and progression.
Super Godfests are 10-Stone events where players will have at least a 1/3 or 33% chance of acquiring any Godfest Exclusive (GFE) but this changes when it becomes a Seasonal Super Godfest.
Seasonal Super Godfests are unique as they feature 7-9 star Seasonal cards in the line up but omit all the horrible bottom rarity cards that are found in their respective REMs. This is important as rolling in Seasonal REMs tends to be an underwhelming affair whereas the “bad” rolls in a Godfest are at least Pantheon cards who will have value for more shallow Boxes or are actually potent in their own right.
Furthermore, Seasonal Super Godfests also include 6 and 7-star Godfest Exclusives but will have their rates adjusted due to the inclusion of the Seasonal cards. With this in mind, I tend to lump all of the valuable cards (Seasonal, GFE, Samurai 3) into the “good” to roll pool which comes to 37% chance for the current Seasonal Super Godfest.
While this is potentially lower compared to PCGF/anniversary events, neither of these allow players to directly roll the higher rarity Seasonal cards who are often acquired via Monster Exchanging. This in turn means that rolling any of these cards can be thought of as acquiring 4-5 GFEs as you just saved yourself the Monster Exchange.
Video commentary
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Rolling pool
Seasonal Super Godfests differ from regular Super Godfests as they push out varying amounts of GFEs in order to accommodate the Seasonal cards. This adjusted rolling pool will still have a >33% chance to acquire any “good” card (Seasonal, GFE, Samurai 3). As such, the featured Seasonal cards will be the main motivator to roll in this event as many of them are incredibly difficult to replicate otherwise. Continue reading 10 Magic Stones Seasonal Super Godfest April 29 – May 5→
The Exploration Dungeon is a new type of event in which players will initially have only a single dungeon available that is easy to beat. The catch is clearing the dungeon while also fulfilling specific requirements in order to unlock highly lucrative solo mode dungeons.
These solo mode dungeons grant players a lucrative way acquire various resources while also having a discounted Stamina cost to enter while also providing a first-time clear bonus.
The specific requirements for the various unlocks widely varies and requires highly specific set ups to unlock but thankfully we are able to borrow the information unlocked by the JP server in order to have a relative idea/template on what to bring. Just remember, the exact specific requirements are not known but we have a template to follow and it may just take a couple of attempts to unlock a new level.
Video commentary
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Unlockable dungeons
These additional dungeons will be unlocked when clearing the original level clearing with a team that fulfills specific requirements.
Just be aware that all the Unlockable dungeons are solo mode only but those with 1/4 stamina discount are more efficient compared to 2p as the discount is only 1/2 in multiplayer.
It is possible to unlock multiple dungeon with the same clear if you are able to fulfill multiple requirements.
Super Plus Point Cave – 1/4 stamina
Requirement: Deal a huge amount of damage on the boss without using active skills. This can be done via large ATK multiplier leaders along with cards who abuse Killers. This huge damage can be Voided out and still count. I recommend using the 5 Dragon Killer Monk from the Story Mode, Xuanzang .
First clear reward: 2 Trigod Masks
Super King Carnival – 1/4 stamina
Requirement: Have 12 or more average combos, leaders skills with bonus combos fulfill this requirement. Might as well abuse 7×6 as well.
First clear reward: 2 Rainbow Pys
Tamadra Infestation – 1/4 stamina
Requirement: Do not use any active skills
First clear reward: 2 King Tamadras
Jewel Rush – 1/4 stamina
Requirement: Have <= 1.4 average combos while also not using an active skill. Using an Auto Follow Up Leader will make this much easier and no Skyfalls if possible. Try SR Hino .
First clear reward: 2 Diamond Dragon Fruits
Predras Infestation – 1/4 stamina
Requirement: Use an active skills 25 times. Use as many 1 cooldown cards as possible to make life easier. I used Ilmina.com to Advanced Search for all the possible options.
First clear reward: 2 Super Snow Globes
Gathering of Talents 2 – 1/2 stamina
This dungeon is the most lucrative to unlock as it grants a wonderfully high chance for Qilin and Scheherazade Dragons to invade. It is possible for both to appear in the same run so bring your best team while also having Damage Absorb to counter the possible Sopdet(s).
Requirements: Players must achieve all of the following conditions to unlock Gathering of Talents 2:
Clear in 5 turns (one shot every floor)
Do not use active skills
Average 7 or more combos
Total of less than 8 million damage on every single floor (boss has exactly 6 million HP)
These are some difficult to achieve requirements but the easiest way to overcome them is using a leader with two leaders with 3 million Auto Follow Up Damage and -ATK inherits to drop all cards down to 1 ATK. This ensures that you will not deal 2 million or more damage from matching orbs as your two leaders will grant 6 million Auto Follow Up Attack which deals the precise value needed to kill the boss.
SR Hino will be a valuable tool but any other 3 Million Auto Follow Up Leader can function. Ideally your cards are not leveled and do not have +297. Finally, turn off Monster Leveling in case you need multiple tries.
Conclusion
The Exploration Dungeon awards the highly lucrative Gathering of Talents 2 when cleared using highly specific conditions. This dungeon offers an exceptionally high chance for Qilin and Scheherazade Dragon to appear which are often the limiting factor in creating powerful Weapon Assists.
With this in mind, I would encourage all players to repeatedly run this dungeon as it is relatively easy and fast to clear as we will probably not have any other event as efficient for acquiring these Dragons.
Let me know what you think about this dungeon in the comments below and what teams you have had success using.
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From April 5th to April 31st, all players who log into PAD will receive a free Great Witch Exchangeable Medal which can utilized to acquire one of the ten Great Witches.
This is a tremendously exciting event due to the fact that players can choose which Godfest Exclusive they want to acquire and do not have to leave anything up to luck from rolling or community-based voting. As such, this is a fantastic opportunity plug in a theoretical hole in your Monster Box as many of these 7-star Godfest Exclusives are powerful.
Due to the fact that there are 10 different choices available, the one you choose will depend on which cards you have already acquired as it is almost always going to be more meaningful to have a new unique Witch as opposed to another duplicate of an existing monster.
With this in mind, I will be going over each of the 10 possible choices by showcasing their most relevant form and current usage to help players make a more informed decision if missing multiple Witches.
Finally, players do have a modest amount of time to decide on who they wish to Exchange for. As such, if you do roll in any upcoming Super Godfest (these always occur), you may acquire something you did not already have.
For the most part, almost any question will be answered, even some non-invasive Off-Topic ones; however, it is best to ask questions that require explanation/why/my personal opinion. The following examples are Fantastic types of questions to ask:
The following types of questions will not be answered by me either because it has a simple Google-able answer or shows a lack of effort on the reader’s part:
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