Category Archives: Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts

Question Time with Mantastic – August 2019

80 Comments

Introduction

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

download 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?

x 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!

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Random Thoughts

Question Time with Mantastic – July 2019

74 Comments

Introduction

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

download 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?

x 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!

Mantastic Icon Mantastic Social Media Mantastic Icon
FB icon Facebook twitter Twitter YT YouTube
Twitch Twitch discord Discord download Patreon

If you enjoy my content, please consider turning off AdBlocker for this website =)

Random Thoughts

What Makes a Good Leader in Puzzle and Dragons? June 2019

13 Comments

Introduction

One of the most popular questions I see floating around the PAD community is “what makes a good leader?” or “is this a strong leader?” Now both of these questions are heavily loaded as the answer generally depends on your subs. A leader, no matter how powerful, is heavily reliant on your team composition, inherits, and individual monster investment. Furthermore, what qualifies as a strong leader will change over time as new content is released.

There are many tier lists available that rank leaders based on various criteria, but they always assume the perfect team (regardless of how rare or hard to pull those monsters are). They also look at how consistent a leader performs in a variety of end game content instead of a single dungeon.

As such, tier lists should be taken with a grain of salt and be used as a starting base to determine if a leader has potential. You should then look up team building guides to see if you have ideal subs in order to successfully run that team.

The purpose of this article will be to further explore what merits a strong leader, what to look for in your monster box, and why consistency is invaluable when playing through harder content.

Being told something good is one thing, but understanding why is more important. You can read this article while thinking of your favourite leader to better understand why they are effective or ineffective.

I wrote a similar article to this in January 2017 but feel the meta has changed/shifted sufficiently to revisit this topic. The main reason is because of how much easier it is to FUA /SFUA and VDP at the same time as this is invaluable for end game content.

Video commentary

—video goes here—

Factors that make a leader strong

Forewarning

The tier lists tend to not take player skill into consideration; however, you need to assess your own skill level as you need to be able to actually activate your leader skill on a consistent basis. A prime example of this was when Anubis was floating around on some lists. In theory, this works as his multiplier was at the time the highest available. Unfortunately, very few people could actually activate him on a consistent basis and was misleading to say the least.

In addition to ignoring player skill, tier lists assume the perfect team as that is the most fair way to compare various leaders. However, many of these teams require exotic subs (and inherits) that most players do not own and this will inevitably lead to a less than stellar performance. Continue reading What Makes a Good Leader in Puzzle and Dragons? June 2019 →

Random Thoughts

Shaman King Collab Monster Exchange & Monster Point Card Reviews

17 Comments

Introduction

The Shaman King Collab is in full swing and alongside the potent REM are two cards that can be acquired via the Monster Exchange and two via Monster Point spending. Each card brings something to the table and may make them worth farming or purchasing.

This article will summarize their strengths and weaknesses to give you a better idea if they are worth pursuing.

A full Shaman King REM review can be found HERE.

Video commentary

–video coming soon–

Monster Exchange cards

Keep in tune with previous Collabs, The Shaman King event will feature two cards that can be acquired by farming in the respective event dungeon. This farming will yield Bronze, Silver, and Gold event tokens which can eventually exchanged for the Rainbow variety.

Upon acquiring 3 Rainbow Event tokens, players can one-time exchange for the featured card. Continue reading Shaman King Collab Monster Exchange & Monster Point Card Reviews →

Random Thoughts

Avoiding Burnout/Boredom

39 Comments

Introduction

May has been the slowest month of 2019 for Puzzle and Dragons and it is because of a lack of new content outside of SDR farming. As such, burnout or boredom may raise its ugly head and I want to share how I avoid these two pitfalls.

I have been playing Puzzle and Dragons for over 2,050 days which is a small marvel in itself. In fact, this is the longest time I have played any single game and this is due to the continuous learning curve or indefinite skill ceiling. With that being said, there have been some low points in terms of interest and this usually occurs around times when GungHo has not released new content as things can become stale. Continue reading Avoiding Burnout/Boredom →

Random Thoughts

PAD Academy Student Handbook is Valuable

10 Comments

Introduction

The PAD Academy REM is in full swing and while it is lackluster, the farmable Academy Student Handbook is valuable and worth farming for most players. The Handbook functions as a Weapon Assist that provides the following awakenings: Poison resist Blind Resist Imp HP Imp ATK RCV Latent along with +1s orb movement time for 9 turns on a 14 -> 9 cooldown.

The Student Handbook follows the trend of other Collab farmables i that players need to repeatedly play the dungeon to acquire Bronze-Gold drops and Monster Exchange them for the Rainbow variety. Unfortunately, current Collab events require significantly more farming as each tier requires 5 fodder (5 Bronze -> 1 Silver, 5 Silver -> 1 Gold, 5 Gold -> 1 Rainbow, 5 Rainbow = Handbook). Thus, 5 Rainbow tokens requires a total of 625 Bronze tokens.

Despite this large farming hurdle, the fact that the Handbook is farmable (with large amounts of stamina) makes it quite valuable compared to other Resist options as it does not require limited (Rainbow Event Medals) or Premium (Magic Stones) currencies to acquire.

Video commentary

–video coming soon–

Value of a Resist Weapon Assist

Weapon Assists have become invaluable when playing through harder content as they are able to provide additional awakenings to counter various mechanics. At this point in time, those that provide Resistance (Blind Resist Jammer Resist Poison resist ) tend to be the most valuable as they can trivialize certain spawns and mechanics. As such, striving for 100% Resistance against a particular mechanic is a reliable way to improve consistency. Continue reading PAD Academy Student Handbook is Valuable →

Random Thoughts

Cotton Wins Monster Exchange Survey

53 Comments

Introduction

The Monster Exchange Survey has come to a close and Cotton has been crowned the winner for North America. For the most part, these types of surveys are problematic because only a single winner can be chosen and it would not surprise me if Cotton had 15% of the total votes as there were 39 different cards to choose from.

The Monster Exchange Survey is different compared to the previous event where the selected card was available for 1,000,000 Monster Points as Rainbow Event Medals :eventmedal: will be the primary currency used.

This article will summarize Cotton’s value along with my thoughts on why she was voted for the second time in a row.

Video commentary

–Just look at a mirror to see something beautiful–

Monster Survey format

Due to the fact that the Monster Survey can only have one winner and the voting pool consists of 39 different cards, it would not be surprising if Cotton had the majority of a minority.

With this in mind, no single card can please everyone and simply opens up the door to mass disappointment. As such, internet bashing those who wanted Cotton is quite juvenile and our voting process did align with the Korean server who has a similar lack of Collabs as we do. Continue reading Cotton Wins Monster Exchange Survey →