Alt. Arena 3

Orphen Versus Alt. Arena 3

34 Comments
Health update at end of article

Introduction

I wish to continue a new series of posts in which i share my successful Alt. Arena 3 clears for both the video and explanation/rationale for my sub choices. For this article, I wish to take a closer look at Orphen as he is a powerful leader who does not rely on 7×6 or Auto Follow Up Damage to succeed.

Furthermore, Orphen offers a modestly unique play style as you must manage your health and is dependent on Zaerog Core for success. With that being said, his Effective Health can be difficult to manage and his largest weakness is healing to just above 50% and losing his massive Damage Reduction shield.

This is by far his largest weakness and players should become familiar with their healing output to better gauge how much health will be replenished. On the other hand, this team can pump out a ridiculous amount of damage and tanky spawns should never be an issue.

Video clear

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Notable Alt. Arena 3 mechanics

Alt. Arena 3 is currently the hardest dungeon available in North America and will push many teams to their limits. As such, it is important to understand the key mechanics that must be addressed.

Continue reading Orphen Versus Alt. Arena 3 →

Random Thoughts

A Less than Mantastic Health Update – No Kamen Rider Review

136 Comments

On July 6, 2014 I suffered a serious soccer injury to my lower back which left me unable to walk/stand for several months. Over time it has not improved despite numerous pain clinics, specialists, medications, etc. and I now live with severe chronic pain in both back and neck. There is no diagnosis and the most likely outcome is to live with horrible pain for the rest of my life. This has greatly impacted my ability to perform common tasks and requires numerous adjustments to try and lessen the pain.

Since January 1st, I am unable to stand upright, require assistance with walking (relying on a cane or person), need help using a towel after a shower, dressing, difficulty with bowel movements, and essentially any basic life function. I spend quite a fair amount of my day lying on my side in pseudo fetal position as I cannot fully extend my legs which also means I sit with my knees to my chest as well. On top of this, there is always a massive wave of pain whenever I need to reshift my position or move my back along with the constant sharp pain that comes with not even moving. Some people say to try and find things that take your breath away but gasping for air after trying to get to the bathroom is not what I call a good time.

I have not left the house in nearly a week and do not plan to until my variuos appointments at Saint Paul’s Hospital and their Intervention Pain Clinic  where I have several procedures lined up for Jan – April after an unsuccessful series of Lidocaine Infusions and other treatments in mid-late 2019.

Essentially, I have been unable to do much PAD-wise in 2020 but will try to resume my normal activities when the pain returns to its normal level. This morning is marginally better compared to yesterday but still far from my normal levels of pain and find it difficult to focus in general.

Thank you for your understanding and patience during this challenging time.

Question Time

Question Time with Mantastic – January 2020

91 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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Godfest

Player’s Choice Godfest Results & Commentary

51 Comments

Introduction

The 10-Magic Stone Player’s Choice Godfest (PCGF) voting has come to a close and the results have been calculated and the event will transpire from December 30 – January 5, 2020.

Depending on your current level of progress and how deep your Monster Box is, this event may have varying degrees of value. This is because Collabs/Seasonal cards have become key to own when pushing through challenging content and many cards from the Rare Egg Machine are starting to fall behind.

With that being said, there are still numerous strong cards to be rolled within Player’s Choice Godfest and this article will highlight my thoughts and opinions as well as providing commentary on the featured roster.

You can find the official GungHo Facebook posting HERE.

Video commentary

–video coming soon–

PCGF History & Seasonal Super Godfests

In the past, Player’s Choice Godfests were exciting events as Collabs/Seasonal cards barely existed or if they did, had middling value. As such, the best cards to be had came from the Rare Egg Machine and many of them were actually Pantheon cards. While it is impossible to know the rolling rates of the past, the fact that all of the cards you wanted could be found in a single machine made it worth saving up for. Continue reading Player’s Choice Godfest Results & Commentary →

Alt. Arena 3

Chidori Versus Alt. Arena 3

15 Comments

Introduction

I want to try a new series of posts in which i share my successful Alt. Arena 3 clears for both the video and explanation/rationale for my sub choices. In this case, I wish to take a closer look at Chidori as she is one of the more powerful leaders who do not rely on 7×6 or Auto Follow Up Damage to succeed.

This is valuable but at the same time, I feel Chidori runs the risk of being pushed out as a leader moving forward due to the fact that she does not possess these mechanics and the next jump in Arena difficulty may push Chidori beyond her limits.

With that being said, I find she has a reasonably consistent time clearing AA3 due to the fact that she is so durable along with easy activation paired with copious movement time.

Video clear

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Notable Alt. Arena 3 mechanics

Alt. Arena 3 is currently the hardest dungeon available in North America and will push many teams to their limits. As such, it is important to understand the key mechanics that must be addressed.

Continue reading Chidori Versus Alt. Arena 3 →

Collab REM Reviews

Draconic Orchestra REM Review and Analysis – December 2019

74 Comments

Introduction

The Draconic Orchestra will be making a triumphant return on December 23 and has become significantly stronger since the last time. This is because all of the top rarity cards have now gained Weapon Assists along with several powerful and unique cards being available.

While this is exciting, players have to remember that this is a 10-Stone event which does make it more costly to roll and trade. Furthermore, there are only four bottom rarity cards in this entire Egg Machine who lack Weapon Assists. This will make it harder to justify rolling heavily in as dupes will start appearing earlier and in much higher quantities.

With this in mind, I feel it is still worth to roll a few times as having new cards is always valuable along with the off chance you hit a Diamond egg.

This article will outline the pros and cons for each cards to help players make a more informed decision as to whether or not they should roll.

Video commentary

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Overview

Draconic Orchestra REM Pros & Cons – December 22, 2019
Pros
Cons
  • Music theme
  • GungHo-made
    • Should have high chance of returning regularly
  • All cards have 2-3 unique evolutions
  • All 7-star cards have Weapon Assists
  • 10 Magic Stones per pull
    • Steeper Monster Exchange rates
  • Weapon Assists only on 7-star cards
  • Four 5-star cards
    • Will represent the vast majority of rolls
    • Don’t really want dupes of them
  • Event is top heavy
Draconic Orchestra REM
 7 Star base  
 6 Star base
 5 Star base
Draconic Orchestra REM – December 22, 2019
S
A
B
 
C
D

Order within each tier is random and not reflective of ranking.

Regardless of card’s ranking, you should always keep it if it is your very first time acquiring them.

Continue reading Draconic Orchestra REM Review and Analysis – December 2019 →

Random Thoughts

Player’s Choice Godfest Voting December 2019

26 Comments

Introduction

The Player’s Choice Godfest (PCGF) will return to North America with voting already underway. Historically, this event was one of the most exciting times for Puzzles and Dragons due to the lower frequency/potency of Collab/Seasonal Rare Egg Machines. As such, players were able to have a line up that featured their favourite cards who represented the majority of strong monsters at the time.

Sadly, the landscape of PAD has dramatically shifted due to the almost mandatory inclusion of Collab/Seasonal cards and this makes rolling that much harder as all your favourite stuff is never in the same machine (possible exception are some Seasonal Godfests).

With that being said, there are still numerous strong cards that can be acquired through a Player’s Choice Godfest along with the voting not requiring Facebook as it now done in-game along with players voting three times in different categories.

This article will share the process for which we can vote along with my predictions/cards I feel are relevant at this point in time.

Video commentary

–video coming soon–

New format

In the past, Player’s Choice Godfests had all possible cards lumped into a single pool and players would naturally select the cards they did not own. In this case it was often 6/7* GFE which would inevitably have worse rolling rates to compensate for their power. Continue reading Player’s Choice Godfest Voting December 2019 →

Monster Analysis, Monster Points

To Buy or Not to Buy: Christmas Sonia

37 Comments

Introduction

The Christmas REM is in full swing and alongside the disappointing REM, Christmas Sonia 2512 makes her triumphant return to the MP store for 300,000 MP and may be many players first chance at acquiring a bicolour board changer with 2 turns of Haste.

At one point in time, she was the premier Ranking Dungeon solution for Tournaments that enabled 7×6 leaders along with greatly boosted Style Points. This led to players creating a bicolour System with 5 Christmas Sonias (or equivalents) which enabled them to always solve a bicolour board while tapping into the highest level of Style Points via Rows or L’s.

As a result, these Ranking Dungeons were heavily skewed towards players who had these teams as they could score infinitely higher compared to everyone else. This occurred for at least 2 Ranking Tournaments and many players are wondering whether or not it is worthwhile to invest in these teams.

This article will explore the power of Christmas Sonia along with the current MP store situation.

Video commentary

–video coming soon–

Bicolour Haste Systems

The goal of Ranking Tournaments is to score as high as possible under various conditions where certain aspects are more heavily favoured. For the most part, it is easier to solve bicolour boards as they are only 2 elements along with being able to rearrange them into specific patterns for Style Points. Furthermore, the 2 turns of Haste when used across 5 Christmas Sonias (or other bicolour 2 Haste card) enables you to always solve a 2 elemental board. Full list of other options can be found HERE. Continue reading To Buy or Not to Buy: Christmas Sonia →

Collab REM Reviews

Christmas REM Review and Analysis – December 2019

32 Comments

Introduction

The Christmas REM is making a festive return to Puzzle and Dragons and comes with two new cards along with some buffs to existing monsters. Unfortunately, the event as a whole is underwhelming and is not surprising due to the fact that it only costs 5 Magic Stones.

5-stone events tend to be horribly top heavy as their lower rarities are simply filler/junk which makes it challenging to justify rolling in. Furthermore, the Christmas REM is one of the older events which means there are numerous old cards sitting at the bottom who have not received buffs or reworks for several years.

This is unfortunate as Christmas is one of the most exciting times of the year along with us receiving more Magic Stones compared to before. With that being said, we will be having a Player’s Choice Super Godfest soon along with the return of Draconic Orchestra. Furthermore, the current Fujimi Fantastia Collab is quite strong and is worth rolling in. If you wish to read about Christmas Sonia, please refer to my other article HERE.

This article will summarize each of the featured card’s strengths and weakness along with how to best use them to help you make a more informed decision of whether or not you should roll.

Video commentary

—video coming soon—

Overview

Christmas REM Pros & Cons – December 12, 2019
Pros
Cons
  • Favourite characters are festively dressed
  • Comes on time
    • Much faster compared to ~2 month delay
  • My rankings form a Christmas tree
  • No Weapon Assists for all cards  but the 9-star
  • Top-heavy event
  • Many cards feel lackluster
Christmas REM Rarities
 9 Star base
 8 Star base   2511 
 7 Star base 3375 2510  
 6 Star base  2513 1782
 5 Star base 3377 3376 3378 
Christmas REM  Rankings – December 13, 2019
S
A  
B  3376
C 2511 2510 1782 3378  3377
D 3375 2513

All icons show most evolved form

Order within each tier is random and not reflective of ranking.

Regardless of card’s ranking, you should almost always keep it if it is your very first time acquiring them.

Continue reading Christmas REM Review and Analysis – December 2019 →

Ranking Dungeons

Chillin’ With Qilin Tournament Video

10 Comments

Introduction

The Chillin’ With Qilin Tournament has gone live today and may catch some players off guard as there was very little lead up time/announcements. Thankfully, this Tournament is straight forward in the sense that it is a Fixed Team along with it primarily testing pure matching skills.

As such, there is not too much to really say outside of max comboing each board as fast as possible due to the 1.5x bonus for Time Remaining.

On the bright side, the top 7% of players will receive a Crown but there will be a sizable amount of “bottlenecking” around the threshold due to the No Skyfalls and Fixed team.

Video clear 176,752

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Leader Skill

Qilin’s Leader Skill relies on matching combos along with bonus damage if 5 or less orbs remain while having a No Skyfall clause. This no Skyfall clause will impose some luck on having nice boards but will even out over time. Either way, the key is to match as fast as possible.

Due to the scaling Leader Skill via combos means players do not always have to Fully Activate on a given floor and simply brute forcing combos will work.

Matching

Out of the 7 floors, Floor 1, 2, and 3 can be killed with just comboing a board and hitting 7 combos.

For floor 4, you can kill without Full Activation but it will require 2 Water combos. Due to the presence of 2 Orb Enhances blue + orb, damage calculations are wildly inconsistent and hard to do on the spot. As such, if you see yourself without 2 Water combos, I would aim for Full Activation.

Floor 5 will require Full Activation whereas Floor 6 will die with high combos and Guard Break proc.

Finally, the final Floor will require Full Activation with many combos and Water matches. As such, just use Suou as it will be far more consistent and easy to solve.

Conclusion

The Chillin With Qilin Ranking Tournament is fairly straight forward and there is not much “strategy” to be used as it is primarily a test of puzzling skills.

With that being said, there will always be some luck/variance due to lower combo count boards and whether or not Guard Break can be activation.

Either way, let me know what you think about this Tournament in the comments below.

Happy Puzzling!

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