Random Thoughts

Puzzle and Dragons Christmas Songs

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Introduction

To get everyone into the festive spirit, I have composed several ballads based on popular Christmas songs and gave them a Puzzle and Dragons twist. I do not use autotune and am patiently waiting for my Grammy nomination.

Dashing through the dungeon

—dashing video—-

Dashing through the dungeon
In a Snowglobe open sleigh
Over the bosses we go
Pew Pew-ing all the way

TPA matches ding
Making damage high
Oh what fun it is to combo in
a PAD wonderland

Hey jingle bells
Shiva smells
Chiyome laid an egg
Yamato lost his sword
and Hino learnt ballet

Oh magic stones
Players moan
with their 3 star eggs
Oh what fun it is to roll
In every godfest now!

A turn or two ago
I thought I’d try to stall
but no hearts did appear
on my little board

The bosses were so mean
And multi hit very hard
but luckily I combo big
and hearts skyfalled in place

Hey magic stones
Red Kali
is so rare to roll
IAP all day now
Just to get Gung-trolled

Hey magic stones
in game gold
doesn’t have much use
sell away your silver eggs
just for monster points!

12 days of Godfest

—-12 day video—-

On the first day of Godfest, GungHo gave to me:

  1. A 3-star Mystic Knight
  2. Two pretty girls
  3. Three plus eggs
  4. Four Sarias
  5. Five Magic stones
  6. Six team slots
  7. Seven Sea Serpents
  8. Eight Best friends
  9. Nine turns of skill bind
  10. Ten-thousand Pal Points
  11. Eleven Gaia Dragons
  12. Twelve latent Tamadras

Conclusion

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas filled with joy and Gold Eggs!

Happy Puzzling!

Collab REM Reviews

Bleach Collab REM Review and Analysis – Winter 2016

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Introduction

The Bleach Collab is returning to North America this Boxing Day and comes with numerous improvements to existing cards along with new additions. Due to the timing of the release, all of the newer/improved cards are well positioned for Powercreep and we actually received this Collab quite quickly after Japan.

All of the rolls from the Bleach REM qualify as assistants for Skill Inheritance so do not be too hasty when selling.

Furthermore, all players above rank 50 will receive 1 free pull on the Bleach Collab Rare Egg Machine.

Video commentary

—video goes here—–video goes here—-

Rolls overview

Bleach Collab Rare Egg Machine Overview
6 star rolls 3353 3357 3359 3355
5 star rolls 3361 3363 Kenpachi Toshiro Kisuke
4 star rolls Rangiku Yoruichi Ishida Chad Orihime

6 star rolls

Ichigo has two viable evolution paths and both are worth considering. The choice of which path to take should be made based upon your monster box and available cards. Continue reading Bleach Collab REM Review and Analysis – Winter 2016 →

Arena

Teams I Have Used to Clear Arena 3

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Introduction

Arena 3 is now half stamina (and double rank EXP) courtesy of the latest maintenance update. This will allow more players the opportunity to play as it is less punishing from a stamina point of view. At the time of this posting, I have what I guess is 100 clears (and 29 Radar Dragons) and will begin to diversify the teams I have use and plan to play other interesting leaders due to the reduced stamina cost.

This post will be used to keep track of all the teams I have used to successfully clear Arena 3 and will be edited as changes are made or as new teams clear the dungeon. I will be revamping/re-releasing a comprehensive Arena 3 guide in the near future as I wish to keep these two thoughts separate for easier reference.

Just keep in mind that many teams are capable of clearing Arena 3, but will require varying degrees of luck and favourable Radar Dragon encounters to succeed. Remember, strange teams may only be able to clear one of the five Radar Dragons and would also need easy spawns leading up to them etc.

As a final note, I am missing most of the end game leaders/subs and will probably never be able to play them, but that does not mean they are incapable of clearing Arena 3. Thus, this post will only show what I have at my disposal.

I highly recommend you watch my Twitch Twitch Stream from time to time as I regularily clear Arena 3 there.

Video commentary

—video goes here—

General team building guidelines

Arena 3 is a grueling 24 floor dungeon that features some of the hardest encounters in the game. Furthermore, each floor is chosen randomly form a fixed pool of spawns that can further hinder team building decisions, but here are a few guidelines to keep in mind (I will go into further detail in my Arena 3 guide): Continue reading Teams I Have Used to Clear Arena 3 →

Videos

Legendary Remains Clear: Team, Strategy, and Video

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Introduction

The new Technical Dungeon, Legendary Remains,  was released yesterday as part of the previous maintenance. Legendary Remains features numerous new and dangerous mechanics that requires careful planning to succeed. I managed to clear this dungeon on my first try on my Twitch Stream despite a few surprising skyfalls that forced me to go through the dungeon faster than I intended.

Video clear

Team used

Miru 2997 1157 3269 Zera Miru
Saria Awoken DQXQ 3269 Wukong bankai

I used what is essentially my standard Myr team, except I brought along Pierdra Badtz-Maru 1157 in order to remove the locked orbs and Zeus & Hera Zera for their gravity to bypass the final floor’s resolve. Continue reading Legendary Remains Clear: Team, Strategy, and Video →

New Content Updates

New Content Update – December 20th

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Introduction

The December 20th maintenance comes with new evolutions, buffs to various cards, and improvements to existing dungeons. This article will summarize all the major changes and help provide insight on their impact in Puzzle and Dragons.

Video commentary

—video goes here—

New Evolutions

New evolutions are some of the most exciting aspects of Puzzle and Dragons as it breathes new life into old cards. Despite the need for Powercreep in any longstanding game, GungHo does a good job of recycling old cards back into the meta instead of only releasing new monsters.

In the case of Reincarnated evolutions, they should be chosen in the vast majority of situations as it is a tremendous boost in power due to the 1,000 weighted stats, triple typing, and improved leader skill. The only time you would not proceed with a Reincarnated evolution is if you are lacking the monster experience to re-max level them (16 million) or require the specific elemental coverage. You can read more about the Reincarnated process HERE. Continue reading New Content Update – December 20th →

Collab REM Reviews

Christmas REM Review and Analysis

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Introduction

This holiday season marks the third return of the Christmas REM and features all the returning favourites along with a few new characters. Several older cards have been buffed to help them keep abreast with Powercreep and this article will discuss how all the featured cards fit in the current meta along with examining their pros and cons.

All players above rank 50 will receive 1 free pull on the Christmas Rare Egg Machine.

Video commentary

—video goes here—

Rolls overview

Christmas Rare Egg Machine Overview
8 star rolls 2511 2512 3379
7 star rolls 3375 2510
6 star rolls 3374 2513 1782
5 star rolls 3377 3376 3378
4 star rolls 2520 Christmas Echidna Christmas Siren Christmas Alurane Christmas Angel Christmas Lilith

8 star rolls

Christmas Kali
2511
God / Dragon
4,025 HP / 1,774 ATK / 355 RCV
876 Total
Skill Boost Bind Immune Time Extend Bind Immune Skill Boost Time Extend TPA Skill Lock Resist Bind Clear awakening

Active Skill:
All Arrow Fire Water Green Light Dark Heart
7 turn Cooldown

Leader Skill:
1.35x HP / ATK / RCV God & Dragons. 6x ATK when matching Fire, Water, Wood, Dark & Heal
1.82x HP / 65.61x ATK / 1.82x RCV

Impressions

Dark Kali Dark Kali has been one of the most popular monsters in Puzzle and Dragons since the release of Ra Dragon. Being able to produce a combo-able on a 7-turn cooldown is invaluable and ideal teams run two. Thus, Christmas Kali is a viable alternative as she is a colour swap of the original along with having an additional 700 HP. This is a significant amount of health as it will translate into 1,575 more HP on the new Ra Dragon 3265 team.

Despite what sounds like a significant upgrade from the GFE alternative, Christmas Kali has some underlying problems. Most notably, her primary attribute is fire and is more susceptible to half damage compared to dark. Furthermore, by having dark as her sub attribute, you must exercise caution when dealing with dark absorb bosses. Finally, when the changes to Skill Inheritance goes live, Christmas Kali may be at another disadvantage as same attribute inherited cards gain additional stats. Continue reading Christmas REM Review and Analysis →

Godfest, Videos

[Videos] 37 Rolls in Player’s Choice Godfest – Winter 2016

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Introduction

Player’s Choice Godfest used to be the most anticipated Godfest in Puzzle and Dragons. However, with the transition to six-star supremacy, it has left the player base with almost no choice but to vote them in. GungHo does not release rolling data, but it is my understanding that there is not a fixed percentage allocated to PCGF and instead it is the sum of the voted cards.

Hypothetically speaking, if six-stars have a 0.5% chance of being rolled and pantheon gods/five-stars have a 2% chance, we would have a (0.5*11) + (2*14) = 33.5% of rolling a PCGF featured card. Thus, the chances for Gala/troll golds/silvers increases with every voted six-star.

I go into greater detail for Player’s Choice Godfest in my previous article HERE and is worth taking a look at for a breakdown of each voted card.

Player’s Choice Godfest December 2016
1-5 Ult Kaede Gremory Dark Kali 3202 A Liu Bei
6-10 Eschamali 3236 Awoken DQXQ Kanna 3068
11-15 Wukong bankai Sherias Roots Awoken Pandora Isis Ronove
16-20 3101 d-d-akechi 2997 rodin Bankai Andro
21-25 Rozuel Ra Awoken Oorochi Scheat 2991

Rolling videos

All of these rolls were done on my Twitch Stream to add a greater sense of excitement. Unfortunately, the rolls were far less than exciting as only 1 out of 39 rolls was a six-star GFE (Dantalion 2991 on the account that only collects stones).

The rates are quite distressing overall, but at least I got to spend some quality time with MOMtastic.

MOMtastic’s 11 rolls

—

26 rolls across 4 accounts

Conclusion

Player’s Choice is no longer the amazing Godfest it used to be due  to heavy reliance on six-stars and their distressingly low roll rates. We can only hope that GungHo begins to bring Pantheon and five-stars on a more comparable power level. I am not saying it has to be equal, but the size of the gap we have today.

How did your rolls go?

Happy Puzzling!

Godfest

Thoughts on Player’s Choice Godfest Results

130 Comments

Introduction

6 Star Godfest Exclusive Player’s Choice Godfest results have been officially announced and will take place this Friday starting at 12am PST. All rolls will feature +44 to a random stat and only the voted GFE will be featured (which means no Sonias/Metatrons etc.). This post will cover my thoughts and opinions of the voted cards along with who I felt should have made it in, but failed to make an appearance.

Video commentary

—video goes here—

The results

Unlike previous Player’s Choice Godfests, GungHo did not have a running tally of the leader board and many votes probably went to waste on the top winners.

Player’s Choice Godfest December 2016
1-5 Ult Kaede Gremory Dark Kali 3202 A Liu Bei
6-10 Eschamali 3236 Awoken DQXQ Kanna 3068
11-15 Wukong bankai Sherias Roots Awoken Pandora Isis Ronove
16-20 3101 d-d-akechi 2997 rodin Bankai Andro
21-25 Rozuel Ra Awoken Oorochi Scheat 2991

For the most part, the voting makes sense with the featured cards as the majority of them have a place in the current (or near future) meta. However, what is most shocking is the fact that 11 six-star Godfest Exclusives were voted in.

Implications of 11 six-star GFE

From the data collected by me in the previous December PCGF, you have a disparagingly low chance to roll a six-star GFE.

PCGF record 2

Player’s Choice Godfests should be used to acquire the best pantheon cards available and by having 44% of the featured monsters being nearly unobtainable, we have essentially defeated the purpose of a PCGF. Six-star GFE are best acquired during a 5x GFE event or the special 10-stone REM (if it returns). I understand that those events do run the risk of other GFE appearing, but if we want 11 six stars, you are quite likely to roll them anyway. Six-star GFE will greatly lower the chances of rolling a featured monster and will most certainly add to the disappointment of higher silver egg rolls.

Voting in 11 six-stars is an unhealthy indication for the state of Puzzle and Dragons. Too many teams desperately require these elusive cards to function and without duplicates of the same six-star, their team is significantly weaker. It is not a bad thing to have six-star GFE as a top tier leader, but when you require nearly a full team to be optimal, then we have a problem. However, GungHo appears to be continuing down the path of six-star supremacy as the new evolutions for the 5 MP Dragons does not advance the current rate of Powercreep for leaders, only brings Ra Dragon 3265 on-par or marginally better than the best heart-cross leaders. In addition, the best Ra Dragon team consists of 3/4 six-stars. Continue reading Thoughts on Player’s Choice Godfest Results →

Monster Analysis

Krishna in Arena 3

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Introduction

I have played and cleared an excessive amount of Arena 3 with Myr Miru since her release and have begun to branch out and experiment with other leaders. In all honesty, many leaders are capable of clearing Arena 3, but require ideal spawns and a certain degree of luck. My fully invested Myr team has probably around 95% clear rate and the losses are either caused by extreme RNG or human error (full team breakdown for Myr can be found HERE). By comparison, my Krishna 3068 team has 70-75% win rate and I have around 10-12 clears presently.  For myself, I am not going for the one Hail-Mary clear as many things have to line up in order to work. Thus, my goal is always trying to improve my consistency and minimizing the losses when possible.

This article will share the team I use for Krishna, explain my inheritance set up, latents, composition choices, and Arena 3 specific strategies. If you wish to read my Krishna team building guide and full analysis, please refer to my previous post HERE.

Video introduction

—-video goes here–

Why 70-75% win rate

There are many factors that contribute to a loss in Arena 3 and things you cannot control include poor skyfalls (think Sopdet) and unfavourable spawns. Unfavourable spawns can either kill you or leads to wasted actives and a death on a later floor. Bolstering your team with latents, inherits, and optimal sub choices can reduce the danger of certain floors, but certain teams will be unable to counter various Radar Dragons. If my Krishna team was fully invested like my Myr team, my win rate would probably go up by another 5%.

For Krishna, you are unable to kill Hera Dragon without severely compromising your team composition (running multiple shields) and some difficulty hitting 2 million damage as the scaling is a little awkward with all the enhanced orbs. I simply view Hera Dragon as a loss as I do not wish to undermine my chances against other encounters. Thus, you are able to only win 80% of the time if everything else goes perfectly. Continue reading Krishna in Arena 3 →

Monster Analysis

Xiu Min Buffs – Discussion by Kaz272

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Guest article

This article was composed by one of my long term readers and Twitch Mod as both a means to share his love for Xiu Min along with helping ease the workload for content creation. I personally have no experience playing Xiu Min and having a perspective from someone who regularly plays the team is invaluable.

I have left the article unedited to better preserve their voice and thoughts. Kaz will also try his best to reply to comments and questions.

xiu-min-final

Introduction

Hello I’m Mantastic and Fanta.. wait , no I’m not. Hi there I’m Kaz272 you may know me from Mantastic’s twitch stream where I am a Mod or the PAD subreddit or from PAD itself where I’ve been known as Dad?, Jeb!, 耶稣会打死你, and 秀敏(◍•ᴗ•◍)❤。When I wrote this, I have been playing pad about 233 days and have cleared up to Arena 1 using my Myr team. Continue reading Xiu Min Buffs – Discussion by Kaz272 →

Puzzling those Dragons