A Less than Mantastic Health Update

September 7, 2016 Mantastic 114 Comments

Introduction

Many people have asked what I do with my life whether I am a student, employed, or a secret agent spy. Sadly, I am not a secret agent spy and I haven’t been a student for a number of years nor am I employed. This post will contain virtually no Puzzle and Dragons content aside from a cleverly veiled reference here or there and I mostly want to share what is going on in my life currently as it will be having an effect on the next few days/weeks to come.

Video commentary

Background

I graduated from a well respected University and began working shortly after and actually discovered Puzzle and Dragons while reading a newspaper as there was an article describing the biggest mobile game in the world. I thought I would give it a shot and turns out I love it. Fast forward a year to July, 2014 when I suffered a serious back injury while playing soccer. I went to the ER and was discharged a few hours later with no notable damage to my spine/hard tissue and was told I should heal relatively quickly as I am both young and in good physical health. Continue reading A Less than Mantastic Health Update →

Meta Snapshots

Meta Snapshot: Monster Point Cards

September 6, 2016 Mantastic 23 Comments

Introduction to the series

I wish to do a new type of posting series where I discuss current Meta issues along with my future predictions or trends that are happening in Puzzle and Dragons. Let me know what you think of these and whether these are worth continuing.

Video commentary

Introduction

GungHo released the Monster Point (MP) system as a means to help soften the blow of rolling numerous dupes or junk from the Rare Egg Machine. For the most part, this system has been relatively successful as there are now numerous reasons to roll in Godfests as well as allowing players to easily farm MP on their own either through Mythic Rogue descends, PreDRA Infestation, or even just playing Coop.

Players who are patient enough to save up 300,000 Monster Points are then able to purchase a special and powerful monster and these are commonly referred to as MP Dragons/4 Gentlemen with a wild Ragnarok Dragon appearing. For a while, some of the MP cards were the top tier leaders and pushed the envelope for Powercreep and dungeons had to evolution to counter these newer and more powerful teams. Many players did feel a bit left out as they could not keep up (myself included) when dungeons were designed around Ra Dragon and his 144x multiplier when all you had was paltry 25x rainbow cards. However, GungHo has somewhat amended this problem and introduced a top tier farmable leader in Myr along with shifting the meta to heart-crosses and we are currently experiencing a period where MP cards are still strong, but do not reign supreme. Thus, I want to explore the future of the Monster Point System and perhaps speculate what we have in store for us.

The Good, the Bad, and the Dragons?

Continue reading Meta Snapshot: Monster Point Cards →

Challenge Dungeons, Videos

[Video] Liberty Geist Snow Globe Challenge featuring Sarasvati

September 3, 2016 Mantastic 12 Comments

Introduction

GungHo has been spoiling us with unique challenges these past few days with the currently active +297 Zeus Dungeon (my strategy and post can be found HERE) and now the Liberty Geist Snowglobe Challenge. In order to complete this challenge, you must use the Snowglobe Rouge you received in the mail (do not fuse away) and have him be a sub on your team (cannot be leader). Full rules are stated below:

TLDR: Do not fuse that Snow Globe, use him on your team as a sub, complete in solo mode with no continues on either difficulty.

Video clear

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My team looks very unusual, but at least showcases ways to overcome the various mechanics. Outside of a flubbed combo on the boss, the run went relatively well.

Team roster

I used the exact same team for both Mantastic and Fantastic and only forgot to inherit an active onto Fantastic’s Snow Globe.

Continue reading [Video] Liberty Geist Snow Globe Challenge featuring Sarasvati →

+ Eggs, Videos

[Video] +297 Zeus Dungeon Clear and Strategies Guide

September 2, 2016 Mantastic 35 Comments

Introduction

North America has finally received the +297 Zeus “Gift” Dungeon today and it presents a unique challenge for players to overcome. I am well aware that there are many different teams that can clear this, but I wish to showcase how I have successfully cleared with my Dark Metatron team along with my strategies and checklist of utility. Do note that this dungeon must be completed in solo mode.

Video clear

Team used

I decided to go with my Dark Metatron team due to the colour advantage, ease in which to activate her multiplier, and ample Skill Boosts to allow for the much needed Skill Inheritance actives being ready in time. For reference, Dark Metatron forms a 2.25x HP / 36x ATK team when under 50% HP. I also used the +5% Attack Awoken Badge as it was the one that provided the most benefit. My subs were mostly chosen for their synergy with each other through Skill Inheritance as well as being my strongest options.

Inherits:

Dungeon mechanics

+297 Zeus is a reasonably tricky dungeon as it has numerous mechanics that can trip up the average team and careful planning is critical to avoid failure. Universally, every team requires: Continue reading [Video] +297 Zeus Dungeon Clear and Strategies Guide →

Game Meta

4x Skill Up Rate is Coming to North America on Sept 2nd

September 1, 2016 Mantastic 24 Comments

Background

The title kind of says it all and North America will be receiving a 4x Skill Up event to mark GungHo’s Fantastic trip to PAX Prime this weekend (September 2-11/early 12). Normally I would not make a posting dedicated to a basic announcement; however, this is the first time we have ever received a 4x Skill Up event (highest ever was 3x) and everyone should do their best to try and take advantage for this duration. Even with the advent of 3 min / stamina and coop play, skill ups are still a resource demanding venture. Skill ups are the most frusterating and sometimes rewarding experiences I have had while playing Puzzle and Dragons and being able to successfully skill up a monster every 4/10 times will feel Myraculous.

Planning ahead

This may seem like common sense, but you should hold off on any skill up attempts for another day to better increase your odds. Furthermore, you should also start mapping out who you want to skill up and how you can go about doing it. Is their dungeon available via coins (eg. Water Insect Dragon for Sarasvati ), descend rotation, or are they a permanent fixture? In addition, you should also take note of the skill up rotation that is occurring on September 7th and do your fusing accordingly.

For myself, I do not have too many things to actually skill up (as I am swimming in 30+ Py of each colour); however, I will probably take this opportunity to expedite my Machine Hera skill ups:

Your move

How do you plan on capitalizing on our first 4x Skill Up event? What cards do you have at the top of your priority list and how are you going to go about in achieving those goals?

Best of luck and Happy Puzzling!

Godfest

PAX West Godfest Review and Analysis

August 30, 2016 Mantastic 53 Comments

Godfest basics

When making the decision to roll or save your magic stones, you need to determine if the featured pantheons can benefit or compliment your teams. Chasing for one specific monster is unwise as you will most likely be disappointed and should ideally have Godfests that overlap with many target cards. Remember all monsters that come out of the REM will qualify for Skill Inheritance so do not be too hasty when selling dupes. For a more detailed team building help, please refer to my full list Popular Leader’s and their Full Sub List Post. Lastly, to find more information about a specific pantheon or monster, refer to my Master List to better refine your search. If you are considering to purchase a Four Gentlemen card, please read my Review and Comparison HERE.

Video Commentary

Introduciton

The PAX West Godfest comes jammed backed with +30 rolls and 4x GFE rates to celebrate one of the largest gaming conventions happening in Seattle. As with any of my Godfest reviews, I will try my best to add clarification and insight for the featured pantheons. Due to the rarity of GFE, it can be challenging to roll for them and you should have a strong fallback option with the pantheons that are also featured.

Midnight Gala
Day 1	Japanese 2 & Indian 2	GFE
Day 1
Day 2	Egyptian 1 & Mechanical 1	GFE
Day 2
A different Gala
Day 3	Greco Roman 1 & Angel 2	GFE
Day 3

Day 1:

Day 1 features the newly Awoken Japanese 2 and the nearly Uuevo-ed Indian 2 series. The Japanese 2 used to be one of the most dominating sets of gods to roll for; however, time has not been too kind and their Awoken Evolutions do help round out team rosters, but none become meta changing leaders of their heyday. One thing to note is that most cards lose their God typing through an Awoken Evolution.

Conversely, the Indian 2 pantheon has been one of the weakest and thankfully, GungHo has been giving them some love through Uuevos that created a surprisingly powerful Sarasvati. We are still waiting for Krishna and Vishnu to have theirs announced and hopefully they become just as powerful.

Continue reading PAX West Godfest Review and Analysis →

Arena, Videos

[Videos] Fighting Radar Dragons

August 29, 2016 Mantastic 2 Comments

Introduction

I play a lot of Arena 3 and try my best to always record my Radar Dragon encounters as there is very little documentation available as very few players are able to successfully clear on a repeated basis. In addition, I also try to stream while making my Arena attempts so you should check out my Twitch page every Monday and Thursday at 6pm PST. Please refer to my Arena 3 Guide I posted earlier for a full breakdown of the fight.

Videos

Hephaestus Dragon

By far the most magical thing I have ever done in my entire PAD career. Just WOW
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Zeus Dragon

Arguably one of the easiest dragons to face and is the most universally approachable for the various leaders that can clear Arena 3.

Conclusion

Arena 3 is a special place. Anything can happen and you will witness many Myracles if you continue to follow my website!

Happy Puzzling!

Game Meta

Thoughts and Summary of the Patch 9.3.1 Updates

August 28, 2016 Mantastic 13 Comments

Introduction

August 24th marks the debut of patch 9.3.1 which brings forth a whole host of new changes and i would like to use this post to highlight the ones of most importance. This will not be a full list of every single updates and you still should read the patch notes in full. The Badge System will be detailed in a separate posting due to the sheer size and can be found HERE.

Video commentary

Skill Improvements

In this update, numerous cards received various buffs that may enhance their viability or usage.

Izanagi

Izanagi was the recipient of a special JP buff that allows him to achieve 110.25x ATK for God types when above 80% HP AND matching 3+ light combos. That is a lot of effort and impractical for everyday usage. In addition, he also gained a SBR awakening and -1 turn on his max cooldown for active. However, all of this is largely irrelvant due to his Awoken form being the better option in almost every scenario as he becomes a 49x ATK / 4x RCV / 75% damage reduction heart-cross leader. Continue reading Thoughts and Summary of the Patch 9.3.1 Updates →

Monster Analysis

Sarasvati – New 100x Row Leader: Review and Analysis

August 26, 2016 Mantastic 43 Comments

Introduction

Sarasvati is the one of the newest monster to be released that is capable of achieving 100x ATK. However, what sets her apart from the other high multiplier leads is the ease in which she can hit skyhigh numbers along with being able to stack water rows and a permenant skyfall buff. Sarasvati perfectly fits the term Glass-Cannon as she lacks any defensive multiplier and can have issues stalling along with being quite orb hungry. However, if you can overcome these shortcomings while being choosy with which dungeons you tackle with her, you will be greatly rewarded. If you wish to read a comparison with You Yu, please read HERE.

Video Commentary

Discussing the new Leader Skill and Awakenings

Just keep in mind that video is based on her old leader skill and awakenings.

Sarasvati at a glance

Sarasvati

God / Healer / Physical
3,815 HP / 1,300 ATK / 608 RCV
844 Total

Active Skill:
2 (except from Water)
3 turns +15% water skyfall buff
6 turn CD

Leader Skill:
2x ATK for Water attribute. 2.5x ATK with 2 water combos. 5x at 3 combos.
100x ATK

Sample gameplay

As a change from my normal sample gameplay videos, I actually own her and can publish my own clears.

Legendary Sea of Stars before leader skill buff:

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Arena 1 coop with myself. There is no sound due to copyright problems when lifting from my stream:

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You can also do your own research by using the search term 聖徳の麗女神・サラスヴァティ

Continue reading Sarasvati – New 100x Row Leader: Review and Analysis →

Random Thoughts

[Video] Sarasvati vs Legendary Sea of Stars

August 24, 2016 Mantastic 6 Comments

Background

With patch 9.3.1, we were given the new technical dungeon Legendary Sea of Stars along with the highly anticipated Uuevo Sarasvati . Sarasvati forms an incredibly hard hitting 100x water row leader who is capable of dealing spectacular damage. As such, I wanted to showcase her play style along with how to easily clear Legendary Sea of Stars:

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The key to clearing this dungeon is bringing a delay for the bosses, damage control for floor 7, and the ability to burst through the 8.888M defense.

I will be doing a full write up on Sarasvati soon so stay tuned =)

Happy Puzzling!

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Introduction

Video commentary

Background

Introduction to the series

Video commentary

Introduction

The Good, the Bad, and the Dragons?

Introduction

Video clear

Team roster

Introduction

Video clear

Team used

Dungeon mechanics

Background

Planning ahead

Your move

Godfest basics

Video Commentary

Introduciton

Day 1:

Introduction

Videos

Hephaestus Dragon

Zeus Dragon

Conclusion

Introduction

Video commentary

Overview

Skill Improvements

Izanagi

Introduction

Video Commentary

Sarasvati at a glance

Sample gameplay

Background

Puzzling those Dragons