One of the nicest things about Puzzle and Dragons is the fact that older cards are often buffed after their release. This helps keep older cards relevant for longer periods of time and while none of these are new evolutions, the buffs can sometimes be meaningful.
As such, this article will take a look at all of the buffs received during this latest update.
Late last night, GungHo released new evolutions for numerous older cards as Reincarnated, Super Reincarnated, and Pixel forms. As a whole, it is always a delight to see buffs come to some of our first monsters and for the most part, these are significant upgrades.
This is because many of these cards have been completely reworked and feature the newer awakenings along with the potential to help other cards Transform.
As such, pursuing these evolutions may be beneficial for some players but at the same time, one should be aware of the resource cost, especially for Super Reincarnated cards. With that being said, I am quite exciting for these new forms as they are older cards which means I actually own at least 1 copy of everything but the MP Dragons, Guan Yu, and Kanna.
Regardless, this article will explore the new evolutions for the variuos cards to provide some insight on their new value.
I will be using Miru Bot on Discord for the images that show each cards in greater detail as it presents all the information while saving me a significant amounts of time.
The Monster Point currency system was designed to help alleviate the frustration of rolling duplicate cards as they could then be sold off for a varying amount of Monster Points. As a result, players could save up over time along with farming Rogue dungeons to purchase a powerful monster.
However, each purchase requires a sizable amount of Monster Points and you do not wish to have your card become outdated via Powercreep.
This article will take a look at all the current Monster Point cards along with how they fit in the meta and their potency moving forward.
Video commentary
–video coming soon–
JP server
The JP server in Puzzle and Dragons is approximately 2-3 months ahead of NA/EU in terms of released content. Thus, we are able to “see the future” by following the news stream from JP. As a result, we are able to better position ourselves in terms of future purchase decisions and evolution material farming.
With this in mind, I will be using any knowledge currently available in JP for the purpose of this article and my recommendations.
What is in the meta now
Presently speaking, the current PAD meta revolves around two distinct playstyles: combos/7×6 and bi-combo teams. Both these styles are able to achieve amazing levels of damage while being able to capitalize on the most powerful awakenings. Continue reading Which Monster Point Card to Buy – November 2017→
Just because you have 300,000 MP, it does not mean you MUST buy a card now. Plan it out and wait if lacking any ideal option
Introduction
As part of the large event extravaganza in NA and EU, we will be receiving 390,000 Monster Points over the next few months. For many players, this will their first time passing the 300,000 mark which is required to purchase a card and many will be eager to take the plunge. Conversely, this additional 390,000 may put some players dangerously close to the cap of 999,999 (why is there a cap, I do not understand) and may preemptively force some player’s hands. However, just note that the MP is stored in your mailbox so you don’t actually need to open and cap.
As such, this article will review all the MP cards available (excluding seasonals) to help you better understand their value, if your box can support them, and how they rank against each other.
Video commentary
—video goes here—
Ranking the MP cards
It is important to understand how the MP cards stack up against each other as it is my belief that these cards should dramatically improve your monster box and help you progress into the next tier of content.
The following chart ranks the MP cards against each other and takes into consideration their highest evolution and new buffs announced with the JP 5 year stream. I am also working under the presumption you have access to the ideal or as close to the ideal team as possible. Just because the card has strong potential, you need the subs to back them up as they will flop otherwise. The MP cards should also help push you further into end game content and should differ from the type of team you currently have. I will go into more detail further down explaining their uses and value.
To reiterate, this list may be subjective and you should make sure you actually have the cards to support their purchase.
I normally do not provide much thoughts on future JP news as it does not apply to NA for usually 1-2 months. However, the most recent JP stream showcased numerous new evolutions, quality of life changes, and new game mechanics. I wish to take the time to review all of the new things coming to Puzzle and Dragons.
The Final Fantasy buffs will be covered in a separate post and the review will be updated accordingly. I will be reviewing Bleach whenever it is scheduled to come to NA.
Video commentary
—-video goes here—
Skill Inheritance changes
Puzzle and Dragons is by nature a grind-oriented game. However, there is fun grinding and there is tedious grinding. GungHo is doing their best to cut down on the more boring aspects so you can focus your stamina playing fun content.
Skill Inheritance has been a well received mechanic and it has given viability for cards that had lackluster bodies and powerful actives. Unfortunately, the process is somewhat costly to perform as each transfer costs 2 million coins and requires 4 tans. The coins were usually not too much of an issue, but collecting the right colour tans is mostly a stamina sink/loss as the dungeon is not fun to play and is more of a chore than pleasure. Continue reading JP Stream Changes & New Evolutions Review→
There has been plenty of hype and excitement with the Final Fantasy Collab returning to North America; however, players should also be excited about the introduction of a pure Fixed Team Challenge. This challenge provides players with 5 unique and powerful teams to tackle various descends. All of the teams come hypermaxed (+297 and max skill) so we have the opportunity to play and enjoy compositions we would normally not be able to create. This is also a fantastic opportunity for newer/lower rank accounts
I have compiled all of my clears across my two accounts in solo mode to showcase how these teams play and the general strategies used to overcome the various hurdles presented in the dungeons.
Hel vs Deus ex Machina
It was nice how they gave us a nearly 100% farmable team. How do I feel about the poison meta? Hel no.
DQXQ vs Hephaestus Descended
A strange hybrid of water and light subs. I tended to focus on light matches at the beginning and transition over to water rows for the boss
Acala vs Seraphis Descended
It was strange playing a colour cross leader. It was also amusing to see an Odin Dragon and his ridiculous autoheal awakenings. If you are playing this in coop, you can tank the Limit Break enrage hit from the boss and simply go for the one shot on the first turn.
Neptune Dragon vs Zeus & Hera Descended
It is somewhat sad how dated Neptune Dragon has become with powercreep as his multiplier is so low considering how many orbs you have to chain together. Hopefully his future evolution will grant him some relevance.
Tsubaki vs Agni Descended
Probably the only time you will ever see a hypermax Sphinx but it was valuable for executing the Tan on the first floor.
Conclusion
The fixed challenges gives players the opportunity to play leaders that would otherwise be unobtainable along with enjoying a fully invested team. I hope GungHo continues to provide more fixed team challenges as it is a lot of fun to experiment with new playstyles as well as granting lower rank players the opportunity to clear variuos dungeons.
Satan Tournament is the next installment in the ranking dungeon series and offers players a chance to acqurie 10,000 Monster Points and various coloured Py. The goal of these tournaments is to “test” our skill by imposing a scoring system to determine your percentile ranking.
In these ranking dungeons, we are scored based on 3 criteria:
Average combos made: 5,000 points per combo
Time Remaining: 500 points per second remaining
Maximum damage: up to 10,000 points if you hit 40 million.
Dungeon overview
Floor
Monster
HP
Comments
1
1,877,083
-1s move time for 3 turns
2
4,250,417
+25% water skyfall for 5 turns
3
972,645
3,140 preemptive
4
3,005,336
8,032 preemptive
5
2,138,454
7,549 preemptive
6
2,478,751
6,572 preemptive
7
6,666,667
6,005 preemptive
Total preemptive damage: 31,298 Water skyfall (de)buff ends on floor 7
Dungeon summary
7 floors that favour a combination of speed and average combos made
All floors have a significant amount of health (cannot button)
The water skyfall allows for combo-based leaders to shine
Water skyfall also favours water-based teams
Skyfall buff ends on Satan (floor 7)
Wood teams have it “easiest” while fire will struggle in terms of type advantages
No Predras
5 turn actives can be used more than once
Total preemptive damage: 31,298. Please make sure you heal
Auto heal awakenings can help alleviate the stress of healing as the damage comes over the course of several floors.
The topic of which Monster Point Dragon to buy is on the forefront of many player’s minds as it is a large investment. Furthermore, as the game progresses and we accumulate more duplicates to sell, new players will be reaching the elusive 300k MP needed to make their first purchase. However, one should not be rash in decimating their monster box as these powerful dragons need the right subs to function properly. If you are having second thoughts or doubts about selling a particular monster, the answer is probably no and you must exercise patience and simply wait. Furthermore, your MP Dragon team does need an investment in levels, skill ups, and pluses to be truly powerful. Lastly, they require 10 million experience to max level, 99 team cost, and have challenging evolution materials.
I have omitted any farmable subs as those can be acquired over time. If you are missing many key subs required to run their team effectively, it may be wise to to delay purchasing as you may be running a sub-par line up otherwise. For a more expansive list that includes farmable monsters, refer HERE.
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SHIVA DRAGON
About
is perhaps the king of farming leads as he offers an unconditional 25x multiplier to fire gods. can either focus on rows or two prong attacks to quickly mow down bosses. However, he somewhat falters in the highest level content due to a less dynamic sub pool, no bind immunity, and a weak active that places heavy emphasis on strong subs. Lastly, is an easy way to score in the top 10% (or even 1%) of ranking dungeons.
Pros
Fastest farming lead in the game
Unconditional 25x ATK multiplier for fire gods
2.25x RCV for fire gods
Capable of scoring in the top 10% of ranking tournaments with ease
Cons
2-turn haste active places higher demand on ideal subs
Subs should almost always be orb changers as you effectively only have 4 actives
Can be bound (which is becoming more of an issue with pre-emptive leader binds)
Very REM dependent
Key Subs to Own
Fire rows are critical for large burst and the 3 Ares are not a typo as you can run up to 3 with success.