Tag Archives: Puzzle and Dragons

Alt Arena 2 & Arena 5 Cleared

January 23, 2019 Mantastic 16 Comments

Introduction

In addition to the Enhance Material Stacking, new Evolutions, and New Super Awakenings, the most recent maintenance gives us two new and ridiculously hard dungeons to play through. I managed to clear both of them in solo mode on my surprise Twitch stream today.

Alt Arena 2

Alt Arena 2 is akin to Three Hands of Fate on Crack as it features an obnoxious array of spawns that feature 180k preemptives (that one occurs on Floor 2) along with everything having greatly augmented abilities. Dungeon information can be found HERE.
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Dark Metatron is my leader of choice as she has enough effective HP to survive all preemptives while also having enough healing to sustain herself. This was my first attempt and managed to turn into a clear after a grueling 120 minutes.

Arena 5

Arena 5 is a bit more straight forward assuming one brings sufficient counters to various mechanics that can pile up and become lethal. Having Fenrir inherited trivializes the various Poison Skyfall encounters (cannot be stopped otherwise) along with using Cloud Resist , VDP , and Fujin style active skills. Once those are achieved, the dungeon becomes significantly more manageable.
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I chose once again to use Dark Metatron as she has the highest survivability along with being able to stall out problematic floors that would otherwise be too difficult.

Conclusion

The new Arenas provide a new and exciting challenge for players at end game and subsequent attempts will probably result in spectacular death.

Let me know what you think about these dungeons along with what team you plan to use.

Happy Puzzling!

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Monster Analysis

[First Impressions] Great Witches Weapon Assist Evolutions – Madoo, Reeche, & Zela

January 19, 2019 Mantastic 9 Comments

Introduction

The North American server is 2-3 months behind Japan and while this is can be problematic, it does give us a chance to fully prepare for any new content coming to Puzzle and Dragons.

The First Impression series is a type of video I produce on my YouTube channel and lets me voice my opinions on newly announced content.

For this video, I gave my initial reaction to the Great Witches Weapon Assist evolutions along with the precedence it sets along with what I feel makes a strong Weapon Assist.

Video commentary

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Weapon Assist forms

All Weapon Assist forms are able to transfer over sizable stats due to their high weighted stats.

Madoo:

Reeche:

Zela:

General thoughts

Weapon Assist evolutions enable the card to transfer over awakenings when inherited on another monster. The Weapon Assist retains the same base stats and active skill while also permanently committing them to an inherit as the process is irreversible.

For myself, I look for three things in a Weapon Assist: beneficial awakenings, a useful active skill, a long cooldown to act as a better skill delay buffer.

With this in mind, Reeche’s Weapon Assist is the big winner of the three released as she covers all the criteria. This is because she is on-colour and can provide massive stats to Beach Fujin which means she can take the 7 Combo Super Awakening to bring her personal damage up to 8x.

The main concern I have for this trend of continuously buffing 7* GFE is that GungHo is raising the Powercreep for rare cards. In the past, many teams were locked behind 6* GFE which made many of them inaccessible to the average player even if they had some of the cards.

Over time, the need use 6* GFE has declined and most are now used as trade fodder for rare Collab cards. While owning a 7* GFE is nice and is not mandatory, the fact that GungHo is continuously buffing them (Super Awakenings, Weapon Assist) is somewhat alarming when you consider how little love is given to Pantheon cards. I understand that this is a business but when you realize that the majority of teams run little to no Pantheon cards is alarming.

Conclusion

The Weapon Assist forms the Great Witches gives them even more value and flexibility. With that in mind, it would not be wise to convert any into a Weapon Assist if it is the only copy you own as they provide a great amount of value in their base/evolved forms. Furthermore, the Weapon Assists would also act as a deterent for using them as Trade Fodder for 10-stone events.

Let me know what you think about these Weapon Assist evolutions in the comments below.

Happy Puzzling!

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Collab REM Reviews, Monster Points

To Kuroyuri, or not to Kuroyuri

January 15, 2019 Mantastic 47 Comments

Introduction

The GungHo Collab returns to North America on Wednesday, January 16th and comes while the REM portion is reasonable overall, being able to purchase Kuroyuri for 750,000 Monster Points is exciting.

At this point in time, there are not too many things to spend Monster Points on and while the 750,000 price tag is quite steep, Kuroyuri is a powerful card to own. Unfortunately, players require two of her to fully capitalize on her unique abilities.

This article will explain how Kuroyuri works and why can be beneficial to purchase for your Monster Box for the limited duration of the GungHo Collab event.

Video commentary

–video coming soon–

Monster Point system

The Monster Point system has been around for a couple of years and over time has become more user friendly in the sense that players are able to acquire MP more easily. The Monster Point Shop can be accessed via Shop -> Purchase Monster. Continue reading To Kuroyuri, or not to Kuroyuri →

Collab REM Reviews

10 Magic Stone GungHo Collab Godfest Review and Analysis – January 2019

January 15, 2019 Mantastic 57 Comments

Introduction

Starting on Wednesday January 16, the GungHo Collab will return to North America alongside a special 10-Stone Godfest. This differs from the original debut of the GungHo Collab as players will be able to roll various other monsters for 10 instead of 6 Magic Stones. To “compensate” for the higher price, all rolls will come out at Max Level, +297, and fully Awoken.

These collateral benefits are largely wasted and are not justification enough for the inflated price, but even after adjusting for the higher cost, are still better value compared to vanilla Godfests.

As a whole, the GungHo Collab REM portion is reasonable for the average player but none of the cards dramatically shake up the meta and are more for niche uses. With that being said, the 7-star cards have received Limit Breaking and Super Awakenings which dramatically improve their overall viability.

This article will provide a review of all the REM cards within the GungHo Collab and you can use this information to help make a decision of whether or not rolling is a good idea. Cards such as Kuroyuri and other GungHo Collab-related events will be discussed in a separate article.

Super Godfests have historically had a 33% rolling rate so it would not be surprising if the GungHo Collab Godfest mirrored that pattern due to the 10-Magic Stone cost.

Official rolling rates and line up can be found in game during the event.

Video commentary

—video coming soon—

Overview

GungHo Collab REM
7 Star base
6 Star base
5 Star base

GungHo Collab REM Rankings – January 12, 2018
S
A
B
C
D

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 10 Magic Stone GungHo Collab Godfest Review and Analysis – January 2019 →

Collab REM Reviews

Sword Art Online Collab Review and Analysis – January 2019

January 6, 2019 Mantastic 31 Comments

Introduction

The Sword Art Online (SAO) Collab makes a debut to North America on January 7th, 2019 and follows the recent trend of 5-Stone machines having Weapon Assist forms at the top rarity. This is valuable because it can open up team building compositions along with expanding the value a 6-star card can bring. Furthermore, all 6-star cards will be available through the Monster Exchange system but tend to fall short as a whole.

The main problem with the Sword Art Online Collab is that most of the cards are not meta changing despite being reasonable overall. Furthermore, the 5-star pool is quite lacking which means players will mostly be chasing for the top rarity cards. Thankfully, the event has a valuable event dungeon which can yield lucrative rewards and cards with Eugeo being a must have.

This article will examine each of the Egg Machine cards featured in the SAO Collab to give players an idea of what to expect and whether or not they should spend their Magic Stones.

As always, the decision of whether to roll or not to roll will still come down to individual preference and how much you value the cards or franchise.

On a positive note, all of the Voice Awakenings will be in Japanese and there will be no option to convert to English.

Video commentary

—video coming soon (when I get over this cold/sore throat)—

Overview

Sword Art Online REM
6 Star base
5 Star base

Sword Art Online Rankings – January 3, 2018
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 Sword Art Online Collab Review and Analysis – January 2019 →

Events

REMDra Descended Returns to NA!

January 2, 2019 Mantastic 17 Comments

Introduction

Starting on Wednesday, January 2, the North American server will enjoy another Gatcha-Dragon event in which players can participate for lucrative individual and server-wide rewards.

The event lasts for a week and comes in two difficulties with each one having a chance for an Egg MachineDra to spawn. Each successful clear with an Egg MachineDra appearance will count towards your personal progression as well as the server total and once certain thresholds have been met, rewards will be distributed.

This is a wonderful event as it gives players of various levels of progression the chance to grind towards something meaningful.

With that being said, there is the chance that players will receive 2 free pull in the Heroine REM which means one should hold off on using the Monster Exchange system in case fortune smiles upon you.

Just be aware that the dungeon follows a Limited Time Dungeon (LTD) format so one must check each day to see their play times. This can be done in game via the LTD tab.

Video commentary

–video coming soon–

How it works

The Descended functions like the previous REMDra event North America had last October in that players have the opportunity to play for both personal and server-wide rewards. Continue reading REMDra Descended Returns to NA! →

Monster Points

Monster Point Spending Advice – January 2019 + Dark Meimei Commentary

January 1, 2019 Mantastic 36 Comments

Introduction

The New Year kicks off with a bang through the generosity of GungHo North America in both Magic Stones, new Challenge dungeons, and Monster Points (MP). In fact, just logging in once during the month of January will give all players 700,000 Monster Points through their in-game mail.

For newer players, this will be the most they have ever had and the temptation to spend them immediately will be great. With that being said, I want to caution players from making ill-informed decisions and wasting this amazing gift.

This article will explain how the Monster Point system works, basic do’s and don’ts, a review of the new Dark Meimei , and an overview of the best MP cards to purchase at this point in time

Video commentary

–video coming soon–

Monster Point system

Question Time

Question Time with Mantastic – January 2019

January 1, 2019 Mantastic 61 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.

Do’s and Don’t

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?

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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Collab REM Reviews

Heroine REM Review and Analysis – December 2018

December 23, 2018 Mantastic 51 Comments

Introduction

This Boxing Day, North America will be blessed with yet another 10-Stone Egg Machine through the Fest Exclusive Heroine series. While it may feel frustrating to constantly be bombarded by 10-Stone events, one has to remember that Heroine was one of the original events that featured a higher Stone cost so this should not come as any surprise.

As a whole, the Heroine series is one of the higher-value events due to the fact that many of the cards provide wonderful value but does fall short compared to Dragonbound & Dragon Caller (DBDC) due to the fact that DBDC has stronger cards at the bottom rarity. With that being said, Heroine is home to some invaluable cards that are hard to replicate elsewhere. Thus, it is worth rolling assuming one is missing many of the lower rarity cards with Mel being a key card to own.

This article will summarize each card’s strengths and weaknesses to give players a better understanding of what each card can do for their Monster Box.

Video commentary

—video coming soon—

Overview

Heroine REM Rarities
7 Star base
6 Star base
5 Star base

Heroine REM Rankings – December 21, 2018
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 Heroine REM Review and Analysis – December 2018 →

Collab REM Reviews

Christmas REM Review and Analysis – December 2018

December 16, 2018 Mantastic 18 Comments

Introduction

The Christmas REM is making a festive return to Puzzle and Dragons and comes with several new cards along with some buffs to existing cards. 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.

With all this in mind, I would be only inclined to do a free roll and possibly utilize the Monster Exchange system for a high rarity card if they are appealing.

This article will summarize each of the featured card’s strengths and weakness along with how to best use them.