So I’ve been aware that recently I’ve been doing a bit of complaining (linky linky: 💥 New Year 2020 Sneak Peek Discussion! - #8 by MysterySpin) to which I didn’t attempt to offer up any solutions which has been bothering me a little for as a web and software developer myself I typically endeavour to find solutions to problems I find. So anyway given that it is New Years I thought I would satisfy that bothersome problem solving itch by proposing some minor tweaks (in that vain I’ll avoid the logical problems at the heart of raid tournaments for the moment as they are certainly not minor) to existing features in the game either to solve a problem or to add more stuff for people to do.
As this is the internet and all titles should be sufficiently click-baity I’m gonna propose 3 of them but if you’ve got any ideas for quick solutions to something then feel free to add them – the purpose of this thread is not for “get rid of this feature I hate,” posts, suggesting totally new features that need building from the ground up or perfect solutions that might require a total overhaul of a feature – it is to find or consider small tweaks that could be done to existing/in-development features that would make a material improvement to the game - essentially the emphasis is on more easily deliverable changes for improvement than ideals we would really want.
Should this be in feature requests?
It is for the above reason I’ve posted this here rather than in feature requests. Feature Requests is where we post what we want to see in the game and frankly what I’d prefer to see for Alchemy Lab and Hero Academy is different than what is posted here. This post isn’t about posting what I want see but to start a discussion on potential solutions people may have for things that whilst are not the ideals they want to see/put up for a vote but solutions that COULD feasibly work and trying to find the comprimise between SGGs desires and the communities so that whilst it may not be the change that you’d be excited enough to campaign for but could be small deliverable changes that could make something better. Essentially this is a thread for small compromise solutions we could live with for some improvement rather than campaigning for unrealistic ideals we really want.
For that reason I do ask that if a moderator is considering moving this to Feature Request I request they delete the post instead as frankly if I’m gonna be attributed to something there I’d rather make it my ideal solutions than these.
Anyway on with the first of them:
Solution 1. Alchemy Lab Recipes
Preamble:
The Alchemy Lab was probably the biggest disappointment for the community this year. Regardless of what type of player you were there were reasons to be disappointed with it. The gem costs combined with the random output of AL10 virtually prevented any F2P or C2P with a crippling imbalance of AMs from correcting their misfortune and the long production time and low odds on AL9 meant that even P2W players who might have ran the lab continuously all year would be averaging just 2 or 3 additional 4* mats from a year’s worth of running and many wasted resources. The inefficiencies were not limited to the later levels with even early AL levels having rather wastefully high ham per hour of operation costs that made just running lower levels for shards wastefully expensive. In short the combination of resource costs, production times, random output and gem costs has created a relatively useless building. But having now been released a complete overhaul is out of the question, in my view the best way to retroactively make the Alchemy Lab more useful would be to introduce recipes that you can collect and use to modify the current Alchemy Lab levels own default recipes to change one of those attributes (transmutation time, resource costs, RNG etc) so that some can become more viable.
The Tweaks/General Idea:
A). Alchemy Lab Recipes have a chance to drop after any level has been completed, Titan defeated or chest opened.
B). There would be a number of varieties of Alchemy Lab Recipes – In the example I’m going to outline here there will be 105 recipes. Once you have a particular recipe you may reuse it as often as you like. Each recipe is associated with a particular Alchemy Lab level in which you can use it.
C). To use a particular recipe go to the level of the Alchemy Lab the recipe can be used in and the bit outlined in red on the following screenshot would now be a combo box that you can press to open a list of the recipes you have available to use on that AL level to select. Depending on the recipe selected the production time, resource costs or items produced changes.
D). If a player has a duplicate recipe they can trade the recipe with a recipe another player in their alliance has.
Example Recipes – General Overview (also summarises the giant table afterwards)
Here’s an example of 105 recipes that could be featured broken down into 6 basic categories, the categories are explained below so that you don’t need to study in detail the full table of 105 recipes included at the bottom.
Cheap Transmutations
Recipes 1-10: These recipes are cheap versions of the basic Alchemy Lab levels. For the levels that don’t require gems they reduce ham and ingredient costs to a third and for those levels with a gem cost they reduce the ham and ingredient costs to a half and remove all gem fees. These options in particular envisioned to be most useful options for C2P and F2P players.
Fast Transmutations
Recipes 11-20: Faster versions of the current Alchemy Lab level options. Costs remain the same for all with same outputs but they now take a quarter of the time to complete. For those who want quicker results and don’t mind the costs to get them…
Reverse Transmutations
Recipes 21-30: These transmutations take rarer items and break them down into less rare items. The recipes here keep the same ham costs and times as their corresponding original recipe on the AL level but require just a single ingredient to break down into multiple outputs and do not require gem costs as items are being made less rare. The number of items returned by breaking down is less than the items needed to make the rarer items in most other recipes so any attempted cycle of transmuting, breaking down and transmuting again will result in losing items in the long haul – not increasing them.
Transmuting to a specific item of the same rarity
Recipes 31-98: These recipes allow you to transmute a single ingredient to a specific item of the same rarity without the RNG. However the guaranteed transmutation means the transmutation time, ham costs and any gem costs are similar to the times and costs for transmuting the ingredient up to a random rarer item. In the case of AL10 recipes of this nature an additional specific 3* unfarmable AM is required to guide the transmutation to the desired item also. A number of these are there for completion sake of having one recipe for each item which obviously means some will be more useful than others – but then again that’s like heroes themselves, their usefulness varies.
Transmuting to a guaranteed rarity
Recipes 99-100: Alchemy Lab level 9 is different from all other AL levels in that the transmutation has a chance of either producing a 3* Unfarmable AM or 4* AM rather than always producing an item of 1 specific rarity tier. These two rarer recipes allow you to either guarantee producing a 3* unfarmable AM from farmable 3* AMs at a slightly lesser cost or at an increased cost and needing to use many 3* unfarmable AMs to produce a guaranteed 4* AM but without receiving any shards for the long transmutation.
Special transmutations
Recipes 101-105: These 5 legendary tier recipes provide additional functionality to the Alchemy Lab from being able to breakdown Titan Parts into Epic Crafting Materials, converting to or from Epic and Legendary Battle Items, transforming 4* AMs into emblems or changing the class of other emblems.
If you read the summary drop down above then you’ve pretty much got everything you need to know about the recipe examples and can avoid the hidden below (highly recommended to skip) - it has only really included in the really unlikely case the thing was actually being considered and details were necessary and even if that were the case if it were the difference between getting something changed about the AL I would more than happily volunteer to shove the data into whatever language was necessary
Full table of 105 example recipes (Even I recommend skipping this one)
| Recipe No. | AL Level | Rarity | Name | Produces | Costs | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1* | Cheap Transmutation of UNCOMMON Crafting Material from COMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x 2* Crafting Material + 2 'Shards | 10.3K Ham + 10 Ing | 1 hour |
| 2 | 2 | 1* | Cheap Transmutation of UNCOMMON Battle Item from COMMON Battle Items | 1 x 2* Battle Item + 4 'Shards | 14K Ham + 5 Ing | 2 hours |
| 3 | 3 | 1* | Cheap Transmutation of UNCOMMON Ascension Material from COMMON AMs | 1 x 2* Ascension Material + 6 'Shards | 19K Ham + 8 Ing | 3 hours |
| 4 | 4 | 2* | Cheap Transmutation of RARE Crafting Materials from UNCOMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x 3* Crafting Material + 12 'Shards | 21K Ham + 7 Ing | 6 hours |
| 5 | 5 | 2* | Cheap Transmutation of RARE Battle Items from UNCOMMON Battle Items | 1 x 3* Battle Item + 18 'Shards | 24K Ham + 4 Ing | 9 hours |
| 6 | 6 | 2* | Cheap Transmutation of RARE Ascension Materials from UNCOMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x 3* Farmable Ascension Material + 25 'Shards | 29K Ham + 9 Ing + No Gems | 12 hours |
| 7 | 7 | 3* | Cheap Transmutation of EPIC Crafting Materials from RARE Crafting Materials | 1 x 4* Crafting Material + 55 'Shards | 47K Ham + 5 Ing + No Gems | 1 day |
| 8 | 8 | 3* | Cheap Transmutation of EPIC Battle Items from RARE Battle Items | 1 x 4* Battle Item + 125 'Shards | 51K Ham + 3 Ing + No Gems | 2 days |
| 9 | 9 | 3* | Cheap Transmutation of EPIC Ascension Materials from RARE Farmable AMs | 1 x 4* or 3* Unfarmable AM + 450 'Shards | 84K Ham + 6 Ing + No Gems | 7 days |
| 10 | 10 | 4* | Cheap Transmutation of EPIC Ascension Materials other EPIC Ascension Materials | 1 x 4* Ascension Material + 600 'Shards | 128K Ham + 1 Ing + No Gems | 7 days |
| 11 | 1 | 1* | Fast Transmutation of UNCOMMON Crafting Material from COMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x 2* Crafting Material + 2 'Shards | 31K Ham + 30 Ing | 15 mins |
| 12 | 2 | 1* | Fast Transmutation of UNCOMMON Battle Item from COMMON Battle Items | 1 x 2* Battle Item + 4 'Shards | 42K Ham + 15 Ing | 30 mins |
| 13 | 3 | 1* | Fast Transmutation of UNCOMMON Ascension Material from COMMON AMs | 1 x 2* Ascension Material + 6 'Shards | 57K Ham + 24 Ing | 45 mins |
| 14 | 4 | 2* | Fast Transmutation of RARE Crafting Materials from UNCOMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x 3* Crafting Material + 12 'Shards | 63K Ham + 20 Ing | 1 hour 30 mins |
| 15 | 5 | 2* | Fast Transmutation of RARE Battle Items from UNCOMMON Battle Items | 1 x 3* Battle Item + 18 'Shards | 73K Ham + 10 Ing | 2 hours 15 mins |
| 16 | 6 | 2* | Fast Transmutation of RARE Ascension Materials from UNCOMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x 3* Farmable Ascension Material + 25 'Shards | 86K Ham + 18 Ing + 1 Gem | 3 hours |
| 17 | 7 | 3* | Fast Transmutation of EPIC Crafting Materials from RARE Crafting Materials | 1 x 4* Crafting Material + 55 'Shards | 94K Ham + 10 Ing + 25 Gems | 6 hours |
| 18 | 8 | 3* | Fast Transmutation of EPIC Battle Items from RARE Battle Items | 1 x 4* Battle Item + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 5 Ing + 50 Gems | 12 hours |
| 19 | 9 | 3* | Fast Transmutation of EPIC Ascension Materials from RARE Farmable AMs | 1 x 4* or 3* Unfarmable AM + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 12 Ing + 150 Gems | 1 day 12 hours |
| 20 | 10 | 4* | Fast Transmutation of EPIC Ascension Materials other EPIC Ascension Materials | 1 x 4* Ascension Material + 600 'Shards | 256K Ham + 1 Ing + 250 Gems | 2 days |
| 21 | 1 | 1* | Transmute COMMON Crafting Materials from UNCOMMON Crafting Materials | 20 x 1* Crafting Materials + 2 'Shards | 31K Ham + 1 Ing | 1 hour |
| 22 | 2 | 1* | Transmute COMMON Battle Items from UNCOMMON Battle Items | 10 x 1* Battle Items + 4 'Shards | 42K Ham + 1 Ing | 2 hours |
| 23 | 3 | 1* | Transmute COMMON Ascension Materials from UNCOMMON Ascension Materials | 20 x 1* Ascension Materials + 6 'Shards | 57K Ham + 1 Ing | 3 hours |
| 24 | 4 | 2* | Transmute UNCOMMON Crafting Materials from RARE Crafting Materials | 15 x 2* Crafting Materials + 12 'Shards | 63K Ham + 1 Ing | 6 hours |
| 25 | 5 | 2* | Transmute UNCOMMON Battle Items from RARE Battle Items | 8 x 2* Battle Items + 18 'Shards | 73K Ham + 1 Ing | 9 hours |
| 26 | 6 | 2* | Transmute UNCOMMON Ascension Materials from RARE Farmable AMs | 15 x 2* Ascension Materials + 25 'Shards | 86K Ham + 1 Ing + No Gems | 12 hours |
| 27 | 7 | 3* | Transmute RARE Crafting Materials from EPIC Crafting Materials | 8 x 3* Crafting Materials + 55 'Shards | 94K Ham + 1 Ing + No Gems | 1 day |
| 28 | 8 | 3* | Transmute RARE Battle Items from EPIC Battle Items | 4 x 3* Battle Items + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing + No Gems | 2 days |
| 29 | 9 | 3* | Transmute RARE Ascension Materials from RARE Unfarmable AMs | 8 x 3* Farmable AM + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + No Gems | 7 days |
| 30 | 10 | 4* | Transmute RARE Unfarmable AMs from EPIC Ascension Material | 8 x 3* Unfarmable AM + 600 'Shards | 256K Ham + 1 Ing + No Gems | 7 days |
| 31 | 1 | 1* | Transmute Common Herb from COMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Common Herb + 2 'Shards | 31K Ham + 1 Ing | 1 hour |
| 32 | 1 | 1* | Transmute Leather Strip from COMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Leather Strip + 2 'Shards | 31K Ham + 1 Ing | 1 hour |
| 33 | 1 | 1* | Transmute Large Bone from COMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Large Bone + 2 'Shards | 31K Ham + 1 Ing | 1 hour |
| 34 | 1 | 1* | Transmute Oil from COMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Oil + 2 'Shards | 31K Ham + 1 Ing | 1 hour |
| 35 | 1 | 1* | Transmute String from COMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x String + 2 'Shards | 31K Ham + 1 Ing | 1 hour |
| 36 | 1 | 1* | Transmute Crude Iron from COMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Crude Iron + 2 'Shards | 31K Ham + 1 Ing | 1 hour |
| 37 | 1 | 1* | Transmute Clean Cloth from COMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Clean Cloth + 2 'Shards | 31K Ham + 1 Ing | 1 hour |
| 38 | 2 | 1* | Transmute Minor Healing Potion from COMMON Battle Items | 1 x Minor Healing Potion + 4 'Shards | 42K Ham + 1 Ing | 2 hours |
| 39 | 2 | 1* | Transmute Antidote from COMMON Battle Items | 1 x Antidote + 4 'Shards | 42K Ham + 1 Ing | 2 hours |
| 40 | 2 | 1* | Transmute Minor Mana Potion from COMMON Battle Items | 1 x Minor Mana Potion + 4 'Shards | 42K Ham + 1 Ing | 2 hours |
| 41 | 2 | 1* | Transmute Arrows from COMMON Battle Items | 1 x Arrow Attack + 4 'Shards | 42K Ham + 1 Ing | 2 hours |
| 42 | 2 | 1* | Transmute Healing Potion from COMMON Battle Items | 1 x Healing Potion + 4 'Shards | 42K Ham + 1 Ing | 2 hours |
| 43 | 3 | 1* | Transmute Training Manual from COMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x Training Manual + 6 'Shards | 57K Ham + 1 Ing | 3 hours |
| 44 | 3 | 1* | Transmute Rugged Clothes from COMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x Rugged Clothes + 6 'Shards | 57K Ham + 1 Ing | 3 hours |
| 45 | 3 | 1* | Transmute Practice Sword from COMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x Practice Sword + 6 'Shards | 57K Ham + 1 Ing | 3 hours |
| 46 | 3 | 1* | Transmute Adventurer’s Kit from COMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x Adventurer’s Kit + 6 'Shards | 57K Ham + 1 Ing | 3 hours |
| 47 | 4 | 2* | Transmute Sunspire Feather from UNCOMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Sunspire Feather + 12 'Shards | 63K Ham + 1 Ing | 6 hours |
| 48 | 4 | 2* | Transmute Potent Leaves from UNCOMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Potent Leaves + 12 'Shards | 63K Ham + 1 Ing | 6 hours |
| 49 | 4 | 2* | Transmute Metal Ores from UNCOMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Metal Ores + 12 'Shards | 63K Ham + 1 Ing | 6 hours |
| 50 | 4 | 2* | Transmute Firestone from UNCOMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Firestone + 12 'Shards | 63K Ham + 1 Ing | 6 hours |
| 51 | 4 | 2* | Transmute Crypt Mushroom from UNCOMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Crypt Mushroom + 12 'Shards | 63K Ham + 1 Ing | 6 hours |
| 52 | 4 | 2* | Transmute Crystal Shard from UNCOMMON Crafting Materials | 1 x Crystal Shard + 12 'Shards | 63K Ham + 1 Ing | 6 hours |
| 53 | 5 | 2* | Transmute Bear Banner from UNCOMMON Battle Items | 1 x Bear Banner + 18 'Shards | 73K Ham + 1 Ing | 9 hours |
| 54 | 5 | 2* | Transmute Turtle Banner from UNCOMMON Battle Items | 1 x Turtle Banner + 18 'Shards | 73K Ham + 1 Ing | 9 hours |
| 55 | 5 | 2* | Transmute Axe Attack from UNCOMMON Battle Items | 1 x Axe Attack + 18 'Shards | 73K Ham + 1 Ing | 9 hours |
| 56 | 5 | 2* | Transmute Potent Healing Potion from UNCOMMON Battle Items | 1 x Potent Healing Potion + 18 'Shards | 73K Ham + 1 Ing | 9 hours |
| 57 | 5 | 2* | Transmute Mana Potion from UNCOMMON Battle Items | 1 x Mana Potion + 18 'Shards | 73K Ham + 1 Ing | 9 hours |
| 58 | 6 | 2* | Transmute Wooden Shield from UNCOMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x Wooden Shield + 25 'Shards | 86K Ham + 1 Ing + 1 Gem | 12 hours |
| 59 | 6 | 2* | Transmute Strong Rope from UNCOMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x Strong Rope + 25 'Shards | 86K Ham + 1 Ing + 1 Gem | 12 hours |
| 60 | 6 | 2* | Transmute Sharpening Stone from UNCOMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x Sharpening Stone + 25 'Shards | 86K Ham + 1 Ing + 1 Gem | 12 hours |
| 61 | 6 | 2* | Transmute Leather Armor from UNCOMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x Leather Armor + 25 'Shards | 86K Ham + 1 Ing + 1 Gem | 12 hours |
| 62 | 6 | 2* | Transmute Dagger from UNCOMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x Dagger + 25 'Shards | 86K Ham + 1 Ing + 1 Gem | 12 hours |
| 63 | 6 | 2* | Transmute Arcane Scripts from UNCOMMON Ascension Materials | 1 x Arcane Scripts + 25 'Shards | 86K Ham + 1 Ing + 1 Gem | 12 hours |
| 64 | 7 | 2* | Transmute Midnight Roots from RARE Crafting Materials | 1 x Midnight Roots + 55 'Shards | 94K Ham + 1 Ing + 25 Gems | 1 day |
| 65 | 7 | 2* | Transmute Grimoire Dust from RARE Crafting Materials | 1 x Grimoire Dust + 55 'Shards | 94K Ham + 1 Ing + 25 Gems | 1 day |
| 66 | 7 | 2* | Transmute Fine Steel from RARE Crafting Materials | 1 x Fine Steel + 55 'Shards | 94K Ham + 1 Ing + 25 Gems | 1 day |
| 67 | 7 | 2* | Transmute Hardwood Lumber from RARE Crafting Materials | 1 x Hardwood Lumber + 55 'Shards | 94K Ham + 1 Ing + 25 Gems | 1 day |
| 68 | 7 | 3* | Transmute Orichalcum Nugget from EPIC Crafting Materials | 1 x Orichalcum Nugget + 55 'Shards | 94K Ham + 1 Ing + 25 Gems | 1 day |
| 69 | 7 | 3* | Transmute Meteor Fragment from EPIC Crafting Materials | 1 x Meteor Fragment + 55 'Shards | 94K Ham + 1 Ing + 25 Gems | 1 day |
| 70 | 7 | 3* | Transmute Dragon Bone from EPIC Crafting Materials | 1 x Dragon Bone + 55 'Shards | 94K Ham + 1 Ing + 25 Gems | 1 day |
| 71 | 8 | 2* | Transmute Dragon Banner from RARE Battle Items | 1 x Dragon Banner + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing + 50 Gems | 2 days |
| 72 | 8 | 2* | Transmute Bomb Attack from RARE Battle Items | 1 x Bomb Attack + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing + 50 Gems | 2 days |
| 73 | 8 | 2* | Transmute Revive Scroll from RARE Battle Items | 1 x Revive Scroll + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing + 50 Gems | 2 days |
| 74 | 8 | 2* | Transmute Super Antidote from RARE Battle Items | 1 x Super Antidote + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing + 50 Gems | 2 days |
| 75 | 8 | 3* | Transmute Dragon Attack from EPIC Battle Items | 1 x Dragon Attack + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing + 50 Gems | 2 days |
| 76 | 8 | 3* | Transmute Super Healing Potion from EPIC Battle Items | 1 x Super Healing Potion + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing + 50 Gems | 2 days |
| 77 | 8 | 3* | Transmute Super Mana Potion from EPIC Battle Items | 1 x Super Mana Potion + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing + 50 Gems | 2 days |
| 78 | 8 | 3* | Transmute Time Stop from EPIC Battle Items | 1 x Time Stop + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing + 50 Gems | 2 days |
| 79 | 8 | 3* | Transmute Tornado from EPIC Battle Items | 1 x Tornado + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing + 50 Gems | 2 days |
| 80 | 8 | 3* | Transmute Miracle Scroll from EPIC Battle Items | 1 x Miracle Scroll + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing + 50 Gems | 2 days |
| 81 | 9 | 2* | Transmute Tall Boots from RARE Farmable Ascension Materials | 1 x Tall Boots + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 82 | 9 | 2* | Transmute Scabbard from RARE Farmable Ascension Materials | 1 x Scabbard + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 83 | 9 | 2* | Transmute Chainmail Shirt from RARE Farmable Ascension Materials | 1 x Chainmail Shirt + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 84 | 9 | 2* | Transmute Battle Manual from RARE Farmable Ascension Materials | 1 x Battle Manual + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 85 | 9 | 3* | Transmute Compass from RARE Unfarmable Ascension Materials | 1 x Compass + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 86 | 9 | 3* | Transmute Fine Gloves from RARE Unfarmable Ascension Materials | 1 x Fine Gloves + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 87 | 9 | 3* | Transmute Trap Tools from RARE Unfarmable Ascension Materials | 1 x Trap Tools + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 88 | 9 | 3* | Transmute Magic Orb from RARE Unfarmable Ascension Materials | 1 x Magic Orb + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 89 | 9 | 3* | Transmute Warm Cape from RARE Unfarmable Ascension Materials | 1 x Warm Cape + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 90 | 9 | 3* | Transmute Sturdy Shield from RARE Unfarmable Ascension Materials | 1 x Sturdy Shield + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 91 | 9 | 3* | Transmute Hidden Blade from RARE Unfarmable Ascension Materials | 1 x Hidden Blade + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 92 | 10 | 4* | Transmute Tome of Tactics from EPIC Ascension Materials | 1 x Tome of Tactics + 600 'Shards | 256K Ham + 250 Gems + 1 x 4* AM + 1 x Fine Gloves | 7 days |
| 93 | 10 | 4* | Transmute Damascus Blade from EPIC Ascension Materials | 1 x Damascus Blade + 600 'Shards | 256K Ham + 250 Gems + 1 x 4* AM + 1 x Compass | 7 days |
| 94 | 10 | 4* | Transmute Royal Tabbard from EPIC Ascension Materials | 1 x Royal Tabbard + 600 'Shards | 256K Ham + 250 Gems + 1 x 4* AM + 1 x Trap Tools | 7 days |
| 95 | 10 | 4* | Transmute Poison Darts from EPIC Ascension Materials | 1 x Poison Darts + 600 'Shards | 256K Ham + 250 Gems + 1 x 4* AM + 1 x Magic Orb | 7 days |
| 96 | 10 | 4* | Transmute Farsight Telescope from EPIC Ascension Materials | 1 x Farsight Telescope + 600 'Shards | 256K Ham + 250 Gems + 1 x 4* AM + 1 x Warm Cape | 7 days |
| 97 | 10 | 4* | Transmute Mysterious Tonic from EPIC Ascension Materials | 1 x Mysterious Tonic + 600 'Shards | 256K Ham + 250 Gems + 1 x 4* AM + 1 x Sturdy Shield | 7 days |
| 98 | 10 | 4* | Transmute Mystic Rings from EPIC Ascension Materials | 1 x Mystic Rings + 600 'Shards | 256K Ham + 250 Gems + 1 x 4* AM + 1 x Hidden Blade | 7 days |
| 99 | 9 | 3* | Guaranteed Transmutation of RARE Unfarmable AMs from RARE Farmable AMs | 1 x 3* Unfarmable AM + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 1 of each 3* Farmable AMs + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 100 | 10 | 4* | Guaranteed Transmutation of EPIC Ascension Materials from RARE Unfarmable AMs | 1 x 4* Ascension Material + NO SHARDS | 256K Ham + 2 of each 3* Unfarmable AMs + 250 Gems | 14 days |
| 101 | 7 | 5* | Transmute EPIC Crafting Materials from TITAN PARTS | 8 x 4* Crafting Materials + 55 'Shards | 94K Ham + 1 Ing + No Gems | 1 day |
| 102 | 8 | 5* | Transmute EPIC Battle Items from LEGENDARY Battle Items | 4 x 4* Battle Items + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 1 Ing | 2 days |
| 103 | 8 | 5* | Transmute LEGENDARY Battle Items from EPIC Battle Items | 1 x 5* Battle Item + 125 'Shards | 103K Ham + 8 Ing + 50 Gems | 2 days |
| 104 | 9 | 5* | Transmute EMBLEMS from different EMBLEMS | 12 x Emblems + 450 'Shards | 168K Ham + 12 Ing + 150 Gems | 7 days |
| 105 | 10 | 5* | Transmute EMBLEMS from EPIC Ascension Materials | 40 x Emblems + 600 'Shards | 256K Ham + 1 Ing + 250 Gems | 7 days |
Solution 2: Summon gate guarantees and the Hero Academy
Preamble:
So it is an issue of great irritation for much of the community that not only has the Hero Academy teased earlier in 2019 failed to materialise in the year but neither has there been much indication for the reasons for the delay or that there is even work taking place on it right now.
By now most people have their own theories and I’m not gonna comment on them but let’s for the moment be really charitable and say that perhaps SGG is struggling to work out how to balance the conflicting issues of creating a hero academy that has a genuine use for players (so is not the flop Alchemy Lab has been) with a business wish to keep featuring past HOTM alongside Season 2 or Season 3 summons relatively desirable. After all with Season 3 around the corner there will naturally be some less desirable Season 3 5* in the mix (the equivalents of Atomos and Mok-Arr) that SGG will hope the strength of past featured HOTM will keep people pulling when one of those is featured.
It’s a tricky balance to meet and whilst I would like to clarify this is not necessarily my favoured solution the following is one that I think meets the desires of the community of having a way of being able to try trade in a duplicate for something they might not have whilst still giving SGG to continue monetizing said heroes in a way that is simple.
The tweaks/General Idea:
A). Season 3 gate to feature past HOTM heroes up to a year old.
B). Season 2 gate to feature past HOTM heroes between 1 and 2 years old.
C). Once an HOTM is 2+ years old it is permanently added to the relevant element’s Elemental Summon and the Epic Hero Gate.
D). Modify the single summon option on a summon gate to allow for a trade-in summon that can be used either when using free summon coins or with gems (A trade-in summon still has the same costs as a regular one pull). If a player chooses to make a trade-in summon they are prompted to select a hero from their roster to trade-in. The rarity of the hero they choose to trade in sets a rarity floor on the hero they will get back from the summon ie. If the player selects a 4* hero to trade in the summon gate will keep rolling until the first 4* or above hero comes up that wasn’t the same as the one traded-in at which point it returns the hero rolled. With this system players are able to use their duplicate heroes to improve their odds at getting other heroes in a way that would be accessible by F2P who could use freely obtained tokens to pull whilst paying players may be tempted to pay for single trade-in pulls.
E). EHT would be modified to allow their use for trade-in pulls on Elemental Summons Gate as well.
F). Different summons gates would allow you to be able to trade in different heroes for a trade-in pull. These would be the recommended restrictions:
i). Epic Hero Gate allows you to trade-in any 4* or 5* hero.
ii). Elemental Gate allows you to trade-in any 4* or 5* hero of the same element as the current gate.
iii). Season 2 gate only allows you to trade-in any HOTM less than 2 years old or any Atlantis, Sakura or Lagoon family members.
iv). Season 3 gate only allows you to trade-in any HOTM less than 1 year old or any Season 3 hero.
v). Seasonal gates only allow you to trade-in heroes from the currently active seasonal event.
vi). Challenge event gates only allow you to trade-in heroes from the currently active challenge event.
WORKED EXAMPLE for more clarity
Let’s say you pulled a Boomer from the Pirates event gate you then have the following options available to you:
-
Keep Boomer.
-
Trade him into the Pirates summon gate for an increased chance at another pirate hero – you can’t use him to trade-in on a different event gate.
-
Trade him into the Dark elemental gate for an increased chance at a 2+ year old Dark HOTM
-
Trade him into the Epic Hero Gate for an increased chance at a 2+ year old HOTM of any element.
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Feed him away as you may still wind up walking away with a 4* classic hero like Cyprian from any of those gates instead and given there is a cost to trade in (either from free tokens saved up or gems for a single pull) that the 4* floor doesn’t boost the odds enough or the rewards on offer don’t justify the cost in your mind.
The choice is up to you but it should be worth noting that even if you decided to trade him in to say the Pirate gate you may get back a classic 4* that can’t be traded into that gate so you won’t necessarily be able to keep trading in to that gate until you get what you want – but you do have a better chance than if you didn’t do a trade in summon.
G). By tweaking the summons gates for trade-in summons like this the decision earlier in the year to merge the Advance Training Camp with the Hero Academy could be reversed and the Advanced Training Camp with options to train troops and trainer heroes released instead (and perhaps a final enhanced stage able to produce 2+ year old HOTM if necessary) as the trade-in pull system now eliminates the need for a building to trade in duplicates the Hero Academy could then be dropped.
To implement the feature: Create a new pop-up menu that appears when doing a single pull at a gate which asks if you want to trade-in a hero to improve your odds. If user selects no then pull occurs normally, if yes is selected the roster menu comes out with all locked and ineligible heroes greyed out. When a hero is selected a prompt asks to confirm selection and if agreed then the game runs as many pull iterations needed until a hero of equal or greater rarity is returned.
Solution 3: Class Map Challenge
Preamble:
As the other fixes have focused more on resources rather than stuff to do I wanted to make a quick suggestion to increase the number of challenges we have available to keep us occupied. This set of recommendations focuses on creating new challenges for the season 1 levels that will add many hours of new gameplay for people to try attempt.
The tweaks/General Idea:
A). In the same way each Season 2 level has 8 Atlantis coins that can be obtained from it (3 from Normal and 5 from Hard mode) Season 1 levels would each have 10 class emblems (1 from each class) that can be obtained from them but to obtain one of the emblems you must complete the level with a team comprising only of heroes from the same class as that emblem you’re attempting to obtain.
B). Additional emblems could be contained in new missions with perhaps the likes of “Complete All Season 1 levels with only Wizards” awarding 50 Wizard emblems and a Wizard emblem pin for avatar but for all 10 emblems could also be added. (If deemed really necessary could go so far as to having missions for completing each province with mono-class teams).
C). A final mission of “Complete All 10 Season 1 Class Themed Missions” for a reward like finishing Season 2 Mission such as one of each 4* AM and a reset emblem pin for avatar to show off completion.
D). Small tweak to the level selection screen (like the one below) to indicate which of the class challenges you’ve done on the level and which you have yet to complete and get the emblem for. Something like the following with either greyed out or coloured in emblem icons could easily do the trick…
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