Mana buffs/debuffs have always existed ever since the game was first released and has been understood and studied by various players in the past (Link1, Link2, Link3). But with the advent of numerous mana related heroes over the years many of us might be interested in what exactly happens when a hero undergo mana alteration and how many tiles we require to charge our heroes in those conditions, especially when your heroes are already partially charged. Some of us might also be interested to see if a certain amount of mana boost can help reduce the number of tiles required under these conditions.
In order to determine this, I use the following formula:
P x (100 + MB) + Q x (100 + MB + MA) + MS = 100 x R ---- (Eq.1)
where,
P = Number of tiles before mana alteration is applied
Q = Number of tiles required to fill after mana alteration is applied
MB = Percentage of inherent mana boost (troops, emblems, costume bonus, etc.)
MA = Percentage value of altered mana (considered positive for mana boosts like Ariel, and negative for mana debuffs like Telluria)
MS = Mana units added/subtracted under special cases (discussed at the end)
R = Mana speed factor whose values depend on hero speed as follows
R = 6.5 (for very fast heroes)
R = 8 (for fast heroes)
R = 10 (for average heroes)
R = 12 (for slow heroes)
R = 13.5 (for very slow heroes)
R = 4.9 / 9.8 / 14.7 (for 3x ninja charges, respectively)
The premise of this formula is very simple. Imagine each hero has a mana tank (like fuel tanks in cars) which can contain a certain amount of mana fluid (similar to petrol/diesel), When you make a match of the same colour as the hero, each tile fills the tank with 100 units of this mana fluid. But every hero does not fill with the same amount of tiles; this is because the mana capacity of different heroes is different. The mana tank of a very slow hero (1350 mana units) is much larger than the mana tank of a very fast hero (650 units) and hence requires more number of tiles to fill up, which is what the mana speed factor R takes care of. The first term of the formula on the left side simply modifies the amount of mana each tile generates by any kind of inherent mana boost (troops, emblems, costumes, family bonus). The reason I call them inherent is because once the fight starts they cannot be removed or altered in any way. The second term of the formula on the left side of the equation takes care of any kind of mana alterations (buffs or debuffs). I multiply everything by 100, just to make the percentage calculations more simpler without involving any decimals.
If someone is simply interested in determining the percentage boost (MB) required to charge a particular hero with a certain number of tiles ( P ), without any mana debuff, then simply assume Q=0, thus Eq. (1) reduces to
P x (100 + MB) = 100 x R ---- (Eq. 2)
Ghosting Tiles:
When you “ghost” a tile, that is send them through an empty space without hitting any hero, it is counted as two tiles (thus, providing twice the amount of mana unit that a single tile would generate). So, remember to choose the values of P and Q accordingly in such situations. For example, if you ghost an entire match-3 purple tiles, it will count as 6 purple tiles. If two of those tiles hit a hero and the third one goes through an empty space, then it will count as 4 purple tiles, and so on.
Anyway, let’s see a few examples: (For simplicity’s sake, we will ignore MS in all the examples)
Example 1: Inherent Mana boost
Click Here for Calculations
Without any kind of mana boost (MB = 0), if an average mana hero (R = 10) requires P amount of tiles, then from Eq. (2) we have P x (100) = 1000, or P = 10. That is an average mana hero requires 10 tiles to completely fill the mana bar.
Now, if you want to determine what value of percentage mana boost (MB) enables us to charge an average mana hero with 9 tiles (P=9) instead of 10, then from Eq. (2) we have 9 x (100 + MB) = 1000, or MB = 11.11 (~12%). Charging an average hero in 9 tiles instead of 10 gives you a huge boost in gameplay, as when you do 3x 3 matches, the said hero will charge up along with your fast heroes of the same colour (who require 8 tiles to charge) and thus the specials can be fired together for more synergy. Example, Grimm (average) + Magni (fast), Frida (average) + Vela (fast), Gormek (average) + Scarlett (fast), etc.
There are multiple ways in which you can obtain this 12% mana boost. One can simply use a level 23 mana troop (13%). One can use costume bonus (5%) + level 5 mana troop (7%) and so on and so forth. But don’t worry, you don’t need to calculate all these situations individually, the awesome EnP player base has already got you covered on this one. This is the premise on which this following chart is based on, where it shows the different ways in which one can decrease the number of tiles to fill the mana bar for heroes of different speeds.
Example 2: Boosted Mana / Mana Buff
Click Here for Calculations
Let’s take an example of a fast hero like Lianna (R = 8) under Ariel’s mana boost (MA = 24%).
a) Case 1: P = 0, MB = 0
Here, we assume that Lianna has no inherent mana boost (MB = 0), but Ariel’s boost is active (MA = 24%). Thus, Eq. (1) gives us Q x (100 + 24) = 800, or Q = 6.45 ~ 7. Thus, Lianna now requires 7 tiles to fully charge instead of the usual 8 tiles.
b) Case 2: P = 0, MB = 11%
Here, we assume Lianna has a level 11 mana troop (MB = 11%), and Ariel’s boost is active (MA = 24%). Thus, Eq. (1) gives us Q x (100 + 11 + 24) = 800, or Q = 5.93 ~ 6. Thus, Lianna now requires only 6 tiles (just 2 green 3-matches, or 1x ghosted green 3-match) to fully charge instead of the usual 8 tiles, which is awesome.
Example 3: Reduced Mana / Mana Debuff
Click Here for Calculations
Let’s take the example of an average cleanser like Rigard (R = 10) under Telluria’s mana debuff (MA = -24%) and study a few cases:
a) Case 1: P = 0, MB = 0
Here, we take a normal Rigard with no mana boost (critical troop) and no purple matches were made before Telluria fired. Thus Eq. (1) gives us Q x (100 – 24) = 1000, or Q = 13.15 ~ 14. Thus, in this situation you would need 14 purple tiles to fully charge Rigard (Not good at all!!!)
b) Case 2: P = 3, MB = 9%
Here, we take a normal Rigard with a level 11 mana troop (MB = 9%) and one purple 3-match was made before Telluria fired. Thus, Eq. (1) gives us 3 x (100 + 9) + Q x (100 + 9 – 24) = 1000, or Q = 7.92 ~ 8. Thus, we will still need 8 more tiles to charge him completely.
c) Case 3: P = 6, MB = 20%
Here, we have a costumed Rigard (5% mana bonus) with a level 23 mana troop (13%) and 2% class node bonus (total MB = 20%), and suppose we have made 2 purple 3-matches (6 tiles) before Telluria fired. Then, Eq. (1) gives us 6 x (100 + 20) + Q x (100 + 20 - 24) = 1000, or Q = 2.91 ~ 3. This is good news. So now, with 20% mana bonus a costumed Rigard can still fully charge up with only 3 tiles after Telluria fires (provided 6 purple matches were made beforehand), providing a huge advantage in gameplay. The same applies for any of the costumed heroes who have average mana (like Boldtusk, Kiril, Tiburtus, etc.)
Relevant Values for calculations
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Here are some popular mana alterations (MA) which we frequently encounter in the game:
Ariel, Khagan, Sir Lancelot, Brynhild: MA = 24%
Spirit Links: MA = 4% (undispellable, but stacks with other mana buffs/debuffs)
Telluria: MA = -24%
Alasie: MA = -24% (undispellable)
Little John, Mist: MA = -64%
Sorcerer delay: MA = -50%
NOTE: Unless they are undispellable, mana buffs and debuffs will usually overwrite each other. For example, Telluria’s mana debuff can be overwritten with Ariel’s mana buff. But Alasie’s mana debuff cannot be overwritten by Ariel.
For full list on different mana buffs/debuffs check this thread
Here are some relevant mana values for calculations taken from this thread:
Mana Troops - each color has a 4* mana troop. They all have the same stats at the same level.
Level 1-4 = 5% bonus
Level 5-10 = 7% bonus
Level 11-16 = 9% bonus
Level 17-22 = 11% bonus
Level 23-28 = 13% bonus
Level 29-30 = 15% bonus
Hero Class - each hero class has a mana bonus at a certain level (indicated below).
Barbarian 19 - 2% bonus
Cleric 19 - 2% bonus
Druid 20 - 4% bonus
Fighter 19 - 2% bonus
Monk 20 - 4% bonus
Paladin 19 - 2% bonus
Ranger 8 - 2% bonus
Rogue 8 - 2% bonus
Sorcerer 20 - 4% bonus
Wizard 20 - 2% bonus
For mana boosts from family bonuses, check out this thread
Special cases
There are certain special cases which can add or subtract some mana units (MS) from the total mana generated on a per turn basis, and should be taken into account as and when the situation arises. Check out this amazing thread for more details. Under most commonly encountered circumstances we can simply ignore MS.
Click Here for Details on certain Special Cases
Mana Cut:
Many heroes like Guinevere, Leonidas, Chao, LiXiu etc, can cut a certain percentage of mana from a hero. This percentage is based on each heroes max tank capacity and hence can be calculated based on that. For example, Guinever cuts 20% mana from everyone. Hence, for average heroes that translates to 200 mana units (MS = -200), for a fast hero it will be 160 mana units (MS = -160), and so on and so forth. The effect is immediate and is independent of any mana buffs/debuffs.
Mana Block:
Hel and Proteus can block mana generation completely and during those turns absolutely no mana is generated at all.
Inari minions:
Inari minions generate 7% mana for the owner at the end of each turn. This, I am assuming is also based on the total mana capacity, so an average mana hero will generate 70 mana units after each turn (MS = 70 per turn), a fast hero will generate 56 mana units after each turn (MS = 56 per turn), and so on and so forth, but we need to investigate this further. Maybe @nitrogenbubble can help.
Mana regeneration:
Alberich gives a “moderate” amount of mana regeneration at the end of each turn and totally negelects any other mana buffs/debuffs, including Hel and Proteus. He generates 0.8 tiles worth of mana after each turn, which in our context translates to 80 mana units. That means when Alby effect is active, each hero in your team (irrespective of mana speed) gains about 80 mana units at the end of each turn, no matter what (MS = 80 per turn). Similarly, Misandra gives a “small” amount of mana regeneration after each turn. According to @Damirius’s theory it means 0.5 tiles worth of mana, which in our context would mean 50 mana units (MS = 50per turn).
Onatel:
Onatel steals the amount of mana generated by a certain amount each of the 4 turns. The amount she steals in the consecutive turns are 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% respectively. For example, if you have a regular Rigard with no mana bonus, then a match-3 purple will give him 300 mana units. But under Onatel’s effect, if you keep making 4 consecutive match-3 purples in each turn then the amount of mana gained by Rigard in each of those turns will be 225, 150, 75 and 0, respectively.
Conclusion
With the formula provided in this thread, we can calculate the number of tiles required for any given hero under any conditions of mana buff/debuff as long as we take care in choosing the correct values of all the involved parameters. Hopefully, this will give everyone an idea of how mana buffs/debuffs work, and hopefully help you in choosing the ideal troop levels or other mana bonuses when constructing an effective attack team, especially against Telluria.
Please let me know your suggestions or comments on how to improve this topic.
Thank You.