The FTP Rebellion. Who wants to join? (Part 1)

Thank you @Noble_Weasel! BT only just popped out of TC20 … after three years. Then he popped out again. I thought a duplicate would be useful, one with costume, one without. But I’ve not maxed a duplicate as yet.

I never play with Skittles, but this war format (rush attack) has me rethinking slow heroes. Kid really loves Ameonna actually. I don’t mind her at all.

Thank you @Shohoku79! Kid is not joking. He loves nipple guy. And Agwe too. Do you use Ameonna on titans?

Mitsuko took most of the sorcerer emblems. But she’s finally at +18, so I’ll stop for now. Then other heroes can get some love.

Guys, this just happened:

Which means Elkanen is good for final ascension.

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Finally, finally I have mats :slightly_smiling_face: but absolutely no heroes I can usefully level (and I don’t like Danzas nipples.)

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Nah, I basically never use the costume besides in monk quests, where it is a game-changer because of being one of a very few healers that qualify. (Less important now that I have monk Raffale, but not everyone is so lucky.) Worth it for the costume bonus alone, though. If I hadn’t gotten Shadereave and Falcon recently, I’d have done the costume on my second one as well. Probably still will, at some point.

Smart kid. She has her uses. Besides titans, very rarely it’s handy to have her in ghost form in a war and know you are guaranteed not to lose for four turns, no matter if your other heroes are dead. She literally cannot be killed while ghosted. Not as useful as it used to be, but saved my butt a couple of times.

Yeah, that’s smart.

Besides Sabina, I don’t find many of the other sorcerers very compelling. I’m actually going to start embleming Chochin and Gill-Ra for three-star stuff, as I already have enough sorcerer emblems banked to take Almur to +20 if I want once he’s maxed. Quintus got pushed to the back burner by Zulag (and probably any purple costumes I draw in the next month or two.)

There are very few feelings as sweet as being able to move up your timetable on a legendary hero because a very rare mat showed up at a good time. Many congrats. :partying_face: Elk is one of two legendary classics I’m still missing.

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It’s weird how I sometimes run into Tony Danzaburo in the raid tourneys (I only do tourneys), and whenever the opponent manages to fire off the specials, all those ill-commented, negative, self debilitating effects don’t ever seem to happen, it was always the plus ones (same with Rumpel), the A.I. Wu also seem to miss less than when I use him.

I have tried Ameonna on Yellow Titans, but frankly I don’t really like to use her as much, because of her phasing in and out, on Titan situations where there is a time limit, I just didn’t take enough time to play with her, so I have my def down in Tibs, my healers in Rigs and Sabrina the Teenage but deathbound witch, and Sartana. Ameonna was used until Sartana was maxed for service because she survives a little longer.

I really really really enjoy how Titan Damages was always said to be “neutral” until they manage to one shot you. But to me it just seemed like a convenient excuse if they want to wipe this hero off so you can’t get help from him or her.

Queen Gorgon (Green) one shot kills my Red Hero - SGG: It’s Neutral Damage
Kraken (Blue) one shot kills my Green Hero - SGG: It’s Neutral Damage
Emperor Dragon (Yellow) one shot kills my Purple Hero - SGG: Whoa! Elemental Damage ftw, er, I mean Neutral Damage.

I gave Sorcerers Emblems to Sabina, Skittles, and Ameonna up to 20 before running out of candidates and start giving them to Quintus.

Finally, I am a bit different from others when it comes to Embleming heroes, I prefer to have balanced attack/defense and try to shore up on the weaknesses of a hero to make him/her more balanced, instead of making him/her into a special niche he/she has already been placed at.

So for example, Guardian Jackal, he was tagged as the Glass Cannon, means high attack and low def. What most players would do might end up going all up the Attack Path to make him an even stronger Cannon (of course, equally brittle one), I chose to give him defense to make him last a little longer.

Justice is a Tank material, but rather than giving her a defensive path, I ended up having her climb the attack tree to balance her out and surprise a few people into thinking they would be hitting a Justice that won’t hit back.

Kelile is one where she is balanced having similarily high attack / defense, but low HP. So for her I ended up giving her equal attack and defense up the Talent Tree.

Sure, these methods don’t always work out and I have probably taken these heroes out of their predetermined niche, but I just like mine more balanced.

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Hey @akionna, thanks for the tag!

So I think our other F2P colleagues summed up a lot of the heroes pretty well. I will just add some comments to ones that weren’t discussed in detail.

Danzaburo can be decent depending on your roster. I use him less with my sudden glut of yellow hero options. One reason he saw playing time though was survivability. The 4* yellow lot isn’t great there. The high value special 4’s like Gretel and Jackal are even worse in that regard. Danzaburo had 5* level HP and D.

2 of his 3 specials are 5* caliber specials. His swords is better than Justice and his bottle is better than Vivica. The this option isn’t bad, just nothing happens. It’s not say mindless attack where he hurts your team in any way.

That being said I rarely used him in raids. He got used often in facets of the game where I can use items. If you can get over the unpredictability he can be functional for sure and at a minimum a nice change of pace to throw in for kicks from time to time. I still giggle when Danzaburo killed Gravemaker in ToL. That never happens outside of that challenge or something :laughing:. SH can probably tell us exactly how many times a Danzaburo has killed a Gravemaker, not that it’s worth their time to, but I bet it isn’t often.

I am certain at this point you ha e better D options.

Cyprian I have just recently stripped of emblems and relegated him to ToL and quest duty. I don’t do wars often, but even then he is 50/50 for war team. Like all riposte heroes you love or hate him based on synergy and play style. I got Cyprian early and came up using him a ton so I am comfortable with his use and abilities. While I have shied away lately due to roster expansion and increased roster capabilities (plus I get bored and change :poop: constantly :laughing:) I would never say I regret having him there. He doesn’t raid, but I toss him in to province missions as well. This is somewhat out of sentimentality.

If you like riposters ascend him. If you don’t like them, then don’t because you won’t use him. Caveat being if you wanted to try to use a riposter. If you do, he is better than Boril IMO. One reason I stripped him too is because he can function as well with emblems.

I have no doubt you have better D options.

Hu Tao I would have said is not worthy of ascension unless you absolutely need to up him until a month or so ago. Him and Justice having blind AoE is one of my new favorite gimmicks. Hu Tao saved my keister in an emblem quest where I was short healers because his blind misses means I don’t need to account for that healing. That was my epiphany moment as I got blinders late. Hu Tao was literally my last vanilla 4* I needed. It took me 3 years to get him. He was a key part of my 4* only Morlovia completion and all sorts of stuff.

Hu Tao only does provinces as he is too squishy for where I raid. Justice does the identical special but is more sturdy and I have started raiding with her. Blind is awesome. Especially in raids if the D team has no cleanser because they are stuck with that for the duration.

Try to think of blind as an aggressive team defense while attacking. It allows glass cannons to not take hits, saves healing pots, saves mana pots, and allows for teams to even go single healer if you otherwise wouldn’t.

Congrats on Elkanen. I recently ascended mine and he is +12. I am still getting used to him, but he’s okay. He’ll get use for sure. He’s on my D as a flank. A hopefully obnoxious one. :laughing:.

Good luck, let us know how it goes with who you pick!

:beers:

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I have never faced Ammonia and not defeated her.

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Oh, sure; she’s absolutely abysmal on defense, but she can be fun on offense.

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Hi! I’ve taken a while deciding whether to even answer this since my reasons for what I do in the game are a bit different than most in the Community, I would guess. But I appreciate your asking so here’s my answer. I’ve gotten rid of every one of those heroes except Mist. I love her attack :musical_note:Ta Daaaa!:notes:and two targets get whacked. Although she certainly isn’t my strongest hero, she’s right up there. I had Skittleskull for a while, but I got sick of looking at that ugly face. I think you’ve gotten some excellent advice from the others with well thought-out reasons. They are probably the ones you should listen to, but I really think Mist is worth the time and effort.

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I do @Muchacho. I have Joon for this, but he hits only one.

But if we have a 4-star rush tournament, Hu Tao could be useful. That blind is annoying, making me miss …

I’m thinking of doing Gill-Ra @Noble_Weasel. I did well when she tanked on a tournament. That surprised me.

Same for me @Shohoku79. Danza has clobbered me in raids. And Wu never misses. As soon as the AI activates him, I’m a goner.

Also nothing wrong with balancing out a hero with emblems.

So I ascended Elkanen for now. When he’s done, I’m thinking of Danza. I don’t need another yellow hero, but Danza might surprise me with swords. Sometimes. :grin:

I play for fun. I don’t need the best heroes, but I don’t want to be bored. Which is why I ascend polarizing heroes like Noor. Those sparrows are fun (and mean!). Half the time, I don’t understand why my battle is over. Then my brain kicks in:

The sparrows killed them off, duh.

I’m laughing. Because you’re right @diecast. I don’t like her art. I don’t like her animation.

I love Mist. She’s at +18. I love her so much, I thought she would be my first dupe.

Also, she’s on my defense. She holds Diamond better than an emblemed Joon.

Thank you for the reply @diecast!

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All of our colleagues have covered these heros quite well. Here’s more food for thought:

Danzie is fun to play! Sure, you get 33% snowflakes, but that’s the risk you take when going for bottles and swords. Disappointing, sure, but so worth it when she hits! “Swords better than Justice and bottles better than Vivica” are nothing to sneeze at. And her tile damage, as mentioned above, is exceptional. Take her out for a spin and see what you think. :smiley:

Plus I use him in a yellow stack for war depending on the situation, and succeed most of the time.

Ameonna: As stated above, her tile damage is excellent! I use her in every war in a purple stack with Mok-Arr, Proteus, Panther and Tibs or cRigard…except rush attack, dies to early.

She was one of my early acquisitions and rarely fails me. I just had to level her as she was so unique and exciting. Besides, I like the oddballs.

Skittles: @Noble_Weasel has covered her well. I think she’s worth leveling. Whenever I face her in war it’s always touch and go. Lost many times against her.

I don’t have her leveled, but I think she’s worth it for all the reasons stated above.

Well, that’s all for now. Hope you have fun with whomever you choose! :wink:

Oh, and BT is the bomb! I very much like him in costume.

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If Danzaburo is a she it makes the art even more weird to me some how :no_mouth:

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agreed, lots of good insightful comments from everyone, nothing much for me to add.

Personal experience time: I will ignore the 3 dupes for now, and also Ameonna as I do not have her

  • Agwe: decent for farming, but I struggle to fit him into any Blue team whether i’m stacking mono or 3/2. (for reference, among Blue 4*s my Agwe has to compete with Kiril, Sonya with costume, Grimm, Triton, Valeria and Boril)

  • Gadeirus: the attack boost is nice, but he is oh so slow. I don’t use him often, but when I do I place him beside Hansel, LJ or Caedmon for a stronger hit and extra HoT protection. Useful for rush attack. Wish he gave HoT to all, as I can’t rely on him as an only healer.

  • Danzaburo: surprisingly sturdy and fun. 2/3 of the effects are pretty good!

  • Hu Tao: I would probably use him more often if I didn’t have Joon and if arrows didn’t exist as an item. Useful for rush attack though. And of course farming. Decent against bosses.

  • Skittleskull: surprisingly useful for farming. Decent against bosses.

  • Cyprian: riposters were late for me, but Cyprian has proven useful in his eligible trials. Take that Lianna (except when her Ranger talent activates, gah!)

I would ascend Danzaburo among these, but I think Gad, Hu, Skittles and Cyprian all have their uses too .

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My answer:
If you have the habit of building some tile damage teams for war, then a dupe Wu may be useful. Similarly, a BT dupe could be useful too as a war healer.
Otherwise, out of your other options, Mist dupe is your best bet if you’re playing for the long run.

And as such, you cannot go wrong with a Mist dupe. My rationale would most resonate with what @diecast has mentioned in his (or her?) experience. You can read it below (fair warning, it’s quite long)

Why Mist or BT: Rationale in Detail

Here’s my perspective on approaching this dilemma (and generally ascending a 4 star or 5 star hero in general)

These ascension mats are hard-earned. (As you said, your current bottle-neck is compasses.) So, the way I look at this situation is: “Which of these heroes would give me the best return on investment if I give them the mats?”

Obviously the term ‘return’ is open to subjective interpretation here and is almost completely dependent on your objectives and what you’re looking for from the game.

  1. Are you looking just to have fun while playing the game?
  2. Are you someone who constantly works on improving his/her gaming skills? (So, you are constantly looking for ways to improve your skills, your knowledge, your avg score, your avg. standings etc.)
  3. Are you someone who found a happy middle ground between the above two? Improvement AND fun are important to you.

Your decision criteria will vary widely based on the category you identify yourself with the most.

Personally, I am somewhere between #2 and #3. I want to have fun while playing the game. But I also want my skills and scores to improve too over time.

So, my following points are phrased from this perspective. :slight_smile:

  • So long as I do not reach a stage, where I am practically overflowing with ascension mats for 4 star hero ascensions, I’d exercise the same restraint, caution, and thought process in leveling a 4 star as I’d for a 5 star hero.

  • This means I am going to think about two things primarily.

    1. Immediate necessity
    1. Future usability

So, I am going to try as much as possible to zero in on a hero who not only satisfies my current requirements but also has potential use for the foreseeable future.

With this notion as my working hypothesis, I am going to examine the options at hand and chime in with my personal experience, wherever appropriate.

  1. Agwe: Shiny, yes. But mostly a fun hero useful on farming. You’ll rarely find anyone using an Agwe as you progress upwards in the game. Neither too useful currently nor has future potential use. Score: 0/2

  2. Gadeirus: Pretty solid in platinum level. Can be really annoying tank. However, and this is a very big however, he suddenly disappears once you progress to diamond.
    I am assuming you’re currently at a platinum level in raids? So, he may be of some use to you as a tank.
    Otherwise, not so useful in the other important parts such as Titans and War attack teams. His slow mana can make it a pain to use him - depending on the level at which you’re playing.
    He is quite good tank in rush tourneys too.
    long story short - you might find him useful now, but not much potential for use in the future except in some niche cases. Score: 1.25/2

  3. Danzaburo: Again. Not great. Probably fun to play with for sometime… pretty hit and miss. Definitely no use in the long run. Score: 0.5/2

  4. Hu Tao: Pretty solid at Platinum level. Can be quite annoying with his blind. Yes - his usability drops quite significantly as you progress up in the game. But you’ll find use for him in 4 star rush tourneys for sure. Score: 1.25/2

  5. Skittleskull: Once again, quite decent at Platinum level. Attack debuff is an underrated skill (that people didn’t recognize much until Zeline and Vela came into picture). However, she is not solid enough as you go up. And you will stop using her. Definitely useful in 4 star rush tourneys for sure. Score: 1.25/2

  6. Boldtusk: Quite a solid 4 star. Considering the lack of wide availability of healers in 5 star heroes, we do fall back to the trusted 4 star healers often to save our butt, and BT is definitely one of them. If you do not have a healer for each of your war teams, BT can be definitely an option, and you WILL keep using him even as you climb to mid or even high diamond - at least on attack. However, yes, you’ll be using him in quite a limited capacity as he is a dupe. Score: 1.75/2

  7. Mist: Probably among the top three 4 star heroes in the game. Why is she so solid? simple and straightforward answer - Mana control. It is the single most important skill in the game and you cannot have enough mana controllers in your roster. Period. Mana control at fast speed just makes her way way more appealing. (Think how much better Hansel is considered over Gretel because of his mana speed.) Her special skill debuff creates a beautiful synergy with almost every attacker. In fact you can even take two Mists in your team and slow down the entire opposition. You’ll find use for that dupe copy now and for the foreseeable future. Unless SGG suddenly decides to nerf her, you’ll find a lot of use out of your Mist copies. Score: 2/2

  8. Wu Kong: I know the popular opinion is that you do not need more than one copy of the Monkey Lord. But he can be an extremely useful asset if you have the habit of creating war teams that specialize in tile damage. I know this may sound like a niche case, but a team formed around tile damage is just so much fun to play with and also forces you to improve your board skills; anyways… Wu is not going anywhere, and if you form such war teams then you will keep using Wu. Score: 1.5/2

  9. Cyprian: You will out grow Cyprian eventually. (Same case with Boril). And if someone brings a debuffer (or even better - a buff blocker like Mist) against Cyprian or Boril, the riposte is gone and Cyprian practically does nothing for all that mana charge. You may find him useful now, but you will stop using him after a point. Score: 1/2

  10. Ameonna: Definitely fun to play with. And as already mentioned she has her niche uses to make sure you’re not defeated in otherwise lost situations. Also, great tile damage. So, she’ll be useful now AND to some extent in the future - you can leverage her tile damage against Titans. Score: 1.5/2

So, my top recommendations in that order are: Mist, BT, Wu, Ameonna.

Especially, Mist and BT - You are going to keep using them in the long run and therefore, most worthy of the mats. :slight_smile:

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Thank you for the reply @sleepyhead! I remember you said Skittles helped you defeat Ursena in Season 2. I just can’t seem to pull the trigger though.

I just played Danza on 8-7. He usually does mana or swords on me. Today he did a snowflake, and my brain stuttered. I had to read his card.

“Oh, he didn’t do anything, pffft.”

This is me. I play for fun. I’m experimenting with different heroes, different teams. Keeps the boredom at bay.

I don’t go for the top score, just completion in events, quests, challenges. I fill both chests daily. If I raid too high in Diamond, then this happens:

And for some reason, RNG keeps matching me to 7DD members:

So many, many emblems!

But that’s the only way to improve, right? Play against a stronger team?

Thank you for the detailed analysis @CaptainjaKCsparrow. I especially enjoyed the scores!

So I just need four compasses … :grin:

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Practice is good. Definitely.

You can also learn from videos of good players and apply them in your practice to experience faster improvement. :slight_smile:

Personally, Zero is my all-time favorite E&P player. You can try this playlist of his if you’re interested.

He explains his thoughts quite clearly for each move.
I used to pause the video before each move, consider what move I’d make, then unpause and listen to his explanation. Such exercise helped me improve my board vision and my intuition quite a bit.

Hope this helps you too. :slight_smile:

LOL. You focus on good heroes and go further, you’ll need more than four eventually anyway. :stuck_out_tongue:

But there will come a point where compasses and gloves just keep piling up and you won’t even bother checking their number. :slight_smile:

Cheers!! :beers:

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@Muchacho

I go back and forth with she and he . I see Danzie as a chubby baby/toddler so could go either way. :joy:

and, yeah, the nipples are disturbing…but so is Buddy’s rictus grin…verging on the Joker grin.

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Kind of off topic but, I saved 3k diamonds for Teltoc in hopes of getting at least a 4* from the event. I got 8 3* and 2 4*. All vanilla heroes. Event coins gave me lots of vanillas too.

Such is life for f2p players ig :sweat_smile:

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same thing happened to me! then my two coin pulls after also got me vanilla 3*s lol

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I went two straight Teltoc events doing 10-12 pulls and getting nothing but vanillas and the bat, but I got Falcon this time. Can be frustrating, but hang in there. They’ll show up eventually (probably!)

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To be honest I don’t want to save diamonds again. That last summon result drained away all my positivity about the game. If I get another bad 10 pull I’d probably rage quit lol.

I’ve been playing for almost 2 years now (it will be 2 years in december). I wanna keep playing for another year if possible :sweat_smile:

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