What to focus on upgrades? What teams

[Sgt.Pepper]

Trophy Def, War Def, & PvP Attack (L2R):
G- Little John (Barbarian)
B- Gunnar (Paladin)
Y- Li Xiu (Monk)
P- Rigard (Costume) (Ranger but base Cleric)
R- Colen (Fighter)

Titan (L2R):
R- Colen
B- Valen (Paladin)
P- Balthazar (Wizard)
Y- Bane (Monk)
G- Berden (Ranger)

Farm (L2R):
Y- Bane
P- Rigard (Costume)
B- Valen
R- Colen
G- Little John

Others of Note:
P- Cyprian (Paladin)
Y- Wu Kong (Paladin)
Y- Norns (Sorceror)
B- Boril (Cleric)
R- Scarlett (Rogue)

I have the following costumes:
Rigard
Hawkmoon
Berden
Tyrum
Karil
Brienne
Gunnar

Notable Ascension Items:
Damascus Blade - 0
Tome of Tactics - 0
Fine Gloves - 5
Compass - 2

Color Upgrade Tier 1:
R- Hidden Blade - 5
B- Warm Capes - 6
G- Sturdy Shield - 8
Y- Orbs of Magic - 10
P- Trap Tools - 3

Color Upgrade Tier 2:
R- Mystic Rings - 1
B- Farsight Telescopes - 0
G- Mysterious Tonic - 4
Y- Poison Darts - 3
P- Royal Tabards - 1

I also have a set of 1* level 1 heros that I use for trophy drop as I do not yet think I can climb to Gold steadily, so I try to keep trophies at around 600 for the start of each “Kill heros” mission.

About my situations…

Already Ascension 4 heros:
R- Colen
G- Little John

(Only mentioning things where there is a current shortage on doing it all)

Y- Li Xiu needs compass, 4 orbs for Ascension 4.
Y- Norns needs compass, 8 orbs, 6 darts, 1 damascus, 1 tome for Ascension 4.
Y- Wu Kong needs compass and 4 orbs
P- Rigard needs compass, 6 trap tools for Costume Ascension 4.
P- Cyprian needs compass, 4 trap tools
B- Boril needs compass
R- Scarlett needs compass

So to get upgrade all non-max-ascension 4*+ heros, I am short:
1 damascus
1 tome
4 compass
3 trap tools
6 orbs

What to prioritize?

I (think I) am ok with not upgrading Boril for a while. I absolutely LOVE the interaction between Gunnar (or Kailani) and Rigard (or Hawkmoon costume). I know Gunnar is only 3* But the sharing of damage plus increased defense and the massive heals over time from Rigard costume makes the team almost unkillable for comparable strength enemies. It lets me shoot well above my normal paygrade.

But I do think I should be getting a Yellow and Purple up to max ascension reasonably quick.

P- Rigard is one “Trap Tools” away from Ascension 4 on non-costume. 2 more away from Ascension 4 on costume.

Y- I’m unimpressed with Li Xiu. I was even before I drew Norns. Wu Kong seems like such a dice roll. I guess he is useful for later map stages if I am running into difficulty. The dice roll could get me past a headache? But I really want Norns up there. It looks like if I am basing acquisition of rare items on the rare quests, that I can probably upgrade Li Xiu to Ascension 4 and not have it get in the way of Norns much because it is going to take a while to get 3 more darts. Otherwise I would prioritize Norns right away.

Thoughts on which Li Xiu vs. Norns vs. Wu?

What should I prioritize next with compasses and other mats?

What team builds would y’all recommend?
For Titans?
For Default PvP Attack?
For Trophy Defense?
For War Defense?

Thanks in Advance!

[RicElDrac]

Wow, thank you for all the detail. You’ve packed a lot of questions into the thread, I’ll try to offer my thoughts on them.

I’ll start by giving you props on your roster! Looks good.

Next, I’ll say that I don’t ascribe to a default attack team. I raid by stacking the tank’s weak color, usually in a 3-2 or a 4-1. I’ll also add that while there may be subtle differences between the strategy for a war defense versus “regular” defense, they escape me. (I’m eager to hear what the more seasoned/smarter folks have to say in that regard.)

Purple:
Rigard is your first priority. It sounds as though he already is. You should max out the costume and the non-costume version to take full advantage of the costume buff. I use Rigard against titans and in raids. Since he dispels status ailments, I’ll use him against any titan if I don’t have a cleanser in the right color.

I would say that Cyprian is your next purple priority.

I would not invest more in your second Oberon, Renfeld, or Tyrum. I would invest in Tyrum’s costume as a third priority. Tyrum with and without costume is handy both in raids and against titans (at some point, titans will one-shot him to oblivion, but hopefully, you are not fighting those titans, yet.) since he either debuffs your enemies or cleanses his allies.

Yellow:
Wu Kong is your priority here, particularly for titans. He increases the attack of all his allies, and that can make a huge difference, particularly against titans. (He also increases their chance to miss, so he can break your heart in raids.)

I hear you on Li Xiu. She was my first four-star yellow, and she’s okay, but she’s outshined by some of her yellow four-star counterparts. Her costume bonus (but not the costume itself) makes her a little better, but even if you draw her costume, Wu Kong is your first priority.

I don’t have Norns, but have fought against her once and read a lot about her on the forum. I will say that I think it is safe to focus on Wu first, and think about Norns later. She’s definitely worth leveling, but five-stars use a ton of resources, and it will take a long time to level her up. I would not invest in your second Dawa or Gan Ju, but Bane may be handy in tourneys. Still, you have some three-star depth already, so that’s a low priority IMO.

Blue:
I think your options are clear here: Boril. Boril’s not great against titans. He’s not bad on defense, so he’s worth the investment. If you level both him and Cyprian, they can be a formidable defense. Their counterstrike is most effective against opponents that have one or more “hit them all” heroes, so they can be useful in raids, too. Karil is probably next since you have his costume and have started to level him already. Gato shines in some tourneys and events since he blocks status effects. You might level him ahead of Karil since you’ve already leveled him to 3.1

Green:
Little John is worth finishing. He has a good tile count. He’s slow, which is not great, but he is pretty solid. Note that tile count is probably more important against titans than is the special. It seems a little counter intuitive, but you’ll inflict the most damage by hitting the titan with tiles of its weak color than by firing your specials, particularly if you have Wu Kong in the fight. Thus, LJ is good in this respect.

Berden’s costume is worth leveling, too. I’m not a fan of Friar Tuck, so I would make him a very low priority. Isshtak ahead of Carver and Friar Tuck. If you get Carver’s costume, that makes him more desirable.

Red:
You’ve leveled Colen and Hawkmoon with her costume, great. I think Scarlett is worthy of leveling. I’m a fan, actually. She has some haters on the forum, but she’s fast and she has a high tile count – that makes her good against titans and in raids. Finish Jahangir before starting your second Azar, even if you get her costume. Jahangir is good in three-star Rush tourneys, and you are so close with him anyway.

For your defense team, you could go:

Tyrum (sans costume) - Bane - Gunnar (with costume) - Berden - Hawkmoon (with costume)

This puts a debuffer on the left wing, and takes advantage of the three-stars in whom you’ve invested.

You could start to swap in your four-stars. If you do, remember that you want Boril and Cyprian inside (not as wings, but as flanks or tanks) since they share their counterstrike with their neighbors. Wu Kong and Li Xiu are also flankish (since typically you want your fast (or less-sturdy) heroes on the wings). Colen is tankish since he’s slow, as is Little John. So, it’s hard to work all of them in without putting them in positions for which they are not ideally suited. Scarlett is a good Right Wing, however, as is Nashgar.

If you really want your strongest heroes in defense, then you could try:

Rigard - Li Xiu - Colen - Boril - Little John

I don’t like it, most because LJ will never fire from the wing, but it puts a cleanser on the left wing and gets your strong heroes into the fight. Berden for LJ would be better, even if your team strength is lower.

Having said all that, there’s no reason to rush heroes into your defense just to have a high team strength. All defenses lose, so there’s no sense, IMO, in worrying about how strong your defense is.

A compromise might be:

Tyrum (without costume) - Bane - Colen - Valen -Berden

Solid tank, speed on the wings, and it’s a rainbow. There’s a rule of thumb that you want stong colors next to their weak counterparts; that is, since Colen’s weak color is blue, your opponent will throw lots of blue tiles at him, some of which will splash on his neighbors, thus firing up Valen. (I’m a fan or rainbows as if you have two of the same color, it makes it easy for your opponent to stack against that color, and thus, your whole defense more susceptible – not everyone agrees, of course.)

Hope that helps. I’m interested in seeing what others say.