The Return of the Week in PvP, The MAC and more... a lot more! (07.16.17)

[mjmxiii]

First off, gratz to GMAC for going Eternal! It is not an easy task to accomplish but you are consistently in the mix and one of the most humble legends of the game. My hats off to you bruh!

So another week in the books for PvP. I had a fun and at times, frustrating week. Played more this week for the daily Arena store rewards and been writing down some thoughts over the past few weeks since taking a bit of a break from the forum that I need to get out there.

So much in fact, that I had to break it down into sections. I ran into a bunch of you in the arena and even though I hate to lose, I enjoy the intelligence of the community in putting together defenses that kick my ass on a regular basis! A quick note as I post my stats for a good laugh, most of my losses were against Strike teams. My defense is my offense with the occasional swap (GR for VE, Wrath for Troll and sometimes AoF or WPS) against Prisoner, Warrior or Sentinel-heavy teams

No Strikes, Some Shell and Immunity... all chars used are maxed.

Rank: 64
Points: 3724
ATK: 81% (362/446)
DEF: 17% (66/384)

***PvP: Best Defense = Three Strikes Law***
This is something I thought would be interesting to keep track of. My continuous encounters with Strike talisman teams are the current bane of my LotB existence (I'll get to bugs in a minute). Strategy is a key part of the game and winners use what means they are given very wisely. Its no secret that Strike talismans are the new OP trend in PvP. If you have them, you're a fool not to use them. How does one defeat a team equipped with Strikes, without them? Blind luck. Literally, Blind talismans, bene fx removers and some luck. BTW, I have a set of Explosives that live on my Artillery Dog but they are not nearly as OP as people might think when going up against a team loaded with Strike talismans.

How one uses them is something I have begun to genuinely appreciate. Being in the higher tiers is sheer madness without them and makes me wonder what would be more interesting, auto-play or strike-dance. Now that most players have two or more chars equipped with Strikes, NF will eventually need to nerf them because the "35% chance" is obviously triggering at a higher-than-advertised rate.

Add that to the lowered chances of removing enemy bene effects from VE and Wrath (why not just keep both at 50%?) and three chars with Strikes giving defenses 105% chance of at least one char counterstriking per hit and the odds mount against you. At times, as I sit back and watch the dismantling of my team, I wonder if NF laughs when they tell us certain bugs (like reflected damage triggering Strikes) have been taken care of with the last update.

And after that long introduction to the most difficult team I've faced this week, I will say that quite a few went undefeated against me (5-0), but the matches were riddled with bugs and hiccups that I will address in a different section. I had many losses but my team has a "no-strike" handicap that is not easy to remedy.

Toughest DEF:
ovy - the use of Strikes and Invisibility talismans is actually quite masterful. A lot of thought went into building this team, (VE w/Energy, GPR w/Strikes & Invisibility, DM w/Strikes & Invisibility and Nomad w/Strikes) it went 8-1 against me. It should be noted that I went second in all matches except for my one win against, but was defeated 8 times regardless. My hats off. My mind, blown.

Which team gave you a hard time this week?

Who would be your go-to non-Strike talisman ATK team?

What are your thoughts on Strike talismans triggering rates?

***PvP: De-motivating Factors***
I have stepped into the arena with some of the best and I've had some awesome fights. It is one of the more enjoyable aspects of the game at the moment. Getting into an epic battle where you come from behind and pull the rabbit out of your hat, that last trick up your sleeve for the win... only to see the screen go black and the infinite spinning wheel that leads to that 3rd APMA3 of the evening... leading you to shout at your neighbors, "I had you beat you son of a bitch!", and witness the puzzled looks on their faces as they close the mini-blinds. (oh BTW, anyone who still throws tantrums and their phone at the wall, I have one suggestion... Otterbox.. lmao!)

Yes!! These are the spoils of war! If I wait a while, it just might count that 10 minute match! Metal gods unite! Wonder twin powers, deactivate! LMAO!

It seems like bugs never go away. While I don't want to turn this into a huge rant, it is something that really needs to be addressed. Been playing since last August and while it is one thing LotB has always excelled at, bugs aren't what we want to be great about LotB are they? (BTW, anyone notice that WUR lately? Something weird going on there...)

There are two major issues that frequently take the wind out of my sails, the first is bugs. I've stated before that they thrive in the arena. I think we all can agree on that statement. The other is the VP system! There is no greater de-motivating factor than the PvP victory point system. It's not p2p, it's p4p! Something needs to change with this system, as it is strange to feel that playing less is better... PvP, better the less you play? If you have a DEF team loaded with Strike, Immunity and Shell talismans.. HELL YES!!

#Punished4Playing2017

***There Can Only Be One??***
Is there a reason why we can't have more people going Eternal? Follow me on this one for a second..

This is a global game and Iron Maiden has one of the largest fan bases in the world, right? So I would like to see who the best player in Europe is! I want to know who lead Australia last week! Don't ask why, I just do. Only the top 250 in the world get rewarded even though millions have downloaded this game. There must be a way to break it down to regional ISP. Computers and satellites are pretty good at doing this kind of thing pretty fast these days, aren't they?

All I know for sure is that some of the best players and forum members have either taken a step back or completely walked away from the game recently due to a system that has grown stale and needs some re-inventing. Who said the arena would need to keep evolving so that things stay interesting? Maybe not in so many words but the gist of it is there. So here's an idea...

Why not have a PvP system where the best 250 from each country see similar rewards, one goes Eternal in each country (or region if that works better), with a tournament of the top 10-25 from each region of the world every so often to see who goes Immortal? Our own LotB World Series. The Immortal Cup lol. And for those who don't get the last reference, the NHL here in North America has a trophy named the Stanley Cup that has the names of the players on the winning team engraved on it every year, so why not add another tab to the Arena that lists players who go Immortal? An LotB Hall of Fame so to speak.

I'm not a programming-developer-type-person but I would think that this type of professional would really enjoy sinking their teeth into a project like that. Maybe someone can fill me in as to why this would be a nightmare for NF or any programmers in general to do. Seeing as the priority had better be on the long overdue BNW and Night City worlds, this may be a pipe dream at best but as it might actually take the same amount of time to release either as it will for an actual brave new world to exsist, where are NF's priorities at these days??

*******
As always, your experiences, thoughts, concerns or straight up complaints are welcome. The forum seems kinda quiet lately unless you're a spammer! LMAO! And if you made it this far, thanks for reading! See you all in the arena! For now, GoT time!

Cheers!

[Silentknight]

Nice post mjm! Believe me otterboxes are not indestructible!

[RACCAR-8000]

WoW !! Well said

[Kardas]

Nice having this thread again. Here are my stats:
Rank: 80
Points: 3643
Tier: Warlord II
Attack Wins: 90% (182/203)
Defense Wins: 17% (32/184)

The first time I legitimately reach the Top 100, so I'm quite happy about that. With only one refill too!
I managed to get my hands on Sentinel Harpy and GCR during the Anniversary event, and they've been a huge boon to my offense. They improved my usual win % by 6%, which is fairly major. My one set of Immunity Talismans also certainly helped out there. I finally managed to settle on a nice attacking team, but a good defense seems to elude me without Strikes and Shells.

Good post by the way, mjmxiii, I agree with pretty much everything.

[slauki]

good to see the thread again, thanks man

attack 203 (i belive, the screen is bugged as you all know)
defenses 185

just one thought:
the playerbase is not near as big as you might think. even if 1.000.000 downloaded the game i would be surprised if we are more than a couple thousand of players, who play regulary.
that's why you see the same names all over the top 50. so a division into seperate regions would lead to nowhere and the effort they would have to put into this won't pay back at all.
that said it'S definetly true that we need some change, this system only rewards playing on saturdays and that's stupid for all.

for them because buying refills before saturday is not a real option and for us because we are screwed if we are busy on saturday....

so something has to be changed, but with all the bug fixing which is needed and new content that should come out too i'm afraid we will have to wait for a long time for a better system...

[Grim]

Last week was probably the most unsatisfactory in a long time due mainly to plain bad luck, the worst possible. I can't count the time the strike talisman didn't proc during the whole match (even with two character with it and while under heavy fire from the enemy), frame rate dropping at the most crucial moment, server errors (well this issues is quite common among the community),begginning as second so many times (once 10 or 12 times in a row, always against SSD).
I noticed that generally defenses has become harder to crack, because of the events of the last weeks many player acquired key characters such as the nomad, SSD, GCR, AOW, the prisoner, and there has been a spreading of talisman set more fitting for PVP. My win rate dropped from 93-94% to around 80%, seeing all this improved teams I feel as I have been left behind.

Finally, congratulations to the winner.

[Lulero]

Nice writeup mjm, and congratulations GMac.

I'll regret not pushing harder this week... My defense was a bit out of the box and seemed to rack points more from higher ranked players rather than lower (which is good). With 3 refills:

Rank 18
Display bugged on last week attacks, it was 90-95%
Defense 54/243 (22%)

Most noticeable defense I've seen was AoS, SSD, Prisoner and GRE. Nothing new? To you maybe, with the right talismans it was evil. I'm sorry I can't remember the name.

[Amarthir]

Here's where I was at last time I looked:

Rank: 159
Points: 2382
Tier: Warlord III
Attack: 90%
Defense: 16%

Well after finally managing to sort of catch up with some of you, I gotta say that it's pretty interesting trying to keep up with everyone. That said I'm trying not to go nuts on refills but after seeing how many points some of you have, it might need to happen. But then again I don't have any strike, explosive, or shell talismans so I have to figure out my own workarounds, but that's what makes this game fun for me. It's seeing an equation and working out an answer while I'm out there. For example, when I see someone with immunity or strike or even both, my solution is to use the Clairvoyant to take them away or the Corrupt General to stun them. Beelzebub is more of a juggernaut than most would think, that's why I equip him with Vampire And Energy talismans. That way he'll heal and take energy while stacking burns on the opponent. My idea of planning on going second is to make sure Clairvoyant stays alive, that way she can use her power to ressurect and protect my other allies. And I'm planning on giving her endure talismans once I have 3 of them. And between the 3 and Navigator Eddie, I cover a wide range of situations. Especially with Neddie's moveset. Btw I just now came up with calling him Neddie and it's hilarious.

[Askora]

Thanks mjm for reviving this thread.

My stats: Attack I think was around 87%, Defense 14% (27/191). Rank 208. Took Saturday afternoon off to have fun.

As for a notable defense there is none I can think of, unless you're referring to how similar they all look. It makes me wonder if that's the reason for the mcotd event. Perhaps she's getting a buff on that immunity proc. Every change they make to the PvP meta only seems to make things more of a garbage fest in my opinion.

As for the million plus downloads, remember that every update we have to re-download the game gets counted in that. Many of the players are casual players and quickly lose interest, so a lot that downloaded may not continue to play. I'm more of an rpg gamer, so not as enthusiastic about PvP as some are. I get that with the size of the development team that new content takes time, but if BNW is going to be similar to Lol I'm at a loss for why it would take forever to release it.

Issues I see with the game are numerous. Talismans that are only available to people that have been playing for over a year (or choose to pay-to-play), or who can compete and earn enough iron coins in the arena. I have counterstrike, immunity, shell and regen talismans so I'm not complaining for me about those. I have an extensive roster with nearly every rare toon, bar a couple of Eddie's and one or two that aren't worthwhile for PvP. My opinion is that the bar needs to be lowered for entry into the game and to compete fairly in the arena. Some might not agree with it as they feel their seniority should give them that huge advantage, but if you want more variety than that's what it takes. The current system punishes new players and if I was starting now instead of last December it would probably lose it's appeal rather quickly. As it stands, it's lost it's appeal for me a while back, I'm just an optimist and try to continue believing that the long overdue new content will arrive soon.

Sorry for the rant, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Congrats to GMAC, Carlos and Kamuz for top 3 last week. And, congrats to everyone who manages to continue to play despite the bugs, lack of new worlds, sudden unexplained lack of communication from the devs, etc.

[Jofer16]

Just gonna leave this here..


https://youtu.be/uB1D9wWxd2w

[Jofer16]

Now onto some serious business, my numbers from last week, Duelist I baby.

0/2 attack (apparently there's a bug with their stats, imagine that! LotB = Lord of the Bugs)
17/50 34% defense

Not sure if I can ever replicate this greatness again. Takes much spirit from the gods to counter the devs no fun system these days. Haven't attacked once this week, not sure where I'm at.

Godspeed to those still running in quicksand!

[gmac]

Just gonna leave this here..



lol... please tell me you're back! come on...

Thanks mjm for keeping this tradition. This is really cool on your part.

Thanks everyone that congratulates me, really appreciate it.

Carlos was a super challenge to overcome, excellent battle! Respect :) (I'm quite proud of that actually, I'd say the best I have ever played)

As for stats... weird... Not showing my number of attacks. It was something like 630 the last I took notice.

So it would be something like this:
63x(?)/372

Cheers
gmac

[Browno]

My defence is fairly decent :o i have no shell talisman at all tho, but i have 2 counter talis. I have not even tested my own def team, just did what i thought could be good and it do seem to work.
I use claire, pharaoh ed, ssd and nomad.
Oh btw ocys defence is really good! Tough to beat when it gets rolling :)

3348

[Jofer16]

lol... please tell me you're back! come on...

We shall see my friend, summertime is busy time when you come from the land of ice and snow. But my schedules looking good this week and the current state of this game and the forums have got me like..


https://youtu.be/E929gqIcwwI

[mjmxiii]

Just gonna leave this here..


https://youtu.be/uB1D9wWxd2w

"...You lied to me... but you do, but you do doodoo..."

The parts where he kicks the screen... that's what's up... he means that shit!
:D

[Nicko]

Thanks for keeping this going mjmiii! Great to see.

GMAC - great to see you on top again. Your speed is astounding. Kudos!

Can't post stats as my attacks are listed as zero as well but nothing atypical. I played hard last Friday night as I knew Saturday I had stuff going on and at least pulled off top 10.

I feel fortunate I haven't had a bugged loss in a while. Could platform play a role? I use the latest iOS and while I've had the occasional PvE crash with my team doing the stare-down, I haven't had a PvP crash in a while.

Most difficult defense? I think Ovy's gets A+ for originality but I somehow manage to beat it most times. The defenses that gave me the most trouble last week were Kamuz' and GMAC.

This week - with this silly CotD event - I'm trying something new in the spirit of the event (we kind of have to create our own challenges right now). I sharded him and am using him in any fight without a Gimp, Wrath/SSD combo, or DeathDog. Call it idiocy or boredom, but have to say he's doing ok! I haven't lost to Kamuz yet whereas I lost to him a couple times last week. On the flip I've had a couple back-to-back losses against defenses I think I previously had figured out (HomemLivre and Zidar) so he's benched for the third fight if that happens. My attack rate is 95% so far - may post some thoughts on this if you do another thread next week. I really do wonder how much our roster affects our win and loss percentage...cause if I can win with this blue moron on the team...

I've been recording the occasional fight using software and it's a lot of fun. If anyone wants to see how there team performs against my Blue CotD Event Team of Idiots (a 3*, two 4*, and a kick-ass 5* Eddie) I can perhaps post a few. I don't want to be filming all the time but posting one here and there would be very doable if anyone's interested.

[Poksic]

My stats from the last week:
Rank 17 (4189 points)
Attack: 94% (273/290)
Defense: 19% (46/239)
Congrats Gmac, your speed in clearing lists is just amazing! Btw, I've sent you some easy apma points as a gift a couple of minutes ago lol
Your defense is pretty good, though I didn't have any problem to beat it last week (I was lucky, I guess).
In fact, I hate all the 'strike' types of def teams, especially with SSD and Wrath combined, it's really annoying. I don't like to play vs all-warrior teams either, such as Samurai, AoF, Nomad and NoL, too high damage for going second since I've got only 3 sets of Shell talismans (3 sets of Strike and 5 sets of Immunity, which is kinda poor too)... Ovy's defense is pretty cool and original, those Invisibility talismans are triggering too much, imo :D
BUT, the game hates me as much as I hate these kind of teams... Though I've reached top25 you can't imagine how difficult is to do it without Prisoner, GCR, Viking, Samurai, Wrath, Clair, Nomad, Navigator, Artillery Dog, both Corrupt and Alliance General, Assassin CoTD, Aces High, Tailgunner, etc.
Been playing since the beginning but no luck in my BoS, I hope I'll get something good in next couple of monts, cause if not, I'll uninstall this shit as my university studies start on October 1st. IF, SOMEHOW, something great appear after those red eyes and The Number of the Beast scream, I'll run for top3 or even Eternal if you guys decide to take a rest lol
Cheers!

[ritchbe]

This week will be fun!

Welcome back Jofer and all of you top guns, I'll pick up the scraps you leave behind :)

[mjmxiii]

Hey Nicko, I'd be interested to see some of those matches... had blue CotD for 6mos and never use it. Or maybe champ that thing so your troopers can get an idea of that lil blueballs power lol... Also am blown away by the win % of some of you guys. I can never avoid bugs long enough to get a decent streak going, much less keep a decent win %.

Interesting too, that iOS is apparently running smoother than Android atm. There are times when I will witness no animation while my team is destroyed. HP literally just rolls off my chars while everyone is standing there. Don't know what's worse, that it happens or that I've grown used to it happening.

On a diff subject, I think Slauki and someone else had mentioned that the "millions of downloads" include update patches. I did not realize that was counted towards initial app downloads. Anyway was really just a thought I wanted to share. PvP can be fun and addictive but also needs some kind of boost to the formula.

It's a strange thing and maybe not the best idea because as often as we see the same players, it would be a shame not to be able to see some of the best from around the world on a normal basis. That was one of the thoughts though, to get more of a variety of players and more people to play although it might thin out quality of competition.

[Nicko]

Hey Nicko, I'd be interested to see some of those matches... had blue CotD for 6mos and never use it. Or maybe champ that thing so your troopers can get an idea of that lil blueballs power lol... Also am blown away by the win % of some of you guys. I can never avoid bugs long enough to get a decent streak going, much less keep a decent win %.

Interesting too, that iOS is apparently running smoother than Android atm. There are times when I will witness no animation while my team is destroyed. HP literally just rolls off my chars while everyone is standing there. Don't know what's worse, that it happens or that I've grown used to it happening.

On a diff subject, I think Slauki and someone else had mentioned that the "millions of downloads" include update patches. I did not realize that was counted towards initial app downloads. Anyway was really just a thought I wanted to share. PvP can be fun and addictive but also needs some kind of boost to the formula.

It's a strange thing and maybe not the best idea because as often as we see the same players, it would be a shame not to be able to see some of the best from around the world on a normal basis. That was one of the thoughts though, to get more of a variety of players and more people to play although it might thin out quality of competition.

Hey Mjm!

If I see you on a list I'll record it if you'd like. I can even send a private link if you don't want anyone else to see it. I have some friends who have recorded when they've played against me and it's fun seeing how your defense performs - or should I say fails to perform :)

Blue CotD is absolutely nothing special. But he's also the only CotD I didn't have sharded - he looks kind of cool - and building an attack team around him was fun even if I've gotten my ass kicked a couple times! His immunity really helps with the right support toons and he's frozen opponents at key times as well - so I've enjoyed the change and the challenge.

I'll make him my Champion a for a day or two so he can underwhelm my Troopers ;)

[IceManFerrar]

I second MJM's comments , Nicko, would love to see some of the videos of the matches.

[Nicko]

Are you guys cool if I use you?

And Iceman - you held this group of hacks once this week - maybe it will happen again ;)

[mjmxiii]

Oh ok no worries Nicko thought you had the Blue one sharded too.. yeah pls keep that thing benched lmao.. was stoked when I summoned that thing but now am just grateful its 4* for the sac chamber.

Always wonder if my defenses are as mindless in the arena as they are when I test them.

[mjmxiii]

Are you guys cool if I use you?

And Iceman - you held this group of hacks once this week - maybe it will happen again ;)

Yeah man, do it!

[IceManFerrar]

Are you guys cool if I use you?

And Iceman - you held this group of hacks once this week - maybe it will happen again ;)

Lol, sure man, go for it. I attacked you earlier, so I'm sure I am in your revenge list. Fingers crossed that my lousy defense holds again...come on AI, don't make me come there and rip your code guts out lol!

[Nicko]

He is sharded!

On a plane - flying to Philly and seeing Ghost tonight - but next time I see you guys the cameras will roll!

[Patrice-1201]

Yes I'd love to see how bad my defense is...

[Nicko]

Yes I'd love to see how bad my defense is...

Remember - you're fighting a Blue CotD - your defense may perform like the Beast himself is on it ;)

I'll add you to the list - three fights is a good starting point...coincidentally all Troopers!

[IceManFerrar]

Yes I'd love to see how bad my defense is...

Yours is actually very good, Patrice. I faced you earlier this morning and had to think real hard about my attack team. Actually debated whether to even go against your team, but then decided to do it for the challenge and learning experience. Thankfully I won, but it was close!

[mjmxiii]

They fixed the mission and achievement bugs...

And yeah, Patrice, your defense does very well against me lol

[Nicko]

Ugh! Got in from traveling mjmxiii and saw your name was on my list. Set up recording and it didn't work! (I went first anyway so not a great battle)

Then played Kamuz and the CotD got his ass kicked ;)

Time for dinner...will get it next time...and usually don't take this team vs Gimps but will do it just for fun

Edit: Now just played Iceman (another team i wouldn't normally use this team for due to the SSD/Wrath combo) and that didn't work either - thinking it's the cord...bummer...cause was a fun fight

[IceManFerrar]

Ugh! Got in from traveling mjmxiii and saw your name was on my list. Set up recording and it didn't work! (I went first anyway so not a great battle)

Then played Kamuz and the CotD got his ass kicked ;)

Time for dinner...will get it next time...and usually don't take this team vs Gimps but will do it just for fun

Edit: Now just played Iceman (another team i wouldn't normally use this team for due to the SSD/Wrath combo) and that didn't work either - thinking it's the cord...bummer...cause was a fun fight

Lol, just saw that you won against my team, wow Nicko, impressive that you won using the CoTD...respect indeed. Would have loved to have seen that fight. Do you mind telling me what other toons you used?

[Nicko]

Not the greatest examples because I went first.

Basically realizing that the Smurf CotD is a support toon for immunity - I built the team around VHE. CotD provides immunity, steals energy for first round shields, and occasionally freezes. Undead Gunner Soldier provides crazy heals and shields. Red buzz blocks until the shields can go up. And VHE is simply a beast. Not the fastest team - but a good way to keep a weakling like Magus CotD alive.

The success rate has been surprisingly good. Like I said - usually don't take it against Gimp teams or Wrath/SSD teams - so glad I went first for both of you guys ;) It even has faired ok against teams that depend on Void shields.

I think I win every 1 out of 3 fights against Kamuz - to me he has the single toughest defense in PvP. I've tried single hit strike high damage toons - Immunity toons like Artillery Dog - revivers - and this silly team. It doesn't help that - and I'm not exaggerating - I don't think I've ever gone first and Wrath always goes first. But this team beat him twice in a row - then lost - so I tried a different team a few minutes ago - and it got destroyed. I'll likely go back again with this team when I see him and if it gets crushed then back to the drawing board. The CotD is a weak link because he provides immunity against Beelze - but he's AoE and the strikes come soaring back. When your Energy is stolen, your buffs are removed, and you're covered in flames - well - not much you can do:p

This team depends on CotD stealing power. It happens almost every time - but when it doesn't - things get dicey. I had a sloppy hit in the fight against Patrice and was a smudge away from Buzz dying because I didn't have shields (though VHE usually revives him). Was glad he stole Endure.

In any event, this has been a really fun experiment in a pretty dull LotB period. I may even bring this team out after this week on occasion - who knows...

On to your vids

Patrice:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsIyrhPGf7M

[Nicko]

IceManFerrar:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rv0SCBEE-E

[IceManFerrar]

Wow, amazing videos, Nicko, thank you so much. That is cool to see the teams in action and watch your attack strategy. Was really awesome to watch, thanks again!

I haven't faced Kamuz in a while, so not sure how his defense team is laid out, will definitely pay attention if I see him in the Arena.

The teams that give me the most grief are the GRE/Wrath/AoF/(SSD or Nomad) teams. I tried with Pharaoh, Clair, Buzz, and SSD, still lost. Wrath went first and removed Guard and Endure, and then I was a goner.

Sigh, need to pick up some pointers in your videos above. :)

[Nicko]

Wow, amazing videos, Nicko, thank you so much. That is cool to see the teams in action and watch your attack strategy. Was really awesome to watch, thanks again!

I haven't faced Kamuz in a while, so not sure how his defense team is laid out, will definitely pay attention if I see him in the Arena.

The teams that give me the most grief are the GRE/Wrath/AoF/(SSD or Nomad) teams. I tried with Pharaoh, Clair, Buzz, and SSD, still lost. Wrath went first and removed Guard and Endure, and then I was a goner.

Sigh, need to pick up some pointers in your videos above. :)

I doubt there are many pointers there - other than keep VHE alive and he'll do the rest. My favorite Eddie right now...wish his AI was better.

[Nicko]

I think that first video illustrates one of the most annoying bugs I see - his Eddie could have used his Fury but didn't. I don't think it would have made a difference here - the shields were up and the game was pretty much decided by that point - but in other cases it does.

It's frustrating knowing our defenses are blowing opportunities like that!

[mjmxiii]

I just realized that I've been playing the game with the sound off for months :D

[DaveMurray]

I think that first video illustrates one of the most annoying bugs I see - his Eddie could have used his Fury but didn't. I don't think it would have made a difference here - the shields were up and the game was pretty much decided by that point - but in other cases it does.

It's frustrating knowing our defenses are blowing opportunities like that!

Nicko if you got time please record one with my defence too and post it here, i want to laugh with how lame it is.

[Nicko]

You're not on my list so far but when I see you happy to do so!

[Bradata]

I think that first video illustrates one of the most annoying bugs I see - his Eddie could have used his Fury but didn't. I don't think it would have made a difference here - the shields were up and the game was pretty much decided by that point - but in other cases it does.

It's frustrating knowing our defenses are blowing opportunities like that!

Cool videos, Nicko! As you said the AI is actually an artificial BS here. I have used many defense teams in my attacks and almost always won but when I can't control the game those teams are just squashed when used as defense. VHE is a monster, I wish I had 20 something Skill Shards right now, I would slap them all on him ;)

[Nicko]

Cool videos, Nicko! As you said the AI is actually an artificial BS here. I have used many defense teams in my attacks and almost always won but when I can't control the game those teams are just squashed when used as defense. VHE is a monster, I wish I had 20 something Skill Shards right now, I would slap them all on him ;)

Thanks Bradata!

He's great - but needs the right team or he goes down easy. It's also a lot of skill shards for basically a couple skills. But while I put this team together kind of as a joke - it's been complimenting him pretty well. He's protected while he does all the heavy lifting. Not a Saturday speed team by any means - but better than I thought!

[Sparton_LOTB]

I think that first video illustrates one of the most annoying bugs I see - his Eddie could have used his Fury but didn't. I don't think it would have made a difference here - the shields were up and the game was pretty much decided by that point - but in other cases it does.

It's frustrating knowing our defenses are blowing opportunities like that!

It should blow that opportunity a lot less in an upcoming update. There was a scenario where characters would not use their Fury which we have made a fix for, but are still putting it through it's paces with QA to ensure it's cleanly fixed.

[surfingwithdje]

Awesome videos Nicko !
Same for me, do not hesitate to take a video if you fight versus my team :)

Ps: your assassin Eddie is very badass :)

[mjmxiii]

It should blow that opportunity a lot less in an upcoming update. There was a scenario where characters would not use their Fury which we have made a fix for, but are still putting it through it's paces with QA to ensure it's cleanly fixed.

This is actually great news. Now that a fix for AI using Fury moves is coming, will we be getting a tweak to the general PvP AI at some point or do you guys feel it's where it should be?

[Kaz_LOTB]

This is actually great news. Now that a fix for AI using Fury moves is coming, will we be getting a tweak to the general PvP AI at some point or do you guys feel it's where it should be?

We will be looking to improve the AI wherever we can when the opportunity arises. It's a bit of a balancing act of limited resources at the moment though, between upcoming features and new content. It will eventually become the focus, just perhaps not in the immediate short term. Believe me, I want my defense to not derp just as badly as everyone else :p

-Kaz

[Poksic]

Hey Nicko, sorry if I'm bothering you, would you record a video vs my def team too? 😃

[Nicko]

Ok - will do these as I see them - I know I fought some of you guys today - def DJE - but hadn't looked at this...will check back here and there - maybe a separate thread? I know it's fun seeing how your defense performs. Or maddening, depending on your perspective :)

Haven't seen you today Dave Murray (heard you a few times though ;))

Mjm - finally ran into you. Best fight out of the three I've recorded because

1) You went first

2) I violated my "Don't take the team of morons against Prisoners" rule

Enjoy!


http://youtu.be/1Zcqv9CtCUU

[mjmxiii]

Pretty epic fight. I need to shard VHE and GUAS. Those two chars really get shit done on offense! Glad to see my team wasn't completely mindless. It's very different in "test defense" mode. That's some high quality footage you got going on there too. What software are you using?

[Nicko]

Your team did well! Prisoners usually target VHE and in this case he was down for half the fight.

I've liked the Gunner UAS ever since I'd faced him on Sparton's team. The Sentinel Allied Soldier also has the crazy heals and cleanses instead of shields - so he may be even more useful - but if you can keep him untaunted and keep feeding him power, those heals and shells on the G UAS really create a fortress. It's a role the blue CotD does pretty well most of the time.

If someone already has GRE sharded they may need to think long and hard before dumping the 27 shards or so into VHE. They're very similar. Neither do true damage on their basic - both retrigger on their basic - both are fairly fragile - both revive the team with their fury. VHE can revive an ally (70% chance) with his power move, GRE can heal himself with one of his basics (VHE has no heal). GRE minces Nomads and AoFs, VHE obliterates Gimps and GCRs. Both great - but unless one is a shardoholic like I am one of the two would probably suffice.

The software I use is called Screenflow. Super simple to use and records right from your phone. It looks like it's Mac specific.

https://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm

[Tridimensionale]

Nice alternative team Nicko ! i don t have any maxed assassin Eddie yet so VHE could be next project.. how do you compare it to the Eternity since you maxed both ?

[Nicko]

Nice alternative team Nicko ! i don t have any maxed assassin Eddie yet so VHE could be next project.. how do you compare it to the Eternity since you maxed both ?

They're both pretty badass with their own strengths and weaknesses.

EE does true damage so he's more predictable and isn't affected by Void Shields, but when VHE criticals it's awesome. EE has a nicely balanced skill set - he can disable passives, remove beneficials, and heal himself. VHE is more of a one-trick pony, though a 70% chance to revive a teammate can come in handy.

EEs fury is cool - but VHEs wipes out one opponent and super-charges all allies.

Both are great and really can't go wrong with either

[DaveMurray]

Haven't seen you today Dave Murray (heard you a few times though ;))

Can' wait, i will try to find you so that you can revenge me :p

[Silentknight]

Can' wait, i will try to find you so that you can revenge me :p

Nicko's ez 2 find! Try finding the invisibles!!!

[DaveMurray]

Nicko's ez 2 find! Try finding the invisibles!!!

Please, i am not a magician, not even the devs can find them..

[Nicko]

You were on my list yesterday Dave Murray but was out all day with family and barely played. Will definitely record when I see you.

Was flying home today and saw DJE on my list. Stopped and waited until I got home to attack so I could record.

Like I said in the intro - normally don't take on Wrath/SSD teams with this defense - but once again went first - so the Band of Morons hauled in yet another victory. :cool:

Have to say - the little blue guy held his own in this one. Failed to steal power first round - which is really rare - but froze Wrath and that immunity really helped make the SSD a pretty easy opponent. It also helped against Viking Eddies attacks.





http://youtu.be/CelQ2N0PKBs

[Silentknight]

You were on my list yesterday Dave Murray but was out all day with family and barely played. Will definitely record when I see you.

Was flying home today and saw DJE on my list. Stopped and waited until I got home to attack so I could record.

Like I said in the intro - normally don't take on Wrath/SSD teams with this defense - but once again went first - so the Band of Morons hauled in yet another victory. :cool:

Have to say - the little blue guy held his own in this one. Failed to steal power first round - which is really rare - but froze Wrath and that immunity really helped make the SSD a pretty easy opponent. It also helped against Viking Eddies attacks.

K, 1 question...who's the chick on the drums???

[ovy]

Toughest DEF:
ovy - the use of Strikes and Invisibility talismans is actually quite masterful. A lot of thought went into building this team, (VE w/Energy, GPR w/Strikes & Invisibility, DM w/Strikes & Invisibility and Nomad w/Strikes) it went 8-1 against me. It should be noted that I went second in all matches except for my one win against, but was defeated 8 times regardless. My hats off. My mind, blown.


Hey mjmxii -- I don't spend time regularly on the forum, but wanted to check out the "last week in PvP"[-ish] post and saw myself mentioned in this well-written post. Thanks much for the praise! I can only take a little of the credit for "thought out", mostly it was trial and error and plain old luck -- by which I don't mean just souls but the fact that a couple of the toons were readily available on the bench, sharded long ago for entirely different reasons. I like having an unusual team, for fun and profit.

I saw the beginning of my def streak against you, three or so, but I didn't realize it was eight. Sorry about the coin flips! That's just bad luck, not a hidden talisman of mine.

It was a tough week to be sure. Uncharacteristically I had some time to play on Saturday so my quest for top 10 was not doomed from the start. The defenses are getting stronger and my fast teams don't work well enough anymore -- or maybe I cling too much to the idea of winning attack at high %. I've no idea how guys like GMac (congrats!) manage that number of points in a few hours, with any toons. Skill is a massive part of it, but also the time and willpower. There are only a few with all of those attributes and I'm not mad if they always grab Eternal. At least skill / team quality is still by far the major factor, much more so than at the beginning of PvP.

My stats were:
Rank #9 ; 7-10 pack if you discount garbage time ; I'd say 5 was within reach if I'd had another couple of hours to play, but not the podium.
Points: 4286
Defenses: 250
Attacks : ??? showing 0/16 right now, will edit post later when it clears. Typically it's in the same ballpark as # defenses.

Best,
ovy

[surfingwithdje]

You were on my list yesterday Dave Murray but was out all day with family and barely played. Will definitely record when I see you.

Was flying home today and saw DJE on my list. Stopped and waited until I got home to attack so I could record.


http://youtu.be/CelQ2N0PKBs


Thank you very much Nicko!

Well done, you wasn't in danger at any moments :)

Actually it's very hard to set a real good def team... Mine is build to be hard (I hope lol) to beat if it goes first, but is weak if going second... I didn't find another way to keep a correct hold ratio

Your video confirm what i thought, once wrath down it's over for me... if only the AI could use correctly the Pharaoh's revive skill i could use him instead of the Viking !

Ps: i finally find the way to record ingame videos from my iphone, tell me if you want that i record one of your def teams (a new thread can be very fun for that)

Cheers!

[Patrice-1201]

Hey Nicko, would love if you could do one of these videos against my defense very curious to see it perform (or not) :-)

[ritchbe]

Thank you Nicko for starting a video recording trend.

It is nice to see a defense in action, since I'm completelly boggled as to how to configure my defense and currently without ideas.

Have GRE sharded, have enough for VHE stashed but I don't think AI would use him well.on defense.

I'll record some of the names I remember, when I get a chance to (saving Ironite for double souls.pack and fragments). We could get a good insight into defense AI that way: +1 for Nicko!