Showing posts with label strategy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strategy. Show all posts

Sunday, March 22, 2015

What To Train In PvE

The latest member benefit is arguably the best one of all -- a free training point reset, something that hasn't been available since the Astral schools debuted in Celestia. As the benefit ends today, this post is a bit late, but hopefully may be of use to some people now or in the future. Here's how some of my Wizard101 characters spent their new training points.

Note: If you're a Crowns player that wants to reset your spells, buy a membership only if it would cost over 5,000 crowns to reset.

Arlen's old spells included: 
Ice to Tower, Life to Satyr, Infection, Spiritblade, Sun to Colossal, Sharpened Blade, 6 Polymorphs, and 4 Astral spells. The polymorphs seemed outdated, but I tested them out a bit again to make sure I wouldn't miss them. It was clear that the Celestian morphs belonged back in, well, Celestia. Yes, they were fun to use, but who can live without Colossal and critical block in today's Spiral? With that, I reverted to a clean slate.


Training back up to Tower Shield and Satyr was a foregone conclusion, though there were some cutbacks. Not only did the polymorphs go -- so did Infection and Amplify (made moot by Reliquary, the aura for Myth's attacks). I am still convinced that Empowerment is an underrated card, though. If anything, it's more useful nowadays, as bosses always attack with spells of 4+ pips. No matter your wizard's school, I recommend training it.

Next, I finally trained Death to Feint. I had only neglected to do that with my Conjurer owing to the fact that Minotaur, Orthrus and Basilisk used to be a big part of my attacking. As double-hits and DoTs, Feint isn't useful there, but Celestial Calendar (and maybe even Ninja Pig) makes it worthwhile. With that, Potent Trap also became much more useful. Also, there were some Azteca polymorphs that I considered. The Jaguar wasn't quite as great as I imagined, but it still bested Celestia's Treant. Without a Life Mastery amulet, that spell will clearly be useful. 


Seeing this after resetting puts things into perspective. Other schools often account for about half of your spells -- don't take retraining lightly, put some thought into it.

The new Shadow spells were such a mixed bag that I decided against them on Arlen. Once my Life wizard reaches that point, though, Dark Shepherd seems like a good fit in that it's easy to please for a Theurgist. Plus, it'll make Tarlac feel like a Necromancer :P. Other than that, maybe Dark Fiend would be good for an Ice; I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. For a reminder on the costs and benefits for Shadow magic, here's Swordroll's guide

Outside of Arlen, other spells I took into account were the ZF Astral spells and AZ polymorphs. Berserk, kind of like the aura version of Feint, is good for those who can take damage, like Life and Ice. Mend is also good for Life, but they don't need the Jaguar polymorph, obviously. Storm and Fire can definitely use the Icehorn morph, though. Frozen Armor is a really good buffer when you're full of pips, and Icehorn has several good buffs and shields for afterwards. Just be wary that it has no critical block.

Last but not least, don't forget the short-term necessities if you're a lower level. This logic applies to spells like Amplify and the Treant polymorph. In Azteca, Jaguar and your school aura will eliminate the need for those spells, but they're still worth having around before that point. Arlen actually had Sap Power, a spell from the hidden Marleybone trainer, that sacrificed minions for 4 pips. That was very useful to use on the 0 pip Golem minion, but the need for it isn't around anymore. There are tons of training points available nowadays, so don't be afraid to use a few for short-term needs. After all is said and done, my wizards will still have about 10 TPs remaining.


In the meantime, if you're still reading this on Sunday... remember to visit Lincoln and reset all of your character's training points in the next few hours! 

Happy Training!

Friday, September 19, 2014

Testing Moo Manchu's Robe


Yesterday, I decided to do my 6th Nefarious Tower run. Nothing special had come up yet, but after a smooth ride with teammates Swordroll, Melody, and Kyle, we all got lucky.


Getting Moo's robe was apparently a first for all of us. To top it off, I only needed to use the loot chest twice to get the best Privateer weapon. :D



Needless to say, the end of that run was as perfect as could be.


If there was ever something that made you think "this makes me look fat", it's this robe. The stats don't seem like much at first, but the card it gives is worth being pudgy for.
What does 'Terror-Cotta Troupe' do?


Yep, it gives nine Terracotta Warriors. They all have 699 health and multiple epic talents. A normal attack does about 80 damage, but nine of them are going to account for a lot more.


They critical surprisingly often, giving Blade Storm a bit of importance. 
Most notable, though, are the other three talents. They're harder to hit at low health, with an ability to hit enemies on the run and stop advancing enemies.


As if those talents weren't enough, their first attack is always Vicious Charge. Aside from doing extra damage, it reduces the enemy's accuracy as demonstrated on the left. This poor Stymphalian Bird will have to deal with -108 accuracy for five rounds.


When does this spell come in handy?

The problem with nine of these guys is animation time. That's nine clay figures rushing out at enemies, attacking one by one. Most battles can be easily handled; there's no point using this spell all the time. Taking that out of consideration, this spell is very powerful, and in my opinion, overpowered in some cases. The low health and damage isn't exactly an issue when there are nine of them. Plus, the enemies typically struggle to get a hit off with all those Vicious Charges. 

Also, their Hold The Line 3 talent is tremendously useful if you're seeking to hold some particularly powerful enemies back. The Warriors can function as tanks here, with the added benefit of reducing their accuracy.


And they can be healed back to life (yay Privateers!)

I haven't tested it in the Tower itself, but the Terror-cotta Troupe could be very useful when coupled with Blood's Flames in holding back the Nefarious Five. The troupe would die before long, but the lasting impact from Vicious Charge cannot be understated. The Nefarious Five are hardy opponents, and making them miss on attacks takes many of their epic talents out of use. Hold The Line 3 also gives pirates time to buff or attack from long range (two ways to minimize the Privateer's love of Charming Gaze).

I did test them out on the Hydra battle. It didn't go so well...


The scene after one round :P

In summary:
 For specific battles, the Terror-cotta Troupe is a boon for pirates. Otherwise, they're just a time-consuming nuisance. 

Best of luck to ye farming the Nefarious Tower! Aye, it's a pirate's life to farm ... and sail the great seas and all that stuff.

(Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!)



Monday, May 23, 2011

Legendary Deck Setups

Less than a month till School ends! Then I'll pretty much be free :D. Had a good time yesterday, and the next post will chronicle Sophia & endgame, but for now out of an idea from a post by Fin and a continuation of a guide I made long ago, here's my current deck setups for those Legendary wizards: *Notice: All decks have an extra stackable school-blade too from Sudrilund Hats*



Arlen's Mob Deck. Amulet: (gives) Balanceblade & Hex (although I want the BB & Tower one lol).


















This is a 4v4 deck I put together for parties & maybe I'll really use it one day, and I'm sure its not the best, but its ok enough. Myth, as you can tell :P. Amulet: Reshuffle












This was Arlen's Boss deck in WT, and good for CL & DS too (shields, if you have Tower or the boss is a school you can shields against). Talos Minion is the newest addition, and its pretty cool :) Amulet: Balanceblade/Hex



Mycin's Mob deck, should put an extra Garg+Tempest in there, lol. Maybe a Pixie too, in case, and of course shields permitting. Amulet: (insert name of Storm Attack Bubble here. BTW, many of my decks will have the Balanceblade/Tower Shield amulet once I get it).












Mycin's Boss deck (again, shields permitting as will be for every deck). I like to Bolt off the minions ASAP, lol. Maybe I'll put in 'Insane Bolt' when I get it. Maybe. Amulet: Feint







I thought I'd give my own demonstration of WW boss decks for Tarlac, as I've done it twice on him (but no gear.. grrr). This is for the final boss(es), Sylster & co. Lifetraps & Blades are in case someone hits without any traps/blades on themselves and I'll put, for example, a Lifetrap on the boss so the hit won't trigger his "Power Ra". Guiding Lights don't work, sadly. Amulet: Feint



Tarlac's self-Mob deck, remember I have a Satyr pet in case :P. Amulet: Satyr & Seraph







Luska Charmbeak deck. Triage in case someone makes her bring out a cheat Skeletal Dragon or "Super-Power Link" :o. Feints there because my team used Spirit Defuse so the traps could work without her cheating. Amulet: Feint









Dugan's Boss deck. Amulet: Feint as you can see xD have a Helephant pet too for now.



Dugan's Mob deck. Amulet: Wyldfire












Sophia Boss deck. Shields were for a Myth Boss atm, lol. Amulet: Balanceblade & Tower Shield






Sophia's Mob deck. Amulet: Balanceblade & Tower Shield
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Hope that helps! I don't have too much time so I gotta run and craft a couple things before I have to get off in half an hour.

Happy Farming!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Levi (at hanD)

Bad news first, lets get it over with...

The

  • Duo of Death
  • British Theurgist
  • Fearless Fire Wizard*

*contemplating quitting

are quitting. I guess its a lack of Vitamin D, seeing others quit, and post holiday depression :P. Here's a few reasons how to relieve boredom in Wizard101:

  • Decorate houses, its fun to farm for the furniture and all
  • Garden, you get rewards out of it and it also can be fun
  • Have a trash day, where you sort through everything on all your characters, throw unneeded stuff (furniture, maybe) into the Bazaar, or sort your bank, etc.
  • Crafting, it can get boring but its still awesome
  • Farming for gold and gear can be fun
  • Bazaar sniping is tedious, but is still extremely entertaining ;)
And remember, many new bloggers take a new spot every week, so you can make new friends, don't just quit Wizard101 because your friends are doing it unless you truly are bored or are too busy IRL. Its almost like a cycle.


ANYWAYS, Good news time!
Mycin finished the Science Center today :)











Wrong, he's salmon, he's weak, I'm strong, point heard, got it?





So then, it was off to 2 side-quest bosses with basically the same dialogue, which they seem to calculate thoughtfully in their heads






Praxus just seems a little more hyper. Soon, I dropped the first couple Crustacean Empire quests from my book and got a little message:






















I was sent to dig up worms. Nice way to get rid of me, running me off to a pshycopath hamburger who guards his worms. But, I prepared, and it took me 2-3 tries against Tengri, and he was burger and his minion was bacon.












My deck construction, for you 58 Storm wizzies out there.
Put off a Fire Shield (w/Ice, but forget about that one) A.S.A.P. Kill his minion with a blade, feint, and a Lord/Triton. Now, use your Treant morph and Storm minion (Bubbles sacrificed his life for me, and was crushed by a Firezilla). Then, throw off the blades/traps and Tritons and pray :P.




























Levi! *hugs, Levi tries to eat Mycin*








Ooh, purple after-effect orb...

What? Nuncio drops the Water Pump? Its listed as Achaelos on Central (whom I unsucesfully farmed over and over a while ago) but anyway, woot!
Oh, did you notice Mycin's look?

Ninja Pig hat looks good on him ;D














That, my friends, shows the power.
Happy New Year!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Myth guide: Deck Construction

As part of my duty to Diary of a Wizard (you have to make a guide to your school if your a Student teacher) I am gladly beginning my Myth guide! Even though I didn't even nominate or think of winning in the 1st place, thus maybe being granted an exception to the guide part maybe, I want to do it. I love teaching people new strategy! I think of myself as a Wizard101 coach sometimes, often grimacing when I see how big another wizards deck is, with near-useless cards you don't need in your deck which just make your fights longer. A mere month ago I was a big deck-setter, but not anymore (the quicker the fight, the better!) So, here comes Part 1 with more to come every day (hopefully :P). Enjoy and may it be of help to you!


Bosses:

Level 5 (1st boss, Rattlebones at that level) - Lvl 10





(2 Puppet Minions and 2 Pixies instead) Cast a Puppet first thing if possible, then Troll the enemy the Puppet is NOT hitting. If enemy is not dead, wait for pips and Troll it again.

Level 10 - 26





Use Puppet or Trap/Blade (if Trap, do it on the Boss). Next, do the same, cast the Puppet or use a Trap/Blade. If the minion is easy, and the Golem is after it then Troll the minion. After, Mythblade and pack a punch with Cyclops, plus try to have Mythtrap on the Boss too.


Level 26 - 33








Blade first. Next round, try to Mythtrap the Boss, if not, pass or use Sprite. 3rd, likely Froggy is ready to be used now, use Froggy to kill the minion, if you can't yet, then pass or use Sprite. 4th, if Froggy hasn't been used, use it; if you have, play MythBlade. 5th, MythBlade if you haven't, otherwise use Cyclops if you can, if not, pass or Sprite. 6th, use Cyclops if you haven't, if still not dead, kill with a wand spell or simply wait to cast another Frog or Cyclops minion. Pack ONE Cyclops minion in easy boss fights, 2 in hard ones.


Level 33 - ? (whenever you get to Dragonspyre)







(1 Cyclops minion in there too) Keep Satyr just in case. 1st, Mythblade. 2nd, Frog if you can, if not, pass or Sprite. If you did Frog and the minion isn't dead, wand it till it is or wait to Frog again. 3rd, Frog if you haven't (and follow previous note if minion isn't dead) or Mythblade. 4th, Mythblade if you haven't or otherwise shield* or pass. 5th, Cyclops minion if pips allow or Minotaur if pips allow as well; if neither, pass or otherwise shield*. Follow same rules as #5th the rest of the fight!
*shield IF the boss is a Spiritual school -Myth, Death or Life- if Boss isn't, keep shields out of your deck*


Level ? (Beginning DS) - 48









(As asterisked (*) in the previous strategy, from now on put shields in IF the Boss is a Spiritual school, if the Boss isn't, disregard when I say "Shield...")


Level 48 - 60

















(4 orthrus in if you are under LVL 58) As said... *Disregard Medusa and Mythtraps if you are under 58. If you are under LVL 55 and don't have Treant, put several more Satyrs, Sprites and Pixies in. Also, forgot about the 2 Star school spells if you aren't the level to get them either, same with Gobbler if you are in between 48-50. Lastly, if you are in between 50 and 58 (don't have Gargantuan) use the next best Sun spell* First, cast MythBlade or a Shield, if over 58, you may also cast a Mythtrap on Boss. 2nd, use one of the Star School spells if you are over 56, if not, pass or Shield. 3rd, Medusa/Orthrus the minion and kill it. 4th, use another MythBlade or Shield. 5th, cast Elemental Blade or a Star school spell. 6th, heal if you need too, otherwise pass or Shield or cast your Amulet spell if you can. 7th, if you didn't heal, cast Orthrus or Medusa on Boss. If not dead, repeat steps, using blades, etc. and heal if necessary, and shielding at the right time if the Boss is Spiritual.


Minions:
Level 1 - 10



Use Golem Minion right away. 2nd, if the Minion's spell doesnt kill or fizzles, pass. 3rd, either pass and maybe get health by wisps or Pixie. Mana is in low supply at these levels, though! So, Myth has an advantage, as they can defeat any minion in WC (except the toughies and Collosus Blvd. ) without using any Mana.
Level 10 - 26
(several MythBlades also) Strategy stated above. 1st, use Golem to slowly take out 1 of them while killing the one the Golem isn't targeting. IF the Minion has 300+ health, use MythBlade on Cyclops, if between 215-300, feel free to kill w/Cyclops w/no MythBlade. If below 215 health, MythBlade and Troll.
Level 26 - 50 ? (whenever you start Celestia)
(3 Frogs, just in case) Just like Bosses, use Shields IF minions are Spiritual. 1st, Mythblade. 2nd; Frog, Shield, or pass. 3rd; Mythblade if you have Frogged, if you haven't done Frog, then do it now. 4th; Use another Frog or Mythblade...(repeats into 5th)
Level 50 ? (CL start) - 60
Yep. So, put as many of the Sun enchantment you have on your Frogs, and in the same turn MythBlade. IF minions are Spritual, pack a couple shields. 2nd, use Frog with a Sun-enchantment. 3rd, if the minions have below 750 life left, use another Frog w/Sun-enchantment, if you can. If you can't because of pips or no Sun-enchantment in hand, pass, Shield, or MythBlade. If the minions have above 750 life, make sure to MythBlade before Frogging again. Simple enough? Sun-enchantment, Froggy, Mythblade.
All results are simulating you go with Myth and Life as your second school (to Satyr) so only Spiritual shields. I will explain what schools/spells you should train in the next Myth Guide post.










Hangin' with the crowd that came to Mythspent's short party last night. Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve! (aka Happy Holidays! CAN'T WAIT NOW! :D)