The Undead, How to Build Them and How to Beat Them

Recently, two new characters were introduced.  Corvus and Morrigan.  Along with this release came a new character classification; undead.  So let's define a generic Undead team, and then let's look at a few very effective combinations.  While some of the information that follows will be of no surprise, there will be others that benefit from its inclusion.  Thank You for your patience.

So with the Undead we basically got another tank, and another healer/support.  There is a caveat with our new healer.  She ONLY heals undead heroes:  Kiera, Faceless, Phobos, Corvus, and Morrigan. This means that Morrigan is far less effective if she is in a team that doesn't have any undead heroes.  Many have speculated that this team will somehow make Phobos relevant; I do not agree with this perspective.

The basic team structure will be familiar.  Corvus+DPS+Morrigan+Support+Healer/Mage/etc.

One possible consideration might be:  Corvus+Kiera+Morrigan+Nebula+Faceless.

Another might be: Corvus+Krista+Nebula+Morrigan+Lars. 

-Or- 

Corvus+Krista+Faceless+Morrigan+Lars

An interesting concept team could be: Corvus+Morrigan+K'arkh+Faceless+Nebula.

The META team would be: Corvus+Morrigan+Kiera+Sebastian+Jet  This team becomes a Critical Hit team.  Jet will give Kiera Critical Hit Chance, and Sebastian will boost it.  Interestingly, Morrigan's summoned skeletons do physical damage.  This is fantastic because they do physical damage.  This means that they will have Critical Hit Chance too.  Corvus will also gain Critical Hit Chance too.  When Corvus's Alter goes up, it deals pure damage.  Sadly, the altar doesn't get Critical Hit Chance.  His White Skill does benefit from Jet's Critical Hit Chance.  This team would also likely benefit from switching in K'ark for Kiera.

*Disclaimer*: 

DO NOT under any circumstances build this team with Jorgen.  If you fight a team with Satori, you will be at a SEVERE disadvantage.

So, now that we have defined some teams, let's figure out how to defend against them.

The Corvus and Morrigan compositions create an interesting problem for defenders/attackers.  Generally speaking, the rule of thumb is to take DPS Heroes and blitzkrieg the other team using AoE attacks.  Corvus is specifically designed to counter this tactic.

This presents a unique challenge; with very few effective options:

Option 1:  Attack this team with a significantly stronger team.  It works, but it will eventually fail.

Option 2:  Kill Corvus before he can get the altar up.  This does work, but it can be a spotty if Corvus's armor is leveled.

Option 3:  Jhu can be used as a counter, if he becomes enraged while the Altar is up, it will be useless.  Jhu cannot be killed while he's enraged.

Option 4:  Our fourth and second best option, will be a combination of option 2 and option 3.  We'll take a Critical Hit team.  If this team is sufficiently leveled, they will be able to kill Corvus before he gets a shot off.  There are many ways of composing a Critical Hit team.  I'm not going to go into them in exhaustive detail, but I will share with you my work in progress composition.

Ziri+Elmir+Jhu+Sebastian+Jet

Option 5: Take Corvus and Morrigan against Corvus and Morrigan.  Fight fire with fire so to speak.

If you find yourself in a situation where none of the above options are viable, there are some other heroes that you can take to help level the playing field.  Artemis, Helios, Andvari, Jorgen, Luther, and Satori.  

Finally, if you're using the Undead, they are a perfect counter to any heroes that have AoE attacks.  This includes:Kiera, K'arkh, Galahad, Orion, Kai, Lars, and Ginger to name a few.

Questions, comments, disagreements, corrections?  Please reply in the comments.

As always, I hope that you find this article useful.  If you find the information here useful, please consider making a small donation; you will have my most sincere gratitude.

We're here and there's a bunch crazy zombie bitches throwing knives. What now?!?!?

As many have noticed, we have walked into a situation where we will now have to contend with Kiera as an enemy combatant.  It sucks a little bit.  So, how can the situation be remedied?

Let's look at some counters.

• The Twins + heroes with high AoE
• Andvari - I know right?
• The Undead (Specifically Corvus, but you'll want Morrigan too
• Celeste
• Nebula indirectly
• Heroes that can stun and/or put her to sleep/silence her - Faceless, Lian, Thea, Kiera, 
• K'arkh as long as the enemy team doesn't have that Squid fondling asshole Andvari.

So why do these heroes work?  Who should I choose?

Well, that's going to depend on your base team.  There is only reason to raise a new team to fight Kiera is if you're planning on switching to that team full time.  Otherwise, look at situational heroes that can be added to your team.

Let's start with the Twins.

It just so happens that Kiera is extremely susceptible to Magic damage.  This makes the Twins an ideal offensive candidate for Zombie Hunting.  Krista is particularly bothersome to Kiera.  Krista's White skill will bounce around dealing a good amount of damage to the enemy team.  Her Green skill will hit the middle of the team, reduce their magic defense and apply a mark of water.  This sets Kiera up nicely for Lars.  Kiera also really enjoys sitting in the middle of the team.  Krista's blue skill will damage anyone that moves and apply a Mark of Water.  Kiera's going to move.  She can't help it.  She's a zombie, and they're just not that smart...  By the way, Krista is dealing damage the whole time, leading up to an entry from....

Lars! It's really only necessary to look at Lars's Violet skill here.  This attack stuns.  Zombies don't throw knives or any other kitchen utensils when they're stunned...  If this isn't enough add Nebula to the team.  She will boost their magic damage to an insanely high number with her Violet skill.

Andvari.

This tree hugging hippy weirdo is only added because he has stun.  See above for what happens to zombies when they're stunned...

Lian.

Lian will put Kiera to sleep, she will do her best to keep Kiera asleep.  You will want to take heroes that can do a lot of damage really quickly while Kiera is asleep.  Kill her fast.  When she wakes up, she'll start throwing shit again.  I recommend Orion and Nebula.  Keep in mind that Lian is only good for two things:  Bad crossdresser jokes, and fighting Kiera.  If you're tight on resources, she's a waste of time.

Celeste .

Celeste will also stun Kiera; though not as effectively as Lars.  She will also attack Kiera with a lot of magic damage.

For the other heroes that are able to stun, I'm not going to go into detail.  They stun her.  Zombies are easier to kill when they're stunned.  

Now, for the best available counter you can find...

THE UNDEAD

The best way to defeat zombies is to fight them with more zombies.  Morrigan isn't absolutely needed for this to work, but this duo will be stronger with her than without, so take her.  Corvus will absolutely demolish teams with his Blue Skill.  Often, if he summons the altar in a timely manner, this will kill Keira almost immediately.

Finally, if your heroes have an armor level lower than Kiera's armor penetration level, she will do extra damage.  In short, level up your armor.

As always hope it helps.  If you find these articles helpful, please consider making a donation with the little yellow button on the right side of the page.  You'll have my most sincere gratitude.

Showin' Some Skin - Part 3 of 3

So now we've seen a large amount of Heroes and the skins that they need.  How do you pick which to get first?  How do you know which you can live without?  That's what part three is all about.  Let's get to it.

To make our task a little easier here, we're going to group our heroes into a few different categories.  These will be our general guidelines, and there will be a final category of Notable Exceptions.

So, our Categories will be Tanks, DPS, Warriors/Support, Healers, and Critical Damage heroes.

Tanks:  These heroes will need Armor and Health Skins as a priority.  For these heroes, you should go after their armor skins first, and health skins next.  Examples include: Astaroth, Cleaver, Ziri, and Luther.

DPS:  These heroes will need Armor Penetration, and skins that increase Attack power.  Armor Penetration skins are the highest priority for these heroes.  Examples include:  K'arkh, Kiera, Astrid and Lucas, and Ginger.

Warriors/Support:  In general you're going to want to give these heroes Health skins as a priority. If the hero can act as a healer, then you will want to consider getting skins that increase the heroes attack level as well.  This does not apply to heroes that have DODGE ABILITY.

Healers:  These heroes will need priority placed on Armor/Health, with attack increase as a secondary priority.  One should consider Attack increase for healers because their healing abilities are all calculated based on their attack level.

Critical Damage Heroes:  The number one priority for these heroes should be their Critical Damage skins.  Almost all of them will benefit from any health or armor skins that they have.

Notable Exceptions:

Kai - Needs his Health skin as a priority.

Ishmael - Needs all four of his skins.  There is no way around this.

Galahad - Needs all four of his skins.  There is no way around this.

Elmir - Needs his Armor Penetration skin as a priority.

All Heroes who have Dodge Ability should have priority placed on their Dodge skins.  Elmir is a exception, his Dodge glyph should get priority to offset this.

Lars - Lars should have priority given to his Magic Attack skin.  You will also need to get his armor skin as well.

Krista - Krista should have priority given to her Armor skin.  You will need her Attack skin as well.

Jet - Jet's health skin should be top priority, his critical hit skin will be needed too.

There are probably others, if you think I missed something let me know in the comments.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that these skins only matter based on which you are using.  This is not the case.  Skins stack.  Meaning each that you have adds to the others.  

I would consider using the default skins for a hero in the Arena and Grand Arena.  If your opponents know that you have a certain skin on a team, they will likely adjust tactics based on this.  Much like Poker, using skins other than the default is like showing your cards.

Finally, don't forget that Critical Hit Chance and Dodge success are determined by how high a hero's main stat is.  This number can only be increased by adding to a hero's glyphs, and by leveling a hero's default skin.  Don't forget to keep up with them.

If you happened to miss part one and part two of this series, you can find them here:  Showin' Some Skin Part 1 and Shown' Some Skin Part 2.  I hope you all find this useful.

Showin' Some Skin - Part 2 of 3

Picking up right where we left off, part two of the series will start with:

• Elmir - For Elmir, there are two things that he desperately needs.  Dodge, and Armor penetration.  His Barbarian skin, and his Devil skin are must haves.  The Devil skin also became available for purchase recently.  Prior to this, it could only be achieved through Outland Chest pulls.  The Winter skin is optional.
• Thea - Personally, I don't use this hero.  If you plan on doing so, you'll need to get her Winter skin.  Thea is extremely light on armor.  The Winter skin will keep her in the fight much longer.  Thea's Angel skin is an optional purchase.  The same functionality is provided by her Champion skin, without using real world money.  It is a good idea to get the Champion skin as well.  All of her abilities other than her Violet skill are derived based on her Magic attack.
• Arachne - I wouldn't buy any of these skins.  Arachne will become increasingly useless as you progress.  There are some that advocate using her on a C team for Grand Arena.  If you choose to do this, you *might* want to get her Winter skin.
• Orion - You'll want both of his skins.  Period.
• Artemis - Artemis has Critical Hit Chance.  The higher you can get that stat, the more likely she will score a critical hit.  If you are using her, you should get her Angel Skin.  You will likely also want to get her Devil skin as it increases her physical attack. 
• Judge - Save your money and pass on this one.
• Lilith - Another hero that requires all of her available skins to be truly useful.  But in the long run, she's just not worth it.
• Jet - Jet will need both of his skins as you level him up.  They don't seem to be as important long term, due to his position in the team, and when paired with heroes that can do high amounts of damage, the fight doesn't last long.  I recommend getting them.  But, if you are trying to decide between multiple skins that you can afford, you should skip this one.
• Sebastian - Sebastian only has one skin.  This is his Romantic skin.  You REALLY want to get this one.  Currently, it is only available as an Outland Chest pull.
• Heidi - Just don't.
• Astrid and Lucas - Her most valuable skin by far is her Romantic skin.  Her other skins offer much needed functionality, but are not as important as he Romantic skin.
• Ginger - If you're planning on using this hero, you will need all of her skins.  They don't provide as much of a stat bonus as others, but you will need them if you're serious about winning with her.
• Satori - Yes, you need his only skin.  It gives him armor, making him much harder to kill.
• Helios - Helios has fairly weak health out of the box.  His Devil skin fixes that.  If you're going to build Helios (and it should be part of your plan), you will at least need to get his Champion and Devil skins.  Buying his Romantic skin is also not a bad idea.
• Phobos - Why? Why would you?  Just why?
• Aurora - If you are going to use Aurora, stop.  You are not Ghost Warrior.  If you are Ghost Warrior, then you'll need all of her skins.
• Qing Mao - If you are using her correctly to weaken enemy armor and backing her up with a really good DPS unit like *cough* Kiera *cough* cough*, then you need to get her Phoenix skin.  The others are helpful, but not needed.
• Andvari - You need his Winter skin.  It's the only one, and you need it.
• Fox - Just keep it moving.  Skip these.  If you're seriously using Fox, then as your friend, I'm asking you to stop.
• Daredevil - You absolutely need to get her Rowdy skin.  It increases her Critical Hit Chance.  Her Romantic skin isn't needed, if you're fighting battles with her where health is a concern, you're doing it wrong.
• Mojo - I think we all know the answer to this one.
• Peppy - Peppy receives substantial benefits from her Champion skin and her Lunar skin.  If you're using her in a Cleaver team, you'll want to at least get her Lunar skin.  If you don't have Cleaver, you shouldn't be using Peppy...
• Luther - If you're serious about using Luther, then you'll need to get all of his skins.  He will not hold up without them.  If you have to choose only one, you should get his Stellar skin.  He needs the Physical Damage boost the Stellar skin gives.
• Cornelius - You'll want to get the two skins that he has available.  If you get the chance to get his Masquerade skin (event only) you should get that one too.
• Dante - Stop where you are and put Dante down.  You are making a mistake here.

There you have it people.  There are six heroes missing from this list.  This list will be updated as.  I acquire them.

Showin' Some Skin - Part 1 of 3

This question seems to come up a lot, so I figured I'd share my perspective on skins, which to get, which aren't worth it, which to get first, etc.  So, let's look at which to get first.  This list will be incomplete since I don't have all of the heroes in the game.

• K'arkh - Get the Stellar skin.  It's absolutely essential for K'arkh
• Astaroth - You need all of the skins available.  He is the best tank in the game, and he absolutely needs all of his skins to be the most effective.  If you can only get one, you absolutely without a doubt need to get his Barbarian Skin. This will boost his armor, and battles with him will be decided based on the amount of armor he has.
• Dorian - I have never seen a need for his additional skins. Dorian can stand on his own without them.
• Nebula can benefit from her Romantic Skin and her Winter Skin, but by far the most effective skin for Nebula is her Spring Skin - it gives her Dodge ability a substantial boost.  Unfortunately this skin can only be gained through Outland.  But you can buy it by saving Outland coins.
• Cleaver - Cleaver has four skins available, all of which offer him needed stats.  His Barbarian skin is  the most important.  It increases his health.  Next up would be his Masquerade skin.  He gets a crucial armor boost from it.
• Faceless - Get the Stellar Skin and his Masquerade skin.  They are both worth it.  If you can only get one, then the Masquerade skin is the one you should get for him.
• Ishmael - You have to get them all, period.  His stats have been nerfed, and the way the devs made up for it is by selling skins to fix what they took out.  The skins should be free in my opinion, but that's an issue to take up with the devs.
• Jorgen - I have not found it necessary to get and of Jorgen's skins.  That said, his creepy ass Masquerade skin will be very useful to you if you find yourself facing a lot of Satori teams.
• Maya - You will want to at least get her Champion skin, and her Romantic Skin.
• Galahad - You'r going to want to get them all.  There's no way around it.  His skins turn him into a MONSTER.
• Lars - This one is sure to draw some debate.  You can avoid Lars's Masquerade skin if you team him with Nebula.  She will provide the same functionality with her magic attack boost.  Lars absolutely needs his Cybernetic skin.  This will give him sorely needed armor.  His Devil skin can be avoided.
• Krista - She will greatly benefit from her Devil skin.
• Rufus - His skins are not needed unless you are fighting Physical teams.  If you're fighting Physical teams with Rufus, you're using him wrong.
• Celeste - You'll want to get both of her skins.
• Kai - His health is weak, his Champion skin will fix that.  His Solar skin is also worthwhile as it will boost his magic penetration, and allow more of his magic damage to get to the enemy.
• Kiera - The goal with Kiera is to have her do as much damage as possible.  Both of her skins will help in this regard.  But if you're finding yourself limited, her Winter skin is the most important.
• Jhu - As far as he is concerned, his Solar skin is going to be far more valuable than any of the others.  It boosts his Critical Hit Chance, and this will give you more mileage than any of the other skins.

That's all for part one.  We will continue down the list of heroes in part two of the series, and close with some general rules of thumb to help you decide if a skin is really worthwhile to you.

Gumballs, Pokeballs, stupid little things that won't give me Super Titan stones Drop Rates

Titan	Drop Chance	Number of Spheres Needed
Sigurd	10.95%	10
Angus	10.95%	10
Moloch	10.95%	10
Nova	10.95%	10
Vulcan	10.95%	10
Sylva	10.95%	10
Avalon	10.95%	10
Igneous	10.95%	10
Mairi	10.95%	10
Hyperion	0.5%	200
Ajar	0.5%	200
Eden	0.5%	200

For every 10 spheres you open, you should pull at least one of the Support, Marksmen, or Guardian titans. For those titans this means 30 stones.

For every 200 spheres you open, you should be able to pull at least one Super Titan.  All data I have found indicates that it doesn't matter if you open the spheres one at a time, or all at once.  Personally, I disagree with that data.  I know that I have opened 200 spheres in the last few weeks, and I have not received a Super Titan yet.  So, I'm going to try to save 200 to see what happens.  

Archaeological Expeditions

For those interested, here are the drop rates for the different items found in the different chest levels.

Artifact Chest Item Drop Rates Based on Chest Level

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Chaos Cores	4.76%	4.76%	5.03%	4.76%	4.89%	4.82%	4.82%	4.85%	4.85%	6.34%
Artifact Coins	-	10.20%	9.43%	10.58%	10.86%	8.77%	8.77%	7.46%	7.46%	7.46%
Artifact Fragments	11.90%	10.20%	10.06%	10.58%	10.86%	9.64%	9.64%	9.32%	9.32%	7.83%
White Resources	71.43%	61.22%	40.88%	26.45%	12.5%	12.71%	12.71%	13.05%	13.05%	13.05%
Green Resources	11.90%	13.60%	18.86%	21.16%	24.25%	25.43%	25.43%	26.11%	26.11%	26.11%
Blue Resources	-	-	15.72%	15.87%	15.76%	16.66%	16.66%	16.79%	16.79%	16.79%
Purple Resources	-	-	-	10.58%	10.32%	10.96%	11.19%	11.19%	11.19%	11.19%
Orange Resources	-	-	-	-	10.32%	10.96%	11.19%	11.19%	11.19%	11.19%

0 - 25	624 White Artifact Fragments
26 - 50	1,050 Green Artifact Fragments
51 - 70	790 Blue Artifact Fragments
71 - 85	555 Violet Artifact Fragments
86 - 100	555 Orange/Gold Artifact Fragments