Species: Elephante
Health: 273
Strength: 246
Defence: 235
Training Method: K-Quests primarily, although I think I'm going to have to toss some codestone training in there for the next little bit in order to get DEF caught up to STR. I have eventual lofty goals of hitting the 700 boost in everything and then training endurance forever. And ever and ever.
Budget: A non-issue. I make NP fairly quickly (about 15 million a month) and I'm not planning on upgrading my entire set at once.
Disclaimer: I work on a "boost then reward" system. Meaning - every time I hit a new Strength boost I'm "allowed" (my own rule) to upgrade one item from my set. I'm about to hit 250 boost for Strength so it's time to start thinking about the next upgrade. CLEARLY (once you see my set you'll know why) my next upgrade needs to be a shield. I can't decide between G-Shield and F-Tab. One minute I lean toward F-Tab because it'd combo so nicely with RotL. The next minute I lean toward G-Shield because, well...what do I need a full water-blocking shield for anyway?
Currently Packing:
1 - Plastic Butter Knife (haha. I think I'm funny.)
2 - Leaf Shield
3 - BOD
4 - BOD
5 - GFD
6 - DMB
7 - Elephante Unguent
8 - Downsize!
I do not need: A stealer - because I find it hard to believe that there are people out there who have something USEFUL in their first slot. Or a 100% freezer - I do mostly 2-player battling and the guild that I'm in has a "no 100% freezer" rule. For anybody to say "train your pet to 250 boost!" - because that means they didn't read my entire post.
What I want to know:
1 - G-Shield, F-Tab or something I haven't thought about?
2 - What should I upgrade the two BOD's and the DMB to - and in what order?
3 - Do I need a bomb? I feel like I don't since I don't do any freezing. But prove me wrong, I don't mind.
Thanks in advance.
1
My first thoughts are for you to invest in a Ring of the Lost. But you don't want to get one with G-shield and i'm thinking with all the effort put into training defence you will want to get one. If your only going to choose one upgrade to your set my vote is the G-shield (to replace Leaf Shield obviously).
2
The next one to upgrade is DMB. Dual BoD's fair well versus pretty much anything at your level, but as you won't be seeing NQ2 evil weapons alot and DMB can only deal 13 net icons in a best-case scenario, which is equal to your BoD's, it is time for it to go. Theres also alot of icon overlap with your DMB to your BoD's, not a good thing for 2p. Either go for a
Mask of Coltzan if your not getting a G-Shield or a
Pirate Captains Cutlass if you are.
I would then change one BoD for another weapon- a Sword of Skardsen could be very useful in certain situations.
3
I'll leave that for sombody else, i think it will still come in useful. Then again it isn't the most pertinent upgrade to your set if you don't want a freezer.
Also... switch your plastic butter knife to a (VERY) situational species weapon or a stealer (and put your second-worst weapon in your second slot in case you feel the urge to USE your stealer). It's just a waste of a slot to have the knife
so what if:
1 - at 250 boost I rewarded myself with G-Shield
2 - at 300 boost I sold G-Shield and bought F-Tab and RotL
3 - at 350 boost I ditched DMB for PCC
4 - at 400 boost I ditched one BOD for Slumberberry Potion (because I like those) and the other BOD for SoS
5 - at 450 boost I ditched downsize! for T-Tear
6 - at 500 boost I ditched Elephante Unguent for LEV
7 - at 550 boost I finally break down and buy G-Bomb for those days when I get a freeze from Slumberberry Potion
would that leave me well behind other 550 boosters (a year from now, why am I thinking that far in advance?) in terms of what my pet is packing? Or do you think the boost-then-reward system I've got going makes sense?
shuffle the slumberberry off past 500 boost, your not going to get TWO freezes out of it until your hp has gone cataclysmic.
nightwind - I'll consider that. My affection for Slumberberry Potion isn't so much about the potential to freeze more than once, though. It's because I cannot use a 100% freezer and this seems like the best option in terms of giving a -chance- to freeze while still attacking (ergo not wasting a turn) if you get my drift.
How often do you 2P Battle and how big is your guild?
If you plan to solely commit to just 2P battling within your guild then I can see why a 100% freeze isn't needed. However, a 100% is choice to have in 1P tournaments and wars and any 2P events not sponsored by your guild. Seeing a guild with that kind of policy is strange indeed. I'm more concerned on the survivability of your guild and sticking to it's principles like that. If the guild ever folds, you'd have to pick one up and rearrange long term goals.
Additionally, you'd be hard pressed if you fought against others outside your guild. Most battlers would generally agree on the no-freeze rule if its placed so you should be covered to some extent there. You'd get more battles with having one though.
As nice as a Slumberry Potion is, it won't be effective if you don't have a high hp:str ratio. Staying level with your other stats will even out wins or losses, though probably garner more losses than wins, than actually improving success percentage overall.
At 250str, you'd need atleast 400hp to work an S-Pot and that's bare minimum. Yet with your guild's rule and sticking with just battling your guild members then it would be seemingly perfect for you.
Going with a Ring of the Lost and Faerie Tabard would be rather nice. Though with every rise in strength boost, Ghostkershield would be better to have in place since fire and water would be seen less. Your main concern is air and earth where Gshield powers in defending to some degree. Matched with Triple Turbo Dryer would prime your defense and reflective capabilities. Switching to Pteri would also be prime once you've attained an LEV.
Building up your offenses is top priority. Your defense is only as strong as your offense. Even with a GFD included with dual BoD, it's not enough. Go straight to Pirates Captain Cutlass for your second upgrade. Keeping the Gshield would be in your best interest overall. Switching is unnecessary since the higher your boost, the less likely dark would be present and the 10icons that RoTL dishes out just slows you down when you should be dealing more.
SoS at 400boost in a 2P environment is a very bad move with just a dual offensive. The chances of your opponent packing an RoTL (if DEF deficient) or Gshield is highly likely. PCC + SoS even against a single boost-lowered DEF Gshield is enough to cut your entire offense to less than 50%. SoS is salvaged by being a tertiary weapon to get through Burrows. Otherwise, you shouldn't be using it much. If you plan on still getting the Slum-Pot then it would fit since your primary offense is air and water with a chance of ice.
Gbomb is an essential for any set that averages around 21 or so icons since Gbomb's minimum guarantee (undefended) is 21 icons. Thinking that it's only useful for freezes is...undermining it's purposes. The reason why freeze rounds are preferred for bombing is because your opponent has absolutely no means of defending themselves and a bomb maximizes damage. Even without a freeze the bomb is useful in many ways since it's the hardest hitting weapon in your arsenal. Matching it with Downsize! once your opponent has burrowed/sinked gives you a good shot close to using it on a freeze. In terms of the psychological aspect, one of the opponent's biggest concerns is avoiding or limiting damage from a bomb attack. Knowing your opponent doesn't have a bomb only brings smiles. Once they've known your set you're at a disadvantage right there. The same can be said if you have a bomb, yet with the bomb they still have to take major precautions since the timing is never the same.
You'll probably need to battle a lot outside of your guild to really get the feel for 2P. I'm not knocking your guild or anything but the best experience is against those outside the comfort zone. It'll be rough but you come out with a better understanding and ultimately an improvement in skill.
At 200-250str, you'd have quite a selection of opponents to face against.
I 2p Battle several times a day, and there are just shy of 50 members in the guild.
I'm not concerned about the survivability of the guild that I'm in. It's been together for a year now, and I've been there for about 10 months. There's a core group of people who have been there for at least 6 months, and a big sense of loyalty. We're not going anywhere.
The reason that I don't do 2-player outside of the guild is that nearly every time I DO fight someone from outside of the guild I get scroll potioned or something equally obnoxious. 1/3 of the people who hang out on BDC are jerks, 1/3 are morons, and I just don't have the patience to figure out who the remaining 1/3 of decent battlers are. Sounds snotty of me - but there you have it.
I think I agree with you on the SoS being a waste. I was never that big on it to begin with - but was at a loss in coming up with another heavy hitter.
I'm also considering the idea of Jhudora's Wand, if only because I come up against so much air. But I'm unsure about that - and I suppose I don't need to decide today because it'll be a LONG time before I get to that...since I have so many other upgrades to do and boosts to reach in the meantime.
I am keeping my stats relatively even until I hit 700 boost. Only then will I allow my HP to get significantly above the rest. As it is I already have to train level half a dozen times right now before I can start codestone training my DEF/STR again because K-Quests are so much kinder to HP than they are to anything else. So annoying.
True. Unfortunately the respectable age of the BD Chat passed away long ago. Lacking in majority are the primed strength-driven and honorable fighters of the day.
Make sure to note price changes when looking at high-end rare items like J-Wand. You rake in a good amount per month yet with each of those months the prices of certain weapons rises. Jwand is around 100-110m right now. Though I can't see it rising to 200m in 8mos or so, it'll certainly be a lot pricier.
GFD is nice because of variety and stacking up mono-icons. The problem is chance and reliability. Overall it's a nice option. You may want to look at Ultra Bubble Gun as well, or Carrot Blade if you want investment also. C-Blade will only go up from wherever it is now. It'll cost a heavy penny but works pretty well. I wish I had bought one when it wasn't retired...I opted for Gshield instead. The real prize in terms of strength is the Nox Blade. The mass dark against lupes is a bonus for a relatively "cheaper" cost. Pkiln still hangs in there in higher boosts by tearing up the holes in Gshield. You -could- also think Dual PCC for mass air penetration but dryers and air-full blocks become a major problem. I'd assume they'd be far more prevalent in higher boosts.
SoS is still a viable option but only in a triple-threat offensive.
I'd pitch Skarl's Sword to you as well if it was a financial option. I've battled against that weapon first hand several times and I'll tell you, it's a beauty even when used against you. Matching it with a Ghostkersword makes the mouth water.
Old habits die hard.
I am keeping my stats relatively even until I hit 700 boost. Only then will I allow my HP to get significantly above the rest. As it is I already have to train level half a dozen times right now before I can start codestone training my DEF/STR again because K-Quests are so much kinder to HP than they are to anything else. So annoying.
there's terror trove for levels. Scratch 5 a day and you'll make money on average, and gain a few levels too.
with more money to burn you can also scratch 5 spooky cards, the return there is less, and eats money rather then making it.
Yeah, I've been doing 5 terror trove scratchcards a day...little luck with those though. I pretty rarely get a level. Lots of Quiggle plushies, though.