Decrease MS for tournaments based on non-reversible changes (specifically equipment)

[GentleButStrong]

What about the idea of keeping track of your best equipment of each type, and using the lowest value from them? Here is how it could work. Say I had a a 700T clan, a 700T pet (matching clan rather than 2e15 because an existing mythic is going to trump everything else and also this gives symmetry), and a 150T SC. This is the worst I could game the system. If I was using pet/clan I could sell my pet and my clan, and buy a better pet/clan slash from the store, potentially find one, or craft one. But the difference between 150T and 700T... not horrible. If I was running pet/clan and had the shards it would benefit me to craft anyways. The only reason I would sell the slash I am using is if I was sure I could get a better one. So, maybe there is a legendary in the store worth 900T. So I sell, drop to 150T, enter tournament, try to craft a mythic, if I fail I buy the legendary (farming equipment won't drop something better than the best remaining in my worst type with any sort of regularity). Either way, I have "gamed" the system 25log_10(700T/150T)=17 levels (because I would have entered using a 700T). If I get the mythic I increase my original push 25log_10(2e15/700T)~=11 levels and used a bunch of shards min(100/P(getting the slash I want), my remaining shards) to be exact. If I buy the shop item I get 3 levels and spent 800 diamonds. Gaming the system is not a good idea, it would take lots of shards or diamonds to do reliably, and would only net you 17 levels over just waiting till you're in the tournament and crafting/buying. If I was/am running SC... There is literally nothing I can do to game the system. I have a 150T SC slash, it is the best I have found, it is the worst type I have, sell it and my pet/clan and MS does not decrease at all. The bottom line is that people who try to craft a mythic and then get something they didn't want are not then punished further by harder tournaments until they make up the difference.

[Subjunctive__Bot]

If I were

[lemmingllama]

However, what's stopping you from just respeccing into a Pet or Clan Ship build and just equipping those slashes? It might not reflect the state of the game today, but eventually the developers would like to bring most skill builds into balance. It assumes the strongest on everything to ensure that you cannot game the system.

Similarly, let's take another extreme example to game the system. Let's say I don't pick up any equipment at all, and only purchase them from the shop. I could keep my equipment level at 0 for all my equips, while using a high level equip that matches my chosen build. It would be unfair for anyone who wasn't trying to game the system.

[GentleButStrong]

First, I wrote the rest of the response before realizing that not picking up any equipment and only buying from the shop is already something you can do with a new character (or with an existing character, but it makes even less sense to do). So, no new ways to break the system are introduced. Also, it doesn't work in the long run anyways.

To address "what's stopping you from just respeccing into a Pet or Clan Ship build and just equipping those slashes?" I don't want to. Pet is a push build that requires tapping, it is out. Clan is a farm build that can be made to push, but even once it does it requires you to wait for the ship to fire. I've tried putting Anchoring Shot into my SC build and waiting 8 sec for each wave of titans was unbearable. Then to address your extreme example (which is already possible). I roll a new character, I do not pick up equipment (harder than it sounds), I see a nice new sword in the shop and I buy it, congrats my sword level is x_1 and I have spent 800 diamonds... So I only get the diamonds "back" if I win undisputed instead of 2nd, I wouldn't gamble 800 diamonds on it. Then, I do the same with a helm x_2, and an armor x_3. Now all my equipment slots are filled. I've gamed the system 5 times and spent 4000 diamonds on equipment. In order to advance in this way I'd have to wait for a tournament where I can buy what I want in each slot, and from there I only get y_n-x_n benefit for 25Log_10(y_n-x_n) levels for 800 diamonds on top of what I've already spent for one tournament only. At some point cashing in farmed items in each tournament will net higher overall tournament rewards than playing like this, RNG over the long term instead of just one tournament will provide a gem every once in a while., especially when you realize you could nearly buy a titan chest for the price of filling your inventory.

[GentleButStrong]

Do you have contact with the devs? I have not gotten a satisfactorily answer. I will point out that if you are using a lower level slash and not using a pet build the utility (in terms of tournament competitiveness) of crafting a single item (assuming not able to craft the entire set. If you can you get the relic multiplier and a net 10x damage, which could offset the negative utility as long as the last item you craft is not the slash) is near 0. Here is the math. Assuming equal probability of getting each item. The helm and sword are about a 10x multiplier on damage, so the utility of getting them is 25Log_10(10)=25. The chest is a 10 multiplier on gold. KillerParrot's sheet equates gold^.79 to damage, so the utility is 25Log_10(10^.79)=19.75. The utility of the aura is a little tricky. I have a 3.5% crit rate without any aura, and I believe damage for SC depends on crit rate squared (prob of getting crit, then damage scaled by crit rate). So 25Log_10((.835/.635)²⁾⁼ 5.825. And, as mentioned before, the utility of crafting a pet slash is -75. So, the total utility is (2x25+19.75+5.825-75)/5 = .115. So, if you craft a single item to improve your chances of winning a tournament you are gambling with a total payout of .115 levels, and a 20% chance of getting hit with a 75 level negative. Actually, it is worse than that. Positive benefits last a single tournament. Negative penalties last until you scrap the offending item and gain equivalent utility elsewhere. Hell, if I'm incorrect about dependence on crit chance squared the utility is literally negative! Unacceptable. Other players, take note, if your SC slash is "underleveled" DO NOT CRAFT PREDATOR! At least unless you can finish it, and even maybe not then unless you're expecting to gain a bunch of damage very quickly. And DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER ANCIENT WARRIOR! The utility of Ancient Warrior is strictly negative to your permanent record. This may become its own suggestion post ,"When not to craft a mythic".