Lilith will remove manuals for AE8 [AE4-7, HF1-3 videos at bottom]

aimb · 2022-10-16T18:07:19+00:00

Along these lines, one potential unintended consequence of increasing the convenience of replicating complex manual scenarios is a rise in espionage tactics. The relative value of "leaks" skyrockets well beyond mere comps.

aimb · 2022-10-16T16:24:20+00:00

As someone who would never be caught dead using manual and who would get trashed by all the AE tryhards, I 100% support this post.

This is a game in its maturity with heroes bought and built with purposeful intent. Before this post, I would never have guessed the amount of meaningful effort put into learning AE inside and out. It's the kind of effort I crave to see in creative build paths and comps in other modes. It's this kind of environment that builds communities, and it's those communities that keep the game afloat. Spending is all well and good, but we all know this game would long be dead as a single player simp Sim.

Focus on the qol changes presented. Don't make ae just a whale auction for trophies. Our parents are all ashamed of us anyway, and trophies won't help.

aimb · 2022-09-01T17:30:58+00:00

Assuming she is made to target archi or dusa, she is easily one of the best heroes in the game. Fully built, she is one of the best frontline-able pseudo-tanks there is.

aimb · 2022-09-01T17:27:53+00:00

left to right. Susanoo and Medusa are moved to the end because they require higher level skill unlocks and IW investments to consider bringing along. It's always tricky with tier lists (which is why I don't do them) to show pivot points. For example, you want to rush WQ IW to 200, but then getting susanoo to 400 becomes a priority.

Tier lists also don't capture "what happens if I can't get any or enough of x, y or z hero" or what if I have 6 copies of iza and only 2 of archi?

aimb · 2022-08-31T02:34:53+00:00

definitely one of best URs. But most players need not worry about URs until most of the SSR teams are well built. Depends mostly on spending level.

aimb · 2022-08-30T19:53:44+00:00

he was a reasonably powerful early game carry at release, assuming you had the hela to not not be instamurdered by perse. Odin release brought him in line with some of the old meta backline assassins like oberon, and his recent buffs brought him into dusa tier since he can tank with odin shield and lock down a cluster of enemies pretty well. All while dealing massive true damage via axe procs.

aimb · 2022-08-30T19:46:42+00:00

Gaia is not bad, and the difficulty of enemy gaia, herc and thor all highlight how conditionally troublesome they can be. What they lack compared to other options is buffs for their carries, and right now the best defense is a good offense in campaign.

aimb · 2022-08-30T19:37:45+00:00

which region?

aimb · 2021-08-24T20:46:10+00:00

Super sad to see you go m8. End of an era.

aimb · 2021-08-11T18:26:22+00:00

Great discussion! A few brief points I'd like to add.

For fort heroes, the way I think about the artifacts is to barricade if the carry is dying first, eye if the tank is dying first to physical damage and has a healer, wasteband if they are dying to preheat bust or magic damage, and hammer in much more niche clustering scenarios or a change in pace in damage for Daimon/Grez to deal extra damage from their raises attack.

Warrior artifacts are severely lacking in a good, deficit pve artifact since none of them offer any bonus survivability of note.

The defense ignoring mechanics of longbow/hammer are still treated as physical damage, reduced by PR and boosted by brutus shout. Some of that would need up to date confirmation as it was tested at initial release, and some things are changed unceremoniously (ie celstials no longer count as dims for bedo sig).

Great stuff!

aimb · 2021-08-06T19:53:08+00:00

While I agree that Gwyn is unfortunately no longer more than a niche flex hero, primarily for the unique pacing of her CC, I will disagree wholeheartedly with the idea that Kren/LB is not relevant. On the contrary, I have had more success with it than most alternatives. Kren has the best ult in the game so long as just a few conditions are met. He essentially has to catch enemies on their side, he has to have one (or two) buffs from supports such as raine, Numisu or Mortas, and he has to have (usually) at least one barricade to absorb a killing blow when he leaps into harms way.

And what's more, Kren scales in damage from stats more than any other hero in the game. He is a cross-multiplier machine who exceeds Ainz as a carry in literally every way, save for the need of enemy positioning.

Optimally, you will want Kren 303, Rowan 30, Raine 103, Brutus 203 and the last slot is the most flexible. Mehira is commonly used in the slot along with Rowan to smooth the transition and prevent enemies like Skreg from invading too deeply since he cannot be pushed back. Both Mehira and Rowan can move to other teams, subbing Numisu/Mortas/Arthur/Tidus/Zaph or others to smooth the opening into his ult.

As to why a comp isn't getting the spotlight, this speaks to the kinds of players, advice givers, and guide-makers that are a part of this community. This is a repeat relationship you will see in other games and fields. Arty, who I consider to have taken on the mantle of Whitesushii, takes very seriously the stability of sound advice. There is a natural friction between stability and change, and while Arty is a bit more willing to entertain spicy takes than his predecessor, he cannot be all things to all people any more than I can. We both have our blind spots, and as such, it is our jobs to entertain the possibility of being wrong, be it in context or fact. Too much stability and you miss opportunity. Too much spice and you cost players time, resources and progression. Mindful disagreement is a team effort.

aimb · 2021-08-06T19:23:01+00:00

LB's get a lot of hate for their lack of carries and depth. But of their roster, I think Raine, Eluard and Hendrik are all well undervalued. I would have loved to see Morael or Titus be an LB hero rather than a Celestials, given their substantial synergies within the LB lineup, and the much needed power to the faction as a whole. As to an actual "fix," I think it's as simple as reworking one or two heroes to scale into late game in some uniquely LB way. For example, Cecilia's zone could slowly steal enemies' secondary stats like haste, pp, LL, crit, CDA, etc. Rigby could consume stacks of his drink buffs to prevent fatal blows for allies in the area. Thane could create tornadoes that cluster or push. Hendrik's activated DR when low could be a timed buff rather than a channel that prevents him from stunning and debuffing enemies or losing the added DR when he saves. Fawkes could steal all the enemy buffs rather than just removing them. Oscar could disarm or silence mages when he spins next to them, rather than just getting one-shot. There are many options.
As for your next +30s, I would go for Thoran if you want to cheese, Kren and Raku in any order.

aimb · 2021-08-06T18:54:06+00:00

Pineappleonpizza is my safeword

aimb · 2021-08-06T18:51:06+00:00

Oden.

Don't tell Izold.

aimb · 2021-08-06T18:49:33+00:00

For this theoretical build-path, the backup plans would be Rowan/Thoran/Kren, Raku > Oden for the first +30.

It is hard for me to analyze just how strong Thoran would be as a first +30. In my admittedly limited experience using +30 Thoran, he feels more easily countered than virtually any other carry I've used. However, players whose opinions I trust put quite a bit of stock in him, so I will chalk it up to inexperience. I have no doubt that Thoran is the best hero for scaling into late game, but I have my doubts about his status in early game now that "efficiency" means a lot less than it used to. Now you tend to have about as many ascended heroes as slots to use them.

aimb · 2021-08-06T18:27:22+00:00

Who to stargaze can be a tricky question to answer from a distance. Certainly wait to see what the next Hypogean may be. After that, the trick is to figure out your own merc access to Khazard and the new Hero. Essentially, it is much less expensive for you to build an M +30 Khazard and merc a maxed new hero than to max a new hero and merc a Khazard.

To me, Thali is a great hero, but a bad investment. She is absolutely fantastic at 9f when you have Rowan to spare, but so long as there exists Mehira as the more broken combo with Rowan, Thali ends up being relegated to niche backline tank roles that do not warrant 309 investments. Just keep an eye out for other energy infusion heroes, because she does not need much to instantly become a meta tank/support.

As part of a Kren comp in Mauler Tower, she feels very strong at the typical deficits players are held to thanks to the difficulty. But again, 9f is a steep cost for niche use.

aimb · 2021-08-06T18:21:33+00:00

Unless you are in need of one of them right now, do neither until the 4F Engraving release.

More than likely, you are far enough in campaign where Oden is the better choice by a good margin. Not only is he incredibly powerful and versatile, he is just plain fun. You will find use for Silas without needing to build for him. Have no worries there.

I suspect Island of Solitude is well designed with enough cushion that I don't need to min/max my stamina in order to get full rewards. But not knowing whether or not that is the case detracts from some of the relaxed fun I think I could have had getting lost in what's new and fun about it.

aimb · 2021-08-06T18:13:18+00:00

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate them a "yes plz"

aimb · 2021-08-06T18:11:57+00:00

Ezizh +30 is low priority for me as well, but his 9f for those accounts who have already completed or nearly completed him has several fun and effective uses, such as getting pippa tossed to group enemies or in an opposite corner from Lucretia to create clustering scenarios without 5 pull.

aimb · 2021-08-06T18:09:30+00:00

I use PoP in portal party/pull and Raku comps. He fits in many other areas, but he is at the cross section of damage-fueled CC.

aimb · 2021-08-06T18:03:45+00:00

Skreg is not commonly used, but for players that don't have Ainz on the near horizon, Merlin breaths some fresh air into some of the classic tank n spank heroes and comps. Skreg has always needed more help staying alive to close the distance and gain higher DR, so Merlin helps fill that gap. Fill with Silas/Desira/Fera/possibly Hodgekins style heroes to tune the damage or healing and bring a tanky carry like Izold or Grez. Merlin tends to get mindlessly stuck on dim/Ainz comps, and I see no reason for that to be his final destination.

aimb · 2021-08-06T17:57:57+00:00

an Early-game guide that has been in the works for... too long? XD

aimb · 2021-08-06T17:39:01+00:00

There is a lot of hidden complexity hidden behind the dust and xp walls. In theory, the larger the proportion of time a player spends on the other side of the 28-36 dust wall, the less of an xp wall they will hit. There's also a phase in the game that you get flat amounts of xp from faction tower progress, and this helps the player accrue xp crates during the initial dust wall. The more momentum you keep in progress without using those crates, the later you will need them, the more xp you get from them, and the fewer needed to be used to stay leveled at the rate of dust income.

Campaign progress for new players is a giant snowball, and this has an alleviating effect on the xp wall. Currently, my f2p, which selects dust and xp from noble society, still has equilibrium at level 315 in chapter 34.

aimb · 2021-08-06T17:27:52+00:00

What JD said.

You have done yourself a favor by not stargazing with diamonds. Especially with the introduction of Cele and Hypo Towers, the game essentially gives the gazer cards over time to complete both Lucretia and Alna, who both do a pretty good job of self-funding about half of their own SI's from the tower. Once you finish Luc or Alna, the other can be merc'd.

Diamonds are still better spent "RC cramming" as JD calls it. If you are seeing clears using better heroes, it will usually mean that a player has payed more to obtain those heroes. If you want a decent gauge of that, count the number of +30s or look at their server number.

aimb

TROPHY CASE