Tier 20 Base Economy now fully upgraded, Vault is 45.23M, Supply is 1.63M, Diamond production is 364.12K/Hr.
What were those final upgrade costs on your 20.5 CHITON? I'm thinking 15M (4th column) and 20M (5th column) ... I am hoping that the costs do not rise too much for this 20.5 HEAVY.
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
I thought it was 834.73K ... no matter, they are leveling out now and steady above 700K. I'll tell you again, your game and mine are very similar +/- a few hundred GOLD bars
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
I thought it was 834.73K ... no matter, they are leveling out now and steady above 700K. I'll tell you again, your game and mine are very similar +/- a few hundred GOLD bars
My bad, you are entirely correct. I didn't go far enough in my battle log. I have 834.73K, 829.93K, 829.88K, 826.64K, and 829.53K.
I have 35 minutes until Level 3 Economy Upgrade is finished, it will be interesting to see where it goes to.
OK so we have more than a day under our belts under TIER 20, and I wanted to share some interesting statistics.
The original premise that at least 2 x Global Events will be required to upgrade the base is spot on and rock solid. This assumes that the average vault take is 700K; I've observed the following break downs:
... LONG RANGE Battles using the 20.0 NOMAD (15%) and 19.5 BETELGEUSE (100%) started out averaging 650K. Once I decided to upgrade the NOMAD, currently at 80%, that average climbed to 700K.
... SHORT RANGE Battles which were once completed in 60 seconds (or less) are now averaging 90-120 seconds. I attribute this partly because as we progress battles get tougher, but more towards the health boost (which works both ways) and the other HIGH base defense values. The vaults are averaging much more than the LONG RANGE Battles since I am routinely getting 750K+ vault payouts. Also most of the many 800K+ payouts have come from SHORT RANGE Battles.
... The number of skipped battles (in deference to higher vault payouts), has noticeably dropped since the defense base has reached 40% and the NOMAD was upgraded to 80% power. From an average of 4-5 skips to 1-2 skipped battles to get a 700K vault. Either way the payouts are so much greater than the penalty for skipping, that it is irrelevant. Speed ALWAYS counts when in the heat of PvP battle.
All in all the game is much more enjoyable because it's more challenging. I should reach 50% upgraded on the defense base sometime DAY #2 or DAY #3 of the Global; somewhat ahead of schedule but accurately predicted. A TOP 30 finish would afford me the luxury of upgrading that weapon during next week's League Events and prepare for the next competitive Global.
If I can fully upgrade the base, along with this HEAVY weapon, within a two week timeframe, then I will be able to kick back, choose my battles and resume drone development.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I have a personal self imposed limit on daily game play of 12 hours TOPS. Firstly, like most I hope, I have other pressing responsibilities (like a job) and philosophically I cannot allow myself to spend more than half my life playing a game Assuming that TIER 21 and beyond will become increasingly more challenging, the next few weeks could be my last (on a competitive level).
I figure that once I decide to stop competing, I may have 1-2 more tiers before the game will become unplayable. It's been a good run; March will mark 1 year since I started. Maybe that is a good time to walk away :cool:
I've enjoyed your comradery and it's been my pleasure to have known you all.
Good Luck and Good Hunting !!!
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
OK so we have more than a day under our belts under TIER 20, and I wanted to share some interesting statistics.
The original premise that at least 2 x Global Events will be required to upgrade the base is spot on and rock solid. This assumes that the average vault take is 700K; I've observed the following break downs:
... LONG RANGE Battles using the 20.0 NOMAD (15%) and 19.5 BETELGEUSE (100%) started out averaging 650K. Once I decided to upgrade the NOMAD, currently at 80%, that average climbed to 700K.
... SHORT RANGE Battles which were once completed in 60 seconds (or less) are now averaging 90-120 seconds. I attribute this partly because as we progress battles get tougher, but more towards the health boost (which works both ways) and the other HIGH base defense values. The vaults are averaging much more than the LONG RANGE Battles since I am routinely getting 750K+ vault payouts. Also most of the many 800K+ payouts have come from SHORT RANGE Battles.
... The number of skipped battles (in deference to higher vault payouts), has noticeably dropped since the defense base has reached 40% and the NOMAD was upgraded to 80% power. From an average of 4-5 skips to 1-2 skipped battles to get a 700K vault. Either way the payouts are so much greater than the penalty for skipping, that it is irrelevant. Speed ALWAYS counts when in the heat of PvP battle.
Good Luck and Good Hunting !!!
You have stated a number of times that our games are very similar, which I have to agree with you. I am finding the same statistics to be true concerning our game play.
We are drawing similar vaults and the 750K+ average vault is spot on. The only difference in my case, is due to my weapons, I have not fought a SR battle in almost a week.
My long range weapons are a 21.0 FOX SNIPER (15% upgraded/111.15M power) and 19.5 BETELGEUSE TESLA (80% upgraded/81M power). My short range weapons are 18.5 MISTLETOE ASSAULT (95% upgraded/29.36M power) and a 19.5 SHEOL HEAVY (80% upgraded/63.18M power).
What I am finding is my SR Vaults are running in the 300K to 550K range, while my LR Vaults are running in the 550K to 834K range. All of my 800K+ vaults have been LR. Due to the low SR payouts, I am skipping 8-10 battles looking for a 700K+ vault. As you said, the cost of skipping is so small in relationship to the vault sizes, it is of no consequence. I have calculated the numbers, and if I skip 20 battles, I have spent less than 20K looking for a battle.
Now that I have maxed my Base Economy, I think that the next thing that I will do, is upgraded my FOX SNIPER, to see what difference that will make in my vault size.
You have stated a number of times that our games are very similar, which I have to agree with you. I am finding the same statistics to be true concerning our game play.
We are drawing similar vaults and the 750K+ average vault is spot on. The only difference in my case, is due to my weapons, I have not fought a SR battle in almost a week.
My long range weapons are a 21.0 FOX SNIPER (15% upgraded/111.15M power) and 19.5 BETELGEUSE TESLA (80% upgraded/81M power). My short range weapons are 18.5 MISTLETOE ASSAULT (95% upgraded/29.36M power) and a 19.5 SHEOL HEAVY (80% upgraded/63.18M power).
What I am finding is my SR Vaults are running in the 300K to 550K range, while my LR Vaults are running in the 550K to 834K range. All of my 800K+ vaults have been LR. Due to the low SR payouts, I am skipping 8-10 battles looking for a 700K+ vault. As you said, the cost of skipping is so small in relationship to the vault sizes, it is of no consequence. I have calculated the numbers, and if I skip 20 battles, I have spent less than 20K looking for a battle.
Now that I have maxed my Base Economy, I think that the next thing that I will do, is upgraded my FOX SNIPER, to see what difference that will make in my vault size.
Upgrading the FOX should be a priority. I know you once preferred LR battles because of video related problems in SR battles (I don't now if that is still the case). If your intention is to fight LR exclusively
(1 of every 5 battles or less are shorts) then upgrading your LR weapons is a must ... the vaults will noticeably increase.
Just keep in mind that the larger the vaults, the tougher the opponent. So far I haven't met a match for the BETELGEUSE, but my SNIPER is only 20.0 ... so when upgrading the FOX, do it incrementally until you reach that 7-8 charges needed to kill the JUGG using the TESLA. Once you find yourself needing 9-10 charges, the TESLA will need to be replaced.
I know having a Super VIP weapon is probably new to you, but your upgrades need to be in sync just like everything else. You don't want to draw too many 21.0 opponents because you're fighting using only a 19.5. Two power ratings difference is usually all that a TESLA can effectively bridge.
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Upgrading the FOX should be a priority. I know you once preferred LR battles because of video related problems in SR battles (I don't now if that is still the case). If your intention is to fight LR exclusively (1 of every 5 battles or less are shorts) then upgrading your LR weapons is a must ... the vaults will noticeably increase.
Just keep in mind that the larger the vaults, the tougher the opponent. So far I haven't met a match for the BETELGEUSE, but my SNIPER is only 20.0 ... so when upgrading the FOX, do it incrementally until you reach that 7-8 charges needed to kill the JUGG using the TESLA. Once you find yourself needing 9-10 charges, the TESLA will need to be replaced.
I know having a Super VIP weapon is probably new to you, but your upgrades need to be in sync just like everything else. You don't want to draw too many 21.0 opponents because you're fighting using only a 19.5. Two power ratings difference is usually all that a TESLA can effectively bridge.
You are correct. At one time, due to video problems, I HAD to fight only LR battles. As recently as last week, it did not matter what kind of battle. SR or LR, I fought them all.
Since I strapped on the FOX SNIPER, that changed to I was fighting mostly LR battles. When I first strapped on the FOX, I did notice that, during a SR battle, I had to pay more attention to the Sniper Elite opponents. Their head shots were doing massive amounts of damage. So, I had to pay attention to what I was doing.
Looking back in my Battle Log, I have discovered something interesting. In my last 300 battles, I have fought only 1 RL player, outside the Clan Wars. So that makes 299 Bots. Since Tier 20 was released 4 days ago, I have fought approximately 200 battles and they have all been LR battles. As long as the large vaults remain being LR battles, I will be fighting only LR.
Since the opponents are all bots, right now, it takes no more than 20 - 25 seconds to win a LR battle. Next time that I only need around 4 or 500K to finish filling the my vault, I will make a point of it to fight a SR battle and I will report my finding. But, as I recall, SR battles were completed in less than a minute and with very little health lost.
I will keep in mind your tip about the number of charges needed to defeat a Juggernaut, but for the most part, defeating both Juggernaut, during a LR battle, is not part of my routine. Using your multi-kill tip, I usually am able to take out both the Sentry and a Juggernaut, with one shot.
Then I usually ignore the 2nd Juggernaut and I am ducked behind cover, while waiting to locate the Boss. Once I know where the Boss is, I will pop up and take out the Boss. There is usually, at least the Juggernaut, the Drone, and 2-3 Elites still on the board, when the Boss goes down.
Since the opponents are all bots, right now, it takes no more than 20 - 25 seconds to win a LR battle. Next time that I only need around 4 or 500K to finish filling the my vault, I will make a point of it to fight a SR battle and I will report my finding. But, as I recall, SR battles were completed in less than a minute and with very little health lost.
That was yesterday short battles are now taking me 90-120 seconds (no medkits) as opposed to the customary 60 seconds. These battles are decidedly tougher, so stay frosty.
My new record high vault take is now 843.83K with many more topping 800K (LONG or SHORT). I've just maxed out my 20.0 NOMAD at 100% so I may see even better payouts.
Since I'm using (rather NOT using) a boat anchor as a HEAVY (18.5 SPANISH BOOT), I expect that the vaults will get even bigger once I acquire this 20.5 HEAVY.
BUT ... one step at a time, we still have roughly 300 MILLION DIAMONDS to win to complete the base upgrades :(:( I'll be posting statistics on that soon once I get to 50%.
I've got to remember to start closing contracts; I'm still at Level 185 ... JEEZ
We throw around numbers like 100s of millions and billions like we're Donald Trump. It must be nice to have F-U money Trump and Bloomberg ... only in NYC, maybe LA too ... LOL
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Scorpion, I am just catching up on my postings: Level 20 upgrades, 5.91M, 8.27M, 11.23M, 14.75M, don't know last level yet
Level 21 upgrades: 13.30M, 18.62M, 25.27M
Scorpion, I am just catching up on my postings: Level 20 upgrades, 5.91M, 8.27M, 11.23M, 14.75M, don't know last level yet
Level 21 upgrades: 13.30M, 18.62M, 25.27M
Cool :cool: the 20.5 weapons costs are about what I expected, so the 5th column should be about 20M. The 21.5 weapons costs appear to have more than doubled, so we're talking 4 x 50M diamonds to upgrade the 5th column.
If TIER 21's DEFENSE BASE costs are equal to TIER 20's (no increase at all), we can add another ...
400 MILLION DIAMONDS (21.5 WEAPON) to the already 600 MILLION DIAMONDS (BASE) and that brings us to the incredible grand total of ... drum roll please :):) ...
***** ONE (1) BILLION DIAMONDS per cycle just to have a fighting chance at staying current *****
So this is it boys and girls. It's time to take off the gloves, join the fight and burn EVERYTHING ... GOLD ... CASH ... burn it all !!!
Have some REAL fun while you still can.
I would rant some more, but I'm in the battle of a lifetime and having a ball !!!
What the hell, I think I might need to scratch the GOLD LEAGUE off my "bucket list" while the desire to do so is still aflame.
*** SMILES ***
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Here is a quick statistical summary regarding BASE DEFENSE upgrade costs @ TIER 20, as well as the effort required.
I finally completed all BASE ECONOMY and PLAYER HEALTH upgrades this morning. This would represent 50% of the required updates to fully upgrade the TIER 20 base and enable a player to be prepared for and move on to TIER 21.
Playing for 12 HOURS per day for the first 2 days of the HEAVY Global Event is the absolute minimum game play effort. I found this would support a 50% base, along with several minor weapons upgrades along the way.
A minimal PvP effort required is roughly 250 PvP Victories, 6,250 AP and approximately 1,200 GOLD.
If your actual average vault take is 700K, this effort would net you just 175 MILLION DIAMONDS ... in the ballpark, but you'll need to do a little better to be able to complete base upgrades within a 2 x Global Event window as well as acquire AND upgrade 2 x 20.5 weapons within the TIER 20 cycle.
More victories and more hours of game play per day, in combination with better vault payouts would be prescribed to meet this "fundamental" goal using less GOLD.
All of this combined would enable a player to still compete for FREE, but the effort required would be a phenomenal one that would test the limits of a player's stamina and perseverance.
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Ok, final numbers are in. 50 battles were completed while the FOX SNIPER was being upgraded. These number were as follows: 775.91K Average Vault, 15 vaults were 800K+, Highest Vault was 840.49K, Smallest Vault was 707.54K.
I am currently waiting for the upgrade to 95% to complete. The final Diamond upgrade will be 42.56M. I am not sure if I will complete that upgrade.
Ok, final numbers are in. 50 battles were completed while the FOX SNIPER was being upgraded. These number were as follows: 775.91K Average Vault, 15 vaults were 800K+, Highest Vault was 840.49K, Smallest Vault was 707.54K.
I am currently waiting for the upgrade to 95% to complete. The final Diamond upgrade will be 42.56M. I am not sure if I will complete that upgrade.
CONCERNED, 42.56M diamonds is somewhat difficult to swallow, but the weapon will undoubtedly pay for itself 100 fold ... how will we ever get past TIER21? Well the FOX pretty much guarantees 2 solid months of huge vaults.
Add another 21.x weapon and you will see 900K vaults I think, with 1M just down the tracks.
Great progress BUT bad news, as you and BRAD have indicated the costs for the 21.x weapons are extremely expensive (funny money aside). Couple that with these astronomical defense base upgrades and ... well you get the picture.
They've increased costs, but they have also increased payouts. The bottom line is that GLU still comes out way ahead since it will take twice as many PvP battles (consequently 2x the number of diamonds) to perform TIER 20 upgrades as opposed to TIER 19. This translates into twice as long to accomplish the same tasks; what took a week now takes two.
I have a tendency to step over the line every so often, but this is of real concern this time around ...
TIER 21 (and beyond) will be problematic for high rollers, extremely expensive for moderate spenders and near impossible for freebie players to keep up and stay current.
Will GLU perform a cost rollback? I can't answer that, but they've done it in the past. I guess it boils down to whether they intended to create a high roller's paradise OR simply want to finally kill this game.
Only time will tell, I suppose.
By the way ... (after 15 hours of procrastination) ...
... at 06:43 AM EST, I qualified for the GOLD LEAGUE :cool: which states a lot more than the obvious.
Good Luck and Good Hunting !!!
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Sir Brad ("The Machine" is a better description) how are things on your end? Haven't heard much from you other than a few upgrade cost reports.
I have a general question about the GOLD LEAGUE ... what do you guys compete for every week? Different weapons ... better drone parts ... better milestones ... GOLD is supposed to be better than SILVER right? LOL
Just wondering what are the chances of winning this HEAVY in the GLOBAL and ...
... winning a different "type" of weapon in the GOLD LEAGUE.
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
CONCERNED, 42.56M diamonds is somewhat difficult to swallow, but the weapon will undoubtedly pay for itself 100 fold ... how will we ever get past TIER21? Well the FOX pretty much guarantees 2 solid months of huge vaults.
Add another 21.x weapon and you will see 900K vaults I think, with 1M just down the tracks.
Great progress BUT bad news, as you and BRAD have indicated the costs for the 21.x weapons are extremely expensive (funny money aside). Couple that with these astronomical defense base upgrades and ... well you get the picture.
They've increased costs, but they have also increased payouts. The bottom line is that GLU still comes out way ahead since it will take twice as many PvP battles (consequently 2x the number of diamonds) to perform TIER 20 upgrades as opposed to TIER 19. This translates into twice as long to accomplish the same tasks; what took a week now takes two.
I have a tendency to step over the line every so often, but this is of real concern this time around ...
TIER 21 (and beyond) will be problematic for high rollers, extremely expensive for moderate spenders and near impossible for freebie players to keep up and stay current.
...
...
Good Luck and Good Hunting !!!
Scorpion,
I calculate the same thing. My FOX will take me in to Tier 22. If as you say, the game lasts this long.
One good thing is that even after all of the upgrading, I still have not faced a RL player, most players empty their vault, before the log off. All of these vaults have been against Bots.
Against a RL player I would be facing a Level 200 Juggernaut. I just intentionally fought SR battle. It was against a Bot and he had only a Level 180 Juggernaut. The vault was worth 306.52K.
My next battle was a LR battle. It was the 3rd battle offered. The first two battles were SR, for 306.52K and 543.76K. This battle was against a Bot and the vault was 779.71K. The Juggernaut was Level 190. This is the reason way I have been fighting only LR Battles. Until I can upgrade my SR weapons, the vaults a just too small.
Who would have ever thought that 500K vault would be too small to fight for?
My BETELGEUSE mowing down the competition, still. I have been watching, lately, and it still only takes 4-5 charges to take down the Bot Juggernaut. This gives me plenty of time to wait on that TESLA upgrade.
My immediate need is to upgrade my 18.5 MISTLETOE ASSAULT, but I have time on that too. I am currently sitting at level 189 with all of the TELSA mission to go. So, I can easily max my player level with out doing any SR Missions.
One of the side effects of owning a weapon that exceeds the prevailing TIER (a VIP weapon, for example) OR upgrading your base and weapons faster than the average player is that you will most assuredly always face bots.
Anyone who has similar weapons is actively playing, so it's extremely rare that you will face them in battle.
The ultimate effect is fewer skipped battles and closer high/low ranges with regards to payouts. It makes planning your objectives easier and your progress more predictable.
There's more to buying into VIP than obtaining better weapons ... it changes and enhances your entire approach to the game; many times actually making it more enjoyable. It also, obviously, shields you from GLU scheduling S.N.A.F.Us, screw-ups, delays, cancellations, etc. because not mater what GLU does, you already have your weapon.
ENJOY the RIDE !!!
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Even with my current setup, I am being matched against 1-2 RL players per battle. But, their vaults are never large enough for me to press the Attack Button.
I can tell when I am going to be matched against a RL player, because the stutters and slows down while loading the battle. It take as much as 5-10 seconds to load a RL player. Bots will load almost immediately.
But you are right that I seldom face RL players with similar weapons. The RL players that I do draw, for the most part, have decided that upgrading their drone is not part of their battle strategy. In addition, a lot of,them are playing this game without a HEAVY and/or a TESLA.
I tip my hat to these players, because there is no way that I could or would fight without a TESLA.
I rarely see anything but a Bot, and when I do, the Vaults are not the 720K+ I am looking for. The Vaults are big, but Base upgrade is proceeding very slowly. My Base is 75.37M, with 10 of 16 upgrades. I will finish the Base weapons upgrades, then return to the Drone before finishing Player Health upgrades, which add a depressing 0.06% increase to Player Health.
I rarely see anything but a Bot, and when I do, the Vaults are not the 720K+ I am looking for. The Vaults are big, but Base upgrade is proceeding very slowly. My Base is 75.37M, with 10 of 16 upgrades. I will finish the Base weapons upgrades, then return to the Drone before finishing Player Health upgrades, which add a depressing 0.06% increase to Player Health.
I take a slightly different path when performing base upgrades. For me, SENTRIES and GUARDS upgrades are totally meaningless since I'll never be attacked. So BE comes first and then the paltry PH.
Depressing YES ... but necessary to advance ... believe me I've pondered what effects NOT upgrading the base might spawn; as a matter of fact I've hypothetically imagined what a life with no upgrades might look like.
Assuming that competition means nothing to you and blasting away at targets is what you'd prefer, one could make a case for grabbing the latest high powered weapons and forget the base entirely. Of course without upgrading the base, vault size is limited, but diamond production becomes irrelevant since you'll never use the diamonds anyway.
So here's the caveat (there's always a catch) upgrading your weapons are only possible using GOLD and CASH which might become a rather expensive way of playing the game BUT if you're a high roller who routinely scores 30,000 AP a Global, money expenditures is probably of no concern anyways.
I'd probably recommend an AK-47 and a visit to the range to exercise those demons :cool:
*** SMILES ***
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Scorpion, I am just catching up on my postings: Level 20 upgrades, 5.91M, 8.27M, 11.23M, 14.75M, don't know last level yet
Level 21 upgrades: 13.30M, 18.62M, 25.27M
The 20.5 ORC HEAVY upgrades aren't cheap either ... 16.85M for 3rd column of upgrades. Quickly brought it up to 40%; I'll let that sit for awhile and continue to use the URSA ASSAULT.
Using GOLD LEAGUE for target practice; I would estimate that the ORC @ 70% will be on par with the URSA @ 100% (you know GLU power ratings mean very little) so that's my immediate goal.
Defense base is @ 75%.
Bring the HEAVY up to 70%, then back to base upgrades and then resume drone development ...
... I was able to take a 15 hour break after Global Event DAY #2 and catch the NBA All-Star Game Sunday night. All in all, a very productive and fun filled weekend.
I'm in over my head running with the "big dogs" in the GOLD LEAGUE, but I just couldn't resist it any further and the timing was perfect. TOOBAD RELOADED was "spot on" the money.
Scratch ITEM #1 off my CKS Bucket List Back to the salty mines tomorrow morning.
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
The 4th column of upgrades on the 20.5 ORC HEAVY is 22.17M diamonds. I'm expecting the 5th to be about 30M. The good news is that the ORC will last through TIER 21, once it's at 100%.
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
The 5th column of upgrades on the 20.5 ORC HEAVY is 28.39M diamonds. At 80% the ORC is finally at par with the 20.5 URSA, which is now over a month old and will need to be upgraded.
I expect both to be somewhat successful at TIER 21, but vault payouts will max out between 750K-850K and we're going to need 1M if base and/or weapons upgrade costs continue to rise.
A 21.5 ASSAULT WEAPON should definitely be on everyone's agenda, if you don't already own one.
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Because there's a 20.5 ASSAULT weapon still up for grabs, I thought I might throw some gasoline on the already "smoldering flames" of CKS.
So here we are ... closing in on the halfway point between TIER 20 and 21.
With 2 x Global Events under your belts, everyone should be at least 50% upgraded on the defense base and should own (or be close to acquiring) 1 or 2 x 20.x weapons. The "key" Global Event is scheduled for next Thursday (02/25); will a 20.5 TESLA be up for grabs? This is truly a pivotal event.
If you're at or near 50% on all relevant upgrades by the close of league play, then you're on schedule for TIER 21.
If you have any GOLD reserves and have been saving it for a rainy day, then a storm is on the horizon; there should be an impromptu 48 hour VIP Event taking place on DAY #1 of league play next week.
If your base falls below that critical 50% threshold and/or your weapons inventory is mostly 19.5, then you have your work cut out for you over the next two Global Events.
You DO NOT want to be in a position of having a partially upgraded TIER 20 base when TIER 21 arrives. The effects would mark the end of competitive game play and would make catching up and staying current improbable; near impossible. You could never win enough diamonds to perform the upgrades required; the GOLD cost would be absolutely unbearable ... even by "heavy spender" standards.
Now is the time to step it up and get busy, if you feel so inclined.
Remember ... it's ONLY A GAME and not worth losing any sleep over :cool:
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Way behind you, but base 69%, Orc 20%, but we've only had 1 global for a 20.5, not 2? Week before the Orc was the 19.5 Caribou.
There was a 1st place prize of a 20.5 Tesla during league play, but I treasure my sleep more than this game, so had to let that slide. So, I guess I have my work cut out for me. I think Amazon will cut me some slack though.
Comments
What were those final upgrade costs on your 20.5 CHITON? I'm thinking 15M (4th column) and 20M (5th column) ... I am hoping that the costs do not rise too much for this 20.5 HEAVY.
My record high vault is now 829.93K.
I thought it was 834.73K ... no matter, they are leveling out now and steady above 700K. I'll tell you again, your game and mine are very similar +/- a few hundred GOLD bars
My bad, you are entirely correct. I didn't go far enough in my battle log. I have 834.73K, 829.93K, 829.88K, 826.64K, and 829.53K.
I have 35 minutes until Level 3 Economy Upgrade is finished, it will be interesting to see where it goes to.
The original premise that at least 2 x Global Events will be required to upgrade the base is spot on and rock solid. This assumes that the average vault take is 700K; I've observed the following break downs:
... LONG RANGE Battles using the 20.0 NOMAD (15%) and 19.5 BETELGEUSE (100%) started out averaging 650K. Once I decided to upgrade the NOMAD, currently at 80%, that average climbed to 700K.
... SHORT RANGE Battles which were once completed in 60 seconds (or less) are now averaging 90-120 seconds. I attribute this partly because as we progress battles get tougher, but more towards the health boost (which works both ways) and the other HIGH base defense values. The vaults are averaging much more than the LONG RANGE Battles since I am routinely getting 750K+ vault payouts. Also most of the many 800K+ payouts have come from SHORT RANGE Battles.
... The number of skipped battles (in deference to higher vault payouts), has noticeably dropped since the defense base has reached 40% and the NOMAD was upgraded to 80% power. From an average of 4-5 skips to 1-2 skipped battles to get a 700K vault. Either way the payouts are so much greater than the penalty for skipping, that it is irrelevant. Speed ALWAYS counts when in the heat of PvP battle.
All in all the game is much more enjoyable because it's more challenging. I should reach 50% upgraded on the defense base sometime DAY #2 or DAY #3 of the Global; somewhat ahead of schedule but accurately predicted. A TOP 30 finish would afford me the luxury of upgrading that weapon during next week's League Events and prepare for the next competitive Global.
If I can fully upgrade the base, along with this HEAVY weapon, within a two week timeframe, then I will be able to kick back, choose my battles and resume drone development.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I have a personal self imposed limit on daily game play of 12 hours TOPS. Firstly, like most I hope, I have other pressing responsibilities (like a job) and philosophically I cannot allow myself to spend more than half my life playing a game
I figure that once I decide to stop competing, I may have 1-2 more tiers before the game will become unplayable. It's been a good run; March will mark 1 year since I started. Maybe that is a good time to walk away :cool:
I've enjoyed your comradery and it's been my pleasure to have known you all.
Good Luck and Good Hunting !!!
You have stated a number of times that our games are very similar, which I have to agree with you. I am finding the same statistics to be true concerning our game play.
We are drawing similar vaults and the 750K+ average vault is spot on. The only difference in my case, is due to my weapons, I have not fought a SR battle in almost a week.
My long range weapons are a 21.0 FOX SNIPER (15% upgraded/111.15M power) and 19.5 BETELGEUSE TESLA (80% upgraded/81M power). My short range weapons are 18.5 MISTLETOE ASSAULT (95% upgraded/29.36M power) and a 19.5 SHEOL HEAVY (80% upgraded/63.18M power).
What I am finding is my SR Vaults are running in the 300K to 550K range, while my LR Vaults are running in the 550K to 834K range. All of my 800K+ vaults have been LR. Due to the low SR payouts, I am skipping 8-10 battles looking for a 700K+ vault. As you said, the cost of skipping is so small in relationship to the vault sizes, it is of no consequence. I have calculated the numbers, and if I skip 20 battles, I have spent less than 20K looking for a battle.
Now that I have maxed my Base Economy, I think that the next thing that I will do, is upgraded my FOX SNIPER, to see what difference that will make in my vault size.
Upgrading the FOX should be a priority. I know you once preferred LR battles because of video related problems in SR battles (I don't now if that is still the case). If your intention is to fight LR exclusively
(1 of every 5 battles or less are shorts) then upgrading your LR weapons is a must ... the vaults will noticeably increase.
Just keep in mind that the larger the vaults, the tougher the opponent. So far I haven't met a match for the BETELGEUSE, but my SNIPER is only 20.0 ... so when upgrading the FOX, do it incrementally until you reach that 7-8 charges needed to kill the JUGG using the TESLA. Once you find yourself needing 9-10 charges, the TESLA will need to be replaced.
I know having a Super VIP weapon is probably new to you, but your upgrades need to be in sync just like everything else. You don't want to draw too many 21.0 opponents because you're fighting using only a 19.5. Two power ratings difference is usually all that a TESLA can effectively bridge.
You are correct. At one time, due to video problems, I HAD to fight only LR battles. As recently as last week, it did not matter what kind of battle. SR or LR, I fought them all.
Since I strapped on the FOX SNIPER, that changed to I was fighting mostly LR battles. When I first strapped on the FOX, I did notice that, during a SR battle, I had to pay more attention to the Sniper Elite opponents. Their head shots were doing massive amounts of damage. So, I had to pay attention to what I was doing.
Looking back in my Battle Log, I have discovered something interesting. In my last 300 battles, I have fought only 1 RL player, outside the Clan Wars. So that makes 299 Bots. Since Tier 20 was released 4 days ago, I have fought approximately 200 battles and they have all been LR battles. As long as the large vaults remain being LR battles, I will be fighting only LR.
Since the opponents are all bots, right now, it takes no more than 20 - 25 seconds to win a LR battle. Next time that I only need around 4 or 500K to finish filling the my vault, I will make a point of it to fight a SR battle and I will report my finding. But, as I recall, SR battles were completed in less than a minute and with very little health lost.
I will keep in mind your tip about the number of charges needed to defeat a Juggernaut, but for the most part, defeating both Juggernaut, during a LR battle, is not part of my routine. Using your multi-kill tip, I usually am able to take out both the Sentry and a Juggernaut, with one shot.
Then I usually ignore the 2nd Juggernaut and I am ducked behind cover, while waiting to locate the Boss. Once I know where the Boss is, I will pop up and take out the Boss. There is usually, at least the Juggernaut, the Drone, and 2-3 Elites still on the board, when the Boss goes down.
That was yesterday
My new record high vault take is now 843.83K with many more topping 800K (LONG or SHORT). I've just maxed out my 20.0 NOMAD at 100% so I may see even better payouts.
Since I'm using (rather NOT using) a boat anchor as a HEAVY (18.5 SPANISH BOOT), I expect that the vaults will get even bigger once I acquire this 20.5 HEAVY.
BUT ... one step at a time, we still have roughly 300 MILLION DIAMONDS to win to complete the base upgrades
I've got to remember to start closing contracts; I'm still at Level 185 ... JEEZ
We throw around numbers like 100s of millions and billions like we're Donald Trump. It must be nice to have F-U money
Level 21 upgrades: 13.30M, 18.62M, 25.27M
Cool :cool: the 20.5 weapons costs are about what I expected, so the 5th column should be about 20M. The 21.5 weapons costs appear to have more than doubled, so we're talking 4 x 50M diamonds to upgrade the 5th column.
If TIER 21's DEFENSE BASE costs are equal to TIER 20's (no increase at all), we can add another ...
400 MILLION DIAMONDS (21.5 WEAPON) to the already 600 MILLION DIAMONDS (BASE) and that brings us to the incredible grand total of ... drum roll please
***** ONE (1) BILLION DIAMONDS per cycle just to have a fighting chance at staying current *****
So this is it boys and girls. It's time to take off the gloves, join the fight and burn EVERYTHING ... GOLD ... CASH ... burn it all !!!
Have some REAL fun while you still can.
I would rant some more, but I'm in the battle of a lifetime and having a ball !!!
What the hell, I think I might need to scratch the GOLD LEAGUE off my "bucket list" while the desire to do so is still aflame.
*** SMILES ***
I finally completed all BASE ECONOMY and PLAYER HEALTH upgrades this morning. This would represent 50% of the required updates to fully upgrade the TIER 20 base and enable a player to be prepared for and move on to TIER 21.
Playing for 12 HOURS per day for the first 2 days of the HEAVY Global Event is the absolute minimum game play effort. I found this would support a 50% base, along with several minor weapons upgrades along the way.
A minimal PvP effort required is roughly 250 PvP Victories, 6,250 AP and approximately 1,200 GOLD.
If your actual average vault take is 700K, this effort would net you just 175 MILLION DIAMONDS ... in the ballpark, but you'll need to do a little better to be able to complete base upgrades within a 2 x Global Event window as well as acquire AND upgrade 2 x 20.5 weapons within the TIER 20 cycle.
More victories and more hours of game play per day, in combination with better vault payouts would be prescribed to meet this "fundamental" goal using less GOLD.
All of this combined would enable a player to still compete for FREE, but the effort required would be a phenomenal one that would test the limits of a player's stamina and perseverance.
With a very small sample size of only 8 Long Range battle, here are my current results, average vault is 793K with 50% of the vaults being over 800K.
For these 8 battles only, the minimum vault was 752K and the maximum vault was 830.28K.
I will update these findings, once I have a decent sample size.
This is great !!! move the FOX to 80% and see the results
So far the pattern is holding. 50% of my vaults have been 800K+ and the new high vault is 840.49K.
Once I finish the 80% upgrade, the jump to 95% will be done with funny money.
I am currently waiting for the upgrade to 95% to complete. The final Diamond upgrade will be 42.56M. I am not sure if I will complete that upgrade.
CONCERNED, 42.56M diamonds is somewhat difficult to swallow, but the weapon will undoubtedly pay for itself 100 fold ... how will we ever get past TIER21? Well the FOX pretty much guarantees 2 solid months of huge vaults.
Add another 21.x weapon and you will see 900K vaults I think, with 1M just down the tracks.
Great progress BUT bad news, as you and BRAD have indicated the costs for the 21.x weapons are extremely expensive (funny money aside). Couple that with these astronomical defense base upgrades and ... well you get the picture.
They've increased costs, but they have also increased payouts. The bottom line is that GLU still comes out way ahead since it will take twice as many PvP battles (consequently 2x the number of diamonds) to perform TIER 20 upgrades as opposed to TIER 19. This translates into twice as long to accomplish the same tasks; what took a week now takes two.
I have a tendency to step over the line every so often, but this is of real concern this time around ...
TIER 21 (and beyond) will be problematic for high rollers, extremely expensive for moderate spenders and near impossible for freebie players to keep up and stay current.
Will GLU perform a cost rollback? I can't answer that, but they've done it in the past. I guess it boils down to whether they intended to create a high roller's paradise OR simply want to finally kill this game.
Only time will tell, I suppose.
By the way ... (after 15 hours of procrastination) ...
... at 06:43 AM EST, I qualified for the GOLD LEAGUE :cool: which states a lot more than the obvious.
Good Luck and Good Hunting !!!
I have a general question about the GOLD LEAGUE ... what do you guys compete for every week? Different weapons ... better drone parts ... better milestones ... GOLD is supposed to be better than SILVER right? LOL
Just wondering what are the chances of winning this HEAVY in the GLOBAL and ...
... winning a different "type" of weapon in the GOLD LEAGUE.
Scorpion,
I calculate the same thing. My FOX will take me in to Tier 22. If as you say, the game lasts this long.
One good thing is that even after all of the upgrading, I still have not faced a RL player, most players empty their vault, before the log off. All of these vaults have been against Bots.
Against a RL player I would be facing a Level 200 Juggernaut. I just intentionally fought SR battle. It was against a Bot and he had only a Level 180 Juggernaut. The vault was worth 306.52K.
My next battle was a LR battle. It was the 3rd battle offered. The first two battles were SR, for 306.52K and 543.76K. This battle was against a Bot and the vault was 779.71K. The Juggernaut was Level 190. This is the reason way I have been fighting only LR Battles. Until I can upgrade my SR weapons, the vaults a just too small.
Who would have ever thought that 500K vault would be too small to fight for?
My BETELGEUSE mowing down the competition, still. I have been watching, lately, and it still only takes 4-5 charges to take down the Bot Juggernaut. This gives me plenty of time to wait on that TESLA upgrade.
My immediate need is to upgrade my 18.5 MISTLETOE ASSAULT, but I have time on that too. I am currently sitting at level 189 with all of the TELSA mission to go. So, I can easily max my player level with out doing any SR Missions.
Anyone who has similar weapons is actively playing, so it's extremely rare that you will face them in battle.
The ultimate effect is fewer skipped battles and closer high/low ranges with regards to payouts. It makes planning your objectives easier and your progress more predictable.
There's more to buying into VIP than obtaining better weapons ... it changes and enhances your entire approach to the game; many times actually making it more enjoyable. It also, obviously, shields you from GLU scheduling S.N.A.F.Us, screw-ups, delays, cancellations, etc. because not mater what GLU does, you already have your weapon.
ENJOY the RIDE !!!
I can tell when I am going to be matched against a RL player, because the stutters and slows down while loading the battle. It take as much as 5-10 seconds to load a RL player. Bots will load almost immediately.
But you are right that I seldom face RL players with similar weapons. The RL players that I do draw, for the most part, have decided that upgrading their drone is not part of their battle strategy. In addition, a lot of,them are playing this game without a HEAVY and/or a TESLA.
I tip my hat to these players, because there is no way that I could or would fight without a TESLA.
I take a slightly different path when performing base upgrades. For me, SENTRIES and GUARDS upgrades are totally meaningless since I'll never be attacked. So BE comes first and then the paltry PH.
Depressing YES ... but necessary to advance ... believe me I've pondered what effects NOT upgrading the base might spawn; as a matter of fact I've hypothetically imagined what a life with no upgrades might look like.
Assuming that competition means nothing to you and blasting away at targets is what you'd prefer, one could make a case for grabbing the latest high powered weapons and forget the base entirely. Of course without upgrading the base, vault size is limited, but diamond production becomes irrelevant since you'll never use the diamonds anyway.
So here's the caveat (there's always a catch) upgrading your weapons are only possible using GOLD and CASH which might become a rather expensive way of playing the game BUT if you're a high roller who routinely scores 30,000 AP a Global, money expenditures is probably of no concern anyways.
I'd probably recommend an AK-47 and a visit to the range to exercise those demons :cool:
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The 20.5 ORC HEAVY upgrades aren't cheap either ... 16.85M for 3rd column of upgrades. Quickly brought it up to 40%; I'll let that sit for awhile and continue to use the URSA ASSAULT.
Using GOLD LEAGUE for target practice; I would estimate that the ORC @ 70% will be on par with the URSA @ 100% (you know GLU power ratings mean very little) so that's my immediate goal.
Defense base is @ 75%.
Bring the HEAVY up to 70%, then back to base upgrades and then resume drone development ...
... I was able to take a 15 hour break after Global Event DAY #2 and catch the NBA All-Star Game Sunday night. All in all, a very productive and fun filled weekend.
I'm in over my head running with the "big dogs" in the GOLD LEAGUE, but I just couldn't resist it any further and the timing was perfect. TOOBAD RELOADED was "spot on" the money.
Scratch ITEM #1 off my CKS Bucket List
I expect both to be somewhat successful at TIER 21, but vault payouts will max out between 750K-850K and we're going to need 1M if base and/or weapons upgrade costs continue to rise.
A 21.5 ASSAULT WEAPON should definitely be on everyone's agenda, if you don't already own one.
So here we are ... closing in on the halfway point between TIER 20 and 21.
With 2 x Global Events under your belts, everyone should be at least 50% upgraded on the defense base and should own (or be close to acquiring) 1 or 2 x 20.x weapons. The "key" Global Event is scheduled for next Thursday (02/25); will a 20.5 TESLA be up for grabs? This is truly a pivotal event.
If you're at or near 50% on all relevant upgrades by the close of league play, then you're on schedule for TIER 21.
If you have any GOLD reserves and have been saving it for a rainy day, then a storm is on the horizon; there should be an impromptu 48 hour VIP Event taking place on DAY #1 of league play next week.
If your base falls below that critical 50% threshold and/or your weapons inventory is mostly 19.5, then you have your work cut out for you over the next two Global Events.
You DO NOT want to be in a position of having a partially upgraded TIER 20 base when TIER 21 arrives. The effects would mark the end of competitive game play and would make catching up and staying current improbable; near impossible. You could never win enough diamonds to perform the upgrades required; the GOLD cost would be absolutely unbearable ... even by "heavy spender" standards.
Now is the time to step it up and get busy, if you feel so inclined.
Remember ... it's ONLY A GAME and not worth losing any sleep over :cool:
There was a 1st place prize of a 20.5 Tesla during league play, but I treasure my sleep more than this game, so had to let that slide. So, I guess I have my work cut out for me. I think Amazon will cut me some slack though.