Sir Brad ... my support drone just jumped from 680K to 730K in a single upgrade. While I am delighted with the power jump, I am also disappointed (confused) by why GLU would stop short of 740K other than to aggravate me (us); they definitely seem to enjoy that.
Either way, I feel as if I am about to reach an important milestone *** SMILES *** the important thing is I no longer need to replace the weapons parts after strapping on the 740Ks, I can now concentrate on upgrading the drone weapons themselves.
I thought that putting Level 135 at 730 K was just plain cruel. You are getting close though, those 740s will be yours in no time.
My 740s are now upgraded as follows: MG, 1.74M, Level 13, HR and SG, 2.02M, Level 15 and RL, 1.62M, Level 12.
TOOBAD (17.5 MAGAERA):
GLOBAL EVENT (11/26/2015) --- RANK #53 (6,742 AP) --- 35 Parts Acquired; 15 Parts To Go.
SILVER LEAGUE EVENT (DAY #1) --- RANK #06 (132 VP) --- 12 Parts Acquired; 03 parts To Go.
SILVER LEAGUE EVENT (DAY #2) --- RANK #14 (108 VP) --- 05 Parts Acquired; 00 Parts To Go.
SILVER LEAGUE EVENT (DAY #3) --- TBD
Drone development shall resume in earnest very soon including the "recycling" of the 8M XP monster parts I created a couple of months back. Ooh Rah.
Good Luck and Good Hunting !!!
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Adding the 17.5 MAGAERA @ 20% to one's weapons inventory will effectively increase the maximum opponent strength to 8.93M (up from 7.7M). The 16.5 WITCH has no problem handling these tougher opponents however. The average vault size will also increase from 170K to 200K.
The cost of upgrades (per box) @ 20% and 40% on the MAGAERA is 2.04M.
I'm planning to use the WITCH until it's no longer effective therefore no further upgrades will be applied to the MAGAERA until we reach TIER 18 at the earliest.
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Adding the 17.5 MAGAERA @ 20% to one's weapons inventory will effectively increase the maximum opponent strength to 8.93M (up from 7.7M). The 16.5 WITCH has no problem handling these tougher opponents however. The average vault size will also increase from 170K to 200K.
The cost of upgrades (per box) @ 20% and 40% on the MAGAERA is 2.04M.
I'm planning to use the WITCH until it's no longer effective therefore no further upgrades will be applied to the MAGAERA until we reach TIER 18 at the earliest.
Once one reaches Level 160 with Player Health at 20M the current opponents (11.8M with 2.95M Drones in my case) are the easiest I have ever encountered. The Elites clan is reporting no losses and no Medkit use with either 17.5 or 18.5 weapons against maxxed out opponents. I had thought that my experience was atypical, since I had upgraded to 18.5 Secondary Weapons, but other players are reporting easy wins with 17.5 weapons and in some cases even using 16.5 Assaults. I assume that this will change in two weeks with the release of Tier 18.
Once one reaches Level 160 with Player Health at 20M the current opponents (11.8M with 2.95M Drones in my case) are the easiest I have ever encountered. The Elites clan is reporting no losses and no Medkit use with either 17.5 or 18.5 weapons against maxxed out opponents. I had thought that my experience was atypical, since I had upgraded to 18.5 Secondary Weapons, but other players are reporting easy wins with 17.5 weapons and in some cases even using 16.5 Assaults. I assume that this will change in two weeks with the release of Tier 18.
How soon we forget ... the VIP version of the 17.5 weapons were meant to last until TIER 19 at least. You chose to upgrade each month, but that is no longer necessary; the game has changed.
The wins are relatively easy, but I'm not sure how much player health has to do with it (it helps, no doubt). I wasn't having any problems long before I ever received any health boost, but I consider myself "freakish" in my ability to avoid getting hit; I should record a battle one of these days. I guess 1,000s of hours of target practice paid off, eh?
The SHORT battles have always been against 11.8 opponents for me as well, but the 16.5 WITCH for LONGS is a very special weapon, somewhat like the old dependable SIEGE TOWER was. It also has the advantage of being only a 16.5 weapon, so the opponents are weaker.
All said, this will change at TIER 18, I'm sure, which is why I grabbed the MAGAERA, just in case. One way or the other, I'll need an 18.5 HEAVY/ASSAULT soon. It should be available in 3 weeks via the Global and soon after we should get TIER 18.
A VIP Event featuring a 19.5 HEAVY/ASSULT will definitely get my attention. *** SMILES ***
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
The game has definitely changed, and will undoubtedly change again with the "upgrade" whenever it arrives. I acknowledge that my situation is not typical so I don't expect other players to emulate my approach, but here are my thoughts about the current game as it relates to higher budget players looking to work their way up the AT Leaderboard:
First, the budget for the top players on IOS remains high: several players are spending at the rate of $400 to $500 per week ($2000 per month) The challenge is to compete with them at a fraction of their budget.
Second, neither Global weapons or League weapons have any interest for these players.
Third, Super VIPs are the sole source of weapons for the Leaderboard.
Fourth, the current huge vaults (My minimum is now 227K) make it easy to upgrade new weapons very quickly. These large vaults also mean that many top players have nothing to spend Diamonds on.
Fifth, while league play is not important to Leaderboard players, Globals demand a Top 30, maybe even a Top 10 finish to stay with the competition.
Sixth, because most Leaderboard players have acquired 900 to 1000 unmanageable pages of Drone Weapons, almost all have had a "wipe" which leaves them with limited ability to upgrade Drone Weapons.
These factors necessitate a buy in for weekly Global competitions. By aggregating buy ins into a single Super VIP monthly along with weekly buy ins when needed, Leaderboard players will always have state of the art weapons, upgraded very quickly.
As it turns out, smart buy ins and targeted play allow Leaderboard performance at substantially less than the $2000 figure, but do require $80 to $100 per Global. This still makes CKS an expensive game, but much less expensive than one might expect looking at the budget of top players.
The game has definitely changed, and will undoubtedly change again with the "upgrade" whenever it arrives. I acknowledge that my situation is not typical so I don't expect other players to emulate my approach, but here are my thoughts about the current game as it relates to higher budget players looking to work their way up the AT Leaderboard:
First, the budget for the top players on IOS remains high: several players are spending at the rate of $400 to $500 per week ($2000 per month) The challenge is to compete with them at a fraction of their budget.
Second, neither Global weapons or League weapons have any interest for these players.
Third, Super VIPs are the sole source of weapons for the Leaderboard.
Fourth, the current huge vaults (My minimum is now 227K) make it easy to upgrade new weapons very quickly. These large vaults also mean that many top players have nothing to spend Diamonds on.
Fifth, while league play is not important to Leaderboard players, Globals demand a Top 30, maybe even a Top 10 finish to stay with the competition.
Sixth, because most Leaderboard players have acquired 900 to 1000 unmanageable pages of Drone Weapons, almost all have had a "wipe" which leaves them with limited ability to upgrade Drone Weapons.
These factors necessitate a buy in for weekly Global competitions. By aggregating buy ins into a single Super VIP monthly along with weekly buy ins when needed, Leaderboard players will always have state of the art weapons, upgraded very quickly.
As it turns out, smart buy ins and targeted play allow Leaderboard performance at substantially less than the $2000 figure, but do require $80 to $100 per Global. This still makes CKS an expensive game, but much less expensive than one might expect looking at the budget of top players.
I totally agree with everything you've described and if the VIP costs stay reasonable, I will buy in at the appropriate times like when the 19.5 SHORT range weapons become available. I have no intentions of playing for free indefinitely past my TOOBAD RELOADED thesis.
*** SMILES ***
Anyone seeking to maintain a Leaderboard position, plays in a different league under a different set of rules, that's a given. For Sir Brad, I can say with a high degree of certainty that you would win the same number of battles with a 17.5 ... I have no doubt at all.
Personally, I have only 2 concerns (1) how long a weapon will last into the future; I'm looking for at least 60 days and I'll take it however I can get it (2) the number of diamonds I can acquire using that weapon, in short vault size.
There are definitely times where I'll grab a weapon for a specific purpose, like the MAGAERA. As long as it lasts long enough for me to acquire a 19.5 TESLA, I'm good. I don't think the WITCH will meet my standards beyond TIER 17; it will have provided excellent service for 60 days by then (could make it through TIER 18) but the vault sizes may shrink; if so then it's time to retire it.
The HEAVY on the other hand will continue to be effective past TIER 18. It will have served for 60 days by then as well, but a 19.5 HEAVY and/or ASSAULT will be something I cannot let pass by.
Then there's the KARMA, that clumsy, ugly, iron sight, anti-aircraft weapon I own. It's massive fire power would allow me to blast my way into TIER 19 until I can get another weapon. All I need do is upgrade it 100%, but that would be a failsafe for desperate times. LOL
Oh I almost forgot, with a little bit of planning you and your buddies could have avoided a wipe of weapons parts ... all you had to do was use them and create larger parts for use later on.
Complex Minds Require Challenging Games ... SCORPION
Comments
I thought that putting Level 135 at 730 K was just plain cruel. You are getting close though, those 740s will be yours in no time.
My 740s are now upgraded as follows: MG, 1.74M, Level 13, HR and SG, 2.02M, Level 15 and RL, 1.62M, Level 12.
BASE: 11.8M (QUEBEC); GAME CASH: 840.54M; GOLD: 1015; LEVEL: 159
DRONE: 730K (Power) - 135/150 (Level) - 9/1300 (XP) - 5.73M (Health)
DRONE WEAPONS: MG (550K), RL (590K), HR (550K), SG (550K) --- All Level 2 (Max)
DRONE WEAPONS PARTS: 367P (11,010)
FUSES:
146 x TIER 16 (XP-25); 10 x TIER 08 (XP-19);
WEAPONS:
SNIPER: 17.0 LYREBIRD (acquired 10/22) @ 0%.
TESLA: 16.5 WITCH (acquired 10/22) @ 100%; 17.5 MAGAERA (acquired 12/02) @ 20%.
ASSAULT: 17.5 JUNIPER (acquired 10/22) @ 100%.
HEAVY: 17.5 BLOBFISH (acquired 10/22) @ 100%; 17.5 KARMA (acquired 09/23) @ 60%.
TOOBAD (17.5 MAGAERA):
GLOBAL EVENT (11/26/2015) --- RANK #53 (6,742 AP) --- 35 Parts Acquired; 15 Parts To Go.
SILVER LEAGUE EVENT (DAY #1) --- RANK #06 (132 VP) --- 12 Parts Acquired; 03 parts To Go.
SILVER LEAGUE EVENT (DAY #2) --- RANK #14 (108 VP) --- 05 Parts Acquired; 00 Parts To Go.
SILVER LEAGUE EVENT (DAY #3) --- TBD
Drone development shall resume in earnest very soon including the "recycling" of the 8M XP monster parts I created a couple of months back. Ooh Rah.
Good Luck and Good Hunting !!!
The cost of upgrades (per box) @ 20% and 40% on the MAGAERA is 2.04M.
I'm planning to use the WITCH until it's no longer effective therefore no further upgrades will be applied to the MAGAERA until we reach TIER 18 at the earliest.
Once one reaches Level 160 with Player Health at 20M the current opponents (11.8M with 2.95M Drones in my case) are the easiest I have ever encountered. The Elites clan is reporting no losses and no Medkit use with either 17.5 or 18.5 weapons against maxxed out opponents. I had thought that my experience was atypical, since I had upgraded to 18.5 Secondary Weapons, but other players are reporting easy wins with 17.5 weapons and in some cases even using 16.5 Assaults. I assume that this will change in two weeks with the release of Tier 18.
How soon we forget ... the VIP version of the 17.5 weapons were meant to last until TIER 19 at least. You chose to upgrade each month, but that is no longer necessary; the game has changed.
The wins are relatively easy, but I'm not sure how much player health has to do with it (it helps, no doubt). I wasn't having any problems long before I ever received any health boost, but I consider myself "freakish" in my ability to avoid getting hit; I should record a battle one of these days. I guess 1,000s of hours of target practice paid off, eh?
The SHORT battles have always been against 11.8 opponents for me as well, but the 16.5 WITCH for LONGS is a very special weapon, somewhat like the old dependable SIEGE TOWER was. It also has the advantage of being only a 16.5 weapon, so the opponents are weaker.
All said, this will change at TIER 18, I'm sure, which is why I grabbed the MAGAERA, just in case. One way or the other, I'll need an 18.5 HEAVY/ASSAULT soon. It should be available in 3 weeks via the Global and soon after we should get TIER 18.
A VIP Event featuring a 19.5 HEAVY/ASSULT will definitely get my attention. *** SMILES ***
First, the budget for the top players on IOS remains high: several players are spending at the rate of $400 to $500 per week ($2000 per month) The challenge is to compete with them at a fraction of their budget.
Second, neither Global weapons or League weapons have any interest for these players.
Third, Super VIPs are the sole source of weapons for the Leaderboard.
Fourth, the current huge vaults (My minimum is now 227K) make it easy to upgrade new weapons very quickly. These large vaults also mean that many top players have nothing to spend Diamonds on.
Fifth, while league play is not important to Leaderboard players, Globals demand a Top 30, maybe even a Top 10 finish to stay with the competition.
Sixth, because most Leaderboard players have acquired 900 to 1000 unmanageable pages of Drone Weapons, almost all have had a "wipe" which leaves them with limited ability to upgrade Drone Weapons.
These factors necessitate a buy in for weekly Global competitions. By aggregating buy ins into a single Super VIP monthly along with weekly buy ins when needed, Leaderboard players will always have state of the art weapons, upgraded very quickly.
As it turns out, smart buy ins and targeted play allow Leaderboard performance at substantially less than the $2000 figure, but do require $80 to $100 per Global. This still makes CKS an expensive game, but much less expensive than one might expect looking at the budget of top players.
I totally agree with everything you've described and if the VIP costs stay reasonable, I will buy in at the appropriate times like when the 19.5 SHORT range weapons become available. I have no intentions of playing for free indefinitely past my TOOBAD RELOADED thesis.
*** SMILES ***
Anyone seeking to maintain a Leaderboard position, plays in a different league under a different set of rules, that's a given. For Sir Brad, I can say with a high degree of certainty that you would win the same number of battles with a 17.5 ... I have no doubt at all.
Personally, I have only 2 concerns (1) how long a weapon will last into the future; I'm looking for at least 60 days and I'll take it however I can get it (2) the number of diamonds I can acquire using that weapon, in short vault size.
There are definitely times where I'll grab a weapon for a specific purpose, like the MAGAERA. As long as it lasts long enough for me to acquire a 19.5 TESLA, I'm good. I don't think the WITCH will meet my standards beyond TIER 17; it will have provided excellent service for 60 days by then (could make it through TIER 18) but the vault sizes may shrink; if so then it's time to retire it.
The HEAVY on the other hand will continue to be effective past TIER 18. It will have served for 60 days by then as well, but a 19.5 HEAVY and/or ASSAULT will be something I cannot let pass by.
Then there's the KARMA, that clumsy, ugly, iron sight, anti-aircraft weapon I own. It's massive fire power would allow me to blast my way into TIER 19 until I can get another weapon. All I need do is upgrade it 100%, but that would be a failsafe for desperate times. LOL
Oh I almost forgot, with a little bit of planning you and your buddies could have avoided a wipe of weapons parts ... all you had to do was use them and create larger parts for use later on.
BASE: 11.8M (QUEBEC); GAME CASH: 862.05; GOLD: 1120; LEVEL: 160
DRONE: 780K (Power) - 136/150 (Level) - 24/1310 (XP) - 6.14M (Health)
DRONE WEAPONS: MG (740K), RL (740K), HR (740K), SG (740K) --- All Level 1 (Max)
DRONE WEAPONS PARTS: 368P (11,040)
FUSES:
128 x TIER 16 (XP-25);
WEAPONS:
SNIPER: 17.0 LYREBIRD (acquired 10/22) @ 0%.
TESLA: 16.5 WITCH (acquired 10/22) @ 100%; 17.5 MAGAERA (acquired 12/02) @ 20%.
ASSAULT: 17.5 JUNIPER (acquired 10/22) @ 100%.
HEAVY: 17.5 BLOBFISH (acquired 10/22) @ 100%; 17.5 KARMA (acquired 09/23) @ 60%.
TOOBAD (17.5 MAGAERA):
GLOBAL EVENT (11/26/2015) --- RANK #53 (6,742 AP) --- 35 Parts Acquired; 15 Parts To Go.
SILVER LEAGUE EVENT (DAY #1) --- RANK #06 (132 VP) --- 12 Parts Acquired; 03 parts To Go.
SILVER LEAGUE EVENT (DAY #2) --- RANK #14 (108 VP) --- 05 Parts Acquired; 00 Parts To Go.
SILVER LEAGUE EVENT (DAY #3) --- RANK #14 (102 VP) --- 05 Parts Acquired; --- N/A---
Drone development has resumed in earnest; "recycling" of the 8M XP monster parts I created a couple of months back is on the agenda. Ooh Rah.
740K (Strapped) ... 128 fuses left over to boot, how about that?
Good Luck and Good Hunting !!!