User blog:Godofcyanide/TFL Domination - A Guide to Success at Transformers: Legends, Part I

Hey folks,

A number of users from the chat room have asked me for advice on a multitude of topics relating to game play and how to place in your desired tier in a TFL episode. After the first of my top-tier finishes (12th place in Heavy Metal War Part 1), I thought to write this kind of a blog; a few users in the chat encouraged me to do so after I finished in the top tier of the All Hail Galvatron! episode (37th place). So, here I am and here you are.

Why should you listen to me?

Well, I have a short but impressive resume in-game: 2.5 tier in my first event, Countdown to Extinction (1354); three straight full second-tier finishes (420th in Cold Delivery, 330th in Countdown to Extinction, 216th in Day of the Dinobots Part 2); the two top tiers I spoke of above; and I am presently hanging around the mid-100s in The BEE Team. I'm not in the top tier this episode, as I have chosen to participate in the monetary boycott of this episode and have spent $0 this time. Outside of the game, I'm a 39-year-old longtime veteran of strategy gaming (most notably D&D 2nd edition, Strat-O-Matic Baseball, and Magic: the Gathering) with a mathematics degree.

That's all nice, right, but here's the kicker: Between the six episodes I have completed, I have likely spent less money total than many top tier finishers spent per episode...

Anyway, Part I of this series of... however many parts it takes, damn it, heh... is going to deal with the pre-preparation for an episode. Pre-prep? Oh, HELL YES. One cannot conquer any goal without a plan. Without further ado...

(NB: I'm going to assume you are aware of the basic game mechanics and MTMing and such. If you are unfamiliar with any terminology, well, this is Wikia, you can find it here.)

Part I - Approach is Half the Battle

To finish top-tier in a TFL episode, there are a number of things you will need beforehand. I'm a fan of lists; let's have one...

1. Understanding of the game mechanics

2. Consistent second-tier finishes

3. A healthy allies list

4. Time to dedicate to the episode

5. MONEY to dedicate to the episode

I'm going to go backwards through this list.

5. Money: Arguably, this is the most important part of the top tier finish; despite Mobage's claim that this game is not "pay to win," it is ABSOLUTELY "pay to top tier." I would even argue that, for someone relatively new to the game, it's "pay to second tier." I know I spent a good $50/episode for each of my three second-tier placings; much of this money was spent on the x5 raid card and cubes. The most money I spent on a top tier finish was ultimately around US$160. I would say you should expect to spend ~$150-200 the first time through as a bare minimum, so you should plan on having more available. (More on how to spend this money in a later post.) In short, money can buy you points and/or time.

4. Time: Do you need to dedicate yourself 24 hours a day for the entire episode? No. Are there times where you do? Absolutely! The first 24 hours are absolutely crucial to success, as are the middle 24 hours and the last 6. You should ensure you can spend maximum time staring at your device and making moves at those points. This being said, you will absolutely need to maximize the remainder of your time on your device as well, and you may find yourself at a critical point at some time other than the frames I mentioned. Flexibility is huge; you'll need it. Plan on minimal sleeping at night, especially early on, and depending on your rank.

3. Allies: Your allies list will take some time to build, and it should be primed from the second the episode starts. I plan on dedicating a blog post (likely my next one, heh) to the ally system and maintaining an ally list, so I'm going to be intentionally vague here. Know that your allies can save you money - if you have the right ones. Otherwise, they can cost you money!!!

2. Record: Consistently finishing second tier does two very crucial things for your run at the top. Firstly, it gives you a quality base deck to start with. Secondly, having that consistent deck and using it well can improve your chances of attracting top tier allies prior to your foray into their world.

1. Understanding: I went backwards to save this for last, as this is the bulk of what I want to discuss in this post. Understand this, first and foremost: There are a number of mechanics that are (un)intentionally screwed up that you'll have to work around. ;)

Leveling

The Golden Rule of Leveling: Transmetals between episodes, Cards in episodes.

If you've had a few second tier finishes, you should have all your second- and third-tier prizes leveled pre-episode. If the fourth tier prize was particularly strong, you may want that leveled, as it may be relevant to a faction deck. Fourth tier prizes often sit on the bench, so don't get too crazy over them. I usually blow my transmetals between episodes and restock between prizes and acquired ones during them.

Only use cards outside of episodes if you've run out of transmetals; only use transmetals during episodes if time is a factor. (cf: raid cards) Transmetals are equally effective in and out of episodes, but cards get a huge bonus in episodes.

Deck Construction

(For purposes of this discussion, I will assume your team is all MTMed R4s with their signature weapons maxed out.)

Go to your team screen and press "Recommend."

Wasn't that easy? :D

Yeah, it IS easy. So don't trust it. After you hit "Recommend" and accept its recommendation, press "Edit" and ensure each team member has his signature weapon attached - and, if not, make it so. The "Recommend" function is so ass-backwards in this game that it may recommend your changes to its original proposal after you make them!

Do NOT worry about faction bonus pre-episode. The one thing "Recommend" DOES do right is it does recommend a faction team in-episode if you have the men for it to make sense over a mixed team, and it will adjust your team to maximize your faction bonuses. (R5 Ironhide is off my leader line for last ep's Cyclonus as recommended by the app.) Your base team walking into the episode should have a DP somewhere in the 10-12K range. Can it be done with less DP? Yes, but you'll likely have to spend more money to do so, as your ideal in-episode deck power wants to be 16K or better.

During the game and as we add in raid cards, we will be repeatedly revisiting this theme of deck construction. Right now, hit the ground running with your best 9.

Cube Hoarding

Is it necessary? No, but you will pay for it if you don't. My two top tier finishes both started with <100 battle cubes, and I wound up having to buy many cube packs of varying sizes during the episodes. If you plan on spending $0 on cubes (and, seriously, good luck with that!), you probably should be starting the episode with ~400-500 cubes in the bank. I'm pretty sure I BOUGHT that many during each of my runs. It may be difficult to hoard cubes whilst battling for second tier all the time. When I talk about positioning (in a future post), I'll be discussing second tier positioning, as well, as the same general principles apply.

Spot-Check Your Allies List

Now that we can see time of last login in the Allies list, this becomes VERY simple. Before the episode begins, scan your allies list. Is there an ally who hasn't logged in since before the start of the last episode? Most likely, he's gone from the game; cut him. Is there an ally who hasn't logged in since the middle of the last episode? Remember him; you may be cutting him in a few days.

Your allies list is NOT your Facebook page. Keeping an ally who is a friend IRL but not a frequent player is an ally spot I'd rather see gummed up with a request I will never accept. Your friends should take no offense to being cut from an allies list if they are not on the same page as you regarding the episode. This is a game and NOT an indication of a person's worth as a human being in any respect. I have seen low-aspiring players get offended when a top tier player who they may know via chat, etc., cuts them as an ally. Don't be offended; understand why it is done.

This being said, there is a worth to having some second- and third-tier-aspirant allies, but you don't want to have too many (maybe ~20% of your final list) or it may affect your cube spending later in the game. Also, you may want to help some people achieve their goals. More on these points in the next blog post.

True story: During DotD2, I sent an ally request to a player (I won't name that player here), which was approved. Within a day, I was cut from that player's ally list. After finishing top tier twice, guess who's name I see sending me an ally request? Yes, that very same user. As I am not a complete douche, I accepted - but, I did make the person "sweat" for a day. ;)

Last Is Best...

Last but most important - a factor I neglected to mention above but an essential component of my success is the team I work with. They were more than just allies and icons on a battle queue; they were buddies and accomplices. Downing bigger bosses is much easier when you can communicate your abilities, skills, and resources with other players on the same boss. My team was built from the community here, but I am certain there are a few other teams who utilize chat rooms and other Internet resources to coordinate their actions. Even if it's only a few of you, having those other people who share the same goal to talk to and collaborate with can be a great assistance to your meeting your goals!

There are many people who comprise the team, and you can find some of us hanging around this very Wikia's chat room at any given time. Drop in and say hey; there is a great bunch of ladies and gents there who will welcome serious players of all aspirations!

Until the next post, peace and happy hunting!

- the god of cyanide