# What is your explore team? **URL:** \ **Category:** Gameplay Chat (General)\ **Created:** [July 16, 2016, 5:12am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687 "2016-07-16T05:12:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lyya](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/lyya/32/3650_2.png) [@Lyya](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Lyya)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 11:55pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/21 "2016-07-16T23:55:16Z")
No, it does not affect drop quality or rate. > [@PC/Steam: New Version (mini update) 2.0.106](http://community.gemsofwar.com/t/pc-steam-new-version-mini-update-2-0-106/9619/9): > > No - traitstone droprate was once affected by difficulty (pre 1.0.9 I think, where it was 70% + 5% per difficulty level), but we bumped it up to 100% on all difficulty levels a while back. The quality of the traitstone has never been affected by difficulty. ---
**Author:** ![Amadan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/amadan/32/7653_2.png) [@Amadan](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Amadan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/22 "2016-07-17T00:04:17Z")
So it sounds like increased Soul cap (and I guess technically Gold cap too but realistically, who cares) is the only reason to do Explorations at anything above normal difficulty, then. I mean, other than plain ol’ “for the challenge of it”, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Lyya](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/lyya/32/3650_2.png) [@Lyya](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Lyya)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/23 "2016-07-17T00:06:01Z")
There’s increased XP, too. In my experience, if you are optimizing for efficiency, I wouldn’t go over Warlord I. ---
**Author:** ![Mithran](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mithran/32/18064_2.png) [@Mithran](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Mithran)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 3:28am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/24 "2016-07-17T03:28:58Z")
Yeah, I run higher difficulties because its 10 extra souls per difficulty above normal per game for a Valk team. It may not sound like a whole lot, but it adds up in the long run. There are plenty of challenges that are just as fast on Warlord II as there are normal because they all have low HP; however, for Explore mode I use Hard or Warlord I depending on the kingdom, since otherwise random Legendaries can increase the amount of casts I need to clear. It’s not worth the time to continually change the difficulty after you scout the Explore, so just try to find something you are comfortable on to maximize both clear speed and soul gain and stick with it. If not, just run normal (unless you really want xp I guess). Edit: My experience from the drops rates so far is 11 arcanes in 198 battles. I seem to be a bit ahead of the curve at this point, and none of my streaks were too overly long. The longest drought I had between arcanes at this time was 49 battles, and the biggest streak was getting 4 arcanes within 20 battles (or 2 within 3 battles). The others were all pretty evenly spread out. I also got 3 or 4 celestials during this time, but didnt document them. For farming challenges, I’ve gone about 400 battles between arcanes before, so I’d imagine droughts of 100+ can still happen in Explore, but it should even out over time. ---
**Author:** ![Rasper](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/rasper/32/2363_2.png) [@Rasper](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Rasper)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/25 "2016-07-17T03:45:40Z")
On Normal every Explore I’ve done has yielded a stone, unlike challenge which has an 80% drop rate on Normal. ---
**Author:** ![Lyya](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/lyya/32/3650_2.png) [@Lyya](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Lyya)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 4:22am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/26 "2016-07-17T04:22:04Z")
Are you certain? According to @Sirrian, the drop rate should be 100% now. See the above link. ---
**Author:** ![Rasper](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/rasper/32/2363_2.png) [@Rasper](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Rasper)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/27 "2016-07-17T04:36:19Z")
I didn’t know that had changed, been a while since I did my testing of drop rates. ---
**Author:** ![htismaqe](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/htismaqe/32/23893_2.png) [@htismaqe](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/htismaqe)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/28 "2016-07-20T19:34:52Z")
Explore is definitely worth it. I am 4 stones away from a fully-traited Celestasia in just 4 days of playing. EDIT: And I should note that I also fully-traited Coronet and played quite a bit of PvP over that time as well. The trait stones are dropping like crazy for me. ---
**Author:** ![KAYA43V3R](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/kaya43v3r/32/312_2.png) [@KAYA43V3R](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/KAYA43V3R)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/29 "2016-07-20T20:08:51Z")
In the same spirit as @Tacet: Marilith + 3 Spirit Fox Enjoy 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![stabito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@stabito](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/stabito)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/30 "2016-07-20T22:14:01Z")
thanks to your team i ended up making my own team Mortanis scythe mist stalker giant spider mist stalker i have only done 3 or 4 explores with this team but everytime i have casted mortanis scythe i end up taking out the first 3 troops ---
**Author:** ![KAYA43V3R](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/kaya43v3r/32/312_2.png) [@KAYA43V3R](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/KAYA43V3R)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/31 "2016-07-25T22:37:11Z")
A new nice troop this week: ASTRAL SPIRIT 4 x Astral spirit with empowered… nice explore team lol ---
**Author:** ![MakoSipper](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/makosipper/32/1933_2.png) [@MakoSipper](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/MakoSipper)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 10:15pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/32 "2016-09-09T22:15:15Z")
Pretty standard team: Tyri\*\*\* (not for maps, just for the gem-removing ability) Soothsayer\*\*\* Valkyrie\*\*\* Crimson Bat\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Assiduous](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/assiduous/32/3931_2.png) [@Assiduous](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Assiduous)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/33 "2016-10-04T13:51:59Z")
It’s been a little while. What are folks running these days? I’m currently running: Red/Purple Dragotaur The Dragon Soul Venbarak Celestasia Pretty quick, fill up The Dragon Soul and two casts usually does it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahamoti](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mahamoti/32/19354_2.png) [@Mahamoti](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Mahamoti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/34 "2016-10-04T15:06:53Z")
Hero/Sorcerer/Creeping Death Giant Spider Valk Death Dragon banner, 2xRed/Yellow/-1xBrown 2x Necromancy means one cast of Valk maxes souls. Valk fills Spider/Death, Spider fills Hero/Death, one cast of Hero and Death wipes board on Warlord I. ---
**Author:** ![Clinc](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/clinc/32/10115_2.png) [@Clinc](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Clinc)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/35 "2016-10-04T16:09:44Z")
+2 red,1 yellow -1 brown banner Sooth Valkyrie Bat Sooth Usually wins on second turn ---
**Author:** ![Assiduous](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/assiduous/32/3931_2.png) [@Assiduous](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Assiduous)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/36 "2016-10-04T16:28:59Z")
How much damage can Creeping Death do? Around 10? ---
**Author:** ![Emos](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/emos/32/5163_2.png) [@Emos](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Emos)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/37 "2016-10-04T16:37:26Z")
Deep Borer\*\*\* Bombot Mechanist\*\*\* w Imperial Jewel Flame Cannon +2 Brown Banner, +4 Mech/+3 Adana bonuses. One brown match fills Bombot, then detonate and blow everything to hell! Most matches end on turn two and Mechanist or Flame Cannon mops up if need be. Deep Borer creates brown gems if starting board is bad. This does use a fully traited Mechanist with Mech perk and Epic lvl Bombots. ---
**Author:** ![Mahamoti](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mahamoti/32/19354_2.png) [@Mahamoti](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Mahamoti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/38 "2016-10-04T16:58:04Z")
With maxed kingdoms, guild bonus, and sorcerer class, mine does 32 I think. ---
**Author:** ![JasonAshcroft](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/jasonashcroft/32/1974_2.png) [@JasonAshcroft](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/JasonAshcroft)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/39 "2016-10-04T18:58:38Z")
I’m mostly using Carnex\*\*\* Bombot\*\*\* Bombot\*\*\* Hero Mechanist /w Prismatic Orb Match brown once and explode a Bombot sometimes is enough to win the match. Takes 30 seconds if everything works out. ---
**Author:** ![Mithran](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mithran/32/18064_2.png) [@Mithran](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Mithran)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687/40 "2016-10-05T11:21:22Z")
> [@Emos](#): > > Deep Borer\*\*\* > Bombot > Mechanist\*\*\* w Imperial Jewel > Flame Cannon > > +2 Brown Banner, +4 Mech/+3 Adana bonuses. I’m using a similar team: Deep Borer\*\*\* Bombot\*\*\* Imperial Jewel (Mechanist\*\*\*) Blast Cannon\*\* The Broken Banner Pretty much only have the blast cannon there for the mech bonus and Stone Link, so I can set the banner such that ANY blue fills borer, and ANY brown fills Bombot, and one cast of either fills everything else as usual. I’ve also found that of things that can slow your pace, it is generally a bad starting board or on-death summons. Generally jewel cleans these up, but if, for example, a gorgotha or dokkalfar survives initial the bombot, you can finish them off with the blast cannon and use the Jewel to oneshot any potential summon. I might give your variant a whirl where Life Drain is more common, like Ghulvania. I’ve also used Soothsayer in the last spot with about equal speed, but my also Bombot currently has 40 armor without any bonuses. If sooth casts to get things started, that makes up for the two armor loss - its slightly better versus extremely bad boards, but probably slightly slower overall. These variants are the only thing I’ve found to be consistently faster than using valk or dragon soul teams, which all ranged between 10 and 12 minutes in a 10 battle test, and the bombot team being under 7 minutes for 10 battles (consecutive, map to map). [Previous page](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687.md?page=1) [Next page](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/what-is-your-explore-team/9687.md?page=3)