I think it would be great to have a friendly talk about the things you think about this game that you don’t talk about because people will think you’re nuts!
I’ll go first:
I think Mana deprivation is one of the most underplayed and underrated strategies in the game, beyond the apparent advantage of removing a color the opponent Troop(s) need.
To start my example I’ll bring up Mercy as one example who will Transform away Pr to Y. When used judiciously and thoughtfully, a single troop such as this can neutralize an entire opposing team.
Suddenly foes that need Pr take double the rounds to fill and they’re all fighting over the same limited Mana that does tumble down; Green creation/transformation becomes impossible or difficult because those troops mostly require Pr to function (this in turn reduces the value of every Gr creator in the opposing team, which severely dampens the efficiency Gr-using Troops.
The effects of a single Mana color deprivation can cascade, cascade, cascade down the line and have profound effects. Understanding this and then back-filling in the rest of your team around these gaps in the available board Mana is an over-looked team building strategy, especially when you are a poor, Traitless, Soulless, Gold-scrounging hobo at the start of the game.
I love mana deprivation!
I love ANY board manipulation!
I suppose my unusual perspective on the game is that we need more status effects, or better status effects. There was a time when I desperately wanted to create a poison deck, but at this point I know it’s a waste of time. Although it would be fun, it is not efficient, and…
NEW PERSPECTIVE:
The irony of the game at end game is that I don’t play this game for FUN, or at least not the logical fun. People play videogames as a form of entertainment, but GoW has long since become more than entertainment. So, I overlook “FUN” options/mechanics due to a lack of efficiency because the satisfaction I receive from playing GoW comes from the knowledge that I am contributing to and supporting my fellow Guildmates. I would argue that most end gamers feel the same way, which is why we ignore 90% of new content because it does not offer us a true path to our incentive: quickly earning trophies, gold, etc to buttress our guild and guildmates. The group happiness before the individual happiness through the vessel of a solitary, PvE, gaming experience… Fascinating…
And when the trains run late it seriously pisses of the Elves in Silverglade… Well it really just upsets Princess Elspeth’s beauty sleep and then SHE makes life a living hell for everyone else in the 'Glade!!
Controlled board mod is the core of combat in this game, and troops that don’t use it are boring. Stuff that doesn’t have any board mod is generally inefficient and boring. Sometimes I just want speed, but there is a certain satisfaction for finding that one move that can get you out of a potentially bad situation when you have a bunch of board mod troops with different effects. Considerably more satisfying than without where you generally only have a handful of swipe options at any given time and can easily see which one is “best” and its more about managing your risk of sky drops (which will eventually be against you at least a few times no matter what if you let this happen enough) . I always love when new board mod troops are added, especially if it gives another way to turn a one color into another color or a different mana usage that can make a certain color, but I’m usually left disappointed when it their secondary effect is so pitiful that you just might as well use whatever the universal converter for that color is or actively slow any given team down.
Not sure if that is an unusual perspective or not, but I definitely think we need more controlled board mod with effects that can be felt (and less fire-and-forget stuff). Given Terraxsis’s recent buff, that seems like a good measuring stick for the magnitude of such an effect. Even pre-buff Terraxsis would be a good point of reference here, really.
For me it’s explosions. Got a bad board? Detonate it! Got a good board but wrong places and not enough ways to get all the mana? Detonate it! This game makes me love explosions more than anything
I suppose a more unusual perspective than the philosophical excursion I took above would be that GoW has become my bed time story, my night time tonic, my Nyquil, if you will.
I just can’t fall asleep without playing a few matches!
I must say Love mass explosions that just destroy the board and also I just love this game since I started playing a long time ago when it was starting and I love seeing it grow and get better.
I gotta say, my first time around TDS came out when I was already Soul maxed. Second go around, I gotta say sometimes I def feel "MORE EXPLODEY, MORE BETTERER,WOOOOOOO!!!11
I actually do the math.
… Always calculating the statistical outcome and risk/reward of a potential results.
In a way of counting the odds of new gems falling to fill a cascade into already existing ones, mostly for the top rows or by using column-destroying mechanics.
That way, I usually run calculations of the use I could have. And sometimes I run risky if I’m at stake of extra-turns that could give me better advantage, even though I could have taken a really favorable mana color. I also do that when I go for 3-gem match instead of 4, when I find betting on the mana surge is more benefitial.
And the worst is that I already thought of making an Excel table of certain situations that repeat, since I already know most by heart. But doing that could either help the community or make no one talk to me ever again. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Such is the price of science.
