The Daily Deal

So you are saying that speedfarming level 6 adventures for 2 hours gets you minimum two legendaries? That is very, very lucky, i often farm for days and days in order to find one.

 

How many times means for days? If I speedfarm I do for example the first battle from Defense of Woodhome about two times per minute. If I need gold I prefer Against the Cockroaches which is even faster.

 

The subject was examined fairly in depth in this thread. @Jarmo sorted raw drop data into level, rarity, and type toward the end of the thread. We never did get a tight percentage for legendary drops, but it's quite small.

 

Interesting. Seems like the chances for an item lower than the adventure level are higher than a higher level item. That the chances for getting an item with the same level as the adventure are the highest i can confirm. But their used sample size is rather small. I am currently doing a test for the data of my thesis, whether I have done enough experiments or not. May be I can do that for the loot data as well (, when I finished my thesis of course ). Allthough reasoning on their data I am not that lucky with getting 2 legendaries per evening. It seems to be a pretty normal drop rate and rather low, when you compare it to the drops i got from playing an hour death march, which got me the 11th chest and the first place in my pod. The best thing is, in the 11th chest was my first Cursed Radcannon.

 

All the data in the thread is from mid-adventure (brown) chests. No end of adventure chests are used. neoncat's tools has a mining log that is very useful if you decide to gather more data.

 

That is a great one. Thanks for the tip.

 

Boxton's Red Pendant

Spoiler: Previously Reviewed

Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Both Flame Jet and Telekinesis are among the best cards for their respective deck archetypes. Boxton's Red Pendant is clearly a good item so I'll talk about the advantages and pitfalls of mixing and matching different roles on the same character. Let's say you have two wizards that are both split down the middle with burning and controlling cards. Your opponent won't know what to play around and you can use any hesitation or over-zealousness to your advantage. Also, if one of your wizards dies you won't be left with a low damage wizard that can't close out games or a relatively defenseless wizard that can't outrace larger close range attacks. On the flip side, you are at the mercy of your draws. If what you really need is that Telekinesis to stay alive you better hope you don't draw a grip full of burn spells. When you run a dedicated burn wizard and a dedicated control wizard you can get screwed if one dies but you are much more likely to draw what you want while both are alive. I don't believe one strategy is clearly superior to the other but I do know that mixed items like Boxton's Red Pendant can only go into one strategy while focused items can slot into both. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
The advantage of having mixed role characters goes out the window in singleplayer. You want all the consistency you can get. Gary does not fall for your mind tricks. Believe me, I've tried. He found the droids he was looking for anyways. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Ring Of Appropriation (E)
The Daily Deal

Did Peon Buy It?
Nope. The cards are great so it's technically playable but the only reason to play Boxton's Red Pendant is if you don't have stuff like Miligar's Dragon Tongue or Ring Of Appropriation yet. However, it makes no sense to buy a legendary to substitute other legendaries or epics.

Epics
Agility
Another item where other items do the job better.

Ajan's Glowing Vial
Still no good the second time around.

Rockshard Robes (B)
It deals decent damage and has the infamous Resistant Hide for the occasional blowout. You can't ask for much more out of tokenless robes. Get Forceful Robes for something more controlly and Firehide Robes for farming/burning enthusiasts.

Notable Rares
Automatic Shield (N)
You need to be in a module where the mobs use Burst, Cone, or Linear attacks (or whatever the attacks those annoying chess pieces have are) and you also need to be using a melee party. If those two things fit whatever you're doing say hello to your new best friend. Why not just spam Impenetrable Nimbusand be done with it you ask? Well, you don't need to remain glued to your priest and you're not always going to draw a Nimbus every turn. This is a very situational item but it is definitely one you should keep in mind as future modules come along.

Focused Bruising (N)
Bash warriors are wildly unpopular so their trait gets the most love in the form of a 2 point damage boost. If you do decide to run a Bash warrior, you've got the choice between Focused Bruising or the tokenless Novice Bruising. Keep in mind that Bash warrior play extremely differently from other warriors. Since you can't reliably keep your target in attack range, you are at the mercy of whatever your opponent chooses to do. This makes Bash warriors more suited for controlling victory squares than killing stuff. That is of course, unless you pair Bashes with range 2 attack. *cough* Zoltan's Laser Scourge *cough*

Perfect Command (B)
The one thing humans know how to do well is bossing people around and team movement granting command cards top the list. If you ever see a pair of warriors accompanied by a human priest or wizard, you can be fairly certain a Perfect Command is at play. The major token takes a bit of work to accommodate but the payoff of being able to double team targets with your melee big hitters is huge. If you can only spare the minor token, Command offers a swingier version that comes with a Slowed but there isn't anything that comes close to the quality and consistency of Perfect Command.

Spoiler: Item Rating Code

(B)est of the Best
This item is the best of the best of the best. With honors. It is not only powerful but also fits in well established multiplayer or farming archetypes.

(N)iche
This is a great item but fits in a very specific build. You should only consider purchasing if you have that particular strategy in your sights.

(P)layable
Not the best. Not the worst. This item is simply solid all around and I believe could see play. If that isn't enough of a ringing endorsement then I don't know what is. Oh, and you can go ahead and assume that any item that falls into other categories is playable as well. I will not list things that I would not be willing to play myself.

(U)nique
There is nothing quite like this item. Its cards or combination of cards are not found on other items of the same slot or not on other items period. If this item catches your fancy you should take a second look because you won't find anything similar elsewhere.

(V)alue
There may be better options but this item won't bust your piggy bank.


You could probably engineer a situation where this item wouldn't suck but it's more trouble than it's worth.


This item makes me sad and will probably make you sad too if you buy it. There are no circumstances where I'd consider playing this item.

 

Asmod's Telekinetic Chain (B)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Telekinesis is hands down the best control spell. Being able to Teleport targets over impassable terrain or through walls can make the return trip far greater than 2 square but that isn't what puts Telekinesis on top. Rather, it's the only Slide spell available that is lower than gold quality. In other words, you can get 2 copies on a tokenless item, and that's exactly what you get with Asmod's Telekinetic Chain. It is the best tokenless arcane item for a control wizard for both having 2 control cards and lacking weak cards. There are good single control spell options like Sensate's Ring and Rod Of Palver Pree but they pale in comparison. Highly recommend purchasing.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
While control cards can be useful in singleplayer, they are far less effective. You often have to many mobs coming at you to rely on them for playing keep away so it's better to resort to things like Impenetrable Nimbus, using a tank character, or a good old fashioned retreat. Plus, those control spells take up valuable real estate that could be devoted to Firestorm and Volcano instead. Asmod's Telekinetic Chain slows down farming and is largely unnecessary. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Rod Of Palver Pree (E)

Did Peon Buy It?
Yes, but not today. If I had more gold I would absolutely buy another. It pains me to pass on it but it'd feel much worse passing on something more unique later.

Epics
Advanced Command (NV)
You really only want Sprint, Team! over more copies of command cards with less range if you are banking on drawing it the first turn. Moving 8 quickly becomes overkill as the game progresses. Triple human warriors not only has the best chance of drawing Sprint, Team! but also has the best shot at having 2 sprinters with big attacks to take advantage of it. Bloody Command is a legendary upgrade since you generally don't want more movement cards after the big sprint. If you are just looking to luck into a Sprint, Team! on a support character, you are better off running Command for the extra command card.

Trained Flexibility (P)
Advanced Battlefield Training has the potential to do busted things but can also blow up in your face. If you're only willing to invest a minor token for it, Trained Flexibility is the skill for you as you get a decent melee block package out of the deal. If you're willing to go deeper down the rabbit hole, Perfect Flexibility nets you 2 Advanced Battlefield Trainings for a major token.

True Mail (V)
Straight up armor, even fantastic ones like Reliable Mail, generally aren't worth spending a token on unless you've got a good reason. The best reason is that you are expecting a large quantity of damage in tiny increments. This tends to be the case mostly in singleplayer. Other options include the more consistent Sturdy Armor and the strictly better legendary Clovidian's Mail.

Notable Rares
Enormous Mattock (N)
With Enormous Mattock you need a way to deal with Large Weapon. Even if you think a map is wide open enough that you can just swing your oversized beat stick around willy nilly, guess again. You are going to find yourself next to blocking terrain more often than not. That means you're going to have to run stuff like Arrogant Armor or Genetic Engineering but if you do the payoffs are big beefy attacks with a side order of cycling traits.

Focused Teleportation (N)
Not many wizards rely on spells that aren't buffable by wizard traits and wizards already have the tokenless Electroporter Novice for trait cycling so you need a very good reason to spend a token on the full set of Dimensional Traveler. Volcano is that reason. With the trait on, you are free to expend your movement cards to disguise the presence any Volcanoes in your hand or to pray that the AI uses up its movement cards in singleplayer. A savvy multiplayer opponent will realize that only Volcano wizards choose to use Focused Teleportation. Other options include going tokenless for Forceful Teleportation, though that also telegraphs impending Volcanos, or the ever popular Electroporter Novice, which disguises your strategy but only has one copy of Dimensional Traveler.

Spellstripper Relic (P)
Purging Burst won't win any glamour awards but it is without a doubt among the most useful priest spells. See some annoying traits like Elven Maneuvers? Gone. Your opponent spent the entire round buffing up with cards like Impenetrable Nimbus? Hope they weren't planning on using those. Got caught up in your opponent's Radioactive Goo? Well those stay on for good but any self imposed handicaps aren't a problem. Attachments are the cornerstone of so many strategies that you'll rarely if ever be lacking in targets. Spellstripper Relic is the best way to get your Purge effects from the divine item slot, though there are other slots to rely on. If you don't have the minor token, Purging Charm is the way to go.

Spoiler: Item Rating Code

(B)est of the Best
This item is the best of the best of the best. With honors. It is not only powerful but also fits in well established multiplayer or farming archetypes.

(N)iche
This is a great item but fits in a very specific build. You should only consider purchasing if you have that particular strategy in your sights.

(P)layable
Not the best. Not the worst. This item is simply solid all around and I believe could see play. If that isn't enough of a ringing endorsement then I don't know what is. Oh, and you can go ahead and assume that any item that falls into other categories is playable as well. I will not list things that I would not be willing to play myself.

(U)nique
There is nothing quite like this item. Its cards or combination of cards are not found on other items of the same slot or not on other items period. If this item catches your fancy you should take a second look because you won't find anything similar elsewhere.

(V)alue
There may be better options but this item won't bust your piggy bank.


You could probably engineer a situation where this item wouldn't suck but it's more trouble than it's worth.


This item makes me sad and will probably make you sad too if you buy it. There are no circumstances where I'd consider playing this item.

 

How many of these do we need?

 

12.

 

I have 6, and that's plenty for me. 4 sounds like a good number to have, but some of the better MP wizard players might have a more definitive answer.

 

I am considering double dipping - please ask these players their opinion if you have time.

 

(4 - Number of available tokens for arcane items - Number of Armorbane Pendants) * Number of control wizards

For me that number is typically 2, maybe 4 for something funky. Of course I don't like running triple control wizards so yours may be higher.

 

So, it's kinda looking like 2, 3, 4, or 12 is the number to go for.
Edit: I still run triple control in the campaign, but it's basically SLG's 3DC build. Bunch of Runestones.

 

I have double dipped, because it were my first two ones. And I would double dip again. I have seen a lot of two wizards build which were running 2 Chains on each wizards. Beyond 4 I dont see any use, because having a priest next to your wizards is key. But I would still buy the first half of the double dip, cause you never know.

Which does not make them a control wizard, because this item has the highest damage output you can go for. It has only useful cards, cycles (which increases the overall damage) and has Wall of Fire, which does usally 16 damage.

 

@Scared Little Girl called them control wizards, and she really seemed to know what she was doing, so I'm taking her word for it. My variant uses both frost and WoW, which falls under control. The walls of fire are just to mark the landing strips. 15 cycling traits per wizard is a bit much for MP these days, but it still works in SP.

 

Definitly. My variant uses 4 Runestones and no item to control the crowd.

15 sounds a lot. I have 2.5 on the Racial Skill, 3 on the Arcane Skill, 4 on the Arcane Items, 1 - 2 on the Boots, 0 on the staffs, which makes 10.5 - 11.5. Not so far away. You also use traits on your staffs? I prefer Searing Pain, Blue Destruction or Staff of Million Embers. But I think we are getting of topic and we should discuss this in the farming thread.

 

Boots Of Etzicatl (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
It can be tempting to view Brutal Charge first and foremost as a 10 damage attack but if you do you will often be sorely disappointed. It is extremely difficult to cash a Brutal Charge in for full value. Not only do you need to be on a map with long open lanes but you also need an unsuspecting opponent. If instead you use Brutal Charge as a restrictive movement card that occasionally nets you some bonus damage, then Boots of Etzicatl suddenly becomes much more desirable. That said, being stopped by a simple corner or impassable terrain is not a position I'd want to subject myself to. There are those that swear by Brutal Charge and others, including yours truly, that think that there's better things to spend tokens on. Would not purchase unless you really like Brutal Charge.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Brutal Charge is more of a fun card than anything else. You really only want movement against ranged mobs. Although moving 5 is a good start, the restriction is often too inconvenient. There are modules where the conditions are optimal for Brutal Charging but I still think that token would be better off upgrading a different slot or giving you a more flexible movement card. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Tochtli Boots (E)

Did Peon But It?
Nope. I did manage to find the full set though. I think I've used them a grand total of one time. If you are wondering whether or not you'd like Brutal Charge, I'd suggest doing a dry run with regular Charge boots like Kodiak Boots or dwarf skills like Superb Ferocity.

Epics
Roaring Staff (P)
Not bad since you get burning spells that aren't commonly found on arcane items which is a plus. However, you're missing out on Ember Burst, the attack that both allows you to soften up and finish off targets that try to stay out of line of sight. Ditto for Fireball if you're eyeing Staff Of The Fire God.

Torching Staff
Burning wizards are token hungry and probably looking for a budget option after selling the farm to pay for all those legendaries. Torching Staff just doesn't do enough with those Unstable Bolts hanging around. The only low token staff I'd consider on a burning wizard is Overheated Staff. Yet another legendary, I know, but it's so much more powerful than any of the other options.

Vinorkin's Boots (P)
Great minor token boots for playing keep away. Both Violent Spin and Jump Back are very reliable ways of avoiding melee attacks.

Notable Rares
Rod Of Winds (P)
If there's one thing people tend to shy away from it's uncertainty. Whirlwinds are definitely random, it even says so in the card text. While I can't tell you where everything will land, I can tell you that it will be a pain in the butt for your opponent. Camping out on a victory square? Whirlwind. Finally got within striking distance of your wizard? Whirlwind. Got blocks waiting for a juicy target? I hope Whirlwind is good enough for you. Being able to inconvenience the entire opposing side is incredibly powerful. Rod of Winds is the single best item let alone arcane item to get Whirlwind Enemies from as there isn't anything else that gives more than one copy.

Spoiler: Item Rating Code

(B)est of the Best
This item is the best of the best of the best. With honors. It is not only powerful but also fits in well established multiplayer or farming archetypes.

(N)iche
This is a great item but fits in a very specific build. You should only consider purchasing if you have that particular strategy in your sights.

(P)layable
Not the best. Not the worst. This item is simply solid all around and I believe could see play. If that isn't enough of a ringing endorsement then I don't know what is. Oh, and you can go ahead and assume that any item that falls into other categories is playable as well. I will not list things that I would not be willing to play myself.

(U)nique
There is nothing quite like this item. Its cards or combination of cards are not found on other items of the same slot or not on other items period. If this item catches your fancy you should take a second look because you won't find anything similar elsewhere.

(V)alue
There may be better options but this item won't bust your piggy bank.


You could probably engineer a situation where this item wouldn't suck but it's more trouble than it's worth.


This item makes me sad and will probably make you sad too if you buy it. There are no circumstances where I'd consider playing this item.

 

Slightly back to the topic of DD evaluations (though not for today's DD).
Trembling Staff - Rare - Cycling traits were nerfed to two, but it still digs through your deck. Not recommended for use vs. Searing Pain. Still quite good for some SP builds.
Robe Of Lightness - Okay, it's uncommon, so it isn't really a DD thing. 2x Hover for zero tokens. Prized by those who believe the best defense is a good offense.

 

These boots could work for some very fun decks - over 6 months ago a 1800 player was using two pairs of these boots on his dwarf warriors, he sent me a screenshot of his deck but I never managed to copy it (dont have the items) and I am still waiting on a chance to make it (I am missing 2 items) the deck (as you may have noticed) had been working very well in that rotation.