Being attacked by a thief? Find out who he is!
Potions’ and elixirs’ effects in different combats
Artifacts with the "Artifact shop" status
Faction skills, parameters, and players
Dynamics of character development
Survival skills
Nowadays, a tournament known as the Survival Tournament has lost it’s relevance. We asked a few questions to some of the well-known masters of ST(Survival Tournament), the young and the old, to find out, why, in their opinion, ST has lost it’s relevance and what could be the possible solution. Maybe, this article will become a kind of a push to attract your attention to the Survival Tournament or to shine a light on a reform of the tournament.
1.What was the cause of ST losing its’ popularity?
a) The young players left, however, they always leave quickly.
á) b) Today, there are many opportunities for leveling up, so the group of players that had leveled their anti-skill, left.
It’s possible that the given rewards are not that appealing (for example, on 17-th level you will rarely get into the 10% range)
I can provide some factors that have led to ST losing it’s popularity.
- First of all, the battles are quite long. After the last weakening of the monsters the number of waves that the winners could reach went up to 20, not every player has enough time or nerves to reach it (the perfect amount of waves shouldn’t be more than 10).
- Bad exp/skill ratio, here you can add the extreme amounts of experience which the ST gives. If it doesn’t influence your growth on the higher levels, on the lower and middle levels you can feel that you are left behind because the other guilds aren’t being developed.
- The reward system doesn’t stimulate players to participate in the given tournament massively.
I think the main reason for ST becoming less popular are the costs, which for the most players aren’t being covered by the prize money. A payment of 5 thousand gold must be made + 5 battles, fully equipped, and the outcome is that the hero doesn’t get anything, taking into account that to have a good try you must spend a lot of time.
For example, on my level and higher, the second place doesn’t even get into the 10% and it’s only about 10 thousand gold pieces as the prize. Yes, the money spent to participate is paid back, but that’s it. There has to be a reform so that everyone would compete. And so that the proposed option would be profitable and not unprofitable, as we see at the moment.
ST lost its popularity because of the bad rewards, lack of motivation from the administration to players who strive from the bottom to the first place (the lack of 10%).
The amount of participants was always changing, sometimes more, sometimes less. From the very beginning of ST, everyone was interested in it, especially those who knew nothing about it and wanted to try it out. Always wanted to go as far as possible, with the appearance of spheres (that happened in the 68th ST) and the lightning tower, the desire only grew stronger. It wasn’t just running in the arena from one monster to another, you had to be able to beat everyone quickly, in fact, not quickly but in three rounds, otherwise after that the lightning tower activated which could thrash your troops, but you have to make an exit, stand on the right place and so on. That was the first innovation, when you had to think more and thoroughly think it through. With time the popularity grew, the players went farther, were able to collect not 100-200 thousand points, but millions. That took away a lot of energy and time (speaking from experience), but people played nonetheless, wasted time. I think they did what they liked, trying to go as far as they can, putting all their strength into it. After that and until today’s ST practically nothing has changed, maybe, the one thing is that the difficulty of waves rose and it gives more skill experience. That happened in 106th ST. After that, the amount of people gradually went down. I think people got a little bored. They got so high in the points, played with so many reinforcements and without them and so on, but someone wants PvP instead or someone else is busy in real life… But when there is a tournament for the Best, ST comes to life immediately. So many people take part in it that you don’t even know where are they all coming from. And no matter what should happen to ST, those who like it, will take part in it.
1.1 No bonuses for all participants of ST, not taking into account success.
1.2 Bad exp/skill ratio on the lower levels and by completing a large amount of waves (although on 14+ ST is definitely the most beneficial type of battles, taken the relationship of exp/skill exp, if you manage to pick up more that 50 thousand points)
1.3 The low amount of tries – it’s hard for newbies to get a result. Then again, to spend 5 thousand on entrance and to only have 5 battles for a player with fspd is nothing.
I wouldn’t call it loss of popularity, it’s just that ST on the starting phase and now – heaven and earth, many people stopped playing after the global changes (tower, spheres), because they could not adapt.
Now many additional characters of higher leveled masters of ST prevent low levels to get almost free prizes, but the ST is a relatively fair battle… I know many ‘’elders’’ of ST, who continue earning medals using their brain. I respect constant people, especially when they achieve gold not only through their main account. As they say: ‘’If to fight, then till the end!’’, but when will the end be – no one knows. :)
2. What can raise the interest of players to ST?
- Paired survival tournament.
- Mixed survival tournament (control a random faction, which would give free skill experience according to a reasonable limit).
- No entry cost.
- Artifacts, elements, creature artifacts, guild points (MG, TG, RG, LG, GG).
- Your options.
There will always be those who are unsatisfied with reforms. At the moment I see one problem: the higher your level is, the smaller the prize! On the 21st level the sum is almost equal to the entrance fee, not taking the 10% into account, of course. Something has to be done about this, because brain costs a lot, be it in game or in life. ;)
P.S. As for me, I would already like to try out the alternative class of Dark elves, hello to admins. ;)
Paired ST – it is a step back, there is more than enough fighting monsters in groups. More than that, because of the quick-running timer, it’s difficult to thoroughly think through how to pass a wave – that’s a very important piece of the ST lost right there.
- Well, it’s in a way, the Best, but on a regular basis. It is of importance, but it shouldn’t be more often than 2-4 times a year.
- I’m not assessing free entrance.
- Enter Hunters’ Guild points into ST battles, for example: 0.1 point per every wave with a maximum of 1 full HG point per battle. Even now there is a part of ST’ers, who go to battles just for HG points and not even for the prizes as they are too small.
- ST with energy crystals could be an option. Army would be recruited similarly to the Time Portal Event. For some time it is going to be something new, after that, it could be alternated with the usual ST.
My option.
Once every three months there could be a ST that’s called ‘’Empire’s Cup’’. The conditions of entering – get into a threesome of winners in the usual ST during the time of the tournaments. Level of participants: 3-21. The mechanics: a faction, build and the sets of troops are chosen randomly from the templates for levels 10 to 21. They are the same for all participants. Rewards system: 1st to 10th places are rewarded with gold, what’s more is that 50% of the prize fund are shared between the first three places in the relationship 50/30/20, the second half of the prize fund is equally shared between 4th to 10th places. Also, I suggest entering unique artifacts for the rewarding of the first three places:
For the first place – a golden artifact of ST, for the second – a silver artifact and for the third – a bronze artifact. They could all be suited to create a full set, just with different modifiers.
Because of the small amount of acquired artifacts (12 a year), they can be substituted with medals and rings of first, second and third ranks, parameters of which will significantly surpass existing analogs.
For a start, admins must do something. There are many great suggestions: ST in the format of ‘’Best’’, a free choice of points in TG, LG, HG, MG, TG, creature artifacts, normal rewards, the best relationship and many more. )
A squeeze of ideas with upgrades of the ST is available here: //www.heroeswm.ru/forum_messages.php?tid=2242703&page=7#36562127.
Paired ST sounds like fantasy. If it would be launched the same way as Mt or Pt, I guess you can take part in a tournament like that, but if it is to be often, it could as well replace the present ST.
Mixed ST – the same.
Free entrance could raise the amount of participants who said that they can’t even afford an entrance and a set of artifacts. )
Points – only if LG, because, as you are in a battle, you won’t even enroll at a workplace. For example: award the points according to spent hours in the battle.
I have never thought on how to improve ST. Everything is fine as it is.
- Mixed survival tournament (playing as a random faction, battles would give skill experience in a reasonable manner.
- No entrance fee.
- Artifacts, elements, creature artifacts, guild points (MG, TG, RG, LG, GG).
In one word – extras, lots of extras.
Many new innovations could be thought of which would raise interest in the ST. At least for the time being.
Only not Paired survival tournament, many will understand, what I’m talking about. :)
If one player can sit for days in a battle in ST, then two… well, it’s not very convenient, especially if there is a limit on the speed of a turn. The good thing about ST is that you can go and eat in the middle of a game. :)
Free entrance would totally increase the audience. I think this is the best option.
I think many people wouldn’t mind increasing the prize fund. Let’s assume multiplying it by two, rewarding not the 10% of the best players, but 5%, for example, so that the three winners would always get a normal income in gold.
My suggestions:
- Lining up the usual ST with the Best tournament and once a year have a ST with a fixed army and standard parameters amongst all players of the game, be it level 3 or 21.
- ST potion would raise competition and would give the opportunity to those who want all pieces of the picture, to try and get them in a battle for other factions.
It would be difficult to make Paired ST and Mixed ST happen, except that with a turn timer.
- Creature artifacts – yes.
I would suggest the following options:
- Improve exp/skill exp on the lower levels (for attracting beginning players);
- HG bonuses for every try;
- Regular tournaments for the Best (own a huge success in the audience);
- Tournaments with a timer by the type of quick chess with a fixed army and stats;
- Increasing the amount of tries – minimum, equal to the amount of factions.
3. What makes these types tournaments attracting?
The chance of thoroughly thinking the steps while competing for medals. ST is like the chess of LWM.
A very interesting tournament tactically, especially while playing as a holy knight, who has fixed damage after casting Blessing. Personally, I have a passion to get as high as possible in the waves.
Another aspect which can make the tournament very interesting, - good spheres of summoning, which can significantly change the tactics of a game.
The process of competition, in the first place, as well as a pleasant addition – training of logical thinking and intuition (especially when playing from luck).
ST is the only tournament, well, the only type of battles in LWM, where there is a vast for creativity and ideas, where you can plan the tactics and strategies, rethink and realize them.
You are able to sharpen your skill, play with other units from summoning just by turning on your ‘’brain’’. )
You can peacefully, in no haste, with a cup of coffee, wrapped up in a blanket just sit and play chess in some way, get pleasure from your turns and useless or genial turns of monsters. That’s what attracts.
This is probably the only type of tournaments which you can play, knowing how the AI will walk, roughly, and adjust accordingly. Embody your own ideas and thoughts, different variations of builds if necessary. Go further than anyone else between the many competitors and be first. It’s difficult not to meet a rival, as in the future there will be someone who to talk to and to compete the next week.
As for me, the ST looks like chess and because I’m a first category player, I see another chance for myself to train my brain. ;) Then again, competition heats up the ‘’appetite’’. Although there is never too much time, I try to find it for a pair of tries in the ST.
HG points and prizes.
You can slowly practice beating up monsters, leveling HG and, the financial part was what attracted me in the past.
The tactical component before anything else. And as a decent way of income.
4. What battle was the most exciting and worth remembering? How was it special?
The battle that was worth remembering was from the tournament, in which a summon of vampiric lizards was given.
There was a critical moment in the wave with invokers and succubi. From the 17th wave I went blindfold so I didn’t know that there were going to be so many stacks, otherwise I would’ve played differently. However, there was a stack of two invokers left that could’ve killed my phantom of vampiric lizards, but they missed, fortunately.
The result of my battle was the ‘’broken’’ points counter (already fixed) and the current record in the ST (not sure, but I don’t think it’s been surpassed).
Link to battle://www.heroeswm.ru/warlog.php?lt=-1&warid=707562368
The battle for 2 million points with a summon of renegade scouts, warlords, lorekeepers, lava dragons and 3 thousand goblins (all in one ST), also a ST with a summon of 500+ raiding harpies, ST, in which enforcers had more than 100 hp. Alas, I do not have any links.
It was my first victory. I remember it because it was my first gold, which didn’t come easy because ‘’the first step is always the hardest’’ in the very first ST, on the second, however, I took gold in spite of the massive amount of competitors, which back then was 607 players. The most popular faction – elf, 8th level. That was my motivation for future victories.
//www.heroeswm.ru/war.php?lt=-1&warid=54656804
The most exciting battle for me was this one:
//www.heroeswm.ru/war.php?warid=701054011
It was exciting because I owned a very strong summon, 229 mummies to be exact. If only I could’ve given all spheres to them it would have been scary to imagine what would have happened. The spheres in this battle were left to lie on the ground, untouched, I wasted all five attempts but didn’t manage to beat the monster, just a little bit, but it was the monster that made an end to the whole stack of mummies. Both the monster and the mummies came out from the bottom, which was very annoying.
There were many interesting battles, actually, but…
Perhaps, this is the battle in which I triumphed as the Best level 13 Unholy Necromancer:
//www.heroeswm.ru/war.php?warid=531145745<.
There was very high competition and only in the last try I managed to get the maximum result and get in front of a player Ëàÿ Ýâåðàëüô.
Another reason why I remember it, - it’s one if those rare cases, when I was sure of my win (although my current result at that moment was barely in the thirties) and just before the battle I wrote in ‘’The Dedicated Fighters’’ clan chat that ‘’I’m as ready as ever’’.
That’s how I recall series of rivalry for barbarian medals with players Áëåê-Àéñ, Èíæåíåð, Ïîñëåäíèé_Ãåðîé, ÑàñêåÓ÷èõà. I thank them for that. And how can I forget Jet with his ideal walkthroughs in the Best tournaments, which he sometimes couldn’t pass in 9 hours!
Of course there were battles like that. Truth be told, waves from tour to tour repeat and many actions happen automatically. In one of the latest ST I did a decent shift, I had hidden my troops behind two big monsters, hiding from a third monster, a most evil griffin.
At first, all battles excite. Needless to say, the first golden medal as a Dark elf shocked me and I understood, that nothing is impossible.
I want
to play in the same ST with me. ) I hope that on 20th level I can catch up with him level-wise.Interesting facts about ST.
Players who got the most profit from ST’s are:
1.
l-xXx-l 11.986.716
2.
reLim 11.487.273
3.àëåõèí- 9.771.811
4.
motrun- 9.112.223
5.
luchshaya- 8.914.409
There are many interesting facts. I used to keep statistics before, later I stopped. For example, I managed to win 30-35 tournaments with just one single try. Basically, I would rarely play more than two tries on my main character for a result. Overall, one try, sometimes two.
I remember Best dwarf ST, when we were tiny dwarves (the faction had just been introduced), and there were loads of runes. Interesting combinations of runes were created, after that, it can’t be done again.
The Lightning tower doesn’t attack lodestone golems. When there are many of them, the tower takes a defending position, when there aren’t so many of them, it waits. It never attacks one stack, however, it can attack when there are 2-4 stacks. I don’t know what the cause for that is.
Any monster can rise and block archers, only if the monster deals very little damage and if the archers can kill him in close combat. On the second turn it can try and kill itself. You have to be careful here as it can hit phantoms if they are present.
I don’t even know what to say here. All the facts seem to be widely known.
- For example: on a wave with lodestone golems the Lightning tower is ‘’on vacation’’. :)
- If an enemy monster will die from a counterattack, it will only block a powerful archer, without hitting it. But it only does that for one time, as it will hit the archer on its’ second turn.
- Points are not given for raised (using the Rise Dead spell) and summoned troops, so you can go ahead and kill mummies and those alike. :)
- Barbarian faction gets Orbs of Attack instead of Orbs of Mana Replenishment, so before you start dreaming about archers with extreme attack points, check to see if a barbarian has written down waves. :)
- Some, who play as Fury barbarians switch from Goblin archers to simple Goblins as when the latter reach the third level of tribal spirit they can attack without retaliation.
- When playing as a Tribal, summoned stacks who have ‘’Tribal spirit’’ also receive spirit and get bonuses according to it.
Participants of ST’s used their concerted efforts and created sweepstakes for fun in the ‘’Tournaments’’ section of forum. Shhhh, no one has to know! :P
Current ST’s record-holders:
//www.heroeswm.ru/tournaments_hist.php?tour=265&tid=3795&race=1
//www.heroeswm.ru/tournaments_hist.php?tour=264&tid=3777&race=9
The points counter started to lag after reaching the norm of 2,147,484 points, so character CreatorOfWidows counted the points manually. At the moment, as ST players say, the bug has been fixed.
What would you like to say to new lords, striving to become winners of ST’s?
Study the battles of winners of your level/faction, and of course, learn new information by reading guides regarding ST’s (//daily.heroeswm.ru/n/guide_tnv and //daily.heroeswm.ru/n/atb).Something to be added is that people are mistaken that you always need to play to the maximum difficulty, you need to try and the victories will come. Not straight away, also not only by how skilled you are, but by the mistakes of more experienced competitors.
Any ST player, who wants to achieve something, needs to know the abilities and roughly, the parameters of all creatures that you could possibly meet there. That is necessary for you to be able to correctly evaluate the stage of danger of a creature and pick your priorities.
You always need to remember about ‘’trap abilities’’ such as the Succubis’ and Mistresses’ return fire. Or else you will shoot at an open stack of phantom archers but as an answer you will receive a hit and the next thing you know you just lost a key stack of your army.
The speed of creatures is important for planning the walkthrough of waves: from what monsters you can hide, which ones need to be moved, which ones – destroyed, because of their speed.
Another important aspect which needs to be learned is shifts. They are especially important for Elves, Demons (shifts for Sprites and Cerberus’) and Dark elves (shifts for Lizard assailants’ ‘’Assault’’). Other factions use shifts less often, but it is still important to know the principles.
It is also important to know how to move on to the next wave correctly using the ATB-holes.
First of all, get to know the existing waves and orbs. Think, who they should be given to. If there is a summoned monster that’s stronger than your main one, you might as well pick up some of those orbs with the summoned creature. If there are no wizards in the waves or they won’t be attacking you, it’s better to wear a cape with resistance against air spells. If you are level 9 Tribal or less, it’s better to split up the Shamans one by one and slow down the enemy stacks. If the invaders or enforcers didn’t enter the next wave in a good position, you can slow down enemy monsters to escape unwanted loss. Always remember, how shifts work. They work as follows: LEFT – UP – DOWN – RIGHT. For example, if you are shifting the monster on the top to the left, you have to block the area of entering. If you are shifting towards the bottom, close the square of entering and left square next to it. Then will the monster come out from the bottom, not from the right as it may seem. If you are shifting a right monster to the left, the entering square must be closed. If the monster needs to be shifted to the bottom, you must close the left square, the entering and the upper squares. It’s the easiest to do this with a large creature. The method that is used to master shifting is conspirers tasks from the Mercenary Guild. Sometimes you need to kill a monster with just one hit and not receive any damage yourself, in this case you should calculate your damage, or, if you are playing often you can even create a table in Excel with different Attacks and Damages from given attack on the target with different defence values, so you wouldn’t have to constantly count the damage. Just look at the current attack value and your damage is already there, which you had calculated before. I’m using this method. And, of course, make exits. It’s best to do it with stacks with high initiative or those who won’t be necessary or those, who won’t be reached. Keep an eye on the waves, try to not get lost in them. It’s not a sin to distract a stronger creature using any other while you are getting everything else sorted out. Try not to distract yourself. It’s best to do your tries when you have lots of time and you can’t be bothered. If you make the right conclusions, you will succeed.
The desire to win is important, learning from others’/your mistakes/tactics. And good luck in ST’s and in real life!
For the beginning ST’s I would recommend to for sure watch previous tournaments of more experienced contestants and also not to rush, but also not to slow down. Good luck to everyone on the way to conquering new heights of ST’s!
Analysis of winners’ battles, articles about ST’s (Daily has some decent articles about the mechanics of ATB, shifts and others). Everyone can win, even a newbie. No wonder there is a view that even the quality of winners’ battles has fallen – many just stay away from the competition and play where it’s easy to win.
Train perseverance, concentration and will to victory, never give up. On is the only way!
Patience.
EVSeyAt least get a cat.
Don’t lower your hands in case of failure, study, ask and read and you will succeed.
No one was born as a machine for getting medals in ST. Previous ST’s need to be watched, work to be better, hone your skills. If a newbie will do that – the result will not keep you waiting. And also – never give up!
Perseverance and desire to reach the top of ST! It’s not unreachable.