*** The Punisher (Dark Reign) ***

HairyDave

Phantron wrote:

Judgment is just so good that you shouldn't even worry about whatever special tiles it destroyed unless it's:

Captain America's red AP return
Invisible Woman's protect/invisibility
Sentry's Sacrifice strike tile
Nick Fury's strike tile

Since most of these abilities will quickly end a game (minus IW), it's not like that's much of a drawback to hold off Judgment when you're about to win the game.

EVERY **** TIME!

It's like Punisher uses it as a beacon

Unknown

Punny doesn't like anyone stealing his role as strike tile generator LOL

Currently at 445, still waiting for a green cover, and still undecided on 355 or 454.. Agreed that molotov is a solid black skill, while retribution is overshadowed by many..

HairyDave

iPulzzz wrote:

while retribution is overshadowed by many..

Yes it is, but 30-40% is a big jump if you're trying to take down tanks like Lazy Thor, Sentry or Hulk.

Unknown

HairyDave wrote:

iPulzzz wrote:

while retribution is overshadowed by many..

Yes it is, but 30-40% is a big jump if you're trying to take down tanks like Lazy Thor, Sentry or Hulk.

ballpark 10K for a big bad. 40% is 4000pts health... max cap w/ 3 judgement tiles is almost 4000... add a match damage and it's not that far off. and really, how often are you at exactly 40%? I'm usually in 3000something which means cap and retribution are just as effective. by the end game AP should not be the issue?

Phaserhawk

iPulzzz wrote:

Punny doesn't like anyone stealing his role as strike tile generator LOL

Currently at 445, still waiting for a green cover, and still undecided on 355 or 454.. Agreed that molotov is a solid black skill, while retribution is overshadowed by many..

4/5/4 is the worst build. If you look to one of my earlier posts, the only 3 decent builds in order are

1&2)3/5/5 or 5/5/3 (these are the exact same beleive it or not)

3) 5/3/5

You need at least 5 in red or black, as lvl 5 black gets you the CD timer down 1 while the 5 red jump you up to 40%. If you only go 4 in either of these you severely **** your damage.

edit: Did the number crunch. 5/3/5 is the worst build. Any build where green is not at 5 is inferior. So 3/5/5 or 5/5/3 are the top two it depends on your style of play and your roster, but they do the same damage. 4/5/4 would than be the 3rd best build after those two.

Phaserhawk

coffeeandbacon wrote:

Gambit002 wrote:

Been considering going from 5/5/3 to 3/5/5 for some time but wasn't going to spend anything to do it. Pulled 2 red Puns today so it must be a sign. Will report back soon on how it goes.

Haha. I had 5/5/3 then respecced to 3/5/5. Going back to 5/5/3. Im finding that I often use other reds (cap, patch, psy) before retribution. I have so few reliable black damagers the molotov needs some love.

While I will not criticize your choice to go back to 5/5/3, the simple answer to your problem is...self control. Just don't use Cap, Patch, or Psy. remember Pun's retribution can down Thor or Sentry at 3480 life

kidicarus

coffeeandbacon wrote:

Haha. I had 5/5/3 then respecced to 3/5/5. Going back to 5/5/3. Im finding that I often use other reds (cap, patch, psy) before retribution. I have so few reliable black damagers the molotov needs some love.

When I was using punisher, I found that the reduced countdown on the Molotov cocktail synergized well with strike tiles. In most cases for high HP targets, I often found that with both up, they would easily fall within execute range anyway from persistent damage over time. If Punisher was your only red user, prioritising red AP collection is a bad idea because it takes a while before you can use it effectively and green/black are much better alternatives to prioritise (even with only 3 in black) for frontloading damage; and because of the prioritisation of G/B you're far more likely to have attack tiles earlier to bring you into that execute range.

Unknown

Phaserhawk wrote:

edit: Did the number crunch. 5/3/5 is the worst build. Any build where green is not at 5 is inferior. So 3/5/5 or 5/5/3 are the top two it depends on your style of play and your roster, but they do the same damage. 4/5/4 would than be the 3rd best build after those two.

In what situation do 3/5/5 and 5/5/3 do the same damage? Level 5 black doesn't increase team damage from level 3, only increases attack tile damage by 11 at max rank and the CD tile is 2. Level 5 red deals 350+ more damage than level 3. Unless you manage to get 30 more attack tiles on the board than at level 3 (which requires 80+ turns) 3/5/5 is better.

mags1587

grimeon wrote:

Phaserhawk wrote:

edit: Did the number crunch. 5/3/5 is the worst build. Any build where green is not at 5 is inferior. So 3/5/5 or 5/5/3 are the top two it depends on your style of play and your roster, but they do the same damage. 4/5/4 would than be the 3rd best build after those two.

In what situation do 3/5/5 and 5/5/3 do the same damage? Level 5 black doesn't increase team damage from level 3, only increases attack tile damage by 11 at max rank and the CD tile is 2. Level 5 red deals 350+ more damage than level 3. Unless you manage to get 30 more attack tiles on the board than at level 3 (which requires 80+ turns) 3/5/5 is better.

Black at 5 means, on average, you're more likely to get one or more attack tiles out on the board, which means that the attack tiles won't be matched away as quickly, which means that with a 5/5/3 build you tend to get more incremental damage on every match from your strike tiles + attack tiles. It's not guaranteed damage like red at 5, but it is there and it does add up. That's why 5/5/3 vs 3/5/5 is really a matter a preference.

over_clocked

Personally I prefer 3/5/5 because level 200+ Juggernaut has more health than all of my team combined, and CD abilities are generally less valuable for me than straight up stuff.
And yeah attack tile abilities are slightly worse, too, because they require you to actually take turns to have any effect. If you get lucky cascades and 5-matches, attack tiles will just sit pretty and do nothing.

Seasick Pirate

I've recently crossed over into the 3* region of MMR without and usable [useful] 3*s myself. I don't have too much of a problem with this as I no longer see a constant stream of OBW/Thor teams and appreciate the diversity. I haven't been afraid of fighting these new, higher-leveled teams, and have been fun doing so. The only problem I face regularly is Punisher leveled around 100 and higher, especially when paired with OBW. I'm just not sure how to handle him.

Characters like Falcon and Black Panther come to mind - ones that can alter countdown tiles - but I don't have either one leveled enough to take into battle. Out of what I do have, who would be the most effective to put a stop to his Molotov and Retribution attacks?

These are my highest-level characters - or see full roster in signature.

128 Black Widow (Grey Suit) 5 4 3
102 Hulk 5 2 3
89 Punisher 3 3 3
85 Ares 4 4 5
85 Black Widow (Original) 3 5 5
85 Captain America (Modern) 4 4 5
85 Hawkeye (Modern) 5 5 3
85 Magneto (NOW!) 3 5 5
85 Storm (Classic) 5 5 3
85 Thor (NOW!) 3 5 5
85 Wolverine (Astonishing) 5 5 3
79 Thor (Modern) 2 5 1

Now that summer is here, I have less time to devote to this game so want to maximize my efforts the best I can. Thanks for any help!

HairyDave

Of those options, probably OBW - you steal all his AP he ain't gonna cook you no more!

Other than that, he doesn't have an enormous pool of health to deal with so anything that can deal out big hits, preferably quickly (I'm looking at you Ares), can get rid of him before he does too much damage. Captain Happyslaps isn't a bad alternative either; at a lower level like yours is, Punisher's basic matches (especially with some strike tiles out) will trigger Anger pretty easily so you could potentially cascade him to death too - or scrape up enough green to give Punny the round of applause he deserves

Seasick Pirate

When he gets paired with OBW, I usually use OBW myself (I find her most effective against herself). My strategy then becomes making blue and purple my priority while taking her out first.
By the time that's done, Punisher usually has enough AP stored up to start attacking me and I usually have nothing to attack with.

I guess that's my problem really. I get too caught up in the "Stop OBW Game" to build up AP for my other characters to attack with.
I'll just have to keep trying new things or skip those two when I see them together until something better comes along.

Unknown

How about Thor? The main thing is to take all his greens. I never take out OBW because I haver her on my team as well which means the only way the computer is getting heals or steals is through cascades. OBW isn't a big threat and by the time I take down punisher, everyone else falls fast. Just make sure you do not let your life drop too low for retribution.

Unknown

Punisher has no weaknesses but also no extreme strengths. There's really no real trick going up against him. About the best you can do is make sure he doesn't get a Judgment off and eat a Molotov instead.

JamieMadrox

Concentrate on him and boost. I take out 141 Pun with a lvl 117 LCap, lvl 85 OBW, and the featured character. Boost Red/Yellow x3, boost Blue/Purple x3 and concentrate on purple, blue and red matches in that order. Steal AP, stun him with Cap blue, kill him with Cap red.

THEN take out the OBW because those guys ALWAYS have OBW paired with Pun.

Unknown

You need to avoid judgement, because it makes his molotavs and retributions pretty lethal. If he gets off a second judgement, might as well exit the match.

You have to be careful when bringing Hulk or Ares into a match against him. Hulk's Anger can turn a board mostly green, which the AI can capitalize on. Or you might be tempted to finish off OBW quicker with Ares' green (which then feeds Punisher).

HairyDave

Toxicadam wrote:

Or you might be tempted to finish off OBW quicker with Ares' green (which then feeds Punisher).

Yeah that's a REALLY bad idea.

Ares does work well against him though (if my defensive losses are anything to go by ) but only by alpha striking - build up enough red, yellow and green to take him out in one turn. Assuming you've got a 4/4/5 build, you need about 10 (maybe 12?) green to finish him off in one shot.

Unknown

Assuming The Punisher is paired up with OBW you're pretty much stuck with Molotov as the least devastating outcome.

Aggressive Recon is obviously a no-no unless you've a death wish.

Anti-Grav isn't as strong as it looks, but is probably not something you'd be comfortable with.

Judgment is The Punisher's best move and hurts a lot.

Retribution is actually pretty weak but of course you got to make sure it doesn't do a one hit kill because someone is below 40%.

I guess you can hope the enemy will just match yellow or environmental tiles all game, but Molotov is about the weakest attack you can take from The Punisher. I guess you can let them have blue/purple and then try to kill OBW before she fires those abilities off, but that's like juggling time bombs and not something I'd recommend.

Seasick Pirate

I guess there is really no easy way to deal with it. Just gotta take a gamble once in a while.
With the new healing system in place, seeing these two together will probably become more of a rarity. But I would still think it would be effective since people are going to try and lose as little health as possible now.