So glad survival is over

Hulk11

Just like to say I'm glad this mode is finally over. I will be top 50 which is ok. Still I'm looking forward rather to regular pve, these matches take way too long, and I really hope this is a rare thing.

orbitalint

I don't know. I kind of liked the puzzle aspect of having to plan for a long game where protect tiles actually make a difference. BP/Falcon were my go-to characters and Falcon rarely comes off the bench for me. It added a bit of variety.

Yes, it probably helped that I didn't care about placement in this one since I have a max cover patch. If we had to do this for the 4hor PVE, I might have cried. But if D3 can keep these survival nodes to PVE's that don't release new characters, I'd be ok with it.

Edit: Added emphasis to last sentence in hopes D3 listens, lol.

squirrel1120

I actually really rather like the survival nodes. They take far too long to clear though, so it would be really nice if 9 or so nodes in a sub didn't have 3 of them as survival. For every wave, please take out 1 or 2 regular nodes. Taking an hour+ to do your pve clear every 3 hours makes for a huge time commitment to place well.

orbitalint

squirrel1120 wrote:

Taking an hour+ to do your pve clear every 3 hours makes for a huge time commitment to place well.

Yeah, I agree. Though, maybe they tweaked rubberbanding maybe to compensate? I was doing an initial pass to open everything and then essentials and survival nodes after that. Maintained top 10 most subs and top 50 otherwise. The Elektra nodes had a ton of points most subs though. Also, who knows if it was a PVE where the vets were coming out for placement.

Sidenote: squirrel, any better luck with xf yet?

squirrel1120

orbitalint wrote:

squirrel1120 wrote:

Taking an hour+ to do your pve clear every 3 hours makes for a huge time commitment to place well.

Yeah, I agree. Though, maybe they tweaked rubberbanding maybe to compensate? I was doing an initial pass to open everything and then essentials and survival nodes after that. Maintained top 10 most subs and top 50 otherwise. The Elektra nodes had a ton of points most subs though. Also, who knows if it was a PVE where the vets were coming out for placement.

Sidenote: squirrel, any better luck with xf yet?

You mean running patch with hulk in pvp?

It allowed me to crack my goal of 650 in the last event for the first time (since true-healing) during elektra. I'm still getting used to it honestly, but I can see its powerful. 2-3 matches on a healthpack is nice for a change! I need to work on the finesse of knowing when to cast BR so my greens aren't matched away sometimes, as that aoe damage really adds up fast for the first couple matches. I never imagined it would be that high. I've had cascades wipe me entirely after casting it, which was kinda of crazy. I've also had hulk rofl-stomp the entire enemy team from them getting a small cascade of 3-4 matches.

I forgot what build you recommended for patch? He's currently 4/4/5 as I just used my yellow pve award, but I still have both other colors and could spec any way. I thought you said 4/4/5 was good for it though.

dr tinykittylove

I actually had a lot of fun with the survival nodes. Took a bunch of damage in the first subs, but once I got the hang of it they were a breeze and the only nodes I bothered to revisit after the first clear.

I especially liked that I could get all the node rewards in one pass for the survival nodes, then I could stop caring whether I would get the real reward or "thanks try again have 20 iso", because I get way too many of those and rarely manage to pick up all the rewards before a sub ends.

Somehow ended up 9th for my lack of effort. Which was a surprise, considering I've needed a yellow Patch to respec for ages and didn't feel like grinding for top 20. Guessing it's a combination of busy holidays and post-Electra burnout...?

orbitalint

Glad it's starting to work out for you. It is definitely a risk-reward combo and I still get a grin on my face when it works as it should within the first 3 matches to start a game.

Yeah, I went 4/4/5 with Patch for the reasons you talked about. I know I'm in the minority with my patch build but I really only use him with Hulk and Daken at this point. So, he works pretty well in these situations.

At 6 enemy strike tiles, I think a 3-4 match cascade might down hulk, where 4 strike tiles gets his anger going to perfection. And, 3 enemy strike tiles really wasn't consistent enough for hulk to anger. If one of them got matched, it wouldn't always trigger on match damage alone depending on the levels of the opponent. Then I just wasted 400ish health of a hulk tank.

Back on topic, I'd guess Patch as the reward and burnout made this a ridiculously easy PVE if you had Elektra. I could go to bed without optimal clears and wake up to top 50 finishes in most subs. Crazy-talk, I know, lol.

Unknown

I actually thought for the effort I put in, they were super easy. Yeah it takes longer, but the point reward for clearing was a good equivalent of the normal nodes. A 3-wave survival node was reward upwards of 3-5K for me, depending on rubberbanding.

Once I got Wolverine back, I was having no trouble with Patch/LCap/Blade. Before I could use him, it was LCap/Blade/LDaken or whomever was the essential. Enough of Blade's black feeds either more black or Cap's shield, then you let the reds pile a little to trigger Blade's passive and when there are 6 strike tiles, spam his purple. On the last survival node on the last sub, all I had to do was make 1 match and then the attack tiles would take out the enemy. Lather, rinse, repeat, I ended with Patch and Cap at full health and Blade missing less than 1K.

Ebolamonkey84

I like the survival nodes better than the regular ones. The only time I ever really take damage is when there is a non goon in the first wave. My team was LCap/Hood/(XF or Lthor). Stunlock the last goon in the first wave while collecting AP, then just completely smash the rest of the waves. I always kill someone with a power when it will bring another character in right away. Gorgon usually dies from some combo of LCap Red, XF Green/Black, and Hood yellow as soon as he enters.

simonsez

They're tedious as hell, and increases the time commitment. Eg, the final sub looks small, but if you think of a node as being 3 opponents, this sub really has the equivalent of over 20 nodes, which is way too much.

That said, if you give me a choice between the tedium of survival, and the frustration of knocking heads with ridiculously overbuffed opponents, I'm going to choose tedium every time.

Dragon_Nexus

The survivals, for me anyway, become easier the more time I put into it. I start off in the most vulnerable spot, but by the end I'd laid so many boosted down using & and & that each enemy was going 1 damage to me regardless of the attack. Then it was simply a matter of gathering reds to top up

So yeah, they could drag on a bit in that respect. Can't deny the false good feeling of finishing a fight with 8000 points and a ton of though, even if the rewards only happen the once.

GrumpySmurf1002

Thunder Mountain has what, 14-15 repeatable nodes? Heroics the same thing?

Comparatively speaking, having the 3 waves and 6 regular nodes is probably faster to clear through. Especially with LCap and others that can build momentum, the last few waves go pretty quickly. Much better than starting over every match.

I definitely enjoyed this more than other PvEs. I think I only played the single match subs once or twice total for all but the last couple days, and still sitting 2nd (slice 3, decided to stay off the popular slices, which helps).

I would definitely take this event again over everything but Gauntlet and Simulator.

Unknown

I don't really know, for me the survivals were quite fun, though very simple (probably my level bracket is soft to Deadpool 3-4-4). It was very nice to have an option to get a real metric ton of points for a single node - that really helped both to rip rewards from the point-track and to stay on the top of the ladder (I finished in top10 - for the first time ever - but had very little time the last day, so probably could do better).
Looking forward to more survival in the future.

Taganov

I get the time argument...totally understand where that's coming from, but I really enjoyed the survival nodes and the new meta that makes defensive characters play worthy. How many people dusted off their Falcons, Lazy Caps, Hulks, Colossi and INVISIBLE WOMEN? Not to mention slow starting nukes like GSBW, who I have a thing for even though she's quite rubbish.

I'm all for including survival nodes in PvE going forward because it rewards breadth of roster and the bench warmers get some time to shine. And there are too many bench warmers.

user311

Did people dust off those characters because of the survival nodes or because Wolverine wasnt available?

wymtime

I have enjoyed the survivial mode I just hated those attack tiles. when I tried to use a compesetion other than Falcon, Spidey, Daken I kept getting squashed by them and the trap tiles. You really needed to use shields, and healers in survivial mode. my issue is my own in the fact that I just really have not put much ISO into those characaters. It was fun and different, and really made me play a different way though. It reminded me of using OBW to take on bigger teams when I was in the 2* range. Awe the memories before true healing where OBW was the most OP character in the game.

Hulk11

A lot of players in my alliance mentioned pretty standard combos. Storm, mags, and hawkeye. I did that a lot too. Later just used wolverine or hulk with widow and thor. Very common combos and they still worked here. For what I used anyway, it was all common stuff. My only surprise was getting to use ms marvel since she had a buff as well.

FaerieMyst

I love the survival mode. It requires a new level of strategic thinking.

I didn't dust off anything. I rotate through my 3 roster pretty thoroughly on a regular basis in PVP. Generally I use PVE to practice with my upcoming 4 roster.

I like variety. Adding the survival mode is another layer to keep things interesting.

Unknown

orbitalint wrote:

Back on topic, I'd guess Patch as the reward and burnout made this a ridiculously easy PVE if you had Elektra. I could go to bed without optimal clears and wake up to top 50 finishes in most subs. Crazy-talk, I know, lol.

Wait what? I've had to never miss a refresh for abut 15hr straight and grind like a madman at end of every sub and I'm still rank 8. Granted i get 8hr of sleep a night but still...

GothicKratos

I for one enjoyed the survival nodes and hope a full fledged mode comes of it. I also look forward to how they implement/abuse them in the next Gauntlet.

scottee

Does a clear take a long time? Yes. But I just completed one for 15,000 points. So I think that's worth it.

I rather like the mode, though that may partially be because I was having fun messing with a new endless turn combo.