PvE Guide v1.1 (Updated January 2016)

Unknown

Twoslot wrote:

With the current state of pve being what it is, we are seeing quite a few 24h subs with 8h refresh. Simply following the 8h and then grinding down the nodes at the end is fine for top 10, but it's clear that it's not optimal as the top 2-3 are typically 25% ahead of the rest. Anyone care to share the optimal clear schedule and the math behind it? Is it the same for a 36h sub as well?

I've been thinking about this a lot since the last PVE (Prodigal Sun). I was following the optimum clear and even with pretty good grinding at the end, was falling behind by a few thousand points after each sub. While I didn't grind down to 0 completely in every node, there was no way I should have been as far back as I was...

For this current event, DP vs MPQ, I've been taking regular screenshots of the top 10 to see if I can figure it out. I'll try to report back if I notice anything...

Scoregasms

I've been getting top placement in PVE's since before and after the 8 hour change (exception being the last Enemy of State, didn't really play the last sub except one pass I think and still finished top 25 somehow but was normal play before that point).

There's nothing too complicated to it, it's optimal refreshes and then with the least amount of time you need before the sub ends, you grind everything down to 1, that's really it. No magics or trickery to convey. Based on my brackets, and I've been in some pretty competitive ones, it's obvious only a few folks are willing to do a complete end of sub grind for all nodes. Those 300-600 points folks leave on the table (when it's less than 100 points left on a node) add up over multiple subs. Also, folks doing an early finish to a grind are giving up a good amount of points too (thousands perhaps), but that's better than not doing a final grind at all or only a partial one.

Keep in mind, the above is only necessary if you want to finish top 2, it's really not necessary at all for top 50 and probably not worth it to go for it. I'm just a glutton for punishment and I've usually needed the 4* reward, so I just go for it. I ended up just not wanting to go for the IW Blue Cover and didn't need Hood rewards, which is why I pretty much coasted in the last EoTS at the end there.

If there wasn't something I wanted in the top 2, I probably would not grind that hard, it really is a lot of effort. Doing just 3 or 4 passes would probably be enough for a top 50 (perhaps even top 25) placement depending on who is in your bracket. I keep saying that, but I always end up competing in these events no matter what I try to say to myself beforehand, lol.

TL;DR? 8 hour refreshes gives most folks a chance to keep up, but it still comes down to who grinds the end of the subs the most optimal consistently.

Unknown

Smart man take note

Scoregasms wrote:

I've been getting top placement in PVE's since before and after the 8 hour change (exception being the last Enemy of State, didn't really play the last sub except one pass I think and still finished top 25 somehow but was normal play before that point).

There's nothing too complicated to it, it's optimal refreshes and then with the least amount of time you need before the sub ends, you grind everything down to 1, that's really it. No magics or trickery to convey. Based on my brackets, and I've been in some pretty competitive ones, it's obvious only a few folks are willing to do a complete end of sub grind for all nodes. Those 300-600 points folks leave on the table (when it's less than 100 points left on a node) add up over multiple subs. Also, folks doing an early finish to a grind are giving up a good amount of points too (thousands perhaps), but that's better than not doing a final grind at all or only a partial one.

Keep in mind, the above is only necessary if you want to finish top 2, it's really not necessary at all for top 50 and probably not worth it to go for it. I'm just a glutton for punishment and I've usually needed the 4* reward, so I just go for it. I ended up just not wanting to go for the IW Blue Cover and didn't need Hood rewards, which is why I pretty much coasted in the last EoTS at the end there.

If there wasn't something I wanted in the top 2, I probably would not grind that hard, it really is a lot of effort. Doing just 3 or 4 passes would probably be enough for a top 50 (perhaps even top 25) placement depending on who is in your bracket. I keep saying that, but I always end up competing in these events no matter what I try to say to myself beforehand, lol.

TL;DR? 8 hour refreshes gives most folks a chance to keep up, but it still comes down to who grinds the end of the subs the most optimal consistently.

OnyxSnake

Scoregasms wrote:

I've been getting top placement in PVE's since before and after the 8 hour change (exception being the last Enemy of State, didn't really play the last sub except one pass I think and still finished top 25 somehow but was normal play before that point).

There's nothing too complicated to it, it's optimal refreshes and then with the least amount of time you need before the sub ends, you grind everything down to 1, that's really it. No magics or trickery to convey. Based on my brackets, and I've been in some pretty competitive ones, it's obvious only a few folks are willing to do a complete end of sub grind for all nodes. Those 300-600 points folks leave on the table (when it's less than 100 points left on a node) add up over multiple subs. Also, folks doing an early finish to a grind are giving up a good amount of points too (thousands perhaps), but that's better than not doing a final grind at all or only a partial one.

Keep in mind, the above is only necessary if you want to finish top 2, it's really not necessary at all for top 50 and probably not worth it to go for it. I'm just a glutton for punishment and I've usually needed the 4* reward, so I just go for it. I ended up just not wanting to go for the IW Blue Cover and didn't need Hood rewards, which is why I pretty much coasted in the last EoTS at the end there.

If there wasn't something I wanted in the top 2, I probably would not grind that hard, it really is a lot of effort. Doing just 3 or 4 passes would probably be enough for a top 50 (perhaps even top 25) placement depending on who is in your bracket. I keep saying that, but I always end up competing in these events no matter what I try to say to myself beforehand, lol.

TL;DR? 8 hour refreshes gives most folks a chance to keep up, but it still comes down to who grinds the end of the subs the most optimal consistently.

I agree that eendless grinding isn't needed. I tried grinding in the EOTS and got a top 50 finish with essentials. This time for DPVMPQ I just it the refreshes and grinder the end and I'm in the top 50. I think it's seeing your position drop in between refreshes that temps me to grind but it's a lot less stressful just grinding the end.

RyanL24

Here is a question that has been burning in my mind... Do the nodes gain their points back at the same rate no matter what? I mean, if you have 2 nodes that are 100 points each when full; you play one node once, and it goes down to 60 - you play another several times and grind it down to 1 point. 8 hours later, the 60 will grow back to the full 100... will the 1 also gain 40 points and be back at 41 in 8 hours?

I hope somebody understands what I'm asking and has an answer.

Ebolamonkey84

RyanL24 wrote:

Here is a question that has been burning in my mind... Do the nodes gain their points back at the same rate no matter what? I mean, if you have 2 nodes that are 100 points each when full; you play one node once, and it goes down to 60 - you play another several times and grind it down to 1 point. 8 hours later, the 60 will grow back to the full 100... will the 1 also gain 40 points and be back at 41 in 8 hours?

I hope somebody understands what I'm asking and has an answer.

Yes, the nodes gain their points back at the same rate (roughly 2% of the full value of the node every hour). Each clear of a node reduces the value by 1/6 (~16%), and the points return linearly.

Unknown

So let me double check. Lets say I run my essentials at 7am, and their point value refills in 8 hours. Waiting till 3pm is not an option, as my next available time to play would be 6, but I can play at 130PM. Event updates 2am.

Is it better to play at 130, then play again 8 hours later, and grind till time ends?

Or wait till 6, play, then try to grind the nodes out shortly before 2am?

Or would there be any notable difference?

nwman

Scoregasms wrote:

There's nothing too complicated to it, it's optimal refreshes and then with the least amount of time you need before the sub ends, you grind everything down to 1, that's really it. No magics or trickery to convey.

Exactly, in EoTS it takes my team maybe 4 hours or more to grind everything down to 1, some people seem to be able to do it in 2.5 hours.

So they start 1.5 hours later than me so all their nodes have come back up that many more points than mine had when I started.

Then with optimal refreshes, I think its coming down to minutes.

If you leave a node at full points after it refreshes, or every minute you miss from starting an event from the start, then those 1 or 20 points per node on the final refresh will add up also.

If you get a phone call during your initial play through and you get delayed 10 minutes, you are at a disadvantage for top 2 now.

brandonN004

So essentially beat every node once, wait 8 hours, do it again, then about 1-1/2 hours before the end of the event that day you grind everything down? Also does rubberbanding still exist? my alliance is split on the issue, I'm fairly new to the game and still learning

Ouroboros9999

Has the process changed since this thread started in 2014? In terms of how D3 may have modified the game mechanics--working my way through it(on page 4 of 7) but an event is winding down and have to go soon to fight last 90 min.

Ouroboros9999

Having just tried the tactics used in this thread, I have to say that it DOES let you rank up with much less time and effort. You just have to plan your clear times to refresh at appropriate intervals.

Unknown

Some of this is unclear to me (still kind of new), so let me get this straight:

Best order for sub event...?
3 essentials
Each story node once
wait 8 hours
repeat

I really don't know how to do better though, because if I do a node a 2nd time, the refill time increases from 8 hours to 16 hours...! So, if I did each node in the stack 4 times wouldn't that mean I used it all up for over 24 hours?

confused...

Unknown

well done

PQAmbition

Hey OP...thank you very much for all the work on this guide. I wish I could say it was more helpful for me, but it actually made me feel pretty dumb lol (not an easy thing to do).

I can't say that I completely understand the node/stack/scaling/timing logic, particularly the timing, but maybe things have changed since the original post. I also don't really see how it applies to a specific thing that I've been seeing a lot.

Thing is, the top one or two people in the last half dozen events I've been in, have been a good few thousand past my score on the first round. And my thinking was "well they're crushing the nodes into dust, and will drop down as I diligently work through my full point rounds--but these people not only stay a few thousand ahead, but their lead grows. How is this possible? If they do a node twice or three times, then my full point nodes should bring me at least to the same score as them after two or three rounds, while they don't get full points back for 16-24 hours. I don't see how the scaling/rubberbanding/timing could possibly apply to the first round to account for thousands of points...

Can anyone explain this?

Thanks!

AdamMagus

Hey All,

I've been away from the game for months, just recently started playing competitively again.

Question, is this guide still relevant when it comes to these PvE events? PvE Guide

I'm trying to improve my standings on The Hunt event but am not sure if rubberbanding still exists, am also not sure what the optimal way of doing nodes is anymore. You can PM me if you'd like.

I'll re-read this guide but was just curious if it still applies to today's game.

WEBGAS

Great post...It helped me a lot Thank you all!

PeterGibbons316

So for a 24-hr sub the optimal play is to clear at 8 hours, 16 hours, and then start a final grind before nodes have fully refreshed at ~22 hours or so? Ideally getting that last node down to 1 right as time expired? And then the later you can start this (i.e. the faster you can clear everything) the higher your score will be?

Matthew G

In my experience (having only played for the past 4 months), the rubberbanding mentioned in the original post no longer exist or are much less significant than they were in the past. In the PvE events recently, it seems that all node have a set value that does not change based on your overall ranking within the sub. That means that even if you are way behind, you won't get a huge boost in order to jump back into the event.

This being said, the only effective way to achieve a high score and get a top 10 or better finish is to be consistent in your play. What I mean by this is;
When a new sub first starts, play every possible node ONE time as quickly as you can. This ensures that your countdowns start as soon as possible for the most points. You should then avoid playing the sub again until the countdown for each node is about to hit 0 (usually this means starting your next clear about 7 to 7:30 hours after you finished the last clear). Repeat this process as many times as possible (3 for a 24hr sub, 7 for a 48hr sub).
Then comes the fun part. Towards the end of the sub (anywhere from 2-4 hours before the end depending on your clear speed), you grind every node as low as possible in order to get as many points as possible before the next sub starts. This grind doesn't have to be to 0 or 1 points as the point values decrease at a steady rate (meaning you will get a large % of the total points the first few times you play each node).

*One exception to the final grind is if the event is for a new character or 4* character. In these events, there will be people who will use this tactic and then completely clear every node in order to fully maximize points. This means without draining every node to 1 point by the end, you will most likely only finish in the to 50-100 due to the highly competitive nature of these new-character events*

TL;DR Play every 8 hours then heavily grind at the end.

The Bob The

Should this post still be pinned? It was super helpful back when I started in 2014, but many of its particulars no longer apply: Community scaling is gone, refreshes are all 8 hrs, and while we're not really clear what's happened with rubberbanding, it's not the same as it was. Keeping this pinned seems like it has a lot of potential to confuse rather than enlighten.

Unknown

HA !
as a casual player i thought this is for me jackpot !!!
than i read all the replies ... ooops too old
yeah it should be unpinned