How do you tackle PVE nodes?

[Deleted User]

What's your strategy for PVE nodes?

In my scenario there are 6 "normal" nodes and 3 required character nodes.
I always for for normal nodes first, and in this order:
Node 1,
Node 2,
Node 3,
Node 4,
Node 5.
Node 6 x 4.


Then I back down again, doing 3 more clears for:
Node 5,
Node 4,
Node 3,
Node 2.

When I reach Node 1 this time I completely clear it by doing the remaining 5 clears. Then I proceed with Node 2 (remaining clears), Node 3 (remaning clears), Node 4 (remaning clears), Node 5 (remaning clears), Node 6 (remaning clears).

Then I do the essential nodes, from hardest (4 clears) to medium hard (4 clears), then easiest (6 clears), then hardest (2 more clears) and finally the medium hard one (2 clears).

I can't break this habit.

How do you tackle the nodes?

GrumpySmurf1002

If you're playing for placement, you shouldn't be clearing anything more than 4.

Anyway, I typically do 4* Essential, 3* Essential, 2* Essential (all x4), then 1-2-3-4-5-6-6-6-6-5-5-5-4-4-4-3-3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1.

Dormammu

If I'm playing for progression, I do whatever strikes my fancy. But if I'm playing for placement I try to clear the biggest point nodes first, so they theoretically regenerate more before a final clear:

Node 1 (once)
All three required nodes (4x each)
Nodes 2-5 (once)
Node 6 (4X)
Node 5 (3x), Node 4 (3x), Node 3 (3x), etc...

granne

Node 1
4* essential x 4
3* essential x 4
2* essential x 4
Node 2
Node 3
Node 4
Node 5
Node 6 x 4
Node 5 x 3
Node 4 x 3
Node 3 x 3
Node 2 x 3
Node 1 x 3

Then twiddle my thumbs for the best part of a day, before doing 2 or 3 more clears in the last 90 minutes or so of the sub.

JackTenrec

granne wrote:

Node 1
4* essential x 4
3* essential x 4
2* essential x 4
Node 2
Node 3
Node 4
Node 5
Node 6 x 4
Node 5 x 3
Node 4 x 3
Node 3 x 3
Node 2 x 3
Node 1 x 3

I use this pattern, although typically I don't have time to do a full four clears before work, so usually I just do four clears on the essential nodes and whatever I have to do to unlock them.

broll

GrumpySmurf1002 wrote:

If you're playing for placement, you shouldn't be clearing anything more than 4.

Anyway, I typically do 4* Essential, 3* Essential, 2* Essential (all x4), then 1-2-3-4-5-6-6-6-6-5-5-5-4-4-4-3-3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1.

On an event where I care about placement I do this, this is optimal.

If I don't feel like chasing placement and I just want a smoother play I do:
1-1-1-1-2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-4-4-4-4-5-5-5-6-6-6-2*E-2*E-2*E-2*E-2*E-3*E-3*E-3*E-3*E-3*E-4*E-4*E-4*E-4*E

I find doing it this way I usually end with more health packs, but I don't place as high for obvious reasons.

Fightmastermpq

I like to do things differently from the rest of the forums so this is my typical order.....

2* essential x4
1 x 4
2 x 4
3 x 4
4* essential x 4
3* essential x 4
4 x 4
5 x 4
6 x 4

Then at the end I just go from lowest point value to highest, but if they are pretty close I'll do a node with no goons before a node with 2 or 3 goons.

JackTenrec

mexus wrote:

But, but... The XP?

Anyone who does 4 clears for placement is waiting until 1-2 hours before the sub ends to do an additional 2 clears (or 3 if they're really pushing). Anyone who's purely playing for progression may or may not bother, XP or not (although if you've got 3* Strange and Thanos, there's almost no point in not green-checking trivial nodes).

Dormammu

mexus wrote:

But, but... The XP?

They really need to change PvE to give XP and a green check mark after four clears. Six clears of 9 nodes every sub is such a slog. Points can still regenerate as normal after four for the placement hunters, but if four clears are what gets you completion for the progression prizes it should give you the XP too.

GrumpySmurf1002

mexus wrote:

GrumpySmurf1002 wrote:

If you're playing for placement, you shouldn't be clearing anything more than 4.

Anyway, I typically do 4* Essential, 3* Essential, 2* Essential (all x4), then 1-2-3-4-5-6-6-6-6-5-5-5-4-4-4-3-3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1.

So you never finish them?

You finish them at the end. At the end it's

1-1-2-2-3-3-4-4-5-5-6-6-2E-2E-3E-3E-4E-4E-1-2-3-4-5-6-2E-3E-4E.

Different events change that. Waves get the first two hits immediately and get cleared last on the back end, and sometimes 3E and 6 are worth swapping during the end clear.

I'm not sure that the official 'optimal' run, (i have a hunch w/ Thanos its now faster to start timers on all the easy ones first), but for T10 it's sufficient in most cases.

If you're not playing for placement, then what order you clear them is fairly irrelevant.

TxMoose

with thanos I've changed mine up a little. he makes nodes 1-3 so fast, its literally a few of minutes to get all of those to timers.

4*x4, 3*x4, 2*x4, 1x4, 2x4, 3x4, 4, 5, 6x4, 5x3, 4x3

then for final grind, hit each twice from low points to high points, then for releases or if a shot at t10, the final pass to get them to 1.

not sure if my changing things up with thanos benefits me or hurts me, but that's what I do.

JHawkInc

mexus wrote:

GrumpySmurf1002 wrote:

If you're playing for placement, you shouldn't be clearing anything more than 4.

Anyway, I typically do 4* Essential, 3* Essential, 2* Essential (all x4), then 1-2-3-4-5-6-6-6-6-5-5-5-4-4-4-3-3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1.

So you never finish them?

If you go for placement, for ranking, the above pattern is what you use for your "Clears." You do these as soon as the event starts. The goal is to get 4 clears in, and get the timer ticking, so the node starts refreshing points. This pattern allows the nodes worth the most points (the Essentials, and node 6, for example) to get the most time regenerating, so you get the most points back on the board, so to speak. Then you stop. Your "Clears" are done.

Then, just before the event ends (roughly 2 hours for players that don't have trouble clearing the nodes), you do this pattern in reverse, until the node hits 1 point. This is called the "Grind", and takes 3 hits per node. So you would go 1-1-1-2-2-2-3-3-3-4-4-4-5-5-5-6-6-6-2*-2*-2*-3*-3*-3*-4*-4*-4*. The goal with these is to finish your very last hit on the grind right before the event ends, so no time is wasted. You'll have 7 hits on each node overall, so you get all the rewards and the XP, and this pattern squeezes the most points out of the game's point system to improve your score.

Improving beyond that requires improving your ability to do your Clears in a more timely manner, and reducing the time of your Grind, and being able to know what your Grind time will be (if it takes you 90 minutes, you need to know that, in order to start 90 minutes before the sub event's end). These two things will maximize the time the nodes get to recharge in between, which will increase your overall score.

But that's only really important when competing for PLACEMENT. If you're going for regular Progression rewards, I'd just make sure to hit each node 6 times for the XP, and not worry about it.

Maceo511

If you are really going for placement, I think I've seen some go, Node 1, 4* Node x3, 3* Node x3, 2* Node x3, Node 2, Node 3, Node 4, Node 5, Node 6x4, Node 5x3, Node 4x3, Node 3x3, Node 2x3, Node 1x100-500, Node 2x3, Node 3x3, Node 4x3, Node 5x3, Node 6x3, 2*Node x 3, 3* Node x 3, 4* Node x 3.

Fightmastermpq

Honestly the difference between all these methods is very very small, and which method is optimal will depend largely on your roster, scaling, and speed. It likely even varies from event to event based on boosted characters, and enemies on each node.

As long as you aren't doing 1-6, 1-6, 1-6, 1-6 your final score is going to be within less than 50 points of what it might have been under a more optimal method. Find something that works for you and doesn't require too much effort to keep track of and you'll be fine. Speed is far more important than order, so any time wasted even thinking about which node to hit next is likely not worth the time to have the thought.

The Bob The

Yeah, the differences are miniscule. The only reason to really stress about it is if you're going for t2 because that's often decided by <200 pts, especially in a new char release.

Pants1000

The difference really is tiny, and does depend on your roster, luck, and the event. I generally do the essentials, then easiest to hardest, each 4x before moving to the next. Sometimes on the final grind I just do them left to right so it's easier to keep track.

When going for top ranks, speed and timing the start of your final grind are far more important than the order.

BoyWonder1914

Pretty much what everyone else said for placement.

Team-Up Node (1x) - The node where you use a team of all the event's essential characters. Either unlocks that day's sub, or is the first node of the sub before Node 1.

Node 1 (1x) - Unlocks the essentials, which are the highest point nodes. Doing them ASAP ensures that you allow the most time for those points to recharge.

4* Essential (4x)
3* Essential (4x)
2* Essential (4x)

Nodes 2-6

Nodes 6-1 (3x)

---

Final Grind: Again, you allow the highest point nodes the most recharge time if you go in order of smallest pt. value to highest

Nodes 1-6 (2x)
2* Essential (2x)
3* Essential (2x)
4* Essential (2x)

Team-Up Node (3x - Even though there are 6 total rewards, it goes down to 1 pt after 4 clears)

Nodes 1-6 (1x)
2* Essential (1x)
3* Essential (1x)
4* Essential (1x)

---

Grinding the team-up node down to 1 pt after you get the green check mark on all the other nodes will allow a small amount of recharge time on the other nodes before you grind them down to 1 pt as well. Won't be much, but it could be enough to get you into t10 or t5. I find that this causes me to need the full 2 hours for the final grind though, and not 90 minutes like what seems to be popular.

GurlBYE

I follow most of these then get bored the 2-3rd node in, go to sleep do as much as I can on the train ride to work, and maybe do a few more if I missed before the sub ends.

3 clears really should be enough for max.

4 is tedium

those of you who can manage 6 are deserve something more than the spare ISO tossed your way.

And those of you who grind 1's do wayy too much, but at the same time, you are likely in a way busier bracket than I'll ever actively compete in, so have at it.

BoyWonder1914

GurlBYE wrote:

And those of you who grind 1's do wayy too much, but at the same time, you are likely in a way busier bracket than I'll ever actively compete in, so have at it.

I feel like this is a matter of Clearance Levels getting crowded. I didn't used to have to do this to make t10, but now I can only hope for t20 at best in CL8 if I DON'T do this.

astrp3

GurlBYE wrote:

And those of you who grind 1's do wayy too much, but at the same time, you are likely in a way busier bracket than I'll ever actively compete in, so have at it.

In my experience (SCL 8, usually play next-to-last slice), if I want top 50 placement (three 3* covers), I do the first four clears immediately and then do clears 5 and 6 at my leisure (usually one at lunch and one when I get home from work). Seventh clear isn't needed and I might even be able to make it without the 4* required at the start.

For top 10 (a rarity for me), I have to do 7 clears and do clears 5-7 in the last 90 minutes (don't think two hours would work), or sometimes even the last hour - though I don't really have the roster to do that and still have health packs for the start of the next node.

I've never tried for just top 200 (two 3* covers), but it might be doable with just 4 clears, if not less (anyone else know?)

granne

I never cleared optimally until I moved up to SCL8. I play second slice, first bracket and always hit T50 without much trouble in SCL7. I usually hit it now I'm in 8, but there's a lot more effort involved. I don't even dream of finishing better than T50.

There isn't really a slice that works well for my work schedule, because I work different hours each day of the week. For most subs, I either have to do my clears late or my grind early. On the Tuesday-Wednesday sub it's both.

The switch to DST messed it up even more until BST started yesterday. That was tiiiiiight to get T50.