Question on PvE: what is your strategy for max progression in minimal time

helix72

I used to try for PvE placement so hitting max progression was never an issue, but now I need to cut back PvE playing time and I can't always guarantee I can play right when a sub opens or right before it closes. So, I want to throw placement out the window and find out how to play when I want each 24 hour period and spend the least amount of time playing while still maximizing progression rewards including the final CP reward.

I did some searching but can't tell for sure exactly how many clears it takes. One thread seemed to suggest 5 with optimal timing or 6 with suboptimal. But the time to clear and point values vary per node, so for example maybe clearing the first 3 nodes 7 times but only doing 4 clears on every other one is good enough. That's where I'm asking for some veteran advice.

I'm a 4* player with 21 champed, most of the rest at level 209, and all but 11 fully covered. I have at least 1 cover for every 5* though none are champed, fully covered, or leveled. Most of the best ones have too few covers to be of much use (Thor at 2, Okoye at 2, Kitty at 2, Thanos at 1, etc). I typically play SCL 8.

Aside from magically champing Thor/Okoye/Thanos/Kitty, what is your suggestion for the best strategy to cut play time to a minimum but still get max prog rewards?

Phumade

helix72 said:

I used to try for PvE placement so hitting max progression was never an issue, but now I need to cut back PvE playing time and I can't always guarantee I can play right when a sub opens or right before it closes. So, I want to throw placement out the window and find out how to play when I want each 24 hour period and spend the least amount of time playing while still maximizing progression rewards including the final CP reward.

I did some searching but can't tell for sure exactly how many clears it takes. One thread seemed to suggest 5 with optimal timing or 6 with suboptimal. But the time to clear and point values vary per node, so for example maybe clearing the first 3 nodes 7 times but only doing 4 clears on every other one is good enough. That's where I'm asking for some veteran advice.

I'm a 4* player with 21 champed, most of the rest at level 209, and all but 11 fully covered. I have at least 1 cover for every 5* though none are champed, fully covered, or leveled. Most of the best ones have too few covers to be of much use (Thor at 2, Okoye at 2, Kitty at 2, Thanos at 1, etc). I typically play SCL 8.

Aside from magically champing Thor/Okoye/Thanos/Kitty, what is your suggestion for the best strategy to cut play time to a minimum but still get max prog rewards?

If all you want is max progression.  Than clear each node 5x.  The timers are irrelevant with respect to max progression.

FYI.  Max progression is set with 5x clears of every node except for the 5e.

Dragon_Nexus

If you're after placement, however...

First off I clear the three easy nodes and then two of the harder nodes to unlock all the nodes on the board. Then I hit each node from the highest point value to the lowest so each one is 4/6. That's the point where the points will refresh in 24 hours.

When a sub event's going to end, I hit each node three more times to reduce them to 0 starting at the lowest point value and working my way up to the highest.

You have to time yourself when doing the first clear to see how long it takes you and then give yourself about that much time for the clear through at the end. It'll be easier due to having to only hit each node 3 times instead of 4, but also harder because they'll be a higher level. It kinda balances out.

Steel_Colt

I've found out (during the last few events) that if you manage to do four clears on every node, including the 5E, you can get full progression by just doing a few extra nodes on the last sub.
This may vary per event and possibly won't work for 7 day events, but it's worked so far.

Vins2

You can skip a day of pve for 3 day events, and still hit max progression and usually top 50 in scl9.  In the last simulator event, I joined midway through day 2, and played optimally on the end of day 2, as well as the start, and end, of day 3.  I reached max progression right before the final set of clears on day 3, and finished with around 1.2x pts so there's some leeway about playing optimally.  The 5* fight makes up a lot of ground for missing the first day, so this wouldn't work in scl7 because that fight's not worth much.

Rod5

If you want to reduce time/number of matches, then the principle is prob not too different - do 4 clears of each node as early as you can in sub and leave as long as you can before picking off a few later.

You don’t need to play the 5E, but prob worth doing the first few clears if you can and if the points are worth it.

One thing that’s worth bearing in mind is that later subs have more points available, so you can probably be more lax early on.

Kolence

It depends whether you wish to cut total or daily playing time more.

Playing daily, it's probably easiest to do 4 clears of every node (except maybe the 5E, if it's too difficult) whenever during a sub, and then add a little extra on the last sub to cover for the skipped points.

If you're ok with grinding the latter subs more optimally, you could skip some more early on. It depends on pve - how many subs there are in total, if there's a 48 hour sub, are there wave nodes.

Except for the DP vs. MPQ, all pve's have the last sub with double the points of the first sub, and the rest in between progress linearly. 

EDIT:

Hmm, on 2nd thought, only 4 clears without touching the 5E the whole event would not be enough to cover just with the final sub. Not without pretty optimal timing on the last sub and if pve was the short one (3 subs). Which is what you're trying to avoid.

Progression is 4 clears each node except 5E, every sub, and then 1/6 of that more. You can choose how to add that 1/6 extra, either doing the 5th clears of all nodes right away (that would cover it exactly) or by adding some points with 5E, or giving the nodes some time to regenerate points before doing the 5th/6th clear (that can reduce the number of nodes you need to play).

Pants1000

Max progression is based on 5 clears of clears of regular nodes, 3 clears of wave nodes, not including the 5* essential, and not counting for any point regen on the last clear.  So if you do the 5* essential, or allow some time for the last clear to recharge, then you don’t need to do 5 clears on everything.

I suggest 4 clears of each node, including the 5* essential.  Add a few hits on the easy nodes with 3* Thanos, since those are very fast.  If you find a particular node tough (probably the 4* or 5* essential), do other nodes a 5th time instead to make up the points.

Every event will be a little different because of wave nodes, boosted list, etc., so aim a little higher than needed just in case you have problems, and then stop once you hit max progression.

FraggleinPA

For the easy nodes I usually recommend Gamora and Rocket & Groot.  The strike tiles will assist in fast clears and no damage (unlike 3* Thanos which results in using health packs).

Dogface

If max progression is your only goal, you could play around with different teams since there's no real time pressure

AardvarkPepper

Dogface said:

If max progression is your only goal, you could play around with different teams since there's no real time pressure

of course you mentioned the point to other posters in the thread, not the original poster

just saying, because others might have missed "in minimal time" in the thread title

MoosePrime

Pants1000 said:

Max progression is based on 5 clears of clears of regular nodes, 3 clears of wave nodes, not including the 5* essential, and not counting for any point regen on the last clear.

I think it's only 2 clears on the wave nodes.

TPF Alexis

MoosePrime said:

Pants1000 said:

Max progression is based on 5 clears of clears of regular nodes, 3 clears of wave nodes, not including the 5* essential, and not counting for any point regen on the last clear.

I think it's only 2 clears on the wave nodes.

It's three. One more clear after the recharge timers start. Five for regular nodes, three for waves, and two for loaner nodes.

MoosePrime

TPF Alexis said:

MoosePrime said:

Pants1000 said:

Max progression is based on 5 clears of clears of regular nodes, 3 clears of wave nodes, not including the 5* essential, and not counting for any point regen on the last clear.

I think it's only 2 clears on the wave nodes.

It's three. One more clear after the recharge timers start. Five for regular nodes, three for waves, and two for loaner nodes.

https://forums.d3go.com/discussion/64725/update-to-progression-rewards-in-story-events-5-18-17

Here is some more information provided by Demiurge Anthony.

Normal non-wave, non-"Join Forces" missions: First 4 clears are counted in full. The fifth clear is counted 2/3rds of the full points. (we don't expect people to wait until it regenerates)

Join Forces Missions are counted 3 times (full points, 2/3rd points and 1/3rd points) Wave missions are counted only twice.

Phumade

MoosePrime said:

Here is some more information provided by Demiurge Anthony.

Normal non-wave, non-"Join Forces" missions: First 4 clears are counted in full. The fifth clear is counted 2/3rds of the full points. (we don't expect people to wait until it regenerates)

Join Forces Missions are counted 3 times (full points, 2/3rd points and 1/3rd points) Wave missions are counted only twice.

I actually think there is an interesting question at the heart of the OPs question.

What is the minimum amount of work that can accomplish max prog.  or simply what is the least number of matches that can finish max progression.  i.e.  can you do another play path that = 4 2/3 full points in under (5matches x 9 nodes or 45 matches)

There are some important caveats to consider in this question.
1.  I'l l use the default assumption of std nodes that can be played a max of 7 matches (if we allowed more than 7 matches, the solution is differentent and its essentially tapping ), 3e, 3h, 4 esential,  0 join forces. ignore the main screen.

2.  The least num of matches solution is UNSOLVABLE without knowing the existing point relationships between all 9 nodes and really subs 1, 2,3 .  I.e.  In subs,  The points are not uniformly distributed from easy 1 to hard 3 to essential 5.  Yes, we can calculate an minimum optimal for each event,  but I'm not going to bother to do it for each one.  Specifically,  some events have more points concentrated in the harder nodes than others.

3.  Realize that minimum matches has 2 different solutions based upon 
              a.  You can use the timer to regenerate points or b;
              b.  You don't rely on the timer to assist in boosting points.


Under those assumptions.
1.  Max prog is 4 2/3 (FP full points)  i.e. 5 matches  (which means in any sub, maximum of required matches = 5x 9 nodes or 45matches.  So the question is really can you get to max progression in under 45matches?  (yes, of course you can,  I think you can reach max prog in 34-38 matches)

1a.  So in essence,  we just need to construct optimal path that equal 4 2/3 FP or those 5 matches.

2.  Because nodes are revealed to us from smallest to greatest,  we can make some default assumptions on that path.  Namely, every node is opened at least once or 9matches are required to start.

2a.  Once we have access to all the nodes,  work BACKWARDS from the biggest nodes to the smallest nodes.  At this points,  solutions will diverge based upon whether you can wait between 5hit and 6 hit for points to regenerate or you intend to do it all at once.  In addition,  points are not uniformly distributed between the nodes. That means we have to consider the relative value of each node in the sub.

In any case this is an interesting question because the comp players only does 63 matches,  its just a mattter of when they do those 63 matches.  None of the comp pve players ever bothered to figure out the smallest number of matches that can finish max progression.

bluewolf

One other element you may not be considering is how points intersect with difficulty.  Ex:  today the H4, a high point node, has no movers and could be cleared more times, more quickly than a lower point node with more movers. 

I would try to pick the fastest nodes, esp after sub 1, and try to hit them 6x on a somewhat optimal basis if at all possible. At minimum, I would try hit the fast clear nodes 6x even if it was all at once. The rest hit 4-5 times. 

Also:  loaner nodes are generally awful and you should avoid repeating them if you want to maximize the points / time spent ratio. 

Some events will take a long time because they are filled with movers (Sim) and I’d drop an SCL for those or expect more playtime. 

abenness

Even if you aren’t looking up prior event point distribution, it’s pretty easy to see the point value of a 4-clear, just look at the top of the leaderboard 30 minutes after sub start. If you get 1.25 x that, you know you are on track each day.

You would do each easy/hard node once, and then figure out the value/difficulty of hitting them again. Eg goon nodes easier, 3 x dark avengers, 3 x tile movers in HOD more annoying.

But the real optimisation would be in looking at historical data of how much each sub is worth overall. If you knew that, you could (for example) 4-clear the first two subs anytime during the sub, and optimally 7-clear the final sub IF it had enough of a point boost over them to get you to progression.

Phumade

abenness said:

Even if you aren’t looking up prior event point distribution, it’s pretty easy to see the point value of a 4-clear, just look at the top of the leaderboard 30 minutes after sub start. If you get 1.25 x that, you know you are on track each day.

You would do each easy/hard node once, and then figure out the value/difficulty of hitting them again. Eg goon nodes easier, 3 x dark avengers, 3 x tile movers in HOD more annoying.

But the real optimisation would be in looking at historical data of how much each sub is worth overall. If you knew that, you could (for example) 4-clear the first two subs anytime during the sub, and optimally 7-clear the final sub IF it had enough of a point boost over them to get you to progression.

There is a indexed spreadsheet that has all the points from the existing pve events.  I can't share the source  but its easy to compile on your own and ask around on line, someone can give you a copy of the spreadsheet..

Main		Arctic Circle		Mediterranean		The Americas
3 days		24 hours		24 hours		24 hours
Node	Points	Node	Points	Node	Points	Node	Points
Unstable Iso-8 (t)	200	Cold Combat	102	Iso-8 Hoarders*	195	Gulf Transport	210
Bullseye*	130	Greenland Ops	162	Heist in Spain*	195	Government Raid	324
Relationship Issues* (opens 1st sub)	130	Winter Soldiers	222	Maggia in Greece*	195	West Coast Smugglers	444
		Red Iso-8 On The Snow	282	Coastal Piracy	150	Iso-8 Heist	564
Ms. Marvel*	130	Too Cold for Comfort	312	Trouble in Paradise	240	Battle in Brazil	624
Daken and Yelena* (opens 2nd sub)	130	Freeze, Buddy!	372	Seaside Caper	330	Stolen Goods	744
		2* Essential	280	Dockside Deal	420	2* Essential	560
Switching Teams*	130	3* Essential	310	Crossing Borders	468	3* Essential	620
Follow Up Visit*	130	4* Essential	340	Nights in Tunisia	555	4* Essential	680
Moonstone* (opens 3rd sub)	130	5* Essential (not req'd.)	70	2* Essential	420	5* Essential (not req'd.)	140
				3* Essential	465	Stateside*	260
				4* Essential	510
				5* Essential (not req'd.)	105

anyway,  you will need to know those values for each event to be be able to optimize the minumum number of matches to achieve max progression.

Specifically  you want to optimize Artic circle, mediterranean, and the america.s

Phumade

Here is the optimized path for Sub 1 Artic cat.  I don't have the time to do the other pve events,  but its super easy to calculate the min number of matches to make progression.
Reminder:  I only did this for sub 1 cause there are no one time nodes, wave nodes etc.  just the stand 10 nodes 3e, 3hard, 4 essential.  The 5th match is only worth 2/3 of 4th, 6th match is 2/3 of 5th. etc...

I know from some other sources that max progression for this sub is around 11,780.  So feel free to come up with a different path.

caveat:  if you factor in the later subs with are worth more points,  you can reoptimize this path with those later points in mind.

Node	1st match	2nd match	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th
Cold Combat	102	102	102	102	68	45	30
Greenland Ops	162	162	162	162	108	72	48
Winter Soldiers	222	222	222	222	148	99	66
Red Iso-8 On The Snow	282	282	282	282	188	125	84
Too Cold for Comfort	312	312	312	312	208	139	92
Freeze, Buddy!	372	372	372	372	248	165	110
2* Essential	280	280	280	280	187	124	83
3* Essential	310	310	310	310	207	138	92
4* Essential	340	340	340	340	227	151	101
5* Essential (not req'd.)	430	430	430	430	287	191	127

Basically you can get by with just doing the Bolded matches or every match worth more than 191 points.  

TPF Alexis

That optimizes by number of matches played, but I don't think it optimizes by amount of time spent playing. I'm pretty sure I can clear an easy node 6 times faster than I can do the last three clears that are bolded on the 5* Essential there.

spidyjedi84

FraggleinPA said:

For the easy nodes I usually recommend Gamora and Rocket & Groot.  The strike tiles will assist in fast clears and no damage (unlike 3* Thanos which results in using health packs).

Nico, Rocket and Groot and Kitty (if you have her yellow). Most nodes after the easy are done in a few turns if they're just goons and no tile movers (tile movers tend to eliminate the strike tiles Nico and Kitty boost). I've knocked out 4 plays in most nodes with goons with that team in under an hour before.
If you're up against someone who generates tiles like Mindless Ones, Doc Strange (reactions to tile spammers), Kraven (reduces tiles strength) and Rocket and Groot.