NorthernPolarity wrote: Ran the numbers for using illusions right after polarizing force (meaning board basically has smallest amount of TU tiles possible) - viewtopic.php?f=14&t=18598. Turns out that the difference between level 3 illusions and level 5 illusions is 86% -> 87.7% cascade chance happening and 10.5->11.2 tiles destroyed on average. Keep in mind that this is the best case scenario for level 5 illusions. The original numbers are done on a randomized board, which will have 9 TUs on average causing level 5 illusions to swap ~55 tiles, which is marginally more than level 4, which is why those numbers are so close together. This cements 3 purple, 5 black, 5 green Loki for me. I would much rather have the option to use black to swing the entire board than an extra 1.7% cascade chance and .7 tiles when using it after polarizing force, and basically near no benefit when used without polarizing force.
scottee wrote: NorthernPolarity wrote: Ran the numbers for using illusions right after polarizing force (meaning board basically has smallest amount of TU tiles possible) - viewtopic.php?f=14&t=18598. Turns out that the difference between level 3 illusions and level 5 illusions is 86% -> 87.7% cascade chance happening and 10.5->11.2 tiles destroyed on average. Keep in mind that this is the best case scenario for level 5 illusions. The original numbers are done on a randomized board, which will have 9 TUs on average causing level 5 illusions to swap ~55 tiles, which is marginally more than level 4, which is why those numbers are so close together. This cements 3 purple, 5 black, 5 green Loki for me. I would much rather have the option to use black to swing the entire board than an extra 1.7% cascade chance and .7 tiles when using it after polarizing force, and basically near no benefit when used without polarizing force. One quick question. Not sure if this affects outcomes or not, but are all the tiles to be swapped chosen at the beginning? Meaning, if 64 tiles were to be swapped (regardless of TU), would every single tile move? Or does it rechoose after a move, meaning some times can move multiple times and some don't move at all? Not sure if this would make a different in cascade chance. I suspect not.
Phaserhawk wrote: wow, so even after a Polarizing Force it doesn't really matter, I guess than maybe 5 black is the way to go
gamar wrote: Phaserhawk wrote: wow, so even after a Polarizing Force it doesn't really matter, I guess than maybe 5 black is the way to go When I use illusions I either want to make matches in a color I'm seeking available when they weren't before, or move a special tile. I don't use it "expecting" a cascade so those statistics don 't really matter to me...
Phaserhawk wrote: The way I see it 3 / 5 / 5 will only be a prefered build is if Loki plays better than expected and he earns a spot next to X-Force aside from that I think 4/4/5 or 5/3/5 are probably the way to go. The only reason I would maybe opt 4/4/5 is that the number of times you are going to be able to steal more than 5 tiles is rare, but as shown the upgrade from 3 to 4 to 5 purple is marginal, so IMO wether you are 5/3/5, 4/4/5 or even 3/5/5 you probably won't see a difference in play for either one of those builds in 98% of the games you play.
Jathro wrote: I was really hoping for some sort of offensive ability instead of just more utility/defense. I can't say I'm very excited about the change, but it is long overdue regardless.
scottee wrote: It's essentially a reverse of speedshot, except it includes match-4's. Match-4's are faaaar more common than match-5's. They go off on accident almost every match. You don't see the advantage on defense of making a player take a match 3 instead of 4? That negates 5 AP, plus cascades. On offense, I agree it's not as strong, as you usually take the match-4's anyway. But I'd still gather that the AI gets a random match-4 in more than 50% of matches. Consider OBW's Recon. If you use it once at level 3, that essentially turns the tide toward an easy win, and using it twice is a dominant match. The fact that it only tries to steal from colors the opponent actually has makes it at least a little useful pretty much every time, and a lot useful a good chunk of the time. Plus this is a passive. So no, I don't think it's awful. EDIT: Also, making an opponent actually think in the match-3 aspect of the game gives you a huge advantage on defense, because over 50% of the player base just thinks "grab color x".
scottee wrote: It's essentially a reverse of speedshot, except it includes match-4's.