Top ten arena question.

Old_Scott

I am at level 78 in a server that has recently hit level 80 for some of the whales. Currently I can regularly get in the top ten and #1 a couple times a week if I am free the last hour before payout. But, over the next 24 hours, I usually drop to about 20 spots. I was wondering if this is normal, or if my defense is above or below average for this level. I ask because I run an all Jedi team with no taunter and was wondering if it is actually hurting me to not have one.

So, if you are usually in the top ten of your server at level 80 or so, how many spots do you usually drop in 24 hours?

Oh, and the poll is anonymous, so please, feel free to be honest (inflating your answer won't impress anyone).

GeorgeRules

Didn't drop at all today. In response, yes dropping places is normal. After 5 mo ths finishing in the top ten you will have a very mature arena squad that will possibly hold well dependinv on who you put in and the competition level on your server.

Radonis

Isnt a all Jedi team kinda Weak for defense? If u put Dooku Darth Maul and cad bane none of your toons would really get too many turns cause they would be mostly stunned all the time. I hear people say but a good Defense team on ur last battle to keep from dropping spots.

StarSon

Radonis wrote: »

Isnt a all Jedi team kinda Weak for defense? If u put Dooku Darth Maul and cad bane none of your toons would really get too many turns cause they would be mostly stunned all the time. I hear people say but a good Defense team on ur last battle to keep from dropping spots.

That depends. There are 2 IGD-led Jedi teams on my shard, and I don't even bother with them anymore.

Thegreatdecay

You probably need to switch to some characters that are more effective when controlled by AI. Dodge is the meta for this very reason, any toon can dodge any time and it's not affected by AI, only by RNG. A Dooku or Old Ben lead might help you retain your rank for that reason, their defense is fool-proof. Having a taunting tank (or even two of them) can really portect your higher DPS toons and give them time to kill enemies before they die. I think that STH is partially a meta toon now because his AI is so realiable (also because of his kit, I know). He will taunt first turn every time and then QGJ/Rey/GS/Leia/86/88 can do their thing. RG is also great for defense because people on offense need to avoid putting any toons in the yellow. But every shard is a little different, so try different lineups until you find something that works.

I'm interested to know though... what is your Jedi team? I've seen some very effective, monsterous jedi teams and they can compete with the dodge meta with the right setup. QGJ leader is great for speed, Ima leader is really cool with the group counters. I just think that they will always have a tough time on defense because their AI isn't going to make the "right" choices to win.

leef

I would like to bragg that i finish #1 alot, dont drop further than #15 (except on arena guild day) but its nothing to bragg about. Absolute worst/best RNG in the whole game is server/leaderboard you are placed on, mine isnt very competative, only battle 1 or 2 guys at my pay-out time and only 2 or 3 "semi whales".
I dont know how competative your server/leaderboard is, so i dont know if dropping 20 is a good or bad thing. My advice is to test a taunter for a week and see if you drop less.

fudgra

This will depend on your server and if you've made any enemies who like to smack you every chance they get.

I'm on a busy early December server and typically don't drop below 15. Doing a battle or two between popular payout times helps also.

Nicol_Bolas

I usually stay within top 10 and occasionally (about twice a week) drop to #12 overnight. I don't like evasion on my offence, but I switch to dooku lead for defense because I find myself dropping much less.

For evasion, dooku is becoming a liability. With STH, an opposing dooku is a good source of free turn meter. Also, with Leia being F2P, dooku won't be countering for much longer. Kenobi is the leader of choice for this reason.

Alonorcal

Radonis wrote: »

Isnt a all Jedi team kinda Weak for defense? If u put Dooku Darth Maul and cad bane none of your toons would really get too many turns cause they would be mostly stunned all the time. I hear people say but a good Defense team on ur last battle to keep from dropping spots.

Nobody in the top 100 maybe even 200 would run darth Maul or Cad bane, but dooku definitely destroys Jedi teams. I run dooku and a team with even one Jedi such as qgj is an easy target. It's normal to drop over night, no team is unbeatable especially Jedi teams

pac0naut

It really depends. I usually finish #1 at 6pm, but by 6am I'm out of it. I could be in the top 10 when I start my run at 4:30pm OR I could be out of the top 10 on the guild arena day. It really just all depends.

Mofojokers1992

You will always drop... no team is good on defense because of bad AI programming.
But i dont drop far normally 4-6 spots because of the hassle of versing my team.

Old_Scott

Thanks all for the input. Just to clarify, I run an all Jedi team by choice...always have. My goal is not to build a meta team just to get higher rankings. My goal is to build the best Jedi team I can and see how far I can go to disproving the stereotype that they don't work in the arena. Honestly, I thought by now I would have dropped into the 50-100 range in my shard. But, I've never dropped below 37.

Now, I confess, I avoid the combo of Dooku and RG. Even with Yoda, I can't fight off that many stuns. But, other than that, I can take out any other team on any given Sunday. I've beaten droid, Rebel, clone, even the meta team of Old Ben/Rey/QGJ/RG/STH. In fact, I was scared of the gear 10 Rex led clone team because I was told that was the hardest team to beat so I avoided them. One day I was sitting at #2 and the clone team was at #1 with about 37,000 power and I beat them with all of my Jedi alive and kicking.

Here is what I have learned about being successful with the Jedi: You need a core of QGJ, Yoda, Old Ben, and IGD. The last one I haven't settled on but hope the Anakin or Mace rework will fit that spot eventually. For the most part I found a lot of success with a QGJ lead, occasionally switching to IGD for droid and AOE heavy teams. However, I got stuck on a squad once for three battles and couldn't beat them. On a whim, I threw in Barriss and put her as lead. That was magic (and how I beat the clone team). Right of the bat, IGD raised my teams offense while Old Ben lowered their offense. Barriss just returned all the damage they took after protection was gone.

Now, I rotate between Barriss, QGJ, and IGD as my lead and am finding good success. Let's see how long it lasts.

Old_Scott

Oh, and a couple people mentioned doing a mid-day battle or two to stay higher ranked throughout the day. I always saved all five battles till the last hour, but I think that might have been a mistake. How many of you do mid-day battles to stay higher ranked through the day?

djvita

Dodge leader + B2 + RG + G9/10 glass cannons + lazy arena = never dropping from top 10.

Z_Cavaricci

I don't usually drop overnight, but between noon and 6:00 pm I can drop 10-15 spots sometimes.

GeorgeRules

I usually only fight within my cashout unless i have turns to use, if i do i only attack people who are not in the next cashout time and only to put myself out of the way of players who will be pushing forwards for that cashout. I basically try not to annoy people i dont need to compete with unless it gives me some sort of advantage. As for the guy at my cashout, he constantly attacks me and tries to push me back but doesnt realise I'm happy to alternate a 1 2 finish with him if he stops trying to take crystals away from me. Still I find some sort of pleasure in punishing him for trying to push me out of the top 2 spots.

Aznbala

You are almost always going to drop in ranking because the AI sucks on defense.

Fid

I don't usually drop much but as the shard matures I've been slipping more between payouts as expected. I typically only fight near/during my payout so as to not needlessly bump others down and still climb up to finish top 3 depending on how active others are and if I can stay online near payout time.

I stopped worrying about defense and focus on playing teams I enjoy that can still be top 10-20 competitive. If you feel the need to add a little def - which may help keep you from slipping as much - RG tends to work well and his stun is reliable on offense too.

ShaolinPunk

Depends on the day though. A lot. Jedi Teams don't hold good defense in Arena though.

scuba

all depends on the day and moon phases. Sometimes a bunch especially around Arena Guild Daily day, have gotten knocked down to 90's

Jedi2407

Dropping 20 spots isn't unusual. It all depends on when are the payouts of the other people on your server and whether your team has a big bullseye on it. Yes, an all Jedi team is a big target. And Yoda is horribly managed by the AI.

Old_Scott

ShaolinPunk wrote: »

Depends on the day though. A lot. Jedi Teams don't hold good defense in Arena though.

So I heard, over and over (and over)... haven't seen it in my experience, but that's the rumor.

It looks like me dropping 20 spots puts me right in line with the experience of meta and other top arena players. Maybe Jedi don't suck so much after all.

But, I do realize that on about a month there will be an avalanche of players hitting level 80 right behind me. I paid a little at the beginning to get ahead and it worked when I was competing against 20 people. When there are 100's of people competing for #1, it might be a different story.

For now, I will enjoy saying that my Jedi team rocks with the best of them.

Old_Scott

Jedi2407 wrote: »

Dropping 20 spots isn't unusual. It all depends on when are the payouts of the other people on your server and whether your team has a big bullseye on it. Yes, an all Jedi team is a big target. And Yoda is horribly managed by the AI.

Yes, your last two points are well taken and agreed with. My question, though, is why isn't my team dropping more than 20 spots. I imagine many see it as easy pickings and are targeting it. But, if that is true, why aren't they beating it. No one ranked below 30 can seem to beat it (but I'm sure plenty are trying).

scuba

Old_Scott wrote: »

Jedi2407 wrote: »

Dropping 20 spots isn't unusual. It all depends on when are the payouts of the other people on your server and whether your team has a big bullseye on it. Yes, an all Jedi team is a big target. And Yoda is horribly managed by the AI.

Yes, your last two points are well taken and agreed with. My question, though, is why isn't my team dropping more than 20 spots. I imagine many see it as easy pickings and are targeting it. But, if that is true, why aren't they beating it. No one ranked below 30 can seem to beat it (but I'm sure plenty are trying).

If only we had stats for defense fights