Thanks for all the helpful and great answers. I am f2p and don't expect to be meta so extending zVader's arena viability is what I'm looking for. My team seems viable for now to be 175-275 ranking. My easiest path from above is to add TFP (halfway to 7*) to arena. Right now, it's zVader (g10), Tarkin (11), Boba (10), Biggs (10, included for damage/assist), EP (6*, 10). I like that TFP can be added and makes sense due to speed on buff immunity. May remove Biggs to further the empire synergy. I have a 5* Thrawn but would have to improve Phoenix to get 7* Thrawn which also seems to be another bridge for viable arena team. At that point, it's probably Boba or EP out. I also expect to 7* EP so maybe Boba, though I like his damage and ability block. From this, then interim step is zVader, Tarkin, Boba, EP, TFP. Eventually work in Thrawn and remove Boba?
You'd probably be better off with tarkin as a lead (zeta his unique helps) then vader tfp a good tank (shore is awesome if you can) and another empire toon. The speed will ensure squishy toons like tfp get the jump and do some damage quick and ability block any enemy. I've been running a similar team for a long time and it wont beat meta but you should do much better than #200 rank.
And you could also use a GAT lead if Tarkin isn't working. His TM manipulation and the imp only cleanse can create some awesome line skipping and clutch saves.
I've said in other threads but I had to ditch a zVader, Boba, DT, zSolo, STH team months ago to stay anywhere in top 200. I converted to 5* GAT, ShT, DT, TFP, zSolo and have been above 100 ever since.
Very interesting comments. It wasn't long ago when I had a 5* EP and my guildmates told me he'd be better than any 7* (outside of Boba) on my arena team. That was when I was scratching top 1000 and I flew up the ranks. Now, I'm hearing same on 5* Thrawn. I will be powering him up and can try him out in GW before arena. I'd want to get Thrawn to g9 at least. I'm also ready to 7* him as my Phoenix team is 7*, lvl 85 and modded (no zetas and not fully omega'd). I know his Fracture and TM/Protection ability does seem good. I don't know how good a leader he can be.
I don't regret zeta on Vader as he's really useful in arena and another leader in GW. I did see limit in arena but you guys have opened my mind and gave me good alternatives.
If you have thrawn, definitely use him. Under tarkin to be fastest one in the battle, or as leader can both be good. But definitely use him if you have him!
@Anavel_Gato
I will be trying Tarkin (L), GAT, DV, Boba, TFP and be sure to get back to you. This seems intriguing. Basically replacing EP (stuns/shocks) and Biggs (big damage) for GAT and TFP who are both faster. After all speed kills in arena (usually...I've been able to overcome a loss of toon per Wiggs one-shot due to DV/Boba offense & damage)
right now 5* Thrawn is g7 and 6* R2 is g8. I can increase gear level on only 1. I was even thinking of working R2 into the lineup...thoughts? I'm hearing g8 5* Thrawn but wanted to hear what you all would suggest.
I use Thrawn as a lead. The best leader I ever had in arena. Much better than Tarkin. He gives 20% tm on debuffs, in fight this is speeding team more than bonus speed. With R2 debuffs it is much better.
I mean I'm in a pretty old shard and my friend ina whale shard manages 1-2 everyday (he and I both) not one Zader lead in sight, and only one thrawn lead. Zader just doesn't offer enough and with the cleansers and ten buffers it's just a waste if time currently. I love my Zader and was my first zeta when it mattered.. but you can climb so much higher so much more easily with other squads. Use that team I guess til you have zolo r2 rex gk dn cls thrawn etc and make a team with them.. you'll be top 50 if not better
@Gawejn, what gear level do you have Thrawn at? My arena team is g10/11 so I would want Thrawn at g10 before putting him in. When I get him to g9, I may try him to see how that might work. I would feel more confident if/when he's at g10 for arena.
@Gawejn, what gear level do you have Thrawn at? My arena team is g10/11 so I would want Thrawn at g10 before putting him in. When I get him to g9, I may try him to see how that might work. I would feel more confident if/when he's at g10 for arena.
My Thrawn is g12. I got him 7* and took me five days to g11(i got lucky in haat with rewards). So very short time I played him at g9 and g10. I think he is good at g10 in arena.
@Anavel_Gato and @Gawejn , I got 6* Thrawn (don't have all 7* Phoenix yet) and use him in arena at g9, not fully modded. My goodness, he's good. The arena has gotten tougher with CG zeta drop and I've been able to maintain my rankings with zVader lead and Thrawn. I did use the zeta on his Ebb and Flow. He provides great support. Eventually I may try him as lead.
@Anavel_Gato and @Gawejn , I got 6* Thrawn (don't have all 7* Phoenix yet) and use him in arena at g9, not fully modded. My goodness, he's good. The arena has gotten tougher with CG zeta drop and I've been able to maintain my rankings with zVader lead and Thrawn. I did use the zeta on his Ebb and Flow. He provides great support. Eventually I may try him as lead.
Cool:), try him as a lead if You didnt. I am in top 50 and I had few times wins on defense with my Empire. Thrawn is excellent toon. I have one zeta on his lead. Second will be soon.
I got 6* Thrawn (don't have all 7* Phoenix yet) and use him in arena at g9, not fully modded. My goodness, he's good. The arena has gotten tougher with CG zeta drop and I've been able to maintain my rankings with zVader lead and Thrawn. I did use the zeta on his Ebb and Flow. He provides great support. Eventually I may try him as lead.
@GulSkiVader The turn meter manipulation and cleanse from thrawn lead will likely serve you better. On defense keep in mind that the AI gets confused and will cleanse on defense when not needed (and does not use it strategically to avoid a counter or taunter and still get back 50% TM... which is a GREAT tactical advantage with thrawn lead), but at this point just ditch zVader lead to the curb.
I converted by arena team from zDV, boba, DeT, ShT, zSolo to my current Thrawn, DeT (deathtrooper), ShT (shoretrooper), zSolo, TFP squad back when my shore trooper was only 4 star and thrawn 5 star and I went from 150-200 range to 150-100. I've been steadily 100-51 since getting 7* thrawn and 6* ShT with also g12 thrawn and DeT now.
Lastly, I've been too hesitant to zeta ebb and flow but I did use the leader zeta for 2% protection regen on all gain and loss of status effects. It seems mild but between your own buffs from shore trooper and han, cleanse from thrawn lead, and anything you eat from your enemies, it adds up to survivability in a pinch. It's not as good as the protection regen zeta from a Jyn rogue one squad with k2 and chirrut constantly getting it back every hit, but it works nicely. Oh and I squash those zK2, zJyn, baze, teams with my current one.
I got 6* Thrawn (don't have all 7* Phoenix yet) and use him in arena at g9, not fully modded. My goodness, he's good. The arena has gotten tougher with CG zeta drop and I've been able to maintain my rankings with zVader lead and Thrawn. I did use the zeta on his Ebb and Flow. He provides great support. Eventually I may try him as lead.
@GulSkiVader The turn meter manipulation and cleanse from thrawn lead will likely serve you better. On defense keep in mind that the AI gets confused and will cleanse on defense when not needed (and does not use it strategically to avoid a counter or taunter and still get back 50% TM... which is a GREAT tactical advantage with thrawn lead), but at this point just ditch zVader lead to the curb.
I converted by arena team from zDV, boba, DeT, ShT, zSolo to my current Thrawn, DeT (deathtrooper), ShT (shoretrooper), zSolo, TFP squad back when my shore trooper was only 4 star and thrawn 5 star and I went from 150-200 range to 150-100. I've been steadily 100-51 since getting 7* thrawn and 6* ShT with also g12 thrawn and DeT now.
Lastly, I've been too hesitant to zeta ebb and flow but I did use the leader zeta for 2% protection regen on all gain and loss of status effects. It seems mild but between your own buffs from shore trooper and han, cleanse from thrawn lead, and anything you eat from your enemies, it adds up to survivability in a pinch. It's not as good as the protection regen zeta from a Jyn rogue one squad with k2 and chirrut constantly getting it back every hit, but it works nicely. Oh and I squash those zK2, zJyn, baze, teams with my current one.
I use Stormtrooper with Shore in my Empire. Stormtrooper is giving additional buff to whole team and it is like every fight twice. So 8% is not bad, but still not so much. For tanks it is a lot but rest of the team is getting small numbers.
Agreed. Thrawn is not OP but so nicely effective when utilized well. The leader zeta has saved me many times, usually han being so squishy, sometimes TFP if not dodging well. It also keeps shore trooper super beefy between that and the protection regen given by thrawn on top of the zeta.
I zeta'd ebb and flow as I wanted to keep zVader lead. I do hear you both on moving from zVader. Do you mind recommending a roster per your review? https://swgoh.gg/u/gulskivader/ For now, I'm comfortable with zVader lead but welcome to hear thoughts on improvements. I don't have DeT or ShT. I have STH, 6* raid Han and 6* TFP so this may not be enough of an overhaul.
I haven't tested how low I can go in arena. It seems from a defensive standpoint, I'm ok but this is an early view. I think my current Thrawn speed (<200) is not enough in long run.
I would consider Shoretrooper or Stormtrooper. Shoretrooper 3* g10 is quite good. Storm in cantina store so easy farm, can also drop from bronziums. Storm can remove tm from all enemies when dmged during taunt. You play Empire so will be hard to take him down. ZHan with crit dmg set can hit him like 5-9 k on crits. This is not so much. I must say that speed is important, so speed under 200 is not so good. My two tanks are 192,197 and I cosider them too slow. So Thrawn under 200 is not giving this advantage to go first and fracture. If he got stunned couse he was too slow you miss turn and your team has less control. Thrawn can be easy with 230 speed.
This is what I think. Tanks are the key to play if you would like to switch to Thrawn lead.
I do have a 3* ST that has shards for 4* halfway to 5*, shards are mostly from Bronzium drops. He's lvl 1 and not geared up at all.
Yes, I know Thrawn isn't fast enough. I'm avoiding an opponent who has a faster toon. lol I will do that until I can farm faster mods or move mods around.
I could run Thrawn, Tarkin (g11), Vader (g11), EP or TFP with ST geared up?
Depending on the server that you're on, zVader is viable for top 200 which was the intention of my original post (how viable is he?). It was challenging but doable. However others mentioned that even a 5* Thrawn would be helpful and I can confirm that my Thrawn 6* g9 has made it easier to stay top 200.
My next problem is to keep improving Thrawn to 7* (working on Phoenix), g10+, > 200 spd. With current lineup, zVader works very well in my server but I do need Thrawn as 1st mover to execute. For example, Fracture Baze making it 5 v 4, Boba AOE ability block to stop most AoE/special attacks, zVader Force Crush, then EP stun. At least that's the drawing...hehe. I've been able to overcome a powerful Wiggs/Chaze/Jyn or R2 with my lineup.
Eventually I do see moving from zVader lead and grateful for suggestions. I plan to migrate and can update this thread or a new thread when I'm ready. I will test Empire team with Thrawn lead in GW, then arena.
Zvader is viable against almost all teams except the CLS rebels. If you pair him with a fast(always faster than Rex) SA, his DOT’s get applied. Add Shore, Thrawn, and either DN or DT and you can do well. They are tanky enough to handle FO all our assaults. They laugh at any/all jedi. Rex/chaze present no problems, but since CLS /han duo is at the top of all shards, it’s difficult. He also struggles vs Thrawn lead empire.
I ran Zvader with a 269 speed SA, Shore/thrawn/DN and took 1st on a Jan ‘17 shard until CLS showed his ugly face....
I do have a 3* ST that has shards for 4* halfway to 5*, shards are mostly from Bronzium drops. He's lvl 1 and not geared up at all.
Yes, I know Thrawn isn't fast enough. I'm avoiding an opponent who has a faster toon. lol I will do that until I can farm faster mods or move mods around.
I could run Thrawn, Tarkin (g11), Vader (g11), EP or TFP with ST geared up?
I used Palp before Krenic but really I would try out different comps, TFP is pretty good. Vader is not so good, slow, dots are easy to dispel so not big dmg, but also tanky and with ability block which is needed sometimes. So hard to say. Also Tarkin lead is good if You need speed. That could speed up your team and you could have time to farm mods.
I fight to be in the top 200 and I target and eat up zVadar squads. I’m sure he is viable at certain ranks, I just know not better than 200ish rank
Have you ever fight with zvader lead, dt, tfp, shore and sid? I mean fast teamamd well moded. Not so easy to go first and when they start this train Vader can one shot even a tank with 7 debufs. TFP is second to deal 20k on crits. Dt will increase cooldowns and Sid will put exposes. Than last thing is Shore and whole team has crit imunity. This is first round for this team before you move.
No, he is TERRIBLE, I used him for 2 years on my Arena team, and since l left him, l improve a lot, he is my favorite character, but he is SO Lame in GoH
@Anavel_Gato your Empire crushes zJyn teams only because you haven't faced mine I don't use Baze, use R2. Sadly rarely face Empire only 1 in my Shard that ever breaks top 50. I think empire are one of the most fun teams to fight tho.
Replies
You'd probably be better off with tarkin as a lead (zeta his unique helps) then vader tfp a good tank (shore is awesome if you can) and another empire toon. The speed will ensure squishy toons like tfp get the jump and do some damage quick and ability block any enemy. I've been running a similar team for a long time and it wont beat meta but you should do much better than #200 rank.
I don't regret zeta on Vader as he's really useful in arena and another leader in GW. I did see limit in arena but you guys have opened my mind and gave me good alternatives.
I will be trying Tarkin (L), GAT, DV, Boba, TFP and be sure to get back to you. This seems intriguing. Basically replacing EP (stuns/shocks) and Biggs (big damage) for GAT and TFP who are both faster. After all speed kills in arena (usually...I've been able to overcome a loss of toon per Wiggs one-shot due to DV/Boba offense & damage)
yes, will try. What are you running in arena now?
Working on krennic, DT, and storm.
My Thrawn is g12. I got him 7* and took me five days to g11(i got lucky in haat with rewards). So very short time I played him at g9 and g10. I think he is good at g10 in arena.
Cool:), try him as a lead if You didnt. I am in top 50 and I had few times wins on defense with my Empire. Thrawn is excellent toon. I have one zeta on his lead. Second will be soon.
I converted by arena team from zDV, boba, DeT, ShT, zSolo to my current Thrawn, DeT (deathtrooper), ShT (shoretrooper), zSolo, TFP squad back when my shore trooper was only 4 star and thrawn 5 star and I went from 150-200 range to 150-100. I've been steadily 100-51 since getting 7* thrawn and 6* ShT with also g12 thrawn and DeT now.
Lastly, I've been too hesitant to zeta ebb and flow but I did use the leader zeta for 2% protection regen on all gain and loss of status effects. It seems mild but between your own buffs from shore trooper and han, cleanse from thrawn lead, and anything you eat from your enemies, it adds up to survivability in a pinch. It's not as good as the protection regen zeta from a Jyn rogue one squad with k2 and chirrut constantly getting it back every hit, but it works nicely. Oh and I squash those zK2, zJyn, baze, teams with my current one.
I use Stormtrooper with Shore in my Empire. Stormtrooper is giving additional buff to whole team and it is like every fight twice. So 8% is not bad, but still not so much. For tanks it is a lot but rest of the team is getting small numbers.
I haven't tested how low I can go in arena. It seems from a defensive standpoint, I'm ok but this is an early view. I think my current Thrawn speed (<200) is not enough in long run.
This is what I think. Tanks are the key to play if you would like to switch to Thrawn lead.
Yes, I know Thrawn isn't fast enough. I'm avoiding an opponent who has a faster toon. lol I will do that until I can farm faster mods or move mods around.
I could run Thrawn, Tarkin (g11), Vader (g11), EP or TFP with ST geared up?
My next problem is to keep improving Thrawn to 7* (working on Phoenix), g10+, > 200 spd. With current lineup, zVader works very well in my server but I do need Thrawn as 1st mover to execute. For example, Fracture Baze making it 5 v 4, Boba AOE ability block to stop most AoE/special attacks, zVader Force Crush, then EP stun. At least that's the drawing...hehe. I've been able to overcome a powerful Wiggs/Chaze/Jyn or R2 with my lineup.
Eventually I do see moving from zVader lead and grateful for suggestions. I plan to migrate and can update this thread or a new thread when I'm ready. I will test Empire team with Thrawn lead in GW, then arena.
I ran Zvader with a 269 speed SA, Shore/thrawn/DN and took 1st on a Jan ‘17 shard until CLS showed his ugly face....
I used Palp before Krenic but really I would try out different comps, TFP is pretty good. Vader is not so good, slow, dots are easy to dispel so not big dmg, but also tanky and with ability block which is needed sometimes. So hard to say. Also Tarkin lead is good if You need speed. That could speed up your team and you could have time to farm mods.
If a ok ok team not built around DoTs, no.