EDITED. Analysis not useful because the new gold material skills.
Very soon the max level will be increased and the strategies will change because of the new skills available.
In this analysis is not included the increments of +5% or +15% damage, because is not a big difference.
You can say another characters not included in this analysis, but only if is enough important to change the strategies.
GEONOSIAN SOLDIER
Swarm (Special Abilities) - LvL 8: Cooldown -1 (Lvl 78)
Hive Tactics (Unique Ability) - LvL 8: +20% Turn Meter Gain (Lvl 80)
GS will be able to use his special ability (Swarm) in every turn, and if it's a critical hit he will gain 50% turn meter.
In the actual strategy is not essential kill GS in the first turn, because in the second turn he can't use any special ability, and his basic damage is not one of the best, there are 21 characters with a better basic damage, but if he can use the special ability in every attack would be essential kill he at the beginning.
It means that the low-health characters will survive more time, characters as Rey, IG-86, IG-88, FOTP, Resistance Pilot, etc., or characters that can resurrect other characters, as Daka or Ewok Elder.
Could be interesting protect GS with Daka and Luminara, for example, playing with QGJ as leader (+25 speed to jedis in the lvl 7), so Daka will have 136 speed and Luminara 143, Luminara will play before Poggle and Poe, so if Yoda, QGJ and GS enemies don't kill the own GS, Luminara can cure he, and if he die Daka can resurrect he and using a tank, as Royal Guard, is enough time to heal he with Luminara, and then he will be able to use again the special ability.
Geonosian Soldier by himself will change the strategies, based on kill he at the beginning or heal/resurrect he if he die.
QUI-GON JINN AND JEDIS
Agility Training (Unique Ability) - LvL 7: +2 Speed
(The lvl 8 will be available from level 82-90, not before)
With the +25 speed, Qui-Gon Jinn will be faster than Dooku (161), because 137+25 is 162. It means that QGJ can kill Dooku at the beginning, something very useful for people who don't have Yoda.
Also Anakin (137+25=162) and Ansoka Tano (93+45+25=163) will play before Dooku.
These extra 2 speed points also will benefit Luminara, that will increase the speed from 118 to 143, it means that Luminara will be faster than Poe (142) and then Luminara can block Poe with the "Force Blast". Also Luminara will be faster than Poggle (142) and can block he to prevent the offense up. Luminara will have the same speed than Rey (143), so also will be able to block or kill Rey.
Also will benefit Eeth Koth against teams playing without QGJ as leader, then the speed of Eeth Koth will be 128+25 = 153, faster than Yoda (151), so Eeth Koth will be able to stun Yoda, for example.
Also Aayla Secura will have the same speed (117+25=142) than Poe and Poggle, so maybe will be useful to kill Poggle before the offense up, for example Luminara (143) + Aayla (142) can kill Poggle.
Barriss Offee will increase the speed from 114 to 139, now faster than QGJ not as leader, it means that can be useful to heal the characters before QGJ can play, it can be very useful in some cases.
Old Ben will increase the speed from 112 to 137, it means that will be faster than Daka (136), so you can kill other characters and block Daka to prevent the resurrections. Also will have the same speed than QGJ not as leader (137), useful to block he in the 50% of cases.
IG-86
Assassin Droid Tactics (Special Abilities) - LvL 8: Cooldown -1 (Lvl 78)
Actually the cooldown is 3, in the lvl 78 will be 2, so it can be important in a team using Royal Guard and Poe in the same team, would be enough time to use again the special ability. Actually the most normal thing is that the battle is ended before IG-86 can use again the special ability, but with this cooldown IG-86 will be able to use 2 times the special ability.
Also he will have +15% damage in his basic damage, IG-86 is the 2th best attacker of the game, after GS, so it's important that his damage will be +15%, when another characters only gain +5% or nothing.
RESISTANCE PILOT
Hip Fire (Basic Ability) - LvL 8: +15% Turn Meter Gain (Lvl 76)
Outmaneuver (Special Abilities) - LvL 8: +15% Expose Chance
Guerilla Tactics (Unique Ability) - LvL 8: +5% Turn Meter Gain
RP will gain a lot of turn meter with these updates, will have 55% chance to gain 35% Turn Meter and 25% when is a critical hit, it is 60% turn meter, if the assistance of GS is RP, he can gain 60% turn meter, for example, or if is the assistance of QGJ or IG-86.
Also the expose chance is important, because will increase from 50% to 65%, and with the +15% potency of Poe as leader, in a resistance team, will be 80%.
Also Poe Dameron will have 80% chance to expose as leader (65% + 15%), so a resistance team with a character with AoE ability, as IG-88 or Kylo Ren, for example, can be very useful. IG-88 will have 50% chance to inflict defense down and Kylo Ren will gain 15% in his special abilities.
Someone more?
Replies
Fives:
1) Basis at level 8 (76 level required): Add extra attack against targets suffering Speed Down.
2) Special (passive): +15% Counter Chance (85% in total).
Have you already thought about his future synergy with Phasma? I had.
HK-47:
1) Leader ability: +20 turn mater gain on crit (total: +50).
It's definitely a great boost. But who knows whether it will be still so important.
HRScout
Basic: +15% chance add TM to whole team (40% instead of 15%)
Passive: before almost useless since not too many Empire units, now starts giving him TM (half of the one for empire enemy) for killing any enemy. It's also a viable addition to his insane TM boosts.
Ima-Gun-Di
Leader ability: +25% chance of counter-attack for jedies (60% instead of 35%). With new update might become really relevant.
Preferences based on high speed damage output versus high health slower damage output I believe are still going to be in play. There needs to be changes and fixes to characters here and there to make more useful characters.
It's my belief that healthy armor characters that have been slow may see some improvement. The crits for advantage give FO improvements. Speed is still going to matter. QGJ yoda eeth koth and lumi are really good now as a combo. I don't see that changing. Dooku is fast but he is about to become slow, meaning... He better have really good dodge improvement or he is junk for speed. Sid dodges Jedi a lot and assuming QGJ speed teams exist, Dooku lead with Sid GS 86 and a tank might see a lot more uses.
More folks are going to get Lobot for droid speed, seeing them be able to go before Poe making him useless. RG farms are going to be active. With fortitude, I assume a death improves the teams defense somehow, meaning perhaps the better option will be to slowly bring everyone health down at once and nail everyone with aoe, meaning assajj wicked aoe might be invaluable.
Fact is it hasn't played out and there are still millions of unanswered questions. It's my opinion all we know is on paper a lot of what's been put out to this point makes for a lot of speculation. Until we see the final output we are all guessing here. Health and armor teams have carried me to top 50, I am sticking that route and holding off leveling anyone, I am finishing up farming projects and stars that I have in my top 15 and I am waiting. Gear I am still working on for some. But mostly just been waiting to see how this plays out.
If I started all over I wild go Sid GS 86 lumi and RG. I would skip out on Dooku altogether. Sid will dodge Jedi often and add heal blocks, might go for Poe because of his high tenacity ... And maybe work on that only.
Dodges tenacity and damage. There is to much going forward that is a massive unknown
Very nice the update of Ima-Gun-Di, Sidious can die before we can start to play
I thought include HK-47, but the droids are not very useful, only IG-86, this ability is important for IG-88, but without IG-88 is not very important, is more useful play with Poggle as leader.
Also nice the update of basic ability of HRScout. The unique ability only useful against team with Royal Guard, and also the stun chance will be increased from 40% to 55%.
The basic ability of CT-5555 only would be useful in a team with Phasma, but I think that Fives and Phasma are not very useful in the Arena nowadays, a team with Phasma (L), CT-5555, GS, IG-86 and QGJ, for example, is not very powerful, maybe useful in the first levels for newbie players, but in the cantina shipments it's better get QGJ and Poe at the beginning, and then I prefer Ahsoka Tano before CT-5555.
I think that Ima-Gun-Di and HRScout can change something, but IGD is very hard to farm, is for P2P players.
Nice point, the droids will have +25 speed thanks to Lobot, it means that IG-86 will increase from 116 to 141 and IG-88 from 118 to 143, IG-88 will be faster than Poggle and Poe, with a 55% chance to block the enemies, so Poggle or Poe can be blocked, and then after the taunt of Poe (if is not blocked) IG-86 will play first of any other character and can kill Poe, so the taunt will not be very useful, will be taunt and immediately die, and with the speed up of Poggle (if own Poggle go first) also IG-86 can play before Poe LOL
Daka have 136 speed, and the leader ability of Ventress is +26 speed and with the update will be +28, so now is a total of 162 and will be 164, so it's true, will be faster than QGJ as leader and can stun he, is another interesting option, but you don't need wait the update to start to use this strategy, you can use it from now. I use it in the Galactic Wars to heal my characters before any other movement, for example, and sometimes I use it to stun some character.
Does that mean characters classified as Healers won't have fortitude?
Assuming they really do buff slower characters damage/health his skillset is now viable.
The notes I have read say healers don't qualify for fortitude.
It was saying they can't refill the fortitude bar with their heal, no that they won't have fortitude themselves. Fortitude can not be refilled
Okay, that's how I read it too, not that they don't have fortitude. If they did that, Lumi just became the best healer in the game because based on what I see with the challenges, she's not a healer.
I got a lot of ideas farming is the slow part haha.
I don't think a toons "role classification" will be the end and all be all when it comes to fortitude. The key thing is that under no circumstances can the fortitude bar be refilled/healed at this time. They said in the future new character (s) could possibly replenish fortitude/ play around it in some way
You're right, I totally agree; that's how I read it too. That's why I was surprised when I read the other post about healers not having fortitude. I was like, wait what did I miss? lol
Truth, would be interesting know if in the gear 9 or 10 (GS) which characters will gain speed, I will check it.
(EDITED. See the list in the next page)
* His basic ability gains +30% damage
* His special ability adds both crit chance and crit damage up for 3 turns on finishing blow.
* His unique ability gives him a chance to self heal for 15% any time he takes damage.
All in all, Savage is becoming a much bigger threat in the game than he ever presented in the tv series. We need Obi-Wan to come and kick him in the knee, now.
Also... Fives often ends up being the last toon standing. Meaning he gets to dish out counters left and right. If you left him with full health all until the end and lack the option to stun him, that double attack is going to make him extremely hard to overcome.
Yes, CT-5555 maybe is useful, but whitout Phasma hehe because Phasma and CT-5555 in the same team is too much. For example, my current team (rank 1) is Poggle (L), GS, IG-86, Kylo Ren and Poe (also I use RG in the attack, to get the rank), so if I replace Kylo Ren by CT-5555 can be useful, but not a lot, when I play against teams with CT-5555, he is the last to kill, his basic damage is poor, 3 times worse than Resistance Pilot, for example, and the special ability also very poor, the half than Resistance Pilot, the only interesting thing is the counterattack, but the counterattack is not useful to kill characters, only is useful against the AI, because the AI have random attacks and will attack CT-5555 sometimes, but if an human is controlling the team will attack Fives at the end of the battle, so maybe would be useful to get the rank against the AI, but to defend the rank I think is better use Resistance Pilot for example.
My fives is max everything. Been waiting on his moment to shine haha
This is a slow team hehe with Poggle as leader I can kill QGJ and IG-86 before they can play, I think is not very useful in the Arena, you need speed, and if you don't have speed you need Poe at least, or Royal Guard also, if you use Poe or RG you need replace one character, and the first option is Phasma, would be better a team as QGJ (L), Fives, GS, IG-86 and RG/Poe, but without Poggle GS and IG-86 lose a lot power, with Poggle as leader is +25% offense and with the offense up is +50%, a total of +75%.
Today I got the 7th star in Resistance Pilot and this thursday I will replace Kylo Ren by Resistance Pilot, it would be better, a team with Poggle (L), GS, IG-86, RP and Poe/RG. Fives don't have place in my team, RP is better than Fives, and easier to get, I only see Fives in the first levels of Galactic War, nobody is using Fives in the TOP 20, because there are a lot of better options.
Leia will have 164 speed and 50% to gain 10% turn meter on each hit
RG will have 24k health
The meta will remain untouchable, with Leia's addition:
Dooku as leader, GS, Rey, Leia and RG
Remember: actual DPS toons will deal even more damage. The gap between Speed + DPS against any other combination will be increased.
The game will be even more boring until they change de battle mechanism.
Assajj
Daka
RG
Dooku
GS or eeth koth or HRS depending on what I am able to mount run a full stun team.